56. KATIE
Chapter fifty-six
KATIE
T he cave mouth narrows sharply toward a tunnel. There must be a back entrance, because a constant whistling of wind blows cool air up from deeper inside the sprawling cave tunnels. The air is damp, and smells of dirt and something faintly sour.
All of the records I’ve read over the last week describe Travelers waking up at the entrance to a cave, or near a rock overhang–not deep in the bowels of a tunnel. So, that means that any portal I could trigger would be closer to the opening. Helpful, since I have zero intention of spelunking alone in the dark.
The excavation itself has concentrated most of their effort on the right side of the cave mouth. I notice three large boulders that have been marked off with white flags. These rocks have banded colors– like marble, only the bands of color are more evenly layered. Some of the bands are shiny, almost metallic.
These must be what causes the magnetism.
But how?
I snap a picture of the rock, risking the flash in order to get the clearest picture of the colors, and send it to Norah. If anyone can figure out the colored bands, it’s my youngest sister.
I crouch again, my knee protesting the whole time. But I want to look at the floor of the cave. Could there be some kind of grooves or marks that indicate where the portal would form?
I shuffle along the cave floor, scanning every inch, but come up with only handfuls of gray pebbles and a few stray twigs. The dig site looks to have uncovered a few objects in the dirt– one of which looks suspiciously like a human skull.
It’s probably not creepy at all in daylight. But in the reddish glow of my phone flashlight, it’s more like a Halloween horror than an Indiana Jones artifact.
I shuffle along, looking for something, anything , that indicates a portal could appear at the cave entrance. Anything that might look like a trigger point. But the harder I look, the less I find.
What was I thinking? Even if I found a way to trigger one of the magnetic portals, there is no way to know if it would definitely lead us to Earth.
I slump back onto my ass.
“Fucking stupid,” I moan, dropping my head into my hands.
Why hadn’t I stopped to think all of this through. Damn it. I was so focused on finding a way home, on not giving up that I didn’t let myself look at this scenario. Even if there was a portal, what could I do about it alone in the dark?
“I’m an idiot,” I sigh, rubbing my forehead and the headache that has returned in full force from earlier in the day. Layla had warned me– hyperfixation . She was right. Usually I hyperfixated on them, on trying to sort out mom’s finances, or get Molly Beth a better asthma specialist, or keep Maddie from ending up in juvie.
But now, I turned that focus on an impossible problem, and tried to solve it without help. Stupid.
I open my messages, unmuting the app.
My phone nearly vibrates out of my hand.
There are a string of messages from Max and Loren, all asking where I am, if I’m okay, and why I left. There’s at least half a dozen missed calls from Max and Loren, too. And one from Aurelia.
Layla’s also sent several messages–all of them asking if I’m okay. That Aurelia asked her if I’d come to visit, and if they knew where I was. Another message pings.
Layla: Katie, you didn’t do anything stupid, right? Please tell me you’re okay. Please tell me you’re alive. Going back to Earth isn’t worth your safety. You are more important than home ever was.
My eyes water. Fuck . They’re worried about me. That’s not what I wanted. That’s not how this mission was supposed to go. In and out, easy. Recon and information. So we could know for sure that we were stuck here. Well now we know, don’t we?
It was stupid to think I could do this alone without freaking everyone out.
I manage to type out a reply to Layla, blinking back a sheen of tears.
Katie: I’m fine. I needed to test a theory, but I’m fine. I’m going to head back to the house now. I love you all.
Another message pings through, and it’s the first and only message I’ve ever received from him.
Callum: You should know better than to run from your Alpha, because wherever you go, I will find you.
A shiver runs through me. Not fear exactly, but anticipation. Some part of my new biology aching for him to chase me. To show me he wants to chase me.
Omegas are really messed up. But sweat breaks out, heat rolling through me. I wipe at my forehead, taking a few deep breaths of the cool cave air, before I reply.
Katie: I didn’t run. I just had to figure something out. I did, and now I’m coming back. Don’t worry about me.
Just as I press send, I hear the snap of a twig. My body freezes up. Someone is here, in the excavation site.
The breeze switches direction, blowing not from the cave tunnel out into the night, but in from the surrounding trees. I scent rotting meat, and I gag. I know that smell.
Somewhere in the darkness on the other side of the cave, I hear a low chuckle.
“I knew I caught a whiff of a tight little Omega. I’d know your scent anywhere, sweetheart. And,” there’s a pause and I hear a deep inhale of breath from a shaded corner. “Still unbonded. Well, I can change that for you.”