High Stakes Crime: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Shelby Nichols Adventure Book 15)

by Colleen Helme

  I examined the area around him and found a leather pouch filled with golden nuggets. He must have been ready to leave when the tunnel collapsed. I couldn’t imagine a worse fate than lying there waiting to die. Studying him more closely, I noticed that his skull sat at an unnatural angle.

  I crouched down closer and examined his skull. With a shock, I realized there was a big hole in the side of his head. Had he shot himself? I scanned the area again and found the gun nestled beside him in his decayed clothing. Well… I guess he hadn’t waited after all.

  Not wanting to dwell on that, I decided to explore the tunnel at the cave-in. This time, I noticed that several rocks had been removed from the pile. He must have tried to dig his way out. Near the top of the pile, a rock sat at the outside edge. It didn’t look too big for me to move, and removing it might create an opening wide enough for me to crawl through.

  After jostling the rock back and forth a few times, it started to come loose. I pulled a little harder, and several of the rocks around it shifted. With a gasp, I released my hold and took a step back, realizing that the whole thing could come down on top of me.

  The rock beside it slipped, sending one rock to the ground. Another rock fell, then another, and another. I backed away as fast as I could and turned to run. As the rocks crashed behind me, I ducked back into the cavern with Jeremiah’s remains.

  Hurrying toward my own rock slide, the sound of falling stones behind me abated, and I sagged in relief. A cloud of dust surged toward me, and I quickly turned my back. Once the dust had settled, I decided to head back to see the damage.

  A small hope burned in my heart that the rocks may have shifted enough to leave an opening I could get though. Stepping cautiously into the tunnel, I found the way completely blocked. If anything, it was worse than before. Damn. Of all the bad luck. Or was it the curse?

  Shaking my head, I let out a sigh and headed back to the cavern. At least the excitement had warmed me up. I glanced once more at Jeremiah, searching for a blanket or something to keep me warm. Just a few minutes ago, I didn’t even want to touch him, but now it didn’t seem so bad.

  The clothing I did touch basically fell apart, so I knew that was a wasted effort. With a sigh, I turned back to peer up at the sky from the hole I’d fallen through. Amazingly, I could see a few stars in the blackness.

  Just seeing those stars helped me settle down, and I stepped back to my corner to huddle against my back pack. Turning off my headlamp, I curled into a tight ball and closed my eyes, determined to rest, even if I couldn’t sleep. Soon, it would be morning, and Chris would bring Coco to find me.

  I repeated that mantra several times before drifting into a fitful sleep.

  Faint light penetrated my prison, sending hope into my heart. Finally. I’d never spent such a long night in my life. After checking my watch every few minutes, I didn’t think the night would ever end.

  At six in the morning, I knew it was too early for anyone to find me. Still, it would happen today. I just had to believe it. My empty stomach growled, so I got out my breakfast bar and began to eat. I hadn’t planned on eating the whole thing, but it was gone before I could stop. I hadn’t seen any sign of water in the cave, so I only drank a few swallows and saved the rest.

  Now that I had some light, I used it to examine the rocks around me. Those from the slide just seemed like regular old rocks, so I looked over some that were further away. I came across a beauty, and held it up toward the light.

  From prospecting with my grandpa, I knew most gold was found in white quartz. This piece of white quartz held several veins of golden color and was the size of my fist. I found several more stones of equal quality, but none of them were as pretty as this one.

  My grandpa would have had a heart attack to see what I’d found. It would have been a dream come true. He’d told me about all the good things he’d do with the money, and all the people he’d help. That was the main reason he thought he’d find the mine, since he’d use the gold for good.

  If he could see me now, he’d probably be shaking his head and thinking that, even though I’d found the gold, it wasn’t worth risking my life. But how was I supposed to know this would happen? Prospecting wasn’t supposed to be life-threatening.

  I glanced at poor Jeremiah and changed my mind. Maybe it was after all. I stepped beside him and examined the ground, finding several broken, golden rocks along the ground where Jeremiah sat. The amount of gold in the cavern astounded me.

  Uncle Joey had told me earlier that just one ounce of good-quality gold was worth eighteen hundred dollars. Judging on the amount of gold I could see, this mine was easily worth millions. But was taking it a good idea? Based on what had happened to Jeremiah, and now me, I wasn’t so sure. Maybe it really was cursed.

  As crazy as that sounded, I also had to consider the other cavern with the petroglyphs. That was probably a huge find, but it somehow seemed like a bad idea to disturb that place. I certainly didn’t want to go back in there.

  Still, seeing this amount of gold all in one place was enough to make me dizzy. I let out a breath. None of this would matter if Coco didn’t find me. In the end, I’d rather live than die in here with a bunch of gold.

  An hour passed, then two. Growing impatient, I wondered if I should try to climb out again. But how was being outside any different than staying in here? If I got out, I’d be no closer to finding our camp than I was in here. I should have just hugged a tree and yelled for Ramos. Why didn’t I do that?

  Two more hours passed, and I tried not to panic. I needed to give them time. I might even have to wait until tomorrow, but I could do that. I knew they were looking for me, and just knowing that helped calm me down. They’d find me. They had to.

  I spent the next three hours singing some of my favorite songs. After that, I began to pray. I’d been praying in my mind a lot already, but maybe I wasn’t praying hard enough?

  At five o’clock, true despair set in. Why hadn’t they found me yet? Coco was amazing. He knew my scent better than any dog on the planet. He should be able to follow my trail, so what was going on? Maybe Ramos and Uncle Joey hadn’t called Chris until after they’d searched for me themselves. Maybe Coco wasn’t even here yet.

  I shook my head. It was okay. I was still alive and basically uninjured. There was plenty of time for them to find me.

  My mouth had gone dry three hours ago, after I ate the last of my fruit. I knew I needed to drink some water, but what would I do once it was gone? Giving in, I took a couple of sips. It hardly helped at all. Maybe I should just drink the rest? I wasn’t sure making it last would help me more than drinking it all at once.

  With that in mind, I raised it to my lips, ready to finish it off. Before I took the second swallow, the water ran out. Really? I tipped it upside down, hoping for another drop or two, but nothing came out.

  Frustrated and ready to cry, I took a deep breath and calmed down. This wasn’t the end. I could last another night, and I was nowhere near dying. Besides that, there was still time for them to find me before it got dark.

  As the next couple of hours passed, my hope began to wane.

  Watching the dim light above me turn into darkness sent fear into my heart. I tried to shake it off. Facing another night in this dark, damp place was hard to swallow, but I could do it. Since they hadn’t found me by now, they’d probably call off the search until morning.

  But that was okay. Looking for me in the dark was dangerous for everyone, and I’d be fine. I scrunched my eyes together and took a deep breath, not about to cry. It was okay, another night wouldn’t kill me.

  Somehow, I managed to curl up and drift to sleep. I felt myself falling and jerked awake. Complete darkness surrounded me, and, for a fleeting moment, I wondered if I’d gone blind. I reached up and flipped on my headlamp, letting out a breath of relief.

  As I straightened from my huddled position, my muscles screamed. My neck hurt, and spasms ran across my back. I struggled to my feet and did a few stretc
hes to loosen up. That helped, and I took a couple of steps toward the cavern to continue the process.

  Sudden weakness came over me, leaving me panting for breath. Surprised that I could barely shuffle along, I stopped to rest. My headlamp dimmed, and I staggered back to my spot just before it went out. I felt for my backpack and sat down, taking off my head lamp and stuffing it inside. I still had my flashlight, but I wasn’t about to turn it on now.

  Tempted to glance at my watch for the time, I debated if I should. What if it was only nine or ten? In the end, I looked anyway, finding it was just after midnight. But hey, that was better than ten, right? That meant only six hours until daylight.

  I dozed off and on after that. Dreams of falling kept jarring me awake, but, after a while, I was too tired and cold to care. Right before six in the morning, I couldn’t take it any longer and climbed to my feet. I moved to a place below the slide, where the light could hit me in the face, and counted the seconds as it grew lighter.

  Somewhere around one thousand and ninety-nine, I stopped counting. A new day had dawned, and I’d done it. I’d made it through the night, and today was the day they’d find me.

  After an hour, I grew tired of facing the rocks and moved back so I could lean against them. Another hour passed, and I stood to stretch. Even though I ached everywhere, the bump on the back of my head had gone down, and my ankle was only a little stiff.

  I spent the next few minutes rearranging my hair, combing through it with my fingers. I even managed to braid it, and used the elastic band to hold it together. Today, my lip didn’t seem quite as swollen, and the rest of my cuts and bruises were on the mend, so at least I wouldn’t look too bad when they got here.

  Morning slowly gave way to afternoon. I still had hope that they’d make it, but I needed to be prepared in case they didn’t. One more night wouldn’t kill me. I knew a person could go for three days without water, and I’d had a few swallows yesterday, so I could last another day or two, right?

  I sat in my spot, feeling weaker than I liked to admit. I’d need all the energy I could get to climb out, once they got here, so resting was a good idea. I closed my eyes and listened to all the sounds I could hear above me. I picked up the chirping of a few birds, but nothing more seemed to penetrate this deep hole.

  As the hours slipped by, I couldn’t bear to look at my watch, and I drifted into a light sleep.

  CHAPTER 13

  I woke with a start, hearing a sound I hadn’t heard for days. My heart began to pound. I rose unsteadily to my feet and looked up at the hole. A louder bark sounded, closer than the last one, and tears filled my eyes.

  “Coco.” My voice cracked. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Coco.” I leaned against the rocks, looking up at the circle of blue sky.

  Coco’s head came into view, and he barked and whined like he was in pain.

  “Coco! You made it! I’m down here.” I yelled as loud as I could, but my voice sounded weak and breathless.

  “Mom? Mom! Are you down there?”

  “Josh! Yes. I’m here.”

  “Shelby?” Chris called.

  “I’m down here.” I fought to hold back my tears.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Chris’s head came into view, but I couldn’t make out his face. “We’re going to get you out. Just hang on.”

  I heard Josh yelling in the background. “She’s alive. She’s down in a hole. We need the ropes.”

  I couldn’t hold back my sobs, even though my eyes were mostly dry. Chris stepped too close to the edge, and a few rocks came loose. “Shelby! Look out.”

  I got out of the way in time, but several more rocks slid down after the first. Once the dust cleared, Chris called to me. “Shelby? Shelby! Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I’m okay. They missed.”

  “Hang on. We’re trying to figure this out.”

  “Just send me a rope. I can climb out with a little help.”

  “The ground is unstable up here, and we don’t want to cause a cave-in, so we’re taking it slow.” Chris disappeared, but Josh took his place. From here, it looked like he was lying down on his stomach, and with his lighter weight, he could stay there and talk to me without causing a landslide.

  “Mom? You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’ve got a rope, and we’re attaching it to a rock climbing harness. If we send it down, can you put it on?”

  “Yes. Send it down.”

  “Okay. We’re getting it ready.”

  “Could you send some water down with it?”

  “You got it!” He disappeared, and I heard him yell. “She wants water.”

  I waited, hearing other voices, along with Coco’s frantic barking. I’d never heard anything so wonderful in all my life.

  “Okay,” Josh called, leaning over the edge. “I’m sending it down now.” His gloved hands lowered the harness and length of rope. “It’s too dark to see you from here, so I’m going slow. Tell me when you get it.”

  “I will.” I watched it descend, but it got stuck on the ledge. “Josh. It’s stuck. Pull it back up and lower it more to your left.”

  “Okay.” He pulled it back up and inched to his left, dislodging a few clods of dirt, but nothing more. He lowered it again. This time, it crossed over the side of the ledge and kept coming down, finally landing on the slope of rocks in front of me.

  I scrambled over the rocks to the harness and grabbed it, then carefully stepped back to solid ground. Josh continued to lower the rope, giving me plenty of slack. “Okay,” I called. “That’s good.”

  “Let me know when you’re ready.”

  “I will.” The water bottle was clipped to the harness, and I pulled it off. It took me a couple of tries before I could get the stupid cap off. Holding it to my lips, I took several slow swallows and groaned. Nothing had ever tasted so good. I tried to pace myself, but it wasn’t long before I’d drunk the whole thing. Now I understood what it really felt like to be dying of thirst.

  Ready to get out of there, I slipped on my backpack and studied the harness. There were two leg loops and a waist loop, so I slipped my legs in, one at a time, and pulled the loops up to my thighs. Pulling the waist loop around me, I fastened it tightly around my middle and double-looped the belt.

  “Dad wants to know if you’re doing okay,” Josh called.

  “Yes… I’m just about ready.”

  I took one last look around the mine, making sure I didn’t leave anything behind. “Okay. I’m going to start climbing up the rock slide. If you’ll keep the rope taut, it will keep me steady and help me climb. There’s a place where I can’t get up any higher, so you’re going to have to pull me past that. I’ll let you know when I get there.”

  “Hang on.” Josh disappeared, and I heard him talking to someone, then he came back. “Okay. We’re ready when you are.”

  “I’m starting to climb now.” The rope went taut, and it began to pull me up the slide, causing me to lose my footing. “Slow down. It’s too fast.”

  Josh called over his shoulder. “You’re going too fast for her. Just keep the tension on the line until I say so.”

  The tension eased and I let out a breath. Several rocks had already slid out from under me, but at least I hadn’t gone tumbling back down on my face. I took my time, carefully picking my way up to the nine foot drop beneath the ledge. Getting over the ledge would be the tricky part.

  “Hold,” I called, and Josh repeated my call to whoever was manning the line. The tension held steady and I examined the rope. It was centered on the rock ledge, and I worried that pulling me up would cut through the rope. “Josh. I’m below a ledge and I can’t go any further. Is the rope sturdy enough to pull me up?”

  “Mom… it’s the best. It will do the job.”

  I let out a shaky breath. “Okay. Then I need you to pull me up, but do it slowly.”

  “Okay. Just tell me to stop if you get in trouble.”

  “I will.�
�

  He spoke over his shoulder, before turning back to me. “He’s ready.”

  “Okay, go ahead.”

  Josh gave a thumb’s up, and the rope tightened. It began to lift me up, and I leaned back so my head wouldn’t hit the ledge. As the rope pulled me closer, I grabbed the ledge with my hands and pushed away so I could clear it.

  “Stop!”

  Josh repeated my command, and the pulling stopped.

  Now that I was waist-high above the ledge, I clambered on top of it, managing to get to my knees. Balancing against the rocks in front of me, I slowly rose to my feet. A wave of dizziness washed over me, but, after making it this far, elation filled my heart.

  I studied the loose dirt and rocks above me. It was still a long way up, but after the first few feet, it slanted to more of an incline, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I leaned forward, getting ready to climb.

  Without warning, the ledge underneath me gave way. I dropped several inches before the rope picked up the slack. Sounds of crashing rock brought several shouts from above.

  “Mom? You okay?”

  “Shelby!” Chris called. “Shelby?”

  “I’m fine,” I called, hanging in mid-air. My heart pounded in my chest. I was so done with this. “Just pull me up. Get me out of here.”

  The line went taut, and I grabbed the rope as it lifted me higher. Coming to the incline, I released the rope to keep my hands and face from scraping against the rocks. I managed to push away with my hands and feet to protect my body from the worst of it.

  At last, Josh’s face came into view. He helped me up as I crawled over the edge, and I collapsed on the ground. I couldn’t seem to move and just lay there for a moment, relief and gratitude washing over me.

  Josh knelt beside me, and Chris ran to my side. Between the two of them, they took my arms and helped me up, walking me away from the edge of the hole. As I got my feet under me, both of them wrapped their arms around me. I sank my face against Chris’s chest and bawled.