Page 44 of Fighting for Mallory

Judd slid his hand up Faith’s neck and brought her head down to meet his kiss. “I think we make an unbeatable team, Ms. Stoker. Don’t you?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Mallory calculated hours had passed since Ali and Omar left her alone in Osiris’ shrine. She found a sharp rock and freed herself within minutes. After she stuffed her pockets with the protein bars and a bottle of water, Mallory lit a torch and hurried along the path she’d marked.

When she reached the spot where Ali and Omar caught her earlier, she slowed down her pace as she carved arrows into the cave walls.

Mallory kept moving steadily toward the surface and marking her path. When she heard rain pounding on the earth above her, she rejoiced. She abandoned blazing the walls and quickened her steps. A few hundred feet in front of her natural light guided her way.

“Thank God!”

Then, in an instant the light vanished. A loud, thunderous noise reverberated in the narrow tunnel, and suddenly a tidal wave of mud, debris, and rainwater struck her. The torch flew out of her hands, plunging her into complete darkness. Swept along with the rushing water, she went under the torrent and came up sputtering. Mallory flailed in the white rapids, fighting to keep from drowning. As it carried her through the tunnels, the force flung her against the rock-hewn walls, slamming her head, face, arms, and legs on them. The crazy water ride finally came to an end when it spit her through a wide opening, and she plunged into a deep pool of phosphorescent blue.

The shock of hitting frigid water knocked the breath from her. Mallory kicked her way to the surface and drew in great gulps of air. She floundered before swimming toward the nearest rocky shore. She dragged herself out of the pool and stretched full length, gasping for breath. Every part of her body ached. When she tried to sit up, a sharp pain sluiced through her skull, and she felt herself losing consciousness.

Intense shivering woke Mallory sometime later. She gazed in confusion at the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cavern and remembered how she’d been dumped here. Shivers shook her. She needed to shed her wet clothes and find a way to get warm.

Mallory scooted up against a stalagmite rising from the cave floor. The movement caused her head to throb with a dull ache. Gingerly, she searched for a sore spot and winced when she touched it. Her hand came away with fresh blood.

“That’s not good.” Her voice echoed in the chamber.

She removed her shirt and jeans and her sodden tennis shoes, which, fortunately, she hadn’t lost during her wild tumble through the tunnels. She used her shirt to apply pressure to her head wound and considered her predicament.

First, she had escaped from Osiris’ sacrificial shrine.

Second, it was possible she was in a known cave, especially due to the minerals embedded in the stalagmites and the phosphorescent blue water. She didn’t see any warning signs for visitors or evidence of humans, but that didn’t mean cave explorers didn’t come here.

Third, Tex was still tracking her. If she were anywhere near the surface, he’d be able to guide Luca to her.

Fourth, and foremost, she needed some warmth.

Her clothes would dry, but her internal body temperature concerned her. Chills still caused her to shake, along with the physical injuries she’d sustained being slammed into the rough-hewn tunnel walls by the swift-moving water. She could probably create sparks by striking stones together, but she didn’t have anything to burn except her bra and panties, and they would incinerate in minutes. Not enough time to help dissipate the chill seeping through her.

“I wish I had paid more attention in science class,” Mallory commented as she gazed at the stalactites and stalagmites shining with minerals. “Time to explore.”

She rose to her feet and moved cautiously to avoid aggravating her head wound. Her shirt was stained with blood but not saturated with it. Slightly raising her head, Mallory determined that climbing to the tunnels above her wasn’t her best option. She wouldn’t be able to see her way without light. Not to mention she had no idea how far she’d traveled away from the narrow opening to this cave system, or if it had been completely blocked by the landslide. Water still gushed into the pool from above, so she assumed it hadn’t stopped raining, though she couldn’t hear anything in this cavern.

“All right. I can do this.” Mallory squared her shoulders and limped toward what she hoped was an exit.

She didn’t relish spelunking half-naked, but if she could find a way out, she’d go back for her clothes. If she ran into tourists or other cave explorers, she’d be too grateful to care about her exposure. She’d settle for finding something she could use to make a fire, too.

A lack of light hindered Mallory’s search for a way out. She explored a few hundred feet inside one tunnel with interesting markings but fear of becoming lost in the darkness prevented her from further exploration. She found another exit and encountered the same problem. Equally frustrating was not being able to find something she could use to make a torch. Out of desperation she reconsidered climbing to the top of the cavern, but first she needed to rest and think.

As she leaned against a stalagmite, her hand automatically reached for her earlobe, and she emitted a cry of shock. Somehow the other earring containing Tex’s tracker had fallen out of her ear.

“No! No! It has to be here somewhere!”

Mallory scrambled around the cavern, retracing her steps as she searched for a way out and crawling on her hands and knees, frantic to find her last shred of hope. She incurred more scrapes and cuts, often crying aloud at the searing pain, but to no avail. With her final drop of energy spent, she curled into a ball and cried in defeat.

“The Mallory I know and love would never surrender to self-pity.”

Luca’s voice echoed in the cavern. Her head snapped up. He’d never quit, no matter how greatly the odds were stacked against him. He’d keep fighting for her. Always. Now she needed to prove herself worthy of his loyalty and devotion.

Mallory swiped at the last of her weak tears. Determination filled her heart and gave her courage. She pulled on her damp jeans and bloodstained shirt and looked up at the opening where water poured into the blue pool. She’d fight the current with every ounce of her strength. It didn’t seem to be as swift now, so perhaps the rain had stopped. The water would show her the way out even if blind in the darkness.

Before she began her ascent to the tunnel above her, Mallory gathered enough stones to spell out a message: I was here. Went up. Mallory Hayes. She might be leaving a clue for her captors, but it wasn’t her greatest concern. Getting out of this cavern predominated everything else.

Mallory gained footholds that brought her closer to her destination, but now she had to start using her hands and upper body strength to climb. Sharp protrusions opened the wound on her hand, causing it to bleed again, and gouged her skin. Her legs bled, too, as they scraped against the stones. She ignored the pain and focused on reaching her goal, one handhold and foothold at a time.

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