Chapter 1
Lena
The old-fashioned alarm clock blares in my ears, refusing to shut off even though I have slapped it several times.
My eyes crack open just enough to see the button, and finally turn it off.
Weak light seeps through the threadbare curtains, and I listen to the whir of the old window air conditioning unit before dragging myself out of bed.
I stayed up way too late last night poring over the books that I bought at the bookstore.
While informative, I was hoping for more details surrounding the land that the caves sit on, but the history of this area in particular was very vague.
The idea of going into this project knowing so little sets my stomach fluttering.
Placing a hand flat where the butterflies must be, arrange myself crisscross on the bed.
I take deep breaths through my nose and blow the air out through my mouth.
I do a few of these, feeling my stomach settle back down to its normal level of daily anxiety, as opposed to run-for-your-life anxiety.
Just as I start to feel it ebb away and my excitement for a new project takes its place, a hard knock on the door makes me jump, ruining my good vibes.
I sigh. Please let this be anyone else but Martin. I slip a hoodie over my head, making sure I’m covered enough to answer the door.
I open it and immediately take a half-step back. Martin is crowding the door frame, hands on hips, wearing a frown. Standing at least a head shorter than me, and already decked out in his hiking gear, I can feel the tension rolling off his rounded shoulders in waves.
He whips his glasses off, attempting to wipe the smudges away on his khaki shirt. “Lena, it’s already 6:15 and you’re still asleep?” He huffs out a sharp laugh. “You know, we don’t have time for you to take forever getting ready, it's a cave for godsakes, no one is even going to see you!”
I stare at him deadpan, letting the air grow thick with silence, his words hanging between us. He glances around the hallway and seeing no one there to witness his remarks, he focuses back on me.
“Good morning to you too, Dr. Kessler!” I pause again.
I see there are beads of sweat gathering at his temples.
His eyes are roving over my body through his still-smudged glasses in a way that makes me want to slam the door shut in his face, but instead, I plaster my signature sunshine smile on mine.
“I’ve been up, actually, and the team isn’t scheduled to leave for another hour and a half.
So, I guess I’ll see you in the dining room for breakfast before we go. ”
He sets his mouth in a hard line. “Whatever. I’ll go wake up Theo and Cami.” He turns to leave.
“Also, it’s Dr. Vance!” I call out to his retreating back.
“Yeah, right.” I hear him say under his breath as he walks away from me, shaking his head.
My blood pressure is pounding in my ears, and I close the door with a sharp snap, squeezing the door handle so hard it leaves a white imprint of the lock mechanism on my palm.
Closing my eyes, I breathe again. I was so happy to come to Coldwater Springs because I’ve heard such interesting things about the town, and to get out of the lab for a bit to be out in nature, but if this is indicative of how the rest of our time here is going to be, I don’t know how much longer I can keep my thoughts to myself.
I turn around and head to the bathroom, intent on taking a shower, but Martin’s words pop into my head, and I shoot a text off to Theo and Cami, warning them that they are about to get a rude wake-up call.
Hey team! Dr. Kessler was kind enough to knock on my door and make sure I was up, he said he was heading to both of you as well! -L
I turn on the shower and give thanks to the universe for at least providing me with that good water pressure. As I wait for the hot water, I hear my phone ping.
I didn’t get a complimentary wake-up knock on my door. -T
Neither did I. -C
I toss my phone back on the bed. Great, so it’s just me Martin wants to torture.
Whatever. I’m gonna do what I always do and kill ‘em with sunshine like my mamma taught me while doing my best on this project. Stepping into the hot water, I think back to all the projects I’ve done over the last ten years, always getting close to being the lead, but then having it snatched away from me for some other researcher from out of town who is “ready.”
I get it. I’m tall, I’m blonde, I have blue eyes.
My own mother would have preferred I was on the cover of some men’s magazine, too.
But I didn’t want that. Other girls were collecting dolls and playing house, and I was tagging along with my dad on his fishing trips, collecting rocks, and getting into trouble sneaking into caves.
I keep my shower quick, even though I would have liked to have had five more minutes to let the hot water massage my tense shoulders a bit more.
Martin’s words are echoing in my mind, so I get out as soon as possible and dress for a day crawling around in caves.
As a deliberate and organized packer, I barely brought anything other than hiking gear and sunscreen.
Finishing my braid down my back, I grab my pack and my phone, glancing at the time as I tuck it into my pocket. 6:35. I can’t help but roll my eyes. My team isn’t even going to be ready yet, and Mrs. Ames, the owner of this bed and breakfast, doesn’t start serving until 7:00.
I flop back down at the round table by the window and start looking back over the books again. May as well make good use of my time.
???
brANCHES CRUNCH UNDER my feet as we make our way into the forest with careful steps.
The terrain is uneven, filled with tall pine trees, bushes, and fallen decomposing logs.
It's still early, the air crisp and light with sunlight filtering through the branches.
I stop to admire the scenery, grateful for the opportunity to be back in nature.
“We don’t have all day to stand around.” Martin’s voice shatters the silence. I see Cami glance at me and back at Martin.
“We’re allowed to take a breather, Dr. Kessler, we’re still early in our schedule,” Cami says, a hint of sass breaking through the normal professional exterior she displays.
Martin shakes his head at both of us and hurries away, sliding a little on a bed of pine needles and just catching himself. Cami catches my eye, and we both suppress a laugh.
I look around for some landmarks to orient myself and realize that nothing we are seeing matches the maps we’ve gathered. “Hey team, let’s pause for just a second here. I want to make sure we’re headed in the right direction.” I open up one of the maps and hand the other one to Theo.
We put our heads together, Cami in between us, as we consult the terrain and each map.
“This isn’t necessary, I know where we’re going.” I hear Martin before I see him, and notice that he’s sweating again, even though the air is cool and pretty dry.
“Just wanted to respect the fact that you wanted to make good time today, Dr Kessler. Don’t want to be walking in the wrong direction and have to turn around!” My voice is cheerful, a smile stretched across my lips, but the smile doesn’t reach my eyes, which are currently staring daggers at Martin.
Theo and Cami are following this exchange between us. Gazes bouncing back and forth as though this is a tennis match. I see Theo duck his head down into the map in his hands, flicking a side-eyed gaze to Cami, who meets it with a raised eyebrow of her own.
This is so unprofessional. Theo and Cami are nearly done with their own undergrad studies, and I would hate for them to think that they are going to see this level of conflict for projects they would on in the future.
“We’re not going in the wrong direction, so this is unnecessary.” I’m seeing a vein starting to throb in his forehead.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Fair enough. Let’s go, team!” I wave us onward, but Theo is frowning at the map, not moving.
“Uhm, actually, Dr. Kessler, we are going in the wrong direction.” Theo points at the large hill off in the distance to our right. “We need to go that way, the cave formations are just around the south side of this hill.”
Martin stops and turns around, adjusting his glasses as he goes, causing himself to trip once more.
He stands next to Theo, alternating between squinting at the map and looking up at the forest around us.
Finally, he pulls out a handkerchief to mop his forehead, stuffs it back in his pocket, and says, “Good catch, Theo! Yes, we should definitely head toward the hill.”
Martin, Theo, and Cami move ahead of me, but I’m rooted to the spot with my mouth open. The absolute nerve of this guy! Determined to ruffle no more feathers, I stay quiet as Martin negotiates his way through, making two wrong turns before we get to the entrance of the caves.
I let Martin and Theo negotiate the rocky surfaces and hang back, surprised to see that Cami stays behind with me. She looks around the area of the forest with trepidation on her face.
“This place has a weird energy.” She squints up at the sun peeping through the branches, and just then the wind kicks up, blowing her short bob into a frenzy. “See?” She giggles.
“This cave doesn’t seem so spooky to me, just a normal cave, probably.” I shrug.
She shakes her head, gesturing with her arms in the air. “I don’t mean the cave, I mean this town. They probably have hunky mountain dudes hanging out in the one bar in this place. I might snag one.” She winks at me.
I chuckle. “Oh yeah? Ready for a night of mountain man passion?”
“Definitely.”
“Come on, we'd better get in there before Dr. Kessler bursts a blood vessel.”
We step carefully through the rocks to find Martin and Theo just inside, their flashlights bouncing off the craggy surfaces.
Deep inside, just where the sunlight from the outside begins to fade, I see the reflections of a body of water.
It’s impossible to tell just how large or deep the water might be without stepping inside further, which is a safety risk considering today was just supposed to be about finding the cave and mapping its entrances, not going inside yet.
“Dr. Kessler, we should pause here and start mapping this entrance. We don’t have any of our equipment to go inside safely.
” I motion to Theo to come back toward me.
He immediately nods in agreement, using his flashlight to trace his steps back to me.
Caves are notoriously tricky, and now I remember Kate’s story about the little boy who went missing.
I hear Martin blow out his breath in a huff. He swings around to me, and I’m shocked to see he is flushed with anger. He points a finger in my face.
“You know, Dr. Vance, that I’ve been going into caves far longer than you. I think I know a touch more about this than you do. Come on, Theo, let’s go.”
My jaw is clenched, hands balled into fists, one of them crushing the map I had in my hand.
Theo is looking between me and Martin, frozen between us.
My yoga teacher’s words are in my mind, breathe calming energy in, anger out.
I let my hands relax, folding the map in my hands with cool deliberation.
“Cami, Theo, can you give us a minute?” I meet each of their eyes, recognizing the confusion in them.
As soon as they both step outside, I turn to Martin. He wears a smug look on his face, as though he has already won this imaginary battle.
“Dr. Kessler, I have been doing this far longer than you, in fact. If you had bothered to read my resume you would know that, but I’m not going to argue with you about our respective experiences, because I am sure that even if you haven’t seen someone get hurt in a cave personally, that surely you can recall at least one other colleague recounting a time when their team got hurt because they didn’t prioritize safety.
” I pause to let my words sink in, pleased to see his face is losing its color.
There are so many stories of people losing their footing suddenly and falling several meters to sustain injuries requiring extensive rescue efforts. Martin mops his face again, breaking eye contact with me.
“Now, we’re a small team. Theo and Cami are undergrads, and this is what?
Only their third time each going into a cave?
We’re the experts, and we’re also here to keep them safe while they learn.
Are you going to be the one to contact their parents when they fall and get injured? ” I let my words hang in the air.
“Your point has been made, Dr. Vance.”
“I surely hope so. Whatever your issue is with me, let’s at least agree to keep safety the priority.”
He waves me away. “Fine!”