Page 17 of Emi's Hero

What was happening to her daughter now? Would Fallon have gone back to the compound after he left her to drown in the Pacific Ocean?

If he hadn’t gone straight back, would Sara be worried or scared when her mother didn’t return?

Maria had always been kind to Sara, like a second mother to the little girl. Sara would feel somewhat safe with the pretty little Guatemalan cleaning woman.

As much as Emi wanted to leap out of bed and get to work finding her daughter, she had no idea where to start and had little energy available.

The warm soup she’d consumed had relieved the ache in her belly and chased away the remnants of the chill that had consumed her body while she’d floated in the ocean.

She turned on her side, the ache in her chest fading as she drifted into a fitful sleep.

“Sara?”she called out as she moved through the stark gray hallway.

One by one, she threw open doors, searching for her daughter.

“Sara, honey, where are you?”

A faint cry sounded at the end of the corridor.

Emi followed the sound. Her heart pounded, and her steps dragged as if she waded through a thick swamp, mud sucking at her legs and pulling her down.

The cry became the soft sobs of a child.

“Sara, oh, baby. Mama’s coming,” she said, struggling with every bit of energy she could muster to get to her daughter.

As she neared the last door at the end of the hall, she fell against it, tears streaming down her face. “I’m coming, Sara.”

Her hand wrapped around the doorknob and tried to turn it.

It wouldn’t budge.

The sobs continued. A small voice called out, “Mama, I’m scared.”

Her chest tightening, Emi tried again to turn the knob. When it wouldn’t open, she backed away and kicked the door, her leg bouncing back.

The door remained unbroken, the lock holding tight.

“Mama, help me,” the child’s weak voice called out.

“I’m coming, Sara,” she said and kicked the door again.

The door flew open.

Emi fell through into a dark hole, smelling of damp earth. Though she strained to see, all was dark as she fell and fell.

Deep laughter filled the well, ringing in her ears.

“You lose,” Fallon’s voice echoed against the walls.

Emi’s arms and legs flailed, searching for purchase. She had to escape the hole. Sara needed her.

“She’s mine now, and you’ll never find her,” Fallon called out from somewhere above her.

“No!” Emi cried, her voice swallowed by the nothingness.

Then she landed on the cold hard ground. Pain shot through her as her shoulder, hip and head hit the ground.

Sobs rose up her throat. “Sara.”

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