Page 31 of Reset

“Sure looks like one. It’s wireless, short range, which means there’s a receiver or a relay around here somewhere.”

Any impatience she was feeling vanished at this new revelation. “You mean someone is transmitting images from in here? They’re watching us?” That was too creepy to comprehend.

“Not sure yet.”

She waited, patiently this time, as Ryan meticulously searched the rest of the cavern.

After his news about the bodies, Sarah couldn’t bring herself to step inside the room to help. And the candle wasn’t bright enough to allow her to search in the corridor. All she could do was wait.

In a matter of minutes, Ryan found two more cameras. “I need to check the tunnels and the other rooms, especially the one they put us in. You stay here; I won’t be long.”

Oh, that wasn’t happening. “I think it’s better if we stick together—mainly for my sake.”

“You’re braver than you think, Stats.”

As much as she appreciated the support, it wasn’t true. “We’re surrounded by people who died horribly. If I’m alone, that’s all I’ll think about. The only way to keep my mind off them is to stay with you. You keep me focused and help me to bury the thoughts…no pun intended. Everything you do is a distraction. You can’t help it.”

It was clear he was trying hard not to laugh at her. Again. “That’s quite a compliment.”

“Don’t let it go to your head. As soon as we’re out of here, I’m kissing goodbye to any attempts at remaining calm. Trust me, I plan on having an epic meltdown.”

He cocked his head. “Can you plan a meltdown?”

“Given enough notice, I could plan anything.”

“I bet you could. I still think you’ll be safe here for a few minutes and I’ll be faster alone.”

Sarah glanced around before leaning into him and whispering, “What if they’re watching and they want us to split up? What if a huge metal wall suddenly slams down, with you on one side and me on the other?” She made like she was joking, mainly so he wouldn’t realize just how much of a wimp she really was. In reality, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole place had been engineered purely to mess with them.

“You’ve been watching way too many movies, and that’s saying a lot coming from me. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life.”

“Why take the chance? Right? If you’re worried about me slowing you down, I can run.”

He made a point of staring at her shoes.

They weren’t sexy. They were work shoes. And although they had a heel, it was a block, which made it totally possible she’d be able to run in them. No matter what Ryan appeared to think.

“They’re perfectly comfortable shoes,” she lied. “But if you’re worried, we could just walk fast instead of running.” If he didn’t give in, she planned on rattling off every statistic she knew about heels until she wore him down. There were quite a few.

“That look in your eye is pretty scary.” He was smiling while he shook his head at her. “You win; we’ll power walk back to where they left us.”

That sounded like a terrible idea. Wasn’t power walking just running for people who enjoyed wiggling their hips? Sarah swallowed her opinion and straightened her shoulders. “Lead the way.”

“You first, shorty, and keep your eyes peeled for more cameras.”

“Shorty? I’m five foot four, you overgrown ape.”

Of course, he just chuckled.

It didn’t take long to find several more cameras, all tucked into hiding spots high on the walls of the tunnel and the chamber they’d been left in. And with each new camera, Sarah’s hysteria level inched upward.

“What kind of sicko are we dealing with here?” She wished Ryan would hold her hand again, but his were full of cameras and she was being pathetic. Still, she inched closer to him. Feeling better when he was within touching range. That way, she could reassure herself he was real when logic insisted he wasn’t.

“I’d say we’re dealing with the kind who has his own killing field.” Ryan reached for another camera, just inside the room where they’d started. When he tugged it, a wire appeared attached to it, partially embedded into the rock underneath.

“Killing field?” Oh, that didn’t sound good. “You mean, you think there are more dead people down here?”

“I’d be surprised if there weren’t. Jackpot,” he said as he slowly pulled the wire from the wall and followed it out into the tunnel.