by Alexie Aaron
“Ted, do you read me? over.”
Nothing.
Mia picked up her cell phone and mass texted everyone.
No answer.
“Murphy, no one is answering.” She called the security team and got an answering machine. “Damn, they’re taking Cyryl Nowicki down to the police station.” Mia left a message and asked for them to return immediately. “Maybe it’s just a… Who am I kidding? Let’s go and find out what’s going on.”
Mia ran through the new wing and into the lobby. It was empty. She accessed the computer. “Jake, where’s Ted?” she asked. “Or anyone?”
Jake had all the security cameras cycling, searching for the members of PEEPs. Nothing.
“Jake, search security footage at seven o’clock,” Mia asked, knowing she was being chastised by Ted at that time.
Mia watched the outdoor camera, and sure enough, she entered the building. Mike and Ted talked for some time, but the two of them entered the lobby. Ted came into the lobby and sat down. Mike walked towards the bar. She watched as Ted picked up her call, and he stepped out to alert Murphy. About the time she was climbing back in the window, Ted had simply disappeared.
“Jake, show me all team members at seven o’clock.”
Jake displayed Burt walking, conversing with Audrey while Cid lagged behind, taking stills. They moved out of one camera’s range but then didn’t show up on the following security camera.
“Show me the bar feed, starting when Mike walked in.”
Mia watched Mike remove an expensive scotch from the glass shelf and pour himself a drink. He penned a note of some kind. Mia assumed it was an IOU. He walked out of the security camera’s range.
“Show me PEEPs footage.”
The camera that was still aimed at the corner table picked up the sounds Mike was making and then showed him as he walked over to the table and sat down. Mia heard a door slam. Mike jumped up and ran out of the camera’s range. He didn’t appear in either the security camera or the PEEPs camera.
“They all just disappeared,” Mia said to Murphy. “But how?”
Murphy motioned to leave and move at his high speed.
“No, stay. I’m scared, Murphy. Don’t leave me. What if I disappear too?” she asked.
He nodded and moved beside her.
“Let’s go to the bar. It’s where Mike was last.”
~
Mike coughed, trying to clear the tightness in his chest. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find he was in total darkness. He was hanging over a beam of some kind. He moved his hand along his body and was satisfied he was not being restrained by anything. He moved his body off the beam until his feet connected with a hard surface. He heard breathing near him. “Hello?”
“Mike, is that you?” Burt asked in the darkness.
“Yes, where are we?”
“I don’t know,” Burt answered. “Where are the others?”
“I’ve been conscious for a while now, and you are the first that I’ve heard. I’m going to move towards you,” Mike said.
“Wait!” Ted’s voice called out from the darkness.
A blinding flash assaulted their eyes as Ted lit a light disc and dropped it to the ground in front of Mike.
Once the blue dots settled down, Mike found that he had been a half inch from falling to his death. He was on a stone ledge, and before him was a deep pit. Behind him was a shallow alcove. Burt was lying in the corner. Ted was suspended above them on another rock outcropping. Cid was unconscious, with Audrey lying on top of him, ten feet from Mike.
“I think, when the floor fell away, he managed to shield Audrey from the fall with his body,” Burt said.
Mike moved to the couple and gently tapped Audrey’s face until she opened her eyes. “Can you move your hands and feet for me, Audrey?” Mike asked.
“What? Why? Yes. I’m alright. What happened?”
“We fell through the floor,” Burt explained.
“Like in the Rosemount hotel?”
“No, there wasn’t a slide, just air,” he said.
Audrey lifted the limp hand off her stomach and turned. “Oh my god, is that Cid?” she asked, getting up. Audrey knelt down and examined her human shield. “He’s breathing, but there’s a gurgling coming from his chest.”
Mike helped her to move him onto his left side. “Stay with him.”
Mike walked over and took in Burt’s condition. It didn’t take a genius to see he had broken his leg. Mike looked around him for something to use as a splint. Aside from rocks and dirt, the shelf they had landed on was bare. Mike took off his jeans and doubled them up and positioned them beside the injured leg. He then helped Burt off with his shirt which he ripped into strips. Once he had knotted enough together, he repositioned Burt’s leg and used the denim as a soft cast and secured the injury.
“I wouldn’t try to get up, but maybe this will keep it from getting worse,” Mike said. He looked up. “Ted, mind telling me how you are doing up there?”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got rebar through my thigh.”
“Are you bleeding?”
“Yes, but the rebar missed the main artery. As long as I don’t move, I think I can hold my own for a while.”
“He’s used to holding his own,” Cid rasped from the floor.
Mike put his hand on his mouth to stop the laughter. Audrey wasn’t as successful. Burt, even through his pain, laughed.
“Ted, I hate to put you on the spot, but would you mind inventorying your pockets before you pass out?”
“Three light discs, one energon cube, some wire, an extra cell phone battery, my cell - and no, it has no bars - six rubbers, breath mints…”
“Wait, you have six rubbers in your pockets?” Mike asked.
“Um, Mia has been a bit randy lately. Dude, she wants it all the time. I’m just being prepared.”
“Oh gross,” Audrey said. “TMI, Ted.”
“Lucky guy,” Mike said. “Go on, what else have you got?”
“I have a small first aid kit and two small saltshakers.”
“Okay. How long will the light discs last?”
“Six hours.”
“Really? Good. Keep one with you, and toss down the other two.”
Mike caught the discs and set them aside. “I think you’re going to need most of that first aid kit up there, but if you could toss some pain relievers down... We’ve got to keep Burt’s leg from swelling too badly.”
“Okay, everybody, empty your pockets. I’ll be around to collect what we have.”
“I’m sending down the kit. I’ve kept the tourniquet, antibiotic cream and some gauze pads. You can have the rest,” Ted said. “Anybody seen Mia?”
“She’s not down here,” Mike said.
“I told her to stay in her room and sent Murphy to be with her when the doors started slamming,” Ted reported. “Thank God she listened to me for once.”
“Why is this happening?” Audrey asked.
Mike activated the ice pack and handed it to Cid to hold to the back of his head. “When we caught that Nowicki guy outside, he threatened Mia. Said the Nowickis were going to rise up and kill us all.”
“Hey, a heads-up would have been nice,” Cid groaned from the floor.
“I was waiting until Mia came back so we could have a mini meeting.” Mike picked up the disc and held it over his head before he looked up. “Anybody have any idea how far we fell?”
“The blackness is eating up the light,” Ted reported.
“Cover your heads, guys. I’m going to toss some pebbles up to see if I can hit the top of this thing,” Mike warned. He chose his projectiles carefully They had to be heavy enough not to throw his shoulder out and small enough not to hurt anyone as they landed. “Here goes.” Mike took a few steps, angled his body and sent the rock sailing. It didn’t hit anything before it landed near Burt. Mike changed direction, and this time, he tossed the rock and hit something. The sound of rock hitting metal rang throughout the cavern they were trying to s
urvive on the edge of.
“I estimate twenty feet over my head,” Ted said. “And I’m ten feet over you.”
“We’re lucky to have survived the fall.”
“So far,” Cid said from the floor before shutting his eyes.
~
“Did you hear that?” Mia asked Murphy.
“The doors?”
“No, this was different. A clunk from below us.”
Murphy tried to sink through the floor and couldn’t. “Iron below this carpet,” he said.
Mia ran her hands around the edges of the hall floor. She jumped back as the floor disappeared. Murphy caught her from falling when she lost her balance.
She whipped off the shield and jammed it into the mechanism that was already trying to close the trapdoor.
Murphy descended quickly, using the light from below to guide him.
“Hello down there!” Mia called. “Murph’s on his way down.”
Murphy noted Ted’s desperate condition on his way down. Cid was on the ground, unable to rise, Mike and Audrey were mobile, and Burt had a broken leg. Murphy came back up quickly to inform Mia.
She ran to the nearest house phone and found that the line was dead. No surprise there. She ran back. “Guys, it’s a no-go on getting any help here. My cell has no bars now. How the fuck can that be? Anyway, all you have is me. I think the first thing is to get you guys out of there. Give me a moment. Ted, I need you to use your genius mind to tell me what I can get to help you.”
“Mia, be careful. Whoever did this to us may still be in the hotel,” Mike called.
“I will.”
“Mighty Mouse, you will need to gather some things together. There should be ski patrol supplies somewhere. There, you will find rope, hopefully, a rescue litter, and trauma supplies. Get them here as fast as you can. Burt’s got a serious fracture.”
“I’ve sent Murphy to find the stuff first. I don’t want to leave this opening unguarded,” she explained.
Murphy found the equipment in a side shed. He checked out the quickest route for Mia and returned.
“I’ll be back. Hang in there,” she said.
The ones that could make eye contact looked at each other and prayed that Mia would be successful.
“I bet whomever did this planned on the little lady up there getting hysterical,” Burt started.
“But not our Mia,” Cid finished.
Ted was concerned for what she might be facing up there alone. If the architects of this trapdoor had also put into use an illegal cell phone jammer, then they meant business. He closed his eyes and prayed.
Chapter Eight
Mia had gotten halfway across the yard towards the ski patrol shack when the outdoor lighting quit.
“Damn, that’s not a good sign. We still have an active human on the premises,” she said to Murphy. “I bet the plan was to get rid of the investigative team and then proceed to scare the remaining member out of her gourd.”
“Are you scared?”
“No, because you’re here,” Mia said honestly. “If I were alone, then yes, I would be scared. I would still function, but it wouldn’t be as much fun.”
Murphy looked sideways at her. Did she really think this was fun? His idea of fun had to do with events that did not include people almost falling to their deaths, phony ghosts, and being trapped up on top of this hill.
Mia didn’t bother to try and pick the lock on the shed door. She took her sword and sliced it in two. “Cover me. I expect this would be as good a place as any for an ambush,” she said.
Murphy stood with his back to the door, looking out into the dark. He heard a few curses, along with a few crashes, but Mia managed to arrive back at the door with the asked for equipment. She had several mountaineering ropes looped over her shoulder and a bag of trauma supplies fixed to her scabbard. She carried a litter out of the shed. “Come on, we have to get back before whoever this is figures out what I’m doing.”
They moved quickly through the darkness. The hotel was quiet. Gone were the sounds of slamming doors. Mia approached the open trap. She nodded to Murphy who drifted downward and returned immediately.
“They are still there,” he said.
Mia walked into the bar and looked around. She smiled when her eyes landed on a solution to a problem. She walked over, taking her sword out, and cut through the end supports of the bar’s brass-covered steel foot rail. She then sliced it in two and dragged it to the trap. She carefully lifted the heavy rails over the hole, pleased by the surplus of metal on either side of the opening.
She next fixed two sets of ropes to the rails. To one set she tied the litter. The other she fed through her makeshift harness. Stepping into the harness, she looked at Murphy and said, “I need you to watch for intruders. Do not let anyone get by you and close the trapdoors. No matter what you hear below, you must stay here and keep watch. I’m counting on you.”
“I won’t let you down, Mia,” Murphy promised. “Try not to fall on your head.”
“I’ll do my best, but no promises,” she said and grinned.
Mia took the litter and shouted, “Mike!”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to lower a litter. Tell me when it hits the floor.”
“I will!” he called back up.
Mike watched the black rectangle above and saw an open, silver sarcophagus, sans skis, being lowered. It was briefly hung up on the beam that had broken his fall, but the uneven weight distribution of the litter made it slide off the beam. He caught it and dragged it over between Cid and Burt, calling, “It’s down!”
Mia nodded to Murphy as she eased herself over the edge and lowered herself into the cavern. She stopped when she saw Ted.
“Batman, I’m not impressed with your cave so far,” she said, watching him to evaluate whether he could wait until she stabilized Burt and Cid.
“Hell of a time to have the Batwing in the shop,” he said.
Mia flashed her light over her husband and winced when she saw the rebar protruding from his thigh. “That’s got to hurt.”
“I’ve felt better. See to the others, and then stop by on your way back up. I’m in desperate need of some attention.”
“He’s got six rubbers in his pocket, Mia,” Mike called up. “That should take you guys about six minutes…”
“Ahem, I believe you’ve underestimated my husband,” Mia said and continued to lower herself to the ground. She stepped out of the harness.
Mike pointed to Cid. Mia knelt down and ran her hands over her fallen friend. He had a lot of bruising and several broken bones. “Cid, I’m going to turn you on your back. Audrey, could you help me?”
They worked quickly but gently. Mia continued to move her hands over Cid.
“What’s the prognosis, Doc?”
“You’re never going to be able to play the piano again, but I think I can set these bones and start mending them. I’m worried about your liver and spleen,” she said honestly. “Let’s get you topside as soon as possible.” Mia turned to Mike. “I’m going to need your strength up there. Put on the harness, and I’ll pull you up.”
“I can climb,” Mike said. “Save your strength.”
“Okay. I’ll work on Cid. Audrey, help Mike stabilize the rope.”
“Yes, Mia,” Audrey said and braced her body to the task at hand.
Mia knelt down, took a deep breath, and unlocked the healing chamber of her mind. She knew that each time she did this, she increased the possibility of starting the transformation process, but her friends and husband would not survive unless she did so. “I call upon the mages of the four winds,” she said. “Give me your power to heal.”
Cid watched as Mia’s hands glowed. She started with his head and moved her hands over every square inch of his body. Soon the pain had dulled. He still felt weak, but he would live.
Mia got up and wiggled her back around. “Just getting the kinks out.” She looked up at Mike’s progression and waited until he had disappeared int
o the black void before moving the litter towards Cid.
“I’m going to pick you up.”
“Mia, I weigh a ton,” Cid protested.
“I’ll help,” Audrey said.
Mia nodded. “On three. One, two, three,” Mia said as they lifted the investigator and settled him into the litter. Mia and Audrey strapped him in. “We’re ready when you are, Mike!” Mia called.
Mike looked over at Murphy and nodded. Together they pulled Cid up past the beams, and when the litter was within reach, they hauled it up, and Mike dragged Cid into the bar. He untied the investigator and helped him to move slowly to a booth where Mike insisted Cid lay down.
“Just until Mia’s voodoo has a chance to work,” he said.
“Make sure you have her look at your ribs,” Cid said. “You have a rasp to your breathing.”
“Listen, super ears, you do your part and heal, and I’ll do mine, which is hero work. After you all are fine, I’ll have Mia play with my bones.”
“Why do you make it sound so dirty?” Cid asked.
“It’s a talent.” Mike picked up the litter and headed back to the open trap and called, “Litter coming down.”
Mia was already working on Burt. She had removed Mike’s field dressing and studied the break. “Burt, I’ve got to pull on this leg and ease it back into place first. It’s going to hurt like hell. Feel free to pass out, but don’t fight me, K?”
“I’ll do my best. Spawn of Satan! What the fuck are you…” Burt stopped talking.
“He’s out,” Audrey observed. “Or dead.” She bent over him. “He passed out. His breathing is steady,” she reported.
Mia had her eyes closed, allowing herself to be used by the magicians who permeated the dimension that the Gray Ladies had taught Mia to access. Knowledge that would take years for her to learn was pushed into her mind for her to take when needed. She started the healing process before she splinted the leg.
Audrey caught the litter and moved it as close to Burt as she could. She knew from experience that underneath the soft layers was a heavily-muscled man. Burt was going to be difficult to move.
