Nothing.
Growling in frustration, she shifted so she could feel first the left side, then the right. Her foot connected with some kind of protrusion. That had to be it.
Rain rolled over onto her stomach and scooted a little further down so her legs were hanging over empty space, her butt sticking up in the air, her hands braced against the wall of the duct on either side of her. Dear god, she hoped she was right. Otherwise she was totally fucked.
Her right foot scrabbled for purchase, finally connecting with what was definitely some kind of step or rung. Foot firmly in place, she scooted back a little further so she could tuck her left knee up and wedge it against the side of the duct. Next came the tricky part.
She tucked her right foot down under the rung, wedging it in good. Hopefully it would prevent her joining the grate at the bottom of the shaft should she miscalculate.
Scooting back a little further, Rain reached out with her right hand, feeling up and down the wall of the shaft until her hand hit another rung. Holding on tight she un-tucked her foot and planted it firmly onto the rung. Then she swung the rest of her body out into space.
For a moment she hung there, suspended over nothingness. Then she grabbed onto the rung with her left hand. Breathing hard, she hung on for a moment before slowly, slowly feeling her way to the next rung and the next. All the way to the top.
RAIN HAD NO IDEA HOW long she’d been in the shaft. It seemed like days. Years, maybe. One minute she was climbing in the pitch black, and the next she realized she could just make out the pale blur of her hands on the rung in front of her.
She glanced up to see a slice of daylight. “Thank you,” she breathed fervently to whoever was listening.
The glimpse of freedom gave her the boost she needed to keep going. Energy renewed, she picked up speed until she finally reached the top. And another grate.
“What is it with grates in this place?”
On the off chance, she pressed her palm against the grate and gave it a shove. The grate opened fairly easily, though the hinges gave a small squeak of protest and flakes of rust rained down on her head. Smiling, Rain heaved the grate all the way back and climbed out of the shaft, sprawling face first onto the dirt.
Every muscle in her body was twitching and shaking. Beyond overworked. Beyond exhausted.
Staggering to her feet, she dropped the gate back into place and took stock of her surroundings. The exit to the shaft lay not in the valley, but on the hillside. No wonder it had taken ages to climb.
The grate was nicely concealed from view and from the elements by a large boulder, several scrubby low bushes, and a stunted juniper. It was only a few feet from where she’d been hiding earlier.
Rain almost laughed. If she’d only known she could have avoided the tromp across the valley and the risk of exposure, not to mention cracking the Marine over the head.
She crouched behind a rocky outcrop and checked out the base below. It was a hive of activity.
Marines were milling around, combing the surrounding valley. Obviously, they were looking for her tracks. She wished them luck with that. There weren’t any tracks to find.
Two Humvees shot out of the parking bay and took off in different directions. One headed toward Fossil and the other headed north. Damn. Not good. Her options were limited to one. And without so much as a bottle of water, the chances of surviving were slim. Still, she’d rather give up the ghost than return to the tender mercies of Barnes and Lee.
With one last glance back at the base, she squared her shoulders and headed into the desert.
THE SUN HAD REACHED its zenith and had begun a slow slide down the sky when Rain stumbled on to the still smoking ruins of the Humvee. The ground was littered with the bodies of dead Marines. At least a half dozen. Maybe more. It was hard to tell. They were mostly burned lumps of meat, barely recognizable as human.
Rain could tell she was dehydrated. Her vision was starting to blur, and her mouth felt like it was stuffed full of wool.
She glanced over what was left of the bodies, but if any of their kit had survived, it had been stripped. She staggered over to the vehicle and carefully touched the hood. It was hot, but not dangerously so. The paint had been completely burned off and the interior of the vehicle was nothing but a smoking ruin. Rain could only hope what she needed inside the Humvee was still intact.
She popped the hood and gave the coolant reservoir a slight jiggle. A small bit of liquid sloshed inside. How it had survived dragon attack and blistering heat was beyond her guess and frankly she didn’t give a damn. She just wanted the water.
She managed to detach the reservoir and pull it out of the engine. There was only about an inch of water on the bottom and it was almost hot enough for coffee, but it would have to do.
She took careful sips of the hot water, letting it sit on her tongue before swallowing it down. It tasted disgusting, like motor oil and hot metal, but it would keep her alive and that was all that mattered.
She eyeballed the sun’s position in the sky before scanning the surrounding terrain. She was no more than a couple hours from the compound. Thank goodness for that. She could use a drink,
