Page 33 of Silent Grave (Sheila Stone #12)

Peter gestured toward one of the darker tunnels.

"Michelle chose this path initially. Tried to find her own way out.

" He shook his head sadly. "They always run at first. Always think they can escape the darkness on their own.

But darkness isn't something you escape. It's something you learn to embrace."

"Move," Sheila ordered, ignoring his philosophical ramblings. "Slowly. Stay where we can see you."

Peter started forward, his movements confident despite the uneven ground. Sheila followed close behind, keeping her light and weapon trained on him. Finn brought up the rear, his own flashlight beam sweeping the tunnel walls for any sign of threat.

The tunnel narrowed slightly, forcing them to walk single file. Peter moved with the confidence of someone who'd walked these paths thousands of times. His hand occasionally brushed the wall, touching crosses carved into the rock—some old, some newer, each one marking something only he understood.

"You're wondering if I'm lying," Peter said as they continued deeper. "If these dangers are real or just another manipulation." He stopped at a junction where three tunnels branched away into darkness. "Would you like me to prove it?"

"What we'd like," Finn said from behind them, "is for you to shut up and keep moving."

"The left tunnel looks most promising, doesn't it?" Peter gestured with his chin. "Slopes upward, suggests a path to the surface. The kind of route a scared young woman might choose." He smiled slightly. "Would you like to see what happens when someone takes that path?"

Before either of them could stop him, he picked up a rock and tossed it into the left tunnel. The sound of it bouncing echoed strangely, then—

A rumble shook the passage. Rocks clattered down from above as a section of the left tunnel collapsed, sending clouds of dust billowing toward them.

"You see?" Peter remained calm despite the chaos.

"The mountain remembers its wounds. Old collapses, abandoned dig sites, places where support beams have rotted through.

" He turned to face them, dust settling on his shoulders.

"How many rescue workers would you have lost trying to search these tunnels without my guidance? "

"Move," Sheila ordered, but her voice held less conviction now. The collapse had proven at least some of what he'd been saying about the dangers.

They took the right tunnel, descending deeper into the mountain. The air grew cooler, heavy with mineral scents and decades of darkness. Peter touched more crosses as they walked, almost like a Catholic making the sign of the cross for protection.

"My father's first lesson lasted three days," he said conversationally. "He chained me to a support beam and left me in complete darkness. Said it would teach me to fear God." He laughed softly. "But I learned something else instead. Something about darkness itself."

"I said shut up," Finn snapped.

"Did you know fear changes how we perceive time?

" Peter continued, ignoring Finn. "In complete darkness, with no reference points, the mind begins to.

.. drift. Hours feel like minutes. Or days.

" He touched another cross. "Michelle understands that now.

Just like Tyler did. Just like Marcus—though he never got to complete his lesson. "

A sound echoed through the tunnels—maybe a voice, maybe just settling rock. But it seemed to come from somewhere above them.

"That's impossible," Finn said. "We've been heading down."

"Sound plays tricks down here," Peter said.

"The tunnels are like a living thing, carrying voices in unexpected ways.

" He paused at another junction. "Would you like to follow that sound?

Try to trace it to its source?" His smile widened slightly.

"Or would you like me to show you the actual path to Michelle? "

Sheila studied him in her flashlight beam. Every instinct screamed that he was leading them deeper into his trap. But that collapse had been real. The hollow sound of unstable ground had been real.

How many other death traps waited in the darkness? And how long did Michelle have before she stumbled into one of them?

"Which way?" she asked finally.

Peter's smile widened. "That depends," he said softly, "on how much more you're willing to learn about darkness."

Sheila kept her weapon trained on Peter's back as they moved deeper into the tunnel system. The air grew noticeably heavier, and the walls seemed to press closer. Their flashlight beams caught more crosses carved into the rock, appearing more frequently now.

"The main shaft intersects here," Peter said, stopping at another junction. "The original miners used to—"

"I don't care about mining history," Sheila cut him off. "Where's Michelle?"

"But you should care," Peter said mildly.

"Understanding is important. For instance, do you know why they abandoned this section?

" He gestured to a tunnel branching off to their left.

"Three men died here in '61. The company claimed it was unstable ground, but really.

.." He smiled. "Really, they found something they didn't want anyone to know about. "

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked despite himself.

"Rich copper deposits. Still untapped. My father helped cover it up—he was good at covering things up.

" Peter traced a cross carved into the wall.

"The company found it was cheaper to extract ore illegally, off the books.

No safety regulations, no union wages." He turned to face them.

"Did you think I was the only one with secrets down here? "

Another sound echoed through the tunnels—closer this time. A cry, perhaps, or just the mountain settling.

"This way," Peter said, starting down the right-hand tunnel.

They'd gone perhaps fifty yards when Peter stopped suddenly. "Listen."

A faint sound carried through the darkness—metal creaking under strain. Peter smiled. "Interesting."

"What is it?" Sheila demanded, her voice tight with apprehension. A cold trickle of sweat ran down her spine.

"That support beam—" He gestured upward with his chin. "The one holding up this entire section. I've been... experimenting with its load-bearing capacity."

The creaking grew louder. Sheila's heart hammered against her ribs as fine debris began sifting down from above, sparkling in her flashlight beam like deadly snow.

"One more thing about these tunnels," Peter said softly. "Sound isn't the only thing that travels in unexpected ways. Vibrations, too. For instance—" He stamped his foot hard against the ground.

The effect was immediate. The creaking turned to groaning as decades-old timbers shifted above them. Dust and small rocks showered down.

"Stop," Sheila ordered, unable to completely mask the fear in her voice, but Peter was already moving.

He spun with startling speed, shouldering into Finn before either of them could react. The impact sent Finn staggering backward just as a larger rock crashed down between them. More followed, cutting off their line of sight to Peter.

Sheila grabbed Finn's arm, pulling him back as more debris rained down. The tunnel was collapsing in slow motion, the ancient support structure finally giving way.

"He's getting away!" Finn shouted over the noise.

A scream echoed through the tunnels—closer now, more distinct than before. It was followed by another cry, this one unmistakably Michelle's voice, coming from the right passage.

"Michelle first," Sheila said, fighting to keep her voice steady as the mountain seemed to groan around them. "We have to—"

The rest was lost as a massive beam crashed down, nearly crushing them. Terror shot through Sheila's body as they scrambled back, watching helplessly as the collapse cut off the left passage—and any chance of immediately pursuing Peter.

"The right tunnel," Sheila said, already moving. "Before that comes down too."

They ran, the sound of falling rock pursuing them like something alive. Peter had known exactly how to trigger this, had probably spent years learning the mine's weaknesses. Every stamp of their feet threatened to bring down more of the ceiling.

The passage ahead split again. In the beam of her flashlight, Sheila caught a splash of color—a bright red jacket half-buried under a fallen rock.

"There!" She rushed forward, Finn close behind.

Michelle lay unconscious but breathing, partially protected by a cave-in that had formed a small pocket around her. They worked quickly to free her, aware that any wrong move could bring down the rest of the unstable section.

"She's alive," Finn said, checking Michelle's pulse. "But we need to get her out of here now."

Sheila played her light back the way they'd come, now completely blocked by the collapse. "That was his plan all along. Force us to choose between catching him and saving her."

"And make sure we couldn't follow immediately even if we did choose him." Finn carefully lifted Michelle. "There has to be another way out. He wouldn't trap himself down here."

"Which means he has other exits we don't know about. Places that aren't on any of the maps."

A rumble from deep in the mountain emphasized her point. This section wasn't done collapsing.

"We need to move," Finn said. "Before—"

A crack like thunder cut him off as another support beam gave way somewhere ahead of them. The sound of cascading rock grew louder.

"Run," Sheila ordered, looking at Finn and the unconscious Michelle. But even as she said it, a different thought crystallized. "No—wait. You take her out. Follow the air current, it'll lead to an exit."

"What?" Finn shifted Michelle's weight in his arms. "You can't be serious."

"He has private exits, Finn. Ones that aren't on any map." Her flashlight beam caught falling debris as another rumble shook the tunnel. "If we lose him now, we may never find him again."

"Sheila—"