The Hole (15 page)

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to calm her down, trying to get her to just stop. “You’re okay. Please. You’re okay.” He ran his hand across her hair. He pulled her up, making her sit, but she wouldn’t stay and he lowered her back to the floor. He couldn’t see her face. The now remembered yellow glow was gone. He wanted to see her face for other signs of the madness, because it was possible, just possible…

“Evajean,” he said. “I want you to stand up.” He waited, but she didn’t move her legs, only lay against him, twitching and whispering. “I’m going to have to leave you here,” he went on. “I have to see where that light came from. It might be a way out.” He was talking to her calmly, measured and even. “Okay,” he said. “Please just stay here.”

Elliot let go of her and stood up. He didn’t know which direction the light had come from, only that it was away from Evajean. If it was from a side passage, he ought to be able to find it by feeling along the wall as before. He set out, carefully, while Evajean muttered quietly in tongues.

There was another opening, larger than the one they’d come out of, that lead into a tunnel big enough for Elliot to walk through. The light hadn’t returned by the time he started down the passage, so he again felt along the walls with his hands, crouching to prevent an impact with his head. He could still hear Evajean behind him and the sound was terrible, as bad as when he’d first heard Callie or when he’d woken up in the middle of the night to the soft babbling of Clarine. He wanted to run back to her, to take Evajean and carry her away from this place-but he knew his body, already exhausted, would give out under her weight and then he’d never find a way to take her to the surface and, somehow, make her well again.

The tunnel took a smooth curve to the left and then began to slope upwards. He realized that he could actually see: nothing more than a vague circle of grey that was the tunnel’s open center stretching away in front of him, but the light was there and getting stronger. And it wasn’t yellow, which meant it could be daylight.

He moved faster now, more sure of his ability to avoid injury, and soon the tunnel widened even further, becoming a long room twice has tall as Elliot, and wide enough for two or three trucks to park easily. The light came from a large crack running along the ceiling, the rock split by a little less than a foot. Sunlight, faint and the color of evening, spilled in and Elliot shouted and pumped his fist. They were close. The surface was right there and that mean there had to be a way to get to it. He could help Evajean.

Elliot turned around and headed back in her direction. “Evajean!” he called to her, “I found it!” No response came, but he wasn’t expecting one. Just so long as she heard him, so long as she knew he hadn’t left her.

But she hadn’t heard him. The light died out as he moved further back in the direction of the second chamber. Soon hew as forced to use his hands again and drop his pace, but he still shouted to Evajean. Yet when he finally reached the room where he’d left her, the sound of babbling met him and his enthusiasm, until then founded on suspension of this terrible knowledge, died and he had to again face the fact that Evajean was sick with the same plague that had killed his wife and child-as well as most of the rest of the world.

“Evajean,” he said. “I found a way out.” He walked across the chamber, following the sounds she made. She hadn’t moved in the time he was gone, and was still laying where he’d left her. As he got close, she stopped talking and just lay still. Elliot sat down next to her and felt out, taking her hand.

“I’m going to try to carry you,” he said. She sputtered something, a whisper, and he knew, even if he’d heard it, he wouldn’t have understood. “Is that okay? Can I carry you?”

No intelligible response came. You’re kidding yourself, Elliot thought. She’s sick like Callie, sick like Clarine. She’ll die just like they did, too. Should he kill her now? That’s what he would want if the plague got him.

Still holding her hand, Elliot slid his other arm underneath her chest and lifted her up to sitting. Her body was stiff and twitching and he felt immediately sick as it moved against his. He couldn’t kill her, no matter how bad it got. This wasn’t a moral choice but, rather, a recognition of a lack of will on his part. No matter how much it might be the right thing to do, there was no way Elliot could make himself kill Evajean.

That left him with only a single option: he had to get her out of here and find help. What that help would look like he’d figure out later, after they were safely out of these goddamn caves.

“Right,” he said. “Okay, it’s time to do this.” He stood up, straining with her weight, and managed to get her standing, too. He started to drag her backwards this way but stopped, realizing he wouldn’t be able to find the opening in the dark, not without having one arm free to feel for it. Shifting Evajean to more to his side, he tried holding her with just a single arm and found he could barely manage-though he’d have to stop frequently to rest the muscles. This plan tentatively in place, he set out again across the cavern in what he guessed was the direction of the passage.

He eventually found it and stopped at its mouth, sitting Evajean against the rock. His back hurt and his legs protested this new effort so soon after all that crouched walking. But he only let himself stay stationary for a minute and then he took up his mumbling burden once more and worked the two of them into the passageway.

Through none of this did the yellow light appear. Maybe he’d imagined it or maybe his eyes, unused to straining so long in darkness, tricked him. He knew the daylight in the second cavern was real, however, and after a sufferingly long time in the tunnel, he experienced its subtle rise again, the grey circle in front of him. Do this, Elliot, he thought. You’re almost there.

They emerged out of the tunnel and into the room with the crack in the ceiling. At the far end it narrowed again and continued-towards the surface, he hoped.

“This is it,” he said to Evajean. “See that? That’s sunlight. Or starlight, maybe. I don’t know what time it is. But it’s light from outside. You’ll be there soon and then whatever this is, it’ll- You’ll be okay again. You’ll be okay.”

He set her down. “I’m going to see if there’s a way out up ahead. That crack’s too high for climbing and I couldn’t carry you anyway. So you stay here and I’ll try to find a way to the surface.” She mumbled and was limp. She didn’t appear to notice anything he was doing.

Elliot walked away from her, towards the opposite end of the lit chamber. The slope was more pronounced and he knew they had to be close to the ground, because it’d only been that one latter length down to the first chamber. He didn’t remember any feeling of descent as they’d gone through the tunnels. Twenty feet, he thought. At most.

“Evajean,” he said, “I need to leave you for just a little bit. I want to see where this tunnel goes. I think it may take us out.” He waited, hoping, but she said nothing. She wasn’t babbling, though, and he took that as a good sign.

The light was brighter than it had originally seemed. The crack, which he stood looking up at, was the width of his thigh in places and the light coming in had the sharp whiteness of stars. Evening, then. How long had they been down here? It had been afternoon when the funeral started. Too long, then. They both desperately needed water and, eventually, food.

And if they did get outside, what then? That mass of crazies who’d come down the hill and surrounded the church were probably still out there. It’s not light they’d just leave him and Evajean alone, let the two of them wander off casually to the road after first stopping at the small house for the dog. Even if he could get Evajean to the surface, he couldn’t outrun the crazies while carrying her. That would just have to be something he wouldn’t worry about now. One step at a time.

“Okay, Evajean,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”

As the cavern narrowed at the far end and continued along the same tunnel, but now the ceiling was close enough that he had to crouch again. He was starting to feel sick in his stomach and dizzy, too, and he knew it wasn’t just his body protesting. No, things were going wrong in his mind. Was this what it felt like as the plague set in? Callie had been too young to discuss it and Clarine had gone so fast. What was it like, to get that terminal sickness? It wouldn’t be too bad, though. Not really. Those three women in his recent life had been afflicted, and his continued health stung of unfairness. He couldn’t be the only one left, not when people so much better than him has succumbed.

Then he noticed the wood. Overhead, just visible in the last of the light from behind him, was a beam of wood set into the ceiling. It ran parallel to the ground, a support, and Elliot quickly realized that mean people had been down here. So close to the surface, that likely meant a reenforced entrance into the cave system. Of course, Elliot knew nothing about caves and the little knowledge he did have came from Discovery Channel shows and horror movies. But it sounded right and was an excuse to be hopeful.

Elliot inched along and the light grew. He was right about the wood, that quickly became clear. He walked past more supports and then a framework of wooden planks vertically supporting their horizontal brethren, like the stereotypical mine entrance in a a western. And the starlight. The tunnel was lighter and then he could see easily as he approached a hole displaying the silhouettes of trees.

He ran towards them, not excited, not thrilled to be out except in so far as it meant possibly getting Evajean help. The weight of futility pressed down on his shoulders and into his stomach, and his run was more of utility than elation. He needed to be sure the area was safe, that it was sufficiently clear of crazies and far enough away from Nahom that he could bring Evajean out and not have to worry about immediate pursuit.

The opening of the shaft was on the edge of a steep hill, a wooden structure build out of the earth, with steps heading down the slope. Below, Elliot could see the reflection of moonlight off a small creek. He’d have to be careful, working his way down the steps, carrying Evajean. They might not be sturdy and the fall might well kill her. He started slowly down, testing each step with his right foot, gradually working up the pressure until it was supporting his full weight. The boards creaked and once he heard a sharp snap, but none gave and soon he was at the bottom, balancing on moss slick rocks.

The stairs were about as steep as they could be without needing to become a ladder. The hillside they were fastened to was patched with occasional grass but mostly it was dirt and rocks. Sliding down carrying Evajean would be impossible. He’d have to do the stairs or head deeper into the cave in search of another exit.

The good new, however, was that he didn’t once hear the babbling of a crazy or the call of a town member. The woods were, in fact, silent, without the hum of insects he expected at this time of night. What time was it? he thought. It couldn’t have gone passed midnight yet; they hadn’t been in the caves that long. Still, there was no sunset glow through the trees. Which meant quite a while until daylight.

He began picking his way carefully back up the steps, again checking for give. But they appeared to have settled during his trip down and remained strong throughout the assent. Back in the cave entrance, he looked over his shoulder, out at the night, and hauled in a large breath. If she really were as sick as she looked, why was he going back? Really, what was the point? He’d made it out and could simply run, out of the cave, down the hill, and then follow the stream until it lead him to… something, some place that wasn’t Nahom and wasn’t overrun by crazies. That was the sensible plan, not going back for a woman who’d die anyway, might even be dead as he stood here. That was the sensible thing.

Yet he couldn’t, not to Evajean. There had to be a way to fix her.

He turned away from the moon and stars and headed deeper into the cave. When he was, by his guess, half way back to the chamber, he called out to Evajean, telling her it was okay, that he’d found a way out. She didn’t respond, but he knew she wouldn’t.

And then he was in the chamber, too surprised to take another blind step, staring at a soft glow of light from something in her hand, a light that illuminated Evajean’s upturned face. He couldn’t see what she was holding, and wasn’t looking for it anyway, because he could only watch in amazement as she turned her eyes to him and said, “Elliot, you’re back. Look at what I’ve found.”

They climbed the rest of the way and stood at the top of the hill, their legs and hands covered in mud and moss. The trees were dense here, the undergrowth thick, and with only the starlight, they weren’t able to see down the other side.

“Where do you want to go?” Elliot said.

“Where?”

“Pick a direction. You found the town from the car. Maybe you’re lucky.”

She laughed. “Lucky,” she said.

“No, I mean it,” Elliot said. “Pick a direction.”

Evajean shrugged. “Down. We’ll go down to the bottom of the hill and see if we can see anything. Really, though, we might have to wait until morning.”

“Yeah,” Elliot said, “we might.” And he started down the hill, glad to be putting its bulk between them and the cave. This way was easier. There were trees to grab onto as they quickly slid down and the slope didn’t feel as steep. Evajean’s suggested “down” turned out to be carry its own level of luck, because the ground leveled out into a hard path, like the one Elliot had followed before finding the symbols on the trees. It wasn’t quite as wide and lacked the deep wheel marks, but had clearly seen a lot of use.

“Yeah,” Evajean said, “I think next we’re going to follow this. And we should follow it that way.” She pointed and Elliot figured it didn’t matter, since he didn’t know where north was or the road or anything else they might want to eventually arrive at. They walked, enjoying the relative feeling of comfort and safety.

“How are you feeling?” Elliot asked after they gone a quarter of a mile.

“Better. Drinking that water helped. As long as it didn’t have stuff in it. They always say you’re not supposed to drink from lakes and things.”