Chapter 1— Gage
The death surrounding me is like a living thing, pulling me in and pushing me back at the same time. The stench invades my pores and scurries up my nervous system while my eyes refuse to comprehend what they are seeing.
The white dresses.
Exactly the same.
Fuck. This can’t be real.
An hour ago, I was having a perfect day with Beth and now I’ve been thrown into the seventh circle of hell.
Seventh.
Seven.
Seven women dead.
Who could do something this cruel? This contrived? This barbaric?
I turn and stumble from the cave before I vomit or destroy a key piece of evidence that might capture the beast who slaughtered these women and placed them in their rocky tomb.
“Gage!”
Beth’s calling me, concerned. My name echoes through the valley and back, almost like an accusation.
“Gage!”
She’s scared. Holy shit. Is the beast here? Trying to get to her? Will he attempt to add her to his grisly collection?
I grab my ropes and hustle around the curve of the ledge, back to the spot where I’d been a hero only moments before. Time has stopped and sped up simultaneously.
Time.
I glance at my watch, knowing the importance of noting the time. Daniel had been rescued and flown to the hospital only four minutes before.
“Gage!”
I look up and see Beth’s face staring down at me, a mask of worry marring her beautiful features. What do I say to her? How can I be the one to destroy her day too? We’d had so much fun hiking to the summit of Turtlehead Peak. We’d been a great team as we’d rescued the boy. Now … now none of that mattered. Today will always be the day we found those women.
“Call 911!” I call up to her, then spit off the rocky ledge. I can taste the smell. I can feel the smell. It’s crawling over my skin.
Pull your shit together, I tell myself. I’ve seen dead bodies before. Not just post-fire or accidents, but the ones where the body had been dead for days or weeks. It’s a horrible thing to see, but you never get used to the smell. It’s a wall of cheap perfume mixed with rotting meat so pungent it hangs in the air like a lethal fog, covering everything it touches.
“Oh my god, are you hurt? What happened? Do I need to come down?”
“No!” I nearly scream at her. I spit again and look up. Most of her face has gone pale, a stark contrast to the circles of red high on her cheeks.
“Talk to me, Gage.”
“We have a big problem,” I call up to her. “It’s horrible. I found a cave. There are seven bodies in there. Call 911. Tell them to bring climbing equipment.”
“Dead bodies? Seven?” She’s so stunned she has to repeat the words to make the unreal become the reality it is.
“Yes. In a cave.”
Her hand is over her mouth, her eyes huge. Then I see her pull her own shit together. She blinks and her eyes clear. “I’ll have to run back up the hill for a signal. How do we get you up from there?”
I shake my head. “I’m staying down.” I can see the concern etched over her features. “I won’t disturb the crime scene, but I’m going to search for additional caves.”
She disappears and is back in just a few seconds. “Heads up. You need to drink this.” I snag the bottle of water she drops down to me. “I’m going to find a signal. Be right back.”
I chug half the bottle. Gag. Spit. Then chug the rest.
I examine the rock face of the ledge I’m standing on. It’s about six feet wide and runs far past the curve of the grisly cave. To my left, I see no caves. I turn to my right. It’s the direction I don’t want to go.
Kneeling, I open the first aid kit I’d used to treat Daniel’s injuries and pull out a pair of gloves, slipping them on. I don’t plan on touching anything, but I’m a ‘safer than sorry’ kind of guy. I inhale a last gulp of the relatively fresh air and mentally prepare for the wall of hell that’ll greet me when I round the corner.
I want to be careful and the shadows are coming quickly as the sun moves
The death surrounding me is like a living thing, pulling me in and pushing me back at the same time. The stench invades my pores and scurries up my nervous system while my eyes refuse to comprehend what they are seeing.
The white dresses.
Exactly the same.
Fuck. This can’t be real.
An hour ago, I was having a perfect day with Beth and now I’ve been thrown into the seventh circle of hell.
Seventh.
Seven.
Seven women dead.
Who could do something this cruel? This contrived? This barbaric?
I turn and stumble from the cave before I vomit or destroy a key piece of evidence that might capture the beast who slaughtered these women and placed them in their rocky tomb.
“Gage!”
Beth’s calling me, concerned. My name echoes through the valley and back, almost like an accusation.
“Gage!”
She’s scared. Holy shit. Is the beast here? Trying to get to her? Will he attempt to add her to his grisly collection?
I grab my ropes and hustle around the curve of the ledge, back to the spot where I’d been a hero only moments before. Time has stopped and sped up simultaneously.
Time.
I glance at my watch, knowing the importance of noting the time. Daniel had been rescued and flown to the hospital only four minutes before.
“Gage!”
I look up and see Beth’s face staring down at me, a mask of worry marring her beautiful features. What do I say to her? How can I be the one to destroy her day too? We’d had so much fun hiking to the summit of Turtlehead Peak. We’d been a great team as we’d rescued the boy. Now … now none of that mattered. Today will always be the day we found those women.
“Call 911!” I call up to her, then spit off the rocky ledge. I can taste the smell. I can feel the smell. It’s crawling over my skin.
Pull your shit together, I tell myself. I’ve seen dead bodies before. Not just post-fire or accidents, but the ones where the body had been dead for days or weeks. It’s a horrible thing to see, but you never get used to the smell. It’s a wall of cheap perfume mixed with rotting meat so pungent it hangs in the air like a lethal fog, covering everything it touches.
“Oh my god, are you hurt? What happened? Do I need to come down?”
“No!” I nearly scream at her. I spit again and look up. Most of her face has gone pale, a stark contrast to the circles of red high on her cheeks.
“Talk to me, Gage.”
“We have a big problem,” I call up to her. “It’s horrible. I found a cave. There are seven bodies in there. Call 911. Tell them to bring climbing equipment.”
“Dead bodies? Seven?” She’s so stunned she has to repeat the words to make the unreal become the reality it is.
“Yes. In a cave.”
Her hand is over her mouth, her eyes huge. Then I see her pull her own shit together. She blinks and her eyes clear. “I’ll have to run back up the hill for a signal. How do we get you up from there?”
I shake my head. “I’m staying down.” I can see the concern etched over her features. “I won’t disturb the crime scene, but I’m going to search for additional caves.”
She disappears and is back in just a few seconds. “Heads up. You need to drink this.” I snag the bottle of water she drops down to me. “I’m going to find a signal. Be right back.”
I chug half the bottle. Gag. Spit. Then chug the rest.
I examine the rock face of the ledge I’m standing on. It’s about six feet wide and runs far past the curve of the grisly cave. To my left, I see no caves. I turn to my right. It’s the direction I don’t want to go.
Kneeling, I open the first aid kit I’d used to treat Daniel’s injuries and pull out a pair of gloves, slipping them on. I don’t plan on touching anything, but I’m a ‘safer than sorry’ kind of guy. I inhale a last gulp of the relatively fresh air and mentally prepare for the wall of hell that’ll greet me when I round the corner.
I want to be careful and the shadows are coming quickly as the sun moves
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