Keepers of the Cave (36 page)

“Over here,” CJ yelled, rounding the corner of the stables.

The door opened easily and they all fell inside. But he was behind them, a giant claw-like hand reaching inside. Ice and CJ pushed the door shut, trapping the claw against the side.

“To the tunnels,” CJ yelled. “
Now!
”

Paige and Don ran to the back wall, pulling open the trap door. Paige turned, seeing the door being forced open, Ice and CJ unable to hold it.

“Come on. Let’s go,” she yelled.  

She nearly pushed Don down the stairs, waiting as Ice and CJ let the door go, running frantically to her. She jumped blindly down the rickety steps, out of the way as CJ and Ice followed. A maddening scream was heard behind them and the door to the tunnel was ripped from its hinges and tossed aside with ease.

They stumbled in the dark down the tunnel until they realized they weren’t being followed. Paige pulled out her flashlight. CJ and Ice did the same.

“He can’t fit,” CJ said. “The tunnel is too small.”

Ice let out a nervous laugh. “Okay. What the
fuck
was that?”

Paige sunk down against the wall, letting out a relieved breath. She felt Don do the same beside her.

“He only has one entry into the cave,” Don said quietly. “At least, that’s what we think. No one knows where it is though.”

Paige felt CJ sit down beside her and she leaned against her, relaxing, not caring that Ice was watching.

“This has been the longest damn day of my life.”

“Mine too, tiger.”

“Okay, not trying to interrupt anything, but shouldn’t we be getting the hell out of here?” Ice asked. “I’m not crazy about small spaces.”

CJ stood, holding out a hand to Paige. She took it, letting herself be pulled to her feet. She reached out to Don, returning the favor.

“That was close,” he said.

“No shit,” CJ murmured.

She retraced the route they’d taken earlier that evening, and soon they found themselves back in the chamber. The torches were still lit and burning brightly. Paige’s gaze went to the altar, seeing the blood where Fiona had perished. She looked beyond, expecting to see Ester Hogan’s body.

“CJ,” she said. “Ester is gone.”

They all walked over to the blood stained ground where she had been. There were no tracks. It was as if she had just disappeared.

“Are you sure she was dead?” Don asked. “I mean—”

“Yes,” CJ said. “We’re sure.”

“Fiona?” he asked quietly.

Paige flashed her light back to the altar. “There. She died there.”

“He took her back into the cave with him,” CJ said.

“Okay, you guys are freaking me out,” Ice said.

“Sorry,” Paige said. “But we saw him.”

“Maybe he came and got Ester too,” CJ suggested with a shrug.

“I don’t think so,” Don said. “Fiona was his bride. She carried his child. Mother Hogan did his bidding, that’s all. Mother Hogan was just one of many.”

“Look, can we get out of here?” Ice asked. “I’d like to be above ground if we’re going to be discussing missing bodies.”

“I’ve never seen you so nervous, baldy,” CJ said. “Now do you believe me when I said this assignment sucked?”

“Yeah. I believe you. Now get me the hell out of here. I can face bank robbers, terrorists, murders. You name it. But not this spooky shit.”

Don motioned to their left. “The main tunnel will take us—”

“Let’s use Ester’s tunnel,” CJ said, interrupting Don. “It’s much nicer.”

They again retraced their steps from earlier, going through the tunnel and up the stairs to Ester’s house. They were surprised to find Howley and two other agents inside.

“What the hell? I thought you were at the school. You’re lucky we didn’t shoot you,” he said.

“You specifically told us not to shoot anyone,” CJ reminded him.

“How did you get here? I told Ice to have you stay put.”

“They didn’t listen. We came through the woods and then some tunnel,” Ice said. “And I don’t ever want to do it again.”

“Out in the woods? Then you must have heard that sound,” he said. “It was like an elephant’s roar or something and then this hideous scream.”

“Yes, that’s a good way to describe it,” Paige said.

“What was it?”

“A monster,” Ice said simply.

CJ shook her head. “It’s some creature that lives in the caves.”

“Yeah, like I said. A monster,” Ice said again.

“What’s with you, Ice? You don’t normally spook this easily,” Howley said with a laugh. “Probably a mountain lion or something.”

“Or something,” CJ murmured.

“Well, this is the last house for us to search,” Howley explained. “We have forty-four bodies. This is going to be a public relations nightmare.” He flashed his light to Don, causing Don to shield his eyes. “Who are you?”

“This is Don,” Paige said.

“Oh. You found the doctor. So everyone is accounted for now?”

CJ and Paige glanced at each other, then to Don.

“Well, the two men from here, the ones who took Don, they’re not exactly accounted for,” she said.

“Meaning?”

“Their bodies are in the woods. Somewhere,” CJ said. “Unless he’s eaten them.”

“Eaten them? Who?”

“More like
what
,” Ice said.

“And Fiona’s body is gone. He took her back into the cave,” CJ said.

“And now Ester’s body is missing,” Paige said. “I think that’s everyone.” She looked at Don. “Right?”

“Have you found her son? He lived here with her.”

“She had a son?”

“Yes. She kept him here. He was mildly retarded, from what everyone said. He didn’t speak. Didn’t communicate. He never came out. No one ever saw him.” He paused. “Antel was his father.”

“Jesus. Antel was Ester’s brother,” Paige said. “And Fiona’s father.”

“Yes, well, Mother Hogan was a little crazy herself,” he said with a smile. Then he gave a short laugh. “And it feels good to say that and not worry about being culled for disobedience.”

“Wait. We found remains of a young child upstairs. In a bed. Could that have been her son?” CJ asked.

“He was born before I was,” Don said. “But like I said, no one ever saw him, so yes, she could have killed him as well. No one would have known.”

Howley looked at them with a blank expression. “I don’t know what the hell you all are talking about. Someone want to explain? Now.”

“You know when we started this,” CJ said. “You said Ester Hogan was the matriarch, right?”

“Yes.”

“So there were others before her. And when they died, they placed them in a bed. In a room. Upstairs.”

“You found the burial room?” Don asked quietly.

“So you’re telling me there are...remains upstairs?” Howley asked. “This house isn’t secure yet?”

“Seven in the one room. Then the child in another.”

“Seven?”

“
Skeletal
remains,” CJ clarified. “Opal, Velma.”

“Estaline and...Estelle?” Paige said.

“Yeah. And Naomi and Eustice,” CJ said. “And Rosaline. Seven.”

“Eight beds, though. There was a bed for Ester,” Paige added.

“Rosaline was Ester’s mother,” Don stated. “I was a child when she died.” He glanced at them, their flashlights all crisscrossing in the room, little flecks of dust floating around them. “The burial room is...sacred. Well, at least it was to Mother Hogan. No one is allowed up there. As far as I know, Belden is the only other one who has been inside. Not even Devin.”

“Who’s Devin?”

“He’s the woodcarver.”

“He made the beds?”

Don nodded. “From what I’ve learned, they all died at a fairly young age. Ester was, by far, the oldest. Of course, her mother was poisoned, so that obviously shortened her life.”

“Poisoned?”

“By Ester, no doubt,” Paige said.

“Wait a minute,” Howley said. “Are you sure the remains are from Hogan women? We’re still looking for bodies of the missing girls. That’s the point of this, if you’ll recall.” He turned to Don with raised eyebrows.

“The ones who Belden brought back here,” he shook his head. “They were offered as a sacrifice,” he said. “In the cave.”

“In the cave,” Howley repeated. “Where Ice’s
monster
lives.”

“Yes. They are taken into the cave. Made to run. So he can chase them.”

“And?”

“And then he kills them.” He looked at Paige. “And then he eats them.”

Howley glanced between her and CJ. “What kind of crap is he feeding you?”

“I don’t understand,” Don said quietly. “What do you mean?”

“He’s telling the truth,” Paige said. “We’ve seen him. We’ve been in the chamber. We’ve seen the entrance to the cave. We’ve seen him.”

“Me too,” Ice said. “He chased us. It’s like...man, I can’t even describe it. A monster.”

“We’ve come across two skulls out in the woods,” CJ added. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find more. There’s a trail that links back to the school grounds. That’s the route we took. I would assume he travels along the same path.”

Howley stared at all of them as if they’d grown two heads each. “Okay. We’re obviously going to need a thorough briefing. Let’s secure this house. Get bodies accounted for, then let the forensics teams in. They should be here soon. We called in the locals too.” He rubbed his hair in frustration. “Like I said, public relations nightmare. I just hope we find a trace of young Trumbley. The senator won’t let it rest until we do.”

“I pity the poor souls who have to go into the cave looking for bodies,” CJ murmured.

“Me too,” Ice added.

“May I ask a question?” Don asked.

“What is it?”

“You said there were forty-four bodies. What happened?”

“I did the
yellow rock
thing with Belden,” CJ said. “You could have warned us it was a suicide trigger phrase.”

“We weren’t actually sure it would work. Like we told you, Fiona and I were able to block it out. It’s hard to believe they’re all gone.”

“Did you have...family?” Paige asked gently.

He shook his head. “No. My mother’s been gone a number of years. And like most, my father was just someone my mother coupled with. He wasn’t a part of my life.”

“Coupled?” Ice asked.

“Had sex, baldy.”

“Come on. Let’s get on with it,” Howley said.

“Okay, we took the stairs up through the study,” CJ said. “It’s a narrow passageway. Not quite a secret staircase. I mean, there’s a door. But it’s narrow. Not meant for frequent travel.”

“Let’s take the main stairs,” Howley said. “Make sure you didn’t miss anything.”

“We never found her bedroom,” Paige said. “It must be down here.”

Howley pointed to two of the agents. “You two, check all the rooms down here. Closets too.”

Ice cleared his throat. “Is it just me or is anyone else freaking out?”

Paige smiled and rubbed his arm affectionately. “We’ve just had more time to adjust to it all,” she said.

“Maybe if we had some lights, you know. I mean, how do people
live
like this?”

“Actually, most of the houses have solar power or generators,” Don said. “Mother Hogan preferred to live in the old way. She used lanterns and candles.”

“No offense, man.”

“It’s okay. Like I said, she was a little crazy.”

CJ laughed out loud at that statement. “A
little
?”

“Come on, people,” Howley said. “Can we get this over with?”

CJ glanced back over her shoulder. “Paige? You want to take the lead. Show them the rooms.”

“No, tiger. You’re doing a great job.”

With all of their flashlights, it was almost bright on the stairs. But the dust-covered steps led her to believe that Ester used the staircase in her study to travel to the second floor. Of course, since her bedroom was not up there, she may not have had cause to go up very often. Unless she went to...visit, she thought.

“Here,” CJ said at the landing, pointing to the burial room. “That’s where they all are.” She shifted her light down the hallway, walking that way. “And in here,” she said, opening the door, “is the child we found.”

“May I?” Don asked.

CJ stepped aside, letting him enter.

“Don’t touch anything,” Howley warned. “Ice, check the other room.”

“Oh, man,” he mumbled.

Don walked near the bed, bending over to inspect the skeleton as they held their light on it. “It doesn’t appear distressed,” he said. “Of course, I’m not a real doctor. You probably already know that. But I’d guess he wasn’t older than six.” He turned around, his gaze going over the room. “It’s obviously a child’s room. Her son was the only child to live here. It must be him.”

“Hey guys,” Ice called. “I thought you said there were only seven bodies.”

They all hurried from the room, she and CJ stopped up short as they stared at Ester Hogan, dressed in a white gown. She was laid out neatly on the bed that was made for her. The only evidence of her trauma was the light red discoloration staining the gown on her chest.

“What the
hell
?”

Paige shook her head. “She was in the chamber.” She turned to Don. “Who could have done this?”

“Belden is the only one who knows. No one else has been in here.”

“Belden? The bodybuilder?” Howley shook his head. “No. We found his body.”

“Besides, he was the first one—the only one—I told the phrase to,” CJ said. “He left the chamber, repeating the stupid little verse over and over again.”

“Yes. That’s part of it,” Don said. “To alert the rest of the flock.”

“So who the hell brought her up here?” CJ asked.

No one had an answer. Suddenly Paige felt Don grasp her hand and squeeze tightly.

“I feel her watching me,” he whispered. “I feel
someone
watching.” He looked around the room, their multitude of flashlights casting odd shadows across the floor and beds. “Doesn’t anyone else feel it?”

“Okay,” Ice said, slowly backing up to the door. “I’ve officially reached my limit. There are seven skeletons in those beds over there. And now this? A dead woman, dressed for a wedding? And nobody knows how she got here?” He pointed his light at Don. “And now he’s feeling somebody watching us.” He turned to Howley. “We don’t need to be up here at night. This is some spooky shit.”