Old tack hung from one of the walls, and they made strange sounds when they bumped together with every strong gust of wind blowing through the structure. I looked up to the loft and noticed the floor was about to fall from rot. Besides the tack, nothing else seemed to be in the old barn. My mind wondered why no one had ever removed the tack, instead just leaving it here to decay.
Bubba poked my back. “You know, in the horror movies, when people yell out not to go in there? This is exactly one of those moments.”
“Turn around and leave if you’re scared, Bub.”
“I didn’t say I was scared,” he argued—then jumped and moved closer to me when one of the window hatches blew shut and slammed. “That scared the piss out of me! Like legit, I think I just pissed my pants.”
Laughing, I wanted to turn and yell boo, but was worried the noise might make the whole barn come down.
My smile faded when I saw the door to the root cellar. It was a large metal square. It would’ve had to have been left open for Mallory to have escaped. I highly doubted she would have been able to lift it. But she did say her kidnapper would leave it open each time he came in.
“Mallory said there was a door to the basement where she was being held. Do you remember any doors down there?” I asked Bubba.
He thought for a moment. “No, the steps lead straight into the cellar.”
Reaching down, I pulled on the door, unable to get it to even budge. “It feels like this door hasn’t been opened in years.”
“Here, let me try.”
After Bubba attempted to open it, we both tried at the same time. The door finally opened with a loud creak.
“Who’s going down the dark stairway first?” Bubba whispered.
I pulled a small flashlight out of my back pocket and shined it through the door. He was right; the steps led straight down into the root cellar. “I remember playing in here now. It’s not a very big room, and it was filled with jars of food.”
When he nudged me forward, I looked over my shoulder and glared at my friend. “Would you like to go first since you seem to be in such a hurry?”
“Sorry. This place is just giving me major creeps.”
I drew in a deep breath and aimed the light at the rickety steps, hoping they’d hold us as we walked down. When I stepped onto the first one, I let out the breath I’d been holding when it felt solid. Taking it slow, I continued down the steps, Bubba not far behind.
Once we reached the bottom, I moved the flashlight across the room. There was nothing down here except shelves with old jars of food, some broken, some intact.
“This isn’t the place,” I said softly, a rush of relief nearly causing my body to drop to the floor. “She wasn’t here.”
Bubba sighed. “Not gonna lie, I’m glad we checked it out. The thought of women being held captive here on the ranch made me sick to my stomach.”
“Me too. Let’s get out of here.”
##
I stood in the kitchen and looked down at Piper lying in Mallory’s lap as she slept. The dog barely moved, almost like she knew Mallory needed the sleep and didn’t want to disturb her.
Bending down, I lightly shook her on the shoulder. “Mallory?”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she let out a moan. “My neck…”
“How in the world did you fall asleep on the kitchen floor?” I asked.
A long breath escaped from between her lips as she rotated her head. Piper crawled out of Mallory’s lap and headed to the back door to be let out.
“Someone was at the front door, and I panicked,” she said as she stood. She watched Piper run around the backyard through the window.
“You didn’t answer it, did you?” I asked.
“No,” she said with a humorless laugh. “No, I had an anxiety attack and dropped to the floor, and I crawled to where you found me. Piper got on my lap and…I guess I fell asleep.”
“Let me check my security cameras and see who it was,” I said as I pulled out my phone and opened the app.
