Page 5

Four

The Mine

Olivia crawled to the old mattress along one wall and sat on it hugging her knees.

What was happening to Madison? Would she ever see her again?

Shivering, she peered into a black void, too afraid to move.

Trapped in an abyss of darkness, she could smell the scent of damp earth and decay.

The only light came from a flickering bulb outside, but it was enough for her to see the cockroaches scattering across the floor and words scratched into the walls of a cell.

Like her, the previous occupant had been terrified.

Names written and crossed out reminded her of her Christmas list, but there was nothing jolly about being locked in a cell deep in an old mineshaft.

Had this man kidnapped girls like her before and kept them here before murdering them one by one?

Why hadn’t Sheriff Alton caught him? The sheriff and her deputy had taken down all the threats that came into their town.

How could she have possibly missed this one?

Her mom would be missing her. As her only daughter, she hated her going out anywhere and stranger danger had been drummed into her since she could walk.

Her mom would blame herself and she wondered if she would ever know the truth about what happened.

She rocked back and forth hugging her knees.

Since the man had dragged Madison out of the mine, the only sounds had been from her friends crying.

As the captain of the cheerleading squad, she needed to try and keep up their morale.

There must be a way to escape, and she just needed to discover it.

She went to the door, pressed her hands against the cold metal and peered through the tiny barred window.

“Can anyone hear me? It’s Olivia. I believe the man has left for a time.

We need to talk before he comes back and make a plan so we can escape. ”

The small light barely penetrated the darkness, but she made out the pale faces of Isabella and Chloe at the two windows opposite her, and she could hear movement from the cell beside her. “I can’t see you, Samantha, are you beside me?”

“Yes, I’m here.” Sam’s voice was barely a whisper. “What do you think he wants with us and where did he take Madison?”

Trying to keep her own fear at bay, Olivia swallowed hard.

“I don’t know but we need to stay calm. Sheriff Alton will find us.

You know she’ll never give up searching.

” A shiver went through her. Deep down she knew the truth.

A crazy man had kidnapped them, and from the evidence scratched into the wall, he’d done this before.

“She has no idea where we are.” Chloe shook the bars.

“There’s no escape from this place, is there?

Have you noticed there’s a toilet and a sink in one of the corners?

I’ve been feeling all around. There is a shelf above the mattress.

I found two blankets up there. They’re filthy but it’s better than freezing to death. ”

Olivia reached out, searching the damp, moss-covered walls.

She found the toilet and sink and crawled across the filthy floor to the mattress, stood and found the shelf.

Dust and animal droppings fell all over her as she pulled down the blankets.

The cold had seeped into her bones and even a filthy blanket would keep her warm.

Ignoring the smell of urine and rats, she draped it around her and went back to the door. “I found the blankets. They stink.”

“I figure they’re all the same.” Chloe’s head popped up at her window. “How can we get out of here?”

Olivia stared out at her friends. “I don’t know, but I figure no matter what, if anyone gets a chance to escape, run and get help. It might be our only chance.”

“I don’t think we have a chance.” Chloe peered back at her, only her large round eyes in view. “If he plans on killing us too, I’m not going without a fight.”

In the cell beside Olivia, Samantha Haimes burst into tears and started to wail. “Sam, keep it together. We don’t need to antagonize him.”

“He killed Liam.” Sam wailed and punched the door.

“I loved him. We’d gotten into the same college.

Can you imagine what it was like for them, tied up and unable to get out of the limo?

It would be a terrible death.” She sobbed and shook the bars.

“I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t care what happens to me. I want to die.”

Footsteps sounded along the passageway, slow and deliberate.

Tall shadows followed a flashlight beam and then the man appeared.

Shocked at the sight of his blood-soaked coveralls, Olivia gaped at him.

He stood staring at her and then smiled.

His teeth white in the gloom. More lights came on and the extent of the blood spatter became evident.

Shaking with fear, Olivia lifted her chin.

“Where’s Madison? What have you done with her? ”

“I released her in the forest.” The man shrugged and peeled off wet gloves.

“I need to take a shower and head into work. I guess I’d better feed you first.” He went to a closet and collected armfuls of silver packages.

“These are Army surplus rations. You get three each and a few bottles of water. Make them last all day. I don’t know when I’ll be back.

” The man swept his gaze along the cells as he dropped in the supplies, followed by blood-smeared bottled water.

“Which one of you wants to die? Was it you, Sam? Ah, yes, I can see it in your eyes. You hate me for killing Liam. He was weak. He didn’t even try to protect you, did he?

” He looked at her. “Still want to die?”

“I don’t care what you do to me.” Sam sobbed. “I don’t want to live without him.”

“I’ve never had requests before.” The man chuckled. “This will be interesting.”