Rattled (31 page)

Drew wondered when he’d last taken on new challenges like Erin had, last faced his fears. He wanted to think he wasn’t afraid of much. He’d done some of the dirtiest and toughest jobs in the world. He took on something new every few months. He’d been willing to work in the jungle, in the Arctic, in the desert, to fly through fog and sleet and sandstorms, up narrow mountain valleys or down twisting canyons.

But those things didn’t scare him, or at least the fear became a kind of excitement. He wasn’t really facing his fears in his work. But only a fool never felt fear, and only a liar pretended he didn’t.

What scared him was boredom. Being stuck in one place, growing old and dull, settling for mediocrity. Falling for some pretty face and then finding himself tied down and chaffing at the bonds when the passion burned out. But moving around so much, avoiding close relationships, meant he could never build a life with someone. It meant he could never have a woman like Erin.

He could imagine growing old with her. He couldn’t imagine growing bored

Erin gazed at the mummies. They had been people once. Bandits who had been wounded and retreated to their hideout to die? Victims of kidnapping and murder? Maybe the archaeologists and anthropologists would be able to tell. She already looked forward to the knowledge that could be built up from these finds and thrilled to know that she had a part in it.

At the same time, she wondered about the men as people. How had they lived and how had they died? How old had they been? Mere teenagers, men in their prime, old men who could no longer keep up? She couldn’t tell from the leathery, shrunken skin. Had they been decent or cruel? Had they had family who loved them? Research might not answer all those questions, but Erin could wonder and imagine. That was what made history so appealing, the stories behind the facts, the people behind the names.

She turned to look at the chest. Tiger sat in front of it, staring at the metal hinge that could padlock it closed but held no padlock now. “We should leave things as they are, until archaeologists can get in here and do a proper excavation,” Erin said. “But I can’t help noticing that the chest isn’t locked. The lid isn’t even closed tight. Do you suppose...?”

Camie crouched beside her. “I think we deserve to take a little peek.”

Erin touched the box gently. “It feels solid enough. It’s a good thing the drainage from the tunnel doesn’t make it this far. The dry desert air and moderate temperatures underground must act like a climate-controlled storage room. If we ease the lid up gently, we shouldn’t do any damage.”

Camie lifted the lock hinge out of the way. “Let’s do it.”

Erin looked up at Drew, but he simply stood gazing down at her intently. Something about his somber expression made her blush and turn away. What could be going on in his head? She cleared her throat and spoke to Camie. “All right. Slow and easy.”

They each took one corner of the box and eased up the lid. Tiger put his front paws up on the box and leaned his nose close to the opening. A rumble sounded in his throat.

They had the lid halfway up when the smell hit. “Oh God.” Erin jerked away, gagging. She blinked back tears and leaned away from the box to draw clearer air.

“It smells like something died in there,” Camie said. She pushed the lid the rest of the way up. Something rustled in the box. Tiger yowled.

Erin whipped her head around and stared. Her headlamp lit up gray moving shapes among dark folds of fabric. Beady dark eyes glinted in the light. She yelped and fell back onto her bottom. Drew took a step forward and looked into the chest. “Pack rats. A nest of them. No wonder Tiger was so interested.”

Drew reached down and scooped up the cat as he crouched to leap. “Sorry to interrupt your fun, but you’d better leave it.” He put a hand over his nose and mouth and leaned closer. “There must have been clothing in the chest and they used it for their nest. If there are gold coins or anything, they’re buried underneath.”

Camie closed the lid. “Then they can wait. Let’s leave this undisturbed for the archaeologists.”

“Yeah, they’ll appreciate it,” Drew said. “I’m surprised to find rodents this far from the entrance.”

Erin stood up and brushed off her jumpsuit. “Maybe we discovered a new species—blind cave rats or something.”

“Or maybe mama rat just tumbled down here a few weeks ago, and that’s why they haven’t done more damage.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Camie looked around the small space. “All right, we have two dead guys and a box of rats. I have to say, I was expecting a little more.”

“There should be a lot more,” Erin said. “The legend talks about tunnels and a front room before you reach a big chamber, but I don’t see an exit to another room.”

Camie drummed her fingers on her thigh. “I don’t see any sign of a cave-in blocking another tunnel, so maybe one of these walls isn’t as solid as it looks.” She started moving along the wall, scanning up and down and tapping the stone. “See if you can find anything that doesn’t look like solid rock.”

They searched foot by foot, carefully checking any cracks or fissures. Erin couldn’t help wondering if a piece of wall would suddenly swing open, like in the movies, though she knew it was nearly impossible. The chamber wasn’t much bigger than a modern bathroom and barely tall enough for Drew to stand up. It didn’t take long to search—and come up with nothing.

“There’s just one place we haven’t checked yet,” Erin said. “Behind the chest.” She eyed the thick mass of cobwebs that connected the back of the chest to the wall.

“We’ll have to move it,” Drew said. “I think we can do it without disturbing the bodies.” He crouched at one front corner of the chest and Camie took the other. They reached for the side handles, careful not to bump the mummies. As they slid the strongbox across the floor, skittering sounds and high-pitched squeaks echoed from inside. Tiger jumped on top of the chest and batted a paw at the front, yowling. “You tell ’em,” Drew said.

The cobwebs stretched out from the wall before finally snapping apart. Erin bent her head to shine her headlamp in the dark space behind the chest. Cobwebs dangled down, waving slightly, and pale dust motes floated in the beam of her light. Below the tendrils of web, her light shone into empty space. She let out a sigh of relief. “Guys, we found a tunnel.”

“At least it wasn’t behind the mummies,” Camie said. “Looks like we get to crawl. Everyone ready to go on?” Camie asked.

“Yeah, let’s keep moving.” Drew glanced toward the sloping tunnel they’d come down. “The faster we finish up down here, the better. Not that it isn’t tons of fun, but I’m nervous about leaving those guys up there untended.”

Erin had been trying not to think about the goons but knew they were taking a risk. What if the men somehow managed to get loose? She tried to ignore the prickling at the back of her neck. They’d made their decision; now they had to keep going forward. They had gotten this far. It would be fine.

They entered the tunnel in the same order as before. The ceiling dropped low enough that Erin’s helmet scraped against it, and the walls pressed so close that Erin thought it might be a squeeze for Drew’s shoulders. Erin hoped the tunnel wasn’t long and really hoped it didn’t get more narrow. For one thing, that would make it less likely that people had used it for storage, if they couldn’t get people or goods through easily enough. She tried to tell herself that was the only reason to worry about the walls closing in.

Camie’s feet suddenly disappeared in front of her. Erin ducked her head so she could look forward and realized Camie was standing a couple of feet ahead. With a sigh of relief, Erin crawled forward and stood up as well. They still had to hunch over, but the smallest part of the tunnel had lasted only a few feet. Drew joined them as they shone their lights around.

“Look, old graffiti!” Erin said. Several names in a flowing, old-fashioned script had been etched into the wall. One had “1827” written next to it. Erin tingled with excitement as she imagined men standing here nearly two centuries before, leaving their mark. It seemed to be part of being human, wanting to leave your mark.

“The tunnel gets kind of twisty ahead,” Camie said. “I wonder how far it goes.” She took a few steps forward and then stopped with a chuckle. “You know, this would be the part in a movie where we realize we have tarantulas all over us or something.”

Erin smiled. Then—she couldn’t help it—she had to look down at her clothes. She saw a dark spot and almost screamed but realized in time it was just a mud smear. She tried to check her back over her shoulder. She noticed Camie and Drew doing the same thing. “Now I’m going to have the creepy crawlies until we get out of here,” Erin said. “Maybe longer.”

“Sorry. At least now we know.” Camie started forward.

Something brushed Erin’s neck.

She jumped and glared back at Drew. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry. You just had a bit of cobweb in your hair.”

“Ooh, I’m going to do that to Camie,” Erin whispered. She hurried forward. Camie had stopped. Erin crept up behind her, reaching out to give her a scare.

Then she realized why Camie had stopped. She stood at the entrance to a cavern, one so big her headlamp disappeared into the darkness without reaching walls. Erin peered over Camie’s shoulder. Her light joined Camie’s, shining on bags, boxes, suits of armor, and piles glinting with gold.

Erin blinked, but the sight didn’t fade.

Erin moved up beside Camie. Drew came out and stood behind them with his hand on Erin’s shoulder. The three simply stared, speechless, for a full minute. Erin felt like she was having an out of body experience, floating, soaring over a dream world she had only imagined, grounded to reality only by the weight of Drew’s hand.

She cleared her throat. “I feel like I should say something momentous,” she whispered. “But the only thing I can think of is, ‘Wow.’”

“Holy hot damn wow!” Camie said. “And you can quote me on that. Are you—is it—” She shook her head. “I feel a little dizzy.”

Erin nodded. “I’m floating. This is real, right? It isn’t just a dream?”

Drew pinched her bottom.

Erin yelped and started laughing. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Camie, you need a pinch too?”

“Save it, stud. Let’s see what we’ve got.” She took off her backpack and gloves and found their camera. Erin and Drew shrugged off their backpacks as well and left them with Camie’s. Erin took off her gloves and replaced the finger brace over her middle finger. She itched to touch the treasures with her bare hands. They all took off their helmets but replaced their headlamps on their heads to light up the room

Tiger started into the room, his nose twitching and tail up like a question mark. They walked reverently down the center of the cavern. Erin hardly knew where to look first. To the right she saw a pile of leather satchels, perhaps stolen mailbags. Would they hold historic letters that could shine new light on the past? Next to that, a dozen Wells Fargo strongboxes had been pushed together in a jumble. Could they hold coins, jewelry, important documents? On her other side, metal ingots were stacked against the wall chest-high and four feet deep. Blackened with age, they looked like iron bars, but Erin knew they were more likely silver or even gold. She saw a stack of saddles and a pile of bulging saddlebags, one of them spilling gold coins onto the ground. She was looking at a fortune, both in monetary terms and historical ones.

Erin stopped, emotion welling up until her throat felt tight and tears stung her eyes. Drew paused beside her. “You all right?”

She drew in a breath. “I’m all right. Just—” She fluttered her hand in front of her face. “A little overcome. You two go ahead, I need a minute.”

He smiled, touched her arm lightly, and moved on.

Erin pressed a fist to her chest. It was almost too much to comprehend. She had done it. Her life would change now, in ways she couldn’t even imagine. But more than the fame, more than any fortune she might get from a share of the treasure, she could cherish knowing she had seen this thing through to the end. When she had started, she hadn’t been thinking of it as a contest or a battle. But it had turned into one, and she had won.

Tiger rubbed against her leg, purring. She crouched and stroked her hand over his back. “And you helped too, sweetie,” she whispered.

Drew and Camie had reached the far end of the cavern. They laughed, and Erin smiled to see her best friend and her new lover so easy together. It felt right, the three of them—four, with Tiger—working together, laughing together. She didn’t know how long Drew would stay in her life, but she treasured the moments. She dried her eyes and prepared to join them.

Tiger stepped away from her, his fur bristling at he looked back toward the tunnel entrance, where they’d left their gear. He arched and hissed.

Erin looked back as well and thought she heard a faint scuffling. More pack rats? “We’d better get rid of them,” she told Tiger. “We don’t want them getting into our gear.”

She rose and walked toward the tunnel. She didn’t see any movement around their backpacks. Had the rats already gotten inside, or was the noise coming from somewhere else? She stopped, looking down at their packs.

She sensed movement in the tunnel. Her head shot up.

Her light caught the edge of a dark shape moving toward her. Her heart seemed to leap from her chest as jumbled visions of monsters, ghosts, wild animals, flashed through her mind.