41. Riot
Riot
T here was no actual interrogation room in the Godot Police Department so I sat on a wooden chair across a desk from dipshit Blackwell in an empty office. While Jeremy kept me waiting for over an hour, my mind descended into madness with every second that ticked by.
“I don’t know what else to tell you, Jeremy—”
“It’s Deputy Blackwell, now, Riot.” I refrained from rolling my eyes. “You look awful nervous.” He leaned back in his chair accusingly. My legs bounced up and down wildly. I was running out of patience.
“We’re wasting time, Jeremy. Nicolette was looking into some things, and I think she’s in danger.”
He smirked. “I have a whole crew sweeping the Valley houses right now.”
I shook my head. “She’s not in the Valley.”
His eyes widened suspiciously. “And you know that how?”
“Because her car was parked outside the development. Nic isn’t afraid of anything. Or anyone. If she was going to the Valley to talk to someone she would have parked right outside their goddamn house.”
“You seem to think you know Nic really well.”
I glowered deeper, letting his mocking tone linger in the air between us. Was he really going to let his jealousy get in the way of finding a missing person?
Not just any person.
My person.
A knocklandedon the door and another officerpokedhis head in, gesturingfor Jeremy to come out .
“Don’t go anywhere,” he smirked at me and I wanted to hit him. But then I’d be cuffed in a cell for sure.
Iputmy head down on the table,staringat my shoes, andpulledmy phone out, desperate for a message from my brother but therewasnothing. Ihitmy head against the desk twice.
“Psst.”
Spinning around, a new wave of relief hit me. Brennan was at a window behind me.
Iunlockedthe window andslidit open, my heart eager for some kind of news.
“Let’s go,” Brennan tilted his head in the opposite direction.
“What? I can’t leave now. They’ll think I’m running because I’m guilty.”
Brennanblinkedat me.“I can’t operate the tablet and drive at the same time. Now, if theyhadtakenmy recommendation under advisement to install a fulloperatingsystem in the dashboard—”
“Brennan! What about a tablet?”
He grinned that spooky, vintage-dummy, grin. “I found her last location.”
I heard the sirens before we were even out of the town center. Fuck, I was definitely going back to prison now. But I didn’t care. Gunning the gas, Brennan tossed me a tablet that had some kind of map on it that I didn’t recognize.
“What is this?”
“It’sground-penetratingradar that tracks the changes in thermal dynamics.”Ishookmy head, not understanding.“It’s a heat map, Riot.”
The carswerved, and Iclutchedthe door.“Say, Brennan, did you ever get your license?”
“Nope. But I’ve watched you.” At that moment he jerked the steering wheel, and I almost went flying into the back of the cab.
“Why am I not driving?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. We would never find Nicolette if we were dead in a car wreck .
“Because you need to jump out of the car when I tell you to and go find our friend.”
I tilted my head back and forth, considering. “Okay, what am I looking at?” I asked, turning my attention to the tablet.
“It’s the coal mine. Her last locationwasmarkedoff a cell tower between the airfield and the Valley. Shehadaskedme to help her look at the mines a few weeks ago. Ifiguredshewentto investigate it herself but I can’t find any trace of an active mobile ID.”
“What is this picture from?” I studied it. It had topography outlines, but it was mostly black with splotches of yellow and one circle of burnt orange. “A satellite?”
“It’s a drone.”
I paused and caught his gaze. He looked guilty.
“I hacked into the airfield next door and launched one of the drones that identify thermal disparities.” I frowned at him disapprovingly.
“If I couldn’t find her location with the mobile ID, then the only way to find out if she was in the mines was thermal detection, okay? So, don’t yell at me.”
Istaredincredulously at him but I didn’thavetime to scold him. At that moment, Iwantedto kiss him.
“And?” I prodded.
Hetappeda finger on theburntorange blob in the center of the screen.
“That’s her? Does that mean she’s in there? And alive?” The hope I heard in my voice was heartbreaking.
“It’s somebody …” Brennan hesitated, slamming on the brakes and taking a left turn down the road that went to the Valley.
He looked shifty, and I stared at him hard.
“It registers a thermal signature, but… Riot, it’s weak.
Okay? We don’t have a lot of time. Whoever it is…
their body temperature? It’s getting colder. ”
Utter panic gripped my heart.
“Shit… Katie.” My eyes darted around, searching my memory. “She said the elevator entrance to the mine collapsed this weekend.” My heart shattered into a million pieces. “Brennan, she’s been down there for almost four days.”
The sudden jolt of the carpulledme out of my brooding. A police carappearedin front of us and wecareeneddown an embankment.
“Shit!” The sirens were blaring, the lights lit up against the fiery sunset behind them.
“Almost ready to jump?” Brennan shouted, nearly hysterical, a twisted smile on his face. “I’m going to get close to the woods. Roll out, and hopefully they’ll just keep chasing me.”
“Brennan—” I opened my mouth to protest.
“No time, Riot, we’re close!”
“Brennan!”Ishoutedto make him look at me, my palm on the door handle.
For a moment, the soundsfaded. Brennanofferedme a weak smile.
“It’s okay, Riot.”Henoddedin quiet understanding.“Time for me to be the big brother.”
He smiled again, letting the silent moment breathe all on its own.
He unlocked the doors. “Now!”
The passenger side doorscrapedagainst the bushes. I crackedit open just enough to slide out.
My vision was a whirlwind of sticks and rocks and bushes and weeds.
Sharp branches stuck into my ribs as I rolled to the ground.
I lay there, holding my breath, watching the taillights grow more distant.
Two police cruisers sped past me, gaining on my truck where I swore I heard a harrowed voice shout, “I’m a leaf on the wind! ”
When I was sure they hadn’t spotted me, I rolled out of the bushes and began to sprint in the direction of the mine entrance.
I pictured that orange dot getting smaller and my legs pumped harder.
The front gate was unlocked but covered in caution tape.
No one was dumb enough to wander into an actively unstable mine that had collapsed.
No one except me.
That was when I spotted it. It looked like a miniature airplane. Sleek black. And it hovered several hundred feet above the minefield. It looked dangerous. Like it would drop bombs any second.
“What did you get into, Brennan? ”
“Nicolette!”Iscreamedinto the void that oncewasthe elevator entrance. Now itwasjust a hole in theground. The hoist househadfallenin on itself, but still, Isearchedfor any equipment I could use to see in the utter, complete dark.
She was down there, getting colder, possibly buried by blown rock bed.
Igrabbedthe longest rope I could find andfoundthe largest entrance down into the elevator shaft thatremained.
My heart hammered in my chest.
“Nicolette!” I shouted repeatedly. But no voice returned my call, and I tried to ignore the tightening in my throat.
The entire elevator shaft was one giant hole plunging to what seemed like the center of the earth. The service ladder hung on the opposite wall, dangling by one rung. I prayed it held long enough to at least get me down there.
The metal whined to give way. I took hurried, tentative steps down. I cringed and looked around. Maybe I could fashion a harness out of the rope.
“Stop!” A distant voice shouted. More muted lights approached. No time.
Iheldmy breath andtriedto alleviate my weight when I could, but I could feel the ladderlosingits hold. A dark shadowloomedabove me. The dronemoved, eerily to hover right above the entrance. Suddenly a spotlightshonedown from it so bright Ihadto close my eyes.
Panic raced through me before I realized that it was helping me see down the blown elevator shaft. Thank you, Brennan.
The first levelwasonly a few yards farther down.
Ihurriedto descend the last few rungs, and Ireachedout to grab the elevator door frame but at that moment the ladder finallygaveway.
Ileaped,slammingmy gut hard into the floor of the first level.
Aburningsensationspearedmy abdomen,feelinga rib crack.
“ Ughfph !”The airblewout of my lungs. More commotionstirredabove me. Iscrambledto my feet. The spotlight did nothing to illuminate the first level. Ireachedfor where the light switchusedto be but itwasshot. She could be anywhere.
“Nicolette?” I yelled into the black void. Fuck, I couldn’t see anything. “Nic!”
Just then a clangcutthrough the dark. Itwassoft, something like metal on metal but it definitelycamefrom deeper inside the cavern.
“Nic!”
I listened, and it clanged again. I moved toward it but slammed my head into a fallen beam. I groaned but pressed forward, keeping my arms in front of me, shuffling my feet.
I called her name, again and again. The soft clang echoed a few more times before something clattered to the floor and it stopped.
“Nicolette, please. Please. Stay with me. Listen to my voice!”But the caverngrewsmaller and smaller, the ceilingsgroanedand Iwasaware it could collapse further at any time. My feetshuffledfaster until my toetippedsomething soft.
In the darkness of the cavern, Ikneltdown to feel the soft skin, cool and damp. My heart flooded with so much relief I easily dropped to my knees. Her handswereoutstretched, a small pipe in front of them. Therewasa beamtippedover her.
“Just hang on, Nic. Please, just hang on,”Ibegged, running my hands along the wall,lookingfor anything to illuminate the impossible darkness. My handsmetall kinds of equipment and Iwasdistantlyremindedof an old science lab. What the hellwasdown here?
My fingers found what felt like a grill lighter. That would do.
In the dim light of the flame, I could tell therewereall kinds of industrial equipment.
I hurried back to Nicolette and a fresh wave of relief and worry hit me like a truck when I saw her blonde hair fanned out on the ground, her face covered in dirt.
The beam that was over her wasn’t pinning her down.
I ran the tiny flame down the length of her body to make sure nothing was punctured before grabbing her hands and dragging her limp body from underneath the beams .
I was acutely aware of the searing pain in my ribs but nothing compared to the gaping wound in my chest knowing I’d cast her out and this is where she’d wound up.
More commotion had grown at the top of the mine entrance and it was the first time I was thankful that I was being hunted like a nine-point buck. I got as close to the edge of the mine shaft as I dared.
“Help!” I screamed. More shadows and lights beamed down. I sat down against the metal elevator door and pulled Nicolette into my arms, cradling her. My tears fell onto her face, leaving streaks of dirt and rusty blood on her skin.
I pressed two fingers to her neck for a pulse and screamed for help again when I couldn’t find it. My hands were shaking so hard I cried out in frustration. I leaned my ear to her lips. Was that a breath I felt? Or was it the hope in my heart playing a cruel joke on me?
“Don’t move!” A gruff voice from above. I shielded my eyes from what I now saw was a helicopter hovering overhead, beaming that glorious light onto us, illuminating Nicolette’s beautifully damaged face.
I pulled her tighter to my chest, trying to warm the translucent skin that covered her lifeless form.