Page 117 of Deadly Strain

A muffled yell, and a yank on his arm, brought his attention around to Grace, on her feet now, as she dragged him toward his men, two of whom lay still on the dirt. Where had Runnel gone?

Sharp stumbled after her and grabbed Clark, who’d taken point. He was out cold, but it looked like he was still breathing. Sharp got him up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and walked quickly through the cave as it rained rocks toward the far wall, where he’d felt fresh air flowing.

He was about to put Clark down and go back for March, but when he turned, he saw Grace not five feet behind him, dragging March by the heels. He could walk a little farther.

He followed the slight flow of air several more feet and found a narrow opening in the wall.

Thick smoke wafted past him, surrounding his head and making him cough. Smoke?

Adrenaline hit his system like a freight train and he ducked into the opening and walked several feet until the narrow crevice widened into something two men could in walk side by side. He put Clark down and went back for Grace and March.

He found them just as she was dragging the fallen soldier into the slim opening. Sharp didn’t say anything, but as soon as he touched her shoulder on his way past her, she let go of March’s feet and headed away from the main cave chamber.

Smoke now filled the air three feet above the ground and continued to rise. A fireman’s carry wasn’t going to work. Sharp grabbed March’s feet and dragged him much faster than Grace had been doing. If he lived, he was going to have a hell of a headache.

Sharp had to stop a couple of times to cough. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Finally, he made it back to Clark and Grace, who was doing a quick triage of the unconscious soldier.

Runnel, he had to find Runnel.

A rumble of rock from the main cave roared through the air like a tsunami wave. Followed by a rapid succession of explosions, one after the other. Smoke, dust, and crushing darkness blinded him.

***

Silence.

Sharp lay still. His breathing shuddered and he couldn’t seem to take in a full breath. What was sitting on his chest?

He tried to lift his right hand to brush the offending object away, but found he couldn’t move it. At all.

He sucked in a breath to try again, but all he got was a lungful of dirt and a coughing fit that didn’t subside. He struggled to find real oxygen, to sit up and sweep the dirt off his face, but he couldn’t do either and his struggles increased.

Choking.

He couldn’t move and he waschokingto death.

A wet cloth touched his face and someone yelled in his ear, “Sharp, try to relax.” The cloth came back for a second run on his face, and he finally took a breath that wasn’t filled with dirt.

“We’re digging you out,” the voice said. Grace. It was Grace’s voice. “But it might take a while.”

“What?” he croaked out through his irritated throat.

“The cave collapsed,” she said. “Some of this part of it too. It nearly buried you alive.”

“March, Clark?” he asked hoarsely. “Runnel?”

“March is alive. Unconscious, but alive. Clark...didn’t survive the falling rock. I think we lost Runnel in the initial blast.”

Fuck. Two more of his men, his friends,gone. Anger surged through his bloodstream, giving him a jolt of energy and strength, but he still couldn’t move. The weight on his chest and extremities got heavier and heavier until he found breathing nearly impossible.

Focus, man.Focus.

“What about Smoke? Any sign?” he asked.

“Here,” said the man himself, appearing on the other side of him. “Took me some time to find my way to you.”

“Is there—” Sharp stopped to suck in a couple of breaths “—a way out?”

“Yes.” Smoke didn’t continue for a couple of seconds. “But not close. Not easy.”

---