Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
I kept digging until I freed his arm and shoulder. My hands shook so badly I could barely hold the phone steady. The light flickered, throwing long, broken shadows across the walls.
The slide behind us had sealed completely. The ceiling above sagged in places, clumps of dirt hanging loose like wet paper.
I tried to move one of the larger rocks pinning his leg, but it wouldn’t budge. “Come on,” I muttered, pushing harder. The stone shifted half an inch, then stopped. My fingers burned.
I sat back, panting, my chest tight. The air felt thinner down there.
Looking around, I frantically searched for a way out. The way we’d come was totally blocked. The tunnel ahead stretched forward into darkness, but the ground there sloped upward again. Maybe it led somewhere. Maybe not.
Had the leprechaun set off the explosion on purpose? Did he or she have more dynamite in that knapsack?
I shuddered and turned back to Aiden. He was still unconscious, his breathing shallow. I brushed dirt from his hair, leaving streaks of mud on his forehead. “Please wake up.” My throat ached so badly each word felt like a burn.
Somewhere deeper in the tunnel, water dripped, steady and slow. The sound was the only thing moving in the stillness.
I pulled my phone close, trying to check the signal. Nothing. No bars. No service. Just a faint, mocking icon of a battery that was almost gone.
Aiden’s lips were pale and dust clung to the stubble on his jaw. He looked too still. Too quiet.
I pressed my forehead to his arm. “You’re not dying down here. I’m not letting that happen.”
The tunnel groaned above me, a low grinding sound that made my stomach twist. Pebbles rained down. I flinched, then forced myself to stand. My legs shook but held.
The slide behind us was nothing but collapsed earth, packed tight. No digging through that. The only way left was forward.
I looked once more at Aiden. “I’ll find a way out,” I told him. “I’ll get help. Just stay alive.”
The air was getting colder. My light flickered again. I could see the faint shimmer of moisture on the walls, the dirt slick and dark. I took one last breath and started moving.
Every step sent small showers of dirt down from above. The tunnel curved slightly to the left, and the incline grew steeper. My hands brushed against the wall as I climbed, fingers sinking into the soft soil.
Behind me, the sound of settling earth deepened into something else—a low, long sigh from the collapsing shaft.
I looked back once, the light trembling in my grip. Aiden lay half-hidden in shadow, still and silent.
“Anna? Aiden?” Sheriff Franco yelled from the other side.
I crawled back to Aiden. “We’re in here. The tunnel collapsed,” I yelled, planting my hand on Aiden’s chest, my breath panting. He was breathing, but it was shallow. “Aiden is hurt.”
I glanced back at the tunnel. Where had the leprechaun gone? Then my gaze caught on dynamite stacked in the corner. “There’s dynamite in here, Sheriff.” It wasn’t attached to anything, but it looked old. Unstable. Dangerous.
“Everybody out,” Franco yelled. “How unstable is the area you’re in?”
I looked up to see boards barely holding rocks at bay. “Not stable at all, and we followed someone in a costume who might have more dynamite,” I called out.
Dust filtered around, and I coughed. “Hold on, Aiden.” I leaned over and kissed his dirty cheek before standing and hurrying down the tunnel again. A leprechaun hat caught my eye, and I kept going, coming to a circular area with a ladder.
Another one.
Grabbing on, I lugged up to another trap door, which I shoved open with my shoulder. Gasping, I hauled myself up and looked around, before standing in a small closet that held cleaning supplies.
Where the heck was I? I opened the door and stopped short at seeing the interior of a train depot, which served as a tourist attraction. It was closed today. I looked toward the displays and gift shop, darting forward to grab the phone to dial Franco with the landline.
“Franco,” he growled, his voice sounding hollow.
“Sheriff,” I gasped. “I found the other end of the tunnel. It’s in the railroad depot. The entrance is in the closet that apparently holds cleaning products.”
The sound of falling rocks echoed through the line.
“All right. We’ll come in that way. Stay out of the tunnel,” the sheriff ordered.
I dropped the phone and ran back into the closet, quickly dropping down the ladder. A bag lay to the side, hopefully not holding more dynamite. Having to duck, I hustled down the tunnel and reached Aiden, who hadn’t moved.
Landing on my knees, I planted my hands on his chest. “Wake up,” I whispered, panicking.
He didn’t even twitch.
I looked around wildly. The earth rumbled again. What if he had a neck injury? Or spine? I didn’t have a choice but to try to move him. Something cracked above us and more rocks fell. Heat flared down my throat. I inched around him and gently reached my hands beneath his shoulders, trying to pull him as carefully as possible from under the debris and toward the tunnel. The large rock on his leg remained in place