Page 76 of Reset

“We need to hurry,” she said. “In case our guides change their minds.”

“Yeah. Worst timing in the world.” Ryan clasped his hands to make a foothold for her. “Leave the bag. I’ll hand it up to you. Get yourself in there first.”

Grasping his shoulders, she stepped into his hands and boosted herself up and into the hole in the wall. At least, she got most of her upper body into the small tunnel, but that was as far as she could pull herself.

“This is no use,” she said. “I don’t have any upper body strength, and I can’t see anything to grab so I can pull myself in.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Large hands grasped her backside and shoved. There may have been some massaging in there too.

“There are other places you could have held,” Sarah complained.

“Yeah, but if I’d touched that area, we’d be right back on the mat.”

“Pervert,” she muttered and heard him chuckle.

On hands and knees, her bum sticking out of the tunnel, Sarah waited for Ryan to hand her the bag and iPad.

“I’m liking this view, Stats.” He slid her bag between her knees.

“Could you please get your mind off sex for five minutes?”

“I’ll try, but I make no promises.”

Sarah wriggled to get the bag over her shoulder. The sharp edges of the rock above scraped her head, and there was barely any space on either side of her.

It was too narrow. Too low. Too confining. Every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to get out of the tunnel. It was only the desperation to escape the mine altogether that kept her in place. That, and the small voice in the back of her mind that kept repeating: you aren’t stuck, you have a light source, you can get out if needed, you aren’t alone, you’ll be fine…

She had to be. This was their only way out.

“Hand me the tablet,” she said as she reached back for it. Ryan placed it into her hand.

She wasn’t sure if having a light made her feel better or worse, because now she could see how far the tunnel stretched in front of her, how low the roof was in places, and how thick the debris was that covered the floor.

“I’m not sure you’ll fit in here,” she told Ryan.

“I’ll fit.” Confidence poured from him.

It was clear that carrying the iPad would make it harder to crawl, which meant she had to find a way to keep her hands free. There was only one other option. She slid it into the front of her blouse, used her bra to keep it in place, and hoped it didn’t fall out.

“The tunnel seems to go up,” she said to Ryan as she crawled forward to make space for him. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze though.”

It helped that there was light coming from the distance, where the strangers waited for them. Sure, it was only a small glowing dot of light, but it was something.

There wasn’t enough room for her to look over her shoulder to see how Ryan was doing getting into the passage. All she could do was listen to him scuff and grunt behind her, while she tried very hard not to think about the fact his face was practically plastered to her backside. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before. But, of course, he couldn’t remember the view.

“This is mortifying,” she muttered.

“We’ll be fine as long as you don’t fart.”

“Ryan!” Her cheeks were burning. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“What? It’s funny. Now get going. Or do I need to headbutt you to get you to move?” He paused. “Head. Butt. Literally!” He dissolved into laughter.

“Boys.” Sarah rolled her eyes as she started to crawl forward. “So easily amused.”

The narrow passage was littered with stones and rocks, making each inch forward an exercise in pain. She took her time, brushing debris aside so she could place her hands and knees with the minimum of discomfort. But one glance ahead, and she knew that tactic wouldn’t be possible for long.

“There’s a lot of rubble further up the passage,” she told Ryan. “Can you see anything? Are you getting any light back there?”