Freefall

by Kristen Heitzmann

  Her chest rose and fell with abbreviated breaths. Tears filled her eyes. What had he expected? Another lesson on the universe of possibilities? He didn’t want to be the one to tear her illusions apart, but now was the time for reality. “I want you to sit here while I go back to my pack.”

  “Why?”

  “To get my flashlight. It’s waterproof.”

  Her gaze jerked to the pool. “You think he’s in there.”

  “I don’t know.”

  She started to cry.

  “Stay here and let me do this.”

  She dropped her face into her hands. It was the best he’d get, so he left her there and made his way back to his pack. He took out the light they’d used the night before, checked that it worked. The thought of a corpse in the pool made diving in unpleasant, but how else would they know?

  With a glance to make sure she’d stayed put, he got a good breath and went under. The light illuminated the foggy surface that cleared and darkened as the water stilled deeper down. He shined it over branches and rocks and even a cow skull that must have been carried over the falls. But no body. Yet. He surged to the surface for air, treaded, and went back down, moving around the perimeter, then the deeper center, using what he knew from years of skin diving to clear his ears and gauge his breath.

  She stood in the water up to her knees when he surfaced next. “Anything?”

  He held out a handful of netting that he’d grabbed because it looked like the pockets on her hydration pack. If the guy’s pack had been torn apart …

  With a cry she splashed over and took it. She pressed the scrap to her chest, obviously realizing what he had. Fighting tears, she fingered it, then gasped, working it around in her hands. “Wait. It’s tied together. Like a net.” Hope sprang fresh in her face. “He’s here.”

  “Jade …”

  “Look. The pieces are tied.”

  Cameron looked from the net to the steep walls of the enclosure, the pool and the falls. Lava basins frequently had caves and air pockets. He’d been looking for a body, but now … He rubbed the water from his beard. “I’ll try again. I haven’t searched the falls.”

  “Is that possible?” She clutched the net to her chest.

  “I’ll have to go deep, get under if I can. Will it do any good to tell you to wait?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “They’re too strong for me.” As he started to dive, she caught his arm. “Be careful. And hurry.”

  “I can hold my breath a long time, so don’t panic.”

  She nodded.

  Gripping the light, he dove down near enough to feel the push of the falls. The rocks beneath were bad. No one driven down would surface unscathed. Was that where she’d hit her head hard enough to cause amnesia, yet still walked away? Her light weight might have been a factor. That or what portion of the falls carried her over; anything. But he pictured her throwing off the centipede and wondered again what kind of protection she had.

  Pressure built in his ears. The percussion of the falls pounded his chest. He ran the light over the floor, the walls, the—

  Cave. No way to tell if it extended above water. Not without going in. Could he make it through the falls without getting crushed? He went deeper, his lungs urging him up for air. With his chest almost brushing the rocky bottom, he caught sight of a lava tube under one side of the cave wall. If it was open at the far end, he might get inside without fighting the falls. But not without air.

  He pulled to the surface, emptying his lungs as he went. He broke the surface, sucked air.

  Jade grabbed his arm, barely holding her own in the turbulence. “What did you find?”

  Not was there something, but what? Her expectancy shook him. How could she know he’d seen anything?

  “I’m not sure. I’m going to look again.” He hollered, “Stay here.” Then down he plunged with purpose, heading straight for the lava tube. Just wide enough to pull through, it blocked the pounding force of the falls, though the water still surged and tugged. But then he was through and kicking for the surface. If the cave didn’t clear the surface of the pool, he’d have to retrace it all in the same breath. His lungs burned already. Thrusting with his arms and legs, he propelled himself up, shining the light to keep from smacking his head on the roof.

  His face broke the surface under the low dome of the cave. Breathing hard, light raised, he turned a slow circle, saw the ledge along one wall, and the man lying there.

  ELEVEN

  Waiting for Cameron to surface, Jade tried with everything in her to remember what had happened. Had someone else gone over the falls? Why would she leave, why let the water carry her out if she’d known? She looked up and imagined her plunge over the powerful falls. She didn’t really remember, but it explained the feeling of falling.

  If she’d hit her head, concussed, lost sight of who she was and whom she was with … Even now she fought the pull toward the rapids where the pool drained. The swift water had swept her along until she’d pulled herself ashore. By then how disoriented had she been? She had trekked to Nica’s without knowing she’d left someone behind. But if they were too late, how would she ever forgive herself?

  She took a breath and dove under the water, whipped white with the action of the falls. She remembered its nightmare strength. Here was her assailant. No person, as the cop had assumed, but the raw power of nature and her own human error.

  She pulled deeper, but there was no sign of Cameron or his light. Where had he gone? What if he’d been trapped, crushed, knocked unconscious? Lungs burning, she surfaced. He’d said not to panic, but this was too long. He couldn’t hold his breath so long. She dove under again, saw his light shining up from the bottom and met him halfway. They pulled to the surface together.

  He grabbed hold and gasped, “I found him. He’s alive.”

  Exhilaration seized her. “Where? How?”

  “There’s a cave.”

  “A cave! Show me. Take me to him.”

  “I don’t know if you can make it.” He started swimming toward the side.

  What? “Cameron. Wait.” She had to see, had to reach her companion, but Cameron climbed out onto the shore.

  “Cameron!” She splashed up with him. “You can’t—”

  He raised a hand. “Hold on a minute.” He bent tight at the waist, wrapping his arms around the backs of his thighs, then down to grab his ankles. He’d either strained something or was cramping. The moments it took for him to get his breath nearly drove her wild.

  At last he straightened. “The only way in is through a lava tube almost under the falls. It’s tight and deep.”

  “But you got through and he’s there. Is he all right? Is he injured?”

  “He’s unconscious. Feverish. His legs are beat up. Pulse is thready.” He rubbed his hand over his mouth and beard. “I don’t know how much time we have.”

  Her heart pounded. “Can we get him out?”

  “Not without air tanks and stretcher.” His gaze circled the basin. “I need to climb up to get a signal.”

  “We can’t leave him.”

  He chewed his lip, causing the narrow line of beard to jut out beneath. “How long can you hold your breath?”

  “Long enough.”

  “It’s more than twenty feet deep, at least twelve along the lava tube, then up. No room for error.”

  She straightened. “I’ll do it.”

  “If you get caught under the falls, there’s not much I can do.”

  Caught under the falls. Tumbling, flailing. She turned back to the treacherous white column and felt its brutality. She shrank inside, but this wasn’t the time to quit. “I beat it before.”

  He forked his fingers into his hair. “Okay. We’ll dive down together to the tube. If you think you can go on, take the light and get through as fast as you can. If you have to turn back, do it.”

  She nodded. But she wouldn’t. She was going to get through to the person she’d left behind. Whatever it took.

  If
he was paying attention to his gut, he’d have convinced her to wait until he called for emergency rescue operations. But if the guy in the cave died before help came, it would be worse for Jade than finding him dead already. He had to give her this time. He only hoped she could handle it.

  Holding the light between them, they dove. Down, down to the long, jagged gap in the lava rock. No time to question, to doubt. At the opening, she took the light and entered the tube, kicking and pulling herself inside. He waited in case she had to back out, then went through himself, surfacing right behind her. She sputtered and choked, then turned toward the ledge where her companion lay.

  With a cry, she swam to him, pulled up on her elbows, and caught hold of his hand. Cameron joined her, grabbing on to the ledge as she started to cry. The gray-haired man made no response, just drew thin, reedy breaths. Jade’s reaction was hard to decipher.

  He had to get out and make the call, but he wanted answers first. “Who is he?”

  She clutched his hand and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Anger surged. How could she not know? The man was lying right there. Cameron let go of the ledge. “I’m going for help. Don’t come out without me.”

  She nodded, already pulling the hose from her slim hydration pack toward the injured man’s mouth. Cameron swam out, climbed to his pack and pulled out his cell phone. He started for higher ground. Only after his muscles burned and his chest heaved and sweat ran down his sides from climbing, did he let himself ponder the fact that the man had to be twice Jade’s age.

  The man beside her murmured in his delirium, but even the sound of his voice brought no name, no relationship, to her mind. His grave condition tore at her, but her lack of recognition hurt more. What kind of person was she to forget him? She had sensed the relationship in her waking memory, but hanging on to the ledge beside him now, she could not remember ever having seen him before.

  The doctor had said days or hours. But it had been days. What if her past never came back? As bad as that would be for her, it would be torture for those who’d known her. For this man who must have been counting on her all this time. His grip tensed as he muttered.

  She leaned close. “Hang on. Help is coming.” The words seemed to soothe him. “I’m sorry it’s been so long. If I’d known—” Her voice broke. She didn’t want to say she’d forgotten and still didn’t recognize him. Looking around the cave, she tried to imagine what the days had been like in there. With no direct sunlight it was chilly, and her head throbbed with the pounding of the falls.

  Had Cameron gotten through? She had to believe he had. A search-and-rescue team would know how to get in to them, and how to get her companion out. She looked into his haggard face. Cameron was right that they’d need a breathing apparatus and stretcher. It would be complicated and it would take time.

  Lord. Please, don’t let it be too late. What if they’d gotten there even a day earlier? If she hadn’t resisted going to the police—but she’d acted as soon as she remembered him, or rather, someone. This someone she couldn’t recognize no matter how she studied his pinched brow, his sunken eyes, his cracked lips. His hair was silver around his face and in the stubble of his beard. His physique might have been healthy, though now he looked wasted.

  Was he cold? If there was room on the ledge she would lie beside him for warmth. What was her relationship with him? A man so much older? The thought triggered nothing. Could he be a relative, a friend? She clenched her jaw, wanting to jam the memory back into her mind. She brought his hand to her forehead. Who are you?

  Rescue teams would be hard-pressed to get them out before nightfall. Could he last through another night? He’d been unable to suck the water from her pack, so she’d removed the mouthpiece and drizzled it over his lips and did so again.

  It grew dark in the cave, but so quickly it must be a storm, like so many others that had passed over on this rainy side of the island. She’d seen how fast the clouds closed in. Could a helicopter come if visibility was poor? Would they risk it? She groaned. Please, God. Please. She didn’t think this man had another day in him.

  Nica rubbed the shame and embarrassment from TJ’s shoulders through the stiff fabric of his uniform. He had joined the force when he could think of nothing else to do, but he’d become a conscientious officer. That he hadn’t recognized a rising star from the tabloids and talk shows was hardly surprising, since he spent most of his free time bamboo fishing. As far as TJ was concerned the ragged shoreline of Kauai could be the edge of the world.

  After attending community college in Lihue, he’d done his lawenforcement training on the mainland and come back with hardly an impression of anything outside of that instruction. Only Kauai could impress itself on him.

  She squeezed the big shoulder and sat down. “Are you hungry?”

  Silly question. She took the cup with the unfurled jasmine pearls in the bottom to the sink. Time, attention, and food would lure TJ back to cheerfulness. She took from the refrigerator an aku filet and vegetables and set a pot of rice to boil. He didn’t move from his seat as she worked, as much to not disturb her as to ponder the situation.

  She knew what troubled him. If he had recognized Gentry Fox, he could have gotten help for her companion before she took it on herself to go mauka. Cameron’s accompaniment was his best hope that nothing further would happen to Gentry, but they’d been out there a long time.

  Nica set the plate of tuna before TJ. His phone rang, and he took the call, jerking up straight with the first words. “What? Yeah. Kay den.” He lifted the cat off his lap, pushed up out of his chair, and looked at her with relief flooding his broad face. “Dey found him.”

  Nica raised her brows. “Jade—Gentry’s companion?”

  TJ shoved the phone into his belt. He’d come over from work without changing his uniform, and now he seemed to fill it with purpose. “Dey sending in one chopper. Den a ambulance to da hospital.”

  “Let’s take your truck.”

  He didn’t argue her going along. But she opened her door and stopped short. Where had all the people come from?

  Curt shook. The situation was deteriorating. He pressed in to hear the news report over the soft tones of Enya and the swishing of Allegra’s bath. Gentry had been identified, naturally, the fools on Kauai eating it on that one. He wished he could have seen the face of the officer who’d put out the plea for identification of Gentry Fox. He snickered, then rubbed his face, acid rising in his stomach.

  He’d never wanted to be a soft-stomach guy, the kind who couldn’t take it when things came down wrong. He had abs of steel, but inside? He’d have an ulcer before he hit forty.

  He wove his fingers behind his head and watched the tenuous rescue. The weather wasn’t helping. Bad visibility. No telling whether the helicopter would get in, what they’d find if they did …

  A news babe came on to say that the storm and nightfall could force the helicopter crew to abandon the rescue until morning. Duh. Gentry Fox was believed safe, but there was no word yet on Robert Fox. No news was good news.

  He raised his head when the CD ended, but another, equally bland, began. He returned his attention to the live action. At some point Allegra might need to know, but until then—He clenched his fists and willed things to happen as he wanted. What better chance would there be?

  They showed an aerial view of the section of island being searched for Gentry’s companion. In the corner of the screen, a picture of Gentry, recognizable from all her recent publicity. Everyone in the world watched the star’s personal drama unfold, everyone except Allegra. He could still hear the music, but what about the water? Better not take any chances. The rescue could take hours, days. He had to make sure she heard nothing. Nothing that would interfere.

  She was too precious to lose. He turned off the TV and crept to the bathroom door. Soft swishes of the water. It got him going. She’d insisted on a suite and allowed nothing but kisses. Now was the time to change that. With one hand on the knob, he loosened t
he tie of his robe and let himself in.

  The thumping of the helicopter blades sent a surge of relief as it came into sight through the clouds. For a while Cameron had thought the storm would keep them out. For a while it had. He’d climbed back into the basin after making the call and now sent up a small emergency flare.

  The copter approached and hovered. The wind from the blades beat the water and stung his eyes with tears as they lowered the stretcher with small air tanks strapped on. He tried to gauge whether it would fit through the lava tube. If not, what would they do? But these were the guys who’d figure that part out. Watching the helicopter hover low in the narrow space, he appreciated the skill and courage of the pilot. Conditions weren’t exactly ideal.

  By the time the team had been lowered into the basin, another storm forced the helicopter up away from land. If weather permitted, the pilot would be back. If not, the paramedic and the rest of the SAR team would have to get Jade’s companion through the stormy night before they could bring him out.

  Weather was already a factor. If they lost the helicopter, the team could not hand-carry him, given the lack of anything like a real trail. He and Jade on foot had fought a way through, but carrying a stretcher over the steep terrain? Not likely.

  He didn’t know the team leader, Lieutenant Jeffrey Maxwell, or the other SAR team member who’d come down, but he knew the paramedic, Jason Becker. He’d grown up in Waimea on the hot, dry side of the island. They tapped fists.

  “So here’s the thing.” Cameron filled them in on the man’s location. “You can scope it out for yourselves, but I’ve searched the pool and cave area. I think the only safe access is through the lava tube.”

  Maxwell nodded. “Given the time and weather constraints, we’ll take your word for that. Jason and Mitch will go in; I’ll stay in communication with the helicopter. Can you guide the guys down?”