47
Wyatt
The room had no light. Even when my eyes should have adjusted to it, nothing. I reached out with my foot, feeling to see if there was anything in either direction. With my one good arm, I checked my pockets to see if there was something, anything that would help. Nothing but Mrs. G’s keys. I pulled them out and touched to see if any of them had a sharp edge, something to use as a weapon. Nothing.
I felt a slight movement and saw the flash of a light. A flashlight. On the keychain. I pressed it again, and a tiny light shone. The floors, the walls, all made of gray concrete. The room was empty, the size of a closet. I walked to the door and spent several minutes trying first one key, then the next, in the old lock. I took the flashlight off the keychain, then tried to slide the big car key into the space between the door and the wall, to jimmy the lock. But since I couldn’t simultaneously see the lock and use both hands to try and open it, it was hard. I stuffed the keys back into my pocket.
In the pitch-dark room, I could hear the waterfall, people moving around. Who were they? Henry and Carl’s employees? They seemed more like captives, prisoners. Should I try to get their attention? Would they help? Or would they turn on me?
I didn’t know. I decided to think about it. I had time.
Then, in the darkness, I heard the sweetest voice, the only voice I wanted to hear.
“Wyatt!”
“Rachel!” Was she here? I wanted but didn’t want her to be. What if she was hurt, in danger?
“Where are you?” I asked.
And, somehow, I knew she’d left her tower to come to me. In fact, I sensed her in the freezing cold, walking through the snow to find me. She was walking toward a road, a road where these guys might be looking for her.
“Rachel.” I whispered it. “Be careful. God, be careful.”
“Wyatt?”
“Call Mama.” Could she hear me? I couldn’t tell. “Rachel, call Mama.”
I sensed her shivering. Then, I heard her voice. “She is coming. But where are you?”
Could she really hear me? “The Red Fox Inn. In Gatskill.” I began to shiver myself. It was like I was with her, inside her. “But Rachel, be careful. Don’t go with anyone but Mama.”
I hoped she heard me.