Guide Me Home (41 page)

“I can't. We don't have any matches. It's likely out of fuel anyway.”

She whimpered, holding tightly. “Why're you so mad?”

His huff blasted. “Why wouldn't I be? We're stuck here in the dark. Nobody knows where we are. We don't have food or water.” He wrenched his arm and she lost her hold.

“Nick!” Cissy pawed the air. Nothing. She bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rocked herself, whimpering. Fear put a bitter taste in her mouth, so bitter she wanted to gag. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would explode. Her lungs forgot how to hold air, so her breath came in short little puffs.

Is this how Andy felt before he died in the cave? Why hadn't she thought about Andy before dragging Nick in here?

Because she never thought about anybody but herself, ever.

Terror rose up and came out in a wail. “I don't wanna die. Ohhhh, I don't wanna die.”

“Will you shut up!” Nick's voice grated through the blackness and echoed,
Shut up! Shut up!

She hugged herself harder. “Stop bein' so mean! You want the last words you ever say to anybody in this world to be ‘shut up'?”

Shut up?

Shut up?

The echoes died. Silence fell. A long silence. A tension-filled silence.

Cissy gulped. “N-Nick?”

“What?”

She nearly collapsed from the relief of knowing he was still there. Even if she couldn't see him, even if she couldn't touch him, she needed to know he was there. She licked her dry lips, swallowed bile, and whispered, “I…I'm scared.”

“Just shut up, Cissy.”

“But—”

“I said to shut up!”

And that's when she knew he wasn't mad. He was scared. Just as scared as she was. Because he thought they were going to die in this cave, too.

Sadness deeper than any she'd known before filled her. She was going to die before she got a chance to grow up. Just like Andy had died before he became a man. Mama had nearly mourned herself to death when Andy died. But Andy had never been the kind of trouble Cissy was. Mama probably wouldn't care as much. And it was purely awful to know that death was coming and that people probably wouldn't even care.

She buried her face against her upraised knees and cried.

Tolly

T
olly's eyelids scraped over his dry eyes. It'd feel so good to keep his eyes closed. But he dragged them open again and squinted against the glaring torchlight.

He was closing in on them. He knew it because he'd heard a girl screech and a boy holler. They were still far ahead or tucked around a bend, out of the reach of his torch. But a little bit ago they'd been alive and bellowing, and that gave him enough hope to keep going forward, no matter how bad his tired body ached or how much his sore eyes wanted to close.

The tunnel narrowed, and his bulky torch pack caught on the wall. With a grunt he stopped and let it fall to the floor. He stared at it, frowning, making himself think. He'd need the rest of those torches to find his way out to daylight, but if he tucked one or two in the smaller pack with the food and blankets, they should give him the light he needed to get himself back to the big pack. Just in case, he slipped the coil of rope from his shoulders and tied one end to the pack. Tied it good and tight with a knot his pappy'd taught him so it wouldn't come loose. Then he draped the coil over his arm. He'd release the rope as he went. If his torch gave out, he could follow the rope back to his pack. Old Tolly Sandford wouldn't get himself trapped in this cave. Pappy had taught him better.

He heaved a sigh of relief as he moved steadily forward, peering beneath the torch as far as the light allowed. Every few steps he called out, “Cissy? Nick? Cissy? Nick?” Between hollers he focused hard and listened for a response.

Up ahead a Y greeted him. He groaned. “Lawd, I's had enough o' havin' to guess which way to go an' guessin' wrong. Cain't You jus' tell me this time instead o' makin' me hunt one way, come up empty, an' hafta to go back an' start ovuh? I's old an' tired.”

He jammed the torch into the left passageway, chewing his lip. Then he thrust it into the right one, waiting for the Lord to answer. Out of the corner of his left eye, he caught a flicker of light. His pulse gave a leap, and he aimed his attention into the tunnel.

“Is that you, Cissy?” He bellowed as loud as his weary lungs allowed.

And from the right-hand tunnel drifted a weak voice. “It's me. I'm here.”

Then two voices started calling, one on top of the other, their echoes making it sound like a whole town was trapped in the cave. “Here! Here! We're in here! Help! We're here!”

Tolly stood for a moment, confused. If the youngsters were in the right tunnel, who'd been holding up a torch or lantern in the left one? He shook his head. He must've imagined it. Either way, he'd come to save those lost youngsters, and they sure wanted saving.

He called out, “Keep a-yellin'! I's comin'!”

Cissy

“Here! We're here! We're here!” Cissy's throat hurt so bad she wanted to stop yelling and start crying, but she made herself continue.

Nick yelled, too, and he'd grabbed hold of her arm. He held so tightly his fingers pinched her, but she didn't care. She wasn't alone anymore. Nick was there, and Tolly—she was sure that had been Tolly's voice—was coming. They'd be saved!

A little glow of light showed far up the tunnel, coming closer, closer. Nick jumped up, pulling Cissy with him. She held on to Nick as the ball of fire got bigger, brighter until finally she had to squint because it was so bright it hurt her eyes. But nothing had ever hurt so good as that light. She burst into tears.

The torch lit up Tolly's face and showed his big smile, and then he was laughing. “Now what're all you cryin' fo'?” He wedged the torch into a little crack in the wall, then stood grinning at her.

Cissy couldn't stop blubbering. She jerked loose from Nick and burrowed into Tolly's shirt front. “I was so scared. I thought for sure we was gonna die in here an' get put under the ground forever.”

Tolly's chest rumbled with his chuckle. “Dyin' ain't nothin' to fear when heaven's waitin'.”

“Heaven ain't waitin' for me.” Cissy held Tolly's jacket in her fists and used it to cover her face. “If I came to those pearly gates, they'd shut 'em an' tell me to go away.”

“How come?”

“ 'Cause I'm not a good girl like my sisters.”

He pulled her loose but kept hold of her arms. “Now that's the silliest thing I evuh done heard, an' lemme tell you, I heard plenty o' silliness in my life. Ain't nobody walkin' around on this earth who's good enough. We don't gotta be good. We just gotta be fo'given.”

Cissy's chin wobbled. “I ain't forgiven, neither.”

“Why not?”

“I…I ain't never asked.”

“Well, then, maybe you oughta.”

Yes, maybe she ought to. She rubbed her eyes and then her nose. She sniffed hard.

Tolly patted her shoulder. “You done wit' that fo' now?”

For now. But she needed to do some thinking. She nodded.

“All right then, lemme give you a look-ovuh, see if you's all right.”

Cissy stood still, sniffling, while he examined her and then Nick. When he was done, he put his hands on his hips and shook his head at them.

“A few scrapes an' bruises, an' yo' mamas're gonna have a time gettin' them clothes clean again, but all things considered, you look mighty fine. You hungry?”

Nick nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Cissy's stomach was spinning. “I just wanna go home.” Once she got there, she'd never leave again. That is, if Mama and Daddy would let her come home. After all her shenanigans, they might figure they'd rather not put up with her anymore. Tears threatened.

Tolly unhooked canteens from his shoulders and handed them over. “We'll getcha home, but it be a long walk to the entrance, an' you's gonna need yo' strength. Take yo'selves a drink to start. Now sip it slow.”

The cool water felt so good on her throat. She tipped the canteen upside down to hurry the flow.

“Here now. Di'n't I say sip slow? Don't do no guzzlin', or you's likely to give it back.”

Cissy lowered the canteen and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Sorry, Tolly. But that's the sweetest water I've ever tasted.”

Nick must have thought so, too, because he raised his canteen again and again.

“How 'bout a san'wich?”

Nick nodded eagerly. “Yes. That sounds fine.”

Tolly opened his pack and began digging around. “Once you've done ate a san'wich, Nick, I'd be obliged if you'd carry that blanket back out.”

Nick gave a start. “What blanket?”

Cissy shook her head. “We don't have no blanket, Tolly. All we brought with us was Devlin's map.” She searched the ground around them. “Where'd it go?” Her gaze fell on a moth-eaten blanket lying close to the wall. Chills broke over her. “That blanket…it wasn't here when we laid down to rest.”

Tolly frowned at her. “You sure?”

Nick nodded. “We only brought a map. Cissy had a hold of it when she fell asleep, but there wasn't any blanket. We would have used it. It's cold in here.”

“Then where…” Tolly's gaze roved the area, his brow all crunched.

When she woke up, she'd felt something slide off her. It must have been the blanket. Which meant somebody had come up on them while they were asleep and put that blanket on her. Her body went cold, then hot, then cold again. She started to shiver.

Tolly shrugged, the motion stiff. “Well, now, ain't that a puzzle. We'll take it out anyway. It don't belong down here.” He pushed napkin-wrapped packages toward them. He smiled, but it looked weak. “Eat these san'wiches now. When you's done, I'll get you two out o' here.”

Cissy ignored the sandwich. “Without Devlin's map? He's gonna be madder'n mad if I don't bring it back to him.”

“Girl, I cain't be worryin' ovuh no piece o' papuh when—” He closed his lips tight. His nostrils flared and his eyes closed. Then he opened his eyes. “Hurry an' eat. Yo' mamas are eager to see you again.”

Cissy's heart ignited with hope. “My mama?”

Tolly frowned. “ 'Course yo' mama. An' yo' daddy, too.”

She grabbed a sandwich. “I'll hurry, Tolly.”

Tolly

Tolly paced while Cissy and Nick ate two sandwiches each and drank more from the canteens. As tired as he was, he ought to be sitting, resting up for the trek out, but he couldn't sit still. An uneasy feeling had hold of him. Something wasn't right. He wanted to get these two out as quickly as he could.

“We're all done, Tolly.” Cissy brought him the crumpled napkins. “Can we go now?”

He nodded, urgency making his movements jerky. “Shove them napkins in my pack. Nick, toss that blanket ovuh yo' shoulduh an' take the torch now—gonna let you carry it.” His hands were shaking. He might drop it. “Stay right close to me now, both o' you, y'hear?” He shrugged the food pack onto his back, grunting a bit as the weight bit into his shoulders. He looped the rope over his arm and aimed a wobbly grin at the pair. “All right. Let's go.”

With the torch behind him, his shadow led the way. He followed the line of his rope to the place where the Y began, and then he stopped so suddenly that Cissy bumped into him. He flapped his hand toward the youngsters. “Nick, gimme that torch.”

The boy handed it over, and Tolly swept it from side to side, his heart thudding worse than natives pounding on war drums.

“What's wrong, Tolly?” Cissy sounded fretful.

If he told her, she'd have good reason to be afraid. “Nothin', girl. Just thinkin' fo' a minute is all.”

But no amount of thinking would answer the questions roaring through his mind. His big pack—the one with all the torches—wasn't where he'd left it. And the end of the rope, cut clean through with a knife, now curled around the corner into the opening of the second tunnel. Drag marks—from his pack?—marred the dirt floor.

“Here, boy.” He gave Nick the torch again and then picked up the fraying end of the rope and slowly wound it into a coil on his arm. The two torches he'd carried with him wouldn't be enough to take them all the way out of the cave. He searched his mind for a shorter way of reaching the entry. Whether tiredness stole it from him or it didn't exist, he couldn't say for sure, but he couldn't think of a shortcut.

All right, Lawd, what'm I s'posed to do now? 'Less You gimme a miracle, make these last two torches burn longuh'n any of 'em have evuh burned befo', all three o' us is gonna be lost in the dark soon.

A gentle breeze eased through the tunnel, making the fire at the end of the torch perform a short dance. Tolly stared at the flickering flame, frowning. How'd wind get into the cave? He jerked his face toward the breeze. Just a whisper, but it was there. Far ahead in the tunnel, a tiny pinprick of light glimmered and then dimmed. A mournful groan filled his ears. Or maybe filled his soul. Chills broke out all over him.

Nick stepped close to Tolly, so close the heat from the torch scorched his cheek. “Which way?”

I's trustin' You, Lawd.
Tolly took the torch and pointed at the left-hand branch of the Y. “This way. Stay close.”