Rachel Waspe
Jun 17, 05
Funshine999@aol.com
There was silence for what seemed like eternity, in reality it was only a few brief seconds, before Alex reached over to run a hand down her arm.
"Are you alright?" He asked, concern evident in his tone.
Ally nodded, then realized that he probably couldn't see her. "I'm fine. Boy, this is turning into the most interesting reception I have ever attended. Do you think I'll ever attend another?"
"Not something to joke about, Ally." Alex growled. "I could kick myself for putting you in this situation."
"Oh don't worry about it," Ally laughed lightly. "If it were that bad you wouldn't need to be worrying about kicking yourself because I would already have done it for you."
Alex laughed. "I bet you would at that. I'm glad it was you that I picked up and not one of the other looks-easy-to-manipulate girls at that reception. I might have been right about them." He ruffled her carefully coifed hair.
"Hey." Ally knocked his hand away. "Do you realize how long it took me to fix my hair just right this morning?"
"Far longer than necessary," he retorted, "when you would look perfectly exquisite with that gorgeous hair flowing down around your beautiful face in the way that God intended."
Ally flushed a fiery red and was glad for the curtain of darkness that hid her face from him. "Just don't mess with the hair, okay dude?"
"So I can hold you at gunpoint, whisk you away from your brother's wedding, haul you into a dangerous situation that you have no comprehension of, involve you in a car accident and goodness only knows what else but I can't touch your hair?" Alex was, beyond all shadow of a doubt, amused. "Cute blush by the way."
Ally was just opening her mouth to reply when Alex threw his door open, jumped out of the car and pulled her across the seat after him.
As her feet hit the ground he started running, dragging her along behind him.
It was only then that she heard what he must have heard. A car headed straight for the tunnel.
Mrs Brown
Jun 23, 05
mrsbrown1@optusnet.com.au
Although it had been years since she'd last been anywhere near the abandoned mine, Ally remembered clearly that there were only two ways to the surface, and with other car bearing down behind them like a charging lion, it was no surprise that Alex was leading them in the other direction. She knew instinctively what he was heading for - a small patch of daylight in the tunnel roof where a partial cave in years ago had left a pile of rubble leading like a steep ramp to the open air.
They had just reached the pile of rocks and begun scrabbling desperately upwards when their pursuer's car screeched to a stop and Ally heard their doors flung open and the men leap out onto the hard ground.
She bit her tongue in fear and mindless of the rough surface of the rocks tearing at her nails and skin, she focused every ounce of energy into hauling herself up after Alex. She probably would have succeeded too, if not for the ridiculous long gown that restrained her legs like shackles and the slippery soles of her evening sandals which provided no grip as she fought for traction against the unstable rubble.
A small cry involuntarily escaped her lips as she suddenly slid downwards, unable to halt her descent toward the tunnel floor.
"Ally!"
There was an uncharacteristic sound of panic in Alex's voice as he turned and looked down on her from the lip of the opening. Without even a moment's hesitation he was scrambling back down toward her, reaching her side right as a dazzling arc of light from their pursuer's headlights lit them up like fugitives caught in a search light.
With one hand he dragged her close against him and with the other he produced a handgun from under his jacket, firing over her shoulder towards the light.
Two shots rang out in rapid succession, but even as the headlights were sharply extinguished one after the other, Ally was aware of the sound of a third shot over the ringing in her head. Alex gripped her tightly in a convulsive movement, then released her just as quickly with an agonized groan.
"Alex!" she cried out, blind in the sudden darkness as he slumped against her.
" 'sokay . . . just my shoulder," he murmured, struggling to right himself, "just run, Ally . . . just run."
"No." Ally wasn't even aware that she'd answered aloud as her mind, sharpened by fear, raced ahead of its own accord, searching for possibilities. There was only one that occurred to her, but she recoiled from it immediately, the memories it stirred up terrifying her anew.
"Leave me, Ally!" Alex insisted, trying to push her away as she slid herself under his shoulder to help support him. A narrow torch beam was already strafing the walls to their left, their discovery was only moments away. In that spilt second Ally knew that the unthinkable option was their only one.
"No - we're in this together now. There's an open shaft - just behind the rubble - goes down deep underground. There are places under there . . . where no-one could find us."
Ally's fierce determination was evident in her voice, and sickeningly weak, Alex knew better than to argue.
Rachel Waspe
Jul 5, 05
Funshine999@aol.com
As Ally helped Alex descend the steep shaft, he could feel her shaking. He had a dreadful feeling that she had not only been here before but that she didn't like being reminded of that.
"Are you alright, Ally?" He asked, his voice sounding strange in the darkness.
"I'm fine." Her voice was short and stilted. "How's the shoulder?"
"It's fine." He replied, trying to imitate her tone.
"Don't tell porkies." She rebuked. "It's thoroughly obvious that a gunshot shoulder isn't fine."
"As obvious as the fact that you aren't fine either?" Alex smiled, he had caught her there. "C'mon Ally, do you think I'm daft? It's not particularly cold so that can't be the reason you're shaking and it's not fear of the men behind us..."
"How do you know that?" Ally cut in sharply.
"You weren't scared of me wen I took you from that reception," he reminded her. "or at least, if you were you didn't show it. No, its definitely something more than that. You can rust me Ally."
"I don't trust anybody."
Alex sighed as his feet touched the ground at the bottom of the shaft. Whatever it was, she wasn't telling. But she would tell him before they got out of that shaft. He would get her to tell him if it was the last thing he did!
Ally stopped abruptly in front of him. "Alex...we have a problem!"
Mrs Brown
Jul 6, 05
mrsbrown1@optusnet.com.au
There was no mistaking the terror in her tone and Alex quickly pulled out his tiny metal torch from an inner pocket, prepared to risk the danger of its light being seen from above.
As he raked the cavern in front of them with its narrow beam, all he saw were the openings to three tunnels leading in separate directions. Nothing to explain the way Ally had frozen rigidly by his side.
“What is it?” he pressed, aware of their pursuer’s voices now at the shaft’s entrance, “What is the problem?”
“I can’t . . . I can’t remember which way to go . . .” she whispered, as he flicked off the light, “Two of the tunnels eventually lead out into the forest, but in the other just goes down and . . . and I’ve gone blank - I can’t remember which one it is.”
The sound of small rocks skittering down the shaft announced that at least one of the men was coming down after them, and Alex gritted his teeth against the throbbing pain in his shoulder.
“We’ll just pick any one then – with our friends behind us, the odds for choosing any tunnel are better than those of staying here!” He tried nudging her forward, but she was immovable.
“I’m sorry – I can’t! One of the tunnels, there’s . . . something . . . in there. I can’t bear to go in . . . I thought I’d remember which one, but I don’t!”
Her voice was verging on panic, and Alex realised he would have to take control.
“Will that something kill us?”
“No . . .”
“Well, the guy coming down this shaft probably will if he finds us here! We’re going in, Ally, and you are just going to have to trust me to help you deal with whatever we find.”
He grabbed her hand with his useable one, and pulled her forward into the darkness, no longer daring to use the torch. Within moments they had entered one of the tunnels, an even darker blackness pressing in on their eyes – and the sound of their breathing reverberating in the confined space.
When the path began moving sharply downwards a few minutes later Alex’s heart dropped, but at the same instant Ally’s hand relaxed suddenly in his.
“It’s okay – we’ve got the right one!” she said jubilantly, just as though her earlier panic had never occurred, “I know exactly where we are now, but it is a long hike out this way. Just ahead there’s a ledge cut into the wall where we could stop and bind up your shoulder - ”
She broke off abruptly as a sharp point of light appeared in the tunnel several hundred feet behind them.
Sarah
July 7, 05
baughmanks@sbcgobal.net
Pushing her into a run, Alex asked as quietly as he could, "Can we hide in it?"
"Not now, voices carry," was Ally's short reply.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Alex decided to remain silent and simply follow Ally a this point. He wished she was not wearing those sandals made for anything but a frantic run through a dark tunnel.
Suddenly, Ally stopped in her tracks.
"Alex, would they have turned a light on?"
"What?" Alex had no earthly idea what she was talking about and wished she would start moving again. Glancing over his shoulder, it looked as if the light was slightly closer.
"If it was those men chasing us, would they have turned on a light? Wouldn't that give away where they are? Let us know that they were following us?"
Slowly the light began to dawn through the confusion that had clouded his brain for a moment.
"No, they would probably want us to think we'd lost them, then catch us unexpecting." He grinned at Ally, though he knew she could not see his face.
"So it could be anyone, not just them, right? Maybe even someone willing to help us?" Ally's voice was filling with excitement as she spoke.
"We'd have to know for certain."
Mrs Brown
Jul 10, 05
mrsbrown1@optusnet.com.au
Ally understood. While it sounded like he shared her optimism, it was obviously too risky to rely on it at this stage.
"Okay," she replied quietly, "let's make for that ledge - just in case. With your shoulder the way it is, we couldn't outrun them anyway."
In the past Ally had leapt easily onto the shelf which was hewn into the rock about four foot up, but climbing up in their current circumstances was much harder than she'd expected. Especially with the additional burden of achieving it in silence.
Alex was growing noticeably weaker and even with her help he struggled to haul himself up with his right arm. Then as he leant down to pull her up after him, she was hampered again by her long gown - all the while aware of the light approaching steadily closer.
"This feminity rot isn't all it's cracked up to be!" Ally muttered under her breath as she finally heaved herself onto the ledge beside him. She leant closer - determined to make the best use of the few minutes remaining until they'd know whether the person approaching was friend or foe.
"Have you got a pocket knife?" she whispered, aiming for Alex's ear but misjudging the distance in the darkness and accidently brushing her lips against his cheek.
The unexpected sensation of his leathery skin under her lips sent a shockwave through her whole body. She gasped involuntarily, her senses reeling as she breathed in his masculine scent and the musky aroma of his aftershave.
It seemed to take forever for Alex to answer, and when he did his voice sounded strangely unsteady.
"Yes . . . be careful though . . . it's very sharp."
His fingers gently trailed down her arm until he found her hand and pressed the folded knife into her palm. Ally's heart was pounding unbearably with his nearness, so she inched herself slightly away and tried to apply her mind to her task.
It's ridiculous feeling this way about Alex, she chided herself sternly, flicking open the knife, I don't even know anything about him!
She thrust the blade into the silk fabric of her dress, finding great satisfaction in hacking off the fabric well above her knees. Not only would she ensure freedom of movement when it counted most, but that annoying skirt could be put to much better use binding up Alex's shoulder.
Ally shuddered, dreading to think how much blood he had lost.
Although she had known him for such a short length of time, she was incredibly drawn to him - perhaps the intensity of the situation had magnified the bond she felt between them.
"Forget it girl!" she sighed inwardly, carefully slicing the material into a long strip, "There's no reason to think that he's even a Christian . . ."
And yet . . . she wondered if he might be. There was just something about him . . . the gentleness with which he spoke, the fact that he hadn't blasphemed or sworn at all, even when he'd been shot. And what had he said back there in the car? About how she'd look with her hair flowing around her face - in the way God intended?
Just maybe . . .
Ally shook her head as if to clear it. As soon as she could she'd find out where he stood with the Lord, but right now she'd better concentrate on getting him out of there alive.
"Hang in there, buddy," she said under her breath as she turned back to him, "I'm going to tie this up as tightly as I can."
She heard Alex's sharp intake of breath as she began working on his shoulder, but he held himself steady at she wrapped her makeshift bandage firmly over his wound, her movements urgent as the footsteps in the tunnel became more and more distinct.
Ally tied the final knot just before the footsteps reached them, and they pressed themselves flat against the far wall of the ledge. She heard Alex release the safety on his gun, and she began to pray.
Click here to continue to Part III
