Save My Soul (21 page)

We turned on our flashlights before
entering the cave. There were bats and other creepy animals that
weren't so nice that lurked behind the sharp twists and turns of
the cave walls. Some of the caves around the city went deep
underground; you could actually drive a big truck through some of
them. This one was a little of both. It was the largest cave in the
area and it went on for a mile or two, with many different paths to
take. If you didn't know where you were going, you could slip right
off into a deep ravine; some of them were twenty or more feet deep.
It wouldn't surprise any of us if an inexperienced caver got lost.
I had, on more than one occasion. It really sucks when you drop
your last water bottle in one of those ravines six hours before you
smell fresh air. I wondered if Murry had been cruel enough to have
not given Adam any water.

"Would I do that to my
friend, Kendra?"
Murry said in my
head.

I gritted my teeth.
"You aren't his friend. Don't pretend to be. He
knows the truth about you now. Do you actually think he will choose
you?"

He laughed.
"I only have to keep him from choosing you until
Friday."

"Get out of my head,
asshole."

"What?" Kobhye said then shined her
light in my eyes.

I shook my head. "Nothing." With Murry
laughing and talking so calmly to me, I had a feeling that I was in
the wrong cave. He may know that there were more friends of mine in
the other caves looking for Adam, but I didn't think he could read
their minds. I looked at Rhyan. He'd stayed visible so everyone
could see him. I'd told them that he was a friend of Adam's. Now,
wasn't that a big ass lie?

We searched for hours. I knew everyone
was tired and hungry, but mostly everyone just needed water. Kobhye
had brought along three bottles, but with nine of us sharing them,
they hadn't lasted long. I knew we were going to have to take a
break, and we were close to the mouth of the cave. We had taken so
many twists and turns and tunnels that we'd ended up back near our
starting point.

I had a feeling that Adam wasn't in
this cave, but we could return to this one after we went through
the others if he didn't turn up. My phone was about dead, and it
needed to be charged soon. Anyone who found Adam was to notify me
immediately, no matter what Adam said. I was pretty sure, if anyone
mentioned my name, he would give them an ear full about just what
he thought of me.

I could picture Aven finding him. Both
of them were hating on me right now. Maybe they would start a
Hater's Club and have my picture in the center of the dart
board.

"Stop it, Kendra," Rhyan whispered so
low that I was the only one who understood what he'd said. I
sighed, then I caught sight of the dim light from the mouth of the
cave. I felt helpless and broken. I felt like I had already failed.
"It isn't over until Friday. You can be angry at yourself then if
you want, but I need you to keep yourself together right
now."

I nodded, and knew that no one but
Rhyan had noticed.

We all exited the cave then made a
circle of standing bodies beside my Land Rover to discuss what
direction we needed to go next. I suggested that we get fast food
and a case of water because I knew everyone wanted to, but no one
was going to say it. I had a backpack in my vehicle and I knew
Kobhye did as well. I could carry half the water and she could
carry the other half. Our load would get lighter the longer we
walked and the more we drank. Everyone agreed, and we all headed
out for the closest fast food and convenience stores.

We pulled through a Burger King drive
thru; Rhyan even ordered food. I shot him a questioning glance, and
he had responded with, "I miss food. I can eat while I'm in this
form." I had nodded then gone back to paying the pimpled-faced
teenager in the window, and then we were on our way to the Exxon
station at the edge of town.

I went in and bought a case of water
and four packages of "D" batteries. I didn't want any of the
flashlights going dead on us. When I walked out, Kobhye was waiting
at my Land Rover with her backpack open. We were at the back of my
rig where she thought Rhyan couldn't hear. "He's hot, Kendra. Hook
me up." She nodded toward the back of Rhyan's head.

Dammit! "Ah, I would, but he's seeing
someone." I knew what was coming next; that kind of thing didn't
bother her. It didn't bother her conscience at all to sleep with a
guy who was dating someone else or even married, for that matter.
It made me wonder how in control her guardian angel was. "Yeah, so,
he can tell his girlfriend that he was here looking for Adam the
whole time. I only need an hour of his time, not a
marriage."

Kobhye was just as opposed to a
serious relationship as I was. I shook my head. "I think he loves
her or something, Kobhye. You can try, but I don't think his
interests are the same as yours."

She grinned. "A challenge…perfect." I
turned my head to put some water bottles in my backpack and closed
my eyes. I was so not going to enjoy watching this.

I heard Rhyan laughing in
my head.
"Now you know how I feel."
His voice turned softer.
"I promise not to do anything with her."

"Do what you want, Rhyan.
You aren't my soulmate."
I said as I
shoved the last water bottle that would fit into my backpack. He
didn't say anymore to me about it, so I didn't know if he would
change his mind or not about Kobhye.

She loaded her pack and as she walked
by Rhyan's side of the vehicle, she winked at him. I rolled my eyes
and climbed into the driver's seat. We were off to the next cave.
My phone was plugged into the car charger, and I planned to leave
it there until we got to the next cave. It needed the juice. I
checked it and realized I had three text messages. Marc and his
crew were moving on to the second cave to the south. The second was
from my dad. He was off work and was headed to the western caves to
help Aven. Was it already after four? I looked at my clock radio;
it read 4:13. The last one was from Aven; they had finished two
caves. They were getting a bite to eat and fueling up with water
before tackling "The Devil's Den." "The Devil's Den" was the most
dangerous cave. It wasn't as big as some of the others, but there
were steep drop-offs that wouldn't just land you in the hospital. I
whipped the Land Rover to the shoulder of the road and slammed on
the brakes. I glanced in my rear view mirror just in time to notice
that Kobhye had done the same.

Suddenly, I knew for certain that's
where Murry was holding Adam. The name of the cave alone would peak
his interest. It would be very bad if I pulled out of the north
caves to head to The Devil's Den, and it turned out my instincts
were wrong. I just had such a strong feeling that he was
there.

"Stick with the north caves, Kendra.
If they find him, they will call you."

I nodded. "You're right. We'll stay
here and search the next north cave." I stepped on the gas and we
were off again.

I stalled outside the cave as long as
I could. I just knew that as soon as we were deep into the cave, my
phone would ring, letting me know that they'd found him.

Rhyan started for the cave
and Kobhye walked up beside him to start her notorious
flirting.
"C'mon, Kendra, what if you are
wrong, and he's in this cave? He may need water. They will call you
if they find him; you know they will."

I huffed then followed my crew into
the cave. This wasn't a very big one, and it wouldn't take more
than thirty minutes to cover the whole thing, so getting out quick
wouldn't be that big of a deal.

We were no more than five minutes in
when my phone beeped. I pulled it from my pocket and checked the
text. It was from Lennie. He thought they had found him, but he was
behind a rock wall that Aven, my dad, and everyone else were trying
to get through.

"Stop!" I said, and could hear the
excitement in everyone's voices, but I tuned it out as I tried to
call Lennie. The call rang once then failed. I looked at my phone;
it was jumping in and out of service. I turned and ran for the
mouth of the cave without stumbling once.

When the sun hit my face I tried
again. It went through this time. "Kendra, there is definitely
someone in here. We were shouting through the rocks and he shouted
back that he was okay, but we should hurry the hell up and get him
out of there."

I closed my eyes and sighed as I hit
my knees. "Thank God. We're on our way, Lennie. Has anyone called
for an ambulance?"

"Yeah, I did that right before you
called. I don't have any reception in the cave."

"Okay, how long do you think it will
take everyone to get to him?"

"I don't know. I don't know how thick
the rock wall is, but we can hear him through it, so it shouldn't
take long with so many people digging. We can't figure out how the
hell he got back there. It doesn't look like the ceiling caved in;
it looks like the rocks were placed there to keep him in." I rolled
my eyes; I knew they were placed there to keep him in.

"All right…" I sighed. "I'm on my way,
if you get him out before I get there, call me and let me know
where the ambulance is taking him. He will probably request the
trauma center, even if he doesn't have many injuries; it's where he
works."

"I'll call you. Bye,
Kendra."

I hit the end button on my phone and
turned to my crew. "They found him. They're digging him out now and
he sounds fine." There were cheers all around, but Rhyan just stood
there looking at me. We both knew that rock wall wasn't the final
obstacle we would have to circumvent this week.

We loaded up again and hauled ass west
to The Devil's Den. I turned my emergency lights on and prayed that
I wouldn't pass a cop, because the gas pedal was on the floor. I
decided to go around the city because it was a little after five.
Traffic would be at a standstill in the city. It was a longer
route, but it would get me to my destination sooner.

I looked in my rear view mirror;
Kobhye and Kevin were keeping up with me, sort of. Kobhye was right
behind me, but Kevin's car couldn't go as fast as ours. He was
slowly slipping back, but he knew where The Devil's Den was, so I
wasn't worried about him getting lost. The only thing I was worried
about right now was Adam, and if Murry had any more surprises in
store for me.

"Of course I have more
surprises, Kendra."
Just then my left
front tire blew, and there was no way to stop what happened next; I
was going too fast. My Land Rover swerved out of control then began
to flip. The air bags deployed, and that was the last thing I
remembered before blacking out.

"Kendra, can you hear
me?"
It was Rhyan's voice, and he sounded
strangely calm. I didn't know if I was dead or if I was going to
make it through yet another miracle this week.
"Another miracle, but I couldn't get you to wake up, and it's
Wednesday night. It's been twenty-eight hours. There's nothing
wrong with you, but Murry has done something to keep you knocked
out and me out of your mind. I just now regained
access."

"Where is Adam?"
I said.
"I only have
about forty hours left to help him."

Rhyan sighed.
"He left the city. Murry isn't holding him
hostage this time. Adam left for his lake house yesterday
morning."

"Did he know that I was in
a wreck on my way to save him?"
I
asked.

"Yes,"
h
e said, but didn't elaborate
further.

"Did he care?"
I asked, aghast.

"If you open your eyes, we
can go to him."
He seemed to ignore my
question and it pissed me off.

"Did he care?"
I asked more firmly.

He was silent for a moment
then he finally finished shattering my heart.
"The ambulance brought you in a few minutes before Adam got
here. I'm not allowed to interfere, but I had to do something. I
told him who I was and tried to tell him what happened to you on
our way here, but he wouldn't listen to me. He asked me if you
needed surgery. When I told him that you didn't, he turned away
from me and left the hospital."

I opened my eyes and realized I
couldn't see anything; they were blurry with tears. I sat up in
bed, but Rhyan wasn't in the room with me, he was only in my head.
My parents, Kobhye and Aven were sitting in chairs around my bed.
They were all asleep in the uncomfortable-looking chairs, judging
by their awkward postures. I wasn't hooked up to a lot of machines
this time; there was only an I.V. in my arm. I removed the tape
holding it against my arm with some difficulty. Man, they really
wanted this thing to stay in my arm, I thought. I could hear Rhyan
laughing. I held my breath, then pulled it out slowly and grabbed
some tissue to put over the blood from the needle hole. My mom
opened her eyes as though she'd heard, or sensed that I was
awake.

"Kendra?" She rushed to me and hugged
me hard. "Oh, baby, you have got to stop scaring me like
this."