Chapter 7

SEVEN

Samantha

Because Monday was orientation day, none of us had our first classes in our chosen fields. We were given a tour of the campus, more time to unpack, along with meals in the mess hall, and more information about the program's expectations. Then, exhausted from it all, the whole campus seemed to go to bed early, including Dahlia, who had decided that she was going to rock both her classes.

Miss Positive. I like that about her.

I was trying to be positive too, which wasn't hard to do with my awesome schedule. Starting everything on Tuesday meant that instead of having Ecology & Conservation Biology as my first class, Granger, Aydan and I would be starting Geology of Science as our first class together. As much as I wanted to work with Dr. Abigail, I was still glad to get to enjoy a class with my best friends.

It's early in the morning as we hike to the far back of the Phoenix Institute, following our map to the path where we'll be meeting Dr. Duncan. Unsure of the exact plan beyond field study, we're dressed for whatever the hell these professors are going to throw at us. All three of us have hiking boots, jeans, and t-shirts on with various kinds of utility belts that carry not only our cell phones, but also flashlights and a few other things we learned were important to carry on a hike. Plus, we all have small backpacks with a notebook, pens, sample bags, and research equipment. Even though they might give us different tools, we figured it'd be better to be prepared. Exploring the woods as kids coupled with our many hands-on classes in college means we feel we can handle anything.

"You ready?" I ask them, grinning.

Aydan's gaze meets mine, and there's a second where it's hard to breathe before he looks away. "As ready as I'm going to be, although I hope there's not too many damn numbers in this class."

I suck in a deep breath, trying not to let my eyes run over him, but they do because they like to drink him in. Aydan's dirty-blond hair is neatly styled, although the length on top means it still looks soft. Like if I were to run my hands through it, there wouldn't be any gel. He's also wearing black boots and tight jeans, jeans that I know are hugging his perfect ass. And he's wearing a light jacket that's dark blue. It's one of his favorites, and it brings out the blue in his incredible eyes.

Damn it. This is harder than I thought.

Granger is so giddy he's bouncing a little as we walk. "Dr. Duncan isn't a numbers guy, at least when he's teaching. In all of his lectures online, he speaks in a way that anyone can understand. He does, however, have high expectations for the research his students compile after field visits."

"Sounds like a blast," Aydan murmurs, and knocks my shoulder a little.

I laugh. "Numbers and research aren't that bad."

"Says the wildlife management girl," he teases.

My focus, Wildlife Management, does have a lot more research and numbers involved than Fire Science, but the hands-on stuff is still my favorite. "My major isn't nearly as bad as Granger's. And it's Wildlife Management Woman , by the way."

"Woman?" he asks, lifting a brow.

Granger is all smiles as he says, " Tsk, tsk, tsk , I already told you, our girl has blossomed into a woman."

Aydan looks upset for the briefest moment before his expression changes. "Right, my bad."

It's frustrating as hell. Maybe he'll never like me the way that I like him, but the least he can do is see me as a woman. I mean, that's reasonable, right? I'd said it more as a joke, but his whole reaction makes me think that he's incapable of seeing me as anything other than the awkward little girl I was.

I try to brush it off. Today is an important day. I can't screw it up, nor can I afford to be distracted by a guy. Especially not a guy as confusing as Aydan.

We exit out the back gate of the institute, through a metal door built into the huge wooden fence that surrounds the entire place. Just outside of it, Dr. Duncan is waiting, scribbling into a notebook, while leaning against a large plastic container. Exchanging a glance, we all slowly head toward him, not wanting to disturb him, or just hang around, wasting more time.

Dr. Duncan startles as we approach, scans us over, then finishes scribbling in his book as we approach, before slamming it shut. "Samantha Callaway, Aydan Sage, and Granger Gable."

Whoa. Okay.

"How did you know?" Aydan asks, his tone curious.

"I only have eleven students, and all of you were handpicked by either Dr. Williams or myself." His brown eyes meet mine. "Now, you and Mr. Aydan weren't exactly the top choices for Geology of Earthquakes, however, you were in your respective fields, and I felt your skill set would be important for what I'm doing here."

That surprises me. I assumed he sort of got stuck with Aydan and I. "What skill sets would that be?"

He smiles and strokes his long blond beard. "You and Mr. Aydan are far more fearless than most of my students. Many science majors are fearless, but they don't have the kind of intelligence needed for my work. You and Mr. Aydan have excelled in all the required math and science courses, while additionally enjoying rock climbing, base jumping, and sky diving. You both have a number of photos working with animals, some animals that only a fool would work with outside of a careful laboratory situation with proper sedatives."

"How do you know all of that?" I ask, shocked.

His smile widens. "I'm not so old that I don't check the social media of my candidate choices. Because what I'm doing… requires a certain level of bravery not often found in my beloved lab rat students."

Hell, yeah, this should be fun!

His gaze moves to Granger, and his smile fades away. He reaches out and takes his hand, and they shake firmly. "And you, Mr. Granger, have everything I'm looking for in a student and much more. If you don't become a leading expert in our field in the future, something has gone terribly wrong with your career path."

"Thank you, Dr. Duncan," Granger says, gushing the words, looking like he's about to swoon.

The professor releases his hand and shakes his head. "Henry. Please, we won't have time for all this formality nonsense. It's just Henry."

Granger is staring between his hand and the man, like he just might explode with excitement. While me? I'm not sure how to feel about any of this. What could we possibly be doing on this mountain that would require people to be fearless? I assumed we'd mostly be hiking, observing, and taking notes.

But before I get a chance to ask, more students come out of the gate, and then there's a round of introductions. There are eleven of us in total, and he immediately splits us into groups. Six of the students are told to head back to the laboratory, where his assistant is waiting to show them some, apparently, groundbreaking research they look eager to explore as they head back to campus.

The five of us that remain are Granger, Aydan, me, and two men. He partners Granger up with a man named Fred. He's a redhead, like me, who is tall and friendly, and Dr. Duncan says is more equipped than the rest of us with specialized tools. Then he puts Aydan and I with the other man.

"Will," he introduces himself to me, although he'd already introduced himself to the group.

"Samantha," I tell him, taking his outstretched hand.

We shake, and his eyes lock onto mine. They're brown, like his hair, both a dark shade that suits him. The man is tanned as hell, in good shape, and reminds me more of a Fire Science major than anyone in Geoscience, but I don't say that, of course. Like Aydan and I, he's likely been chosen by Dr. Duncan for a reason, so I won't discount him just because he's handsome.

The doctor turns to the plastic container he was leaning against and opens the lid. Without looking back at us, he starts to hand out thick plastic bags. "These are tools you'll need for your field work. Each bag contains binoculars, a height gauge, a crack hammer, a rock pick with a chisel-edge, a rock pick with a pointed tip, a headlamp, a global positioning system, glass hardness plates, a compass, and streak plates. Get everything in your backpacks, and let's get going!"

We all take a bag and put them carefully into our backpacks, although I keep the global positioning system and put it on my belt, along with the rock pick with the pointed tip.

This isn't my first rodeo, after all.

"Follow me," Dr. Duncan says, and he begins leading us down a path, off the main road in the back of the institute, while speaking over his shoulder. "Phoenix Mountain is unique for a number of reasons, some of which are actually classified." This surprises me. I knew we weren't allowed to speak about our time at the Phoenix Institute, but I didn't know that. "It also contains a unique ecosystem, with some animals only found on the mountain, and a lot of seismic activity. Which, in turn, has a unique impact on the mountain region itself."

The mountain doesn't look any different from any other I've explored with Granger and Aydan, but I'll trust that the doctor knows what he's talking about. I'm also aware that there are several unique creatures here, including the phoenix itself. The phoenix being an orange bird that's nearly extinct, and not the mythological one described in fantasy books. But what other unique things? I have no idea.

But I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot and quickly.

We're hiking uphill for over an hour, sweating bullets and breathing hard from the high altitude and the dangerous terrain, when Dr. Duncan pauses. I want to sit down on a boulder near our path, but I know better. If I sit on that thing, I'm going to get hurt. Nearly everything on this mountain seems to be loose, meaning it's fallen from somewhere above. I'd noticed it almost the instant we hit the path.

The earthquakes we've been hearing about? They're definitely a problem. And they've created an unsafe environment up here. Good thing we signed all those release forms, because this is already unlike any school situation I'd encountered before.

I see Granger glance at the boulder too, huffing and puffing, and then our eyes meet. He grins and moves closer to me. "Wherever we're heading, it's going to be good!"

"Here's hoping!"

The doctor seems to have only been giving us a break because he says, "Good? Okay, good. Now, we're on to the interesting part. Everyone put on your headlamps."

We do as he says, but I'm getting even more curious. Are we going into a cave? Is that the best place to learn about earthquakes? Or is there something unique about this cave?

When we all have our headlamps on, we continue, wrapping around the mountain until… I gasp. One side of the mountain has completely collapsed. Beneath it is chaos, fallen debris, knocked over trees… it looks like a giant has been ten-pin bowling, using rocks for balls and trees for pins, only I know it's what's left from a massive earthquake.

Dr. Duncan leads us carefully over the debris while saying, "The quake that did this was quite a while ago. This area is safer than it was, but you still need to watch where you're stepping and what you're touching, or you'll end up sliding down the mountain."

The next fifteen minutes are spent carefully picking our way over the dangerous terrain until we reach a hole in the side of the mountain. Outside of it, several large, plastic containers have been tied to trees. But Dr. Duncan ignores the containers.

Our entire group walks to the edge of the hole and looks down. There's a clear path winding around the inside of the cavern on the outer walls. It's not a path exactly, but as someone used to mountain climbing, it looks well used and like the safest way down.

It leads down to the cavern beneath. Some light still touches the center area, but the rest of the cavern is dark. Just looking at it makes my pulse pick up. I'm not nearly as much of an adrenaline junky as Aydan, but I love this feeling. I love knowing I'm about to do something dangerous, something that most people would be too smart to do.

"I'll lead the way. Pay attention, and you'll be fine," the professor says, and then, without looking back to see if we're following, he starts into the cavern.

"I'm pretty good at climbing," Will says, leaning in close with a smile. "You know, if you want to stay close to me."

"She's fine," Aydan says, even though I hadn't realized he'd moved close enough to me to hear him.

Will lifts a brow and glances at me. "Boyfriend?"

Aydan starts to say something coated with assholeness, judging by the look on his face, but I interrupt. "No, just a friend."

"Okay," Will draws out the word, grinning. "So, the offer stands."

Aydan shifts so he's literally standing between us, but he's staring at me, like the other man has ceased to exist. "The red-head is already off, and Granger is going to freak the fuck out if we don't get going too."

I give Aydan an annoyed look, promising myself to handle his protectiveness later, then follow Granger to where he's standing. The professor had started walking down the circular path. The red-head, Fred, was just behind him, and I follow behind Granger. It isn't lost on me that Aydan puts himself between Will and I, which is eye-rollingly annoying.

Does he think I've just stayed in the nunnery with my legs closed since I saw him last? If I want something to happen with Will, it'll happen, and no amount of Aydan being irritating is going to stop me. So if he thinks his role this summer is to be a guard to my non-existent virginity, he's going to have a huge surprise.

I try to shake away my anger because I know it's important to focus. The path isn't necessarily dangerous. There's room for me to walk semi-normally. There's just a deadly drop to my left. And if I'm the idiot who dies here because I'm pissed at Aydan, I'll never forgive him, so I stay focused.

"Is it getting warmer?" Granger asks from ahead of me.

"Ah ha!" Dr. Duncan exclaims somewhere ahead of him. "I was wondering who would be the first to notice. Yes, this particular cavern is heated. Not only are there hot springs below, but we believe this mountain is actually a volcano. Although, we have no concerns about it erupting."

No concerns. Volcano. Okay, man, whatever you say.

He starts to explain it all in a very technical way, and I try my hardest to pay attention. It's not that I'm expecting this to be on a test, I just want to understand what it is that we'll be doing here. By the end of his explanation, I feel safer about climbing into what's essentially a slumbering volcano, but not by much.

It takes us another half an hour to wind down and reach the bottom of the cavern. There, the temperature has crept up until it's surprisingly hot. My reading says we'd gone from seventy-one on the surface to ninety-six at the bottom. The heat changing this much in this short of time alone is strange and fascinating, but the shaft itself is even stranger. It's big enough to easily fit everyone from the program in it comfortably, all fifty-six students and faculty included.

But it's like a fucking alien terrain.

On one side of the shaft, water flows down into hot springs that smell just a little of sulfur, creating a soothing sound as we explore. What's even more incredible, the cave has crystals on all the walls and the floor. Crystals that glow faintly green. When I touch one, it's hot. Not uncomfortably so, but touching it reminds me almost of the temperature of a really hot bath.

Dr. Duncan kneels down and shows us one of the crystals. "These are composed of a mineral known as hackmanite. Except these are a variant unlike anything documented by scientists before us. Traditionally, hackmanite glows pink, and they don't retain their glow long when moved to brighter areas. This hackmanite, however, glows green, and is far brighter than we'd expect. Interestingly, it retains its glow long after we remove it from the cave. All our samples so far have retained their glow. So, you can imagine what could be done with an object that glows in the dark indefinitely."

"Have you determined what in their biochemistry makes them different?" Granger asks.

The doctor smiles. "Fortunately, we've discovered several notable differences, which all of you will be able to study in the lab."

He has us all take small samples of the crystals and then takes us back to the hot springs. We take more samples in test tubes before he gives a slow tour of the cavern. Everything about it is intriguing, including the fact that the ground beneath our feet is hot enough to radiate through our boots.

The professor goes to take some readings, instructing us to explore carefully.

"It'd be fun to go for a swim in the hot springs," Will says, whispering in my ear.

I smile, leaning down and studying more of the crystals growing from the wall. "Yeah, maybe, but I doubt the professor would see much use in that."

Will leans against the wall beside me. "We could always come back. Alone."

I lift a brow. This one is a forward one. "There's a river closer to campus if we feel like swimming."

"But this place might be better for skinny dipping." He grins, and the fact that he's wearing a headlamp makes it far too obvious when he checks out my body.

Maybe I didn't come here intending to hook up without a thought, but I'm not against the idea either. Especially if it helps me get my thoughts off of Aydan. Actually, the idea of sleeping with someone else so close to Aydan makes my stomach turn, which is probably reason enough for me to do it.

"Enjoying the class?" Aydan asks dryly. His sudden appearance at my side makes me startle a little.

How long has he been there?

"It's incredible," I tell him, trying to pretend I don't notice the tone of his voice. Doing a little spin, I point around the cavern. "I mean, have you seen anything like this before?"

"No," Aydan says, his tone still clipped. "Want to go over where Granger is?"

"Sure," Will and I say together.

Aydan's face looks dangerous beneath the light of my headlamp. "The invitation was for Sam."

"Calm down, puppy," I say, then glance back at Will. "Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite."

I head for Granger, trying not to shake my head. Aydan is the most ridiculous person I've ever met. Old memories of us in high school come back to me. Didn't he pull this crap a lot back then, too? All a guy had to do was look my way, and there was Aydan stepping between us. It's like he honestly still sees me as some thirteen-year-old girl needing his protection.

If he keeps up this crap, I'm going to "accidentally" step on his foot a few dozen times. Let's see if he remembers to treat me like a grown ass adult when he's limping around. Bastard.

Granger's light swings to me. "Have you noticed that the floor is significantly hotter than the walls?"

I hadn't. "No. What do you think that means?"

"It could mean a number of things, but it definitely suggests we're standing on top of a volcano, and–" His hand is on the wall, so I place mine halfway on top of his and the wall, trying to get a sense of what he's feeling. For a second, we just stand like that in silence before he clears his throat. "This is honestly incredible. As far as the world is concerned, this isn't even an extinct volcano, it's a mountain. The fact that this is an active volcano–"

"Active?" Aydan asks from behind us.

Granger jerks his hand away from mine. "Yes, uh, well, not active in the sense that it's likely to erupt any time soon. This would be classified as a long-dormant system. It's likely been thousands of years since it last erupted, and unlikely to erupt any time soon, but the potential is there."

"Fuck," Aydan whispers, and he draws closer to me so that I can feel the heat from his chest against my back. "Should we even be on this mountain or whatever the hell this is?"

I hate that my head spins a little when he's this close. I hate that when he moves close to me my brain wants to believe he's been protective of me because he wants me. When, in reality, he's being protective because he sees me as some useless, innocent flower he needs to stand over. But my dumb ass brain doesn't seem to want to accept that.

"The mountain is perfectly safe," Granger says, followed by a little laugh. "Trust me. These people have put millions of dollars into the Phoenix Institute. They wouldn't just throw that away on an actively erupting volcano." He moves away from us. "I'm going to get a few more samples."

I watch him walk away, then turn back to the wall and place my hand on it. God, I love the feeling of heat. It has this way of washing over my skin and sending every hair on my body standing on end. I swear I was meant to grow up in the south, spending my days basking in the sun and forgetting the chill of the north.

Aydan's hand touches the wall beside mine. Just a few inches separate the two of us. He shifts a little closer, so this time I can feel him behind me again. The urge to sink against him comes and goes in a flash as I remember the way he sees me. I think maybe this nearness might be even more painful than having him far away, especially when he's only this close to scare off Will.

"You know," I whisper, "you don't have to protect me from hot men. They're not going to bite me unless I let them."

He stiffens behind me. "Don't say things like that."

"What? Things that imply I have sex with hot men that may or may not involve biting, or that I don't need you to protect me from anything because I'm not a wilting flower?" I try to say my words sweetly, knowing it'll piss him off.

He's quiet for a long minute before he leans in, his breath hot on my ear. "There's a difference between sounding like a woman and sounding like a whore. Maybe keep that in mind for the future."

I whirl around, angry as hell. "Did you just call me a whore?"

He leans in, fury in his eyes. "Never. You know that's not what I said."

"It damn sure sounded like it," I say, punching my finger into his chest with each word.

His jaw clenches and unclenches. "I'm just trying to say that you don't have to flirt with assholes to make a point that I don't have any control over you. I get it."

"I'm glad you know you don't have any control over me, but don't think for one second that I'm flirting with Will just because it bothers you. I'm flirting with him because I intend to get laid and laid hard this summer." Okay, maybe now I'm really trying to piss him off, but I don't care. I head away from him as fast as I can, while still being aware of the delicate ecosystem.

I'm mad. I'm not a moron.

A strange feeling rolls over me. I stop, craning my neck. Was there a sound? Is someone watching me? Overhead, a flock of birds takes flight, blocking out some of the natural light that still streams down from above. I frown up at them, wondering if they're the reason I feel unsettled.

Something is… wrong.

Then the damn ground begins to shake. The earthquake had given all the warning it was going to give as crystals and dirt begin to fall from above, shattering around me. I cover my head with my hands, unsure of what to do, when suddenly I'm being yanked back against the cave wall.

A big body covers mine, and I glance up as Aydan wraps himself around me, shielding me from the falling debris. The sound of men shouting filters in through the roaring of the earth, and the air darkens with dust.

I start to cough. Aydan presses even closer, and I push my face into his shirt, trying to breathe in clean air. His body is huge around me, like a force of nature as powerful as the earthquake itself. I get the deep sense that I'm safe in his arms, that he'd never allow anything to happen to me, but I worry about him. What if something hits him? What about Granger?

My legs shake with adrenaline. With a need to do something. To protect the people I love. But even when I push against Aydan, he remains firmly around me. An impenetrable wall determined to protect me from the quake.

The shaking slows, then quiets, and finally stops. The dust in the air slowly clears, and Aydan's body relaxes inch by inch around me. I look up. He's staring down at me. His face is intense, worried. He focused on me like I'm his entire world when the earth was just crumbling around us.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his words so quiet that I'm mostly reading his lips.

I nod.

He reaches for me, combing my hair back from my face. Or, maybe, combing debris out of it. I don't know which, but the gesture is tender. Protective.

"Sam!"

Aydan jerks away from me, and my head lamp focuses on Granger as he comes racing across the cave. The big man doesn't seem to give two shits about the dangerous obstacle course between us. He charges through it, hugs me tightly, and then hugs Aydan. His face is a mask of fear that I can easily see, even through the dust still in the air.

"I didn't see you guys. I wasn't sure what happened to you and–" Granger's voice shakes and his skin looks pale as he struggles to put his fears into words.

"We're okay, buddy," Aydan says, hugging him again tightly as they both cough, letting him take comfort from his strength.

Dr. Duncan finds us quickly, and then we all search until we come across Fred and Will. Will has a few cuts on his head, Fred a few on his face, but, otherwise, everyone is okay. We all stand together for a long moment, breathing, looking around at the loose debris, charting a path back out.

It's another second before Dr. Duncan says, "Well, this was an exciting first day. More than you know. Another earthquake means that there will be more to discover in this cave, so be ready for our next class."

Granger, Aydan, and I exchange a glance as we follow him back out of the cave. And I don't need to hear them to know that we're all thinking the same thing: What the fuck did we sign up for?