Keeper of the Lambs

by Sue Clifton

  “Be still and very quiet, or I will cut your throat.”

  The woman was no match for Billie’s strength and did as she was told.

  The knife was very sharp, and with quick slices, using only one hand, holding the woman tight against the mattress with the other hand, Billie cut strips of mattress ticking. She tied the woman’s hands behind her back, but not before removing the woman’s jacket. Billie cut the tail off the woman’s skirt and made a tight gag for her mouth. Then she pulled her to her feet and dragged her over to the shower area beneath the camera.

  Billie used the other ticking strips to bind the woman’s feet together, but not before removing her tennis shoes. These, she slipped on. They were snug, but she knew she could run faster with shoes than barefooted. She then pulled the woman behind the toilet, as close to the back corner as possible, and tied her to the pedestal with long strips of mattress ticking as well as strips of material from her skirt.

  Billie grabbed the flashlight from under the mattress and put the woman’s jacket on over her paper dress as she headed for the cell door. The woman had left the key in the lock. Billie pushed the door shut and locked it with the key. She stuffed the key chain, which held two keys, into her jacket pocket and ran through the tunnel lit down each side with track lights.

  She had no idea where she was going but burst through the big door at the end of the tunnel, only to find she was again in darkness. When she tried to go back through the door, she discovered it had locked behind her. Quickly, she pulled out the keys and tried each one, but neither of them worked.

  “Damn! She must have more keys on her that I didn’t see!” Billie cursed in a whisper, and then felt guilty knowing God was hearing her. She looked up in the endless dark and said, “Sorry!” Then she began running again.

  A tiny bit of light shone in the tunnel, coming from a few spotty, battery-operated lights, the kind that her dad put along their sidewalk that would automatically come on in the dark. She would save the flashlight batteries for the pitch dark she knew she would be in eventually, remembering she could see nothing through the hole Charlie had peeked through.

  She stopped for a moment to get her bearings.

  My cell would be that way.

  She pointed to her left.

  That means Charlie was behind the wall just there.

  Billie took off running again in the direction she thought Charlie had been, but came to a solid rock wall. She was forced to turn the flashlight on to find another way out. The light was bright, and Billie was thankful to the peeper for his gift. She folded the pocketknife and put it in her right-hand pocket. Luckily, the pocket had a zipper so she could secure it, with no risk of it falling out. Casting the light all around, she saw a small opening a few yards ahead.

  There!

  Billie ran toward the opening.

  Now she was in total darkness. She cast the light up ahead and ran at full speed.

  Thank you, Lord, for making me cheer and run track even though I would rather have been sneaking out with Johnny.

  Soon Billie came to a juncture and had to stop. Once again, she tried to get her bearings in order to make a decision as to which opening to take. She took the one on the left, but soon came to a dead end. Backtracking, she took the one to the right and found a track of some kind, like a small railroad track.

  This is some kind of old mineshaft, probably a gold mine. These tracks were used to haul out ore. If I follow the tracks, eventually I’ll reach outside.

  Once again, she ran, keeping the light pointed just ahead of her on the track. She was glad for the woman’s tennis shoes. The tracks and the loose rocks fallen from the walls and ceiling would have hurt or cut her feet and slowed her down.

  Be not afraid; God is with you. Be not afraid; God is with you.

  She was panting now but refused to slow down. She had to get out of the tunnel she knew was part of a mineshaft. The flashlight flickered, and Billie gasped as she ran.

  Please don’t go out on me, batteries! Please!

  Billie flashed the light ahead as far as she could see and then turned it off to save the batteries. Just ahead lay a downed timber covered in rocks, and she had to remove some of the rocks to get through.

  Billie worked fast and soon made a hole big enough to slip through. The track was no longer in front of her, and she knew the cave-in must have hidden the main tunnel. She was in a side tunnel and slowed some, unsure of her footing. She didn’t know how long she had been running, but it seemed an eternity.

  And God said, “Let there be light;” and God saw the light that it was good.

  Billie repeated the verse from Genesis in her mind, over and over as she ran, but no light appeared. Once again, she took the flashlight out and shined it ahead. Again she ran without the light on, but this time, she was not so lucky. She had not seen the big rock lying to the side, and she tripped over it, taking a nasty spill on her knees and hands.

  She knew her knees were cut and bleeding, but she couldn’t take the time to whimper.

  I’m not a baby; I’m having a baby. Help me, Jesus!

  Running blind through the tunnel now more like a cave, she decided not to turn the light on but to trust her instincts and her faith. She dragged her right hand down the tunnel wall and felt outcroppings of rocks like the walls in her cell. She stopped when she felt the wall curve. Then, and only then, did she turn on her Maglite.

  Rock outcroppings went as high as she could see on the tunnel walls, and she felt it must be some type of underground opening. It was not closed in like the tunnel but was like Blanchard Caverns in Arkansas, where her mom had taken her when she was a child.

  She began to tire and slowed her pace. Her breaths had become rapid, and she felt nauseous breathing in the musty, stale air. She wished she had grabbed the remainder of her ration of water, but there had been no time to think. She only hoped the Keeper would not return to find she had escaped. He probably knew the tunnels, but she was only running on faith and the promise God was with her.

  When I get out of here, I’ll never miss church, and neither will my child.

  She started to turn her flashlight on when she heard something. She stood still and listened. Water dripped somewhere above her, but there was something else.

  Voices!

  Someone was in the tunnel.

  Billie stuck the flashlight in her pocket with the knife and re-zipped it. Then she took off the tennis shoes, tied the strings together, and tied them around her neck where the shoes could dangle behind her and out of her way.

  Now let’s see if all that rock-climbing training will pay off.

  Billie felt for rock ledges and put her hands and feet in place. It was a slow climb, and she could hear the voices getting closer. She put them out of her mind and continued up, knowing she had to be careful and surefooted. Without light, she had to feel her way as high as she dared go, hand over hand, foot over foot, until she sensed her nearness to the top of the cave wall. The voices grew loud, two men talking, and then a light appeared. Fortunately, she had a good hand and foot hold and felt she could hide suspended like a bat until the men passed. She could only hope they were friendly.

  “I ain’t never been this far in the tunnel before. I don’t like it…kind of claustreephobic, or whatever that word is.”

  “Claustrophobic, you moron! Just keep going. We still have a ways to go to get to the cells and the chapel. The Keeper said he would meet us and the rest of the Fold there.”

  “I still don’t see how come we couldn’t just go the usual route. Don’t nobody know nothing about the Fold. The Keeper’s too smart for that.”

  “Obviously not, or we wouldn’t be trudging through here like moles. Just keep quiet and walk. I don’t like trying to make conversation with a person who talks like he was raised by a pack of wolves…no, make that marmots. Wolves are too smart for you.”

  “I’ve heard you talk, and you don’t sound no better, Mr. Big Shot, so keep your smart-ellic remarks to yo
urself.”

  “The colloquialism is smart alec, in reference to Alec Hoag, a notorious criminal from the 1800s. My speech is pretense…for the sake of the lambs and the Fold, and you know it. I am a medical doctor, in case you’ve forgotten, not a mountain bumpkin. Yours is pure ignorance. Now keep quiet and keep moving. The sooner we’re out of here, the better.”

  “How come the Keeper killed that motorcycle boy? I thought the Fold don’t believe in killing. Seems to me killing a boy is same as killing an unborn child.”

  “Thinking is not your strong suit, Lester, so be quiet and walk.”

  Tears stung her eyes as she clung to the rocks and heard the men’s conversation. Now she knew.

  The Keeper killed Johnny because Johnny wanted me to have an abortion. The Keeper must have been there and saw us come out of the clinic. It’s the only way he could have known.

  Billie thought back to that day and remembered a long, black SUV had pulled out behind them when they left the clinic. She had not noticed it following them, but she had seen it again at the service station where they stopped for gas. She’d thought nothing of it at the time.

  Slowly, she climbed back down the wall, hoping she would not have to climb again. Her legs and arms were trembling from holding on so tightly. After removing the tennis shoes from her neck, she quickly put them on, tying them tight. Again she ran, this time in the direction from which the men had come.

  ****

  Harri had a hard time keeping up with Charlie and was amazed at how fast he could move through the darkness of the mine. He was too far ahead, and she couldn’t see him in her flashlight beam. They had been running for a long time and getting nowhere, and she wondered whether her little friend was sure of the trail.

  This must be the secret place where he goes.

  Suddenly, Charlie came running back toward her. He grabbed the flashlight and turned it off and took Harri by the hand, pulling her back in the direction they had come. After only a few feet, Charlie yanked her into a side tunnel and stopped, shoving her close to the wall and pulling her down into a crouching position. He put his hand over her mouth, and Harri knew she needed to be quiet and still. Then she heard voices. Two men were coming up the main tunnel. She saw light and heard mumbling but could not make out what they were saying. As they got closer, she could feel Charlie trembling. The man in the back stumbled and cursed.

  “Walk behind me, Lester, before you make us both fall.”

  Now Harri knew why Charlie was afraid. Teesh had said Charlie did not like Lester even though he was Charlie’s financial guardian. Harri thought she recognized the other voice as Steve’s, but it sounded different, more polished.

  We’ve trusted the wrong people. So who else will end up as part of this nightmare? Teesh? Hank? Zach?

  Harri put it all out of her mind when Charlie tugged at her hand. They were off to the races again. A short time later, Charlie led her into another short side tunnel. Again, he placed his hand over her mouth. She waited beside him and heard him making a soft scratching noise. A small circle of light shot through a hole in the tunnel wall. Charlie had his eye to the hole, and then moved back and pushed Harri toward the hole. Harri could see movement in the lighted room and heard a man’s booming voice. She moved her ear to the hole so she could hear what they were saying.

  “Billie escaped. I don’t know how she came up with a knife, but she did. I sent Janie to the infirmary to settle down. She’s an emotional wreck and a liability.”

  “Don’t you go gettin’ no ideas about doing harm to Janie like you done to that boy! She’s a good member of the Fold and helped you and the doc here save a lot of lambs. She was a lamb herself, you know, and she’s my granddaughter. And don’t you forget it!” Lester sounded angry.

  “No one is going to harm Janie, Lester, so be quiet! We need to find the girl before she gets out. Are you sure you didn’t see her in the tunnel? I don’t know how you could have missed her.”

  “No. She was not in the tunnel.” Steve was speaking, but not like the Steve they all knew. Harri put her eye to the hole again to make sure it was Steve.

  “Perhaps she was hiding in one of the offshoot dead ends. We didn’t know we needed to be looking for an escapee.”

  “Let’s get going. I’m going to get the electric eye lights to the pit ready. If she gets close to the entrance, she’ll fall right in like the others. It’s our last chance to stop her.”

  “Others? Wait a minute, Keeper. I don’t know nothin’ ’bout no pit. I ain’t helpin’ harm no girl!” Lester was yelling and backing up with his hands raised.

  Harri could now see one of the men, a very big man, but he had a mask on.

  He must be my age or older, and he thinks he’s the Lone Ranger.

  Lester looked from the Keeper to the other man. Harri had to restrain a gasp when she saw a fist come up and strike the old man hard, knocking him down. A man with white hair and beard bent over Lester and hit him again, knocking him out this time.

  Steve!

  Harri knew they had to act fast. She reached for Charlie and pulled him out of the offshoot, as the man who called himself the Keeper had referred to it. When they were far enough away not to be heard, Harri stopped Charlie and whispered in his ear.

  “Where’s the pit, Charlie?”

  “Charlie not like pit!” Charlie was speaking too loudly, and Harri covered his mouth, holding her hand tight.

  “Charlie not like pit!” Charlie repeated in a whisper.

  “We have to go to the pit, Charlie, to save Billie and the baby.” Harri whispered, taking Charlie’s arm. “Take me there, Charlie. Please! We have to hurry to save Billie.”

  “Billie scared! Charlie run like wind.” Charlie began running again, holding Harri’s hand.

  Harri ran with her eyes closed, as if she could make it any darker or less scary, and prayed she wouldn’t trip. She could not risk turning on the light; the Keeper and Steve would be coming behind them soon. Charlie took her so fast she felt like a kite on a string, and Charlie was controlling the string.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Hank led the group into the mine entrance. “Be careful, and watch your footing! Try not to touch any of these old timbers. This ancient shaft has seen better days.” Hank shined his flashlight ahead and noticed some of the timbers swaying as if ready to fall at any minute.

  “I think Piper and Cayce should go back, Hank. This is too dangerous. If the mine caves in, no one will be able to find us.”

  “I’m in for the duration, Zach, and I know Mom is, too. Are you getting any feelings, Mom?”

  “Just cold and damp and an adrenaline rush—same as all of you—and you’re right, Piper. I’m in for the long haul. Besides, the horses are outside. Someone will find them eventually, and Teesh knows where we are, and probably Bill and the sheriff, too, by now.” Cayce walked fast, but glanced at her daughter to try to get a sense of what she was feeling. “What about you, Piper? Any feelings?”

  “Yes. Extreme panic, but I don’t know if it’s mine, Billie’s, or…” She glanced at Zach and paused. “The others’.” She moved up beside Zach and took his hand. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

  Hank stopped and listened.

  “What is it, Hank?” Cayce moved to stand beside him.

  “Just the creaking of these old timbers.” In just seconds, he started again, this time jogging.

  ****

  Charlie moved faster, and Harri panted, trying to catch up. Finally, she stopped, bent over, and rested her hands on her knees.

  “Let me…catch…my breath…Charlie,” she was whispering through her huffs. Charlie must have realized she was not behind him and backtracked.

  He squatted down beside her, reached over, and touched her hand.

  “Harri okay?” he asked in the sweetest deep whisper she had ever heard.

  “Yes…just out of shape.” She stood and touched his arm. “Let’s go, but a little slower, please.”

  ****
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br />   Billie was running for her life, their life, and her adrenaline kicked in again. She ran like a blind person, like Grammar, without the aid of a cane or time to pick her footing, and afraid to risk the flashlight. Just when she thought her heart would explode, she saw a glimmer of light, a glimmer of hope, and knew she must be getting close to the mine’s entrance. She hoped and prayed she would not run into any other members of the Fold, especially not the Keeper himself. The light was faint, not enough for her to see her path, but enough to make her go faster as she headed toward it.

  And God said, “Let there be light; and God saw the light that it was good.”

  The light ahead flickered before going out, but she ran on. Then, the ground dropped from beneath her; her body hurtled through open space, out of control. There was only enough time for one quick scream before she hit bottom, landing on her side.

  Excruciating pain shot through her. She wanted her flashlight, but it was hard to move. Finally, she rolled over onto her stomach and willed herself to get to her knees, but she could not pull her legs under her. Her head hurt, and so did the rest of her body. She found it difficult to breathe. When her breath did return, she used her right hand, the only one she could feel, and felt of her stomach. Her baby fluttered, letting her know she or he was still alive. It was then Billie noticed an unbearable stench. She covered her nose and mouth with her right hand and lay a few minutes deciding what to do.

  She moved her hand from her face and took short breaths, trying not to take in any more of the smell than she had to, and stretched out her right arm. She felt around and stopped when she touched something partially beneath her, the something that had cushioned her fall. It was hard, but she could also feel something soft like clothing. Having no other choice, she pulled out the Maglite. She had to know where she was and what her options were, assuming there were any, and she had to know if what she had felt beneath and beside her was what she feared it was.