Saw
first wail, he knew. He was so stunned, he couldn’t move. Dimly, to one side, he saw Larry turn away and double up, vomiting. Behind him, he heard Eddie hiss with shock and horror. Jimmy came up alongside him, muttering. “I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this.”The woman bent over, extending her arms. A moment later, her back arched with effort. Effort. Effort.
Jeff saw her face turning toward him. Saw the look of silent pleading. Pliss. Need he’p.
Jimmy was still muttering. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this.” Jeff was paralyzed.
The face. Pliss. Need he’p.
The breath blew out of Jeff’s chest. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding it. Jerkily, he scrabbled the shotgun off his shoulder and thrust it at Jimmy. “Hold this!”
An instant later, he was stepping forward. Then, seeing the straining frenzy in the face ahead of him, began running. He was at her side in seconds.
Looking over her arm, he saw the face of a young girl staring up at him from a black pit. The girl’s expression combined terror and—
Christ, they must be suffocating in there.
Almost violently, Jeff thrust his arm into the hole. The woman crowded alongside him was holding the girl’s hands. He seized the girl’s wrist. Between them, heaving, they hauled the girl out in seconds. Jeff, flinching from the smell, almost threw her out the door. But he managed to transform the motion into a simple toss. The girl landed on her knees, gasping for breath. Then,