by Holly Hook
“Girl! We know you ran out here.”
I curl up farther under the roots. Roger turns away and faces a patch of trees not far from the cliff, a group of trees so close together that I could have hidden there, too. “You won't be able to survive the night. Come with us. We won't hurt you.”
It's just me and my racing pulse. Roger has that gun out. I'll believe him when I burp out rainbows.
Someone has to come. Someone must hear these guys yelling. They have to. As soon as Roger leaves, I'll get out my phone and dial 911. They'll be able to track my location and send a helicopter out here to get me. I just have to wait this out.
Roger turns towards me...and stops, facing the cliff in the very back of the forest. He cups his hand around his mouth again. “Girl!”
He's going to see my hiding place if he turns any further. I hold my breath.
“Roger!” Larconi shouts. He's not as close.
He faces away from me. “Yes?”
Larconi sounds out of breath. “We can't linger here long. We still have to move those cars before any more police get to Badwater. They have to go before morning breaks. We're cutting it very, very close. We also need to hide the gateway.”
I'm confused. It looks like morning has already broken. Aren't they too late?
But I breathe a sigh of relief when Roger walks away from where I'm hiding. “But the girl,” he says.
“We'll have to come back for her. The boss will understand. The secret has to be kept before anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“We need to go. It's a long walk back. The Dwellers are impatient again.”
And Roger disappears, stepping behind a pair of trees.
I breathe a big sigh of relief, but I don't dare move. I won't until I'm sure they're long gone.
Gateway. Morning. None of this makes any sense. It's already morning. There shouldn't be any gateway, unless they mean that hole behind the water heater in Talia's old house. Of course they need to hide that. That might be the only reason I'm still alive.
I stay under the protection of the fallen tree for a long time. I keep my ears sharp, waiting for Roger and Larconi to return, but I spot no movement. Somewhere nearby, a bug starts to buzz in the heat.
The heat.
It's November.
It should not be this warm.
And the grass shouldn't be so green. All the trees here are pines and will stay green the whole year, but something isn't adding up here.
After about half an hour, I can't stand the darkness anymore. What if the Dwellers can dig up after me and suck me into some hole right here? The tree's a shield from the bright light. They could do it. I blink and all those slimy eyes stare back at me. I have to get out of here. I have to stand in the sun for a bit and get some sanity back.
I do. I climb out from under the tree, every muscle tense, waiting for Roger and Larconi to come back out and confront me. I wait for a gunshot. It never comes. There is only natural silence. Birds fly far overhead, a flock heading somewhere. They're geese, I think. That's weird. They should all be south this time of year.
I turn in a circle.
There's no sign of civilization anywhere. No people. No roads. No cell phone towers. It's all wild cliffs and vegetation. The green field spreads out to my right and the men have gone. They must be underground again, having the Dwellers carry them back to Badwater.
I pull out my phone. Thankfully, the flashlight app has turned off on its own and I still have three bars left. I haven't wasted too much of it after all climbing out of the old mine. I lift it up.
I have no reception.
Nothing.
It's a flat bar and my phone hasn't even gone on roaming.
“Come on,” I say, pulling up the number pad. I have to get someone out here who can go down and handle those Dweller things. Someone who can pull Shawn and Talia and Travis out of there so they can go see their families again. Someone who can get me out of here, too.
I dial 911.
Hold the phone to my ear.
It never rings. Instead, I get a strange beeping tone and a voice telling me that the number I have dialed cannot be reached.
“No,” I breathe, trying again. “I don't need this right now.”
Nothing. The same computer operated voice tells me that trying to dial is pointless.
I have to text Mom, then. I pull up her number and tap out a message as fast as I can.
Mom, help. I don't know where I am. I'm alive.
Send.
The circle on my screen spins and spins and spins.
At last, my phone spits out an error message.
Unable to send. Number unknown.
I scream and throw the phone down onto the tall grass. The vegetation swallows it as it lands with a soft thump.
Stay quiet, babe, Shawn says in my mind.
Shawn. He must be hundreds of feet below me now, waiting for my help. What am I supposed to do when I'm out in the middle of nowhere with no contact with the outside world?
I pick up my phone. I want to collapse in the grass and give up. But I can't. There must be help somewhere close. I can't be too far from other people. There must be a cell phone tower somewhere within a few miles. Larconi and his little minions couldn't have taken me too far from Badwater.
But it makes no sense.
The cliffs tower over me, high as ever. The bird comes out from the crack and flies over my head. These trees are huge, the tallest I've ever seen. They sway in the breeze and make creaking sounds. They must be ancient. The only trees I saw before going into Talia's old house were stubby, short ones, barren of all their leaves. Mom and Garrett are probably going out of their minds, worrying about where I am. Have they called the police yet? I never came down to dinner to help entertain those guys from Garrett's company, after all. Now I feel bad about it.
I have to get moving. Call them and tell them I'm alive.
After picking up my phone, I head back the way I came. It's not like a have a choice. This valley is closed in by cliffs on three sides. There's nowhere else to go. I keep the axe next to me and my backpack on. I don't know what I'll need it for, but I don't want to lose it, either. I still have Talia's thumb drive and as soon as I get to the police, I'll hand it over. I'm not scared of getting in trouble anymore. I just want to be safe. I just want to hug Mom and Garrett and tell them I'm all right. Even Mom isn't so horrible anymore.
But what are the police going to do after they learn what we've discovered about the Flamestone Society? Maybe it's one of those secret ones like the Illuminati that people think run the world behind the scenes. Or it's a cult that deals with these little Dweller things in exchange for treasure or something. What else would they get out of those mines?
The sun's higher now, peeking over the cliffs and mountains. The rock walls open up and I step back into the open field. There's no sign of anyone else. The hills roll away from me and rise back into mountains in the distance. More pine trees stand tall on the other side of the valley, huge guards between passable land and jagged rocks. This is not like the area I live in at all.
I have to keep moving.
I lift my phone in the air. Still no bars. There has to be something.
The sun grows hot on the top of my head. It must be in the upper sixties here. The forecast only said it was going to get in the low forties at the most and it was supposed to keep raining. I look at the sky. The wispy clouds stay thin and ethereal as ever. What's happened since I blacked out? Did we stumble on some super long, underground network that goes all over the world? Maybe the Flamestone Society manages that or something. I could be in another country for all I know. Like Switzerland. But it should be getting cold there too, shouldn't it?
But they must have cell phone towers. This isn't exactly an inhospitable place. I reach the top of a low, rolling hill. Small purple wildflowers grow along the edge of this field and right through the center of the valley cuts a slow, sparkling river that glitters in the sun.
I'm getting close to the mine entrance now. I have to peek down it and make sure Larconi and Roger aren't hiding inside, waiting for me to pass. I put my phone away and tighten my grip on the axe. It's my only defense out here. It won't do much against a crowd of Dwellers or men with guns, but it's all I have.
I peek down the hole.
It looks even deeper now and one of the rungs from the ladder is still broken, hanging by a single nail. This is built for humans, not freaky little gnomes. There must be other people around here. Maybe this is where miners come out to cut down trees for the supports down there, hence the axe. But most of the trees here are all intact and huge and uncut. The stumps I passed were weathered and forgotten. That must make the mines below us old. Very old.
I don't dare shout. Larconi and Roger will hear, even if they're far down already. I want to scream for Shawn with all my being, but I force myself to keep my mouth shut. What can I do? I know I should rush down there and cut down Larconi and Roger and every Dweller I find. Shawn would do that if I were down there. He'd tackle them and make sure they never came after us again. I have an axe. If I snuck up on them, I could--
Like father, like daughter.
Melissa's cruel words flare in my mind like neon lights above a busy casino.
Who do you think did it?
“Shut up,” I say. “Shut up, Melissa. You deal with a criminal father and see how you feel.” I grit my teeth, horrified that I even thought of doing that. I'm not going to stoop that low. I'm not like my biological father. I won't be. I refuse to be.
I need to run and go for help.
I do one more check to make sure no men are coming out of from behind the boulders. Good. Now how to do I walk out of here? This area is surrounded by mountains and I can't climb over those cliffs. I failed at the rock climbing wall in summer camp and even if I hadn't, no one but a professional climber with expensive gear and years of experience would make it. It's as if this area's a prison in itself. Mountains grow up on all sides of this valley, isolating it from the world. I need to get out of here. Maybe the cliffs are blocking my cell phone signal.
The river.
It must cut through the mountains and lead out of here. I follow the sparkling water with my gaze. It curves like a blue snake and heads right for the mountains. And only a couple miles away, lined with more of the trees, is an opening that leads out of the valley. The river must cut through there.
I have to try that. It's my only option, other than going down and getting myself killed or captured. There might be a town or some cabins right on the other side of that. Or, at the very least, reception.
I look at the sun. It's higher now, climbing towards late morning.
And back at the entrance.
When it the sun goes down, the Dwellers will be free to scurry out of there and come after me. How fast can they move? Judging from what I heard down there and the incredible distance they must have carried us, very fast.
I jog over to the river. My sides and legs are sore from all the running I've done, but at least I can catch my breath. I can't lose this place so long as I stay near the water. All I'll have to do is point the police down this river. They'll end this Flamestone Society. Free Shawn and Travis and Talia and whoever else is down there, slaving to death.
The river's quiet, with water flowing in the direction of the opening. It's like it's pointing the way. How long will it take me to walk across this valley and get there? I'm not sure how to gauge the distance, but the farther I get from the entrance of this mine, the better. There might even be more than one entrance and I know the light of the moon—if there is one tonight—won't be enough to hold those little nightmares back. The dull light from Shawn's phone didn't. It seems like only bright lights will do the trick.
There's gravel right along the river. I walk. A few fish flick their tails underneath the water. One of them, I swear, has green, sparkling stripes. I'm glad to see something sane. Something I know is real and something that won't make me pass out every time I look at it.
Shawn likes fishing. He always goes with his grandfather every summer.
I burst into tears.
Shawn.
He's down there.
In the dark.
Away from this place that he would love if it wasn't for the evil going on under the ground.
And Talia.
She's down there, too, with no loving family like she deserves. She might be dead already from the overwork. What if the Dwellers have decided that she's not good enough and they've cast her into some chasm or eaten her?
I collapse on the gravel. The water soaks in through my jeans, but I don't care.
All of my friends are gone.
I can't stop the tears. I put my face in my hands and let them come. How did I escape from that? Why me? I shouldn't be out here while my friends are down below with unspeakable horrors happening to them. All I did was run. I never had the guts like Shawn has. I just ran out of here like a coward because I can't do anything.
I told you to run, Shawn says.
I did.
I suck down the tears and take my face from my hands. Shawn wanted me to get out of here. I have to tell myself that. If I hadn't done what he'd said, I'd be down there, too, or worse, dead. I can go and get help.
You have to keep going.
He's right.
The sun's higher over the cliffs now. It must be around eleven in the morning. Once that sun goes down, I'm hosed unless I find some building first with actual people in it. Free people. People who aren't connected to the Flamestone Society in any way.
I stand. The water's soaked in through the seat of my pants and a single fish flicks its tail and swims deeper into the river, gliding over a city of pebbles. Weeds wave in the water as if they're urging me to hurry. The breeze kicks up. It's warm.
It's freaking me out.
I hike the backpack up, turn off my phone, and put it back in my pocket. I have to conserve battery if I'm going to be walking for a while. I won't be able to call 911 later if my phone doesn't even work. I'll turn it on and check for a signal every hour or so, I decide.
It's going to be a long trip.
I walk, staying along the side of the river. The valley rolls and stretches out in front of me. The cliffs must be miles away. I look down at my tennis shoes, glad that I didn't wear my fake fur boots today. They're uncomfortable enough walking through school with or taking to the mall. At least I wore something for walking.
The sun grows higher and the heat increases on the back of my neck. It must be in the seventies by now. More birds fly overhead and I search the rolling grass for something, anything. There's not even a lousy abandoned shack out here. It looks like all the human workers underground—and there must be a lot of them—aren't allowed to stay up here at all unless their quarters are on the other side of these cliffs. They must only be allowed up to cut down trees for supports, and probably only at night. The Dwellers won't let them up in the daytime. They'd escape if that happened. The daylight is the reason I'm walking away from here.
It's almost noon.
The cliffs must be a couple miles away still. I walk over another rolling hill and I can see where the river goes more clearly. The cliffs split as if some titan has cut through them with an axe, and axe much bigger than the one I'm dragging along the ground.
At last, I reach the wall of the valley. The river curves up ahead, cutting through the stone. I'm walking right into a canyon. The stone around it has funny curving stripes that form all colors of the rainbow. I don't spot any more of the orange splotches, but it's beautiful all the same. There's still a shoreline at the bottom of the canyon that I can walk through. Have I landed somewhere out in the West? Maybe this is the Grand Canyon after all, or part of it.
I shake my head. Giant trees hover over me. There wouldn't be all these tall pine trees if that was the case. Isn't the Grand Canyon out in the desert? That would rule out the green valley.
The cliffs tower far over me and
more birds take flight. I enter the canyon and I feel as if all these mountains are going to topple and fall on me. I feel like a bug wandering through something huge.
Keep going, I tell myself.
I have to get help if Shawn and Talia and Travis are ever going to be freed.
There must be something on the other side of this. This river will have to come out somewhere.
My feet ache and I struggle to balance on the gravel. Pebbles slip under my shoes and threaten to send me splashing into the water. I put one hand on the rock wall to keep my footing, which helps. This looks like no one has ever walked through here before. It's almost magical.
The vegetation turns to shrubs and gets farther and farther apart. A few trees grow far above my head, hugging the cliffs for dear life. I look down and something small runs behind a rock ahead of me. I stop until I realize it was just a mouse or something. No Dweller can tolerate the light here.
It's just me and the gurgling of the river. That's all.
The river grows narrower. I look up at the sun, having to crane my head to see where it is in the sky. It's past noon now. I must have walked for two hours already, leaving the mine entrance a few miles behind me. It's the only sign of other people I've seen so far.
The river's curving again up ahead.
I walk faster. The cliff on the right ends, leaving open space and beyond it, more green. There must be something up there. At least then I can see where I am and where Badwater is. Or where another city is or at least, a cell phone tower. I'll check once I'm out of this canyon. Even if I am near a tower, these cliffs are going to block any signal that might be trying to get to me.
At last, after another half hour of walking, I emerge from the entrance of the canyon. The world spreads out in front of me, green and alive. Everything slopes downward. More of the pine trees spread everywhere I can see, tall and graceful and old. Smaller ones grow along the bank as if they're children pushed out of the crowd. The river continues downward, through more coniferous forest, giant boulders, and an endless sea of dark green. The sky spreads out, free of obstructions.
