Vanished by Elizabeth Heiter

Author:Elizabeth Heiter [Heiter, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2015-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Paralyzed with the fear of finding out what was underneath her, Evelyn stayed rooted to the ground as Kyle shone a tiny flashlight into the dark cavern below them. It illuminated a ladder leading several feet to a dirt floor. The hole opened up at the bottom, extending under their feet, but she couldn’t see what was down there.

Kyle held out the flashlight. “Hold this for me. I’ll go in first.”

“No,” she said, finally recovering her voice. “Stay here. Keep an eye out for Darnell. You’re more likely to spot him if he comes back.”

Kyle looked unhappy, but she knew he couldn’t argue. The sun was fading fast now, and if Darnell was any good, he might be able to sneak up on her. Kyle had a lot more experience watching perimeters. And Darnell probably wasn’t gunning for Kyle specifically.

Besides, this was something she had to do herself. What if Cassie was down there?

What if she’d been stuck there for eighteen long years?

If she had, could she still be alive? Would she know who Evelyn was? Would she even know who she was anymore?

Trying not to dwell on all the what-ifs, Evelyn strained to hear, but the pit was silent. If any girls were in there, they could have screamed themselves hoarse, but in the middle of an empty field on a dead-end road, miles from the nearest house, no one would ever hear. Especially with several feet of dirt above them to soundproof their prison.

Even if search parties had come through here, they could easily have missed this small spot. She’d run over it only because she’d detoured toward the tree where Darnell had paused, as though he was looking for something. And from the way the planks had been shifted alongside the door, revealing the latch, she suspected someone had moved them. Had it been Darnell—before they’d come around the corner?

If the searchers had happened to hit just this spot in the field, they might have mistaken it for exactly what it probably was. An old building that had fallen down decades ago. Grass was already growing through cracks in most of the boards.

It was pure luck that she’d seen the brand-new lock. Pure luck she’d realized the wood planks weren’t lying on flat ground. Pure luck she’d run out here in the first place.

Gripping the rusty metal ladder with hands that trembled, Evelyn lowered herself carefully into the ground. When she got to the bottom, she had to crouch to enter the small cavern.

Someone might have originally built it as a root cellar. The ladder was old. But the lock proved it had become something else since then.

Evelyn took a quivering breath and reached for her flashlight with one hand and her SIG Sauer with the other. She expected to find children inside—she prayed still alive—but the FBI had taught her never to enter an unknown situation unprepared.

With slow, careful steps, Evelyn eased inside, bent low so her head didn’t bump the dirt ceiling. The scent of dirt and mold crawled into her nostrils.

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