“Found something!”I hear Reaper call out.My head swings in his direction, and we all hustle over to him.
Reaper is standing over a lump in the ground with a door that opens it.A metal lock is on the ground beside the door with the key still in it, and a five gallon bucket is laid on its side.It’s putting off a stench like sewage.
“Tornado shelter, maybe,” Stone says.
When I go to turn the latch, Reaper halts me.“What if it’s rigged to explode if you open it?”
“I’ll take the chance,” I tell him and pull the handle down.
The door swings open, and I see nothing but darkness except for the first step.I move to head down, but Reaper shoves something in my face.“Here, use this.”
It’s a small pin light but puts off enough brightness to see the next two steps.I slowly make my way down a handful of them and reach the bottom.
“See anything?”I hear from the top.
I walk farther in and see a small cot area and shelves on the side.There are stacks of cases of water bottles in the corner and a black trash bag on the other.There are boxes of a variety of items such as crackers, chips, fruit snacks, a loaf of bread, and peanut butter.I shine the light down the wall and see marks on the wall as if she was keeping track of something.I see eight ticks, and my chest constricts.It’s been eight weeks since the explosion.She’s been here that long.We just missed her.
The cot has a small pillow and a scratchy blanket on top of it.Without thinking, I pick up the pillow and bring it to my nose.The moment I do the hair on my neck and body stand at attention.It’s Sutton’s smell, I’d know it anywhere.It may have been several months since I’ve gotten a whiff of her, but I’d know it.I hold the pillow to my chest and start to pull the blanket off the cot when I see a small object that was hidden under where the pillow just was.I pick it up, and my throat grows thick.My emotions are going haywire, and I’m not sure if I’m thrilled that she wasn’t in that explosion or pissed as hell that she’s been next door this entire time and within arm’s reach.
“What’d you find?”Stone comes up behind me.
“She was here,” I rush to say, almost out of breath at the reality of the situation.I’d been spending every extra second of my day at a place I thought she was at when in fact she never left the street.
I hold up the bracelet that she, Zane, and Rocky made just days before the explosion.
“It’s hers.Zane has a matching one and so does Rocky.”My eyes start to burn, and I feel like I’ve lost her all over again.“What the fuck is going on, Stone?They kept her in here caged like a fucking animal.”
“We’ll find out, brother.And when we do, everyone involved will pay the price for this,” he states.
We make our way up the steps and back to the yard.The other brothers come out of the house and meet us.
“House is clear.”
“Well, she was definitely here and when they moved her, that’s when Rocky must’ve seen her,” Stone guesses.
“Fuck!”I yell and Stone puts his hand on my shoulder.My brothers are all in a circle watching and waiting for the next instruction from our president, but my mind is flooding with everything.“If Melissa is right and she is pregnant, then that’d make her six to seven months along.”
“With no care this entire time,” Stone summarizes my thoughts.“Fucking hell,” he murmurs.
“So who the hell is laying up in the hospital if it’s not Sutton?”Brass asks.
I look over at him with a heavy heart.I may not have liked the bitch, but she gave me the most precious thing I have.
“Zane’s mom.My ex-wife, Debbie.”
~Two Months Ago~
Iwake with a jerk.Where am I?
It’s dark in here with the exception of a small lantern that glows in the corner.I’m on some type of small bench or cot.It appears that I’m in some type of container.
Panic starts to bubble in my chest as memories of digging trenches in Colombia for their underground buildings cycles through my mind.I have to breathe deeply to keep the vomit from coming up at the thought of being back there.My head throbs from the back, but as I pat myself down, I don’t find any injuries.I think I’m physically okay.Placing my arms out, I feel the coolness of metal against my palm.I let my hand guide me towards the light to find that it’s a camping LED lantern next to a set of steps.I pick it up and take the metal stairs up to the top where a solid door is located.Hoping luck is on my side, I try to turn the handle, but it doesn’t budge.
I hear faint sounds of sirens through the door and try banging on it.
“HEY!SOMEONE HELP ME!”
After several attempts, my hand hurts from pounding, and my voice aches from shouting.I sit down on the second step and place my palms over my face.