The Curse (Seacliff High Mystery Book 2) (12 page)

Tucker barked a few more times and then there was silence. Alyson leaned against the wall behind her, trying not to panic.
This is not my dream. Tucker will get help.
Alyson frantically started to clear the passage in front of her with her bare hands. Her nails were broken, her knuckles bleeding, but still she persisted. She fought the images from her dream that were threatening to send her over the edge into hysterical panic. She forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply when all her instincts were screaming at her to rapidly gasp for air.

Alyson had been working for what seemed like hours before she heard Tucker barking and voices calling her name from beyond the tunnel door.

“I’m in here,” she yelled as loud as she could.

“Alyson, where are you?” Mac called.

“In a room behind the loft. Climb up the ladder, then down the stairs.”

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“There was a cave-in. I’m okay, but I can’t get out.”

Alyson heard several sets of footsteps running down the tunnel stairs.

“Alyson, there’s nothing but a pile of dirt at the bottom of the stairway,” Devon called.

“I’m on the other side. I’ve been trying to dig my way out but haven’t made much progress. The cave-in can’t be too wide because I can hear you fine. You sound like you’re just on the other side of a door. And speaking of doors, I found Spyder and V. They’re in a room at the other end of the tunnel. The door is chained shut and I couldn’t open it. I was coming for help when the tunnel caved in ahead of me.”

Alyson could hear her friends talking but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Devon and Trevor went to get shovels,” Mac called to her. “We’ll get you out in no time. Eli went to find bolt cutters, so as soon as we dig through we’ll get Spyder and V out too.”

“Ugh, that may be a problem,” Alyson called to her friend. “The cave-in behind me seems to be a lot more significant than the one in front of me. I think we’re going to need help. A lot of help.”

“Eli was going to call the police. Help should be on the way. Just sit tight.”

Once Devon and Trevor returned it took them only a few minutes to dig Alyson out. And by the time Eli returned with the bolt cutters Alyson was climbing down the rope ladder to the frantic puppy waiting for her below. Alyson dropped to the floor and wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck.

“My hero.” Alyson hugged the dog as she sobbed into his ruff.

“We would never have even known you were in trouble if Tucker hadn’t come to find us,” Mac confirmed. “He ran right up to me, grabbed onto my shirtsleeve, and started pulling me toward the barn. The poor thing was going crazy.”

Tucker licked the dirt from Alyson’s face as tears of relief cascaded down her face.

“We need to figure out a way to get to Spyder and V,” Alyson said after a moment, struggling to stand up. “He said she’s in bad shape.”

“I called the police,” Eli informed them. “They’re sending a team out to help. In the meantime I’ll go round up Caleb and some of the others and we’ll start digging.”

“I’m not sure any of us should go down there until help arrives,” Devon cautioned. “That tunnel looks like it could give way completely at any minute. We won’t be doing anyone any good if we end up causing another cave-in.”

“I can’t just sit here when I know they’re in trouble down there,” Alyson insisted.

“I’m not sure what else we can do right now.” Trevor put his arm around her shoulders in support. “It’s going to be okay. The police should be here soon.”

Alyson leaned her head against his shoulder. “Yeah, I guess. I just feel so helpless. This whole thing’s my fault. If I’d been more careful the cave-in would never have occurred and Spyder and V would be on their way to the hospital already.”

“It’s not your fault,” Trevor argued. “By the look of it, that old tunnel has been ready to come down for years.”

“Maybe, but once I found them I was in such a hurry to get help that I wasn’t being as careful as I should have been.” Alyson looked at her watch. “What’s taking the police so long?”

“I’ll go outside to call again,” Eli volunteered. “Maybe I can get an update on their progress.”

“I’ll go with you,” Alyson said. “I could use a little fresh air.”

They all went out into the rapidly chilling air as Eli searched for a spot that had optimal reception.

“It looks like a big storm is coming.” Mac wrapped her arms around herself in defense of the chilly wind. “The sky has gotten much darker just since we were in the barn.”

“The sky!” Alyson exclaimed. “Spyder said he could see the sky through a small entrance toward the top of the room. Maybe we could find the entrance and get them out that way.”

“It’s worth a try,” Mac agreed. “But where should we even start looking?”

“The tunnel couldn’t be more than a half mile long. Probably less.” Alyson looked around, trying to envision the direction in which she’d walked.

“The police are on their way, but the wind has knocked down several trees along the road. They’re working on getting through, but it might be a while,” Eli informed them.

“Alyson said Spyder mentioned an opening to the outside from the ceiling of the room he was in,” Mac informed him. “We’re going to look around to see if we can find it while we wait for the police.”

“So where do we start looking?” Eli asked.

“I don’t know.” Alyson looked around. “I think I walked in that direction once I got into the tunnel.” Alyson pointed toward a hillside.

Thunder clapped in the distance as the wind picked up and the sky continued to darken. She stared off in that direction, trying to picture the path of the tunnel below them.

“It looks like it’s going to rain any minute.” Eli looked overhead at the darkening sky. “We’d better hurry up.”

Alyson was still looking around at her surroundings as the first drops of rain fell.

“Maybe we should just wait for the police and let them handle this,” Devon suggested. “This storm looks like it’s going to be intense.”

“Spyder said V was in really bad shape,” Alyson said. “By the time the police get here it could be too late. I’m not leaving anyone behind ever again.”

“I agree with Alyson.” Trevor wrapped his arm around her shoulders again. “A little rain never hurt anyone.”

A loud clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. “It’s not the rain I’m worried about.” Devon glanced toward the darkening horizon. “If we’re going to look around we need to hurry. It’s really not safe out here.”

They walked about half a mile as rain continued to fall. Alyson stopped and looked around, trying to get her bearings”

“Now where?” Eli asked. The path they had taken dead-ended at a sheer cliff.

Alyson stood under the pouring rain with her face to the sky. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she opened them and scanned the rocky outcroppings in front of her. A bolt of lightning lit the dark sky, and waves of thunder sounded in the valley below. In the instant when the sky was illuminated by the flash of lightning Alyson saw that same dark-haired girl standing in the pouring rain.

“Over there,” Alyson said, pointing toward a narrow path that seemed to wind its way through the jagged rocks.

“I really think we should wait for the storm to pass,” Devon yelled over the sound of thunder, but Alyson was already running toward the path, with Tucker barking at her heels.

“Come on, guys; we can’t let her go alone,” Mac said, starting after her toward the path.

They climbed up the steep path while the storm raged all around them. The heavy winds blew branches from the trees and the torrential rain caused rivers of mud to flow all around them. Lightning danced overhead, causing explosions of thunder to shake the ground beneath their feet.

Alyson focused on the point where she’d seen the girl as she ran through the rain, but she was gone. It was as if she had vanished into the darkness. Kneeling in the spot where the girl had stood, she found a small opening in the cliff face.”

“Spyder. V,” she shouted. She couldn’t see anything through the darkness.

“We’re down here,” Spyder called.

“Keep talking. I can’t see you. It’s too dark.” Alyson had climbed through the opening and started to walk slowly toward the voice when Devon slipped behind her with a flashlight in his hand. Alyson ran toward the pair, who were chained together in the middle of the floor.

“We need to get them to a hospital,” Trevor said from somewhere behind her.

“We need to stay here to wait out the storm,” Devon said, squatting down beside Spyder and V to check them for injuries.

“V’s hurt bad,” Spyder rasped. “She hasn’t regained consciousness for hours.”

“What happened?” Alyson asked.

“The idiot hit her on the head.”

“I’ll go check in with the police to tell them where to find us,” Eli offered. “They should be here any minute.”

“I’ll go with you.” Devon climbed out of the narrow entrance behind them.

“God, it’s so cold in here.” Mac shivered after the others had left.

“It looks like Spyder’s passed out,” Trevor said as he took off his jacket and draped it over his body.

Alyson took off her jacket and placed it over V. The three friends sat down on the cold hard ground with their backs to the wall. Trevor scooted closer to Mac and wrapped his arms around her. “Care to share some body heat?” He opened an arm toward Alyson.

Alyson scooted closer and rested her head on Trevor’s shoulder.

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?” she asked. “It looks like V is hurt pretty badly. I wish there was something more we could do to help them. Maybe we should try to wake them up. Don’t they always try to keep trauma victims awake in the movies?”

“I think they might be better off in the land of peaceful unconsciousness for the moment,” Mac observed. “It’s not like we can do anything to help them or make them more comfortable until the police arrive.”

“What’s taking so long?” Alyson worried.

“It’s only been a few minutes.” Trevor held his watch under the flashlight to prove his point. He leaned against the wall behind him with one arm around each of the girls. He hugged them closer in an effort to both warm and comfort. “It’ll be okay. Devon and Eli should be back soon.”

Alyson and Mac wrapped their arms around each other and Trevor as they waited for help to arrive.

Devon and Eli squeezed back through the opening with their arms full of supplies a short time later.

“The police should be here any moment,” Devon informed them. “It’s only raining lightly now and the wind has died down significantly. We brought a couple of dry sleeping bags from the barn. They should help to warm them up until help arrives. I’ll head back out to the main road to show them the way when they get here. You guys just try to keep our patients as comfortable and warm as possible and give them some water if they wake up.”

Devon climbed back through the cave opening, and they could hear him heading back down the slippery path for the second time.

“I really, really hate waiting,” Alyson grumbled.

“I know.” Mac held her hand. “It’s been quite a day, but it’s almost over.”

“This whole situation seems so surreal.” Alyson leaned her head against her friend’s shoulder. “First we find a dead guy in a secret room under the floor of the old farmhouse. Then we find a secret passage off the barn that leads to this cave.”

Trevor went over to check on Spyder and V and tried once again to wake them. “They’re out cold, but they both have strong pulses. The police should be here by now. I think I’ll go outside to see if I can see them coming. We should have a pretty good view from up here.”

Less than a minute later Trevor came back through the narrow opening. “They’re on their way up the path now.”

During the next half hour a rescue crew cut the chains from the unconscious pair and carefully carried them outside and down the treacherous path to an ambulance waiting below.

“Let’s follow them to the hospital,” Alyson suggested as they all climbed into the Expedition. They were silent as they sped through the debris-strewn streets. Devon pulled up in front of the hospital and Alyson leaped out to follow the gurneys carrying Spyder and V through the double doors of the emergency room. The others ran in behind her.

“You’ll have to wait here,” an orderly insisted.

“We should call their parents,” Mac said.

“Does anyone know their phone numbers?” Alyson asked.

“My brother knows Spyder’s home number. I’ll call him to get it. Stretch will want to know.”

“What about V?” Alyson asked.

“I’ll check the phone book,” Eli offered.

Alyson sat down in a hard plastic chair. “I should call my mom to come get Tucker. I don’t want to leave him in the car too long.”

“I’ll do it,” Devon said, taking Alyson’s cell phone from her shaking hands. “Maybe I should take you home to get some dry clothes. You’re shaking like a leaf. But you really should have someone look at your hands before we leave here.”