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EVE KNOX
Friday, December 22, 1995
4:22 p.m.
Eve began to call out to Nola when she felt a shove from behind. Eve skidded forward and tried to break her fall by thrusting her hands out in front of her. A sickening thud filled her ears as her temple struck the stone floor. Maggie was on top of her again, her face twisted with fury, the ends of Eve’s scarf gathered in her fists. Eve couldn’t breathe. Panicked, she kicked and kicked until she heard a cry that wasn’t her own.
Maggie gasped, releasing the scarf and falling backward. “Oh my God,” she groaned.
Stunned, Eve lay there trying to assess her injuries. Her head throbbed and her right wrist blazed with pain. Eve ran her fingers across her scalp and felt a warm, sticky river of blood flowing from the wound.
Eve was tired. So tired. All she wanted to do was to go home, to forget this terrible day. Next to her, she felt movement, heard the soft hitches of Maggie crying. Eve closed her eyes and heard the whispery shuffle of retreating footsteps.
Why hadn’t Nola stayed to help her? “Nola?” Eve called out once Maggie was gone. There was no answer and Eve unsteadily got to her feet. Blood trickled down her face and tickled her neck. Her head ached and her wrist throbbed. “Are you there?” Eve’s voice bounced back to her in soft whispers.
Eve limped away from the comfort of the slowly fading light that fell through the opening in the cave’s ceiling knowing that it would be dark soon. She tried to remember which twists and turns led to precarious drop-offs and which ones opened up to almost magical spaces with stalagmites rising from the ground and stalactites hanging from the ceilings. She tentatively put one foot in front of the other, her hands stretched out for protection from walking face-first into a rocky ledge. Eve needed to be careful. One wrong turn and she could be stuck in the caves for hours.
“Nola,” she called out again. “Are you in here? Please, I need your help.”
Eve rounded a corner and though the sun hadn’t completely disappeared, a gray veil had been lowered in front of the cave’s mouth. Because of her injured wrist she wouldn’t be able to hold on and crawl back up the bluff but she could take the long way along Ransom Road. How she would explain her injuries, she didn’t quite know. She had used the I tripped and the I walked into a door excuses one too many times to explain the bruises that Nick had given her. How long were people going to buy these lame explanations?
She’d figure out the details later. All she wanted to do right now was get home. Ahead of her, just beyond the cave’s opening, a figure stepped into view. Eve heard the echo of footsteps. Maybe it was Nola or Maggie coming back to help her. She couldn’t believe their fight had gone this far. It made Eve sick to her stomach to think that they’d actually laid hands on each other. She’d kicked Maggie in the stomach over and over and Maggie had tried to choke her. The world had officially gone crazy.
Eve rushed forward and as the figure came toward her, she quickly realized that the person in front of her was much too big to be Maggie or Nola. When Eve stopped, the shadow stopped too. “Hello?” she called out. There was no response. A spasm of terror coursed through her. The man from the library, the man in the red sweatshirt? Had he followed Eve here to the caves? “My boyfriend is right behind me,” Eve said, forcing confidence into her voice. She glanced behind her shoulder, almost wishing that Nick would appear.
“No, he isn’t, Eve,” the man answered. Eve strained to see who was speaking but in the fading light his features were blurred in the velvety darkness. “There’s no one here now but you and me.” It was then that Eve recognized the voice. Cam Harper. “I’m afraid we have a little problem here.”
Fear made Eve’s skin buzz, numbing the pain in her head and her wrist.
Eve considered her options. She could try to talk her way out of here, tell Mr. Harper that there was no problem. That what was between him and Maggie wasn’t her business. She could turn around and try to navigate to the opposite end of the cave and to the other exit. Or she could try to get past Cam Harper, out of the cave and to safety.
He didn’t give her a chance to decide. Before she could speak Mr. Harper was at her side, his fingers digging into her arm, trying to drag her more deeply into the cave. Eve managed to wriggle free but lost her balance and stumbled to the ground. Eve’s fingers swept the floor in search of some kind of weapon and her hand landed on a jagged piece of limestone. She clutched onto the rock and with a cry of frustration she swung her arm hoping to strike him but only cut through the damp air. She tried again and this time managed to graze his scalp.
“Goddammit.” Cam released her and his hands flew to the back of his head.
Good,thought Eve, I’ve drawn blood. Eve tried to get to her feet but Cam latched onto her boot and yanked, his fingers snagging like talons into her shoelaces and bringing her back down.
“No,” Eve cried, tearing away from his grasp, and ran toward the cave’s opening, hopscotching over jagged stone. Almost there, Eve thought as her right foot plunged into a narrow crevice and she tumbled forward.
The sickening snap of her ankle filled her ears and Eve howled in pain. Using her good hand, she tried to push herself up to her knees but her right foot was still entangled. Only twenty yards more and she would be free of the claustrophobic confines of the cave; she would be away from Mr. Harper. Behind Eve, the sound of gasping, ragged breath came closer, pushing her into action. With one desperate yank, Eve pulled her leg free of the rocky snare, tearing skin and losing her boot in the process.
She army-crawled across the rough stone toward the mouth of the cave, the ends of her scarf cascading down her back as she moved. Almost there. Suddenly, Cam was there, one leg on each side of her. He bent down and grabbed the ends of her scarf, pulling it tight against her throat. Eve froze but still the pressure built. She scrabbled at the fabric, trying to desperately slide her fingers between the wool and her skin, but failed. Eve’s legs felt weak and her lungs screamed for oxygen.
Night had fallen and the only light came from the houses far up atop the bluffs, twinkling, tiny beacons. Only a little bit farther, Eve thought. I’m so close.
With one frantic effort, she managed to flip onto her back but the scarf didn’t loosen. It tightened, cutting more deeply into her throat. Her screams became lodged in her chest. Her vision blurred and her arms fell uselessly to her side. Above her, Eve found Cam’s eyes. They were filled with rage. There was no fear, no regret, no sorrow.
How did things go so wrong?Eve wondered. Why? Just beyond the cave night had fully arrived and snow came down in dizzying swirls. Dark places made it so much easier to be cruel, to enact revenge. Eve just wanted to be a good friend, a good sister. Nothing more.
Air couldn’t pass through to her lungs. The cold crept through her skin, settling deep into Eve’s bones until she became one with the icy limestone.
