Chapter 12

TWELVE

Samantha

I keep pressing my hands harder against my ears, trying to stop the ringing, but it continues. The air is filled with dust so thick it's hard to see. Hard to breathe. The ground seems to be swaying under me, but it's different from before. Strange.

I feel disoriented. Trapped. Confused.

What the hell do I do now?

Time passes. I keep my tight hold on Granger, hoping he'll move. Hoping he'll do anything. But he doesn't. The only way I know he's still alive is because I can feel the rise and fall of his breathing.

He's alive, but he's not okay.

Unwrapping myself from Granger's unconscious form, I see that the world has finally stopped shaking and the dust is clearing. Coughing, I brush the dirt and dust from my hair, slowly coming to a stand on legs that shake.

Something trickles into my eye, and I rub it away. Wincing, I realize it's blood. I must have been hurt during the earthquake, but I don't have time to worry about that now. My headlamp moves over the cave, but I can't see much around the debris that's fallen.

"Dr. Duncan?" I call. "Will? Fred?"

Instead of their answer, there's a terrible cracking sound and the ground shifts beneath my feet. The cracking continues, growing louder and louder, and adrenaline pumps through my body. Images move through my mind of this volcano erupting and us all being cooked alive.

I kneel down and pull Granger's arm around my shoulder. "We have to get out of here. Now."

My teeth clash together as I desperately try to lift his weight, but I barely manage to drag him an inch. Breathing hard, thinking about the dangerous, winding path out of here, I realize that there's no way I can carry Granger out. Even if I could safely drag him to the path, we'd be over the edge the second I lost my strength, because there would be no way to safely set him down.

The ground shifts again and a horrible cracking noise fills the air, the sound echoing all around us like the ringing in my ears. Seriously, what the fuck is that cracking sound? Everything I picture is illogical… and really bad.

I start shoving and pulling at Granger, a sob building in the back of my throat. "Wake up! You have to wake up!" The panic in my voice deepens my fear.

Suddenly, the glow from the crystals brightens, or maybe the air just becomes clear enough to see them. And then, dots of yellow-orange light, like stars, appear all around me.

Glow worms? They can't be. The yellow-orange ones, typically found around hot areas, have been extinct for almost thirty million years. I specifically remember learning about them in a class.

As I study them, crawling on all the surfaces, there's suddenly no doubt. They're glow worms of the extinct variety. The shifting ground must have released them from a deeper cavern below.

At any other time, this would be a massive scientific discovery. But, right now, they just mean trouble.

I look at the ground. It's cracked open enough to release extinct glow worms. What happens if the whole ground crumbles?

It's time to get out of here. As bad as it sounds, my only priority is getting Granger out. Aydan should be safe on the surface. It pains me to leave the others, but Granger is my family. He comes first.

My mind starts to work faster. That path has room for one person. Or, perhaps, one person dragging another person. I can do this. I just need to make sure the path is clear first.

Rising to my feet, I take a deep breath, feeling like a human exploring a dangerous alien planet. Between the glow of the crystals and the light from the glow worms, the space is illuminated, but my headlamp is the only light bright enough to really reveal the space.

"I'll be right back," I tell Granger, my voice trembling as I kiss his cheek. "I promise."

No matter what happens, I'll fulfill that promise.

Inching away from Granger, I climb over the fallen rocks and crystals, cringing every time the ground cracks or shifts. For the first time, I realize how much hotter it is, and once I'm aware of it, it's overwhelming. It has to be hot, like Arizona in the summer, one hundred and twenty degrees hot.

Fuck. What's below this cavern? It has to be lava.

I wipe my brow as best as I can around the headlamp and smear the blood, cursing myself when I realize what I'm doing. I have to figure out a way out of here, and that means there's no choice but to climb across the loose debris and determine the best way to bring Granger out.

So I start climbing. Any time I reach an area I don't think I can bring Granger, I switch directions, terrified, but focused. I try not to think about what's under me or just how much harder this will be when dragging two hundred and twenty pounds of mostly muscle. At least I'm finding a path each time instead of coming to a spot and realizing I'm screwed. That's something, at least.

Stopping, I look around, trying to get my bearings, and realize that I'm nearly at the center of the cave, and just beyond where I stand, the ground seems to drop out. Frowning, unsure of what to do, I inch forward until I reach the edge of the drop off. Heart in my throat, I angle my headlamp down to see just how far it goes, already knowing I need to retrace my steps and find another way to bring Granger, when I spot… it .

There's something large, moving in the darkness. Something that's the stuff of nightmares. A reptile with green scales that flash in the glow of my headlamp. A creature that's easily as big as a house. It's shifting, twitching, so large that the ground shakes with the movement.

Sick to my stomach, I reach up and turn off my headlamp, breathing hard. If that thing spots me, I'm dead. Whether it's a dinosaur or some other "extinct" creature, I don't care. I'll be its lunch.

Without my headlamp, the illumination from the crystals and the light from the glow worms seems brighter. I wonder if it's enough for the creature to spot me. I inch backwards, trying to be silent, trying to choose my footing with care. My gaze is glued on the creature. I can still see it moving, shifting, breathing in the darkness below. I don't care what it does as long as it doesn't spot me.

My foot slides on loose pebbles, and I slip backwards, hitting the ground on my ass. Hard. But I don't care. I'm almost numb to it as my breathing grows more rapid. Did it hear me? A thousand nightmarish pictures flash in my mind, but the dark hole remains dark, with no new sounds.

Just as I'm considering crawling back to Granger, a movement catches my eye. I freeze in horror as the massive beast rises out of the hole in front of me. The glow from the stones and the glow worms illuminate the huge reptile with wings. It spreads its wings out, and the light catches its eye as it stares down at me.

Claws slash out, and I feel sharp points tear into my flesh. I scream, as warm blood oozes from the wounds on my chest and belly. I want to crawl backwards, but I can't seem to move as the huge eye glares into my soul. Claws come crashing down, capturing me in a cage. Another scream tears from my lips as the creature lifts me from the ground, roaring so loud it shakes the cavern once more, sending more debris falling down. Pieces hit me through the claws. I scream again and try to fight my way out, but the beast has me in its clutches.

Air rushes around me, and I realize it's beating its wings. No, no, this can't be happening, this is impossible. I punch and kick the best I can, but the claws only tighten around me. And then, we're shooting into the sky. The ground drops away from me as the creature explodes out of the roof of the cavern.

My heart thunders in my ears. I'm drenched in sweat. I'm going to die. This thing is going to drop me or eat me. Either way, I'm its first lunch after hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

It's strange. My heart beats faster than I ever thought possible, filling my ears. The world seems to slow, even as the wind whips around me, and I'm captured in a kind of terror I never thought possible.

I'm going to die.