actions, I did just that, only to stare in amazement as the creepy, fairy-tale woods fuzzed out, rippled, and began to re-form. My mouth fell open when the scene in
front of us resettled into tall, red, rocky spires dotted with junipers and desert scrub bushes, their edges touched by a setting sun. Now the trail angled down into the valley that lay at the foot of Sedona’s red rocks. “Hot damn,” I whispered.
“Just like that.” Wolf stepped past me on the trail.
“Come on.” Kayden nudged me. “Pick up your jaw and let’s go, Voodoo Queen.”
I took one more sweeping look at what I had created, and then, grinning like
a mad woman, I followed Wolf’s broad back. We made quick work getting
down, although the loose gravel played hell on our ankles. Halfway down, my desire for my walking stick that was stuck back at my cabin, bore fruit. One moment my hand was empty, and I was about to land on my ass, the next I was
gripping warm oak. I managed to stay upright and noticed the guys ended up with their own versions as well.
The longer we went without any visible threats, the more my earlier unease
faded. At some point, I traded places with Wolf, and once more took the lead.
Caught in the normalcy of things, I was woefully unprepared when the trap was
sprung.
Solid ground was underfoot one minute, the next I was tumbling through
dust-choked darkness. I landed in a painful heap, the impact leaving me unable
to focus on anything other than sucking in much needed air. Dust, dirt, and a cascade of rocks rained over me. I covered my face with my arms as I coughed
and hacked. When the stinging bites of falling rocks and dirt stopped, a stifling
silence snuck in.
I lowered my arms cautiously, and when nothing else fell, rolled over to push
up to my hands and knees. With my head down, I spat out the dust coating my
mouth until moisture replaced the gritty texture. I wiped my mouth and looked
around. Dirt walls stared back.
I used the one in front of me for balance and got to my feet. In the dim light
settling dust flickered. I tilted my head back and used a hand to protect my eyes
as I looked up, way up. The light was coming from a circle that seemed impossibly high. No way could I have fallen from that height and survived.
“Kayden? Wolf?” Their names ended in a series of coughs.
Silence greeted me.
Where the hell were they? They had been right there. “Guys, where are you?”
Echoes of my question answered.
Looking around, I searched for something to help me get out of here.
Nothing.
The narrow dirt walls stretched up out of reach. The space I was in was maybe five or six feet across and it disappeared into a maw of darkness. I shuffled forward and tripped over something hard. I crouched and used my hand
to brush away the dirt until warm metal met my touch. A few more swipes revealed an M162A. See that weapon my earlier confidence seeped away. I took
a careful look around. Crumbling mud walls stretched off in either direction, and
as my personal hell reassembled around me, horrified realization set in. The light
above dimmed, and I lifted my head. My heart sped up as something slid over the opening, cutting out the remaining light and my one visible escape route. I jumped to my feet and screamed, “Don’t! What are you doing? Kayden! Wolf!”
With an ominous scrape, the opening disappeared, and so did my light.
Frozen in the darkness, I tried not to hyperventilate. My body shook with the competing urges to bolt and stand still at the same time.
Okay, I needed to think. This wasn’t real. It was in my head, literally. So there had to be a way out, it was just a matter of finding it.
As my mind came online, my breathing slowed, and my body settled. I
reached out and my fingers brushed the wall. I flattened my palm against it, concentrating on the rough combination of rock and dirt against my skin. It gave
