Page 62 of All He Sees
Nicky ran through the forest with her feet kicking up bits of dead leaves. The tree trunks were wide and old, and the brown bark was soft and worn with time. Small branches, covered with ferns and moss, hung low over the dim path. The forest breathed and closed in around her until she could almost imagine that she was in a cage of her own making. Blinking hard, Nicky ran faster.
She was certain the scream she'd heard belonged to one of the missing girls. Maybe Mira. Maybe even Clara or Erica.
The trees were huge. They blocked out the sun, casting a moving shadow over Nicky as she ran. The ground was covered in moss and vines, leaves littered the ground, and the trees were filled with bark beetles, bugs, and bird nests. The forest smelled like death. Stagnant water, wet leaves, and decay.
Whoever had shot them down--presumably Chad and his friends--clearly had weapons. Weapons powerful enough to shoot down a helicopter. If Nicky had to guess, it was some sort of automatic submachinegun.
This was more serious than she'd feared. It meant that these guys--whatever they were doing--they weren't messing around.
It was possible they'd killed.
And it was possible Mira was next.
Nicky had tunnel vision as she ran toward the sound. Somewhere in the distance, a gunshot--like from a shotgun--resounded through the sky. Nicky heard another distant scream and followed, diving through the forest like her life depended on it.
She had no plan. She had no weapon. She didn't have a clue what she was doing.
But she knew someone was in danger, and she was the only one who could help.
Nicky didn't know exactly how she knew this. She couldn't explain it. But she could feel it. And she'd learned to trust her instincts.
The ground was slippery, covered in moss and rotting leaves. Nicky tried to keep running, and she stumbled over a rotting, half-buried log.
Nicky stopped running when she saw the clearing up ahead. She ran to the edge of the path and hid behind a fallen tree as she peered out.
Nicky looked out over a small, green valley. The grass was high, and the trees were thick, but there was a small shack in the center of the clearing, a makeshift fort made out of sheets of mossy bark and pieces of wood.
Nicky felt like she was on the edge of a nightmare, a nightmare that felt all too familiar. The trees looked up to the sky as they swayed, their branches in a constant state of motion, like they were waving goodbye. Nicky could feel despair around her.
But she heard something. Water falling, crashing into the earth, and on a whim, she went that way.
She followed the noises to a small stream, where the water cascaded down a large rock. Behind it was something that looked like a cave. Nicky stopped and listened. Maybe it was just the water, but she swore she heard breathing.
Nicky ran into the water. It was shallow, soaking her pants, but she kept running. She dove into the cave behind the waterfall and found herself in some sort of man-made tunnel system.
What the hell?
Nicky followed the tunnels, ducking low under some branches that looked like they'd been threaded through the rocks. The tunnel opened up into a bigger cavern, where the water soaked the rock, turning it green with mold.
Nicky ran along the stream, looking for the source of the noise. Water flowed through the floor of the tunnel, and Nicky stopped for a moment. She heard splashing, like someone running. She came to a fork and went left--only to crash right into someone else.
A girl's scream pierced her ears. She fell back, landing on her palms, and tried to skitter away.
Nicky's eyes adjusted to see Mira Phillips, looking up at her, wide-eyed and terrified.
"Shh!" Nicky shouted. "Mira, Mira, stop--"
She looked like she was about to scream again, but kept it in.
"I'm Agent Nicky Lyons with the FBI," Nicky said. "Don't worry. I'm here to help you."
"The FBI?" Mira asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Long story," Nicky said. "Start running."
They followed the tunnel, and Nicky kept an eye out for Chad and the others. If these tunnels were connected to the forest, it wouldn't take long for them to find Mira and Nicky.
"I'm not going back to the others," Mira said. "I'm not going back to them."
