Running Scared by Gloria Skurzynski Page B

They hadn’t gone too far when Ryan dropped to his knees, muttering, “I was afraid of this!” He shone the flashlight beam straight down into a hole that was about a yard long and less than two feet wide. Jack rushed to see, with Ashley crowding behind him.
    â€œStay back!” Ryan warned them. “One kid down in that pit is bad enough. I don’t need another one falling on top of him.”
    It was Sammy down there! The strong flashlight beam lit his blond hair like a halo—but so far beneath them that Jack’s jaw clenched. Earlier, Sam had lost his lantern in a pit alongside the tunnel path. Now Sam himself had fallen into yet another hole in the ground.
    â€œSam, this is Ryan speaking. Listen to me—I need to know if you are hurt.”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œCan you move your arms or your legs?”
    There was a pause, and then, “Th-there’s a r-r-rock p-pressing into my m-middle. It’s hurting me.”
    â€œOK, I don’t want you to move anymore. I want you to stay right where you are. Just hold on.” Ryan sprawled on his stomach and held the flashlight into the hole as far as he could reach. After a moment, he pulled himself up, rocked back onto his thick boots and rested his flashlight across his knees. “Oh, man,” he said softly, “this is bad.”
    â€œHow far down is he?” Jack asked.
    Ryan looked at him sharply. “About eight feet, I’d judge. He’s probably got some scrapes and bruises, but it sounds like he’s OK otherwise. I’ve fallen a lot farther than that without getting hurt too much. But that’s not the problem.”
    â€œJ-J-Jack—g-g-get me out of h-h-here,” Sam wailed. “Hurry!”
    â€œI will,” Jack assured him. “I promise. It’ll just be a minute.” Then, to Ryan, “Do you have a rope or something? We’ve got to pull him up.”
    â€œWe’ll need more than a rope. He’s jammed fairly tight—I could see it when I looked down. That’s good.”
    â€œHow is that good?” Jack demanded.
    â€œBecause that pit goes down another 75 feet, and if he hadn’t gotten wedged, he’d be at the bottom right now.”
    It took a moment for Ryan’s words to register. Ashley’s eyes grew wide as she cried, “Are you saying he could fall the rest of the way?”
    â€œKeep your voice down,” Ryan hissed. “I don’t want the kid to panic. His one foot’s on a ledge that isn’t very wide, so if he moves too much…. You two will have to go and get a rescue team and bring them here. There’s no other way. You need a professional team to save him.”
    â€œGreat plan, except how can we do that?” Ashley threw her hands into the air. “We don’t even know where we are! We’ve been trying to find our way out of this place for hours and hours!”
    â€œJ-J-Jack!” Sam called desperately. “My sh-shoe just fell off! It fell r-really f-f-far. I heard it wh-when it hit b-b-bottom.”
    â€œIt’s all right, Sam. We’re working on a plan to get you out right now.”
    Coming up behind them, a deep voice rumbled, “I’m not doing squat for some brat, and you’re not either!” Stoney had reached them. He was a pig-shaped person with a coarse beard and small eyes set back in his fleshy face. To Ryan, he snarled, “Man, get back there and do the job we came to do.”
    â€œAre you insane, or just stupid?” Ryan asked, incredulous. He was on his feet now, only inches from where Stoney stood. Stoney’s thick legs planted into the cave floor like stalagmites, and his raised fists were clenched next to his barrel chest.
    Stoney answered, “If the kids die here, so much the better, because if they get out and tell the cops about me, they’re gonna die anyway. I’ll come after them and kill them myself.”
    A chill of