by Dylann Crush
Forging ahead, I reached the source of the bubbling water. A narrow stream flowed through a crevice in the rocks and over the cave floor. I splashed through the ankle-high water, grateful for my waterproof boots, and carried on. I had to be close now, I could feel it.
An hour later my excitement had given way to despair. I was cold, hungry, and tired of wandering around in the dark. I was also just about out of rope. The smart thing to do would be to go home, restock my supplies, and come back tomorrow. But I’d already called in sick to the salon today. I couldn’t afford to cancel all of my clients again. Not if I didn’t have the guarantee of the treasure.
I stopped to pull a granola bar out of my bag. A snack would improve my mood. I’d been wandering around down here for close to seven hours now. I had no idea how extensive the cave network would be. If I didn’t find the treasure soon, I’d have no choice but to go back. But thoughts of Rodney moving in with Judd fueled my determination. I couldn’t let that happen.
One more hour. If I hadn’t made progress in another hour, I’d turn back. I pulled out my phone to set an alarm. The battery indicated twenty percent. That would last me at least another hour or two. I checked the map, certain I’d missed something. A small line broke off of the main tunnel right after the stream. Maybe I’d overlooked a turn. With hope leading the way, I turned back.
I had to be on the right path now; I’d eliminated most of the other options. The tunnel twisted and turned, moving away from the sound of the water. I ducked, squeezing under a low overhang of rocks. The walls narrowed, making it impossible to walk so I dropped to my knees and crawled. The light from my headlamp bounced off of the rocks. They seemed to squeeze in tighter and tighter.
Pressing on, the only thing that kept me going was thinking of Rodney playing football. He’d be thrilled when I told him we could afford to send him to camp. And not only that, I’d find a better camp. The best camp money could buy. We could move away from Swallow Springs and start a new life, far from Judd. As I thought about where we could go, what kind of place would be ideal for a fresh beginning, I felt the last few inches of rope fall from my hand.
41
Theo
Where was Scarlett? It had been three solid days since I’d heard from her. She hadn’t responded to calls or texts. Something was wrong. I felt it like an ache in my bones. It had been impossible to think about talking to kids about bats while the woman I was falling for might be in trouble. I’d had hours to think about it and had come to two different conclusions: either she found out that I knew Judd had told Rodney he was his dad and was punishing me, or she’d decided to go down in the cave without me. Both options were bad. But one of them was bad and dangerous.
Since she wouldn’t respond, I had no choice but to leave everything and head to Swallow Springs. I should have grabbed Rodney’s number. I’d tried calling the school and leaving messages for Judd, but who checked their voice mail anymore? The salon wasn’t any help. They told me Scarlett had called in sick, which gave credibility to either one of my theories.
With a heavy heart, I screeched to a stop at the curb in front of her house. The lights were off and her truck was gone. It didn’t look like anyone was home, but still, I wanted to be sure. I knocked and waited, listening for any sign of life coming from inside. With the icy hand of dread squeezing my heart, I lifted the corner of the mat. The key wasn’t there. Damn. I probably didn’t put it back the last time I used it. Odds were she wasn’t hiding in a pitch black house all by herself, though. There was only one other place I needed to check.
A half hour later I pulled up behind her truck. She’d parked on the side of the narrow road in the same place we’d been when we explored the cave together the first time. There had been other activity since we’d been here before. Wide tire tracks crisscrossed the dirt road. As I followed a path of tramped down grass, there was evidence everywhere that some sort of heavy machinery had been here recently. Or a trailer of some sort.
Maybe Scarlett’s truck had broken down and someone else had picked her up. She might have called her mom or brother and they just hadn’t had a chance to tow the truck yet. I walked around, feeling the tops of the wheels for her keys. That’s where she’d stashed them last time. They weren’t on the front wheels. She’d probably come out to check on the cave and had car trouble. I checked the third tire. No keys. Yeah, that had to be what happened. She was probably getting a ride home from Dustin or her mom even as we spoke. But as I rounded the front of the truck, I placed a hand on the hood. If she’d been out here recently, there would be some lingering warmth. The metal felt cool under my palm.
My throat tightened as I reached under the last wheel well and came up with her keys. Dammit. She had to have gone into the cave. Even though I asked her not to. Even though she promised. That meant I had two choices. Either call for back up and wait until they could get a team out here, which, in a town the size of Swallow Springs, could take hours.
Or…I didn’t want to consider it. Go in alone. I hadn’t been down in a cave all by myself since the time my dad left me overnight. I’d gone down alone when I discovered the bats, but Scarlett had been on the other side of the rope. Even thinking about it had my vision tunneling, my heart pounding, and my head swimming. But this was Scarlett. She could have been down there for a few hours or she could have been down there for days. Not wanting to wait for someone else, I grabbed my pack from the back of my truck and scrambled up the trail. Once I got to the cave entrance I’d have a better idea of what I was dealing with.
The cave entrance was gone. The team must have come in over the past few days and installed the bat gate. That meant the bats could safely come and go as they pleased but anything larger would be kept out. Or kept in. I glanced around, checking for signs that Scarlett had been there. There was nothing. No rope tied to the tree we’d used last time. The only thing proving that someone had been here recently were the dozens of footprints around the entrance. But who knew who those belonged to? If there had been a team out here working on the door, they could have left the marks.
I battled internally. Removing the bat gate would be illegal. If she wasn’t in there I could actually face charges. But if she was in there, she was trapped. There’d be no way to get out unless she’d taken a saw with a blade for cutting through steel in with her. And I was about one-thousand percent sure she hadn’t.
Pacing the flat area in front of the bat gate, I tried to figure out what to do. My stomach rolled over on itself, making me feel nauseous. I had to go in. If Scarlett was in there, I had to save her. Decision made, it was time to act. I pulled my gear out of my back, making sure I had extra batteries for the headlamp, plenty of rope so I could find my way back out, and a blanket in case she’d been down there a while. My phone would be useless once I went underground, but I wanted to let someone know where I was going. I dialed the local conservation office for the county. No one would be there at this time of night but at least there would be a record of me asking for help. That way if the gate was ruined they’d know I had no choice.
After the mad rush of getting everything ready, it was time to take out the gate. I went back to the truck and grabbed the hacksaw I always carried with me. I’d only ever used it for cutting up a couple of large branches that blocked the entrance to a cave a few years ago, but now I was grateful I’d kept it with my equipment.
With a groan, I lifted it up to rest the blade against the steel bars. Then I began to slide it back and forth.
42
Scarlett
I sat with my back against the wall and shivered, trying to wrap my arms around my upper body to stave off the bone-chilling cold. What an idiot. The rope ran out but at the point I was at in the tunnel, there wasn’t room to turn around. And it was too awkward to try to crawl backward. So I’d stayed to the right, figuring once I found a spot large enough to turn in, I’d head back. I touched my fingertips to the cracked headlamp, wishing I could figure out how to get it to work. With a b
roken headlamp and a dead phone, I had no idea how long I’d been down here or how long it might take for someone to realize I was gone.
How did I get to be so stupid? I rummaged through my backpack, closing my hand around my last granola bar. I’d held off as long as I could, but the hollow pit in my stomach made it impossible to get comfortable much less try to get some sleep. I’d eat half and save the rest for later. Just enough to take the edge off of my hunger.
As I nibbled on the bar, I thought about Theo. He was the only one who might know where I was. I’d left a note for Rodney telling him I’d gone into the cave, but he’d have no idea which one. I should have been more careful. I’d been careless—too worried about Dad’s stupid treasure to think things through. The worst part was that Judd would be getting the last laugh. April had teased me about my dad my whole life. Now everyone would know his treasure was fake—always had been. And when I turned up missing, Judd would be free to exercise his parental rights, and he and April would take Rodney in.
The image of them all sitting around the table, discussing Rodney’s football scholarship offers made me want to puke. I couldn’t afford to waste the calories. There had to be a way out of here. What would Theo do?
Thinking of Theo was like tolerating a sharp blade cutting into my heart. The betrayal. The lies. I’d actually thought we might have a shot at a future together. He’d been the first man in over a decade to make me feel like I might deserve something more. As much as I hated him for not telling me about Judd and Rodney, a small part of me still had feelings for him.
And he’d never know.
I had to get out of here. I had to at least try. I couldn’t let fate decide my future. Not while I still had any hope. I tucked the rest of the granola bar into my pack and took a small sip of water. I might run out of food, but as long as I had water, I could survive for days. That’s what Rodney said. It hadn’t been that long ago that I’d crossed that stream. If I timed myself I could try finding the tunnel I’d come in through. I’d crawl forward to the count of a hundred or so. If I didn’t find the rope I’d go back out the way I came in and try the next tunnel. At least then I’d be moving.
My leg gave way underneath me. When I’d fallen out of that tunnel I’d cracked it on the ground and it throbbed. I probably needed ice. Not knowing how long I could go on a bum knee, I felt along the wall for one of the tunnels. I’d wiggle on my belly if I had to but I couldn’t sit around doing nothing any longer.
Theo
The rain poured down as I struggled with the hacksaw. Water ran down my back, soaking every piece of clothing I had on. But I didn’t feel the cold. A fire raged deep inside, spurring me on to work as hard and as fast as I could. Scarlett’s life might very well depend on it. Finally, after sawing away at the impenetrable gate, I made it through. One cut through one bar wasn’t enough, but it was a start. I worked on the opening, sawing at the bars, thoughts of Scarlett fueling my efforts, until it appeared big enough to crawl through.
Then I tossed my gear through the hole and forced my way in. I didn’t want to waste any time but I also didn’t want to freeze to death. I wouldn’t do Scarlett any good if I did. So I pulled off my wet clothes and traded them for the extra set in my pack. Then I scanned the mouth of the cave. Off to one side, I spotted a frayed end of rope.
It wasn’t the same line I’d used last time I was here. This had to be new. I gave a tug and felt resistance. Hoping it was Scarlett on the other end, I adjusted my headlamp and fired off a text to my dad. It was the middle of the night and he’d be deep asleep. But if he didn’t hear from me by morning, I hoped he’d know who to call to send in a better prepared team.
With nothing else to do but follow the line to where I hoped Scarlett would be, I grabbed hold. The rope led down a different tunnel than I remembered taking before. The walls squeezed in, getting narrower and tighter. My ankle began to ache as I had to hunch over and finally crouch into a crawl. As I slowly moved through the cramped space, I kept a mantra going in my head. “Please let her be alright. Please let her be okay.”
If something happened to Scarlett, it would be my fault. I was the one who wanted to go into the caves. I was the one who’d led her down here in the first place. It seemed like everything I touched turned to shit. Every time I tried to do better, to prove myself, something went wrong. Finally, I thought I’d done something good. Finding the bats had earned my dad’s respect. The way he looked at me when we’d been together last weekend was the kind of look I’d dreamed about for most of my life. I’d felt accepted, like I’d earned a place in his inner circle. But at what price? Was it worth losing Scarlett?
No. Of course not. If I found her, if I was lucky enough to win her back, I’d stop trying to become number one in my dad’s eyes. Her eyes were the only ones that mattered. Her respect, her trust, her love…those were the things that would give my life purpose. Not wallowing around in the darkness for my old man to finally notice my existence.
After what seemed like hours, I reached a larger space where I could stand. The sound of running water came from ahead. By the light of my headlamp I could make out a stream. The water had risen over the edge, probably due to the storm, and flowed into the tunnels branching off from the large chamber I’d entered. With the forecast predicting days of heavy rain, this wasn’t a good sign. We needed to get out of here before the water rose. I’d heard about cavers who got trapped by underground floods. Keeping my hand on the rope, I forged through the waist-high water. So much for staying dry.
My ankle ached, the kind of pain I hadn’t felt in weeks. But I had to press on. I didn’t know what was waiting for me at the end of the rope but I had to find out.
43
Scarlett
Hopeless. That’s what I was. I’d tried to find the rope but failed. There were too many tunnels leading off of this damn chamber. I felt like I’d tried them all, but I must have been missing something. With the last bit of energy I had, I climbed out of the narrow tunnel and settled against the rock wall again. My thoughts drifted to Rodney. He’d look so handsome in a cap and gown. Maybe he’d get that football scholarship he hoped for. My eyes swam with tears as I realized I’d never get to see him play a single game. Mom would be crushed. She’d fought so hard to raise Dustin and me after our dad disappeared. With everything she went through, all the sacrifices she made, it was like I was throwing away the life she gave me. And Dustin. We’d had a pretty contentious relationship growing up. But since he’d come home, faced his own demons, and started seeing Harmony, we’d started to get to know each other better. Now I’d never see them get married. I’d never get to hold the other beautiful babies they’d make together.
I swiped my sleeve under my nose. I’m sure I looked like a mess but who cared? No one would see me. The tears fell freely as I thought about Theo. He’d betrayed me but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’d never know what happened or why he didn’t feel like he could tell me about Judd’s revelation to Rodney. Just when I’d given up on finding someone who made me want to love, he’d appeared in my life. Like a gorgeous angel of a man, sent to save me from myself, he’d shown me what life could be like. And now I’d miss out on that, too.
Bending my knees, I drew my legs up under me and laid my head down on my arms. My knee throbbed but even that was just a distraction compared to the kind of pain slicing through my heart. With no one to hear me, no one to care what a goobery mess of snot and tears I’d become, I let the emotion out. My sobs made my chest heave, tears stung my eyes, and I cried for everything I hadn’t realized I had. I’d always known my stubbornness would be the death of me, but I hadn’t actually pictured it happening this way.
Exhausted, spent from the release of emotion, I slumped against the wall and closed my eyes, wondering how long it would take a person to die from a broken heart.
Theo
Light bounced off of the walls of the tunnel then gave way into a larger chamber. I’d come across the end of the rope
several yards back and hoped that Scarlett hadn’t gone too much farther. If she’d stopped when she got to a larger space, there might be a chance I could find her. As I climbed out of the tunnel and stood, I swiveled my head to get a good look at the chamber I’d entered.
Tall walls rose above me. There were too many offshoots to count and my heart dropped as I considered how long it would take to explore all of the tunnels. I set my pack down in the entrance of the one I’d just come from so I didn’t lose my way out. Then I walked around the chamber, sticking to the right wall, trying to be as methodical as possible in my search.
The toe of my boot hit something, sending it clattering away. I bent down and followed the direction of the sound. A headlamp. A cracked headlamp. That was a good sign. She had to be close. Continuing to scope out the perimeter of the chamber, I stopped as the edge of the light revealed a foot.
“Oh my God, Scarlett.” I rushed toward the body, murmuring wishes of every type that Scarlett would be okay. As I reached her, I crouched down, ignoring the pain in my ankle.
My fingers paused at the pulse in her neck. She was alive. I bent down to cradle her in my arms. “Scarlett?”
She opened her eyes. Confusion caused a hazy glaze, then her gaze sharpened as she stared up into my face. “Theo?”
“Yes. Are you hurt? How long have you been down here?” My concern gave way to frustration. “What were you thinking coming down here by yourself? You could have died.”
She grabbed my shirt front with a weak grip. “I’m sorry. I wanted to get the treasure before they put up the bat gate. It’s all my fault.”