Then an explosion blasted through the chamber, an explosion that had the ceiling collapsing and the walls falling in on them.
Kyle held Cadence as close as he could.
As the rocks hit him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Darkness. A perfect black that made Cadence wonder if she was dreaming. Or dead.
Then the pain came, and she knew she was still alive.
“Kyle?” She whispered his name, afraid that if she spoke too loudly, she might start another cave-in.
Something heavy was on top of her, heavy and warm. Not rocks.
“I’m here.”
He was on top of her.
His body curled over hers, shielding her.
She felt the rustle of his breath on her cheek, but she couldn’t see him. The darkness was too perfect and complete.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly. Cadence could still hear the faint tumble of rocks.
“Yeah. You?”
Her back ached. The back of her head throbbed, and she could feel the wetness of blood on her legs, but… “Yes, I’m fine.” Nothing she couldn’t handle.
“There are rocks on me,” he told her, keeping his voice low. “Give me a minute and let me see what I can do.”
Then he was pushing up, moving away from her in the darkness, and she heard the clatter of stones as they fell off his body.
Her heart was drumming too fast in her chest. The air was thick with dust, and when she inhaled, the air seemed strangely stale.
Cadence fumbled, trying to find her headlamp, but it was gone.
Lost in the rubble?
“Don’t move,” Kyle told her. “I’ll find a light.”
That had to mean his headlamp was gone, too. Every caver knew…always carry three lights. It was the rule for facing the darkness. They’d all come in with three lights each. But those backup lights were in their bags.
Bags she hoped hadn’t been buried.
At least the sound of falling rocks had stopped.
“Jason?” she called quietly.
There was no answer.
He could be unconscious. He could have been separated from them by the cave-in.
Or he could be dead.
“I got my pack,” Kyle said. Then in the next instant, a glow of white light spilled from his flashlight. He swung the light around, and it hit her.
“Fuck, you’re bleeding.”
She scrambled to sit up.
His fingers reached out and brushed against her temple. She winced. Yes, that was where the throbbing was the worst. She grabbed his hand, stopping him. “Don’t, I’m okay.”
“No, baby, we’re far from okay.”
He’d just called her baby. Since when?
The light swung away from her. Made a slow circle around the space.
The corridor they’d entered was covered with rocks. Big, thick chunks went from the ground up.
They were sealed inside.
“Jason isn’t here,” Kyle said.
No, he wasn’t. It didn’t mean he’d survived the cave-in. He’d been running toward the exit, desperate to get out. Had that been his mistake? Had he been crushed beneath those rocks?
“The SOB rigged the place. When anyone touched the bones—” Kyle said.
“The cavern would close,” Cadence finished. An explosion. One perfectly placed to seal prey inside.
Fumbling, Cadence pulled out her phone. Jason hadn’t gotten a signal down there, but maybe she would.
No. It figured their bad luck would hold.
Fighting to keep her voice calm, she asked him, “Do you have a signal on your phone?”
Silence. Hell. She knew the answer.
Her fingers slid across the surface of her phone. Light flashed. “At least my flashlight app works.” But then she turned the light off almost immediately. They’d need to conserve the light until they were rescued.
They would be rescued.
“Someone will come looking for us,” she said, keeping her eyes on Kyle and his light. He was just a few feet away now, slowly going around the length of their prison. The light swept up high, then down low. She knew he was looking for any other way out of this place.
I hope you find it.
“When we don’t check in,” Cadence continued, “Anniston will send out a team to find us.”
The team would have to dig through the rubble to get to them. How long would it take?
More rocks tumbled down, and Cadence scrambled toward Kyle.
He grabbed her, pulling her close. “It’s not stable enough in here.”
She choked on the rising dust.
“The ceiling and the walls are gonna keep falling on us.”
They were falling, rolling down, and she and Kyle had to jump back.
“There’s a hole over here,” he told her, shining his light down and to the left.
The chamber seemed to be shaking. So much for a moment of safety.
“I don’t see it,” she whispered. Her hands had a death grip on his arm. We’re being buried alive.
That was what was happening to them. The rocks and dirt just kept coming.
She could barely breathe.
“There.” His light hit the narrow opening. A hole. Yes, it’s just a hole. Small and dark, and it was on the opposite side, away from the tunnel they’d used before.
They dodged rocks, rushing to the narrow opening. Cadence held out her hand, and felt the faintest stir of air from that darkness. A way out. Maybe.
She stared at the hole, measuring it.
For her, it could be a way out.
But what about Kyle?
“Your shoulders are too wide,” she whispered as her heart seemed to freeze in her chest.
“I can make it.” His voice was grim. “Just go through first.”
The shaking in the chamber was worse. There was a terrible, echoing groan from up above them.
“Go, now!” Kyle barked.
Not without him. “I’m not going to leave you to die!” If he didn’t get out of the chamber, he’d be crushed.
“I’m not dying,” he promised. “Neither are you.”
Then he grabbed her and shoved her through the hole.
She shot straight through, sliding fast, tumbling to the hard ground on the other side. Cadence jumped right back to her feet. The glow of the flashlight was shining. Kyle was coming. He was—
“I’m too big.”
The bastard had known that all along. A sob choked in her throat.
“The rocks are coming too fast.” He groaned, and she knew he’d been hit. “That chamber might not be stable either. Go.”
“Not without you.” She hurried back to the hole. “Dammit, come on!”