Cheryl glared at Leo, wanting him to be the sleazy, sexist asshole she suspected him to be, but what she saw was somebody else. Immature, Leo may be, but the concern on his face was real, and it was not just for himself. It was for her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Maybe this isn’t your fault.”
“It’s okay, Cher. You were dragged into this by a bunch of people you’ve known for three months. I’d be pissed off too. Let’s just find a way out of this hole, okay? We can figure out the rest later.”
“All right, Leo, I trust you, but I need to take a moment, okay? This… this is all too much.”
He smiled at her compassionately. “I have water and half-burned crackers, so how about you and I have lunch together later?”
Cheryl chuckled. “Sure, just don’t get any ideas.”
“You’re safe with me, I promise.”
She wished she could have believed him.
Everyone sat in a circle around John and for a while nobody spoke. They kept a silent vigil, drinking water and chewing partially singed crackers, but the vigil was really for themselves. None of them knew if they would ever get out of there. Cheryl wondered if they should even be eating and drinking without thought of rationing, but the shock was too much for anyone to think about that right now. She had been studying her colleagues for the last fifteen minutes, watching their hands and mouths, trying to detect guilty gestures that would somehow make sense of all this.
Were they being punished for individual crimes, or was it the company, Alscon, at fault? Monty was a thief by his own admission, but the victim had ultimately been John. Considering her boss’s current condition, she didn’t imagine he was behind this… revenge? What grudge would lead someone to do this to six people? Plus a seventh inadvertent victim.
How had they been so stupid?
How have I been so stupid?
Cheryl had had a bad feeling about the entire thing from the moment she arrived at the farm, yet she’d allowed herself to go along. Peer pressure had led her into a hole in the ground. Now she was stuck.
Mum is going to go mad with worry. What if she never sees me again? Stop being silly, Cheryl. This will all work out fine. It’s all a misunderstanding. Sure, my boss just got his hand chopped off, but we’re all going to be laughing about it later.
“I was working in a phone shop when John offered me a job,” said Monty, breaking the silence. “I sold him a phone and he liked my style. Within my first year at Alscon, I was earning double what I had been flogging iPhones. And what do I go and do? I steal from him. It should be me dying.”
“He’s not dying,” said Alfie, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than the others. John was in a bad way, and everyone could see it, but as his nephew, Alfie was likely the most devastated of all. “And give yourself a break,” he went on. “Alscon is twice the size it was when you joined, Monty, and a lot of that is off the back of sales you made. John told me that himself plenty of times.”
Monty shrugged. “Maybe.”
“He’ll forgive you,” said Happy, patting him on the knee. “I’ve known John a long time. He will forgive you.”
“Maybe not for cutting his hand off though,” said Leo. “Think he might stay mad about that.”
Happy chided him. “Let’s not dwell, shall we?”
Leo nodded in agreement. “Sorry. Hey, Happy, weren’t you John’s first employee?”
“I was indeed. He and I both worked at a builder’s yard as young men. His father died young and left him some inheritance, which is what led him to form his own company. I went with him.”
“You’re old friends then,” said Cheryl, who found it odd because Happy and John didn’t act like they were super close in the office. Happy was the guy in charge of the business after John, but as far as she knew, they weren’t best men at each other’s wedding kind of friends. Happy was pretty much the same with everyone, very friendly and always helpful, but never particularly close. Until this weekend she had know very little about him. After what she had learned about his niece, it made sense. He probably preferred to keep people at a cordial distance than expose them to the pain he must be feeling.
Happy shrugged. “Still just colleagues really, even after all these years. I wanted a better life for myself, which is why I went with John, but the truth is we’re very different people.”
Cheryl frowned. “How d’you mean?”
“Just different. Anyway, let’s hear about you, Cheryl. You’ve been quite the closed book since joining us. What hobbies do you have?”
She laughed. “Seriously? Well, I can tell you I’m not a fan of team-building weekends. As for what I do like, well, um, I can’t say anything comes to mind.”
“You must enjoy some things, surely? A young girl like you?”
“I used to like horse riding,” the admission made her sad for some reason. “I rented a mare at a stable near my house for years — her name was Betty — but after my dad died money got tight and, well, I had to grow up.”
Happy nodded as if he understood, and she was grateful he didn’t push her to say more. He’d been right about her being a closed book, and she admitted to herself that her failure to fit in at work was her own fault. It was too late to do anything about it now though.
Can’t I just rewind three months and start again? Or maybe not even join Alscon in the first place? If I have a Guardian Angel some place, please make that happen.
Anybody?
Alfie was still staring at his uncle glumly. “You know,” he said, “Someone could have just taken a piss in the water pistol. Why didn’t we think of that?”
Damn, he’s right. That would have been nice and simple. Cheryl cleared her throat. “Hindsight won’t help us, Alfie. We need to keep moving forward.”
“Fine, what do we do next then?”
“We look for the next puzzle,” said Leo, “if there is one. That, or we wait for that anonymous call to the police in one week. Anyone up for a sleepover?” He winked at Cheryl.
Cheryl rolled her eyes.
Maggie pulled her knees up and hugged them. “How long have we been down here now?”
Leo glanced at the digital clock on the wall. “Just under two hours.”
“There goes the prize money,” said Cheryl sarcastically, finding it absurd that she’d ever even thought there was any.
Maggie groaned. “It feels like we’ve been down here an entire day.”
“It’s the trauma,” said Happy. “Seconds last longer in a crisis; but that is what will give us the time to think our way out of this. Do you know that in a crisis, our primal brains take over? We react faster, become less afraid.”
Leo chuckled. “And mother’s lift cars off of their babies.”
Happy didn’t laugh. He only grew more serious. “Do you know that has actually happened on several occasions? It’s not a myth. When we panic, adrenaline heightens our senses and allows our muscles to contract more forcefully. It literally makes us superhuman. So take solace in that; the more stress we are placed under, the tougher we shall be.”
“How do you know all that?” asked Cheryl.
He shrugged. “Crisis management is part of my job. I’ve done several courses on how to deal with people in stressful situations. In fact, I’ve done courses on just about everything. I don’t have much else to do since my Mandy passed.”
“Mandy was your wife?” asked Cheryl. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We married at seventeen, childhood sweethearts. I spent twenty-seven years with my Mandy and each day was a blessing. Most people get far less. Thankfully the cancer took her quickly. She didn’t suffer. I’ve been without her six years now.”
Cheryl gave a thin-lipped smile. Happy had endured a similar experience to her mother, yet he had found a way to be thankful for what he had instead of broken by what he had lost. Perhaps one day her mother would think like that too. There was hope.
Happy tapped the badge on his lapel. “Never give up. Life goes on, but
it doesn’t last forever. You shouldn’t waste a minute of it. Losing my dear Mandy and Polly so close together taught me that. No point in looking back. I’m just glad I got to grow old with my Mandy, and that it was me who taught Polly to ride a bike and tie her shoe laces. I’m grateful that I had those things. Having something is better than having nothing. If I didn’t view things that way, I would probably give up.”
Cheryl smiled at him. It was a good way to live.
Monty reached forward and took a bottle of water. He tilted it with both hands and sipped. When he finished, he re-fastened the lid and stared at the ground. “I’m not playing this game anymore. I’m going to wait for help, even if it takes a week.”
Cheryl sighed. She’d been thinking the same but couldn’t see how it was possible. “We lost more than half the supplies,” she said. “We’ll die of dehydration first.”
“Not if we make it last.”
“I’m sorry, Monty. There’s not enough.”
“If we just ration it out—”
“There still won’t be enough.”
Monty’s temper flared like a match being lit. “What the fuck d’you know? You’ve been acting like Team Leader since this whole thing started. Like you keep saying, you ain’t even supposed to be here, so shut your fucking mouth. People are going to find out we’re missing. They’ll come looking. You negative, fucking bitch.”
Leo stopped picking at his blisters and pointed a finger in Monty’s face. “Show some goddamn respect, Monty. Cheryl’s right, we can’t survive a week down here. The way we’re going, we won’t make it through the day, you prick.
“What d’you call me?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist.”
“You want to watch the names you bandy about, bruh. Ain’t nowhere to run down here, innit?”
“Come on, Monty,” Alfie muttered, getting up to side with Leo. “Chill out.”
“This isn’t helping,” said Happy. “Please stop.”
Monty glowered at Leo then looked away. “Whatever.”
“We’re all going to die down here,” said Maggie. “Just look at John. If he dies… If he dies…”
Cheryl watched the woman as she spoke and saw an extremely fragile set of emotions. She was all over the map. “If he dies then what, Mag?”
Maggie peered at Cheryl with wide eyes, still dark beneath the eyelids. “If he dies then this is real, isn’t it? If he dies, then we’re all going to die too.
“He’ll be okay,” said Alfie. “John’s tough.”
She sneered. “No need to tell me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
Cheryl put her hand on Maggie to make sure she was okay. “Maggie, what’s up?”
She looked at Cheryl with teary eyes. “Nothing is up. I just… If John dies, I-I think it’ll be a relief.” She gasped and covered her own mouth.
Everyone else seemed shocked as well.
Leo shuffled uncomfortably. “Damn, Mag. That’s harsh.”
“Yeah,” said Alfie. “What the fuck?”
Maggie finally seemed to get her emotions together and settled on anger. It seemed to rise up in her. “He dragged us all into this! I didn’t even want to come. I told him that. I told him!”
Cheryl frowned. “So why did you come?”
“Because he gave me no choice! If I hadn’t come, he would’ve made my life hell.” She rubbed at her forehead. “God, I never should’ve slept with him. Worst thing I ever did.”
“Well, yeah,” said Leo. “Sleeping with a married man while you’re also married is not a good thing, Mag.”
“I agree,” said Happy, “but I suspect there is more to it than that, Leo. Maggie, please think before you speak. These might be feelings you don’t truly want to share. The situation we’re in, the stress… Just be sure you aren’t saying things you’ll regret later.”
Her face contorted into a sneer. “Screw regret. People should know the truth about the man they work for.” As quick as it came, her anger spent itself in a flash. Her head dropped as if a heavy tiredness had suddenly overtaken her. “At first, it was a bit of fun. Andrew and I had already been married thirteen years, and every day was the same old routine. No excitement, no surprises, no nothing. It was like I had already experienced everything life was going to offer, and it was depressing. Then I met John — this successful, confident businessman — and he looked at me in ways Andrew hadn’t in years. My marriage felt like a prison, keeping me from having any fun or doing anything that I wanted, but John seemed like a way to escape. The night he asked me to work late I said yes. I knew what he was planning, and we shagged right there on his desk. I even let him put it in my ass.”
Happy grimaced. “Maggie, please, you should stop.”
“Yeah,” said Alfie. “We know all this. I walked in on the two of you more than once. It’s not a secret.”
Maggie carried on as if she hadn’t heard. It was almost like she was speaking directly to herself, trying to make sense of her own actions. “The affair lasted six months before the guilt got to me. I suddenly realised how much I loved Andrew. My marriage wasn’t boring. It was safe and predicable, sure, but those things are not negatives. I realised that excitement wasn’t what I wanted after all. In fact, I hated it.”
Cheryl gave a thin-lipped smile. “So you broke it off?”
“John left me no choice. He was taking too many risks, almost like he wanted Andrew to find out about us. He would text me at night non-stop and email my personal account instead of work. Once, he even turned up at my house pretending to drop off paperwork. Andrew invited him in and they shared a beer. John seemed to get off on that, and it was then I started hating him. I gave my notice at work, saying I wanted a new challenge somewhere else.”
“You quit?” Leo seemed surprised. “Wow, I had no idea.”
She shrugged. “I tried to quit. John told me if I left he would tell Andrew everything. He had emails and texts from me as proof. So I stayed, but I told him the affair was off. John acted like he understood at first, but he couldn’t help himself after a while. He started brushing past me in the office and groping me in the corridors when no one was looking. Eventually we were at it again, only this time around he was rougher. Almost like he was angry at me.”
“What the hell, Mag!” Cheryl felt sick to her stomach. “That’s rape! The piece of shit has been sexually abusing you.”
“What? No, it’s not like that. I’ve never told him no, and I do care about him — I think I even loved him for a time. It was my choice to cheat on my husband, and I… I enjoy the sex, but…”
“It’s not right, Mag.” Leo looked utterly disgusted. “Shit, dude, I quit. No way am I working for John after this.”
“Back up,” said Monty. “John can’t defend himself against any of this bullshit!”
“Yeah,” said Alfie. “That’s my uncle you’re talking about, and he ain’t like that.”
Cheryl gawped at them both. “Are you kidding me?”
Monty stood up and then pointed a finger. “John’s dying here and you’re calling him a rapist. What the fuck?”
“Sounds like buyer’s remorse to me,” said Alfie, glaring at Maggie. “She’s probably just working a money angle.”
Monty nodded. “Yeah, blackmailing millionaires is good business. Shame on you, Maggie. This is low.”
Maggie jolted like she’d been slapped. “Shame on me? Screw you, Monty!”
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Lying cow.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Calm down,” Happy urged.
“This ain’t right,” said Alfie, shaking his head. “Just stop talking about it, okay? It ain’t right. John’s a good bloke.”
“It’s a pack of lies,” said Monty. “Don’t let it get to you, Alfie. It’s what women do!”
Cheryl groaned. “Way to victim shame, you two. Do either of you have mothers?”
&nb
sp; Happy stood up and faced Monty, blocking his view of the others. “Take a time out, Monty. Move away!”
Monty sneered at Happy, towering over the older man and trying to intimidate him, but Happy stood his ground. Finally, Monty tutted and walked to a different corner of the tunnel. Alfie then got up and went with him.
Leo put an arm around Maggie and rocked her. “I’m sorry you’ve been going through this shit, Mag. We’ll make him pay, I promise.”
“Yeah,” said Cheryl. “We’ll make sure the truth comes out.”
“Don’t do anything,” said Mag. “He’ll tell Andrew if he finds out what I’ve said. He’ll ruin my life.”
“Maybe you should tell Andrew yourself then,” said Cheryl. She always thought marriage was about being honest with one another, no matter what. Her parents had always been truthful, and she believed that was why they had never fallen out of love. “But even if not,” she said, “now that everyone knows about John, he’d be an idiot to make trouble for you.”
Leo sighed. “We’ll deal with everything later, but first we need to find a way out of here. No matter what John might have done, right now he needs medical attention.”
Cheryl studied her unconscious boss and wondered if the problem would end up resolving itself. She had never seen somebody die before, but she had a feeling John wasn’t going to make it through this — not if he didn’t get help soon. They had tied off his wrist as tightly as possible, but he remained pale and unconscious.
It was no mystery to Cheryl that men could be predators, viewing women as sexual trinkets instead of human beings, but she’d never been up close to an abuser like this.
But she knew women could be vindictive too.
At school, she’d had a friend named Miranda who claimed to have had sex with lots of different boys, many of whom were in relationships. The chaos she caused resulted in several breakups, but Cheryl eventually discovered one night, when Miranda had been drinking, that she had made it all up. In fact, Miranda was still a virgin.
Men could be monsters, but women could be too.
The revelation caused Cheryl to rewind her judgement for now. While she thought Monty was an asshole — possibly a woman-hating asshole — he also had a point. Their boss wasn’t awake to defend himself, and one side of a story did not constitute proof. She focused on something else. Getting the hell out of this hole.
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