“Shit. I really fu — messed it up this time.”
Carrie’s eyebrows shot into her hairline.
He’d already tarnished Franklin’s reputation when he put Naomi in her place. Dropping the F-bomb wasn’t going to help. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
When Jonathan leaned forward to stand up, Carrie grabbed his hand. “If you ever get over your crush on Heather Compton, give me a call.”
“How’d you know about that?”
Carrie snorted and spread her fingers, releasing his hand. “Everyone knows you’ve been crushing on that girl since the day she moved here. You should just tell her, ya know? She likes you too. Or at least she did. She’s pretty pissed off about you propositioning Naomi.”
Jonathan swore again, but didn’t bother to apologize this time.
“Like I said, if things don’t work out with Heather, give me a call.”
“Jonathan’s single.”
“I have too much self-respect to go out with that two-timing man-whore.”
Jonathan cringed then tried to hide it behind a shy smile. “Okay then. I guess I better go check on the man-whore … try to keep him out of trouble.”
Carrie snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Jonathan found Richard, and everyone else, crowded around the entrance to the mine. He shifted his weight to the balls of his feet and tapped him on the shoulder. “I hear you’ve been looking for me.”
Instead of taking a swing at him, Richard tugged at his collar and cleared his throat. “Your brother went inside the mine. We’ve been yelling at him for like, ten minutes, but he won’t come out.”
“Well, quit yelling. You’re going to trigger a cave in.” Most of the timbers and support beams inside the mine were over a hundred and fifty years old.
Franklin knew better than to go inside the mine. Never mind the fact that Jonathan went in there all the time to access his stash of pot and beer. He knew what he was doing and never went so far in that he lost sight of the entrance. He prayed Frankie was just screwing with him. Trying to get back at him for kissing Heather.
He frowned at Rich. “You’re sure he went inside? This isn’t just some prank?”
There were too many solemn faces and wide-eyed stares for it to be a prank.
Rich shook his head. “It’s no joke.”
“Has anyone called 911?”
Naomi extricated herself from Rich’s arms. “You have to find him, Franklin. What if he’s hurt?”
A premonition of disaster gnawed at Jonathan’s gut, but he couldn’t just sit and wait for help to arrive while Frankie was in danger. The longer he was inside the mine, the more likely something bad would happen; if it hadn’t already.
“Any of you guys have a flashlight? Or a rope?” Jonathan had both in the Rover, but all he had on him was his cell phone and the light from the screen wasn't enough.
“I got a lighter.”
Jonathan didn’t even try to guess which moron came up with that bright idea. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. The faint glow flickered and shimmied across the rubble and splintered beams that blocked the tunnel. When he aimed it between the cracks, the oily darkness inside the mine swallowed the light before it touched the ground.
“Here, take this.” Someone handed him an LED flashlight and a climbing rope. Jonathan muttered a quick “thanks,” and turned his back on the crowd. He focused his breath to calm himself and crawled over the pile of rubble. A broken beam scraped his back and left behind a swath of splinters. He really wished that girl hadn’t thrown up on Franklin’s parka. The deeper he went, the colder he got.
Five minutes later, he rounded a bend and found Franklin sitting on the ground, knees bent, with his head on his forearms.
He sighed, but didn’t look up. “Go to hell, Jonathan.”
“I’m sure I will, but I’d rather it not be tonight. Come on, let’s get outta here.”
“You can have anyone you want, why’d you have to go after Heather?”
“I didn’t—”
Franklin’s head jerked up. “I saw you kiss her.”
“No, Franklin. You did not see me kiss Heather. She kissed me but only because she thought I was you!”
“It should have been me.” Franklin dropped his head back onto his forearms.
“Shoulda, coulda, woulda. You’re such an idiot! You could be kissing her right now. But you’ll never get to kiss anyone if we die in here. You know it’s not safe this far back in the tunnels.”
Jonathan reached out towards Franklin. His left arm was still extended when the support beam collapsed.
Hot, searing pain shot up Jonathan’s arm from his left hand into his armpit. The agony lifted his mind out of the trance just enough for him to remember that none of this was real. He’d broken his hand in the mine, not severed it.
The creaks and groans of settling debris pulled Jonathan back into the mine. His heart raced. He had to get Franklin out before another beam gave way.
“Frankie?”
A quiet moan sifted through the pile of rubble. At least he was alive. “Frankie, are you okay?”
“No.”
Jonathan gritted his teeth and clawed at the beam that held him pinned to the ground. It wouldn’t budge, but in his scrabbling, his hand brushed against the flashlight. He turned it on and discovered a narrow rift in the pile of rubble. He shone the light through the gap and found Franklin lying on the ground. The same beam that pinned Jonathan’s left hand had splintered and driven a piece of wood through Franklin’s torso, impaling him.
No. This isn’t right. Franklin’s only injury in the mine had been a mild concussion. He died in Afghanistan. This isn’t real.
“It hurts Jon-Jon.” Franklin’s head lurched forward as he struggled to free himself. “Get me outta here!”
“Stop it Franklin! You’re making it worse. Hold still.”
Why was this so much worse than what really happened? Blood oozed around the three-inch diameter wound in Franklin’s belly, soaking his shirt. “You’re okay, Frankie. This isn’t how you die.”
Franklin tried again to lift his body off the pike then fell back with a groan. His hand went limp, but his chest rose and fell in rapid shallow pants.
“Hang on, Frankie. I’m coming. I’ll get you out.”
A sinister creak reverberated overhead. The beam that had impaled Franklin and trapped Jonathan shifted. Franklin screamed.
Stop this. Please, someone make it stop.
Jonathan and Franklin’s chances of getting out alive were decreasing with every second. The constant moans of shifting debris and Franklin’s pleas for help gave Jonathan the courage he needed. He ignored the agony of his broken ribs, curled up into a ball, positioned his feet against the beam on either side of his trapped hand, and exploded backwards.
Jonathan hadn’t expected his hand to separate so easily. He sat on his butt and stared at his arm. He tied off the bleeding stump with his belt as best he could. He was wasting time fretting over his stupid arm. He clawed at the rocks with his right hand and begged God to save them both.
God didn’t answer.
An ominous sound, like a runaway freight train, echoed through the tunnels.
“Oh, no. No, no, no … please God, no.” Jonathan doubled his efforts to dig through the rubble. He even used the bloody stump of his left arm, but he’d never get Franklin out before the mine flooded.
“Don’t leave me, Jon-Jon. I don’t want to die alone.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Frankie. I promise. Live or die, we’re in this together.”
The ground shook as the roar of rushing water grew louder. Jonathan squeezed through the gap and wrapped his arms around Franklin. He lifted him off the splintered beam and held him against his chest. “I’ve got you, Frankie. It’s okay.”
A wall of icy water slammed into Jonathan’s back, ripping Franklin from his arms. Jonathan screamed, but the chur
ning river of debris swallowed the sound. His lungs burned, starving for air. Instinct took over. The first lungful caused his body to convulse, expelling the life-stealing water. His diaphragm rebelled and forced more dirty water into his lungs. Through it all, Jonathan never stopped screaming Franklin’s name.
“Jonathan. Wake up.”
Jonathan barely heard the voice. His ears and sinuses still throbbed with each desperate beat of his heart. His lungs were still full of water. He couldn’t breathe.
“Snap out of it!”
Jonathan’s body jerked like it sometimes did right before falling asleep. He gasped and choked as more water found its way down his trachea. But this water was clean. And it was mixed with patchouli scented air. His eyelids fluttered open. Blue’s face hovered over his.
“What the hell?”
“I’m sorry about throwing water in your face, but you refused to come out of trance and I have another client in ten minutes.”
“What the hell did you do to me?”
Blue patted his knee. “I didn’t do a thing except guide you into a level six stage of profound somnambulism. The rest was all you.”
Yeah, right. Jonathan wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but his body refused to cooperate. He was still flying higher than a freaking kite.
Blue glanced at her notes then back at Jonathan. “You seemed to be experiencing an amalgamation of two separate traumatic events. Can you elaborate on what happened?”
“Yeah. I was drugged without consent and then mind fucked.”
Blue’s eyebrows twitched, but that was her only reaction to Jonathan’s accusation.
He hoped he’d be able to sort out his memories. He’d been a little more claustrophobic after he and Franklin were rescued from the mine, but now… just the thought of going into a mine made him dizzy. He hoped it was just an aftereffect of the drugs.
Blue poured a cup of what smelled like coffee into a mug and handed it to Jonathan.
He shook his head. “No thanks.”
She had the nerve to actually roll her eyes. “It’s just coffee. The caffeine will help you shake off any lingering effects of the trance.”
Jonathan climbed out of the recliner and headed for the front door. A middle-aged woman was sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping through a new-age magazine. She looked up when Jonathan walked by.
He nodded towards the beaded curtains. “Whatever you do, don’t drink the tea.”
Learn more about Charlotte Abel and The Sanctuary Series at: www.CharlotteAbel.com
River’s Recruit is available now
Prelude to Mercy By Shannon Dermott
Like a sense of home, the familiar baseball cap on my head was a comfort and not just because of the hot sun. The day was a blaze of light and the baseball in my hand reminded me that I was supposed to be doing something. While I waited for the next batter, my attention shifted just as I wiped at a bead of sweat on my brow.
“Hey Paul, are you going to throw the ball or what?” a voice said off in the distance.
Turning my attention from the girls’ practice, which was taking place on the football field instead of the baseball diamond, I shifted in my stance. My team, the varsity team, got first use of the diamond, fair or not. I looked in the direction of the voice for just a second.
My catcher was ready for the pitch and was probably tired and hot like the rest of us. Hell, I’d waited while everyone else got ready. They could wait just a second more.
A quick glance over my shoulder showed she wasn’t wearing a hat. She would regret that later and I wanted to warn her about potential sunburn if only just to speak to her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it swayed with her every movement. The fireball next to her was attached to her hip most days.
Maggie was a ball buster that had a way of embarrassing guys to no end when they tried to talk to her. I was sure she would be just as fierce in protecting her best friend. Those two were a pair to the end. That much I knew.
When a cluster of guys came over, they followed my line of sight. I knew they wanted to see who I was checking out. This made me feel vaguely uncomfortable.
A hand clapped on my back and hung on my shoulder. “You better not be looking at my sister, Bowman,” a different voice said.
Turning to face the voice wouldn’t change what I already knew. Looking up, I saw the match to the fireball. Liam was tall with a mix of reddish-blond hair, but the resemblance was clear. Although only a year ahead of me, a junior, Liam wasn’t one to be messed with. And he wasn’t Maggie’s only protector. Her other brother was a senior, but he didn’t play baseball. He played lacrosse, so I didn’t have to deal with both of them at once.
“No, I’m not,” I said flatly.
Liam frowned at me. “What are you saying? You don’t think she’s cute enough?”
Laughing, I wondered why the guy just admonished me from checking his sister out. “She’s cute,” I said in a nonchalant way. “But it’s her friend I’m interested in.”
Liam’s frown stayed in place. “Who, Mercy? She’s like a sister to me too.”
Sighing, I pulled my cap off my head and ran my hand through my hair. Putting my cap back on, I manned up. “Is she off limits too?”
My question, however, came too late before the rest of the team, who’d been practicing, now came over to huddle around, wondering what was going on. A few murmurs were spoken when Liam finally took it upon himself to broadcast to everyone what they’d been talking about.
“Fellas, it seems my young apprentice Paul, here, is going to ask Mercy Moore out,” Liam announced.
“Nice,” a guy named Doug said as he clapped Liam’s other shoulder. “Do you think I can ask your sister out?”
Liam immediately went on a rant while Doug just grinned up at him. Thankfully, the guy took the heat off of me. The guys were quickly immersed in that conversation, leaving me to glance over at the girls’ team again.
Only it seemed not everybody was watching the showdown between Doug and Liam. “So what makes you think she’ll go out with you?” another voice asked arrogantly.
I turned to catch sight of the freshman guy all the girls were going gaga over. Flynn was his name. He was tall like me and he met me eye to eye. Luke, a friend to us both, looked between us. His expression said he really didn’t want to have to pick a side. But I knew he and Flynn were close and if it came down to it, he would side with Flynn.
“What is she your girlfriend or something?” he asked, with a little chuckle to show his confidence. Mercy was in my math class and I’d been talking to her for a while now. I was pretty sure she was interested in me too.
Flynn turned and stared in the direction of the girls. The guy flashed a sly smile. I turned back to see that a bunch of the girls had stopped practice to see what we were doing. Maggie, the firecracker and sister to Liam, started making rude gestures. Chuckling, I watched as Mercy’s face flushed and not from the heat. Other girls began to chime in with hoots about, “You can’t handle all this!”
That quieted Liam, who held his hand out to either side as if he were saying, “Why,” suggesting to his sister he wasn’t pleased. Meanwhile, the cat calls like, “Why don’t you come over here with that sweet ass of yours and find out,” rained out on the guys’ side. This caused Liam to push some kid, and it all seemed to get a little out of control from there.
Coach must have been talking to someone on the phone because he’d yet to break this up. Meanwhile, I blanked out on all the noises around me. Instead, I focused solely on Mercy. She returned my stare with a shy smile and a hint of a dimple. That smile ignited something in me no girl ever had. She was pretty without knowing it, which made her sweet as homemade pie.
Taking a step forward, I planned to make my move. Holding eye contact, I was sure she would move towards me once he started forward. A firm hand grasped my biceps. Turning, I looked to meet the furious glare from Flynn. “Where are you going Cassanova? We’ve got pract
ice.”
Shrugging, I shook out of Flynn’s hold. With my fist gripping the ball, I almost said something. However, Flynn was right. We were at practice. There would be time later to ask Mercy out.
Glancing back, I would have ignored Flynn, who stood his ground if Mercy looked like she was heading my way. However, when I turned back, the girls had dispersed back into their practice formations. Mercy’s back was now to me. The moment passed. Flynn spoiled it. I looked up and met Luke’s eyes. The guy’s facial expression was blank. He turned and headed back to his spot at second base, taking Flynn with him. I couldn’t get a read on Luke. We had gotten to be good friends last year. Things changed once his buddy made his way from middle school here. I watched the freshman, rather Flynn, go back to the catcher spot’s pulling the mask on. The guy wanted it all, my pitcher status and maybe even the girl I was after.
Working my shoulders, I waited while Flynn bent down. The guy signaled for a fastball. Doug, who was up at bat, swung warm ups in anticipation. Even though it wasn’t a real game, and it was pre-pre season, we practiced like it was real. It was one of the coach’s secrets to success. Always play to win. So with that, I prepared and gave everything I had on this pitch which would catch them all by surprise. Especially, the little freshman cock blocker who ruined my moment. I would get him back with the heat off my wicked curve ball.
****
Rushing through my shower, I got dressed. Readying myself to head home, a couple of guys walked by and clapped me on the back. Looking up, one said, “Good going Bowman, that girl’s got nice melons.” The guy’s hands were in front of his chest like he was holding something.
Just when I was about to say something, Luke sidled up to my side, diverting my attention from the loser patrol. “A word of warning,” Luke said. “That thing out there, throwing a different pitch than called, wasn’t cool.”
Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 6
