Page 111 of The Sleeping Girls

Ellie radioed Cord. Static rattled over the mic but his voice finally came through. “McClain.”

“We found the girls. They’re alive.”

“Where are you?”

“There’s a basement and tunnel below the school. We need ambulances.”

Thunder popped over the line and Ellie heard the rain hammering down.

“Dammit, Ellie, we need to get them out of here,” Derrick shouted. “This place is flooding.”

Panic clawed at Ellie as she hurried to untie Ruby. He was right. Water was pouring in, accumulating. Suddenly a loud crash jerked her eyes back to the mouth of the tunnel and the ceiling crashed down. Mud and water filled the doorway. Oh, God, they were about to be trapped.

“It’s flooding fast,” Ellie told Cord. “We can’t go back the way we came in. Look at the schematics for the building and see if there’s another exit.”

“Copy that,” Cord said.

Ellie finished untying Ruby while Derrick freed Bianca. Then Ellie cupped water in her hand and trickled it over Ruby’s forehead. “Wake up, honey. We need to hurry.”

Derrick did the same with Bianca, the two of them repeating the ritual. Seconds bled into minutes. Water continued to flood the ground. It was cold and up to Ellie’s knees now, soaking into her boots. Her feet were tingling, starting to feel numb.

Derrick examined the rocky wall and stared up at the hole where the water was pouring in.

Ruby started to stir, and Ellie squeezed her hand. “That’s it, honey. Open your eyes for me.”

Suddenly Ruby woke with a start. Her eyes widened, her mouth gaping open in a scream. Bianca came to a second later.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Ellie told them. “We’re here to help.”

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR

Cord raced to the Jeep and studied the blueprints and schematics. Seconds later, he spotted the opening to the underground tunnel Ellie had mentioned.

Because the school had been built on Red Clay Mountain and the area was known for tornados, they’d built a safe zone for the students to shelter in case one struck. Unfortunately, sections of it had collapsed and were not accessible.

But the engineer had included an exit for emergency purposes. He spoke to Ellie through the mic. “El, there’s an emergency exit at the south end of the tunnel. See if you can get to it. I’ll find it and come in and help with the girls.”

“Thanks. We’ll head that way now.”

Rain slashed the muddy ground and pummeled his face as he hurried toward the exit. Mud sucked at his feet as he jogged past the remains of the building, then hiked onto the trail behind the school, following the map.

When he reached the boulder marking the exit, frustration bolted through him. Brush, tree branches and mud blocked the opening.

Cursing, he pulled his phone and called Milo to help. “Ellie found the girls but they’re trapped in an underground tunnel. Bring equipment. We have to dig them out.”

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE

“What happened?” Ruby asked as she gulped for a breath. “Where are we?”

Bianca looked around at the water with a horrified expression. “How did we get here?”

“You don’t remember?” Ellie asked as she helped Ruby stand.

Ruby shook her head, shivering. “I… someone grabbed me behind my trailer.”

“I went to the school to see Mitch,” Bianca said in a haunted whisper. “But someone attacked me behind the bleachers.”

Ellie glanced around, felt the cold as more water poured through. It was almost waist-high now.

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