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Their headlamps were beginning to fade as the batteries diminished. Soon they would be thrown into the darkest of darkness with no light to guide them out.
She tried to keep her spirits up, though she was beginning to feel desperate. They came to the same intersection in the tunnels that they’d been to before. This time, they went right instead of left. The tunnel in this direction seemed to be wider and the rails in better shape than the ones deeper in the mine.
Dezi dared to hope they might get out before their batteries died and they were thrown into darkness.
They came to a four-way intersection in the tunnels and paused.
Which way would get them out?
She had no idea. At that moment, her light flickered and went out. Her chest tightened, and a sob rose up her throat. Dezi swallowed hard, refusing to show how scared she was.
Grimm turned to the right. Dezi followed. Without her light, she couldn’t see what was on the ground at her feet. Her foot caught on a rail and she fell to her knees on the hard stone floor.
Grimm turned back, squatting down beside her. “Hey, are you okay?”
Dezi nodded and then shook her head.
“We’re going to be all right,” Grimm said. “Remember, Hank has us on his GPS tracker. He’ll find us.”
She shook her head. “Those devices don’t pick up through solid rock.”
“They’ll find another way into the mine and get us out. All we have to do is wait.” He settled on the floor beside her. “I’m just stubborn. I was hellbent on us saving ourselves, rather than waiting for someone else to come to our rescue.”
“But we were going in circles.”
He chuckled. “You noticed, huh?”
She nodded. “Is being lost in a mine like being lost in the woods? Should we stay put and make it easier for them to find us?”
“Yes. We should and will.” He gave her a crooked grin. “When they realize we’re in the mine, they’ll get in from another entrance. In fact, we should conserve the remainder of my battery.” When he shined the light around the room one last time, something caught Dezi’s attention. “What’s that?” She scrambled to her feet, walked across the uneven floor and scooped up a Denver Broncos zip sweatsuit jacket.
Her heart started racing, and her hand shook as she stared down at the familiar item. “Oh, sweet Jesus,” she whispered.
“What is it?” Grimm joined her where she stood staring down at the jacket in the dim light from the one remaining headlamp
“I know this jacket,” she said, her throat closing on a sob.
“What do you mean?”
“I know who this jacket belonged to. It was her favorite jacket. She never traveled without it.” She looked up through a sheen of tears. “Shine the light around the room again, please.”
He did as she requested, shining the light in every corner.
“Stop,” Dezi said. “Back to the left. Stop. On the wall. What is that?”
She walked to the wall and found marks scratched into the stone, probably from using another stone. There were tic marks as if someone had been counting something. Near the tic marks, almost too faded to see, were the letters PB.
Her heart squeezed so hard in her chest, Dezi thought she might pass out. She sank to the floor and put her head between her knees. “She was here. Penny was here.”
“Penny, the girl who disappeared four months ago?” Grimm asked.
Dezi nodded, rocking back and forth. “She was here for a least three weeks. Trapped in the darkness. No one knew where she was. We still don’t know where she is.” Dezi stumbled to her feet. “We have to get out of here. I have to let Cassie know. She’s been searching through databases, questioning witnesses, and it was as if she’d disappeared off the face of the earth. We thought she’d been abducted in LA. But she’s here. Somewhere here in the Crazy Mountains.” She looked around at the four tunnels leading away from where they stood. “We have to get out.”
“We have to be patient.” Grimm pulled her close and held her. “They’ll find us. I know they will.” His light flickered. “I’m turning off my lamp. It might have just enough battery left to light up when they come looking for us.”
She nodded. “Turn it off. We’ll wait.”
He hit the off switch, plunging them into darkness. “They’ll come.”
