F. Wilson - Secret Circles

Flashlight aimed ahead of her, she took off at a cautious trot.

Under the Klenke house … the stench Tim had mentioned there … the stink from the bone room seeping upward?

He‟d worry about that later. Right now he was concerned with the water that had risen to mid-shin level, slowing them.

They‟d made a turn and were just skirting a smaller debris mound when an enraged shriek echoed around them.

Feeling Cody tense and take a breath, Jack turned his head and whispered, “Don‟t make a sound or it‟ll find us!”

Cody‟s chest quaked with a repressed sob but the only sound he made was a faint whimper. He tensed again as another shriek split the silence, but he kept mum.

They came to another, larger collapsed area. Climbing over the fallen rocks and dirt wasn‟t easy with Cody on his back—the kid was solid—but Jack managed.

The water rose to hip level, which was bad because it slowed them even further, but might be good if it meant they were getting closer to their goal. It could also mean the lake was flowing in faster than ever.

Weezy stopped and grabbed his shoulder. She put her lips close to his ear.

“Hear that?”

He listened. Somewhere ahead and to the right, a sound like running water—like a small waterfall emptying into a pond. A good-size hole must have opened up in the stone. Bad news, but it meant they were getting close.

They began moving again, struggling against the cold water. Jack knew he‟d be shivering if not for the exertion. Weezy led them off one passage onto another when a loud splash sounded from the passage they‟d just left. A rapid series of smaller splashes followed it.

“It” was coming their way.

Jack pointed to an empty doorway.

“Here!” he whispered. “Light off!”

Weezy turned off her flash as they ducked through a doorway into a watery space as dark as the bottom of a mine shaft. The splashing was growing louder, coming closer.

Jack squatted until the water was up to his neck— now he was shivering. He tugged Weezy down next to him, then pulled Cody off his back and positioned him between them.

“Can you hold your breath underwater?” he whispered to the boy. “Like bobs at swim school?”

When he felt him nod in return, Jack leaned closer and said to both of them, “When I give the signal, duck under and stay under as long as you can.”

He didn‟t know about the thing‟s sense of smell, but if it was anything like its vision—what sort of eyes could see in this blackness?—the water could help mask their scent. And that might save their lives.

The splashing grew louder and closer—“it” was pushing hard through the water.

Closer …

Louder …

Closer …

With his lips next to Cody‟s ear Jack whispered, “Okay now, deep breath and down !”

He pushed Weezy down and went under himself with Cody, praying they hadn‟t ducked too soon. He had decent breath control, and was pretty sure Weezy was okay, but Cody … he had no idea how long he could stay under. If he had to come up for air too soon—like when their pursuer was right outside the door—it could mean the end of all of them.

The absolute darkness above the surface seemed even darker below it. The splashing was still audible, but muffled. He felt Cody start to squirm—out of fear rather than need for air, he hoped, because it was too soon. The splashing was only a few feet away. Jack could feel the turbulence of its passing swirl through the door.

Cody was struggling now, pushing upward. Jack didn‟t want to hold him down any longer, afraid he‟d gasp and sputter when he broke the surface and give them away. So he nudged Weezy and all three of them rose.

“A breath and back down!” he whispered in Cody‟s ear as they broke the surface.

Cody gasped twice, then sank again along with Jack and Weezy.

The splashing outside stopped. Had it heard them? Its own splashing should have drowned out what ever sounds they‟d made, but it must have heard something —or thought it had. Why else stop?

Jack tried to Obi-Wan it along, thinking, Move on…nothing here…move on…

After an eternity during which Cody again began to squirm, it began splashing

again—splashing away.

Jack nudged Weezy and the boy to the surface where they gulped air as quietly as they could.

The splashing was growing fainter.

“It‟s going the way we were headed,” Jack whispered.

“We can go another way,” Weezy said, her teeth chattering.

“You‟re sure?”

“Pretty.”

Jack would have much preferred “totally” or “absolutely,” but he‟d take what he could get.

They waited until the splashing died away, then he hoisted Cody onto his back again. Weezy flicked her flashlight, but nothing happened. She shook it but no light.

“Jack?”

Oh no! No-no-no! The possibility of water shorting out the flashlights hadn‟t even occurred to him. Without light they were doomed.

He grabbed Mr. Rosen‟s from his pocket. It felt rubberized. As he hit the switch he prayed it had a better seal. The room lit up.

“Thank God!” Weezy said as she snatched it from him and turned it off. “I‟m going to turn it on for a second at a time. We‟ll attract less attention that way.”

“Good thinking.”

The less attention the better.

With Weezy in the lead, turning on her flash just long enough to give them a direction, they started moving again, retracing their path back to the previous intersection and turning right.

The water had risen above Jack‟s belt and he was detecting a current—slight, but it slowed their progress more. On the good side, though, if the water was flowing through the crumbling barrier, they need only follow the current to the trapdoor.

The next time Weezy flicked on her flash Jack noticed that the formerly clear water was now muddy. Must have been picking up dirt from the caved-in spots. He saw it swirling their way from around the corner just up ahead to their right. Which meant that was the way to go. He was struggling to catch up to tell Weezy when she angled that way and turned off her light.

Either she‟d come to the same conclusion, or was listening to her uncanny sense of direction.

As they rounded the corner a second later he ran into her back.

“What‟s wrong?” he whispered.

“I can see light up ahead.”

Jack pushed ahead for a look. He wanted to shout when he saw the glow seeping from a side passage maybe two hundred feet ahead on the left.

Even though he was ready for it, the current was stronger than he‟d expected. Cody was an extra drag, but Jack leaned forward and plowed on. Vaguely silhouetted ahead, Weezy kept the lead, her raised arms stroking the air as if swimming as her lithe body cut through the water—which now swirled around Jack‟s lower ribs. Good thing he had Cody on his back. The little guy would be completely submerged here.

When they made it to the last intersection, Jack wondered if the little pyramid was still sitting at the center. Doubted it. The current had probably washed it away.

The flow strengthened further as they rounded the last corner. Jack could hear the water rushing in beyond the shaft of light beaming through the trapdoor. He was pretty sure he‟d never seen anything so beautiful as that light. He felt a burst of strength and, even though the water was up to his armpits now and Cody seemed heavier than ever, he picked up speed.

He jumped as he felt something brush against a leg. Were fish being washed in from the lake?

Weezy gave up walking and swam ahead with smooth, strong strokes. It was slow going against the current but eventually she reached the stone ladder and hung there, panting. She had her face turned up toward the doorway when Jack felt a surge of water behind him. Without warning, a deafening shriek of rage filled the passageway and a bolt of pain lanced his scalp as Cody was torn from his back.