Page 140 of Kneeling to Candy

Worry creeps deep into my insides, setting my fight-or-flight response into overdrive. If I go back the way I came, Candy’s guards will surely finish me.

Quickening my steps, I continue deeper into the mine.

A loud snap has my stomach dropping to my feet at what these sounds mean.

The tunnel is going to cave in.

Leslie wasn’t aiming her gun at me. She was aiming for the support beams.

“Why, you little?—”

The words die in my mouth as the tunnel walls rumble. I could have as long as minutes and as short as seconds before the exits are blocked.

Panicked, I look toward the entrance I came in. It’s the closer of the two exits, and my only sure bet for survival. If I live to see another day, only to be captured, there’s always tomorrow to escape.

Spinning back around, I move as fast as I can toward the entrance. My body can’t keep up with my will. I stumble more than once, bouncing back on my feet and ignoring the screaming pain in my head.

The vibrations in the walls grow louder and more volatile. Dust and pebbles rain down on me. The ground quakes beneath my feet, making my escape more difficult in my discombobulated state.

My vision may not be the greatest as I strain to see through swollen eyelids in a dark tunnel. Though I swear I can see the wall shake and twist, fissures running skyward.

With my life on the line, I pray to a god I don’t believe in, pleading for mercy.

I can make out the light from the evening sky at the entrance. Safety is in sight.

Falling and stumbling, I move toward the light, only for the ceiling to collapse above the entrance as I arrive.

Choking on dust and sputtering on my tears, I retreat further into the mine. The tunnel mocks me as it continues to fill in, following me on my heels. It’s pitch black. I move my hand along the quaking walls, following it like a lifeline to the outside, praying, hoping.

Another loud snap echoes ahead of me.

Heaven help me.

Sobbing, I crouch on the floor of the tunnel and cover my head with my good hand.

A series of pops echoes through the shaft, the sound of rocks tumbling in their wake. It’s so loud, it sounds like the whole damn mountain is coming down around me.

Rocks of all sizes tumble on top of me. I shut my eyes and mouth tight to stop the dust from entering my body, holding my breath.

It seems like an eternity before the cavern settles when, in reality, it may have been less than a minute.

I’m hesitant to move, afraid I may cause another collapse in the shaft. Slowly, I dig into my coat pocket with my good hand, pulling out my cell phone. I turn on my flashlight. Holding up my phone, I squint through the dust to see my surroundings.

I’m in a tight space, no more than an arm stretch in each direction.

The more I note my environment, the more dread I’m filled with. There is no visible opening to crawl out of and not enough space to move rocks and debris aside to dig myself out.

A feminine voice whispers in my ear, “Look how the tables have turned.”

I turn behind me, finding no one there.

My nerves are making me hear things. I need to pull myself together, figure a way out of this mess.

The voice whispers in my other ear, “Before, I was the trapped one.”

Biting back a scream, I spin around in the space. “Who’s there?”

No answer.

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