by Bella Street
She slid along a wall, realizing she was in a dark basement. She heard the door rattle, along with muffled shouts and gunshots. Seffy swallowed and forced herself to think. The room, lit only by emergency lighting, was cavernous, and full of nooks and crannies. She limped through twists and turns around equipment, storage containers, and hulking shapes she couldn't identify, listening for the inevitable moment when the door was forced open.
She stood, undecided, in the middle of a clearing, shaking. Where to go? Another gunshot and the creaking of metal. She ran forward and tripped. Glancing down, she saw a latch in the floor.
“She's in here. Find her!”
Seffy grabbed the latch and pulled, muscles straining, to open it. When she got enough of a gap, she slithered through feet first. There was nothing beneath her to touch with her toes and it was pitch black. With a strangled cry, she let go of the trap door and fell. And kept falling.
Then impact.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Gareth, open up. It's Fenn.”
Gareth glanced at the others and wondered what to do. They'd been huddled in a closet for at least two hours and had just ventured back into the main room. Somewhere far off in the compound a siren sounded, more eerie than if it was just overhead.
He leaned against the door and sighed. “You told me not to open the door.”
“We've got everything under control. And I have keys. I can open the door if you don't.”
Addison shrugged and nodded. Gareth unlocked the door and let him in. He was surprised to see him in the flesh after only seeing him through a window. He was taller and leaner up close. From the set of his mouth, Gareth knew something had gone wrong.
“Are you guys all right?”
They nodded. Fenn blew out a breath and seemed ready to collapse under some unseen weight. “I'm sorry to say we had an incident which involves you all.”
Gareth tensed. “What incident?”
“It seems some of the residents here were upset to learn we'd taken in people who'd been exposed to what's going on outside.”
Lani dragged a chair over. “Sit down, Mr. Fenn. You don't look so good.”
Gareth exchanged glances with her as Fenn dropped onto the chair. Shadows rimmed his eyes, making his expression bleak.
“It's been difficult getting this under control.”
“So it is under control?” Addison said, doubt evident in her tone.
He nodded, still breathing harder than he should've been.
“So what, you had a mutiny?” Trent said, appearing behind Lani. “Your own people wanted to get rid of us?”
“Unfortunately that was the case.”
“What's the matter? Can't you handle them?”
Gareth glared at Trent, wishing he'd stop accusing and start listening.
“You're right,” Fenn said. “This is unacceptable. We knew there were concerns, and we thought we addressed them sufficiently by quarantining you all to an unused wing of the complex.”
“What happened?” Addison asked in a nervous voice. “We heard gunfire.”
“I don't get it,” Fenn said. “There was nothing to shoot at. You're all accounted for. Maybe they just wanted to intimidate.”
“So you've captured the ones responsible?” Jared asked.
“Yes, we're confident we've contained the problem. I'm very sorry to have subjected you to this—”
“Hey, is Seffy okay?” Lani asked.
Fenn nodded. “She made it to her room before they got here.”
“I want to go see her.”
“I'll go with you,” Addison said. The girls slipped past Fenn's chair and went out the door.
Gareth addressed Fenn. “Shouldn't you be avoiding us? I hate to think we're exposing you to some dreaded disease.”
He smirked. “It's not my idea to be lurking behind glass all the time, trust me. I think it's ridiculous.”
“If you're the boss, why don't you do what you want then?” Trent said, scorn lacing his voice.
“It's not that simple. I may be the leader, but there's a board of trustees I answer to and right now, I'm dealing with some precarious issues.” He shook his head. “It's just politics. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were all safe.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Gareth said, anxious to see Seffy. He hated to think of her being alone during the chaos—even if the sight of her dark brown eyes shook him yet again.
Fenn got to his feet. “Either I or someone else will be available by intercom, if you need it. Things should be back to normal now.”
Lani appeared in the doorway, breathing hard, her fingers gripping the door jamb. “Seffy's not answering the door, and it's locked.”
Gareth's chest tightened. He pushed past Lani and hurried down the hall to Seffy's door. Addison was pounding on it and calling out Seffy's name. She looked up at him, worry radiating from her eyes. He added his voice to hers. Seconds later, Fenn appeared and pulled a ring of keys from his pocket. After selecting the correct one, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Gareth was inside her room first. “Sef! It's okay to come out now.”
Lani and Addison were right behind and began looking in the bathroom and under the bed.
“She's not here!” Lani cried.
Gareth turned to Fenn. “You said you saw her. You watched her open her door?”
He shook his head, white lipped. “No, she was just leaving the common area and I yelled at her to get to her room. I didn't wait to see if she made it.”
“That's some real great leadership,” Trent said, approaching Fenn. “If you can't handle the job, maybe you should find someone who can.”
Fenn's face paled slightly as he met Trent's furious eyes.
“Not helping, Trent,” Gareth said, trying to think. Where would she go? God, he hoped she wasn't doing one of her disappearing acts again. He thought she'd outgrown it by now.
“Where could she be?” Lani said, her breath coming fast.
Gareth grimaced. “Is it possible her door was locked and she couldn't get in?”
Fenn nodded slowly. “It's possible.” He grabbed his radio. “Sullivan! I need you to bring Heller back up here.” He looked at Gareth. “That's one of the guys we caught in this wing. He had a gun.”
Lani put her hand on his arm, her eyes filling with tears. “How can we find Seffy? She must be so scared!”
Gareth clenched his fists. “Trent, start checking doors down this way. Jared, you take the opposite side.” To Fenn he said, “Is there a map of this floor? We need to know of every place where she could be hiding.”
“I don't need a map. I know the floor plan.” Fenn took a deep breath and frowned in concentration. “Okay, that way is toward the cafeteria. We've done a pretty thorough sweep and didn't see anyone there. We should head this way, because it's near where we found Heller. You go on ahead. I need to wait for Sullivan.”
Gareth was torn. He wanted to see this Heller guy face to face, but didn't want to delay looking. Trent and Jared arrived back at Seffy's room out of breath. “Everything's locked on my end,” Trent said.
“Mine, too.”
Fenn looked grim. “Okay, that probably means she went even further. There's a stairwell about a hundred yards east. Just keep taking right turns.”
Gareth took off. Heller would have to wait. He jogged down the hall, trying random knobs to make sure Trent didn't miss any. He could hear Lani sniffling behind him, along with Addison. He thought back over their years together. Seffy was a survivor. As long as she could be found.
About fifty yards behind he heard the sound of cursing echoing off the walls. Heller must be on the floor. Gareth didn't slow down. He took another right, and then another until he saw the stairwell door. A pile of dust caught his eye. His gaze traveled up the wall and he saw a bullet lodged in the cement. But no blood. Thank God. Turning, he stalked back to where Heller was being dragged toward him by Fenn and Sullivan.
“You shot at her?”
The man struggled against his handcuffs. “Are you one of them?”
Gareth got in his face. “Where is she?”
The man spit at him. After swiping the saliva from his chin, Gareth sunk his fist into Heller's gut.
“He had a gun when we found him,” Sullivan said, trying to hold him up.
“Answer him, Heller!” Fenn demanded, twisting the man's handcuffs until he was cursing in pain.
“She went into the basement. Now leave off!”
Fenn twisted again. “Is she alive? Did you shoot her?”
“I don't know!”
Gareth didn't wait to hear anymore. He turned and raced toward the stairwell. He smashed the door open and found the girls and Trent at the bottom. Lani looked up, tears running down her cheeks. “There's blood,” she whispered.
He ran down the stairs, rushing past them. Avoiding the blood smears on the door, he shoved it open and burst into the basement. “Seffy!”
It was dark but he got an immediate sense of the scope of the space. She could be in any one of a thousand places. He began running through the crowded aisles. Damn it, Seffy. Why can't you just stay put for once? Why do you need to find every dark place?
“Seffy!” His voice was a hoarse croak. He heard Lani and Addison join the search. A few minutes later, Fenn entered the basement.
“Hold on, let me get some lights on down here!” A switch was thrown and the basement was bathed in yellow from sodium vapor lights.
Gareth turned to Fenn. “You said you know this place. Where would she go?”
The compound leader approached him, his eyes sweeping the area. “That way is a dead end. I'm guessing if she was being chased, she'd head down this way.”
Seffy being chased. After he found her, he was going to kill Heller. Fenn moved past him and began shoving equipment aside.
“There's a trap door here we should check, but I doubt she would've found it.”
Gareth saw the latch on the floor. “Let's try it.” He hurried over and pulled on it. The heavy metal door screeched as it opened. Inside was yawning blackness. “I need a flashlight.”
Fenn went to a shelf and pulled out a flashlight from a stack of supplies. Gareth took it and flicked it on. He swept the blackness with the beam.
Oh, God.
Seffy's twisted body lay in a heap about fifteen feet below. A dark blotch stained the concrete by her head. He breathed hard through his nose. “Down here.”
Lani and Addison looked down into the hole. Addison gasped and covered her mouth. Lani cried out and yelled for Fenn to hurry.
Gareth angled himself as he slipped down into the blackness, his fingers gripping the edge of the hatch. After getting his bearings, he swung twice and dropped, arching his body to land to one side of Seffy. His feet crashed onto the floor and he stumbled forward, struggling to maintain his balance.
Gareth sank to his knees next to her form and pressed his fingers to her throat. Salt stung his eyes as he tried to sense a pulse over the pounding of his own heart.
“Is she okay?” Trent said, his voice bouncing down into the space.
“I don't know!”
“There should be a ladder somewhere,” he heard Fenn say. “Do you see it?”
Gareth couldn't see anything beyond Seffy's body. It was too damn dark. “No!”
“Okay, let me grab a rope.”
A moment later a rope trickled down into the space. Gareth grabbed it and began threading it around Seffy's body. He knotted it tight, thinking of one of their last conversations—and her revelation. And his reaction. At the same time, what did she expect?
“Do you have her?” Fenn yelled.
“Yes!” Gareth's voice broke. He lifted Seffy up into his arms, cradling her until the rope became taut from above. She was warm, which gave him hope. “Easy!” He lifted her higher and higher until she was over his head, then gone from his grasp.
“Watch her head,” Lani cried from above.
Gareth watched the progress, helpless until Fenn could send down a ladder. His hands shook and his breathing was labored. First he wanted to see Seffy wake up in his arms, then he wanted to bash Heller's head in.
“We got her!” Fenn called.
Gareth heard a weak cough.
“She's breathing,” Lani said, sobbing. “Oh, thank God.”
“Addison, there's a ladder behind that storage unit. Can you grab it and get it down to Gareth?”
Gareth watched the movement up above, choking on the adrenaline and grief surging through his system. A few moments later, a rickety ladder appeared. He scaled it and clambered out of the hatch to find Seffy in Trent's arms, blinking and groaning before going limp again. What the hell? How had she ended up with him?
“I got this,” Gareth said through gritted teeth.
Trent's expression was impassive as he angled her body toward him.
Gareth reached for her, careful to support her head and settled her into his own lap. He turned to Fenn. “Call for help.”
Fenn got on his radio and called for the doctor. He seemed as shocked and upset as the rest of them. As they waited, Gareth looked down at Seffy's bloody and bruised body. He needed a rag. Lani touched her leg, her lips trembling.
How could this have happened? How could any of it? He was tempted to claim Seffy's original theory of a dream. Or a nightmare.
As soon as they heard noise outside the basement door, Addison ran and held it open. The doctor, along with two medics, hurried in. After a quick check, the doctor put a neck stabilizer on Seffy and strapped her onto a backboard. He instructed the medics to take her up to a waiting gurney.
As he followed them up the stairs and into the hallway, Gareth tried not to think of the slack way Seffy had hung in his arms. Maybe it was better she was unconscious.
Once she was on the gurney in the hallway, Gareth watched the gloved medics work on her as if he was seeing it from a long way off. One of them started an I.V. while the doctor barked orders. Soon, they were hurrying down the hall. They turned a corner and disappeared from view.
“We have a helicopter and can life flight her to a hospital if need be,” Fenn said, coming to stand beside him, his face bloodless, his voice, hollow.
“How far is the nearest trauma center?” Gareth asked, scrubbing his hand son his pants.
“Three hundred miles.”
“She'll probably be better off here if you have a decent medical facility.”
“We do, along with an excellent staff. I just want you to know we'll do whatever it takes.”
“And your staff isn't threatened by her presence?”
“Correct. It's the ignorance of some of the residents that's causing the problems.”
Gareth stared at Fenn for a long moment, wondering of Trent was right. Fenn was no leader. Gareth looked over at the blond nemesis, then at his clothes. Trent's white shirt was stained red from Seffy's head injury. “You're covered in her blood.” His voice sounded oddly distant. He wasn't sure why he'd even spoken the thought aloud.
Trent looked down, his expression inscrutable.
Gareth turned back to Fenn, clenching his jaw. It was time for things to change. “Thanks for your help. But after this, stay away from us. Especially stay away from Seffy.”
And even though the words were meant for the compound leader, he shot a hard look at Trent, hoping he got the message as well.
Chapter Twenty-three
Seffy found if she held herself perfectly still, she could avoid the mind-bending pain wracking her frame. Everything hurt. Every breath sent shivers of white hot agony along her rib cage. Just existing took vast amounts of energy to endure.
Laying motionless also served the purpose of obtaining answers without asking questions. From hearing Gareth, the girls, and the doctor talk, she knew she'd cracked three ribs, wrenched her knee and sprained her ankle. That was on top of the concussion—a byproduct of the blow to her head that had required five stitches. And if she forgot, those parts throbbed as helpful r
eminders. As bad as it was, she figured it was better than recovering from multiple gun shot wounds. Or not recovering, period.
She also learned she been in this hospital bed for two days, and in that basement hatch for two hours. In the dark. All alone. Where all manner of unsavory creatures could have, and probably did, crawl over her prone body. Mercifully, she'd been unconscious. The only thing she remembered from the time of the fall to waking up in a hospital bed was seeing Trent's face hover over hers. Maybe it had been a dream. Even if it was, she couldn't forget the abject horror etched into his features, the look of desolation in his eyes. Which was weird since she'd heard it was Gareth who'd discovered her.
She could sense him near now and longed to see him, but even the light seemed to bear down on her eyelids. Seffy focused on inflating her lungs with the minutest amount of movement possible.
Someone touched her hand, then enveloped it in warm fingers. Seffy felt sure it was Gareth. But looking over to see him or opening her eyes would hurt too much. If she had the gumption to make any movement, it would be to ask for morphine. Whatever painkillers they had her on were so not doing their job.
“How is she this morning?” asked Gareth.
“Unchanged,” the doctor said. “Her vitals remain steady, but she's not wanting to wake up. We'll continue to reduce the morphine until she regains consciousness.”
No! Seffy's heart began to pound. What kind of sick doctor was this? Reducing morphine always a bad idea! But she had no way to tell him. Even the synapses firing in her brain ached. It was too much!
“Good morning, Doctor. Gareth, Addison, Lani.”
Fiona! Seffy's nerves reacted under her skin, nearly causing her to cry out.
“How is our patient?”
“She's healing slowly.”
“But she's not awake?”
“Not yet.”
“Hmm.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Gareth sounded surly.
Seffy could imagine Fiona giving him a limpid look. “I'm just concerned about your friend is all.”
“I'm still waiting to hear what happened to Heller.”