Alex refilled her water bottle at the waterfall and checked the fresh batteries in the flashlight. She couldn’t keep from glancing in the direction of the waterfall, wondering if Nate’s apparitions would appear once again.
She thought of the presence she had sensed earlier, and the voice warning her to be strong. Maybe it wasn’t just her imagination.
There was something else, something she couldn’t ignore.
Nate’s injuries, and hers, were healing at a tremendous rate.
Nate was definitely stronger. His bruises were fading, his contusions no longer as noticeable—or as painful, if his lovemaking was any indication. Everything healing almost before her eyes. The only explanation she could imagine, impossible as it sounded, was that something in the grotto was healing them.
It would be nice to think their lovemaking had provided the cure. It had certainly felt magical when the two of them had reached orgasm simultaneously. She’d never—not once with Jake—had something that perfect happen.
But the healing? That was definitely unusual.
Her own cuts and scrapes were almost entirely gone. The rope burns on her hands had faded to pale pink against her dark palms.
Either she and Nate had been here much longer than the few hours she thought or something else was at work.
When they were free of this place, when they were safely away from here, then she would try and figure it all out.
For now, though, Alex held the flashlight steady, aiming the beam at the vertical wall beside the waterfall where Nate was slowly and carefully inching his way up the slick rock, dragging one end of the rope tied to his waist, as he attempted to reach the upper ledge.
Alex couldn’t help but think how great it would be if they could just climb away from questions that had no answers. Unfortunately, reality was never that uncomplicated.
While Alex watched, Nate carefully grabbed the lip of rock at the top, then pulled himself over and out of her sight. A moment later she saw his face and shoulders, spotlighted above her in the narrow beam from her light.
“C’mon up,” he yelled, “I think we’re getting close. There’s a good-sized tunnel up here, and the air smells fresher. I can’t see a thing, though. No glow worms!”
He dropped the end of the rope over the edge. Within minutes Alex had reached the upper level. She immediately noticed the difference in the air.
“It feels drier here, even with the water running through.” She directed the flashlight across the narrow stream that fell into the grotto below. “It’s not quite as cold, either.” The warm draft that ruffled her hair smelled faintly of pine.
They stood on a level bank of glistening stone, a slender pathway running along the edge of the tunnel. It was partially submerged in places where the shallow water had spread across the entire floor. Alex looked back once, toward the grotto below them. Its brilliance was lost in the flashlight’s beam.
She fought a sudden desire to return to the magic. Did Nate feel it? Shaking her head in mute denial, Alex led the way cautiously, her flashlight illuminating a slippery path deeper into the mountain.
“Do you want me to go first?” Nate’s voice echoed unnaturally out of the darkness.
The water here was deeper. The current tugged at their legs, reaching just below Alex’s knees. She and Nate had walked only a few yards into the tunnel before the dry ledge had completely disappeared. The rift they followed grew steeper and narrower and they touched both walls for balance.
“No, I’m fine,” Alex said, hiding the edge of panic she felt in the enclosed space. Nate carried the rope but Alex still held tightly to the flashlight, unwilling to part with the small amount of comfort it gave her, clinging to her role of leadership for the sake of the light alone.
She heard Nate splashing close behind her, but the sound changed as the water grew deeper in the narrowing tunnel. Soon the splashing had become a rhythmic swish of bodies moving through the current.
At least the water was still relatively warm, or maybe she was just too numb to notice. The ceiling gradually dropped as the channel deepened, until Alex touched rock on all sides. She looked back at Nate. He walked stooped over to fit within the enclosed space. When the beam from her flashlight crossed his face, she saw worry and exhaustion in his eyes.
He grinned at her, though, and she smiled back. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Ollie,” he said, and she laughed.
“Sick, Nate, that’s really sick.” She flashed the light along the narrow passageway, then looked back at him. “Got any great ideas?” she asked, hoping for a miracle.
“Yeah. Let’s eat the rest of the energy bars. They’re gonna get wet anyway, and I’m starved.”
Alex handed Nate the flashlight, then carefully unzipped the pouch on her fanny pack and handed him two of the four remaining bars. The pack was already wet, but the bars had remained dry in their plastic wrappers.
Water swirled around her thighs, plastering her jeans to her legs and tugging steadily in the direction they had already traveled. It was colder here, and the scent of pine was lost in the dank air. She wondered about the danger of stopping, but they’d gone so long without food that she was glad for the break, for a chance to eat something. Even a stale energy bar.
Alex braced herself against the wall, carefully unwrapped the sticky bar and slowly chewed, fighting the exhaustion that made her legs tremble and her reactions slow. They should have rested at the grotto instead of making love.
Yeah. Like that was going to happen.
She smiled and turned her head slightly to watch Nate. He leaned against the stone wall of the cavern, his body slightly stooped to fit beneath the low ceiling. The flashlight dangled loosely from a clip on his belt, and the indirect light cast grotesque shadows across his face, emphasizing the healing bruises and cuts from his beating.
Alex felt her chest constrict. At that moment she knew she could never love anyone more than she did this unlikely-looking hero, would never want another man the way she wanted Nate.
As much as his bravery, she loved his vulnerability. As much as she admired his strength, she respected his willingness to admit to weakness. And she had never, not in her wildest fantasies, come close to imagining the heights he had taken her to in that enchanted grotto. She suppressed a quiet chuckle, wondering how she could possibly think of making love when they were still trapped in this damned cave.
“You finished?” Exhaustion roughened his voice. Alex wondered at the note of despair she detected. He couldn’t give up now.
“Yeah.” She paused, then reached for his hand. “Are you okay?” she asked him, concerned.
“Just tired of having fun, I guess.” He flashed her a quick smile, then handed the flashlight back. “I’m about ready for some daylight. How about you?”
“Let’s go.” She tried to sound jaunty, but his sudden shift in attitude frightened her, almost as much as the alterations in the tunnel as they continued moving steadily upward.
The passage had narrowed to a fissure barely eighteen inches wide. The water flowed through the gap in a steady torrent reaching almost to Alex’s waist. The footing was slick, and she searched for rough spots along the walls to help pull herself forward. She tried to focus the flashlight’s beam through the breach in the walls but could see nothing beyond more rock.
“Whadda ya think?” She yelled to make herself heard over the roar of the water. “Should we try to go through, or go back and look for another tunnel?”
“We’re not goin’ back,” Nate shouted. “This water’s coming from somewhere on the surface, or it’d be a whole lot colder. I think we should go forward.”
“It’s cold enough for me!” she called back. Suddenly the force of the rushing stream drove Alex away from the opening, up against Nate’s solid form. She felt him catch her around the waist. He moved so quickly she didn’t have time to be frightened, and she managed to hold the flashlight above her head out of the roiling current.
“Good reflexes.” She laughed, feeling the adrenaline course through her veins. She leaned into his strength for a split second, enjoying the feel of him, the knowledge that he was there to catch her, literally, should she fall.
“Not so bad yourself,” he said, grabbing her by the derriere and half lifting her into the cleft between the rocks.
She grabbed for a handhold with her left hand, holding the flashlight out of the water with her right. The stream rushed over her shoulders and split into an arc behind her body, soaking Nate. Shivering, she scrambled up the rugged fissure. She was aware of Nate right behind her, his hands pushing steadily against her hips.
Suddenly, Alex was through, stepping out into a large cavern partially filled with a narrow pool. She swung the flashlight in a wide arc. There was a dry ledge to one side, an area approximately eight feet wide that appeared to lead into a broader tunnel off to the right.
“Look, Nate,” she called out as she quickly turned to help him through the narrow cleft. “It gets wider. Looks like a piece of cake from here!”
“Alex!” His harsh cry cut the darkness. She watched in horror as he lost his footing, lunging for a nonexistent handhold in the polished surface of the rock.
He struggled against the rushing current, only to fall to his knees in the narrow opening, his broad shoulders tightly wedged between the slippery rocks. The heavy length of climbing rope looped over his left shoulder and across his chest held him jammed securely in position, his face only inches above the roaring water.
“Nathan!” Alex screamed.
The water rose against his chest, stopped by the unnatural dam his body had created. She saw him grab at the slick rock as he attempted to pull himself into the larger cavern, his fingers scrabbling uselessly against the smooth surface, slipping in the rushing torrent.
She rushed to help and linked her long fingers in the coil of rope at his shoulder. Her feet slipped on the slick bottom of the creek, more narrow chute than streambed at this point along the passageway.
The water boiled up around Nate’s chin and threatened to drown him. Frantic, Alex clipped the flashlight to her fanny pack with one hand, then looped both hands into the coil of rope. She put everything into it, hauling with all her might. She had to pull Nate into the upper cavern or he was going to drown.
He slipped and she cursed. He was falling back, tighter into the crevice, forced by the weight of rushing water into the narrow passage below. The force of the water, the weight of it increased, pushing against his solid body. Still she pulled, until she felt her arms would wrench from their sockets.
Suddenly, a sense of peace descended upon Alex, and with it a surge of unbelievable power. She gripped the coil with renewed strength, vaguely aware once again of the sense of an unseen presence.
In the erratic light cast by the swinging flashlight at her hip, Alex saw a look of surprise cross Nate’s straining features.
With a loud roar he grabbed a tiny cleft in the rock. Muscles straining, he pulled himself a few inches out of the water until his body was partially free of the rushing torrent. The water level quickly began to drop around him.
Still clutching the coiled rope, Alex helped Nate hold on to the small amount of ground he had gained. She read the terrible effort in his face, saw the cords standing out on his neck as he forced his exhausted muscles to obey him one more time. His strong features twisted in a painful grimace and suddenly, with another fierce yell, he hurled himself forward and free of the breach, knocking Alex to her back in the raging stream.
Completely submerged, Alex panicked, pushing Nate away from her body, fighting his hands as he grabbed for her then pulled her to the surface.
The cavern was completely dark, the flashlight shattered and broken in the churning water. Still, Alex sobbed her relief when she realized Nate’s arms were around her, his lips pressed hard against her hair.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” she cried, unable to fight the tears any longer. Trembling from cold and fear, she clenched her tightly linked fingers behind his back, holding their bodies close together.
“I’m okay,” he said, his lips pressed to her temple. He hugged her in a soggy embrace. His body was warm, his arms strong and she sobbed into the comfort of his embrace. They were both wet, clothing and hair soaked, but Alex felt only the warmth and comfort of Nate’s arms.
And the sense that she and Nate were not alone in the cave.
“Do you have any idea what happened back there?” Nate asked, and Alex took a deep breath.
“Other than you almost drowning, and the flashlight going down for the count?”
“This isn’t a time for games, Alex. What happened? Something helped us. I felt almost as if something, or some
one
, invaded my body. Like for a second there, I had superhuman strength. You had to feel it, I know you did, because all of a sudden you practically lifted me out of there. You’re a tough lady, sweetheart, but you ain’t that tough!”
“I know.” Alex stepped out of his embrace but held tightly to his hand. The darkness was absolute. “I’ve been aware of a presence, a sense that we aren’t alone, almost from the beginning. It’s here now, so real it’s scary, but I don’t want to be afraid of it. It doesn’t make any sense.” She could feel a sob beginning, a tightness working its way through her chest.
“It’s so dark, Nate. We’ll never get out of here. I feel like we’ve done something awful to anger the spirits of this place, and we’ll never get out of here.”
“If they were angry, they wouldn’t have helped.”
He sounded so reasonable, and she knew he was right. Her panic subsided. The spirit hadn’t hurt them.
“Damn!”
“What’s the matter?” She could feel Nate fumbling around in the darkness.
“I was hoping I still had the penlight. It must have washed out of my pocket.” He grabbed her hand. “We’ll worry about the cave gods later.” He laughed, but the sound didn’t comfort Alex at all. “Did you get a chance to look around up here before I fell?” he asked. “Is there any place dry where we can rest and get our breath back. We need to try and figure out what we’re going to do next.”