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The signal sounded again.
“Sawdust pile,” Derrick called behind me.
I’d never seen the sawdust pile. I remembered Nathan telling me not to go over there and I hadn’t been back here since that day. He’d said it was dangerous. Didn’t Micah and Tom know that?
At the end of the tall grass path, there was a smaller, dusty trail off to the right between clusters of trees. We had an easier time with this one since the ground was smoothed, dry and cracked. Derrick sped up and I did my best to keep near him. I wondered if North and the others would be able to follow. I didn’t want to betray the secret, but if there really was trouble, I hoped they could come in and help.
We came out of the trail on the other side. There was a clearing about as big as a football field. At the far end was a pile of sawdust about as big as the garage at home.
Tom was at the foot of it, waving his hands after us. Beads of sweat trailed down his dirty cheeks. “He’s going to sink in,” he cried out.
I glanced up. Micah was at the top of the pile, waist deep into the dust. His shirt was off. He looked nervous, but the moment he set his eyes on me behind Derrick, he frowned. “Why’d you bring her with you?”
“You’re probably lucky she did come along,” Derrick said, pulling his bike up near the pile and stopping. He got off, dropping it. His bare chest was heaving as he caught his breath. “What in the world were you thinking climbing up there?”
“We were testing it out.”
“That was stupid.”
I stopped my bike next to Derrick’s. I wasn’t eager to stand in the grass in my bare feet but the grass was softer than I thought it looked. I stood back, putting my hands on my hips and looking up at Micah. “How do we get him out?”
“Climb up and yank him out, I guess.”
I nodded. Derrick was right. They needed me right now. I was lighter. Someone like Kota or Nathan being much heavier might create more problems. Derrick was probably too heavy for this but I wouldn’t want to ask Tom to climb up there.
“Let’s do it before the cavalry catches up,” Derrick said.
“They’re coming?” Micah said. “I told you she’d tell.”
“She didn’t tell. They were there when you signaled.” Derrick planted a foot onto the pile. “If we hurry, they might not find out at all.” He gingerly put his weight onto it. His foot nestled into the collection of sawdust but he didn’t sink. He stepped forward again, crawling his way slowly up the pile.
I gritted my teeth. I had to do it. We were the only ones here. If we waited any longer, he could sink in and disappear. I placed my bare foot onto the sawdust, feeling the grit, like thick sand, under my feet. I was half expecting a thousand splinters but it was softer than I expected.
I didn’t sink. I placed my hands into the dust to scramble up.
Derrick slipped up next to Micah, his hands out and looking unsteady. He inched closer to Micah. The dust started to collect over the tops of his feet. “It’s softer up here,” he warned me. “Be careful.”
I nodded. I climbed up on the other side of Micah, approaching like Derrick had done by sidling up slow. On top of the pile, it was easier to walk across but I was sinking in deeper, too. The sawdust spread out under my feet, swallowing me up to almost my ankles. I tried not to look at how high up we were, like standing on a rooftop.
Derrick frowned. “We’ll have to do this a little at a time.” He reached down, holding out a hand. “Give me your hand, Micah.”
Micah groaned, shoving a hand up. As he did, he sunk a little lower, until the dust claimed him up to his ribs. “Hurry,” he said. He lifted his other hand toward me.
I stepped closer, tilting almost unbalanced as the sawdust below my feet started to shift again. I planted my feet as best as I could. I reached out, clasped at Micah’s hand. I locked my fingers around his palm, trying to make sure I had a good grip. “Ready,” I said.
“Pull him up slow,” Derrick said to me. “If there’s a sink hole here, we don’t want to fall in after him.”
I nodded.
Derrick counted out. “One, two ...”
I pulled. Derrick yanked up. Micah started coming up, exposing his bare belly button. As we tugged at Micah, we sunk in. The sawdust filled in over my ankles.
“Stop,” Derrick said. He readjusted. “Pull yourself out, try not to sink in any further.”
I pulled my feet out, allowing sawdust to fill in the space and trying to stand on top of it. I did sink in but only to cover part of my foot.
We pulled together again. This time we got Micah up far enough so I could see his hip bones.
“Wait,” Micah said. “Don’t do any more.”
“Why not?” Derrick asked. “We don’t have time to wait.”
Micah rumbled. “My shorts aren’t coming up with me.”
“Well you should have thought about that before you decided to go jump into a sawdust pile. I’ve told you to stay out of here.”
“I’ll close my eyes if you want.,” I said, eager to get this over with.
Micah cursed under his breath. “Whatever. Just pull.”
“On three again,” Derrick said.
I collected Micah’s hand. His hands were sweaty, making it harder to hold on to him.
“One.”
The sawdust shifted around my feet again as I tensed, sinking me a little down around my ankles again. I regripped again, hoping another good real tug would get him high enough that he could pull himself out.
“Two.”
“Baby! Get your ass off of there!”
North’s deep voice was so pleading, so desperate that it jolted me. I stumbled off-balance.
The ground shifted.
Micah sunk in to his shoulders. His hand grasped mine in a death grip.
Unbalanced, I dropped down over on top of him, afraid to let go. If I let go, we wouldn’t be able to find him if he sank down deeper.
Before his head went under, I curled myself over him to cover his face.
Derrick landed on top of me, possibly thinking the same thing. He grabbed at my waist, still hanging on to Micah’s hand around me.
The sawdust piled up around us.
LETTING GO
The feeling was familiar, like being surrounded by pool water. It was stifling hot, warmer, thicker, itchier.
It was also pitch black.
Micah was scrambling below me. I wasn’t sure how he was moving so much but the more he twisted and turned, the further we sank together.
I held his hand, squeezed it, willing him to stop.
With my free hand, I cupped around my mouth, trying to keep the sawdust away from my face and trying not to breathe it in.
At some point we settled. Derrick was hunched over my head, pulling up and away from me using his back. He held up the sawdust around him, creating an air pocket. I felt the space opening up next to his face and chest.
“Pull him up,” Derrick said through the dark. He readjusted his grip until he was holding me up around my shoulders.
I yanked on Micah’s hand and tried to pull him up against me. When he broke through next to my head, he sputtered, spitting and gasping.
“We need to cover our faces,” Derrick said. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold this up.”
An idea sparked through me. “Hang on to Derrick,” I told Micah.
Micah didn’t answer, but he let go of my hand to double up on Derrick’s arm. Derrick yanked him up higher.
I shifted, sinking slightly but wrenched off my tank top. I was too scared to be modest now, and they couldn’t see me anyway. We needed something to cover our faces and I was the only one wearing a shirt. At least I had a bra.
I pulled up the tank top into the air pocket. I felt around for Derrick’s hand. “Can you rip this?”
Derrick snatched the shirt from me. He grunted. There were ripping sounds. A second later, a cloth was shoved at my head.
“Keep it around your nose and mouth. Breathe through
the cloth. Don’t suck in any more sawdust.”
I shoved the cloth of my shirt toward my face.
“Take slow breaths. Save the oxygen. I don’t know how long it will take them to find us.”
I wanted to do what he was telling us, but the cloth made the already unbearable warmth around us suffocating. I was sweating. The sawdust stuck to my skin.
