Buried

by Brenda Rothert

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  Erin heads for the bedroom, and I don’t follow. She needs the kind of deep, uninterrupted sleep she’ll get alone. It’s been a while since she slept through the night, and every time she wakes up, she goes to check on Matias.

  I sink down onto the couch, noticing that Bryce is sitting stoically on the other end. Matias’s condition is taking a toll on all of us.

  “You okay, man?” I ask him.

  Bryce snaps out of the trance he was in and looks at me. “I missed my youngest daughter’s birthday yesterday. She turned ten.”

  “I’m sorry. What’s her name?”

  “Ella. She loves butterflies.”

  I’m emotionally tapped out, my well of comforting words dry. The physical part of being trapped down here is nothing compared to how it fucks with all of us mentally.

  I’m all my dad has. Who will be there for him now, as he reaches old age? Where will he go on Christmas?

  I sit back against the couch and cover my face with my hands. There’s not much hope for escaping your thoughts down here. My only solace is Erin, but with Matias so sick, we feel guilty finding pleasure in each other.

  Time seems to be frozen here. There’s no sunrise or sunset. No rainy days. No way to know what’s happening above ground to the people we love.

  Time’s not frozen for Matias, though. And when he slips out of this world, a part of all our hopes will die with him. Leaving this place someday, unlikely as it may be, won’t feel nearly as good as a group of four instead of five.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Erin

  Relief floods me when Matias’s eyes open. He doesn’t seem to be aware of his surroundings at first, his gaze confused as he looks at me.

  “Hey,” I say softly. “Good timing. I just came in with your lunch.”

  The truth is, I’ve been sitting here staring at the big square of wood he carved all our names into for more than half an hour, but he doesn’t need to know that. I sit beside his bed often because I feel like as long as I’m here, he’s safe. As though I can keep him alive by sheer will.

  “Not hungry,” he croaks.

  I wet his dry lips with a washcloth. “You can manage a few bites.”

  “Erin…” He shifts in his bed, trying to sit up.

  I get up and prop a couple pillows under his head. “What is it?”

  “I think I had a dream just now.”

  I pass him the cup of water Derek brought in a few minutes ago, and he slowly puts it to his mouth and empties it.

  “What did you dream about?” I take the cup and return it to the table, then sit down on the end of his bed.

  “It was…” He scrunches up his face like he’s trying to remember. “Look, I know I’m out of it right now.”

  “You’re doing fine. Take your time.”

  His eyes focus on mine. “I get confused about stuff, I know I do, but…I need you to believe this.”

  “I promise I will.”

  His shoulders sink with relaxation. “I had this class last year, and we built radios from scratch for one of our projects.” He pauses, seeming to gather his thoughts. “And I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, I guess because I’m so out of it, but…I think we have the stuff down here to make a radio. I don’t know if it would even work…”

  Hope flickers inside me. “We’ll try it. Tell me what to do.”

  “The car.” His eyelids start dropping, and he forces them back open. “The remote-control car. And there’s other stuff down here in the electronics. I could do it, but…I can’t. But Bryce is a wiring guy. He should be able to.”

  I stand up. “I’ll go tell the others. We’ll start right now.”

  “But isn’t it…tomorrow?” Matias’s fog has set back in.

  “Rest now.” I pat his cheek. “Just rest.”

  His eyelids fall closed, and I rush from the room, pulling the door closed behind me. When I get out to the great room, Kenna’s curled up on the couch with a book, and Bryce is watching a movie.

  “Where’s Derek?” I ask, looking around.

  “Track,” Kenna answers without looking up.

  I practically run to the door to the track and open it. Derek is doing push-ups.

  “I need you in here,” I say quickly. “Right now.”

  “What’s going on?” He springs into a standing position. “Is it Matias?”

  I shake my head and start walking toward the couch. “Bryce, can you turn the TV off?”

  He pushes a button on the remote, and the screen goes black. Kenna sets her book aside as Derek joins us.

  “Matias just told me he thinks we can use stuff we have down here to build a radio. The remote-control car and other electronics.”

  Bryce shakes his head. “No way. Even if we could build one, the signal wouldn’t get out.”

  “He wouldn’t have said it if it were hopeless,” I say.

  “You know how confused he gets.” Bryce gives me a skeptical look. “It won’t work.”

  “He does get pretty confused,” Kenna says.

  My shred of hope is slipping away. I have to salvage it. “I know, but I know him, you guys. This was a moment of total clarity for him. He said he had a dream about it.”

  Bryce shakes his head. “A dream? Look, I want to believe there’s a way—”

  I interrupt. “What do we have to lose? If we try and it doesn’t work, at least we tried. Not for us, but for Matias.”

  “She’s right.” Derek nods from his spot next to me. “Why not? Maybe it works, maybe not. Or maybe we figure something else out from trying.”

  “He’s in no condition to build a house out of popsicle sticks, let alone a radio.” Bryce shakes his head in disgust.

  “He said you should be able to do it,” I tell him. “And we can help. Just tell us what electronics to pull apart. We can start now.”

  “Me?” Bryce laughs. “I can’t build a radio.”

  “But you do wiring.”

  He shrugs. “Yeah, just the basics. Nothing like that.”

  “Well, tell us what you can do.”

  “Run cables. That’s about it.”

  I exhale a frustrated breath through my nose. “Why don’t you even want to try?”

  Derek crosses his arms. “Bryce, what sort of training and experience do you have? We can figure this out.”

  “Just on-the-job stuff.” Bryce waves his hand. He gets up from the couch then. “Look, let’s drop this nonsense.”

  “It’s not nonsense.” My temper flares. “Matias knows—”

  Derek locks eyes with me, his expression stopping me short.

  “Bryce, tell me exactly what your scope of work was down here,” he says.

  “I was sent here to run wires.”

  “What kinds of wires?”

  Bryce throws his arms in the air. “I don’t know why it matters. I can’t build a radio.”

  “I’m looking for a much more specific answer than you’re giving me,” Derek says. “You were subbed by Courson Builders for your expertise, right?”

  Bryce has made it halfway across the room when he stops. He turns to face the rest of us.

  “What do you want me to say?”

  Derek’s tone sends a shiver down my spine. “Your scope of work. Now. I’m not just a dumb jock, and my dad’s an electrician.”

  Bryce’s expression turns defiant for an instant, and then his shoulders slump.

  “I don’t know anything about electronics,” he says, his tone defeated.

  “You son of a bitch.” Derek’s tone is ominous now. “What the fuck were you doing down here that day?”

  I can see the bobbing of Bryce’s Adam’s apple from across the room as he swallows.

  “I’m sorry.” His voice shakes as he apologizes.

  “For what?” Derek demands.

  “It wasn’t supposed to go this way.” Bryce looks at us one by one, tears shining in his eyes. “It was supposed to be a clean robbery. My job
was to make sure Derek and Kenna were down here when the door was locked. My partner was supposed to get the shit from the house, clear town, and hire someone to tip off the cops twenty-four hours later.”

  “But he fucked you over instead,” Derek says bitterly. “Kept it all for himself.”

  Bryce hangs his head. “Probably.”

  Derek shoots past me, landing on Bryce before he has any hope of escaping. He punches him in the face so hard it knocks him to the ground.

  Kenna and I exchange a frantic glance.

  “You piece of fucking shit.” Derek pulls him to his feet and lands another punch to his gut. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  Bryce is crying, a trail of blood running down from his nose.

  Derek shoves him then, and Bryce goes flying, landing in a heap ten feet away. I’ve never seen this side of Derek; he’s enraged. And I’m afraid of what he’ll do to Bryce if no one stops him.

  I race over to stand between the two men.

  “No more, Derek.”

  He gives me an incredulous look. “Are you fucking kidding me? This asshole’s been playing us all. Crying by Matias’s bed when he’s the one who killed him.”

  “I’m so sorry about that.” Bryce gets into a sitting position, cringing. “I didn’t know. Erin and Matias weren’t part of the plan.”

  “Yeah, your plan was just to steal from me and get away with it. You think that makes you a good guy?”

  Bryce shakes his head as he tries to stand up. “I never said I was any good. I just needed the money is all.”

  Derek takes a few steps toward him, and Bryce cowers in fear. I put my hands on Derek’s arms.

  “Don’t,” I say firmly.

  “He deserves the pain. It’s nothing compared to what Matias is going through.”

  “The last thing we need right now is for you to mess him up. We have no way to treat anything down here, and you know it.”

  “I don’t want him treated. I want him to die slowly.”

  “You don’t know how sorry I am.” Bryce is sobbing now. “But really, I’m as much of a victim in this as all of you.”

  Derek steps around me before I have time to react and lands another punch to Bryce’s jaw. Droplets of blood fly through the air as Bryce falls to the ground again.

  I put my palms on Derek’s chest and push, but he doesn’t move.

  “No. More.” I narrow my eyes. “I mean it, Derek.”

  “Who died and made you queen?” Kenna mutters.

  “Fuck off, Kenna,” I return.

  “He did this,” Derek says, his voice so soft only I can hear it. “He did this to all of us over fucking money. To Matias…”

  “I know.” I reach up and put my arms around his neck. “And he has to live with it. But I won’t let you do something to him that you can’t take back. That’s not who you are.”

  “I don’t even know who I am anymore, Erin.” His tone is flat and hopeless.

  “I do. And I need you right now. Don’t leave me out of anger when I need you the most.”

  After a beat of uncertain silence, Derek slides his arms around my waist and pulls me against him. The sweat on his T-shirt spreads onto mine as we hold each other. I don’t care, though. Our little world is spinning out of control, and he’s the only solid thing I have left.

  After more than two months of captivity, we know the how and the why. It’s heartbreaking, though, and now we have to figure out how to keep living with the man who betrayed us all and lied about it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Derek

  I push my plate to the side and sigh heavily. Hungry or not, I can’t stomach any more dried meat. It was easier to eat without really tasting dinner when I had the others to talk to. But these days, I sit here alone.

  Erin is in Matias’s room at his bedside. Bryce is in there too, lying in his bunk. He’s afraid to be around me alone now, as he should be. And Kenna rarely leaves her bedroom anymore. She comes out to grab food or books and then takes them back into her room.

  Not seeing Bryce and Kenna is fine by me. But Erin and I aren’t getting much time together anymore. She sits with Matias, who is still hanging on, and catches a few hours of sleep when she’s too exhausted to sit anymore.

  I’ve been so fucking pissed since finding out how we ended up down here, and I can’t come up with any outlet. I’m just stuck here, missing out on the career I worked so hard for, my dad surely thinking I’m dead. All over some assholes wanting to steal from me.

  The sad thing is, there wasn’t a lot to take in the lodge, other than my collection of firearms and a little football memorabilia. My irreplaceable stuff, like my Super Bowl rings, is all kept in safety deposit boxes.

  Fucking thieves. And what’s worse is that Bryce had the balls to lie about it this whole time. I’ve never wanted to beat the shit out of anyone as much as I do right now.

  Bryce deserves to suffer like Matias is. If I were left unchecked in a room alone with him, I’d make it happen. I know Erin did the right thing by stopping me, but I also seethe every time I look at Bryce.

  That asshole doesn’t deserve to eat the food down here. There’s a limited supply, and every bite he takes is one a worthy person won’t get down the road, when food is scarce. I can’t stand the thought of him drinking giant glasses of ice water when Matias is miserably thirsty at all times.

  I’m an even-tempered guy most of the time. It takes a level head to succeed as a quarterback. I’m able to make quick decisions and not doubt myself. But this thing with Bryce has put me in touch with the darkest part of myself. This isn’t about pre-snap reads or play calls or winning and losing football games. He fucked with people’s lives to steal from me.

  No one deserves to get cornholed by his thieving partner more. That’s cold comfort, though.

  With a deep exhale, I reach for my plate and move back in front of me. I eat the food mechanically, not tasting it as I chew and swallow. We’re rationing food, and I have to eat my portions to keep up my strength down here.

  I can feel the physical changes in my body. More than ten weeks without my usual diet and exercise routine have taken their toll. I’m not as strong, sharp, or fast anymore. Before, that would have been devastating to me. Every day of my life, my priority has been staying at the top of my game. Finding a way to be just a little faster, a little stronger than before. Working hard and never allowing distractions.

  But in a little over two months, everything has changed. If I could have anything now, I wouldn’t choose to break a record or be stronger than someone else. I’d want Matias to have a shot at living. My ideal evening would be a home-cooked meal at my lodge with my dad and Erin. I know he’d like her, and she’d like him.

  I took simple things like fresh air and sunshine for granted before. I worked hard and went back and forth from my New York apartment to my lodge in the off-season, but I don’t feel like I ever really stopped to appreciate what I had and what I’d done with my life.

  The door to the bunk room opens, and Erin comes out. I instinctively stand and walk over to meet her halfway across the great room, opening my arms. Her shoulders sink as she lets herself relax against my chest.

  “How is he?” I ask, holding her tight.

  “The same.”

  “Let’s get you something to eat.”

  The door to the bunk room opens, and we both look over. Bryce slinks out, his head down. He goes to the bathroom.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Erin says, her cheek pressed to my chest.

  “I’m not,” I lie.

  “Your whole body just tensed up when you saw him.”

  I concede with a grunt. “I don’t trust him. He shouldn’t be in the bunk room with you and Matias anymore.”

  “He’s harmless, Derek.”

  “Harmless?” I pull back and look at her. “He’s a criminal. We don’t know what he’s done or what he’s capable of doing.”

  “We didn’t know before either, though. We�
��ve been living together for more than two months.”

  I put my hands on her shoulders and hold her gaze. “But we didn’t know the truth before, babe. If we ever get out of here, he’s not walking free. Please be careful.”

  She furrows her brow. “What are you worried he might do?”

  “I don’t know. I just know I don’t trust him.”

  She slides her arms around my waist and rests her cheek against my chest again. “I think it makes sense now, why he’s been crying at Matias’s bedside. He feels guilty.”

  “He should.”

  “Yes. But I don’t think he’s planning to hurt any of us. He feels guilty and afraid.”

  Having Erin’s soft, warm body against mine seems to help temper my anger toward Bryce. She’s more compassionate than me, that’s for damn sure. I do trust her, though, and I’m grateful she’s here with me.

  “Even if I don’t hurt him, he deserves to be afraid I will,” I say in a low tone.

  “Promise me something.” Erin’s voice is urgent.

  “What?”

  “Promise me you won’t get that gun. Not for any reason.”

  She leans back until she’s looking into my eyes, and I feel a stab of guilt for the concern I see there. I’m supposed to be helping soothe her worries, not adding to them.

  “I’m not gonna shoot Bryce,” I say softly. “I promise you that.”

  Her bright blue eyes fill with emotion. “You know what I’m asking, Derek. Please.”

  “He’s not anywhere near a point I’d consider it.”

  She shakes her head. “Please don’t. Not at any point. My heart can’t take it.”

  I cup her cheek in my palm. “It’s not about you, though. Or me. I wouldn’t let a dying animal suffer, and I sure as hell can’t let someone I care about suffer.”

  She blinks, and a tear falls from each of her eyes. “But who are we to say when it’s too late for him?”

  “It won’t be about that, babe. It’ll be about him deciding when it’s time to let go.”

  “This whole thing is so unfair.”

  Bryce darts out of the supply room, a bag of dried beef in hand. He doesn’t even look at us as he scurries back into the bunk room.