“Garvin…” It was too late. Tammy went sprawling face first.
“Oh shit!” Derek added as we all rushed to her side.
Tammy rolled to her back, curling up, grabbing her lower right leg immediately. Garvin handed Sydney the branch, but Sydney just shook his head. Garvin dropped it and knelt down beside Tammy. “I am so very sorry. We had no way of knowing that it was you and not a flesher.”
“Why the hell would you think I was a flesher? Do I look like a flesher to you, Garvin?” Tammy was trying not to yell but the pain was making it hard.
Garvin looked up at me. “They just killed three nasty fleshers, Tammy. We really didn’t know who or what was running this way.” I tried to explain but I wasn’t sure she was hearing much as she sat up, grimacing in pain. “Why were you running like that anyway? Is everyone alright?”
“Yes,” she replied through clenched teeth. “Jacob found the monument of Martin’s father just beside the mausoleum. They were looking for a way in, while I was to come find you.”
“And you ran for all to hear?” Fala asked.
“Since when did you start sounding like one of them?” Tammy turned and looked up at him, pointing at me. “Well, don’t just stand there with your mouth open. If you don’t have an answer, the least you can do is help a lady to her feet.”
“Of course,” Fala replied, bending his now nude human form down and lifting her by way of putting his arms under hers. “I was merely stating that you ran without care for things around here to hear you. Do you know that there is nothing inside these walls? Have the other masters told you that we are safe here?”
“Okay, enough,” Tammy limped over and leaned up against the bark of a weeping willow that had no leaves left due to the coming winter. “They told me to be as quiet as I could be, but I heard something and all I could think about was those Specter things.”
“That’s what they’re called. I don’t blame you, after seeing what came out of Fala’s face. I do not want one of those things touching me.” I shivered at the mere thought.
“Not to mention, how they suck your soul out,” Derek added.
“If you think you’re ready, we need to move.” I was anxious and nervous to find out what happened to Martin and scared to death about our Tanda. Though, I did know that she was in good hands. If anyone could get her to a safe place, it was Martin.
We moved to the center of the cemetery with haste. Tammy was in between Fala and Monroe while the rest of us kept an eye on our surroundings. We found the others by sound before sight. Cates was cursing loudly, then the sound of two stones crashing together followed. We moved faster and came around the mausoleum to find Cates throwing a small headstone at what Tammy had called Martin’s father’s monument. It was a smaller version of the mausoleum only it had no door.
“There is no latch, no opening that we can find and the big man cannot move the statue,” Jacob said as the smaller headstone broke in half on the side of the base of the kneeling angel that was perched on a large, square pedestal.
“If I had both of my hands, this thing would not defeat me,” Cates claimed as he used his knee to lift another small stone.
“Let me help you and perhaps together we will be able to move it,” Fala suggested.
“Yeah Cates, you put your shoulder into the side of that angel while Fala pushes on the base and rest of us will line up beside him and give it our all,” Derek added, setting his weapons on the ground.
“Jacob and I could push on the front right side as you all push on the side. Surely it cannot withstand the strength of us all,” Monroe suggested.
“Sounds good to me. Renee and I will protect you guys,” Tammy winked at me and sat down on the closest grave. “If someone hadn’t tried to break my leg, I would have been more than happy to help move that huge thing.”
“Excuse me?” Cates stepped back and looked around the angel’s massive wings.
“I’ll explain everything later, my sweet man. It was an accident.” I could see the sparkle in Tammy’s eyes as she spoke and it made me want to find our people even more.
“Let’s move this thing and go find the rest of our family.” Garvin took the words right out of my mouth; I was thinking the very same thing.
Everyone pushed and shoved until the top of the monument started to give way. Once the connection between the statue and the large, square monument where Martin’s father’s remains were supposed to be, broke free of its hold it was much easier to slide. Sure enough, the statue hid a secret stairway and not a coffin that would have to have been filled with ash. What other reason would a breeder have to place their dead in a cemetery? Martin, or whoever had placed this here, had been very wise to do so. I have seen many things that I wished to forget in my short life as a breeder, but this is one that I would remember for future needs. In the event that I survived to see the elders go down, and then can enjoy a safe home where we could live in peace.
“There has been a cave in,” Monroe said as he lay on his stomach and looked into the darkness.
I grabbed the back of his black shirt and got down on my stomach and tried to see what he had seen. “It’s too dark. How do you know?”
“There is a great deal of dust in the air. If the earth had not come down somewhere close by, the air would only be stale.”
“I’m going in,” Derek said, about to move past us.
“Derek, we must have our heads about us if we are to find those who are down there. We need torches to see by and you have left your most important tools on the ground.” Jacob nodded once then walked away, searching for items to create torches out of. Derek slapped his side where his long blade rested and remembered that he had removed it to help move the statue. I could see his pale face turning flush as he leaped off the monument to retrieve them.
Chapter Thirty One
The hole was almost big enough for Martin to wiggle his way through. He had Tanda stand back just in case his movement caused the soft earth above their heads to come down. Martin then came out through the opening head first, moving his shoulders at an angle that made it easy to get them through, but was having a harder time pulling the rest of himself free. His body still wasn’t one hundred percent healed, by any means.
“Give me your hands and I will pull you,” Tanda said as she started stepping closer.
“No! Back up and stay where you are. It is too dangerous where there is no stone to hold the earth. If we are both buried, who will go for help?” he did his best to smile to reassure her that all would be okay but it was a hard thing to pull off.
A few handfuls of dirt and pebbles rained down on the back of Martin’s head. “Oh, please hurry, Martin.” He grabbed both hands full of debris and pulled with everything he had and when his feet made their exit the ceiling gave way. The tunnel turned to darkness when the earth collapsed; covering Martin and the torch that Tanda had stuck into the ground. The cloud of dirt slammed into Tanda and all she could do was scream, “Martin!” ***