Something Wilder

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Leo said.

Bradley smiled, walking closer and lifting his hand to move a strand of hair off Lily’s face. Leo reached out, grabbing Bradley’s wrist, as a gun cocked off to the side.

“Leo,” Bradley said quietly. “Brother. Take us there, or leave us with all the information, but don’t make this worse than it has to be.”

“Why are you risking your job, our friendship—everything for this?” Leo asked. “Why didn’t you just talk to me? I don’t get it.”

“You wouldn’t get it,” Bradley said simply. “Mr. Responsible would never get himself into this situation, and I admire that, but I got mixed up in some stuff you wouldn’t understand and am in so deep these guys are going to straight-up kill me if I don’t get my hands on a lot of cash. Want to save my life? Help your best friend out.”

Leo shook his head, looking away. Bradley waved Kevin forward. “He needs encouragement, I guess.”

“It’s getting dark,” Lily said, and Kevin stopped. The sun had begun its steep descent; shadows were growing longer by the second, and in the canyon, the sky went from dim to dark in a snap. Within an hour, they could easily step off a cliff or walk right into a clump of prickly pear. There was a good reason why you didn’t wander around at night in the desert. “We won’t be able to see a fucking thing.”

“Good thing we’re prepared,” Bradley said.

Kevin opened his bag and pulled out three heavy-duty Maglites. “What?” he said in reaction to Lily’s expression. “You think we’re going to have a fucking sleepover and start fresh in the morning? We go now.”

Jay waved his gun at Leo. “Lead the way, my man.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

BY THE TIME they followed the curve of the rock cliff from the stump to the entrance of the slot canyons, the last of the light had been snuffed from the sky. Lily couldn’t even appreciate how it seemed like the stars spilled in a blanket of glitter overhead. The moon was muted behind a froth of clouds, but the beams of three flashlights swung back and forth across the trail, Bradley and his two assholes hovering right behind them.

Louder than the shuffle of their footsteps through the brush were her own racing thoughts. Lily cycled through one possible escape after another. Maybe they could run? Maybe they could duck behind one of the canyon walls and lose them in the dark. But could they lose all three of them, and for how long? She had neither a light nor a gun. What if they cooperated and Bradley didn’t find what he was looking for in the end? Finding the right entrance was one thing; they’d still have to navigate the correct turns through narrow passages full of chockstones and puddles and God knew what else—in the pitch-black darkness. They could easily come up empty-handed. Then what?

She was no closer to an answer when Leo stopped in front of what looked like a narrow hallway carved into the sandstone wall.

“Can I just reiterate how insanely stupid this is?” he said. “Every one of us could die in there.”

Bradley leaned in, peering past him into the darkness. “You’re not wrong, but wasn’t it just the other day when Lily reminded us you were an Eagle Scout and have more outdoor experience than any of us? That she needed you to solve the puzzles? Really helpful intel.” He poked Leo in the shoulder. “You go first.”

Leo’s jaw clenched as he stared forward into the slot. “I’ll need more light.” He glanced back. “And the map.”

After a moment of consideration, Bradley opened one of the packs and handed him the torn-out map and a small headlamp. Bradley was smarter than he looked; given the chance, Lily definitely would have cracked him over the head with one of the Maglites.

“Don’t be a hero, man,” Bradley warned quietly.

“Yeah” was all Leo said before slipping the lamp on.

The beam of light sliced through the dark, and when he reached back to squeeze her hand, she squeezed back, tighter. With a deep breath, he took his first step inside.

2… F… e… n… w… e.

They walked about two hundred feet—sidestepping, single file in the claustrophobic darkness—before the narrow path opened up and, just like Duke’s map predicted, split into at least ten directions. It was like a circular atrium with hallways branching off. Leo led them to the second one from the left. “Two,” he said. They slid down into the narrow crevasse, which thankfully broadened after the first couple fissures, each of which Leo marked aloud. “A… B…”

And so it went. They climbed over boulders and squeezed down impossibly narrow slots, keeping track of each opening until they reached the sixth, F. Leo looked down at the compass on his watch, locating the direction of the first turn: east. They tripped and stumbled their way east, and then north, and then west, deeper into the disorienting maze with only darkness and possible death in front of them.