by Melissa Frey
Jackie nodded. “Of course. They are right over here. Mr. McFarland, you don’t mind if I show Alex around, do you?”
Jack, still a little stunned, simply nodded. Then he was suddenly outside the closed door of the trailer, not remembering how he’d gotten there.
What on earth was going on?
She was seeing it all again. All the scenes, all the pictures were flashing before her eyes, just as they had twice before. An overwhelming déjà vu inundated her mind as she stared in amazement at the images before her. She didn’t bother trying to open her eyes; she was so lost in the images, the places—and the emotions they brought—that her surroundings had long ago faded away.
The scenes started speeding up, soon flashing by at lightning speed. Picture after picture, emotion after emotion—the visions were just as she remembered them.
The images stopped, just as they had in her dream, but this time they focused on the picture of the windswept mountain, the mountain she’d first seen what seemed like ages ago. As she stared at the picture that was now irrevocably embedded in her mind’s eye, she realized she was expecting something else, something that followed the maniacal pattern of these visions. Something more she needed to see, to understand. Her mind anticipated it, waited for it, knew it was coming. Even if she didn’t consciously know what “it” was.
And she wasn’t disappointed. The picture of the mountain suddenly changed, as if she had been viewing it through a camera and the angle had shifted. In the scene before her, the sun was just setting below the horizon, casting muted shadows along the mountain’s edge. Kayla gazed at the horizon. What was this vision trying to tell her?
She stared, eyes wide, as the picture zoomed in, rushing toward her at breakneck speed. Then, just before the mountain swallowed her, the picture abruptly froze, leaving Kayla a little dizzy.
Directly in front of her, an outcropping of rocks—a very specific set of rocks, Kayla knew without question—came into focus. Then, suddenly, she was in the scene. She was no longer viewing it as if through a camera lens. The entire scene surrounded her, as if a movie was playing in her mind’s eye, but she was somehow experiencing it firsthand. She stood on the side of the mountain, taking in the scene before her. She felt, incredibly, the light wind blowing through her hair—she actually lifted her hand to brush it off her cheeks—and the warm sun caressing her skin.
She was here for a reason, and once the thought formed in her mind, she saw what she knew she’d come here to see. Her eyes widened again as the entrance to a cave, concealed in the rocks, seemed to materialize out of nowhere. She entered the cave, somehow walking though she knew she hadn’t left her seat in the airplane. Her mind’s eye was moving her through the vision. She didn’t fight it, didn’t try to rationalize it—she simply accepted it. She needed to see where this vision was taking her.
She ventured farther into the recesses of the cave, guided only by the light of the setting sun. She wasn’t having trouble seeing in the near-dark; that fact alone reminded Kayla that she wasn’t actually there. Everything else seemed so real.
The dark, uneven walls cast eerie shadows on the floor around her. As she traveled down the black tunnel, she realized that she was alone; none of her travel companions were with her. A lump formed in the pit of her stomach; this excursion was not something she had any desire to do alone. She hoped this part of the vision wasn’t prophetic.
Then, with a dizzying rush, the vision ended. Suddenly she was back on the plane, staring at the back of the seat in front of her. She could only guess what the vision had meant. Was this vision, like her others, telling her where to look?
She abruptly shivered, though she wasn’t cold. Another almost sinister thought had occurred to her: even if they could somehow find that dark tunnel, would they like what they found at the end of it?
She shrugged, mostly to tell herself to relax. All part of the adventure, I guess, she reasoned. She collected her things and glanced up at the not-yet-illuminated “fasten seatbelt” sign before standing and heading up the aisle.
She needed to talk to Grady.
CHAPTER 10
Alaska
Fairbanks International Airport
“So we’re going where exactly?” Justin’s voice carried in the nearly empty terminal as the four of them, stretched the width of the small carpeted hallway, headed to the baggage claim.
Kayla, half a step ahead of Justin, ignored him. She didn’t want to deal with his questions right now. It was only about noon, but she’d been up all night and was eager to get out of the airport and into—hopefully—a nice, comfy hotel bed. Maybe a shower first. A long, hot shower.
“Kayla?” Justin’s voice right beside her made her jump.
Kayla blinked, shook her head a few times, then offered what she hoped sounded like a sincere apology. “Sorry.” She offered a sheepish smile over her shoulder but didn’t slow down. “Just tired, I guess.”
“So where are we going?” Justin persisted, hugging her left side. “Isn’t this pretty much the middle of nowhere?”
Kayla could feel Grady’s eyes on her. She glanced back at him and shot him her best “please save me” look, hoping he’d answer for her; she’d already filled him in on the plane.
Grady nodded once in her direction. “We’re headed about two hours south of here.” Love that man.
“Where?”
Kayla wanted to strangle Justin. She’d even have settled for snapping at him. But she bit her tongue, let Grady do the talking. And did her best to look exhausted, which wasn’t at all hard at this point.
Grady hesitated. Kayla could guess why, as she herself suspected that giving Justin and Mandy the answer to that question would only lead to more questions. Questions she didn’t know if she was ready to answer. At least not now.
Kayla sighed. She supposed it couldn’t be avoided at this point . . .
“Denali,” Kayla interjected matter-of-factly. She was simply too tired to fight the questions any longer, wherever they might lead.
“The mountain?” Mandy was struggling with her just-barely-carry-on-size suitcase. One of the wheels appeared to be broken. “How did you know to go there? And why did you wait to tell us until now?”
Would these two ever let up? Kayla sighed again. She supposed she’d brought this on herself. She so badly just wanted to sleep . . . was that too much to ask?
Kayla glanced over at Grady as they walked. The look in his eyes told her what she already knew, the truth she’d been avoiding: Mandy and Justin deserved to know.
Justin had apparently noticed the pointed look between them. “What?” He nudged Kayla’s arm.
His touch broke her gaze with Grady. Kayla shrugged and adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag. “It’s a long story.”
Grady coughed beside her. She shot him her best “oh stop” look before turning back to Justin and Mandy. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you both the whole story on the way to the hotel.”
True to her word, Kayla explained everything that she’d already told Grady, everything that Mandy and Justin had a right to know. She even added the vision she’d had on the plane. Kayla felt like she was baring her soul to complete strangers. This wasn’t quite the same, but she nonetheless found herself fidgeting in the passenger seat as she neared the end of her story.
Mandy and Justin just stared from the backseat of the car, eyes wide. Once Kayla finished, they were silent the rest of the way to the hotel, save Mandy periodically uttering unintelligible words of astonishment at sporadic intervals. Justin, his eyes slightly wider than normal, just sat staring out the window, not saying a word. Kayla thought that was probably some kind of record for him.
Denali National Park and Reserve
Despite their sleepless night, the group met up only a few hours later, grabbing a quick dinner before heading out, eager to see what was at Denali. Kayla hoped she wouldn’t be wasting their time.
They had all brought along their camping gear—Grady’d even had t
he foresight to pack a tent, though Kayla couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten that past airport security—and stopped to purchase enough provisions to last them a few days at a grocery store on their way out. No one knew how long they would be in the Alaskan wilderness searching for whatever they had come here to find; it was best to be prepared for anything.
Kayla headed up the expedition once they reached the foot of the mountain. Since no one was really sure what direction they should be heading in, or where precisely they were going, Kayla had to feel it out. She hated it. She would much rather be following coordinates on her GPS, but her visions just weren’t that precise. It was maddening.
They walked for hours, tracing a wide arc around Denali’s base. They started heading higher as the terrain allowed, slowly making their way up the mountain. Kayla wondered how long they would be out here. Nothing she had seen today had come close to the images in her vision.
Though the sun was still up well past 11pm, they waited to set up camp until night fell. Kayla had hoped that sunset would have revealed the outcropping of rocks from her vision to her, but nothing happened, and the sun had disappeared along with her hopes for the day.
The group slept restlessly. Without anyone saying it aloud, the group seemed to designate shifts for themselves, and someone was always awake. Kayla figured they were just so used to it from their trek in the forest that it now came naturally. They couldn’t be too careful, after all. Whoever had tried to kill her and Grady was still out there, and, in all likelihood, still trying to kill them.
The morning—though Kayla and the others slept through the better part of it due to their late night—broke unseasonably cold, and dew blanketed the grass around them. After a leisurely late breakfast, they packed up camp and headed out. They trudged through the wet grass in their warm fleece jackets—Kayla was thankful they’d had the foresight to purchase them before leaving the airport—and ventured further up the mountain. Again they walked for hours, stowing their coats as the sun began to warm the ground around them, chasing away the dew.
From time to time, Kayla could feel the eyes of the rest of the group fall on her, quite obviously looking for any signs of recognition or confirmation. Kayla could tell they were getting tired—and probably quite annoyed—but she was just as disappointed as they were when she found nothing.
She gazed at the sun, now low in the sky. Time was running out for today, just like yesterday, and she was getting tired. Kayla sighed, feeling despair start to taint her features. She felt Grady’s light touch on her shoulder and smiled, slowly turning toward him. Under any other circumstances, Kayla’s heart would’ve melted at the realization of just how much it pained him to see her upset.
She placed a hand on top of Grady’s, hoping to reassure him, but her eyes didn’t quite reach Grady’s face. She stared past him, straining to see what had caught her attention.
Then she froze.
Grady jolted as his world came into sharp focus, his hand still on Kayla’s shoulder. He reached out his other hand to steady her, grasping the tops of her arms gently; she looked oddly fragile, like she was having trouble standing.
Grady barely noticed as Mandy and Justin hurried to Kayla’s side, searching her blank face for a sign—any sign—that she was okay. When they received no response, Grady could feel their eyes on him, but he had no explanation to offer. He simply stared at Kayla’s expressionless face, his heart thudding loudly in his chest, and found himself praying that she was okay.
After what felt like an eternity, Kayla blinked hard, slowly coming out of her trance. Grady stared at her for a long moment, willing her to come back to reality. He knew Mandy and Justin would be staring at him, but he didn’t care. He reached for Kayla’s hand without looking away. He needed to know—needed to see in her eyes—that she was alright.
Kayla blinked again, looking away from Grady, and shook her head as if she were trying to clear it. Grady kept his eyes fixed on her face, still looking for a sign that she was okay. Kayla’s eyes slowly met his, and, the second they did, Grady finally felt as though he could breathe.
Kayla smiled slightly, then she was gone again, staring past him.
Grady followed her gaze, his eyes widening as they fell on what had frozen Kayla in place. His breath caught. Unbelievable, he marveled. She found it.
CHAPTER 11
Tunnel
Kayla reached the outcropping in a matter of minutes with the others not far behind. She knew from her vision that an opening to a cave would be hidden in these rocks, but in the waning sunlight it was hard to see much of anything. Kayla continued her search mostly on instinct; as soon as she let her subconscious take over, the cave seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Kayla clicked on her flashlight as she led the way into the cold, damp cave. Though the sun was nearly gone—as nearly gone as it would get this time of year—the absolute darkness of the cave was still startling. Kayla clutched an arm over her chest. If it got much colder in here, she’d have to pull out her jacket again.
She trained her flashlight on the walls around her, pointedly ignoring the cold. As soon as she did, she let out a sigh of relief. The cave was just as she’d seen in her vision; she remembered it precisely. Her shoulders slumped as she finally began to relax.
But where was the rest of the group? They were being so quiet . . . She turned to look behind her, making sure the rest of the group was still following her.
“Ow,” Grady muttered from two feet away, shielding his eyes with his free hand.
Kayla jumped and whipped her flashlight toward the side wall. She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”
As she turned back around, she saw Grady smile in the dim light. She smiled to herself and reached back for Grady’s hand, brushing it lightly as she continued down the tunnel. Grady caught her hand and held it, easily matching her stride as they ventured into the blackness of the cave. Kayla was grateful that, unlike her vision, she didn’t have to do this alone.
A few surprisingly grueling minutes later, Kayla’s light hit something up ahead. She couldn’t quite make it out. She drew closer, slowing as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
Then she figured out what it was—and her stomach dropped.
They’d hit a dead end.
How could that be? Kayla was positive that this was the right cave. Was she missing something? “Hey, guys,” she called to the group behind her. “Did any of you see any other tunnels off this main one?”
It was dark in here, even with all of their flashlights on, but she could still see Mandy shrug. “I don’t remember seeing anything. And I was trying to pay attention.”
Justin spoke up. “Yeah, I don’t think there was another tunnel. I was looking for it.”
Kayla nodded, hoping that the others could see it. This darkness was just so . . . thick, so stifling. Kayla fought off the feeling that the walls were closing in on her, and struggled to keep her breathing steady and even.
Grady, still holding her hand, pulled her a little closer. “Are you alright?”
Kayla swallowed hard, then nodded. “I . . .” She cleared her throat. “I’m okay. I just . . . I thought it would be here.”
“Whatever ‘it’ is,” Mandy mumbled under her breath, but Kayla didn’t take offense. She knew exactly how her friend felt.
Grady took charge. “Everybody look around, see if you can find anything out of the ordinary.” Just the sound of his voice, the sound of someone else taking charge, made Kayla feel a little bit better. She began to feel her heart returning to a normal pace.
After a few long minutes, Justin’s voice echoed through the tunnel. “Hey, come look at this! I think I found something!”
Kayla hurried over to Justin, Grady just behind her. Justin was crouched down, peering at the bottom of one of the walls of the cave. Mandy was eyeing the wall from just behind his shoulder by the light of his flashlight.
Justin handed the light to Mandy, pointing to the spot where he wanted her to aim
the light. He glanced back at Kayla and Grady, still pointing. “Look, here. Do you see it?” He sounded breathless.
Kayla leaned closer, straining to see what Justin was pointing to. Then she blinked, taking in the sight again; she recognized the familiar symbol, the one on the charm still hanging from her neck: the symbol for lightning. She shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Amazing,” Grady breathed from just behind Kayla. “It’s just like the ones in the cave.”
Mandy turned to him, wide-eyed. “What do you mean?”
Grady stood up, his eyes scanning the walls around him with the aid of his own light. A few seconds later, a low whistle escaped his lips. Instead of answering Mandy’s question, he looked at Kayla. “Do you see it?”
She’d already seen it. A short chuckle escaped her lips. “Yeah. Incredible.”
Mandy frowned. “What? I don’t see anything.” Kayla could imagine Mandy’s younger self pouting.
“Look.” Grady guided his light to illuminate the walls of the cave again. Slowly, Mandy’s eyes followed the light. Then she gasped. “What does it mean?”
Justin looked over his shoulder at them, but didn’t stand up. “What did you guys find?”
Kayla smiled. “That symbol you found there—it’s all over the walls of the cave.”
Justin just shook his head. “Crazy.”
But then Mandy spoke up. “What did you mean before, about the cave? What cave? The one at Lamanai?”
Grady was still examining the walls as he nodded. “Yes. The cave just below the shaft we showed you”—Grady and Kayla had shown them the entrance to the cavern at Lamanai before they’d left for Alaska—“had this symbol all over its walls and ceiling.”