Her palms slammed into something hard. A wall? What was a wall doing in the middle of a tunnel?
“What the fuck?” she groaned, feeling around with her fingers.
She was wrong. This wasn’t a wall. Walls weren’t soft and crumbly in some parts, and hard in others.
The faint beam of light from Arlo’s flashlight illuminated the area in front of River, but it wasn’t enough. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She double-checked the signal—still nonexistent, which made sense since they were underground—and turned on the flashlight.
“Oh, gods.” River whimpered.
The involuntary sound escaped her as she took in the destruction in front of them. A sob lodged in her throat because this…
This was awful.
And River would know. After all, she was well-versed in awful things.
No wonder Nikhail had been gone far longer than he’d intended. No wonder she’d been haunted by that sickening sensation in her stomach that something was utterly, terribly wrong.
Every instinct that had led River here had been right.
River should’ve found solace in the knowledge that she’d done the right thing by following her gut, but there was none to be found. Instead, all she could do was stare at the mountain of dirt and stone blocking the tunnel as her lungs tightened to the point of pain. It was as if the ceiling had collapsed. Or the whole passageway? She wasn’t sure.
She could barely hear Arlo moving beside her, the sound of her heartbeat a drum in her ears.
What were they going to do now?
River hadn’t even considered this as a possible outcome when they’d entered the tunnel, which, in hindsight, was foolish. They were underground, and she’d noticed the rocky terrain. She should’ve realized that a cave-in could happen.
But what good was hindsight? It wouldn’t help them now.
River looked up, meeting Arlo’s gaze. The same horror she felt in her soul was reflected in the water fae’s eyes.
“They’re trapped down there,” she said hoarsely.
Arlo rubbed a hand across their temple. “We don’t know for sure?—”
“Yes, we do.” She placed her palm on her heart. “Ido.”
Nikhail was trapped because of this cave-in. River wasn’t sure how she knew it, only that she did.
Arlo frowned, but before they could say anything, River held up a hand. “Wait. Did you hear that? I think…” She chewed on her lip ring. “I think I heard something.”
River held her breath and tried to block everything else out so she could just… listen.
For a long moment, she didn’t hear anything except for the steady sound of Arlo’s breathing. But then, just as she was about to give up, she heard it. The faint sound was nearly imperceptible. River wasn’t even sure how she’d heard it the first time.
A faint murmur. A cry for help, maybe?
Even if it wasn’t, the sound was proof enough that someone was on the other side. ThatNikhailwas on the other side.
River refused to consider any other options.
“Hold on,” she called out. “Help is here.”
She had no idea how much dirt stood between them, but it didn’t matter.
Between the bloody streaks on the ground, the destruction in the abandoned gas station above, and now this, she knew they couldn’t wait any longer.
Using her phone as a guide, River pried a loose, flat stone free from the debris. Turning the light off, she shoved her phone away before facing the dirt once more.