Page 86 of Obscurity
That was when Chloe had become a threat, Olive realized. And she had to be dealt with.
The good news was that she was still alive.
The bad news was they still had to get out of here.
Quickly, she texted Tevin. She hoped the message went through in time.
Two rooms down, they found Becca Morrison. The journalism student was in worse condition than Chloe, slumped against the far wall with a grotesquely swollen ankle.
“Becca.” Olive threw open the door. “We’re getting you out of here.”
Becca looked up, squinting as if she was having trouble focusing. “Olivia?”
“It’s me. We’re here to help.”
“I’m so glad to see you. My friend Jessica overheard what they were planning, and they killed her for it.” Tears slid from Becca’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Olive told her.
Jason helped Becca to her feet, but her injured ankle couldn’t support any weight.
“There are others,” Chloe rushed as she stood at the doorway, clearly anxious to get out of here. “An older couple in the room at the end. Local residents who got too close to the truth. And there was a mountain man—the one who was always trying to warn people. They brought him down here yesterday, but I haven’t seen him since.”
Olive’s heart clenched, knowing they’d already found the Guardian’s body in the tunnel entrance. But she didn’t want to further devastate these women with more bad news.
“We’ll check,” she said instead, moving toward the remaining rooms with Jason.
The older couple Chloe had mentioned were in the last room—a man and woman in their sixties.
“They own property adjacent to the mountain,” Chloe explained as Jason worked on their lock. “They started asking questions when they noticed their well water was contaminated with mining chemicals.”
“That’s terrible,” Olive murmured.
The implications of this were far greater than she’d imagined.
The woman in the room was conscious but seemed to be in shock. Her husband was barely responsive—whether from injury or simple exhaustion, Olive couldn’t tell.
“What’s your name?” Jason asked as he knelt in front of them.
The woman clutched the man’s arm, her face pale. “I’m Margaret, and Carl is my husband.”
“How long have you been here?” Olive helped the woman to her feet.
“Three days, maybe four. Hard to tell without sunlight.” Margaret’s voice grew stronger as she talked. “I thought we were going to die in here! You’ve got to get us out of here. Please!”
CHAPTER 64
As Jason helped Carl to his feet, the group gathered in the hallway.
“We need to move,” Olive murmured. “There’s no time to waste.”
Two young women, one barely able to walk. An older couple, one of whom could hardly stand. And they still had to navigate the camp area while avoiding security patrols.
As they helped the four rescued captives toward the nearest exit, the sound of voices erupted from the front. Multiple people were entering with the confident stride of those who belonged there.
“We need to prep them for transport within the hour,” a deep voice said.
Jason immediately reversed direction, guiding their group away from the approaching voices and toward the offices. But their progress was agonizingly slow—Becca could barely put weight on her swollen ankle, Chloe swayed dangerously with each step as her malnourished body struggled to function, and Margaret was practically carrying Carl, whose legs seemed to give out every few feet.
