Dee burst through the doorway and caught the first box in midair. His arm struck the other box, sending it spiraling in space. Liz and Tracy dove for the man’s legs, pinning him down as he tried to rise.

The other box was tumbling end over end toward the ground, with people screaming and shouting all around. Dee had the grip on one box but could not turn fast enough. He clawed at the air as he reached for the box, but it was too far away.

But it landed safely in the arms of Mickey, who darted into the room and fielded it better than any major league baseball player. The box was safely in her arms.

The man got up to run toward the door but was met with a jarring tackle from a one-handed Ashley, who bolted into the room and fell heavily into him. Down over the chairs he went, crying and coughing.

“I’m getting out of here! You can’t hold me!” the man screamed, but the girls held him firmly to the ground while Kim bound his hands with a piece of cord. She fought his flailing hands until Dee put his box down and assisted her in securely tying his wrists and ankles with a combination of heavy twine and yards of duct tape.

The man yelped and whined as they bound him tightly.

“Make more noise and the next thing taped will be your mouth, mister,” Dee warned. The man fell silent.

Mickey guarded the boxes in the corner of the room. “I’ve called the police on the cell phone and gave them the best description of a trail as I could.”

She chuckled. “How you girls ever found this place, I’ll never know.”

“But how did you find us?” Laura asked. “This place was well hiddenfor, like, years.”

Mickey winked. “Seems someone I know likes to chew gum. And drop wrappers.”

They all looked at Tracy and laughed.

Arrested
“Haven’t seen anything like this in my whole career,” said the sheriff as he led the man away. “This must have been a top-secret project. I’ve lived here my whole life and have never seen anything of the sort, and I’ve been through these hills many a time.”

He shook his head. “Amazing things can be discovered in one’s lifetime.”

“Ain’t it the truth,” a deputy replied.

“I totally agree,” Laura added. She was about to speak more, but the dizziness was too much. The whole affair caught up with her, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. The door locking on them. The shattered glass and her bleeding hand. Crawling through the vents. The man with the gun.

The whole room seemed to be spinning. Benzene was in her skin, in her blood. Her legs buckled. She was falling to the floor.

She was caught and held safely in strong arms.

“Here, I’ve got you,” someone said calmly. It was Ashley.

She half-coaxed, half-carried Laura over to a cot in a side room of the bunker as the doctors were coming in and a stretcher was being prepared.

“Hey,” Ashley said gruffly, “You did a good job. Really.”

Laura blinked slowly. “Thanks. You made a good tackle yourself.”

“Ah,” Ashley said, “I have three older brothers at home who used to make me the tackling dummy during their horseplay.”

***

Ashley stood up and kicked at the ground, thinking. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Well,” Ashley said, “I’ve been pondering over what you said, about knowing that you were, well . . . ”

“Going to die? Yes, I am,” Laura said. “Not exactly a dinner conversation, but hey, I think I can deal with it.”

“Really?” Ashley kneeled down beside the cot. “How?”

“Look, I’ll do more than show you,” Laura replied, “I’ll let you read it for yourself. See that Bible over there?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you get it, I’ll show you the passages that tell you about a place better than anything your imagination could invent. Turn to Revelation chapters 21 and 22, and I’ll start there. Oof,” Laura said, trying to straighten up. “Here, you hold the Bible with your one good hand, and I’ll turn the pages with my one good hand.”

The rest of the people moving about the rooms gave the two girls a respectful privacy over such an important issue, but it was more than one pair of ears that strained to hear what was being said during those next 20 minutes. And Ashley’s head wasn’t the only one that bowed and asked the Savior to allow another new child into His Kingdom.

“Funniest thing,” Mickey said as she entered the room while Laura’s hand was being tended to by a nurse. “You came into our cabin and sat for no more than 20 minutes, yet you gave me a whole new look on things.”

Laura raised her eyebrows, puzzled. “I didn’t try to mess with your mind, Mick, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, no, no,” Mickey grinned. “In fact, I admire you for what you did say. Oh, it got me hot under the collar for a while. I always prided myself on being the one who all the answers, but truth is that I didn’t even know even half of the right questions to begin with.”

She sat down on the cot.

“Look, Laura, I’m not sure where you go from here. Dee and his wife spilled their guts about your real name and address, stuff like that. Your parents have been contacted, and they’re flying in to an airport near here, so you’ll see them in the morning.”

She patted Laura on the back.

“But I think the girls would like if you stayed in our cabin for at least one night. Can we have a sleepover this evening?”

“Sure!” Laura exclaimed, but she paused. “Wait. You talked about Dee. Is he still around?”

“Naw,” Kim said, walking back into the room with Tracy and Liz. “When he saw that you were OK and the cops were on the way, he ran to the bottom of the hill. His wife was waiting there with his car, and they floored it. By now, they should be across the state line.”

Tracy nodded. “No surprise.”

“Well, then could you tell me something?” Liz said.

Kim grinned and shook Laura’s hand. “So you’re with us for one more night?”

Laura smiled back. “Yep. Let’s have a late-night powwow.”

Tracy grimaced. “Man, I hate that word powwow.”

Liz waved her hand. “Listen, would you tell me—”

Tracy pointed at Laura’s hand. “Any severe damage?”

Laura shook her head. “A couple of stitches here and there. I’ll live.”

Liz yelled. “Hold on everybody!” she barked. “I have a question.”

“Well, what is it?” Kim snapped.

“If Dee’s wanted for kidnapping and he escaped over a half an hour ago,“ Liz said, pointing toward the door,” then why is he standing right there?”

Every eye on the room turned to the doorway. There stood Dee and Becca.