They can’t be far. Just keep going. Keep running. You’ll find them. Just get away from here.
Malene was panting, stumbling, and forcing her legs forward through the tunnel with the butcher’s knife in her hand. She reached the end of the tunnel and entered a cave. She lit her small light in her watch to see better. There were many exits. She counted them. There were five to choose from.
Now what?
She spotted a mark on one of them. She remembered David telling them he had marked the dead ends with an X. That had to be one of them. But then she remembered how Thomas had told her that he had changed them. He had made new marks, making it look like it was really a dead end when it wasn’t, and so on to keep the others away. If that was so, then this wasn’t a dead end. But, was it the right one? Would it lead her back to the others?
She thought she heard something and turned with a gasp. She pressed the button on her watch again. “Who’s there?” she asked.
No answer. Could it have been a bat?
She breathed heavily, then made her decision. Thomas could come after her any second now. She walked into the tunnel marked with the X and started running. As she was about halfway through, she heard footsteps behind her. She gasped and turned, but couldn’t see anything.
“Who’s there?” she asked again.
It’s all in your head. You’re being paranoid, Malene. You’re wasting precious time. You need to keep moving. He’ll be after you as soon as he knows you’re gone. He’ll kill you. Run!
Malene turned and ran with all the strength she had in her. Luckily, she had been eating a lot and had enough water to drink, so she was strong. Strong enough to run.
She reached the end of the tunnel and ended up in another cave. As soon as she entered it, she knew she was alone. It was one of the bigger caves. One of those the size of a small church with high ceilings. Every time she moved, it made a loud noise that echoed off the walls. She heard something behind her and turned with a loud gasp. She couldn’t see anything, but knew there was someone there.
Malene fumbled with her watch to be able to light it up to see. Suddenly, a flashlight was turned on right in front of her and the beam lit up a face. It was Thomas’ face. He was grinning.
“Where do you think you’re going, Rikke?”
59
I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. My worst nightmare had come true. They were pulling the drill back up, and we had no chance to tell them we were down here. Annette and Irene were screaming and yelling. The rest of us turned to Kenneth, like he should somehow offer us an explanation.
“I…I guess they…” he stopped. I could tell he didn’t know what to say. He simply shrugged.
“They weren’t even looking for us, were they?” I asked.
“I…No. This kind of drill is used for taking samples of the underground,” he said.
“So, there’s no chance they even heard me pounding?” David asked.
“I don’t think so. But, hey…here’s to hoping, right?” Kenneth said, trying to sound cheerful.
I felt hope run off me like shampoo in the shower. “So, you’re saying there’s still a chance?” I was trying, even though I could feel that I had already given up. This was it. They weren’t going to find us. I breathed hard and deeply to try not to panic. Annette was still screaming into the hole the drill had left.
“It’s no use,” Kenneth explained to her. “They won’t be able to hear you. It’s too far away. We’re too deep underground.”
The drill pulled out of the hole and left a small ray of light coming from it. A breath of fresh air oozed into our cave and hit me. I closed my eyes and breathed in, while imagining trees and lakes and birds and flowers. I tried to look up, but couldn’t see anything. Soon, the ray of light disappeared and I stepped away. Annette looked up.
“Something is coming down!” Annette yelled. She moved away in a hurry.
“What?” I said and rushed back to see. As I came up to her, something peeked inside the hole and looked at us.
“What is that?” Annette asked.
“It…It looks like a small camera,” I said.
Kenneth and David came closer and looked at it as well.
“It is a camera,” Kenneth said. “They use it to take pictures of the underground. Probably to see how big the empty space is that they hit. Now, gather everyone around. Let’s wave!”
I felt like crying. We were like children jumping up and down, waving, yelling, and laughing. I couldn’t hold my tears back. I jumped into David’s arms and hugged him. He hugged me back. He was very quiet, but I could tell he was crying as well. We stood like that for quite a while until we let go and turned to hug the others. I went to Afrim and kneeled next to him and Buster.
“Hold on, kid,” I said. “It won’t be long now till they get us out of here. Keep the faith.”
“Good,” he said sniffling. “I don’t think Buster can hold out much longer. He stops breathing sometimes.”
The dog was skinny. He looked like one of those abused dogs you see on TV sometimes.
“He better stay alive,” I said, trying to sound optimistic. “We haven’t come this far for him to give up now.”
I leaned over and kissed Afrim’s forehead. He was still burning up. His leg had become badly infected.
I walked to Frederic, who had been asleep for a long time now without waking up. I was very worried about him and felt his forehead. It was clammy, but ice cold. His pulse was weak. This wasn’t good.
“You hold on too, kiddo,” I whispered. “Don’t give up. Not now. Not when we’re this close to getting out of here.”
60
HE HAD TO punish her. Of course he did. There was no other solution, Thomas thought to himself, while looking at the girl. She was standing in front of him, holding out the knife and threatening him with it.
“Come on, you sick bastard. Come on if you dare!” she yelled, while poking the knife towards him.
Thomas chuckled. It was almost funny to watch her.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ll kill you. I swear I will,” she growled.
It amused Thomas to watch her move around…like a small fairy or a ballet dancer tiptoeing back and forth while groaning when she tried to poke him. Thomas chuckled again and made sure to move if she got too close. She was so adorable.
Now, don’t forget she tried to leave you again. Don’t let her deceive you. She must be punished!
Thomas shut off the flashlight, and they were now in complete darkness. The girl whimpered.
“Turn it back on, you bastard!” she yelled.
Thomas stood completely still and waited. He could hear her small feet moving across the ground. Then he heard her grunt and imagined her trying to poke at him with the knife, but reaching nothing but air. Thomas was very good at moving quietly. He held his breath and followed the sound of her footsteps. Moving fast, he grabbed her around the waist from behind and lifted her in the air. The knife fell out of her hand and dropped to the ground with a loud clank.
Thomas lit the flashlight again, took in a deep breath, grabbed her hair, and pulled her to the ground. Then he kicked her and slammed the flashlight into her back. Malene screamed as he slammed it at her again. Something broke when the flashlight hit her leg. It sounded like it was the bone.
“Stop! Thomas, Stop!”
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her over so he could look at her when he slammed his fist into her face again and again. Then he lifted her head and stroked her gently over her bloody face.
“Why did you leave me? Huh? Why do you keep doing these things to me? Why Rikke? Why? You know I have to punish you. Just like the last time when you left me for that guy, now that was a mistake, huh?” He paused to laugh goofily. “I was so happy to finally have you back, and then you go and do it to me again. We could have such a wonderful life together. Why do you insist on ruining it?” He shook his head with a tsk. “You don’t see it yourself, do you? You’re so self-dest
ructive. You should be very happy to have me in your life. I’m just trying to protect you. Don’t you see that?”
The girl spat in his face. “You’re insane! You’re sick, Thomas!”
Thomas wiped away the spit, then looked at her, trying hard to not let her spite get to him.
“You know I hate to do this to you, but I have to,” he said, and lifted his fist and slammed it into her face once…twice…and then a third time. The girl’s nose was bleeding heavily. Her eyes rolled back in her head. She was sobbing. Thomas held her by her neck and looked at her for a long time, just watching the blood. He followed a drop that rolled from her nose, across her lip, and ended in her mouth. He wondered what it tasted like. Then he leaned over and licked it. The girl opened her eyes with a gasp and tried to push him away. He held her down forcefully and enjoyed watching her squirm underneath him.
“Stop,” the girl screamed, almost panicking. “Just stop, you fucking bastard. Get off me.”
“I’m beginning to think you like this,” he said, moaning. “How else am I to explain why you keep doing this? Why you keep putting yourself in this position. I think you like it. I think you enjoy me beating you, don’t you?”
Thomas was the one who enjoyed it. He loved feeling his power, feeling how easy it was to hold her down against her will. She was like a child that needed discipline and he could give her that. Just like his own mother had done to him.
“Please,” she sobbed. “Won’t you please just let me go? Please just leave me alone.”
“I’m sorry,” he said smiling. “No can do.”
61
SHE COULD SEE the knife. It was lying on the ground not far from her. If she could just…if she could only stretch her arm a little further, she would be able to get it. Thomas seemed to have forgotten all about it.
“Don’t ever leave me again!” he screamed into her ear so loud it hurt, then slammed his fist into her chin. The pain struck through her head and neck.
“Please…please stop.”
But she knew he wasn’t going to. She was trying to push him away with her hands, but wasn’t strong enough. He was on top of her now, holding her down with his weight. She tried to kick and scream, but knew it was no use. He was way too strong for her. Her only hope was that someone would hear her screams in the tunnels and maybe come look for her. But she knew they were all terrified of going into the tunnels after what happened to Michael West. If they weren’t afraid of getting killed, then they were afraid of getting lost.
Malene stared at the knife that was only a hand’s length from the tip of her fingers. It wasn’t far. Carefully, Malene wiggled her body sideways every time she kicked and tried to get Thomas off. Slowly, she was getting closer, her fingertips were so close to the blade.
Just a few inches more.
She knew what she would do once she reached the knife. She would stab him. She would kill him in cold blood. She had made her decision. She had never killed anyone before, or even thought about doing it, but Thomas, she could kill. After all he had put her through, she was certain she could do it. She just wished she had done it the first time she had the chance.
“Look at me,” Thomas said.
He was shining the flashlight in her face, and she had to close her eyes. She was certain she could feel the blade barely touch the tip of her middle finger.
Just a little more.
“Look me in the eyes!”
“I can’t,” she said. “Not when you point that flashlight at me.”
He lowered the light and she opened her eyes again. Now her fingertips were definitely touching the knife. She stared into his eyes. He grabbed her chin and held it tight.
“Can you promise me you won’t try to leave me again?” he asked.
Malene squirmed to the side one last time, and finally grabbed the tip of the blade. Now she was able to pull it. It slipped out of her fingers.
Damn it.
She wiggled her fingers and got a hold of it again.
Thomas slapped her face. “Promise me!”
“I promise, I promise!” she yelled.
He stroked her face. “Good girl.” Then he turned his head and shone the flashlight on her hand that had reached the blade of the knife. His facial expression changed. His eyes went black.
“What the hell?”
Grab the knife and turn it, hurry up!
“Were you just lying to me?”
Now, Malene! Get ahold of the knife before he kills you!
But Malene couldn’t get a proper grip on the knife. When her hand closed on it, she cut herself on the blade, and had to let go. Thomas stood up, then kicked the knife to the side. He walked back towards her. Malene whimpered. She didn’t like the look on his face.
“Please,” she cried.
Thomas walked closer. He bent over her. “Now, why do you keep deceiving me? Why do you have to do that? Now I have to hurt you again, Rikke. I have to. Don’t you see that you make me do this to you?”
“Pleeease…”
He lifted her by the collar of her shirt.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I have to do it.”
What happened next, happened so fast, Malene hardly saw it. She was looking at Thomas, waiting for the flashlight to hit her in the face. One moment he was there, bent over her with his angry flaming eyes, the next he was gone. She lifted her head and found him with his back up against the limestone wall, a fire poker pierced through his chest. On the other end of the poker stood a woman.
“Run, little girl,” the woman yelled. Run!”
So she did. Malene sprang to her feet and realized one of her legs was broken. It hurt like crazy. But she managed to get out anyway, dragging the bad leg behind her. She got through one tunnel, then entered a cave and into another tunnel. She walked in a daze of shock and desperation, wondering how to get away. She had no idea where she was going, and knew she would end up dying in those tunnels, but then she suddenly heard a sound. She stopped in fear as someone approached her in the darkness.
“Who’s there?” she said, her voice shaking in fear.
What if it’s Thomas? What if he survived somehow and escaped?
But it wasn’t Thomas. The voice answering was one she knew, one she knew she could trust.
62
THE CAMERA WAS removed after we had been waving for about an hour, and soon something else was lowered into the hole through the pipe. A plastic bottle fell to the ground.
“It’s a letter!” Annette yelled. “There’s a letter inside of it.”
I picked it up and opened the bottle. My hands were shaking when I unfolded the paper and read it out. It simply said:
We know you’re down there. Hold on tight and we’ll get you help.
I looked at David and smiled. Everyone around us was cheering loudly. Even Brian Jansen.
“We’re getting out,” I said, my voice cracking with joy.
Can this really be? Are we really being rescued after all this time?
“You’ll see your babies,” he said.
I hugged him again. He held me tightly in his arms.
“I can’t believe it,” I said, almost crying with joy.
“Me either,” David said.
It was the strangest feeling of euphoria that spread among us. Everyone was hugging each other, many were crying, and some laughing, but it didn’t last very long. Our happiness was suddenly broken when we heard a loud scream coming from one of the tunnels. The screaming continued. It sounded like it was distant, but it was always hard to tell in those mines.
My heart stopped.
“What is that?” David asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m afraid someone is in trouble.”
“Should we do something?” he asked. “Form a patrol and go see what it is?”
I stared at him. Part of me wanted to say no, for the simple reason that I couldn’t bear any more misery. Not in this hour of happiness. I wanted to celebrate, not go into the tunnels and find more
dead, half-eaten bodies.
Irene suddenly pulled my shoulder. “Have you seen Benjamin? Have you seen my son?”
I turned to look around in the cave. “No. I remember seeing him earlier. He was just here.”
“He was here right before when the letter came through the pipe. He kissed me on the cheek and hugged me after you read it out loud. I spoke to Annette, and a few minutes later I turned to look for him, and he was gone. Did you see where he went?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. But I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.” But I had suddenly started to worry. Everyone else who had left suddenly had never come back. Michael West, we had found; Mrs. Sigumfeldt, I found. Mr. Bjerrehus and Malene were never found, but I had a feeling they had both been killed inside those tunnels, just like Michael West and Mrs. Sigumfeldt, and I had a feeling I knew who had done it.
I threw a glance at Brian, who was hugging Kurt’s wife Annette in happiness. Could he have kidnapped Benjamin? Forced him to go somewhere with him just to kill him? As far as I knew, Brian, had been here all the time. It didn’t seem possible. I was puzzled. The screams stopped just as suddenly as they had started. David and I looked at each other again. I had no idea what to do. There was no way we could not react to this. There was no way I could ever live with myself. Especially not now that we knew we had a chance of actually surviving.
A thud made me turn and look. Something was shooting through the hole in the ceiling and landing on the ground.
“It’s water,” Kurt yelled. “Bottles of fresh water.”
The bottles kept falling down through the pipe. I ran to grab one myself and drank greedily. David did the same. Never had water tasted this good.
“More is coming.” Annette yelled. “It’s food!”
Packs of crackers fell through the pipe and landed in a pile on the ground. I counted at least ten packages. We threw ourselves at them and ate. I hadn’t forgotten about the screams, but at that point, I had to think about my own survival.