The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series (18 page)

“When I saw you wrapped around each other today, I knew you had never gotten over her.” Her brow crumpled. “The insane thing is that I knew it before. I have watched you make a fool of yourself over her. I suspected something more existed between you. Today when I saw how you kissed her, how you looked at her, it just confirmed what I had known all along.”

Her whole body shuddered. Losing it, she needed to get away.

“Now, whether she is dead or alive, I would hate myself if I ever let you touch me again.” She slowly lifted her doleful eyes to his. “I won’t go there. Ever.”

She stood and hobbled to the tent without turning back.

QUANTUM PERSPECTIVE SOURCE (QPS): TRIP CARSON

Her words landed like a kick in the groin. Trip had never seen Tara so vulnerable before. He hated himself for being the one to break her indomitable spirit.

Sitting in the moonlight, crushed and grief stricken, he cursed himself. “I lost her,” he whispered, unsure which girl he spoke about.

The planning session continued late into the night and the Keepers finally drifted off to sleep curled around the fire. When morning broke, Trip stretched and sat up on his pallet. The girls, already dressed, prepared breakfast. The smell of camp coffee and bacon nudged everyone awake. Corey sat against a tree at the edge of camp staring straight ahead, deep in thought.

Dirk and Donnie stirred, stretched, and shuffled to the breakfast area. Donnie settled Mel into her camp chair with a cup of coffee and took over her job of slicing pineapple.

The jumps had vastly improved since they started bringing supplies along. They had tents for shelter, pots and pans for cooking, matches, weapons, and even toiletries. If Dirk could have found a way to pack a shower in a knapsack, they would have that too. An amazing jump commander with over six years of jump experiences, Dirk led well. Donnie and Mel became jump consultants and were happy to relinquish the commander title to Dirk.

Dirk had never lost a jumper until Gregory in the tornado city, and the powers that be didn’t even count that as a loss since they had no record of a Gregory Matthews in the system. Dirk counted it, though. Kate and Trip counted it. Gregory counted to them.

The Keepers packed up the supplies and left the campsite as though no one had been there, something Tara insisted on at each jump. Retracing their steps back to the tar pit, Trip ran the prior day over in his mind, wondering if he could have done anything differently. When he pivoted right instead of left? When he protected Tara instead of guarding Kate? When he held Corey back to throw the spear? If he had changed any of those decisions, would it have brought about a different outcome for Kate? He pounded himself, thoroughly, over every possible mistake.

“This is it.” He pointed to the marks on the ground where Kate’s body had been dragged in and the splotches beside it where he dragged himself out.

Donnie knelt down next to the ridge. “Were these here yesterday?” He pointed in the dirt at several paw prints headed to the edge of the tar pit.

“I’m not sure.” Trip looked curiously at the paw prints and wondered if he had missed something. Pinky and Mel traced back along the ridge wall while Dirk and Corey produced a virtual science lab and began analyzing the tar.
They’re wasting their time
.
Hey, if it makes Corey feel better and somehow come to terms with the loss of Kate, then go for it.

Trip glanced at Tara. She winced and shifted her weight off of her injured leg.

“Come sit down, Tara.” He waved her toward a low boulder.

“I’m fine,” she snapped.

He sighed, stamped over, and scooped her into his arms. She wriggled and complained as he carried her to the boulder and plopped her down. “Now you’re fine.”

She pressed her lips together tightly, and then her features relaxed. “Thanks, Trip.” Her lower lip quivered and his heart shattered.

He reached into her pack and handed her a bottle of water. She accepted it and drank thirstily.

“Donnie, Trip, come see!” Pinky burst through the brush and waved them to follow her. They crashed through the scrubby undergrowth until they reached Mel. She knelt down and pointed to a small hole in the ridge wall.

“I crawled in. It’s tight at first, but then it opens into a very large chamber. You need to see what I found.” She crawled back into the hole.

“I don’t think I’ll fit.” Trip stooped and looked into the yawning black opening.

“You will. Don’t worry,” Mel called back to him.

They dove into their backpacks for flashlights then dropped the packs around the cave opening. Donnie crawled into the hole, and then Pinky after him. Trip growled, stooped to look into the hole, cursed, and then writhed in. They got through the tight space with little problem. He had more difficulty because he couldn’t bend his arms and legs enough to crawl. He ended up scooting along like a snake, wriggling through the tight space.

He didn’t like it.
How can I feel trapped and exposed at the same time?

The snake tunnel opened up into a large cavern, and they cast flashlight beams around the room in different directions.

“Over here.” Mel motioned them over and shined her light down on a small mound of tar droppings. She drew a light trail on the ground. Splats of tar dotted the sandy floor, ending in a large black opening at the back of the cavern.

“You understand what that means?” Mel asked.

“Not really,” he started and then it hit him. “There were no black splotches at the snake tunnel entrance or along the ridge.”

Mel shook her head.

“So that means there is another entrance to this cave from the tar pit.” He pointed to the dark opening.

Mel nodded and beamed. “She could be in these caves, Trip.”

For the first time since he crawled out of the tar pit, he considered Kate might be alive. “Let’s go.” He started toward the black hole.

“Now, wait a minute.” Donnie held up a hand. “You don’t know what’s down there. You don’t even have your sword.”

“I’ll get the packs,” Pinky said and scurried through the snake tunnel.

“We need to get the others,” Mel said. “Corey would want to go.”

“I don’t want to wait while Dirk decides if it is worth it,” Trip groused.

Pinky pushed the packs ahead of her and crawled in behind them. She helped him strap on his sword and hung his pack over his shoulders.

“Thanks. Besides Tara can’t walk, much less crawl through that tunnel and someone will need to stay and protect her from the jackals.”

Mel snorted. “Like she would need our help.”

Trip grinned and shrugged. “True.”

“I’ll go with Trip, you all go get the others and you can decide who stays and who goes,” Pinky asserted and snapped her pack at her waist.

Trip looked down at the spunky jumper. According to the rules, they were on her jump. But so far it seemed to target Kate. “Pinky, I don’t know what we will find down there. It could be dangerous. We might be walking into a trap.”

“Even more reason why you shouldn’t go alone,” she said flatly. “Are you ever going to call me by my name, Trip?”

“Gah, no! Your parents should be horse whipped for tagging you with that horrible name.” He nudged her with his elbow. “We could probably just say your name and the monsters would run away screaming.”

She grinned and rolled her eyes.

“I like it, Eunavae.” Mel frowned at Trip and touched Pinky’s arm protectively.

“Okay, it’s set. Let’s go.” Pinky tossed a never-mind gesture at Mel to let her know it didn’t offend.

“Go with them, Donnie. I’ll get the others,” Mel said and kissed him on the cheek. He swung his pack onto his back and brought up the rear.

They pierced the inky dark of the cave.

QUANTUM PERSPECTIVE SOURCE (QPS): TRIP CARSON

They crept through the dark corridors, keeping their light beams low and scuffles muted. The trail descended, and the odor of sulfur assailed them, stinging their eyes and noses. Pinky took a bandana out of her pack and wrapped it around her nose, but it did nothing to slow the steady stream of tears.

After what seemed like hours going down and down, Trip stopped and held up his hand. Hearing noises ahead, he motioned for them to turn off the flashlights. Overwhelming and absolute darkness closed around them. Pinky and Donnie pressed against his back.

“How are we going to see anything?” Donnie whispered.

“Just listen.”

They stood silently straining their ears ahead of them and heard the soft padding of footfall, a sniff, a whine and a whimper.

They inched forward into an open space. Trip heard the soft sounds echoing around the walls of a larger chamber. Pinky, right behind him, locked her hand on his belt.

Entering the spacious cave, a heavy wet fur odor intermingled with excrement and blood assaulted them. So much stronger than the sulfuric tinged air that they had become somewhat accustomed to, it confirmed they’d just entered the lair of the jackals.

If Kate is alive, she’s here.

Trip refused to engage the jackals with just Pinky and Donnie. He needed Corey and Dirk, and he needed more light. Before he risked a mortal battle in the lair of the enemy, he needed a sign that Kate lived somewhere in this dark cave.

Sniffing and shaking their heavy pelts, the restless beasts started to sense them.
We’ve got to get out of here. They have the home field advantage and can evidently maneuver in the dark.

Trip pressed back, and they retreated several hundred feet back into the corridor. Snapping on a flashlight, he motioned for them to be silent. “We should wait for Dirk and Corey,” he whispered.

“There were a lot of them,” Donnie agreed.

“There weren’t any other corridors along the way, so it shouldn’t take the others long to get here.” Pinky spoke in trepidation.

“Corey knows how to track in a cave. We’ve done it before,” Trip said.

“How are we going to fight them without light?” Pinky asked.

“We aren’t.” Trip shrugged. “We’re going to have to blind them, then attack in the confusion.”

“I wish we knew if Kate was in there before we stir up this hornet’s nest,” Donnie murmured.

A flash of light beamed behind them and footsteps rushed toward them. Turning their lights toward the sounds, they found Corey, Dirk, Mel, and Tara making their way through the passage.

“Tara! You should have stayed back,” Trip scowled.

“I’m a big girl, Trip.” She cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow at him. “I can take care of myself.”

Trip fumed at her. Impossible to get Kate out of there alive, now he would be worried about Tara and her injury, too.

“Did you find Kate?” Corey asked.

“We found the lair, but it’s too dark to see if Kate is in there.” Trip shook his head at Tara, frustration rising.

“There are a lot of them, by the sound and smell of things,” Donnie said, watching Mel chew a fingernail. He gently coaxed her hand away from her mouth.

“We need to know if Kate’s in there.” Dirk shoved his fists into his hips. “Ideas?”