Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 10 - Sarah

That was a rough conversation with Rufus. I didn’t know how to react to seeing him again—I still don’t know if I’m happy or angry last night happened at all. In the end, just putting on a poker face was the best I could do—I was working, after all—but I could see the hurt in his eyes…

I don’t even know what to do anymore…

Just concentrate on the task at hand.

I have my spelunking gear with me—thicker and thinner ropes, hooks, and harnesses—everything I could need of all varieties. The only thing I don’t have is a team with me. It’s honestly quite unsafe to not have a team with me, but I couldn’t quite figure out how I was supposed to gather the local spelunking team without telling them what we’re supposed to be looking for. What if we find something magic down there? How am I supposed to explain that? Or even worse, what if we run into a dragon or even a Naga? How can I, in all conscience, put them in danger?

I can’t. All I could do was let them know I was spelunking alone, ignore their warnings about that, and keep them on the end of a radio.

With that, I reach the hole under the boulder. Last time, I could reach in as far as my shoulder, but I got the impression that it went far, far deeper. I shine my flashlight into the hole, and I still can’t see the bottom. I guess our resident trash panda has better climbing skills than we give his chubby little self credit for.

I start by snapping on my helmet, trying to look for a safe place to stab in the hook that will anchor me. It’s an easy process once I get to grips with the knots, and once I’ve tested it a few times, I ready myself to go in. I press the button on the radio.

“All right,” I tell them, “I’m ready to descend.”

It buzzes for a moment before the sound starts.

“Okay. Be careful, Sarah,” comes the reply.

I settle myself on the side of the hole. It’s very small. It’s going to be a squeeze—it’s barely human-sized at all. No wonder it was hidden under the boulder for so long, and no one spotted it. I dip my feet into the hole, slowly lowering my legs into it. Even that has me scraping against the other side of the hole. It falls apart as I push through it, but at least it gives me the room to get in.

At some point, I half expect my boots to hit solid ground, but I lower myself to my chest, and there’s still no ground.

Looks like I’m going to have to go all the way in.

“All right,” I tell them through the radio, “I’m going in.”

“Heard. Be careful.”

I suck in a deep breath and keep lowering myself in. Eventually, I can’t hold onto the ground anymore, and I have to hold the rope. As I descend into the darkness, I click on my flashlight on the top of my helmet.

The cave is expansive . Now I’m inside, I can see that it’s the size of a ballroom, with domed walls and a lot of space. It looks like the walls are made of soft earth, and I can catch claw marks heading all the way up to the hole. Even more interesting, there are other markings on the walls—something like gigantic hieroglyphics, but I can only see a small part of them at any one time with my flashlight beam. When I look down, directly down, I can see a huge collection of shinies—random things: jewelry pieces, small electronics, a wig, and a few hats. Judging by the hats and their sizes, I’d say I’m only about ten feet up. That’s actually smaller than I expected at this point. The walls are so wide and domed that I thought the floor would be much further away from me.

My rope gives a jolt. My heart stutters.

Oh god.

I look up. I can see the end of my hook sticking out of the soft earth above me.

Oh, I would have never stuck it in there if I knew how soft the earth was! I thought it was thicker!

My rope gives another slip.

Oh, fuck! My anchor’s slipping!

I can see the end of my hook slowly dragging through the thin crust of land. Worse still, cracks are spreading on the other side—where the boulder is.

What do I do?! If that falls—!

But cracks are spreading. My hook gives a larger jolt, and it scrapes to the edge of the hole. It’s no use; it’s going.

I start unbuckling my harness. There’s a crack above me. It’s hard to undo the knots as I’m hanging in the air, tightening the knots with my body weight. But I keep working, and soon, I’m tumbling through the air.

The sickening weightlessness carries me for a moment before the ground hits me hard on my side—my shoulder and ribs hit the ground first, sending a shudder of pain rattling through my bones.

One more crack and light suddenly blinds me.

Get up! Get away from the hole! The boulder’s coming down!

I get up and blindly sprint away—in time to hear the thud behind me. The vibration shudders through my legs—thank god I wasn’t under there!

After a second, my eyes adjust, and I can look around.

I must have tipped the balance when I pushed in; the boulder has broken through the hole, and the hole is now about five feet wide. I walk closer to the disaster and look around where the boulder has landed.

Well, there’s my harness and hook lying on the ground next to it. Damn it. That means my exit has just closed itself.

That’s all right. I should just call and let everyone know that I—

My fingers touch the radio and then jump as a live wire gives me a static shock. I look down at it, and it’s crushed. The plastic shell has shattered, and all its electronic innards are spilling out.

Shit, I must have landed on it!

Thanks to the wide hole, I can look around. It’s a gigantic dome. Not a single exit. It doesn’t even seem to be connected to any other holes or mine shafts.

Oh, no… Oh, shit.

I’m trapped. I can’t call for help. The snow is piling into the hole, and the chill is already seeping its way into my bones. I thought I dressed for the cold, but I’m already shivering. When I survey my own clothing, I find patches of ripped clothing where I fell, the skin showing burning cold. That must be letting the icy cold in—that, and now I’m not moving, I’m cooling down fast.

Oh, god… this is really bad, isn’t it?

They’ll figure out I’m missing, but hours later. Sometimes, our old radios lose signals in the caves, so they’ll only figure out I’m missing after I don’t arrive back with the equipment after five.

Am I going to survive past five? Am I going to survive a single hour standing in the exposed cold like this?! I sent them all away in case there were dragons or Naga, which could hurt them, but now I… I could die down here.

Is anyone going to come for me before then? In time?

My heart sinks. I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone’s going to come for me before five.

I just need to try and survive. I hunker down next to the boulder, pulling my clothing tighter around myself.

I turn my face to the sky:

“ HELP! CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?! HELLO!”

But there’s nothing. I’m alone in these woods because I turned everyone away.

He offered. A thought rings in my head, Rufus offered to come with you, and you turned him down because you were too damn proud.

And now you’re going to die of hypothermia because no one else is coming for you.

I bite my lip, but I can’t fight the tears building in my throat. I hide my face as I start to cry.