Page 53 of In Too Deep
“Meg, you don’t have to?—”
“I know I don’t have to.”She looked at the entrance again, then met his eyes and held steady.She willed her expression to stay calm even as her heart tried to beat its way out of her chest.“I’m telling you I’m going.”
Fake it.Pretend you’re not terrified.Pretend your mother was right about you.
“She’s right, Noah.”Teague adjusted his radio.His expression was thoughtful.“You might need her skills inside.If the kid’s badly hurt, talking you through treatment over the radio could waste precious time.”
Noah’s jaw tightened.He looked at Meg for a long moment.He searched her face for cracks.“Are you sure?”
Goodness, no.
Every cell in her body was screaming at her to stay outside, to run.To stay safe.
But that wasn’t who she was.That wasn’t who her mother raised her to be.
She might run to Pennsylvania later, but she refused to run now.Not while someone needed her.
You’re a good doctor…You save people.That’s what you do.
“Yes.”The word came out quiet but certain.“I’m sure.”
She wasn’t sure.Not even a little bit.
But she would pretend until her body believed it.She would walk into that darkness because a kid needed her.Because this was her job.Because running away had cost her enough already.
Noah held her gaze a moment longer.Then he nodded slowly.“Okay.But you stay close.You follow my lead.And if I tell you to get out, you get out.No arguments.”
“Agreed.”Meg adjusted the straps of her medical bag again, buying herself a few more seconds to breathe.
Liam shouldered his pack.He pointed down the muddy trail that led away from the cave.“I’ll get these kids out.Keep the radio open.”He caught Meg’s eye and gave her a small nod of encouragement.
Teague tested his radio.“I’ll be right here if you need anything.Be careful in there.”
Meg took another breath.Deep.Controlled.The way Dr.Sandra had taught her years ago.
She followed Noah toward the cave entrance, toward the darkness.
Just one foot in front of the other.
Maybe, just maybe, that was enough.
The temperature dropped immediately.The cave’s mouth swallowed the gray daylight within a few steps, leaving only the beams of their headlamps to cut through the darkness.
The walls pressed in close here.Sandstone streaked with moisture.The air smelled of wet earth and ancient stone.Thick enough to taste.
Meg’s heart pounded so hard she was sure Noah could hear it.
Each step felt like walking deeper into her nightmares.Jude under the water.Her father’s face fading to gray.Lydia’s chest going still beneath her hands.
The darkness seemed alive.Consuming her from all sides.
Deep breath in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four.Repeat.
Noah paused ahead of her.His beam scanned the passage.“Alex?”His voice echoed off the stone walls and was swallowed by the darkness beyond.
No answer came.Just silence and dripping water.
They moved forward, single file.Noah’s pack brushed against the wall.The sound was loud in the confined space.“Stay close behind me.Watch your step—it’s slippery here.”
