Come out orburn.
SETH
You got the line ready?” Thorin asks as he peers inside a hole that’s little more than a slit. It’s exactly the kind of dumb antics tourists would risk their lives exploring for shits and giggles. “We need to get down there to look around.”
We’re in our fourth cave in a system that has at least twice that after searching the first three with no sign of the campers.
“I don’t know about this. We should wait for the divers,” Khalil suggests. “It looks tight as fuck. What if you get stuck?”
But Thorin is already shaking his head. “We can’t wait. You heard the sheriff. Everyone’s spread thin, and if they’re trapped, they might have limited oxygen.”
“Which meansyou’llhave limited oxygen.”
“I’m going, Khalil. We agreed to this. Let’s just find them quickly and get the job done so we can get back. I won’t go in far. Just enough to look around.”
“Let me go,” I offer before Khalil can argue further. “I’m leaner than both of you. I won’t get stuck.”
“You’re also claustrophobic, so no,” Khalil denies.
Ignoring him, I glance over at the deputy, who is standing outside the cave at the edge of the cliff, looking through some high-grade binoculars. That eerie feeling returns when he lowers the binoculars and turns his head toward me with a creepy smile I don’t return.
“Can we at least ditch this dude? I told you I don’t like him.”
“You don’t like anyone,” Thorin absently retorts as he assists Khalil with hooking him to the line that we’ll use to safely guide him back out.
“Yeah, but Ireallydon’t like him. He doesn’t feel right.”
Both of them pause, and their heads turn at once to frown at me. “What do you mean?” Khalil asks in a low tone so that Green doesn’t overhear. “How off does he feel?”
“Like I need to go take a piss.”
Khalil and Thorin stare at me and I feel the temperature inside the cave plummet a few degrees, and it has nothing to do with the snow falling outside. Thorin tilts his chin toward the mouth of the cave, telling me to go. I don’t waste time and spin on my heel, passing the deputy who is now smoking as I go.
I make sure to walk far enough from the caves to become irresistible bait. And since I really do have to go, I don’t have to make a show of pulling out my dick and relieving myself. Once I’m done, I do make a show of poking around the bushes as if I’m looking for the campers. I’m buying time, but it only takes two minutes before that eerie feeling of no longer being alone skips down my spine.
I keep walking though, as if I don’t sense I’m being followed. I lead him farther away from the caves as I wait for him to make his move.
“You can stop pretending not to know I’m following you now,” he finally calls out after five more minutes of our cat-and-mouse game.
Turning around, I don’t bother feigning surprise as I give the deputy a dry look. “I thought you were enjoying the ambience. I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Hello, Ezekiel.” The deputy’s head tilts as he considers me. “Or is it Seth?”
“Does it matter?” I retort as I slowly back away, playing my part of the cornered prey. “What do you want?”
“I am Undying Daniel. A disciple of the Savior, and I want you to come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. You can tell Zeke’s brother that he can go fuck himself.”
“Ah, so it is Seth then. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure. Now, about that message. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to tell the Savior yourself? No?” When I don’t respond, Daniel frees the binoculars from around his neck and offers them to me. “I want you to take a look through these and reconsider.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because she’ll die if you don’t. What was her name again? Ah, that’s right.Aurelia.The singer who’s supposed to be dead but isn’t.”
Swearing, I can’t snatch the binoculars out of his hold fast enough, and then I dance out of reach again as I lift them to my eyes. Automatically, I pan them toward our mountain in search of our cabin where Sunshine should be. I stop when I see fire. It’s eating away at the trees and climbing down the hillside. But the wild fire isn’t what sends my rage and terror colliding. It’s the origin.
Sunshine…
