I see movement ahead. Out of the corner of my eye I see the deputy take aim. “Stop right there!” he shouts. “Sheriff’s office!”
On instinct, the three of us move closer to the wall, but there’s no cover. A figure appears out of the darkness. I see a tall, thin silhouette, a pale face and dark hair, dark clothes.
“Stop!” Tomasetti shouts. “Stop right fucking there!”
A young man dressed in tattered Amish garb stumbles to a halt a dozen feet away. His arms flap at his sides. His mouth is open. His eyes are wild. He screams something unintelligible and falls to his knees.
“Get your hands up!” Keeping his sidearm poised center mass, Tomasetti approaches the man. “Get them up! Now!”
“Get down on the ground!” the deputy screams.
The man stares at us, his expression terrified as he drops to his hands and knees and then onto his belly. He’s muttering words I don’t understand—an old Amish prayer I haven’t heard in years.
We rush forward as a unit. Tomasetti pounces on him, puts his knee in the man’s back. The deputy withdraws cuffs from his belt and secures the man’s hands behind his back. My hands shake as I pat him down for weapons. I pull the pockets of his trousers inside out. As I run my hands over his chest, I discern the sharp edges of ribs. He’s little more than skin and bones.
“He’s clean,” I say, trying to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Tomasetti gets to his feet, brushes dust from his slacks, slants a look at me. “He one of the hostages?”
“The hostages were female.” I turn my attention to the young man. “What’s your name?”
The deputy helps the man to his feet. I guess him to be in his twenties. He’s breathing hard, his concave chest heaving with each breath. He looks at me as if he doesn’t understand.
I repeat my question in Pennsylvania Dutch. “What’s your name?”
“Noah,” he blurts. “Noah Mast.”
A shockwave goes through me with such power that I take a step back. I glance at Tomasetti. He’s not easily surprised. But I see shock in his eyes.
“You’re Noah Mast?” he asks.
“Ja.”
The deputy’s eyes widen. “Holy shit.”
“Are you the son of Irene and Perry Mast?” I ask.
The man nods. “They are my mamm and datt.”
I’m so taken aback by the revelation, it takes me a moment to find my voice. “What are you doing down here?”
“This is where I live.”
“What do you mean?”
“I live here. This is where they keep me.”
“You mean here? On the property?” I ask. “With your parents?”
He looks at me as if I’m dense. “No. I live here. In the down below. Here.”
If I wasn’t hearing this with my own ears, I wouldn’t believe it. My brain sorts through the information, but I still can’t get my mind around it.
“Where are the others?” I ask.
He looks at me. Even in the dim light from the flashlights, I can see he’s not healthy. His lips are dry and cracked. His face is so pale, I can see the veins through his skin. The hair at his crown is thin and dry-looking.
“They are here. I hear them scream sometimes.” He says the words as if living in a tunnel where people scream is a normal, everyday occurrence.
“Are they alive?” I ask.
“Some of them,” he says matter-of-factly. “The good ones.”
I glance at the deputy. “Can you take him topside?” I hear myself ask. “I’m going to get the hostages.”
“Sure thing.” He glances at Tomasetti, who nods, then at Mast. “Let’s go.”
The deputy and Mast start toward the hatch. Tomasetti and I watch them go. Mast turns his head and smiles. In that instant, he looks like a frightened teenager.
“What the hell was going on here?” Tomasetti mutters.
I look at him and shake my head. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
Shaking his head, he shines the beam down the tunnel. “Let’s go find those hostages.”
Neither of us holsters our weapons as we begin walking. I look around for some familiar landmark. A step-up or alcove or door. But there are only brick walls and the oval of the tunnel. It’s as if I’ve never been here.
We’ve only gone a few yards when a scream echoes from the darkness. It’s the same voice I heard when I was down here earlier. It’s a bloodcurdling sound that rattles my nerves. But it also fills me with hope, because I know at least one of the hostages is alive.
I break into a jog. Tomasetti quickens his pace to keep up, holding the beam steady and ahead. We’ve gone only a few yards when I see the door.
“That’s it,” I say.
“Careful. He could have booby-trapped it.”
But I’m already pushing it open. I see two girls lying on the floor. Sadie is standing, one hand shading her eyes from my beam. I see terror in her eyes in the instant before she recognizes me.
“Katie!” she cries. “You came back!”
“Is everyone okay?” I ask.