Page 46 of Protecting Kelli
The officer following them looked bored. Every time Kevlar looked behind them to see if he was still there, the man was on his cellphone. Amazingly, one time, it lookedlike he was smoking what Kevlar thought was a joint, but he couldn’t be sure.
Before long, he was kicking himself for leaving Errol behind. Even though bringing him would’ve added more stress to the situation, he could’ve led them straight to the damn bus. They should’ve waited to turn him in after Flash and Kelli were found…but it was too late to change that now.
His stress levels were sky high, especially since it was creeping toward evening. They’d lose the sunlight soon, and if that happened, if they hadn’t found the damn bus, they’d have to wait until morning to start the search again. The thought of his friend having to spend another night underground was unacceptable.
Finally, they got to a point where the road abruptly ended, just as Errol said it would.
Anticipation rose within Kevlar. They’d done it! Found the place Errol had described, where they’d made Flash and Kelli get out and walk into the jungle.
All four doors opened at the same time, and the six SEALs climbed out, eager to find their teammate. The officer got out of his car and leaned against the door.
“I’ll wait here,” he said.
Disgusted, but not caring anymorewhatthe man did, Kevlar followed the tracks on the forest floor that had probably been made by whatever large piece of equipment Brant had used to bury the bus.
Kevlar had no idea how the man had done it. Or when. Yes, they’d obviously used heavy machinery, but the logistics of the entire operation were mind-blowing. Ultimately, though, the how didn’t matter right now, only the where.
They walked for around half a mile, and lookingaround, all Kevlar saw was trees and vines. The forest floor was covered in vegetation. A tropical rainforest. How the hell they were going to find anything buried out here was a real concern.
Until he saw it.
Exactly as Errol had described.
Three large tires stacked on top of each other. Two had the rims still attached, which would make them extremely heavy. Kevlar knew that from experience. He’d had to change a tire on large trucks a time or two. Three of them on top of that cover would prevent anyone under it from being able to escape.
Running toward the tires, he said in a voice much calmer than he felt, “Preacher, grab the other side. Safe and MacGyver, get the second one. Smiley, I’ll help you with the last.”
No one argued. They got to work doing what needed to be done. No one spoke out loud about what they might find when they opened that manhole cover. True, it hadn’t been all that long since Flash and Kelli had been kidnapped and buried alive, but depending on what condition they were in when they were left, and what supplies, if any, were inside with them, they could be facing the worst-case scenario.
Taking a deep breath, Kevlar reached for the first tire.
CHAPTER TEN
Kelli felt like crap. She was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. She was terrified that she’d fall asleep and wake up to pitch darkness again. The candle had been a godsend, but it had finally burned down to almost nothing.
Flash had been the most amazing partner in this…what was this? Adventure? No, that wasn’t the right word. Nightmare? Yeah, that was closer. Having Flash with her made everything that had happened not quite as scary. If she’d been by herself, she would’ve been a basket case. And she couldn’t even imagine being stuck in this hellhole with her cousin and the Three A’s. They would’ve been unbearable.
Amazingly, she’d learned stuff from Flash. He’d let her…no,made heropen the second can of food. She’d wanted to save it, because in the back of her mind she still wasn’t so sure that Flash’s friends would find them. But she let him talk her into seeing what was inside the can.
He’d made opening the first can seem so easy. She sawed back and forth with the tip of that spoon for whatseemed like an hour before she’d finally been able to weaken the tin enough to break it. Inside had been what looked like peas, but they were a speckled brown. Flash thought they were probably gungo peas. Another common Jamaican staple. The liquid they were in smelled really good, but that was probably because she was so hungry.
This time, they’d remembered to put some of the uncooked pasta into the can. Her mouth watered as they waited for the pasta to soften. When they couldn’t stand waiting any longer, they both popped a few pieces into their mouths.
Never in her life would Kelli have thought just soaking pasta in liquid, without any kind of heat source, would result in anything edible. But the tiny morsels were a feast. She imagined she could feel her body soaking up the carbs and other nutrients from the pasta as it settled in her belly.
The peas weren’t great, but again, since she was so hungry, Kelli didn’t think twice about eating them. When the can was empty of peas, and after they’d drunk every drop of the coconut milk the vegetables had been packaged in—the little that wasn’t soaked up by the pasta—it was all Kelli could do not to break down in hysterics.
That was it. The end of their food. They’d also finished the water. They’d found the source of the dripping, and had begun collecting water in the empty bottle, but starving to death wasn’t her idea of a good way to go.
“Come here,” Flash said, from where he was leaning against the side of the bus. He held his arm out to his side. Without hesitation, Kelli crawled over and leaned into him. His arm around her felt like coming home. He washer safety net. Being close to him helped her believe that someonewouldbe coming for them. That they’d be found.
“Once upon a time, there was a girl. She had an evil mother and stepfather. They made the poor girl work from the time the sun came up to when it went down. But the girl didn’t mind. Staying busy kept her mind off other things. Like her empty belly and the taunting of the other little girls in her village. None of them had to work like she did. They all got to wear pretty dresses and sit outside in the sun and have tea parties.”
Kelli smiled as she snuggled into Flash’s side. She’d told him hours ago about her love of fairy tales. How the happy endings soothed her soul. They’d taken turns telling little made-up stories. It was his turn, and she was content to listen to him talk as she watched the last of the light from the flickering candle.
“One day, a possum waddled into her yard. Her stepfather wanted to kill it. Said it was vermin and would dig holes and destroy their crops. But of course, he wouldn’t do the deed himself, he ordered the girl to do it. So she dutifully set a trap, putting some of her own dinner inside. Before long, the possum took the bait and was inside the trap.
“But the girl couldn’t kill the beast. It was ugly and scarred, and it hissed at her, but she didn’t care. It was just scared. Trapped. Like her. All it wanted was to live its life. So in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, she went out to the trap and set the possum free, warning it not to come around in the daylight when her stepfather could see it. She also promised to leave food out, if he came back.
