CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"Frankie!" Shawna cried, cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting loudly enough that the echo hurt Faith's ears.

Faith was going to tell Shawna to stop shouting so they didn't give their position away to the murderer, but they needed to find Frankie too, and that would be much easier if Frankie heard them and called back.

And if the murderer heard them, maybe he would try to attack them. Faith had her pistol, and she had Turk. She liked those odds.

"Frankie!" Shawna called again. "Where are you?"

They had left the mines a little less than an hour ago. In another hour, it would be dawn. By Shanwa's best estimate, they had been in the cave for six hours. That meant they had come into contact with the killer about five hours ago.

That didn't bode well for Frankie's chances, but if Shawna had survived four of those hours, there was always the possibility that Frankie had too.

Turk stopped and pricked his ears, standing still and listening. Faith stopped as well. Shawna drew in breath to scream again, but Faith waved for silence.

Turk turned to the left and sniffed the air. Shawna's eyes widened. "Does he hear Frankie?" she asked.

Faith put a finger to her lips, but the interruption apparently didn't phase Turk, because he barked again, then sprinted down the cave. Faith rushed after him, keeping the flashlight up so it illuminated the ground in front of Turk. She looked behind and was surprised to see Shawna keeping up.

Love could motivate you to do incredible things.

She checked her phone. There was no signal, but the location share showed Michael moving in the same direction they were, though much slower. That didn't really mean anything since she had no idea what the caves looked like where Michael was, but she allowed the thought to comfort her.

She tried her radio but got only static. "Dammit."

She should have planned for that. Oh well. She couldn't go back now.

Turk led them to a ledge and leaped easily up to the tunnel above. Faith helped Shawna up, then boosted herself up. Turk barked impatiently, frustrated that the darkness forced him to move at the pace of the humans. As soon as Faith was on her feet, he bolted up the tunnel.

And the tunnel did move up at a shallow but constant angle. The air cooled slightly, the predawn chill outside filtering downward. They were near the surface.

That gave Faith a leap of hope. If Frankie had made it to the surface, she would be okay. If the three of them caught up to her, then Faith could protect both of them. Underground, the killer had home-field advantage, but it was a different game up top. That was Faith's court.

She turned a corner and felt another rush of cool. Turk, I hope you have something.

Then Turk barked in alarm. He sprinted past the beam of her light, barking over and over.

"Turk!" Faith called.

Then an earsplitting scream filled the tunnels.

"Frankie!" Shawna shrieked. She too, sprinted past Faith, her own safety unimportant in the face of her girlfriend's danger.

Faith swore and picked up her own pace, drawing her weapon and praying to God she reached Frankie before the killer finished with her.

She rounded another corner and saw Turk wrestling with a man holding a knife. In front of the man lay a young woman, screaming and holding her hands up to protect herself.

The man snarled and lifted the knife. Shawna shrieked.

"Hey!" Faith shouted so loudly that all three of them turned toward her in shock. She leveled her handgun at the killer and said, "Drop that knife or I drop you!"

The killer looked at Turk, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that the big dog's teeth were sunk into his thigh. He looked back at Faith, and Faith said, "Drop the knife or I will shoot you."

He dropped the knife. Faith sighed with relief and said, "Okay, Turk, release him."

Turk dutifully let go of the killer's leg.

And the killer picked him up and threw him at Faith.

The movement was so fast that she didn't realize what happened until she saw Turk's body hurtling toward her. She cried out and opened her arms to catch him, and as soon as her eyes and her pistol left the killer, he rushed for the knife.

"No, Dammit!" Faith called. Turk dropped lightly from her arms and sprinted back toward the killer, who had retrieved the knife and was now leaping at Frankie.

Faith lifted her handgun and squared her stance. "Turk," she commanded, "stay low."

Turk looked behind and immediately flattened himself.

The killer leapt.

Faith fired.

The killer cried out, but Faith wasn't sure if she had hit him or not.

"Come to me, Frankie!" she called. "Come—"

She saw a flash of movement and narrowly avoided a blow from the killer's knife. Her original shot must have missed. Faith swore as she dodged another blow, the killer swinging wildly as he tried to take out this new threat.

Faith heard Shawna screaming behind her, Frankie screaming in front of her, Turk snarling as he came to her aid. She dodged another knife blow and aimed her weapon at the killer, but he knocked the gun from her hands before she could fire.

He lunged at her, but Turk reached him first, grabbing his ankle and pulling him to the ground. Faith steadied herself and aimed her light at the killer.

Then she gasped in horror.

Benjamin Diller barely looked human anymore. His skin was gray and so pale it was nearly translucent. Faith could see the network of veins underneath the surface. His feet were wide, the toes splayed, and heavily callused. His hands were callused as well, the knuckles gnarled and hard as stone, but it was his face that was most disturbing.

The skin had pulled back around his cheeks and eyes, giving him a sunken appearance and making his eyes and teeth seem unnaturally large. The eyes themselves were filmy and gray. He wasn't completely blind because he was focusing on Turk and slamming his fist into the dog, but Faith imagined it had been quite some time since he'd been out in the sunlight. Decades of living underground had warped him, hunching his neck and back and making his limbs disproportionate.

Faith wasn't a believer in the supernatural, but she wouldn't have been surprised to pull his lips back to reveal fangs instead of teeth.

Turk, however, had actual fangs, and though Benny put up a valiant fight, Faith could tell that Turk would soon have him subdued.

"If I were you, I would calm down right now," she said. "You're only making it worse for yourself."

The killer looked at Faith and snarled, "You're stupid."

His voice was thick and raspy from decades of minimal use, but his tone was childish, so much so that Faith had to stifle a laugh. "All right, then," she said. "Try fighting and see how that goes for you."

She regretted that statement a moment later when Benny managed to get his legs under Turk. With a cry of rage and pain, he kicked Turk backwards. Faith lunged for him, but her fingertips only brushed his fur as he sailed past her.

Turk twisted in the air and managed to land on his feet, though it was a moment before he could regain traction. When Faith was sure that Turk wouldn't fall into one of the shafts that occasionally interrupted the smooth floor of the tunnel, she turned back to Benny.

Just in time. While Faith was distracted by Turk, Benny had grabbed his knife and was rushing toward Frankie.

Shawna shrieked and sprinted after Faith. Benny lifted his knife, but just as he brought it down, Faith tackled him. The knife crashed into the floor of the cave, missing Frankie by inches. Shawna grabbed her girlfriend and pulled her backwards, away from Faith and Benny.

Faith tried to hold Benny down, but he swung the knife at her, and she was forced to let him go to parry the blow. That gave him a chance to roll onto his back and kick her off of him. She lunged again, but another knife blow forced her back.

He continued to swing at her as she backpedaled, but once more Turk came to her aid.

Then a shot rang out. Benny cried out and vanished into the tunnels.

Faith steadied her light but found no sign of Benny. She heard skittering coming from above and swung her light just in time to see his feet disappear upward into one of the ventilation shafts.

She rushed forward, but when she reached the shaft, Benny had already disappeared.

A moment later, Michael arrived, his weapon drawn.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No," Faith said. "I'm okay. We need to get the girls out of here. We can't fight him as long as we have civilians to protect."

They started forward toward the entrance. Michael led the way, weapon at the ready. Faith took the rear, and Turk flanked the two young women as they headed forward to freedom.

They rounded a corner, and Faith caught a glimpse of starlight beyond. She relaxed and said, "All right, girls. We're almost home free."

She reached for her phone to call Jones and tell him to meet them at the Spirit Cave entrance, but before she could dial, she heard Michael shout. "Hey!"

She looked up and saw Benny standing at the entrance to the cave, holding a lit stick of dynamite. He must have stashed some throughout the cave system, taken from the old mining supply.

Michael lifted his handgun, but Benny threw the dynamite first.

The stick careened down the tunnel toward them, its fuse pinwheeling sparks as it rolled downward.

"Run!" Faith shouted. She grabbed Shawna, and Michael grabbed Frankie. The five of them sprinted down the cave. Faith looked over her shoulder and saw the dynamite come to rest a few yards behind them.

A second later, the fuse sputtered, and Faith saw in horror that it was about to reach the end.

"Get down!" she shouted.

She pulled Shawna to the ground and saw Michael and Frankie hit the deck. Turk jumped on top of her and flattened himself just as the cave shuddered and lit up with a brief, brilliant flash of white.

Faith stood, and after verifying that everyone was uninjured, she turned around to see the tunnel blocked by rubble. Benny had sealed them inside.

"We need to go back to the mine entrance," Michael said. "Benny won't be able to cave it in with all of the police officers there."

Faith wasn't as confident as Michael was, but when she looked at his face, she saw he wasn't confident either. He was only saying that for the girls' benefit.

And it was their best chance, even if it wasn't a good one.

They started down the tunnel, occasionally consulting the maps to make sure they were headed in the right direction.

"I think we can reach the entrance faster if we take one of these tunnels," Michael said, pointing to a system of natural tunnels that connected with the mines closer to the entrance and avoided the maze Faith and Shawna had navigated during their search for Frankie.

"Works for me," Faith said.

"Well, before you say yes," Michael said, lowering his voice so the others wouldn't hear, "the tunnels are narrow. If we get jumped by Benny again, it's going to be tight work fighting him. I can lead, so I have the weapon. We can keep Turk in the rear, but if he gets one of us in a bad spot, we might not be able to get out of it."

Faith considered a moment. On open ground, she was confident that she, Michael or Turk could handle Benny, alone or together. They weren't on open ground, however. They were in a cave system that Benny knew, like the back of his hand. He had home-field advantage, and that was far from a minor concern in this circumstance.

But if he caved in the other entrances, they would be doomed. Their survival depended on getting out of this cave before he could close them in.

"All right," she said. "Lead the way."They reached the tunnel and found it as narrow as Michael described. If they moved carefully, they could stay on their feet, but it was painfully slow going.

Faith listened carefully as they walked. From time to time, she could hear skittering in the tunnels around and above them, but she couldn't tell if the noise was made by rats or by Benny.

The darkness was oppressive. Even with their flashlights, it seemed that they swam through a thick sea of black. Even the air seemed thicker down here. The girls whimpered and clung to each other as they followed Michael. Faith wished she could think of something to say to reassure them, but nothing she could think of outweighed the all-consuming darkness.

Then the tunnel opened up. Faith looked around and saw that they had reached the main cavern just before the mine entrance. She sighed with relief. They had made it. They would be all right.

Then a cry of rage split the air. She whirled around, but not in time to stop Benny from shoving her backwards off of her feet. She flew backwards, dropping her light in the process. It skittered to the side, its beam arcing through the darkness as it spun around.

Michael turned around and leveled his weapon at the killer, but Benny dove behind a cart and the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off of the side. Faith got to her feet and watched as Benny rushed from car to car, remaining behind cover as Michael tried ineffectually to find a shot.

A rock sailed through the air toward Michael's head. "Look out!" Faith cried.

Michael saw the rock just in time to avoid getting bruised in the head. The rock crashed into his shoulder instead. He cried out and dropped his weapon, and Benny leaped for him.

Turk saw him and lunged, jaws snapping. Benny veered away from Michael, but as he did, he kicked the handgun across the room. It fell into a pit a dozen yards away.

Michael stood, rubbing his sore shoulder, and glared at Benny, who scrambled away from Turk, casting wide, fearful eyes on the dog.

His gaze flickered up toward the girls, and his eyes narrowed. With a cry of rage, he

rushed toward them. Turk leaped in between the killer and the two women, fangs bared, ears flat against his head.

Benny snarled at the dog, his rage seeming to have overcome his fear, and lunged for him, but Turk sidestepped. He snapped at Benny's ankles, but Benny too was prepared. He leapt out of harm's way, then kicked at Turk. The blow glanced off of Turk's hip, but it was enough to send the dog flying toward the two agents.

Frankie and Shawna stood and rushed for the exit, but Benny outpaced them, shoving them to the ground, and then turning to face them. "No! You can't get away!"

He grabbed Shawna and picked her up, holding her in the air in front of him.

This time, Frankie intervened, shrieking and scratching and clawing at his eyes. "Let her go, you bastard!"

He released Shawna and pushed both of them to the ground once more.

Turk continued to keep Benny at bay while the girls put distance between themselves and the killer.

"The entrance is just behind us," Michael said, "we can lead the girls outside, and the police can help us with Benny."

"All right," Faith replied. "Take the girls and get them out."

"What are you going to do?" Michael asked.

"I'm going to stop him," she said. Seeing Michael's alarm, she added, "Don't worry. I plan on surviving today."

"You plan on it?"

"Yes," she said. "Now go."

He looked back at Benny, who stalked them, grinning, certain he had them trapped now. Then he said, "Okay. If you die, I swear to God, I'll haunt you."

"That's not how it works," Faith said with a smile, "but all right. Now get out of here!"

He rushed after Shawna and Frankie and led them toward the tunnel. Benny's smile faded, and with a snarl, he sprinted after them.

Faith and Turk lunged at him, Turk leaping into the air, fangs bared, Faith diving into his waist and wrapping her arms around him. He cried out and stumbled, but managed to keep his feet, even as Turk bit into his arm.

"No!" he cried out, "You guys are cheaters!"

He threw Turk off of him and lifted his fist to hit Faith. She saw a bullet wound in his shoulder. Apparently, one of Michael's shots had hit him after all.

She shoved her thumb into the wound, and Benny's eyes flew open wide. He gasped and backed away from her. "Owie!" he cried, "Owie, owie, owie!" His lower lip trembled a moment, but then his eyes narrowed. "You!" he cried out.

He rushed at Faith, and Turk leaped in between them, once more dancing around him, biting and snapping and just avoiding Benny's kicks and lunges.

Faith approached again, but Benny moved quickly, desperation lending him strength. He kicked out, catching Faith in her ribs and driving the air from her lungs. She collapsed to the ground, and Turk leaped in front of her at the killer.

Benny caught him in the air, and with a snarl of rage, he drove his fist into Turk's skull once, twice, then a third time. After the third blow, Turk slumped, dazed, and Benny tossed him away.

Faith got to her feet, but her ribs burned. Benny glared at her, approaching cautiously. "I'm going to kill you," he said. "I'm going to kill you for letting the trespassers get away."

Faith's ribs ached. She wasn't sure how much longer she could fight. Benny also breathed heavily, the wound in his shoulder starting to take its toll.

He glared at Faith and said, "I'm going to kill you and your stupid dog. Maybe I'll kill him first and make you watch."

That was the final straw for Faith. She looked to her left and saw the pile of explosives she had seen when she first entered the cave.

That gave her an idea.

Faith pulled her pocket flare out of its pouch on her belt. She cracked the flare and it roared into life, fizzing and sparking with light.

Benny looked up at her, confused. Then he realized, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Now, Turk!" she cried.

Turk leaped in between Benny's legs and bit down hard on his groin. Benny emitted a sound like a teakettle boiling and fell to the ground, beating at Turk's head.

Faith turned toward the explosive bricks and tossed the flare. It arced through the air, the shadows it cast undulating across the room like wraiths.

It landed on top of the explosives and burned. Faith estimated they had less than a minute before it burned through the casing and activated the starter charge. Once the first brick went off, the others would too.

They needed to be out of the cave when that happened.

"Let's go, Turk!" she called.

Turk released the weeping Benny and sprinted after Faith. Benny struggled to his feet, but this latest wound was finally too much for him to handle. He took two wavery steps toward them, then collapsed to the ground.

"No!" he shouted after them. "I hate you!"

Faith and Turk sprinted into the brightening light of the day. Michael and Jones greeted them with smiles, but their smiles disappeared when Faith said, "Back up! It's gonna blow!"

The officers turned tail and ran, leaving their vehicle behind. Shawna and Frankie were already several yards past the cars, but they also turned and ran.

Faith and Turk brought up the rear and made it about thirty yards away from the cave entrance when the bricks went off. A roar so loud they felt rather than heard it slammed into their back, followed by a blast wave that knocked all of them off of their feet.

The sky lit brightly, and when Faith rolled over, she saw a burst of flame shoot from the tunnel and rise over fifty feet into the air. It disappeared in a puff of smoke, and that was when Faith felt the ground shake.

She got to her feet and watched in amazement as Benny, blood dripping from his wounds, struggled to the entrance. He paused at the mouth of the mine and leaned against the wall.

And the mine collapsed.

Rock and dirt tumbled downward. The mountain sunk inward, collapsing in on itself as millions of tons of Earth filled the cavern. Benny was visible one moment, and the next he was consumed by the rockslide.

They watched in awe as the mountain reshaped, a massive cliff replacing the slope, a forty-foot pile of rock covering the mouth of the mine and forming a new slope that ended seventy feet below the lip of the cliff. Faith felt another low rumble as the earth settled.

Then there was silence.