Read Desperate Rescue - Janet Feldman Series Page 11
Janet was restless. She tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. Her mind was actively recounting everything. If she wasn’t awake thinking about everything, then she was dreaming about it. Finally, she got up and walked to the opening that led to the short tunnel and out into the main part of the cave.
“Can’t sleep?” Greg’s voice startled her, and she gasped. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Oh...no. That’s okay. I’m just a little uneasy, I guess,” she apologized and forced a weak smile.
“I can’t say that I blame you,” he sympathized, walking over to her and draping a blanket around her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she said and smiled again.
Greg stood next to her, and together, they gazed into the darkness of the tunnel. “There are lots of tunnels in here,” he began. “Some of them are dead ends, and others exit the mountain in a couple of places. But unless you know where you’re going, you’d undoubtedly get hopelessly lost in here.”
“So when will we be able to leave?” Janet looked up at him. He had never done or said anything to give her cause for concern. Still, she didn’t know that much about him. Very little, actually.
“We’ll have to fire up the radio again in a couple of hours and see if we can get an idea of what’s going on down the hill.” He sounded reassuring, sort of. “Hey, are you still hungry?” The question caught Janet off guard.
“Hungry?”
“Yeah. I am. How about some oatmeal?”
“What time is it?” Janet asked with a slight frown.
Greg looked at his watch. “Nearly eight.”
“In the morning?” She seemed surprised.
“No.” He let out a laugh. “In the evening.”
“I-It’s just hard to tell in here.”
“I know.” He took her hand and led her back to her cot. “Have a seat and I’ll whip up something.”
Janet sat down and kept the blanket wrapped around her. She watched Greg as he pulled out some packets and a jug of water. Lighting the small camp stove, he began heating water. In short order, he had a couple of bowls of oatmeal ready to eat, including some hot cocoa.
“Mmm, smells good,” Janet remarked.
“Yeah, I’m a regular gourmet chef. Give me a couple of packets of instant oatmeal, some hot water, and a sprinkle of sugar, and we’re living high!”
Janet giggled and sipped the cocoa. “This is especially good,” she said quietly and closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the warm chocolate to slide comfortably down her throat.
“I thought you’d like that,” he smiled again and dug into his oatmeal, “since you said you don’t like coffee.”
“You’re not having any?”
“Naw, I’ll have some coffee in a minute.”
They finished their oatmeal in silence, with just the gentle hissing sound of the stove burner and the steady drip of water out in the cavern for background noise. Janet sipped the last of her cocoa and set her bowl and cup beside her on the cot.
“You want some more cocoa?” Greg stood up and offered to take her dishes.
“No... well, okay, maybe one more cup.”
Greg walked back to the camp stove, and Janet stared at the tunnel opening again. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to find Sally first so they could both go home and forget all about this cloak-and-dagger stuff. Janet was still tired but anxious to go listen to the radio again.
Greg was back with another cup of cocoa. He sat down next to her as she slowly drank it. Janet wasn’t sure about him sitting next to her but didn’t say anything. Instead, Greg asked, “Feeling any better?”
“I...I guess.” She hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m very confused right now. I just want to find Sally and go home.”
“I know,” he reassured her. “You’ll find your friend and be able to go home. I promise.”
“You promise? How can you promise?” Janet yawned. The cocoa had evidently made her drowsy, and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She tried to get up, but Greg gently held her down. “Just relax,” she could hear him say.
“But we need to…” she began to protest, yawning again.
“You need to rest. Then we’ll find Sally.”
“Yes.” Her eyes were so heavy. “Find...Sally. Yes...”