Page 376 of Dark Love

Payne: Yeah. No sign of anyone being held in the woods.

That leaves the backyard, because there’s no one alive inside that house.

I walk around to the back of the porch and stare out to the field as Payne jogs over.

“This place is weird. What’s with all the random stepping stones scattered around?”

He hasn’t figured it out yet. We aren’t looking for a building the women are being locked in. “Those are the ones that died. We need to look for holes that haven’t been filled in.”

“Holes?” Payne stares at me as I step off.

The beehive-like grid spreading out from the center of the yard goes on for over an acre. There are hundreds of stones.

“I’ll head left. You go right.” I don’t quite run through the grass, but neither do I tarry. If there’s anyone alive out here, they’ve been days without water or food.

“The stones have names on them. Do you think they’re the real names?”

With this guy? “Possibly.” He likes to brag.

“There’s a tarp over here!” Payne points towards a green tarp that’s mostly covered in fake grass, and I dash over to him.

“Careful as you pull it back.”

Payne nods and slowly edges around it, looking for wires or any other surprises that might show up if we lift this. “It appears clear.”

“I should do this.”

Payne lifts the edge. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”

The problems come if she isn’t dead. “Okay, we’ll do it together.”

Just Let Me Die

Vex

As the tarp lifts, a little voice says, “Please, just let me die.”

Payne freezes, and his gaze turns to me.

At least she’s alive still. There’s a chance we’ll find one more.

“Please. Please, just let me die.”

Her voice sounds a little stronger.

“Let’s get her out of there.” Payne yanks the tarp off and shouts through the metal screen covering the dark hole, “We’re here to save you.”

“Please, just let me die.”

“Do you think she heard me?” Payne’s hands shake.

“Don’t know. Trauma does weird things to people.” Not to mention adding dehydration and starvation into the mix. “We need to get her out and some medical care as quickly as possible. I’ll get the lid off. You go get the equipment from the car and the first aid kit.”

Payne rushes off and I squat down to figure out how to get the lid off. It’s a fine enough mesh to keep most bugs and snakes out of the hole. The edge of mypocket knife slips into the gap between the edge of the mesh top and the top of the pipe that lines the entire hole. It pops up easily and I slide it away.

“Please. Please, just let me die.” The desperation in her voice has given way to acceptance of her fate.

“Not here. You can’t die here.”

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