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S ierra slowly opened her eyes. A filmy light filtered through the dust particles. The flashlight!

Her head pounded. She reached up to touch it and realized she was covered in dust.

A moan from close by had her turning. The pain increased with motion. She grabbed her head and blinked several times before her vision cleared somewhat.

Dawn. The woman she’d escaped with was lying next to her.

She tried to remember what had happened. They’d gotten through the exit only to find themselves inside a labyrinth of tunnels. They’d gotten turned around when the unthinkable happened. There’d been another collapse. She and Dawn were both caught in it.

That had been hours earlier. Sierra sat up slowly and felt her limbs. Nothing appeared broken, but she had several deep cuts and scrapes. She remembered she’d tried to push Dawn out of harm’s way before the rockslide reached her. Had it worked?

She remembered Henry trying to gas them.

She rose on unsteady legs. Her stomach heaved. The effects of what they’d gone through? Or had the gas Henry used to try to kill them penetrated into this closed-off section?

“Dawn, wake up. We have to get out of here.” She shook Dawn hard.

Dawn swatted at her hand. “No. Just a few more minutes.”

Sierra kept shaking. “Now. The gas.”

Dawn’s eyes snapped open. Terror lived in their depths as she looked at Sierra. “What happened?”

Sierra reminded her of the collapse. “I’m not sure if the gas can reach us here or not, but we can’t take that risk. Are you hurt?”

Dawn’s eyes widened. She was covered in dust like Sierra, and her wrist that had been injured before was probably a whole lot worse for the wear, but she didn’t seem to have any fresh injuries.

“I don’t think so.”

Sierra grabbed hold of her uninjured hand and assisted her to her feet.

Dawn looked around where they were. There were at least two tunnels shooting off from the main one they’d been in before the collapse. “What is this place?”

Sierra dusted off her clothes. “It looks like some type of old mine.” From her best guess, they were deep in the mountain behind Henry’s home. The temperature had dropped dramatically.

“Which way do we go?” Dawn pointed to the tunnels.

Sierra had no idea which was the path that would lead them out of the mine. “I guess we will try both.” She pointed to the right. “This way first.”

Sierra’s back hurt from the beating it had taken from the collapse, not to mention the hours they’d spent walking bent over down the tunnel and dealing with heavy rocks.

“Do you think he’ll check to make sure we’re dead?” Dawn voiced Sierra’s biggest fear.

“Probably. He can’t afford to let us get away. Everything will fall apart. We can identify Henry. His accomplice is no doubt someone close to him. His world will come crashing down around him if we get out of here alive.” All the more reason they couldn’t stand still for long.

“If this is some type of mine, then it must belong to Henry. He has to know every single tunnel in this place.”

Sierra guessed what Dawn meant. “You’re right. I’m hoping we can get out ahead of him.” It was a longshot. Unfortunately, it was all they had.

“I don’t feel so lightheaded now.” Dawn told her.

“Me either. Hopefully, the gas won’t reach us here.” But another threat, far more frightening, had her praying they’d reach freedom soon. This whole place could collapse if Henry chose to destroy all the evidence inside his house. She didn’t share that thought with Dawn.

After walking for more than an hour, the worst possible outcome had Sierra screaming her frustration. A dead end. She tried not to give into the desperation threatening.

She went over to what appeared to be a wall. This wasn’t a pile of rocks blocking the way. Someone had deliberately bricked it up.

“What do you think is on the other side?” Dawn seemed surprisingly less panicked than Sierra.

“I don’t know.” Sierra rubbed her hand across her face and felt the sting as the dirt from her hand embedded into the gashes on her face. “Maybe a part of the mine that was no longer fruitful.” Or maybe there were more bodies hidden there. She shuddered at the thought.

“Let’s go back to the fork and take the left shaft.”

Dawn must have seen something on her face because she stepped close and reached for Sierra’s hand. “You’ve been so strong for me. When I wanted to give up, you forced me to keep going. Let me be strong for you now.”

Tears blurred Dawn from sight. She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Come on. Let’s finish this. We’re going to get out of here and return to our families. And we’re going to tell the world what Henry and his partner, T, did to us and to those women. We’re not going to let their story die.”

Sierra almost wanted to jump up and down and pump her fist at the pep talk.

“You’re right. Let’s go.”

Dawn laughed. “How about you tell me about that man of yours?”

Sierra pictured Zeke’s worried face. She was certain he’d come here along with her team. They wouldn’t stop looking for her until she was found.

“He’s a great guy. A little older than me but smart, you know.”

Dawn nodded. “He sounds like an amazing man.”

Soon, the words just came tumbling out. “I love him, and I want to get married and have a family, but he wants to take it slow. It’s because of how he grew up. His father left the family when they had a crisis. He and I are very different, I guess. I dive in headfirst. He weighs all the options.” She shrugged.

“Sounds like a perfect match to me. Your differences complement each other. You will help him become more impulsive, and he’ll curb your reckless tendencies.”

Sierra hadn’t thought about their differences complementing each other before.

“It would be awfully boring if we were all alike, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I guess it would.” They reached the fork in the tunnel and went left this time.

“What happens when we find our way out of here?” Dawn said as if there wasn’t any question about it.

“Well, we try to find the closest house and call for help.” Sierra stopped periodically and listened for any sounds to indicate they might be nearing the end of the tunnel.

Dawn stopped suddenly.

“What? Did you hear something?” Sierra searched her face. It was almost pitch-black where they were but she could make out Dawn’s fear.

“No, it’s not that. What if the second killer lives close by? We could be walking right into the arms of our killer.”