Kay Springsteen
Page 37
Someone someday might find her bones. A shepherd seeking a lost sheep? A mason sent to fill in the old well? Would they bury her? She shuddered again.
Circumstances as they were now could not be any worse. Her life would be forever changed. Sorrow gripped her heart at the thought of Samuel. Why? Why did he have to die? Since their parents' deaths, it had been just her and her brother.
Now it was just her.
Since she no longer had a family, there would be no one to even remember who she'd been. Or that she'd even crossed the earth. She had no one, absolutely alone in the world. Samuel. The physical hurt collided with the anguish and anger of her loss.
Why had he gotten into the fight in the inn? He had always been in some kind of trouble and always had promised her each time would be the last. But he'd never kept his word to her. Couldn't he have just walked away and ignored the taunts of the other man? Then she wouldn't be here. Alone. He'd only been gone a few days, but… Samuel, I need you.
She slumped against the cold cobblestones, shivering but too miserable to move. Tears dripped down her cheeks and plopped onto her dress. She grieved heavily for her last remaining family member. Nevertheless, she should have been more aware of her surroundings. Look where it had gotten her! Alone and lost. And possibly soon to die below the ground.
No one would have to dig her grave because she was already in it.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sasha swallowed hard. What was that? She sat up straighter.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Vibrations through the dirt became stronger and more pronounced as the seconds ticked by. The ground trembled. Small stones, from somewhere in the wall above, pelted her arms and head, but any discomfort was dwarfed by the pain in her ankle.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sasha peered upward. Someone's coming! Was it a horse pounding its hooves on the ground? Did the horse have a rider? She shivered, torn between excitement and fear. "Hello! I'm down here!" No one answered. Were they too far away to hear?
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her heartbeat pulsed in her ears, competing with the noise above. She needed to still her mind and heart. Holding her breath, however, wasn't successful, only serving to make her suck in mouthfuls of cold, damp air.
Sasha took a deep breath, letting it out a little at a time, and she calmed. She clenched her filthy fingers together. If the horse had a rider, she'd yell for all she was worth. It might be her one chance for life!
But her energy drained away, weakness creeping through her body and mind. Dizziness swirled her vision and thoughts. How much blood had she lost? Someone please help me.
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