'Oh, damnation,' he muttered. He clamped his cane between his knees, and put his arms around her. 'I'm sorry, sweetie-pie.'
'You should be.' She squeezed him tightly. He felt the cane move. 'Is that you, Calvin?'
***
'If I go,' Paula asked, 'will you come, too?'
Kyle went tight and cold inside. 'You don't want to go, do you?'
'My dad… I'm scared he might've gotten hurt. Ami even if he's okay, he must be awfully worried about me. I've just got to get out of here as fast as I can.'
'If your father were here,' Kyle said, 'I bet he'd want you to stay and wait for a real rescue.'
'Why?'
'Because he wouldn't want you to take a chance like that. It'll be… really bad on the other side.'
He wished he could tell her how bad. He wished he could tell Darcy how bad, and talk her out of breaking through the wall.
At first, after the elevators fell, Kyle had been stunned to realize that the trouble was more than a simple power failure. The whole complex up top must be burning down: the hotel, the tourist area with its gift shop and snack bar, his own room - and worst of all, room 115.
The loss of 115 hurt. To think that it was gone before he'd even gotten another chance to use it.
He told himself,
Dad'll rebuild the place. He'll make another room just like 115. It will be the same, and some day I'll be running the new hotel and I'll pick who I want to put in there.
The thoughts of rebuilding made him feel a lot better, but then Darcy started talking about escape through the other end of the cavern, and Kyle felt a rush of dread that turned his legs soft and he'd held onto Paula to keep himself steady.
He couldn't let them do it!
If they broke through Ely's Wall…
How could he stop them?
Warn Darcy. But what could he tell her without revealing the truth?
There had to be another way.
Get rid of the pick axe. Without that, they wouldn't be able to smash through the barrier.
The pick axe must be in the grotto where Darcy had changed clothes. Kyle hadn't seen it there, but his eyes had never left Darcy. Still, that's where it probably was. Cubby Wales had been working to enlarge the grotto and must've left his tools behind.
While Darcy continued speaking to the group, Kyle imagined himself finding the pick axe and hurling it into the Lake of Charon. They'd never find it there.
He would have to sneak away. Maybe whisper to Paula that he had to take a leak, then hurry to the grotto. Without any light. (Follow the railing.) But it would take so damn long. They were bound to notice he was gone. When they got to the grotto and the pick axe wasn't there, Darcy would know he was the one who took it. Then, after they found the pick axe (they'd make him show where he threw it), they'd break through the wall anyway.
They'd find what was there.
Maybe not.
But if they did, they'd realize that Kyle knew about it - otherwise, why did he ditch the pick axe?
I can't do anything,
he finally decided.
I can't let on that I know. Then, whatever happens, I won't get the blame.
If there was some way to stop just Darcy…
Don't think about it,
he told himself.
You can't do anything. Maybe she'll be all right.
But now Paula wanted to go along, too.
Kyle took Paula by the hand and led her away from the others. 'I have to tell you something,' he said. They walked towards the darkness. The heat from the fires faded. 'I don't want anyone else to know this, so you've got to promise you won't say anything.'
'What is it?'
'Do you promise?'
'Sure,' she said. Her voice trembled slightly.
'It's who I am.' He stopped. He looked back. They were far from the rest of the group. He put his hands on Paula's shoulders. 'I'm Kyle Mordock.'
'You mean like Mordock Cavern?'
He nodded. 'My family owns all this. My dad, actually.'
'Oh Kyle, I'm sorry. Maybe it's… just a small fire.'
He shrugged. 'Doesn't matter. It's all insured. Dad has lots of insurance. We'll rebuild. But the thing is, it has to be a secret that my dad's the owner. If the others find out, they might… you know, cause trouble. They might blame me.'
'Doesn't Darcy know?'
'Yeah, but that's different. And I don't think she's told anyone. Do you know what a scapegoat is?'
'Sure.'
'I'd be the scapegoat if it got around. That's why Darcy's keeping it a secret. The thing is, I've lived here all my life. My dad and I, we've got rooms in the hotel. So I know a lot about the cavern - maybe more than anyone. I know some things the guides don't know.' He eased Paula closer to him. He felt the soft push of her breasts against his chest. 'The other part of the cave… a certain area behind Ely's wall… used to be an Indian burial place. I've read Ely's diary. When he closed it up, all the bodies were still there. A whole lot of them. And he even wrote that he thought it was spirits of the dead Indians that pushed his wife into the chasm. That's stupid, of course. I mean, I don't believe that, myself. But the corpses of all those Indians…' He shook his head. 'I get the creeps, just thinking about it.'
'Aren't they buried?' Paula whispered.
'They're just… like lying around. Some are sitting up, some leaning against the walls. At least that's what Ely wrote.'
'Jesus.'
'That's how come I don't think you really want to go along with the others. Me, I don't want to set foot on the other side of Ely's Wall. I don't want to see those things.'
'Me neither,' Paula said.
'You'll stay, then?'
She nodded, her hair tickling Kyle's cheek.
'If we're lucky,' he said, 'we'll get rescued through the elevator shafts. Then we won't have to go through that place at all.'
'Oh, I hope so. Jesus. Shouldn't we tell the others?'
'We can't. They'd find out who I am, and…'
'Okay,' Darcy called, 'those of you who want to go along with me, step forward and I'll make the final selection.'
Paula looked over her shoulder at the others. Then her arms tightened around Kyle.
***
Darcy was glad to see that there weren't many volunteers. For most of the people, remaining here with the light and heat of the elevator fires was apparently far more attractive than venturing into the chilly darkness, into an unknown and dangerous section of the cavern. Greg volunteered, as she expected he would.
So did Jim and Beth Donner.
Tom.
A young man and woman who were holding hands. The woman wore a maternity dress in the style of a sailor suit.
A white-haired, obese man who was smoking a cigar and appeared to be at least sixty years old.
A pair of lean, matching men in plaid shirts and goatees. They appeared to be about forty.
A couple of women, one rather stiff looking in a sweater, blue slacks and glasses, the other looking innocent and vulnerable and wearing a sleeveless sundress that must have kept her in shivers until the fires came down.
No Kyle. That was a nice surprise. Maybe he'd dumped Darcy for that girl - Paula. She felt a small stir of guilt, once again, for pairing Paula with Kyle.
Might not be such a good idea,
she thought,
leaving them here together.
Hell, I'm not a chaperone.
She looked at the people gathered in front of her. 'I'm afraid I won't be very democratic about this. Tom, I want you staying here. For one thing, you shouldn't be exerting yourself. For another, I want you to take charge of the group that stays behind.'
'Either way's fine with me,' he said.
Darcy turned to the pregnant woman. 'There may be a lot of rock climbing in the darkness. I don't want to worry about you falling.'
'I'm perfectly capable of…'
'I'm sure you are. But you're staying unless you've got some kind of overwhelming reason to get out fast.'
'You're not being fair.'
'I'm being practical. You're staying here.' She turned to the heavy man with the cigar. 'You, too.'
'You're the captain,' he said.
Darcy smiled. 'Thanks.' She scanned the others. 'Greg, I want you to come. Jim and Beth - you've both been a lot of help, so you're welcome to join us… though God knows why you'd want to.'
'I miss the sunlight,' Beth said.
'And we have dinner plans,' said Jim.
'Well, you're in.' Darcy looked at the remaining four. 'I only want to take two more, and I think men…'
'I have to go with you,' said the woman with the glasses. 'I'm a diabetic. I left my insulin in the hotel. I need to follow a special diet and I didn't expect to miss lunch. I'm afraid that if…'
'Okay. You're in. Both of you.' She turned to the matching men. 'Sorry, fellows.'
'It's quite all right with me,' said one. 'It was all Brian's idea, and I'm sure I would much prefer to stay cozy and snug by the fire.'
'You're such a sissy,' said Brian.
'You wouldn't have me any other way.'
Darcy raised her voice. 'Okay, my group is ready to go. I'll be leaving Tom in charge here with one of the flashlights. We'll be as quick as possible. For all I know, you people might be out before we are. In any case, you won't be in here for more than a few hours.
'Any questions before we go?'
There were no questions. A few people wished them good luck. Someone said, 'Break a leg.'
'We'll try to avoid that,' Darcy said.
Crouching, she rushed to one of the blazing elevators. The heat pressed against her. She squinted into the debris, then grabbed a broken length of plank. She backed up, pulling it out. Its end was burning. It would make a fine torch for as long as it lasted, and postpone the time when she would need to use the flashlight.
Greg, hurrying past her, found a fiery brand for himself.
Jim did the same.
Those staying behind stood in silence as Darcy, her torch held high, led her small group into the darkness.
***
'You don't get me going in there,' Lynn said as Hank pulled out of the parking lot. He glimpsed the burning hotel in the rear-view mirror. 'I mean, Elizabeth Mordock's body is in there.'
Chris looked over her shoulder. 'You don't have to go in. All we want you to do is show us where the place is.'
'You won't be able to get in.'
'We'll get in,' Hank said. He glanced at Chris. 'We have to make a detour into town, first. There's a shopping centre. Paula and I stopped for doughnuts this morning. I think it had a hardware store.'
'Yeah,' Lynn said. 'Andy's. I've been there a few times. They've got all kinds of stuff.'
Hank slowed the car to round a bend, then picked up speed again. The trees along the roadside flashed by in a blur of green.
Where the hell are the fire trucks?
he wondered. Then he thought,
who needs them? If they'd shown up in time to save the elevator area…
The way it's going, we'll reach the girls before the fire even gets knocked down. That's if the fire department shows up at all.
Maybe they were busy at another call.
Maybe that guy in the Jeep changed his mind about reporting it.
Doesn't matter any more. We'll get the girls out.
Hank shuddered.
I can't go into that cavern.
He imagined the darkness, the walls closing in on him, suffocating him.
I can do it,
he told himself.
I'll have to do it. I can't send Chris in alone.
'Are you okay?' Chris asked.
'Does it show?'
'I'm just worried about Paula.'
'I've told you,' Lynn said from the back seat. 'Everybody's safe down there. What won't be safe is leading that whole bunch out through the bad end of the cave. I mean, I don't think you know what you're doing.'
Hank sped around a curve, saw a stop sign ahead, and hit the brakes. As the car slowed, he checked the main road. Nothing in sight. He rolled past the sign, swung onto the road and floored the accelerator. The car shot forward, pressing him into the seat.
'What do you suppose that was all about?' Chris asked.
'Back in the lobby.'
'And Mordock being dead?' Lynn wanted to know.
'A guy came in with buckets of gasoline and a cigar,' Hank said. 'He was upset about some woman he thought had been a guest at the hotel. Apparently, he thought Mordock had done something to her. He doused Mordock with gasoline, and Mordock suddenly started busting caps.'
'Started what?' Lynn asked.
'Shooting at him. The guy tossed his cigar, and poof.'
'Man,' Lynn murmured.
'What did he think Mordock did to her?' Chris asked. 'Made her disappear. I guess this guy had talked to Mordock about it before. He seemed sure that the gal had checked in, but Mordock must've shown him the registration cards to prove that she hadn't. Her card wasn't there. That's what convinced the guy that Mordock was behind her disappearance.'
'He must've been crazy,' Chris said.
'The gal was probably his sister or wife or something.'
'I wonder what Mordock did with her.'