Desperate Rescue - Janet Feldman Series

I don’t want to go... I like my warm bed... It’s nice... so nice... But now... no. It’s cold... I’m feeling cold.

  Tick-tick-tick. The sound was steady, rhythmic. Like a clock.

  But it isn’t a clock. What is it?

  Janet opened her eyes. Maybe not. Yes. Her eyes were open, but why couldn’t she see anything? She reached up to her face and blinked as her fingers gently felt her face to confirm her eyes really were open. She sat up and strained to see something...anything. It was pitch-black with not even a glimmer of light.

  “Greg?” she called softly. “Greg? Are you there?” Janet reached over to his cot but couldn’t find it, so she swung her legs out and carefully stood up, taking a step, then reaching down to jostle Greg, enough to wake him gently. Waving her arms back and forth slowly, she took one more short step and continued to reach for his cot, calling to him again. She really didn’t think his cot was all that far away from hers. And why couldn’t she hear him breathing?

  “Greg?” she called out again, only louder. Two more steps, still nothing. Janet stopped and began to panic. She backed up carefully until she could feel her own cot and sat back down. Calling out to Greg one more time, she heard only the sound of her voice and the steady dripping of water coming from behind her outside the cavern room.

  “That’s odd,” she thought, trying to get her bearing. “That drip should be coming from the direction of the foot of my cot, not the head. Did I get turned around in my sleep somehow?”

  “Shad?” she called to the dog. Nothing. “This isn’t good,” she told herself out loud. Impulsively, Janet lowered herself to the floor of the cave and began feeling around for her boots under the cot where she had placed them. No boots. She ventured farther away from her cot until she found the wall of the room and then followed it carefully, still feeling all around for something, anything. Her hand brushed against a narrow cylindrical object. She grabbed hold of it and was delighted to discover it was a tiny pocket flashlight.

  “Thank God!” she exclaimed in relief. Flicking it on, she began to shine the small beam of light around, looking for Greg and his cot, as well as her boots. To her amazement, her cot was the only one in the room. There was nothing else, except she did find her boots near the room entrance. Standing up, she walked over to get them but stopped for a moment. The room seemed smaller than she thought. And where were all the supplies? And where was Greg? Where was Shad? And why were her boots near the entrance and not by her bed?

  Janet grabbed the boots and sat back down on her cot, putting them on quickly. She played the light around the small room one more time, confirming she was in a different place, before heading for the entrance. Showing the light on the path to be careful where she stepped, she noticed some odd tracks on the graveled floor. Suddenly, she realized that they had been made by the legs of her cot. Greg had dragged it in here with her sleeping on it! But why?

  Janet walked a few steps to reach the main cavern area and passageway. She examined the ground again, looking for anything that might give her an idea which way to go, expecting to see the drag marks from her cot, but there were none. Now, confused more than ever, Janet continued to look at the ground for any clues to help get her out of the cave and back to daylight…well, that’s assuming it was daytime. For all she knew, it could be the middle of the night…still.

  She finally decided to turn to the right. The passageway seemed to show signs of foot traffic, although not a lot of it. Carefully, Janet made her way along, ducking from time to time to avoid banging her head on a low overhang or ceiling. The sound of dripping water was getting louder, and she hoped that was a good sign, that maybe it was the same dripping water she had been listening to when she and Greg had first come into the cave. Along with the dripping water, Janet listened for any other noises, especially voices.

  Eventually, she came to a split in the tunnel passage. “One of those many tunnels where I could end up getting lost,” she muttered softly to herself. Even so, it seemed like her voice was loud and echoing. She decided that all future conversations with herself should be silent ones.

  Janet examined the ground in each tunnel for footprints. She noticed a slight movement of air coming from one of them and took a step in that direction hesitating for a moment. Playing the light on the ground, she fervently hoped to find some clue to help her make up her mind. A tiny glint caught her attention, and she stepped forward to take a closer look. Bending down, she retrieved a wadded up gum wrapper! “Yes!” she whispered out loud and then winced. Deciding to continue down this passage, Janet let her thoughts wander as she speculated on how she had ended up in a different cavern room. Silently she acknowledged she was a sound sleeper at times, but remembered she was having difficulty getting to sleep. She remembered their simple meal of oatmeal and the warm cocoa. Two cups of cocoa. She continued to work her way along the passageway, bending and ducking every so often. “Two cups,” she repeated aloud then stopped for a moment and carefully straightened up, checking for ceiling clearance. Still mentally discussing her situation, she wondered, Could Greg have put something into the cocoa? And if he did, why? Now, somewhat disgusted with herself, she muttered, “And I finally thought I could trust him...a little…I guess not.”

  Janet continued on slowly but was determined to make her way out of the vast maze of tunnels and to freedom. She was fed up depending on others to help her. She was disgusted with herself for having even allowed herself to be persuaded to accompany a man she didn’t know to a cave, of all places! She believed him when he suggested she was in trouble with the sheriff. But as she was trying to put pieces of a strange puzzle together, he obviously was creating an entirely different puzzle, using some of her pieces to give it credibility, but really with an agenda of his own. But what was his agenda? He hadn’t tried to molest her in any way…or had he while she was sleeping? No. Somehow, she knew he hadn’t done anything like that, but maybe he was planning to. Maybe he was just a very, very patient pervert!

  The more she thought, the angrier she got! How dare he drag her way back into this mountain and then leave her there to die alone? Her determination was more intense than ever and that was to escape and get some real help. She’d go find that sheriff, Janet determined, and tell him about everything that had happened. After all, he probably was trying to find her, to help her, not hurt her. That’s what a sheriff and policemen do. They help people. They don’t drag them into caves!

  The dripping water was definitely louder now, and Janet found herself walking a little faster. She started to keep one hand raised over her head and slightly forward, holding the flashlight with the other as she went. She had no idea how long she’d been making her way along, but suddenly the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern area. Stopping for a moment to play the light around and look at the formations, she was awed once again. It was beautiful, but not the same cavern she had seen before. But time was of the essence, and she needed to keep moving.

  Up until now, Janet hadn’t thought much about what she would do if someone happened to be coming along the passage at the same time, but now she started to think about it. What would she do if Greg or someone else found her? Determined to keep going, she decided she’d just have to deal with that when it happened.

  The passageway turned to the right slightly, and she reentered another tunnel. Janet stopped to listen. She was becoming a little uneasy. Moving ahead slowly, she strained to listen, wishing she didn’t need the flashlight to guide her. She didn’t want to give anyone advanced warning of her approach. On the other hand, if anyone else were in the passageway, they’d need a light too. Although not entirely reassured, she picked up the pace again and resumed her former posture of keeping one hand up to feel for low overhangs and ceilings. The movement of air she had felt earlier had increased and that gave her hope that she was getting somewhere…at least somewhere she wanted to be, she hoped.

  T
he passage turned slightly to the left, and she immediately flicked off her light. There was a faint glow up ahead. Standing still and listening, Janet was unsure what to do. She took a couple of steps, trying not to make any sound, and then stopped to listen again. The air was blowing at her, which was good. If Shad were up ahead, he might otherwise have caught her scent and given her away. But she didn’t hear anything. No voices. No dog. Nothing.

  Carefully, Janet continued, all her senses completely alert. At one point, she stopped and flashed her light behind her...suddenly thinking that someone could possibly have been following, but no one was there. She was tense and frightened, but continued to approach the lighted area cautiously. At last, Janet reached its source. It was the original cave room she had been in with Greg! He had left the lantern lit at a dim glow. His cot and supplies were still there, but the room was otherwise empty. No Greg. No Shad. Quickly she examined everything in the room. What she did discover, though, and quite unexpectedly, were three coffee mugs. One had the remains of her cocoa in it. One was Greg's because she recognized the design on it, but the other also had cocoa in it but was only half empty. Three mugs? Why three? She only used one, she thought. At that instant, Janet realized that Greg may have had another guest join him!

  A faint sound made her start! She quickly walked to the end of the short entrance tunnel to the room and listened. Then she heard it again. A faint voice, she thought. Yes. A voice. Then…two voices, she thought. Someone was coming! What now? That what-if situation had finally presented itself, and she had to make a fast decision. Go back the way she had come? Or stay here and wait for whoever was coming? Maybe start in that direction and meet them? None of the ideas appealed to her.

  The voices grew closer and yes, there were two...two men. Still listening but working herself up into a real state of panic, Janet desperately wanted to know who it was but at the same time didn't want to be discovered. Finally, she was able to confirm that one of the voices was Greg’s. Greg! He didn’t sound concerned or necessarily upset. In fact, he sounded pretty calm and relaxed talking to the other person, definitely another man.

  “You sure, she’ll stay asleep?” the second voice was asking.

  “She should be fine. No one will find her in here. Let’s get going. We may have to move our timetable up though.” That voice was definitely Greg’s! But not only that, it was coming from the direction she had just come from! They were actually behind her!

  A terrifying chill ran down Janet’s spine. In spite of the fact that it was obvious Greg had left her in here to die, he and his companion must have come from one of the other tunnels she had just passed. She shut off her light but continued to wait and listen. The voices and footsteps were getting louder. So where were they going? And who was that other man? Janet realized she needed get out of this cave as soon as possible and was getting ready to hurry on along the passageway toward the small cabin when, in an instant, the unthinkable happened! She let out an involuntary sneeze!

  Chapter 14