(a raven needs a sparrow)
Something strange.
It didn’t look like the mine kiosk was open. Nadine eyed the flimsy latch on the shed. She’d been wondering what Dottie would say if she saw her again, after ratting her out to the sheriff, so it was probably good that she wasn’t around, but it also made her more aware of her surroundings.
No one is going to hear you scream, Nadine.
She hesitated, looking at the mine entrance. Then down at her phone. Even though she still didn’t have reception, she could still make an emergency call. Allegedly. She could see the option every time her phone was locked and she had to swipe it back open.
Nadine let out a rough breath and walked into the mine’s shadow.
The chill from the morning still radiated from the stone. As soon as she stepped into that gaping maw of rock, the air grew ten degrees colder. Nadine kept close to the central track, looking uneasily at the lamps swinging in the breeze. Their movements caused the metal veins in the walls to sparkle with a dull and unrefined shimmer, just like in her dreams.
The damp air heightened the dusty mineral smell she’d noticed on the tour, making it nearly overpowering. And yet beneath that, there was something else. Something that reminded her of the forest itself, sharp and woodsy.
“Nadine.”
She jumped. “H-hello?”
When there was no response, she looked over her shoulder—quickly, like ripping off a mental band-aid. Her shirt stuck to her back, clammy with fear-sweat. She could imagine the fingers reaching for her, claw-like. The way they’d brush against her spine.
“Hel—” Her voice broke off, fading to nothing.
No one was there.
“Nadine.”
The watery echoes were coming from deeper in the mine, which shouldn’t have been possible because Dottie had told her that the tunnels had all been sealed off because they weren’t safe.
Two of the boards sealing up the left tunnel had been pried loose. Recently, from the look of it. Whoever had done it had left a mess, leaving a hole behind that was just large enough for a full-grown adult to squeeze through. And it looked like maybe someone had. There was a little scrap of torn white fabric still clinging to part of the splintery frame.
No fucking way, thought Nadine, taking a step back.
Something flashed in the dark. A bright light.
“Is someone there?” she said. “In the tunnels?”
The light clicked off.
She took a step back. Closer to the entrance. Closer to safety.
“I’m out here,” she said. “If you want to talk to me, t-talk to me where I can see you.”
Talk to me where I can run.
Air stirred against the fabric of her shirt. She backed up again and hit something solid.
Warm.
Alive.
She screamed and there was a blinding burst of pain. The world slipped away and it was rough. She could feel the slide of it and it was like gravel biting into her skin. And then, after that initial burst of pain, there was another red wave of it, and everything grayed out into a filmy haze.
It was dark when she opened her eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath, bolting upright in a way that had her head throbbing and her optic nerves pulsating with phantom light.I’m in the tunnel, she thought, although thinking hurt. Everything hurt.Oh god, I’m in the tunnel.
She fell back, breathing hard. Staring at where she imagined the ceiling would be, jagged with stalactites. It was cold and the air was filled with enough moisture down here that it was beading on her skin. She hoped it was just water and not anything toxic.
I guess I’ll know if I get a rash.
