Page 110 of Never Fall Again

Landry.

Eliza.

The panic wasn’t creeping anymore. It was squeezing him like a vise.

He forced himself to think, and the day began to reform in histhoughts. He had gone to work early. He was behind on everything, but he didn’t care. This had been the best week of his life.

Landry.God, please let her be okay. Please.

She came to see him at the job site. They talked through the fence.

Eliza. Did he pick her up from school? No. Wait, did he? He couldn’t remember.

Landry left. He went back to work. He went to the office before going to get Eliza.

The office. Something had happened at the office, but he couldn’t get a handle on it. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn’t at the office now. Wherever he was, it was cold, dark, and he couldn’t move.

This had to be about Landry. Where was she now? Was she safe? Was she alone? Was she hurt?

Cal had no idea how long he lay there, praying for his girls, when he became aware of Maisy barking.

No, not barking.

Maisy was losing her ever-loving mind. He’d never heard her bark like that. She didn’t sound hurt, but she did sound frantic.

He tried to move his body again. He thought he might be on his side. His fingers twitched, and when they did, he felt something. On the left, he thought he could feel his hand touching his leg. Maybe. The material felt like his pants. He couldn’t move his left arm. But he managed to move his right arm a small amount. Some kind of scratchy fabric was touching it. His legs still wouldn’t move.

No. Not wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

The muscles were trying, but something was holding them down.

His mind cleared away another layer of cobwebs, and with it came the realization that he was enclosed in something. A blanket? No. A blanket wouldn’t be this heavy. And it would be softer. He could feel the scratchy material against his left cheek now.

Why couldn’t he move?

Maisy’s barking was nearby now. He tried to call out to her. “Maisy!”

His voice sounded muffled, but Maisy’s bark grew more insistent.

Then he heard the voices. Deep, high, terrified.

“No!”

“You don’t think...”

“We need a shovel.”

“Not a shovel, you idiot.”

“How would you suggest—”

There was a vibration, something shifted, and whatever he was wrapped in collapsed onto his face and with it went the final cobwebs.

That’s when he knew.

He’d been buried alive.

The vibrations around him grew closer. The voices grew clearer. And then the pressure on his legs lessened. He kicked out with as much force as he could manage in the cramped space, and a yell went out from somewhere close. “Cal? Cal? Is that you?”

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