Page 101 of Little Girls Sleeping
The dog kept his body low, and gave a half growl and half whine. He moved with the stealth of a snake and the single-mindedness of a predator.
The air cooled another five degrees as the clouds covered the sun, leaving behind a black-and-white landscape.
Chad eased his way forward. Unexpectedly the dog turned and began barking at him, bouncing up and down; not playful, but rather an alarm for something important. He was trying to convey a message.
“What is it, Cisco?” Chad said. “Go, find, search, find Katie…” He didn’t know what else to say.
The dog turned away and moved another three feet, then stopped once more. He continued to bark rapidly.
Hugging her legs close, eyes tightly shut, Katie tried to keep herself warm with wonderful memories of home, her childhood, her parents. As her teeth chattered, she heard the ensuing echo from down below. For some reason, she thought of someone tap dancing and it made her giggle to herself.
Every ragged breath was difficult, leaving her straining for oxygen. Her shallow heartbeat and labored breathing were the only sounds she could hear.
Then, faintly in the distance, there was a repetitive banging that sounded like a machine of some kind. Katie held her breath and struggled to hear. After a few seconds, she realized that it was a dog barking. It was Cisco’s bark—there was no doubt about it. It was rapid and extremely loud. A purposeful bark, the one he gave when he discovered a specific find or track.
A rush of adrenalin flowed through her body as if someone had ignited her with a new lease on life.
“Cisco,” she whispered. Her voice sounded strange and disconnected. “Cisco,” she said louder. “I’m here! Help! Please help!”
But even as the chance of rescue presented itself, she remembered the reality of the sinkholes and mine shafts, and the realization filled her with horror. “No! Please stay where you are! It’s not safe,” she called.
Chad stood next to Cisco. The dog continued to bark at him rapidly, showing his white teeth. Chad knew he meant business, but was uncertain what to do next. He looked in the direction the dog was indicating and took off at a steady run, sprinting toward a trail that ran into a back road for vehicles. It was surrounded by trees and low-lying bushes with dead debris underneath.
Stopping to catch his breath, he thought he heard something.
A voice? A bird? People at the camp ground?
He continued to move toward the sound until he heard it clearly. It was a faint muffled voice: someone calling out for help? He continued to move with caution, but Cisco ran ahead of him. “Cisco, here!” he yelled, remembering Katie’s commands. The dog stopped and looked at him. “Here!” he said again. With some reluctance, the dog returned.
Chad grabbed the dog’s collar and said, “Katie?” Barely breathing, he waited for an answer. Cisco panted loudly but had stopped barking. He too was waiting.
The voice said, “Help. Help.”
Chad didn’t know for sure, but it sounded like Katie. It sounded as if she were underground. The thought made him nauseous and fearful. He started to run, but tripped and fell, releasing the dog’s collar. As he scrambled to get to his feet again, Cisco barked uncontrollably and inched forward.
“Cisco, down!”
The dog obediently dropped to his belly, though he clearly wanted to continue. He was panting heavily in canine nervousness.
“Katie!” yelled Chad. “Katie!”
“I’m here!” she replied.
“Where?”
“Don’t come any closer! The ground isn’t safe!”
Chad didn’t understand what she meant, but it gave him pause. He wasn’t sure if it was a trap and Charles was making her say certain things.
“Katie, are you alone?”
“Yes.” There was a pause, and then she said, “Stay back. Look at the ground.”
Chad ordered the dog to stay, then walked carefully toward her voice, expecting to see some type of booby trap set up to impale him or shoot him where he stood.
Examining the area, he saw strange lines of dirt travelling several yards. He had never seen anything like it before and looked closer. The ground seemed to move under his feet, and he stopped immediately. It was as if he had stepped into a funhouse; it was clear the area was completely unstable.
“Stay back!” Katie repeated.
