Authors: B J Brandon
The drive down the canyon to the ravine and parking lot didn’t take as long as it seemed to take getting out the other night for some reason. She turned off the engine to the SUV and sat there for a few moments empting her mind and settling her breath before getting out. She clipped the key chain to the pant loop of her slacks, a habit she had developed after losing her keys a couple of times as a Rookie. A quick punch locked the vehicle and set the security locks ensuring she at least had a ride out of there once she was finished.
The trailhead was dry and looking normal except for the fact that the visitor parking lot didn’t have any law enforcement vehicles sitting in it, which was odd. Ty had said there were a couple still guarding the scene and she didn’t think they would have parked further down the trail closer to the site. Unease tickled the back of Melissa’s neck and curled in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it back. They had collected any evidence that had been left behind so if anyone was poking around the area it could be kids, thrill seekers or those with a morbid sense of humor. It never ceased to amaze her just how strange people could be after something like this was found in an area as remote as the Canyons.
Sticking to the trail head until it came to the base of the bluff, Melissa branched off to the right and took the lowest ravine to the back side of where the caves were located and out of site. Only someone really familiar with this location would have known what to look for in these sandstone and rock ravines that had been washed with time and filled with boulders and mesquite. The locals said the Plains Indians use to hide out in these caves during the harsher winters and use the natural insulation of the caves to weather the cold winds from the north. Their twists and turns made good soundproofing and blocked out the rushing winds so the small families could survive until Spring was once more bringing the Plains to life.
She was moving along the lower bluff toward the caves when she realized there was crime scene tape over the cave opening but still no sign of law enforcement that should have been here. Shit, shit, shit!
“Buck is going to be pissed.” Melissa pulled her phone out and looked down. Of course, there was no signal here. What else did she expect?
Deciding to send a text anyway, just in case, Melissa quickly typed “
No one at the caves. Tape still in place but too quiet.”
Looking at it, she decided to send it to Buck and Ty so as to cover bases, then hit send.
“Ok girl. Let’s get this over with,” she whispered. With a deep breath, Melissa closed her eyes and partially dropped her mental blocks to send out her senses toward the entrance to the caves. She really didn’t want to go inside if she didn’t have to, not yet. There was too much pain in there, death and emotional destruction that would crash down on her and she needed to find a balance first before venturing inside that hell hole. If she could pick up a vibe or small taste of the people who did this outside, hopefully it would help them track the rest of the culprits down.
Small vibrations and echoes filtered back on the threads of light but none of them brought anything that made sense. Melissa tried filtering less and all she got was the sound of nature and a plane passing overhead. With a deep breath she opened her eyes and took the final steps toward the opening of the cave.
Inside was so dim, a moist coolness that it took her a moment to realize she didn’t hear anything from outside now but the echoes of the wind against the mouth of the cave. Looking back over her shoulder Melissa felt the hair on her nape rise and prayed an animal hadn’t decided to take over the cave so soon after it being vacated because she really didn’t want to argue with a coyote or rattler right now. Instead, she closed her eyes, reaching out into the darkness, seeking out anything living that might be within.
Nothing reached back, which made her feel a little safer.
Dropping her blocks she reached out, letting the emotions and pain that stained the walls and sandstone floors touch her knowing it was going to be something that would be beyond horrible. The vibrations ran deep in the earth, absorbed by the very essence of all that was living as if trying to filter out the death and destruction of innocence that had taken place here and replace it with something else. However, nothing would ever cleanse this place of the evil that had inhabited these walls. There was no fire hot enough, no hell deep enough that could wash these stains away and cleanse the earth back to its virgin state.
As soon as her senses opened fully the pain took her to her knees, making her stomach roll as the vibrations within the cave’s walls slammed into her unprotected shields. Scream after scream, cries of pain and begging, the terror only a child can feel when there is no one to come save them echoed within Melissa’s mind.. All of it came rolling back on silent fibers to slam into Melissa’s brain as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She saw Gayle’s face curled in the corner of a holding cell, her small arms curled around something and it took a moment for her to realize she was holding the still form of a little girl.
“Monsters do exists,” Gayle’s soft voice echoed in her mind just before Melissa screamed from the pain that pushed through her temple. Bright light hit her optic nerves and she went down on her side, unable to do more than close her eyes and try to breathe as horror upon horror slammed into her mind.
Ty was pissed!
Where the hell were the men he and Buck had order to stay down here? Melissa’s SUV was parked alone in the lot and he pulled horizontal to it, uncaring of taking up two parking spots. He threw the truck into park and slammed out of the vehicle and locked it automatically, reaching down to ensure his weapon was in place as he took off at a fast jog for the caves. Just as he rounded the bend he heard Melissa’s cry then silence.
Pulling his revolver, Ty made himself slow just to be safe. He was the only cavalry coming to the rescue and it wouldn’t do either of them any good if he was taken out. The first thing he saw was her prone on the floor and his heart almost stopped. There was no other sounds, no dust stirred, no noise whatsoever.
“Lisa…” he whispered, pulling her up into his arms.
She was so pale and cool to his touch it terrified him, but the bloody nose was more surprising than anything else. What could have caused her nose to bleed unless she was attached?
Picking her up was easy, navigating the trail back to the trucks was a little trickier but Ty managed. Once he had her to the vehicles he broke out his emergency pack and laid her in the back seat of his truck, pressing a cool compress to her head and cleaning the blood from her nose. It seemed like a lifetime but was less than a few minutes before Melissa finally came awake, jerking up in the seat.
“What happened?” Eyes wild and hands ready to fight, Melissa noticed two things at once. She wasn’t in the caves and her head was killing her.
“You tell me!” Ty growled, kneeling down in front of her as he reached up to her nose again.
Melissa moved back out of the way, pushing his hand with the wet wipe away from her face. She watched the thundercloud that erupted in Ty’s eyes and knew there was more than her just passing out.
“What’s wrong?”
Ty reached back up with the wipe and gently touched her nose, coming away with more blood. The bleeding had stopped while she was laying down but sitting up it had slowly started again.
“Ah damn,” was all she could whisper as she took the wet wipe and held it to her nose and laid back down with her eyes closed. This wasn’t the time for this and trying to explain it to Ty wasn’t a good thing. He would flip, and if Buck found out the old man would have a coronary. Buck was old school, didn’t believe in things he couldn’t see, touch or hear much less the unseen essence of things intangible that haunted Melissa’s life.
“Now, are you going to tell me what happened?” Ty moved to the running board of the SUV and settled in, resting his thigh next to Melissa’s feet. “How long have you been having the nose bleeds?”
“It started just after the Academy. I was on my first assignment at a DOA, a domestic violence case that was tied to one of our investigations. She was a witness for the investigation and Buck sent me over to gather statements.” Melissa didn’t even try to hide the facts. Ty would figure it out and he would nail her for lying to him. He may have been gone for the better part of her life but he still knew her almost better than Buck Stanfield did.
“Does anyone else realize you have been using you gifts to solve cases?” He was furious and she could hear it in his voice. “Melissa, do you just how dangerous this is for you, for your health?” Somehow, deep inside, she had always known Ty would have her back. Just as he had that last year in high school when she had needed him the most.
Ty pulled his phone from his belt and hit speed dial 2. Thank god for Lonnie and his geek programming because Ty couldn’t remember his own phone number at the moment. Lonnie picked up on the second ring.
“What do you need?” Ty was shocked at the professional and direct tone from the otherwise Goth geek who always seemed to be ready to punk someone.
“Melissa’s down. I need a discreet pickup of my vehicle at the cave site since I’m using her vehicle to take us back to her hotel. Once that’s done I want to know who the hell pulled the detail off of the site. No one was here and she was alone!” He was yelling by the time he finished. Ty had to force himself to stop and take a deep breath.
“Get moving. I have one of the mail staff who’s a friend coming down to get the truck. Leave the keys in the wheel well. I’m on the other.” The line went dead and Ty knew he had a new best friend within the department. That kid was amazing.
Now to move Melissa. He eased her up off the back seat even as those amazing eyes came open and her hands came up swinging.
“Easy, babe. I’ve got you! I’m taking you to your hotel but we’re taking your truck.” He reached down and unclipped her keys from her belt loop before lifting her into his arms. Once in the SUV it was easy to lock his own vehicle and hide the keys before heading out of the canyon. Time to get out of there and make sure Melissa was really out of danger.
Thirty minutes later Ty had Melissa tucked into her bed and a cool cloth on her head. She had come to a couple of times but hadn’t stayed awake long enough for him to question her about what had happened in the caves. Sitting in the darkened room, Ty pulled the large overstuffed chair up to the corner where he could look out the curtains and put his weapon in his lap. He watched her sleep, moaning softly on the bed until a text from Lonnie brought him out of his musings.
“Handy thing, a geek like me!”
came the text. Ty grinned. He just couldn’t help himself.
“Really? And why is that?”
He was still fuming because the detail had been pulled from the site. Buck didn’t order it. So who did was the question.
“Because this Genius Geek hid lots of cameras that the stupid criminals didn’t know about. They think all feds are stupid.”
There was some kind of dancing figure doing a jig and Ty almost laughed out loud before he caught himself.
“Ok Oh Mighty Geek, sir. What did you find out for me?”
He had to grin he waited. Lonnie may look different, but he was still a young man who was devoted to his craft. It was not wondered Melissa was so taken with him.
“The Sheriff’s car received a call twenty minutes before Melissa arrived. They knew she was coming, boss. We have a leak somewhere. No one has been to the site until she arrived.”
He read the text several times, unable to believe his eyes until he finally sent a confirmation and told Lonnie to keep the information under his hat. Even from Buck. Ty trusted Buck with his life, but not Melissa’s. Not yet.
September 2005
Dear Diary
Ty and I talked a long time last night. I told him about my “gifts” and what Grams taught me. He thought I was kidding until I got him to be quiet and still, to concentrate hard on just me so that I could “connect” with him. I can’t do it to just anyone, only with those who are close to me or who are special like me. Grams always said Ty and I were special but I didn’t believe that because there have been very few people I can trust with my secrets. Momma calls me a witch sometimes, when Dad isn’t around. Since she has been going to the Baptist Church around the corner it has gotten a lot worse, and once she even said that someone who had gifts like mine were actually evil. So I’ve kept them hidden from everyone. But Ty was amazing.
We’ve been practicing for a while now and we can actually “talk” almost when we are at our own houses. It’s kind of neat but scary because if his parents ever found out I’m not sure what they would do. Ty is my best friend other than Debbie and it would kill me if something happened to either of them.
* * *
She came awake with a shout and a right hook. Lucky for Ty she was on her back and not with her hands near a weapon. It took a minute to realize she was in her hotel room and not still in the caves, but once the fog cleared Melissa groaned.
Shit. Shit. Double Shit!
She felt slick with sweat from the nightmare, surely brought on by what happened in the caves and the stress from the last few days. She knew not dealing with it was going to bite her in the ass soon but this case was eating at something in the back of her mind and she had been able to pull it forward for some reason. The bed sank next to her and a cool cloth fell over her eyes, a cold bottle shoved into her hand.
“Here, take these so you feel human.” Melissa looked up from under the cool cloth and winced.
“How long have you been here?” Throwing her long legs over the side of the bed with a groan, she tossed the painkillers down her throat and took a long swig from the ice cold water bottle and prayed to a God she no longer believed in that the pills worked faster than normal. On an empty stomach it should be about fifteen minutes if things were working normal.
Of course, normal was an oxymoron.