Midnight's Lair (2 page)

    Her right hand swept against something round. Tom's head? She curled her fingers in, the middle finger finding a small ridge, the two on either side touching marble sized…

    His eyes. They felt open.

    Darcy flinched and jerked her hand away. Then she reached out, arms spread to avoid his face. She found his shoulders, clutched his jacket with both hands, and dragged Tom sideways.

    Clear of the boat, she straightened up. There was a splash as someone jumped into the water behind her. She jerked Tom, and he burst to the surface. The flashlight found his face. His head was tilted sideways. Water spilled from his mouth.

    His open eyes were rolled upward, only the whites showing. 'Let's get him into the boat.' It was the man who'd jumped into the water. He waded past Darcy, wrapped his arms around Tom's chest, and walked backward, pulling the limp body to the stern of the boat. The beam of the flashlight stayed with them. 'Hang onto him.'

    Darcy hugged Tom to her chest. She felt his face against her cheek, felt his whiskers. He didn't seem to be breathing.

    What if he's dead?

    The man grabbed the side of the boat, thrust himself up, and climbed in. Bending over, he grabbed Tom beneath the armpits. As he started to haul the body up, Darcy released her hold. She clutched Tom's rump and lifted. He surged out of the water. For a moment, her hands were pinned between his buttocks and the gunnel, his open legs caught under her elbows. She slipped her hands free and raised her arms. His legs flew up and he dropped backward into the boat.

    Darcy threw herself against the side in time to see the man lowering Tom onto the vacant bench. As she boosted herself up, the flashlight beam skipped from the man to Tom. She glimpsed the bloody right side of Tom's head. Then, the man was straddling him and bending down. Someone reached for Darcy, grabbed her upper arm, and gave her a helpful pull as she squirmed over the gunnel. She sprawled across that person's lap, slid off, and squeezed between his knees and the leg of the man on top of Tom.

    'I know first-aid,' she said.

    The man ignored her. His hand was around Tom's throat. Then he dug fingers into the mouth.

    'Got a pulse?'

    He nodded. His fingers came out, stringed with saliva. He tipped Tom's head back and blew into the open mouth.

    
He knows what he's doing,
Darcy thought.
Thank God.

    She struggled to her feet and turned around. The flashlight was now in the hand of a young woman in the first seat. The woman kept it on Tom and the man.

    Darcy heard a confused noise of voices all asking questions at once. She raised her hands for silence.

    'I'm sure all of you are wondering…Tom fell when the lights went off, and I guess he hit his head on that stalagmite near the boat. But we have him now, and a gentleman's giving him artificial respiration. I think he'll be all right.'

    'You're to be commended for your prompt action,' said a voice in the darkness.

    There were mutters of agreement, scattered applause.

    'The important thing now,' she said, 'is for all of us to remain calm.' She was shivering badly. She wrapped her arms across her chest. 'We've apparently had a power failure. I'm sure it's temporary, though, and the lights will come back on shortly. In the meantime, there's no cause for alarm. We're perfectly safe here. Hell, a cave is just about the safest place in the world to be, no matter what's going on topside.'

    
I shouldn't have said that.

    The swell of murmurs had an uneasy tone.

    'I'm not saying that anything has happened up top,' she added.

    'What's the power source?' someone asked.

    'Generators inside the complex.'

    'This happened before?'

    'Not that I know of. But I'm new here. Kyle!' she called. 'Have the generators gone down before?'

    'Nope. Never.'

    
Shit.

    'Something happened!'

    'War,' someone muttered. 'A nuclear…'

    'Don't be an ass,' Darcy snapped. 'It's probably just some kind of simple breakdown. They'll have it repaired in no time. So let's not upset everyone by making outlandish guesses about the…'

    From behind Darcy came choking sounds. She twisted around. The man was rising quickly, turning Tom onto his side as watery vomit gushed and splattered from his mouth. It sprayed the pants of the woman holding the flashlight. Tom kept on heaving. Then he was coughing and groaning.

    
He's okay,
Darcy thought.

    But she felt no relief.

    That jerk and his nuclear war.

    
My fault
, she told herself.
I probably put the idea in his head. Earthquakes and nuclear war. How a cavern's the safest place you can be? Maybe I'll knock that out of my spiel from now on.

    But what did happen up there? Something sure as hell killed the power.

    She thought about her mother, who had come to visit and was staying at the hotel directly above the cavern. What if there was a disaster?

    'What about the elevators?' asked a voice from behind her.

    She looked over her shoulder. 'They'll be out, too. But as I said, I'm sure the power will be restored shortly.'

    'Terrific.'

    'We're trapped,' somebody whispered nearby.

    'I'm sure,' Darcy said, 'that we'll all be out of here in time for lunch.'

    There were quiet voices, people discussing the situation, comforting their spouses and children, probably sharing their concern with friends and strangers.

    Darcy turned again to Tom. He was standing up, smiling, pressing a folded handkerchief to the side of his head. The man held him steady with a hand on his shoulder.

    'How are you doing, pal?' she asked.

    He answered with a groan.

    'Had?'

    'Shit warmed over,' he muttered.

    It was good to hear his voice. Darcy's throat tightened. She ran a hand over the wet hair on top of his head. 'We'll get you out of here quick as we can.'

    He looked up at her. The woman with the flashlight was smart enough not to shine it in his eyes, but the halo of its beam illuminated his face. His features seemed slack, eyelids drooping and mouth hanging open. 'What's…?'

    'Power went out.'

    He sighed, and that triggered a coughing fit.

    The man on the bench beside him stood up next to Darcy. 'Why don't you stretch out?' he suggested to Tom. 'We'll find something to cover you up.'

    'He can have my jacket,' said the man who had pulled Darcy into the boat.

    She eased Tom down. He raised his feet and rested them on the gunnel. Soon, there were three jackets and a sweater on top of him.

    'You look good and comfy,' she said.

    'We should get him to a hospital as soon as possible,' said the man beside her. 'He's probably got shock and a mild concussion, but the head injury… you never know.'

    Darcy looked at him. He was a big man, tall, with a broad face and wide shoulders. He wore a sweatshirt. 'Thanks for all the help,' she said. 'Are you a doctor?' He looked more like a football player than a doctor.

    'I worked as a hospital orderly while I was going to law school. And I was a policeman for a couple of years. Maybe there is a doctor down here.'

    With nearly forty tourists on the boats, there should be at least one doctor. Darcy turned her head around and asked.

    No such luck.

    'Well, it was worth a try.' She held out her hand to the man. 'I'm Darcy Raines,' she said, even though she had introduced herself to the entire group at the start of the tour.

    'Greg Beaumont.' He wiped his hand on a leg of his jeans, reminding Darcy that it had been slick with Tom's saliva. She didn't care. She squeezed the big hand when he raised it.

    'Thanks again,' she said. 'I don't know what I would've done.'

    'You were doing just fine. But I'm glad I could help. Now, we'd better see what we can do about getting out of here.'

    'We can't get out of here,' she whispered. 'The elevators are the only way, and…'

    'We'd better at least go though some motions,' Greg said. 'These folks have been pretty good so far, but they're gonna start losing it.'

    In the darkness behind them, a child began to cry.

    

    

    
They will start losing it,
Darcy thought. But nobody was likely to get hurt as long as they stayed in the boats.

    The lights were sure to come on, sooner or later.

    There was only one flashlight, unless Tom's still worked. In spite of the walkway and railings that led to the dock to the elevators, herding all these people ill rough the darkness would be tricky. The walkway curved, sloped, had some stairs. A few falls were almost inevitable. And what about Tom? What if he couldn't walk under his own strength? He'd have to be helped along, or maybe even carried.

    All to reach a pair of elevators that wouldn't function anyway, until the electricity was restored. At that point, the lights would be on. Why not just wait here, and make the return trip after the cavern was once again brightly lit?

    What if that's hours from now?

    What if that's tomorrow?

    What if that's never?

    The thought made Darcy feel tight and sick inside, and she realized that everyone on the boats must be wondering the same thing, feeling the same stirrings of terror.

    She suddenly remembered Lynn 's group. Had those people been trapped down here, too? Maybe not. They'd passed Darcy, heading back, quite a while before the blackout.

    The tours were scheduled to overlap, each taking an hour and a half. So Lynn 's group should have reached the top at about the same time as Darcy reached Ely's Wall.

    It would have been close. Maybe they made it, maybe not.

    A hand squeezed her forearm. She looked at Greg. 'Even if we've got nowhere to go,' he whispered, 'we ought to go through the motions. Better than just waiting here and letting everyone's worries build up.'

    'I think you're right,' she said. 'But we can't pull the boats along on those wall spikes the way we got here. It's tricky enough when you can see what you're doing.'

    'Tow them?' he suggested.

    'It's either that, or everyone wades. I'll take this boat and lead the way. Are you up for a dip, or should we call for volunteers?'

    'I'm already wet.'

    'Thanks.'

    'No problem.'

    Darcy faced the passengers. Many were speaking to one another in hushed voices. The child who had been crying was now sobbing quietly. The talk faded when the flashlight lit Darcy's face.

    'First, Tom seems to be doing a lot better. I want to thank those of you who gave up your wraps to help keep him warm. I'm very pleased with the way all of you have been acting in the face of this situation, which I'm sure will be over soon. While we're waiting for the lights to come back on, Greg and I are going to hop back into the water and take the boats to the dock. I'm sure everyone will feel a lot better once we're on dry land.'

    'Then what?' someone asked.

    Before she could answer, Greg said, 'Let's just take tins one step at a time, people.' He patted Darcy's back, then leaped off the boat.

    Darcy followed. The cold of the water was a shock, but it didn't seem quite as bad as before. She held onto the gunnel. 'You with the flashlight?'

    The woman looked at her.

    'What's your name?'

    'Beth.'

    'You've been doing great, Beth. Thanks. Now, just aim the light forward so I can see where we're going.'

    'Fine.'

    Darcy waded around the corner of the boat. She hutched its metal rim with both hands and leaned backward. It slid sluggishly toward her. She began walking, and it picked up speed. Once it was moving smoothly, she guided it away from the cave wall.

    The chill water climbed her body. She gritted her teeth when it wrapped her breasts.

    
Think warm thoughts
, she told herself.

    
You'll bake when you get out of here. They won't expect you to take down any more tours today. You'll have the afternoon off. Go to the hotel pool with Mom and stretch out on a lounge.

    
If you do get out of here. If there's still a hotel. If there's still a Mom.

    
Damn it,
nothing's happened up there!

    Then why aren't the lights on yet?

    'How's it going, Greg?' she called to stop herself from dwelling on the awful possibilities.

    'No problem.'

    She looked over her shoulder. The beam of the flashlight slanted through the darkness, making a shiny patch on the water several yards ahead. 'Aim it up, Beth.' The light lifted. Near the dim end of its reach was the dock, a wooden platform stretching along the far side of the cavern. Maybe eighty or a hundred feet off.

    'Just a few more minutes, everyone,' Darcy said.

    'Let's lift our voices in song.' That was Greg.

    Darcy smiled. A few of the passengers laughed. A woman in her boat actually began to sing 'Darcy, tow the boat ashore.' More laughter. Nobody joined in the song, and her voice trailed off after the first
'hallelujah'
.

    Darcy stepped into emptiness. Her other foot slipped off its hold. Gasping with alarm, she sank to her chin before she could pull herself up. She hung on. The boat carried her backward. She felt her legs rise up beneath it, her knees lightly bumping the hull. The boat slowed.