Kathy Reichs - Seizure

“We’ll call each other, and text,” I said. “Maybe chat every day. But we won’t live in the same neighborhood. We’ll never hang out at the bunker, or take Sewee to chill on Loggerhead.”

Still no responses.

“If we give up, we can’t protect each other. Can’t watch each other’s backs. We’ll never figure out what’s happened to our bodies. Each of us will be stuck dealing with the flares alone.”

They’d heard it before, but I had to try one last time.

“We either see this through, or abandon our pack forever. No more Virals.”

My hand found Shelton’s shoulder. He didn’t pull away.

“I’m going ahead. I can’t force you to follow, but I’d appreciate the company.”

Ben dropped from above. “I’m in.”

Hi’s head flopped backward, revealing dirt in the creases circling his neck.

“Blaaeeaaah,” he groaned. Then his head came up. “In.”

Shelton merely nodded.

Words of gratitude were forming when a soft whooshing floated from the tunnel behind us. Our heads whipped around. The sound was faint, but unmistakable to our enhanced ears.

Footfalls.

Someone was approaching from the direction we’d just come.

What should we do? I mouthed.

Shelton and Hi looked uncertain. Not Ben. Hurrying to the tunnel mouth, he aimed his flashlight into the gloom.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

All noise ceased abruptly.

But no. I could still hear something . Breathing. Just outside the range of Ben’s beam.

Ben stepped back, turned, and raised both hands in silent question.

Crack! Crack!

Bullets ripped the airspace Ben had vacated.

“Run!” he bellowed.

As one, we fired into the tunnel ahead, fleeing for our lives.

I RAN PANTING, then skidded to a stop.

The Virals slammed into me from behind.

“Stop!” I ordered. “We can’t just run blindly!”

“Gun gun gun!” Shelton yelped.

“Why do people always try to shoot us?” Hi whimpered. “We have the worst freaking luck!”

“Quiet!” Ben alone sounded calm. “Kill the lights. We have an advantage in the dark.”

The beams cut off, followed by the lantern. We crouched in silence, breathing hard, listening for sounds of pursuit.

“Wait here.” Ben disappeared down the passage, then hurried back. “Someone’s in the cavern.”

“Could you tell who?” I asked.

I sensed Ben’s head shake. “Too dark. The person’s not using a light.”

“Keep moving,” I whispered. “Everyone still flaring?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s hustle. Hi, you’re in front with me; you’ve got the best eyes. One flashlight only.”

“Awesome.”

“Shelton, hang back and listen for signs of someone following. Ben, stick close to Shelton. If someone catches up, you know what to do.”

“No problem.”

We moved as quickly as possible in the tomblike dark, senses probing for the slightest whiff of danger. My pulse raced. Sweat coated my skin.

Please, no more traps!

Twenty yards. Thirty. Fifty.

With each step, the tension mounted. Water murmured in the creek at my side, kicking my nerves into even higher gear. I begged various deities for the passage to lead us to safety.

“Wall dead ahead,” Hi whispered.

The murmur became a rush of falling water as the passage hair-pinned left and narrowed to a crack.

We shifted to single file and scraped through, one by one.

The darkness on the other side was denser, the air colder. A strong breeze stroked my damp skin.

“Lights,” I ordered.

Shelton powered the lantern.

“Whoa!” Knees shaking, I shrank backward until my back struck solid rock.

We were on a five-foot-wide stone ledge overhanging a deep, black chasm. The tunnel creek was now a waterfall, cascading to an unseen bottom. The shelf stretched forward ten yards before ending at the cavern wall.

Across the abyss jutted another outcrop similar to the one on which we stood. From it, a passage led into the wall behind. The gap between the ledges was at least twenty feet. Infinite.

Dead end. Trapped. There was no way to cross.

“How do we get over there?” Shelton whined.

“Jump?” Ben suggested without enthusiasm.

Hi’s head wagged emphatically. “No chance I make that, not even flaring! Try again!”

“Then I’ll toss you,” Ben growled. “We can’t stay here!”

“Everyone calm down,” I said. “Look around. What do you see?”

Flashlight beams searched the darkness. I examined the far ledge, but could see no way to get there.

“Up,” Hi squeaked. “Giant stone platform, dead overhead.”

My eyes shot skyward.

Hi wasn’t kidding.

Fifteen feet above us, a slab of rock dangled on rusty iron chains. One end overhung us directly. The other hung above the opposite ledge.

“Why’s that monster up there?” Shelton groaned. “How do we reach it?”

“Impossible.” Ben was eyeing the wall at our back. “This cliff face slopes outward. No chance without professional equipment.”

“Then we bring the rock thingy down to us,” Hi said.

Synapses fired in my brain.

Bridge. Chasm. Bridge.

“The treasure map!” I shouted. “The second verse!”

My fingers tore at my backpack.

I grabbed the parchment, unrolled it, and hit the words with a flashlight. The Virals huddled close as I read the first two lines aloud:

Down, down from Lady Peregrine’s roost,

Begin thy winding to the dark chamber’s sluice.

“The first line is done with,” I said. “And we’ve certainly been winding, but what is ‘the dark chamber’s sluice’?”

“Skip to the bottom,” Hi urged.

I did.

Spin Savior’s Loop in chasm’s open niche,

Choose thy faithful servant to release correct bridge.

A tingle traveled my spine. “This riddle has to contain the answer!”

“But it makes no sense,” Hi said.

“Correct bridge.” Ben frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“If this really is giving us directions,” I said, “we’ve got to identify ‘Savior’s Loop’ and locate the ‘chasm’s open niche.’”

For a moment no one spoke.

Then Shelton gasped.

“Could it be that? That hole?”

Shelton’s trembling finger pointed at a moss-covered alcove cut into the rock wall at our backs. Bread-box-sized, the tiny cubby was barely visible.

I scraped away the moss with my fingernails and peered inside. The nook contained a single object—a flat, circular stone the size of a small pizza. Seven nodules formed a T on its face. The center was notched. The object was clearly the work of human hands.

“Shelton’s right!” I said. “This must be the niche!”

“Now we need ‘Savior’s Loop.’” Hi said. “But what could that be?”

I worked the phrase in my mind.

Spin Savior’s Loop. Spin the loop. Savior’s Loop .

“Anne Bonny was Christian,” I said. “Jesus would be her ‘Savior,’ right?”

“So maybe we spin Jesus’s loop?” Shelton asked. “Like a circle? Spin Jesus in a circle?”

Click.

“Say that again.”

“What? Spin Jesus in a circle? How would we do that?”

“What represents Jesus?” I squealed. “A cross! And look!”

I pointed inside the niche.

“The bumps form a cross!” Hi exclaimed. “Spin that sucker!”

“Do it!” Shelton was right with us.

I reached in and tried to rotate the stone clockwise. Nothing. I tried counter-clockwise. No go.