Deadly mountain escape, p.16
Deadly Mountain Escape, page 16
Charlotte squeezed Betty’s arm. “Thank you. Take care of the girls.”
Once the chair was back in place, Charlotte called the dog, and they hiked the distance back to Harley’s mountain house. It felt quicker this time, knowing where they were going, and that Harley’s captives were safe. She’d even forgotten about the cold, though the snow kept falling.
They were so close to this being over...just a little bit farther.
“I wonder if there’s a safe behind the bookcase...or if the key is to a door,” Charlotte said. “The way Harley was able to escape with Sasha. What’s her part in all this?”
He frowned. “No doubt she was a victim in the beginning, like you said, and probably agreed to help Harley to stay alive.”
As they reached Harley’s house, the dog served as lookout again as they entered through the side door once more. Charlotte started back downstairs. “We have to find out what’s behind the bookcase.”
She pulled the key free of its tape and kept the book with names with her as she hurried down the steps once more.
Jonas followed her down the stairs.
Charlotte reached the bookcase, which held a handful of outdated books. “I didn’t notice this before. There’s a space between the bookcase and the wall. Help me move it.”
With Jonas’s help, they were able to inch the heavy piece of furniture away enough to see behind it.
“A door!” Jonas exclaimed. It stood slightly ajar as if someone had been in a rush and had forgotten to close it.
Charlotte flashed the light into what appeared to be a tunnel with a low ceiling. “I don’t like this,” she whispered with trepidation washing over her.
Jonas let out a breath. “If Harley used the tunnel to escape, he could be long gone by now.”
Charlotte slipped inside with Jonas right behind her. The space was dank. “These look like footprints.” Charlotte zeroed the light in on the ground where multiple prints were embedded in the dust. “Someone’s been down this tunnel recently.”
She had a bad feeling, and yet if there was a chance at catching Harley, they had to go after him. “Let’s keep going.” She bent down so that she could move. Jonas remained close behind her. They had only taken a few steps when a noise behind them had Charlotte turning. “Someone’s here.”
Jonas jerked toward the sound. Something was tossed inside, and the door slammed shut. Charlotte recognized the object immediately. “It’s a grenade. Run, Jonas!” She whipped around and started running, Jonas right on top of her.
They’d managed only a handful of steps when an explosion rocked the world around them. Charlotte lost her footing and fell to the dirt. Jonas placed his body over her to protect her as the explosion reduced the tunnel in the direction they’d come to rubble. Ashen dust flew down, covering everything, including them.
Charlotte coughed, trying to clear the dust from her lungs. They both sat up. “Are you okay?” she asked.
He was covered in white, and the dust reduced him to a fit of coughing, which was concerning.
“Jonas?” She couldn’t find her flashlight.
“I’m okay,” he wheezed and shoved the rubble that had landed on them away. “There’s the light.” He grabbed it and shone it around to reveal the devastation. Part of the ceiling had collapsed along with half the tunnel. Every second they were here they were in danger of the rest of it collapsing. Somehow, Harley had been able to hide from them until they were inside and then he’d taken advantage of the situation to try to kill them.
“The evidence. I lost it in the collapse.”
Jonas flashed the light around until he located the book. “Here.” He handed it to Charlotte.
“Thank goodness.” She’d tucked both phones and the key into her pocket. They were safe inside—she wouldn’t lose track of them until they were in the sheriff’s hands.
More rumbling sounded as pieces of the tunnel continued to break away.
“It’s not safe here. We need to see where this tunnel leads,” Jonas told her. He slowly rose as far as he could and helped Charlotte up.
The ground beneath them shook violently. “This whole place is going to collapse. We’ll need to reach the end before that happens.”
Another rumble had her stumbling. She grabbed hold of Jonas and together they held on until the moment passed. A blast of debris flew all around them.
“Run!” Charlotte yelled again when she looked over her shoulder and couldn’t see anything but a dust cloud.
She raced down the tunnel with the flashlight’s beam picking up nothing but gray.
Over the rumbles of aftershocks, keeping their feet beneath them was next to impossible. She prayed there was a way out at the end of the tunnel, and that Harley hadn’t destroyed it before trying to kill them. If so, they’d be buried here along with Harley’s secrets.
* * *
Jonas couldn’t see an end in sight. The dust was so thick, and every breath he took tasted like ash.
“I can’t imagine this can go on much farther,” Charlotte managed before coughing violently.
“We need to cover our noses and mouths.” Jonas ripped off more of his lining and handed her a strip. The inside of his jacket had become completely frayed. “It’s not much, but it might help.”
Charlotte stopped long enough to tie the cloth over her nose and mouth. “It helps.”
Jonas did the same and they started moving again. How had the tunnel come to be in the first place? Though he wasn’t acquainted with Harley beyond what he’d seen him do to Betty, and what he’d heard from Charlotte, his neighbor didn’t seem the type to put a lot of hard labor into doing something like this.
“Do you suppose Harley built the tunnel?” he asked Charlotte. She had slowed down. Despite covering their noses and mouths, it was still difficult breathing, and the struggle was slowing them down.
“No way. I’m not sure this house even belongs to Harley. It seems likely that this tunnel was made on the orders of whoever’s heading up the trafficking ring as a way to move girls.” She steadied herself as another blast rocked the ground.
Charlotte breathed deeply. “But who knows... It’s hard to think clearly.”
He felt the same way. He could feel his body slowing down from the miles of walking and this final blow.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Charlotte said with a shudder. “It seems almost as if we’re living on borrowed time.”
Jonas felt the same way. He prayed they reached the end before the whole thing collapsed.
A crashing noise up ahead had him stopping. “What was that?”
Charlotte stood beside him and waited. “I don’t know but I don’t like the sound of it.”
A few minutes later, the sound of an engine firing overhead could be heard. “It must be Harley. He’s leaving.”
“Let’s keep going,” Charlotte said. “The only way to get help is to get out of here alive.”
As they continued walking, a scent much stronger than the dust reached them.
“Is it...?” Charlotte whirled around and stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“Smoke.” He voiced it in utter disbelief. Harley had set the place on fire. “If the collapsing tunnel isn’t enough, he’s going to burn us alive.”
The terror on her face made him wish he’d chosen his words better. “We still have a chance,” he told her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We keep fighting. We don’t give up.”
Charlotte slowly nodded. “You’re right. This tunnel is safe from the fire, unless it can penetrate the compromised areas...”
“We aren’t sure that’s happened.”
Still, the smoke from above was mingling with the dust and making it impossible to breathe. Soon, it wouldn’t matter if the fire could reach them. The smoke they were inhaling would kill them.
They kept moving as fast as they could to stay ahead of the rumbles that continued to shake the collapsing tunnel. Jonas tried not to give in to the fear that gripped him—they just needed to focus on getting out.
“I see something.” Jonas focused the light ahead. “That looks like a door.” She ran toward it and he followed.
They reached for the door handle and realized it was locked from the outside.
“Oh, no.” Charlotte shoved her weight against it. “It won’t budge.”
Behind them, the smoke grew thicker. “Let’s see if we can get the doorknob loose and hopefully the door will open.” Jonas followed Charlotte’s earlier example and slammed the butt of the handgun against the handle. It gave way eventually, only the door didn’t open. He threw his weight against it. “Something’s blocking it.”
Charlotte took the flashlight and shone it through the hole where the doorknob used to be. “I can’t see anything.” She straightened. “I’m certain Harley put something in front of the door. Something heavy.”
In other words, if they couldn’t get the door open, they were stuck here with no way to escape. His chest tightened—they were running out of time.
“Let’s see if we can work together and get it open,” he said with a calm he didn’t feel. Jonas placed his shoulder against the door and waited for Charlotte to do the same.
“On the count of three.” He counted off and they worked together to shove against the door. Nothing happened.
“This isn’t working,” Charlotte said, her voice rising. “We’re stuck, Jonas.” She searched his face. “We’ll have to try and go back the way we came. Let’s see if we can move the debris out of the way.”
They both knew the odds of getting through the rubble was next to impossible, but she was right. If they remained here and did nothing, they’d be dead.
SIXTEEN
Charlotte’s legs were rubber. Walking took all the strength she could muster, but there wasn’t any other option. If they didn’t try, death was certain.
She kept close behind Jonas. Every little rumble had her cringing and thinking this could be the one that ended it all.
As they headed back down the tunnel, the smoke grew thicker. Both she and Jonas were coughing hard, their eyes watering so much, it was hard to see.
She tapped his shoulder. “We need to dampen the rags.” She pointed to the cloth covering her mouth and nose. “It should help us breathe and keep some of the smoke out.”
Charlotte pulled out her bottled water she’d taken from the fire tower from her jacket pocket and wet the cloth while Jonas did the same.
It helped some, or maybe she just wanted it to be better.
They reached the first pile of rubble, which completely blocked the path ahead.
Jonas began moving the rocks. Charlotte moved to his side and assisted until there was enough room to crawl over the remaining rocks.
Jonas went first. Once he’d reached the other side, he held out his hand for Charlotte. “You can do it.”
Though it sounded as if Harley was heading away from their location, she was still worried he would somehow find Betty and the girls. They had to make it out of here. Charlotte told Jonas about her fears.
He shook his head. “Harley’s too worried about saving himself to go back for them.”
She got down on her hands and knees and crawled through the opening with his help.
“One down,” she said and attempted a laugh to lighten the moment.
“Let’s hope there aren’t too many more.”
Tension coiled through her body. Having to walk almost doubled over and breathing in a mixture of dust and smoke was taking its toll. Her back ached. Her eyes burned and teared up. And her lungs felt as if they were clogged.
Another pile of debris lay ahead of them. The heat from the fire above had grown intense.
“I sure hope we’re not walking into the fire,” Jonas said.
So far, the light hadn’t picked up any flames, but then she had no idea what would lay on the other side of the debris field.
Charlotte touched her hand to it. “I don’t feel heat.”
Together they worked to free a space to pass through.
Once they were on the other side, Charlotte shone the light all around. They were close to the door they’d entered.
After working their way around another mountain of rocks, Charlotte stood before the door.
Once more, she felt it to see if it was safe. “It’s cool to the touch.” She looked under the door but there was no sign of smoke.
“Let’s try it,” Jonas said. He attempted to push the door open but something was blocking it.
“It’s the bookcase.” Charlotte joined him and they tried to push the door open.
“This is more than the bookcase,” Jonas said. “It’s like something has been nailed over the door to prevent it from opening... Harley did this. He wants us to die down here.” He stepped back and looked at the path they’d come. “I’m not sure what to do.”
Charlotte reached for his hand. “We pray.”
His eyes held hers. “You’re right. We’ve done everything we could. Gott is the only One who can save us now.”
Clutching his hand, Charlotte poured out her heart to God. “We need You, Lord. We’re all out of options as far as we can see through human eyes, but we know that You can get us through this. We wait on You, Lord. Please help us. Amen.”
Though their circumstances hadn’t changed yet, they wouldn’t die here. God had a plan for them, and it wasn’t to die here in this tunnel.
“There’s no way out here, we have to go back,” Charlotte said. “We have nothing to lose at this point.”
Together she and Jonas scrambled back toward the other end of the tunnel. They knew how to maneuver around the debris this time. As they neared, barking came from beyond the door. Had the fire gone out? The barking was the best sound ever. “That’s Annie. She’s found her way to the end of the tunnel.” Once Charlotte reached the door, she called out to her partner. “Annie, get help. We need you to get help.”
The dog barked again but she didn’t move.
“She’s not responding,” Jonas said.
Charlotte’s heart sank. Annie wasn’t leaving her behind. Her eyes filled with tears, and she sank down to her knees. “Annie, it’s okay.” She loved the dog and couldn’t bear the thought of dying and leaving her alone.
Jonas knelt beside her and took her in his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “Jonas, I’m so sorry.” She was crying but it felt right. The emotions that had been boiling up inside her were finally free.
“Don’t...” he murmured and tipped her chin back. “I’d do it all over again.”
Charlotte pushed her mask aside and lowered his. If this was the end for them, she wanted to kiss him one more time.
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. A sob escaped and the dam released. She kissed him with everything in her heart.
Jonas placed his hands on either side of her head and kissed her back.
The dog continued barking and then another sound had them breaking apart.
“What was that?” Charlotte asked.
It took her a few seconds to realize it was the sound of someone near the door.
“There’s someone out there,” Jonas said.
Would Annie remain there if Harley or his associates had come to do them harm?
“Charlotte, are you in there?” Sheriff Wyatt McCallister called out.
“Yes. I’m here with Jonas Knowles,” she replied. “The tunnel is collapsing. We’re trapped.”
“We’re going to get you out of there,” Wyatt assured her. “Hold on.”
“Hurry,” she urged. “There’s a fire, and smoke is pouring in.”
“We got you, Charlotte. You just stay close to the door where you can get some fresh air.”
It was going to be okay. Despite everything Harley and his people had thrown at them, they were going to be okay.
* * *
The noise of what sounded like a tool being used to try and pry the door open could be heard over the noise of the fire.
“Wyatt, Harley Owens is behind this.” Charlotte told the sheriff all they’d discovered. “He left the area in a side-by-side like the one out front.”
The sheriff spoke to one of his people before answering. “We’ll get him, Charlotte. The fire has just about burned what’s left of the house. When we arrived, we were so afraid until we heard Annie barking.”
Annie had saved their lives.
Jonas held Charlotte close as they kept near the door. The door eased open slightly, the fresh air rushing through the hole was pure bliss.
“We’re almost there,” the sheriff called out. “I’ve never seen a door like this one before. There’s no door handle or lock. It’s metal and several inches thick. I’m thinking Harley had some type of remote to close it, which would make it easy to close but without the property tools impossible to open.”
Jonas was angry at the lengths Harley was willing to go to save himself and harm others.
Charlotte explained about Betty. “She has the four women who were taken with her.”
A pause, then Wyatt said, “I’ll send some men to get them and take them to the station. You probably saved their lives.”
Charlotte told him about Sasha’s role in things, as well. “He has her and she’s in danger because she has things on Harley that will incriminate him.”
Soon the last obstacle was removed from in front of the door, and it opened.
Jonas, still holding on to Charlotte, stepped from the nightmare of smoke and dust into the cold and snowy morning, and it had never felt more welcoming.
Blankets were placed over their shoulders. “Let’s get you into my cruiser to warm up.” The man whose voice Jonas recognized as the sheriff led them over to a Jeep bearing the sheriff’s insignia on it.
