Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Heading Out

ZACH

I’m in the vault when shouts and loud banging come from the front door. I run to the lobby to check it out. As I recognize Aiden’s voice, a mix of relief and anger courses through me.

When I found him gone this morning, I almost shut down as I thought back on being abandoned by my dad in the woods. Aiden leaving me has triggered these old feelings.

I was also filled with deep sadness. I was so ready to leave Elk Springs. And he left without discussing the possibility of my joining him. I didn’t get a chance to tell him about the car. His leaving was the ultimate rejection. He didn’t even say goodbye. The pitiful thing is, I thought we had connected. I guess I can be gullible when a cute guy is involved.

But I won’t let him fool me this time. He probably came back when he found out I was telling the truth about there being no cars. He wants to use me again. I’m sure as heck not letting him back in until I get a proper explanation, including lots of groveling.

“Didn’t find a car, I guess,” I snap at him through the porthole.

“Zach! Thank god! I’ll explain everything, but right now, people with guns are headed this way. We have to go!” Aiden points down the street. Sure enough, five people armed with rifles are only two blocks away.

Crap.

With no time to talk about hurt feelings, I bury the pain, throw open the door, and drag Aiden inside by the scruff of his shirt. The moment he’s in, bullets strike the steel plating, sending metal shrapnel in all directions. I slam the door shut and bar it.

“You just saved my life.” Aiden’s eyes widen as he feels around to be sure he wasn’t hit.

“I guess now we’re even.”

“I’m so sorry, Zach. Those people are here because of me.”

“You can beg for my forgiveness later. Right now, let’s just survive.”

Aiden nods. “Tell me what I can do.”

“Grab that and be ready to draw their fire.” I point to the rifle sitting against the wall.

Aiden checks the ammo and the safety and stands at the ready.

In situations like this, I’m normally a wreck. But this time, I’m filled with an iron resolve. Maybe it’s because Aiden is here. I have more to fight for. Or maybe it’s because I know how we’ll escape. And this means my journey home can finally start.

We both peer through the portholes at the approaching people. They’ve gathered outside the bank, taking defensive positions behind cars and cement columns.

A tall man with short, platinum-blond hair shouts out. “Come out, Aiden. If you both head out with your hands up, we won’t kill you or your friend in there.” He has some accent I can’t place.

“Screw that,” I say to Aiden, but he doesn’t hear me. He’s staring out the porthole, and his face has gone pale. He looks as if he’s seen a ghost.

He turns to me, deadly serious. “We have to go. Now. Is there another way out?”

“Yeah, but let’s give them something to worry about first.” I pull the Wilson wires descending from the ceiling. The sound of gunfire fills Main Street, and the people outside scatter. They’re yelling and shooting at the decoy buildings. I tug on the wires again, and more gunfire erupts. Then a third time. Three shots are all the guns hold.

Aiden stares at me with widened eyes. “Wow. Just wow.” A smile cracks through his otherwise drawn expression.

“Okay, let’s head to the vault.” I start back and gesture for him to follow.

Bullets strike the steel sheets on the windows. They make large welts in the metal, and one bullet finds its way through and hits the teller’s desk.

“Holy crap. What kind of weapons do they have?” I glare at Aiden. He shakes his head and shrugs.

We make our way to the vault. As I reach to close the massive circular door, Aiden grabs me by the shoulder.

“With that kind of firepower, it won’t take them long to get into the lobby.”

I nod. “Hopefully, the vault door will hold them off longer. We only need a little time.”

“What do you have planned?” The worry on his face is plain to see.

“I got this.” My smile is all confidence, but Aiden doesn’t seem too reassured.

Two fully loaded hiking backpacks sit in the corner of the vault. I spent the entire morning preparing them as I formulated a thorough checklist of items to pack. Going through the list was my therapy after Aiden left me. I kept telling myself it was useless and he wasn’t coming back. But I’m glad I didn’t listen to that voice in my head.

I take one and hand the other to Aiden. “Here you go. This is much better than what I gave you last night.”

Aiden takes it and shakes his head. “You knew I was coming back, didn’t you? I guess I underestimated you.”

I flash him a smile. “Yep, you did. Don’t do it again.”

I hand an old Casio watch to Aiden. “Here, this shows the date, time, and has a compass. And the batteries last forever. I have one just like it.” I point to the one on my wrist.

Aiden takes it and laughs. “Are our watches synchronized?”

I wrinkle my brow at his laughter. “Maybe.”

From beyond the vault door comes the sound of shattering wood and the front door slamming open.

“Here, help me with this.” I grab a crowbar and head to a large steel plate lying on the ground.

I wedge the crowbar under the plate, raising it about an inch. “Okay, now, let’s both get our hands under it.”

We lift the thick, heavy plate with all our might. Once it’s lifted, I prop it up with a piece of rebar. A little divot on the floor and in the plate holds the rebar in place. Beneath the plate, a tunnel heads down into darkness.

Aiden smiles. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“Into the garbage chute flyboy,” I say.

Aden shakes his head and laughs. “Okay, princess.”

He got the Star Wars reference. He’s awesome.

Loud impacts reverberate through the vault door. It should hold, but I’m not interested in waiting around to find out. I throw the crowbar down the hole and jump in after it.

It’s about a ten-foot drop, and I hit the ground hard. Cold, stale air assaults my nose.

“Careful. It’s a long way down,” I say, cupping my hands to project my voice.

Aiden jumps in after me and winces when he hits the ground.

I take the flashlight from my backpack and flash it around. A narrow tunnel of rough rock and dirt stretches out in both directions. Thick beams of wood support the sides and gird the roof.

Aiden looks up at the hole leading back to the vault. “What’s the story behind this?”

“A couple years ago, some guys figured out that this old mine shaft ran under the bank. They spent months digging the hole up to the vault floor. Got away with fifty thousand cash.”

“Wow. Like a regular heist movie.”

I laugh. “Lucky for us, they hadn’t fully repaired it yet.”

“Yeah, our lucky day.” Aiden smirks.

I grab the crowbar and turn to Aiden. “Give me a lift?” I cup my hands.

Aiden hoists me up high enough to swing at the rebar, propping up the steel plate. As I strike it, the rebar clatters away. The plate lands hard on the floor above us, making a massive slamming noise reverberating through the mine.

“No going back that way,” I say as Aiden lowers me to the floor.

“For more reasons than one.”

I turn left and lead us down the mine shaft, knowing exactly where to go. Before long, we come to a fork in the tunnel. Without hesitating, I take the right fork and continue.

“You’ve had this all planned out for quite some time, haven’t you?” Aiden asks.

“When you’ve had a year to yourself, you spend a lot of time making contingency plans.”

We come to a spot where the entire right side opens up into a deep ravine, extending downward into inky blackness. With each footstep, the path gets narrower. Our shuffling feet send pebbles tumbling into the darkness.

“Watch your step here,” I warn Aiden.

“No shit.”

With delicate steps, we make our way past the treacherous edge. When we’re on the other side, we exchange glances of relief. After a few more minutes, the mine shaft opens to a large natural cavern. Several shafts fan out in different directions. A metal ladder anchored to the cavern wall heads upward to a small outcropping. We climb the ladder and find a naturally occurring cave extending into darkness. The cave goes on for a couple of hundred feet before daylight shines ahead of us. When we get to the cave entrance, I poke my head out of it.

The sunlight is blinding, so I let my eyes adjust. We’re in the woods north of town. The forest is quiet. I hop out of the cave with Aiden right behind me.

“That vault door should hold them for a while,” I say. “But when they get through, they’ll probably trace us back to here. We’ll want to be long gone by then.”

“Sounds good. Where are we headed?”

I smile at him. “For my last surprise, I know where we can get our hands on a car.”