Dangerous Past

by Cobe Reinbold

  “Yeah, Jessica made a good point. We don’t want her parents mad at us, so we’re going to keep it a secret for now. I might tell them one day, I just don’t feel it’s the right time.” Mackenzie collaborated my statement without missing a beat. I really liked how this girl worked.

  My friends looked a little confused at first. I had been adamant about telling her parents only moments earlier, and now I’d just done a 360.

  “Are you sure, man? I mean, it would be better to tell them now instead of waiting. I know it will just boil up inside of you until you break the news to them, and they’re going to be even more angry that you didn’t tell them as soon as you knew the truth. Plus, we’ve followed Mady’s wishes this far, we should probably follow her dying wish,” Jason said tentatively.

  It seemed like the only person against telling them was Jessica, and I didn’t completely understand why.

  “No, I’ve made up my mind. Maybe I’ll take the secret to the grave, but either way I can’t let her parents know we had the opportunity to save their daughter and never went to them or the police with the information.”

  After that, the entire group became somber. Nobody challenged my decision and they seemed to believe the story I wove for them. We went to the basement and sat there in silence for a while. I thought about the grieving I had already gone through, and most likely would have to go through again once all of this was over. After a while, Kent turned on my Xbox and him and Jason played for a while. Mackenzie and Jessica talked and things seemed to go back to normal for a couple hours.

  Around 6:00 everyone started to get texts from their parents asking them where they were, and if they could be home soon for supper. My parents would be arriving any minute, and then I would have to explain who Mackenzie was to them. I decided I would tell them she was a friend from school that lived a few towns over, and had driven down to spend the day with us. They only knew a fraction of my friends from school, and that would explain why they had never seen her around town.

  By 6:30 everyone was out of the house except for Mackenzie and I, and I could hear my parents coming in upstairs. I walked up from the basement with Mackenzie in tow, and introduced them. They asked her some questions, but nothing too interview like, and then they asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner. That’s what I had banked on, of course, and I was happy my plan was coming to fruition. Mackenzie was smart enough to realize my plan.

  Dinner flew past without any obstacles. I found out Mackenzie was an exceptional actress, and rolled with every punch my parents threw at her, giving back an answer that never really answered the original question, but made enough sense for my parents not to question it.

  After I cleared the table, with MacKenzie’s help, I lied to my parents, telling them we were off to go meet up with everyone so we could have a little sunset swim, and they didn’t object. They were happy to see me out enjoying my summer, if anything. As soon as we walked out of the house and got into my car, we both knew what was about to happen.

  “So, we’re really going to tell them?” Mackenzie looked uncertain as I backed out of the garage.

  “I think we have to.” I told her.

  We were quiet on the way to the Smith’s.

  “You ready for this?” I glanced at her after I parked and wiped my sweaty palms on my pants.

  “As ready as I’m going to be, I guess.” Before we could change our minds we got out of the car and headed up the walk.

  I knocked on the door. Mackenzie stood behind me.

  “Hi, Brian.” Mrs. Smith was surprised to see me, but hid her reaction quickly. “How are you?”

  “Hi, Mrs. Smith. Can we come in? By the way, this is Mackenzie, she’s a friend of mine.

  “Of course. Hello, Mackenzie. Come in, Brian. Is everything okay?”

  “I need to talk to you about something.” I swallowed hard.

  She moved aside, and we followed her to the kitchen. Mr. Smith joined us at the table.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I need to tell you something.”

  “Yes Brian, what is it?” What’s wrong, dear?” Mrs. Smith was genuinely concerned and it wrung my heart.

  I hesitated. I mean how do you start a conversation like this? “Mady’s dead,” I blurted out.

  Mrs. Smith paled and closed her eyes. Anger darkened Mr. Smith’s face.

  Mrs. Smith opened her eyes and laid a hand on her husband’s arm. “Yes Brian, she’s been gone for quite a while. Why are you bringing it up again now?” Anger laced her words.

  “I’m sorry that came out wrong. What I mean is…”

  I broke off when someone knocked at the front door.

  “Let them wait,” Mr. Smith spoke to his wife. “What’s the meaning of this, Brian? Why dredge up Mady’s death again? You better have a very good reason.”

  The doorbell pealed urgently before I could open my mouth to explain. Mrs. Smith sighed, and with a look of apology at her husband, got up to answer the door.

  I couldn’t see the door from where I was, but I was alarmed and surprised to hear Jason’s voice.

  I got up and went out into the hall. Mackenzie followed me. Jason stood in the door, sweating and heaving like he had just run a marathon. How the hell did he know where I was?

  “Brian,” he gasped. “We need to go. Your mom needs you home now.” He looked panicked, so it must be a real emergency.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith. I’m not sure what I was thinking,” I said. She looked as confused and concerned as I felt, but I forced myself to walk out of the door with Mackenzie close behind.

  Jason wouldn’t come looking for me without a good reason. I needed to know what it was. Maybe something did happen to my parents? I unlocked my car and we got in. Jason called shotgun and Mackenzie got in the back. I locked the doors almost before the doors snicked shut.

  “What the hell is going on?” I rubbed at the ache behind my temples.

  “Not here. Drive down the block.”

  He sounded so serious I didn’t argue. I started the car, drove down the block and turned the corner. Jason was practically vibrating in his seat. I couldn’t tell if he was excited or upset.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded.

  “I got a message from Metrix. There’s another blog post up.”

  Chapter 16

  “What do you mean there’s another blog post? We just read the last one. There weren’t any after that. How did he even get your number?” I slammed the car into drive and headed back to my place as the questions swirled in my mind.

  “Metrix said there’s another one up, but he didn’t do it. You weren’t picking up his calls or texts so he found me on social media and blew my phone up until I answered.” Jason sounded defensive.

  I pulled to the side of the street and called Metrix. For the first time ever, he actually picked up. He sounded just as worried as Jason.

  “Did Jason tell you?”

  “Yeah, what do you mean there’s another blog post? Did you make another one live or something?”

  “No. Mady said the only posts on the blog were hers. I’m worried about her. I set up notifications on the website, so I’d know if something posted I didn’t unlock. I called you as soon as I got the notification. You didn’t pick up, so I contacted Jason.

  “So, does Mady still have access to the blog?”

  “I had the only computer that could post, and I didn’t post this.”

  That could only mean one thing. Mady was still alive, and she was posting. But on what device? I had her laptop but it was stolen, I had Metrix’s spare so how could she access a blog that was blocked to all other IP addresses in Idaho? Was she in another state? Was it the person who stole the original laptop?

  “Okay, we’re headed home right now and I’ll check it out.”

  I ended the call and raced for home. When we got there, I blew through the door, yelled a hello to my parents, and ran up the stairs. I left my friends downstairs to explain my behaviour. The door banged against the wall i
n my haste to dive under the bed for the laptop. I set it on the desk and powered it up.

  It seemed to take forever, but when the screen came up I logged onto the blog and scrolled to the bottom in record time. My heart dropped.

  Help Me.

  Mine life is in your hands.

  A six word cryptic sentence. The post had over 1.5 million hits in just under 15 minutes.

  I tucked the laptop under my arm, and ran back down the stairs. I almost ran into Jason standing in the kitchen door. He looked surprised to see me.

  “Hey guys, we better get going if we want to catch a sunset swim.” I herded my friends out of the kitchen.

  “Be back by midnight, please,” Dad called after us.

  Jason, Mackenzie and I crowded into the car. Jason called Kent and Jessica almost before the door shut.

  I resisted the urge to drive too fast in case my parents were watching. The plan was to pick Kent up first then Jessica. I gunned it as soon as we were out of sight of my house. I ripped down the highway at dangerous speeds.

  “What did the blog say?” Jason braced his hand on the dash, his face twisting when I took a corner too fast.

  “It was posted today. She’s asking for help. She must still be alive. We just have to find out where. The message was: ‘Mine life is in your hands.’” I took my attention off the road for a second to glance at him.

  “Mine life? What does that mean?” Mackenzie spoke from the back seat.

  “Maybe they drugged her? If she’s asking for help, she must have found a way to get the message out without whoever kidnapped her finding out.” Jason pulled his eyes away from the blur of trees and fence posts flashing by.

  Kent was waiting outside with Jessica when we pulled up. I popped the locks and they got in the back with Mackenzie.

  “Where are we going? What’s going on?” Jessica asked.

  “Mady posted on the blog twenty minutes ago. She’s asking for help,” I explained.

  “I think we need to check her place first. Maybe she left something behind.” Mackenzie leaned forward and spoke in my ear. “Go downtown, I’ll show you where she’s been staying.”

  I backed out of the driveway, almost hitting a tree in my rush, and drove towards Main Street.

  Mackenzie directed me to the end of Main Street. I stopped in front of an abandoned building. I hadn’t noticed the place in years, it was the old powerhouse left over from when the town was much smaller. It was technically a historical site, so it couldn’t be torn down. The town had never bothered to do anything to revive the old building.

  I parked and we followed Mackenzie around the back of the brick building, and up a short set of metal stairs. She punched a code into the lock and it slid open. The place smelled of dust and dead mice, but someone had been living there. There were footprints in the dust that blanketed the floor. They looked pretty recent. I let Mackenzie walk past me, and followed her to the back of the building. We climbed a steeper set of metal stairs that ended at a beat up wooden door.

  Mackenzie paused and took a deep breath before she opened the door. A dirty window on the other side of the room provided the only light. I followed Mackenzie into Mady’s temporary hiding place, my friends crowded behind us.

  The upstairs was tidier than the bottom floor. Frustration twisted through me. Mady was right under our noses the whole time, and we’d never suspected it. Why didn’t she feel like she could trust me enough to contact me? It just didn’t make sense.

  The area was a wide-open space with a bed against one wall. There was a camp stove and cans of used propane under the window. Mady must have used that area for cooking, big gallon jugs of water sat in the corner, half of them empty. She’d planned everything so meticulously. If she had time to make all these preparations, surely she could have found the time to confide in me.

  In a way the old place was kinda cool, if it hadn’t been above an old, dusty, abandoned factory. The comforter was in a ball on the floor and one of the plastic chairs had a broken leg. Something wasn’t right. Mady was OCD about everything being in the right place.

  I crossed the floor to where the chair listed at a drunken angle and picked up the broken leg. I did a double take. It was sticky as anything. My hand was stained with blood, the metallic scent hung in the air now that I’d disturbed it. I was too stunned at the moment to say anything, like a zombie I picked up the towel laying on the metal bed frame and stepped back at the sight of a pool of fairly fresh blood.

  Chapter 17

  I didn’t realize I screamed. I was floating, detached somehow from the horror in front of me. The next thing I remember was my friends beside me staring at the blood.

  I wandered around clutching the bloody leg and the towel. I ended up in the kitchen area and noticed there was a knife was missing from the block. Jason found the bloody knife under the comforter on the floor when Mackenzie picked it up.

  “Mady’s in more trouble than we thought. They’ve got her. She must have managed to make that post somehow.” I tried to stay calm, Mady was hurt, maybe badly. We needed to find her quick.

  “The mines.” My voice sounded hollow to my ears. Mady literally spelt it out for us, and I hadn’t figured it out until right this second.

  “What do you mean — the mines?” Jason asked.

  “The mines. She said ‘Mine life is in your hands’. They must have taken her to the mines,” I explained.

  “I don’t think so. I mean, why wouldn’t she just say where she was? She probably left town,” Jessica said. She sounded sour.

  “No, it makes sense. Remember those masks I saw in the cupboard in the house on Oak Street? I asked my Dad and they haven’t hired any new miners, but they did have a run in with a woman at the mines. I guess they do monthly safety checks to ensure the parts of the mines that are shut down are safe and not ready to collapse. Some of his men were doing one the week before we went to that house, and they found a woman in there. They tried to kick her out and charge her with trespass, but she ran before they could catch her. Dad checked it out, and he said it was like she was living down there. I didn’t think it was important to tell you, since it all happened before the house burned down,” Jason spoke quickly.

  All of the pieces slid together in my head.

  “They must have been getting ready to kidnap Mady and hide her there. We have to go rescue her.” I put down the broken leg and towel and headed for the stairs. I stopped with one foot on the top step. “Wait, did he tell you which tunnel?” There were hundreds of shafts burrowed into the mountain. We needed to know which tunnel the woman was found in.

  “Not exactly, but I’m sure I could figure it out. You drive and I’ll do some research.” Jason joined me on the stairs.

  I called Metrix as we clattered down the metal stairs. He picked up right away.

  “Hey, what’s going on there?”

  “Mady’s been abducted and we think we know where she is. Is there any way you can connect our computer to the Flankstone Mining Corporations database?”

  “Of course, give me ten and connect the computer to an internet source and I’ll get you in. Just be safe,” Metrix responded. We raced through the lower floor and piled into my car.

  I pulled a U-turn that brought me up onto the sidewalk and headed for the only coffee shop that was still open. The smell of fresh coffee grounds filled the air when we entered and found a seat.

  “Excuse me. You can’t use the WiFi unless you buy something first,” the barista said.

  “No, you don’t understand. If we don’t use the internet…” Kent stood up.

  “No Kent, it’s fine,” I shifted my gaze to the barista. “The strongest coffee you have, please.” The computer was booting up and I didn’t want to get kicked out now.

  She went behind the counter, and started to grind the beans. I texted Metrix that we were connected to the internet.

  While we waited, the barista brought my coffee and I paid the woman. The mouse began to move around the comput
er screen on its own. Metrix must have had a backdoor installed before he gave us the laptop. A moment later, we were on the main page of Flankstone Mining Corporation’s website.

  “So, what do I need here?” I asked Jason. I scooted over so he could take my seat.

  “We’re looking for the health status of the shafts. We need to find one that’s not so toxic it would kill you after a long exposure, but you’d still need to wear a respiratory mask.” He scrolled down the page. Finding what he was looking for, he stopped and scanned the status reports of the mine shafts. There were 10 active mine shafts, along with 30 that had been mined out. He went straight for the recently abandoned ones. After a few years, the shafts weren’t checked any long, so we knew we were looking for a mining site that had been shut down within the past few years.

  It didn’t take him long. There were two that were marked ‘shrapnel’, and another one marked ‘caved in’.

  “I found it. There’s only two that are deemed safe enough for workers, and one of them had a massive cave in that destroyed the entire shaft. It has to be this one.” Jason looked up. He took a screen shot of where it was located, and shut the computer.

  It was already dusk when we left the coffee shop. We piled back into my car, and I sped off down Main Street and past my house.

  “This is the slowest way to the mine,” Jason commented, as we ripped through the back lanes.

  “Maybe in a car it is.” I didn’t take my eyes off the road for a second.

  I’m pretty sure none of them twigged to my plan until I pulled into the local marina. Dad never got around to building a dock at our place so we kept the boat here.

  “We’re taking your boat?” Jessica asked with surprise.

  “Yeah, I’m thinking, why go around the lake if we can just go directly across it.” I stepping out of the car, and sprinted to the gate. I punched it the code for the lock and ran to the boat.