He didn’t argue. Those two had created quite a bond. All of them had. Kit had deep feelings for her two traveling companions, even if she wasn’t the type to speak about it.“I wouldfeel really bad if I hurt you.”He was more and more convinced that the warmth he felt from her wasn’t simply due to the incredible circumstances. Archie would have winked at him and said to quit “jimmy jacking around already” and pin her down on the subject.
Patience,he told himself. The right moment would present itself.Tunnel,remember?They had a long, scary, uncertain passageway to traverse.
Maneuvering the baby into the blanket carrier on Kit’s back gave him more time to take stock and conclude that none of his major body parts had been broken, lacerated,or cracked. When Tot was properly cinched, sucking on her binky, he collected the two backpacks and the duffel and shoved the sledgehammer in his pack, trying not to give too much attention to the extra weight that yanked on his bruised ribs.
“I hope we don’t have to use that.”
“Me too, but if we have to bash our way out of anything, it’ll be worth it.”
Kit pointed to the outside pockets of her pack. “Look in there.”
He didn’t ask for what, simply rooted around and pulled out two head lanterns on elastic straps.
“From Archie’s supply. Batteries already in them,” she said. “Thought it’d be easier than handheld equipment.”
He smiled. “Remind me to take you along next time I’m trapped in the wilderness, Miss Kit.”
She didn’t reply, but he thought she looked happy at the compliment. She deserved it. The woman had survival skills, a quick mind, and enough grit for a dozen people, and they were going to need all the fortitude they could muster between them. He strapped the elastic band around his baseball cap and turned it on. She did the same with hers. For a moment, neither one of them spoke as they took in their surroundings.
Ahead stretched what looked like an endless conduit, a highway of unrelieved black. There was no sound save a distant dripping. The ground was rutted in places, and he could imagine the hardworking men who had tromped their way to and from the mill, calloused fingers, muscles strong as iron, uncomplaining about the bone-chilling damp they must have endured. Pockets of moisture glitteredin the distance, water seeping in from parts unknown.
“It has to lead somewhere,” she murmured.
It had led somewhere, once upon a time, likely to Twinfork where Archie had grown up. Was it still a viable route? He double-checked the blanket knots tethering Tot to Kit’s trim waist.
Satisfied, he squeezed her shoulder.
She twisted to look at the spot where the ladder had been.
He knew what she was thinking, but she spoke it aloud anyway, her voice oddly dampened by the closed-in space.
“I guess climbing out and returning to the ATV isn’t an option anymore.”
“No, it’s not. Simplifies things. We only have one choice now. Go forward and get to the other side.”
He wasn’t sure if it was a ripple of determination or fear that made her lips quirk before she turned away. The thread of illumination from her lamp marked their path, and he joined his beam to hers.
He checked his watch—a few minutes after 7:00 p.m. He remembered when he’d babysat Mia that she didn’t get put down to bed with bottles because of tooth decay, but Daniela made sure to change and offer a snack or milk before bed for optimal sleeping. Did the bottle they’d provided before they left count as her pre-bed bottle? Did she need more snacks than the cookie that was still smeared on the shoulder of his jacket?
He longed for Archie’s advice, or at least his Marine Corps ingenuity. He’d possibly have some sort of notion about how to climb back up to the mill regardless of thebusted ladder. But would that be the right choice? Returning to the ATV? What was happening to the Cullen who instinctively knew the best way to proceed?
He firmed up his steps and edged a pace in front of Kit. The ceiling was low, but he could still move fairly comfortably without slumping too much, so he was confident Kit and Tot would not hit their heads on anything.
Tot was surprisingly quiet as they marched along, seemingly fascinated by the play of lights in the dark. Not a worry in the world, he thought, completely unaware of what they were risking to keep her alive.
He was happy that she didn’t understand their present peril, or what had happened to her mother. God had somehow kept Tot safe to this point.And he’ll help us see this through,TaterTot. Don’t you worry.
The noise of the dripping grew louder as they walked, and the ground began to slope upward, ever so slightly. He prayed it meant they were traveling toward the surface.
A sudden tremble shook the passage, and he grabbed for Kit’s hand, pulling them against the tunnel wall. Not much protection if the thing caved in, but something.
A fist-sized rock flung itself loose and landed near his left boot.
Her body was as tense as his.
Life or death? Which would it be?
Faith, not fear. He fought the urge to close his eyes. No way would he flinch. He’d stare into that darkness and defy it, for all three of them, until God decided it was over. He held her close and they waited, a strand of Kit’s hair tickling his brow.
