Page 48 of Trapped

He scowled. “Yeah. Maybe I was already being too assertive with him yesterday.”

“Like how?”

“I told him a long story about Lieutenant Calley.”

She laughed. “I’ll bet he loved that.”

He’d mentioned the doctor’s name. Involuntarily, she glanced back the way they’d come.

He followed her gaze, and she was glad he quickly changed the subject. “I don’t suppose you know how that bunker got there?”

“Actually, I do know. It was a fallout shelter left over from the cold war. For some important government officials.”

“And how were they supposed to get to West Virginia in case of a nuclear attack?”

“God knows. There’s a train line that runs down from DC. It’s not too far from here. Maybe they were supposed to take the Eisenhower special.”

He laughed, which she took as a good sign. She imagined he hadn’t had much to laugh about in the past few weeks.

“There’s a similar bunker under the Greenbrier Hotel. That one was for members of congress.”

“Another waste of taxpayers’ money.” He eased back so that his head and shoulders were propped against a rock. She heard him sigh.

“What?”

“I was trying to orient myself. I hate to ask, but what month is this?”

“May. Does that help you figure out a time frame for yourself?”

“Unfortunately, no.” he answered in a gritty voice.

“We’ll work on getting your real memories back.”

“First things first. We’ve got to get out of here—and got to get some dry clothing.”

“Yes.”

“How did you find out there was a back way into the bunker?”

“The Decorah Security guys scrounged up some old plans.”

“And you’re assuming Montgomery didn’t have them,” he asked.

She nodded and looked over her shoulder. “I hope not.”

“Yeah. But they know you got in through a back door. Even if they don’t know this specific exit, they’re going to try and figure out where it is, so let’s get going.”

Conceding the point, she scrambled to her feet and ducked to step outside the mouth of the cave. When the wind hit her wet clothing, her teeth started chattering.

Cash moved to her side, looking down from the rocky promontory. “We’re exposed up here.”

“Unfortunately.”

“You remember the way down?”

“I hope so.” She pointed toward another ledge that they could use as an oversized step.

He kept the rope on them, and they climbed steadily downward. She was sure his leg was screaming when they reached the bottom, but he didn’t complain.

---