Page 99 of Little Girls Sleeping
She took a deep breath and stretched up her right hand, trying to grab anything that would be stable.
Slowly, inch by inch, she made progress.
Dirt and miscellaneous debris trickled down into her face.
She tried several more times without success.
“You can do this,” she said out loud, remembering how hard it was going through boot camp. Her drill sergeant was one of the toughest, and at times, she had hated him with a passion. She could still hear him yelling at her when she was just about to give up. It was brutal, but she understood why he was so insistent.
Push through, Katie.
She glanced around her and saw an area about three feet away that looked as though it could take her weight. From there, she might be able to pull herself up far enough to climb out.
“Okay, Icando this…” Speaking out loud helped her to focus, and gave her the comfort of hearing a human voice. “If I can just reach…” She stretched her right arm across the black hole, her fingertips mere inches away from her target.
Just a little bit closer.
Three inches…
Two inches…
She retracted her arm and rested. Her breathing had become rapid, but her perseverance ran the show and she wasn’t going to give up.
Rolling her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she reached out her right arm again. This time, she lengthened her neck and shoulder muscles as her fingertips touched the thick tree root. Without a moment to lose, she grasped the root and leaped across, scrambling for a foothold until she found something in the dark that would hold her weight.
She took a minute to reassess her position, ignoring the fact that she was still in her undergarments; under the circumstances, it really didn’t matter. Keeping her focus on the light above and the possibility of seeing the sky and trees again, she reached up once more and pulled herself upward. It was only inches at a time, but she was gradually making her way to the top.
At last her eyes were level with the ground, and she quickly scanned the area before hoisting herself up and out. Exhausted, she lay on her back gazing at the afternoon sky and catching her breath. She was finally safe. She silently thanked her drill sergeant, God, and her determination to survive.
Finally she sat up, and then slowly stood. The wind immediately chilled her and she shivered uncontrollably as she crossed her arms to protect her torso from the cold. There was nothing to shield her bare skin from the elements anymore now she was out of the hole.
Trying to keep her teeth from chattering, she took a step, then stopped instantly. She noticed that the ground looked strange, with uneven anomalies and small holes dotted about. The grains of dirt moved as if a snake slithered underneath. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Clearly she was standing on extremely unstable ground.
The truck was about twenty yards away, presumably on stable ground. She prayed it would contain keys, a cell phone, clothes, and anything else that might help her to escape the area and contact her uncle. She had to at least warn him of the volatile situation, in case he had anyone searching for her.
She had to move now; she couldn’t wait any longer, as the wind picked up in velocity and the temperature dropped. She took one tentative step and put her weight on the area, then another, repeating the process until she was only a few yards from the truck.
Looking up, she gave a long sigh of relief at seeing the truck so close. Hope sparked inside her, relieving some of her heavy burden. She took another step—and something changed. A small section of ground had given way. Standing completely still in mid motion, her breath caught in her throat.
No.
Then before she could move, the ground opened up all around her, like a giant wound, and swallowed her, her body dropping through a circular hole. Her descent ended abruptly as she smacked into a section of packed earth. The impact was like hitting a brick wall, and she moved judiciously to make sure she didn’t have any broken bones or serious injuries.
Looking up, she saw that she was at least thirty feet below the surface. There was no way she could climb out this time, no matter how much she talked herself into it. No matter how hard she tried to maintain control and strength. She began to cry in frustration and fear, and for everything she hadn’t yet experienced in her life.
No one will hear my pleas.
No one will hear my screams.
I will die alone.
Fifty-Seven
Chad reached his Jeep after completing another quadrant resulting in zero clues to Katie’s whereabouts. He was weary and depressed. When he opened the driver’s door, Cisco pushed past him and effortlessly leaped inside. The dog sat in the passenger seat, his head directed at the windshield with an unmistakable look of eagerness. It was crystal clear to Chad that Cisco wanted to continue the search.
Chad got behind the wheel, glanced at his watch, and decided to continue to the last grid area he had planned. It might become dark during his search, but that didn’t matter to him, because he was prepared. He had a heavy-duty flashlight, a lighted headband, and even a few flares.
He drove along the road, which appeared to be more of a rugged walking trail than a roadway. His SUV bounced back and forth, but continued to climb to an area that he wasn’t familiar with. A few times, as he negotiated sections of the road that seemed impassable, he wanted to pull over, but his determination pushed him onward.
