Who Do You Trust Now? (A Disappearance Mystery Thriller Book 5), Laura Greene [notion reading list txt] 📗

Realizing her mouth is now free of her flashlight, she mutters frustrations under her breath while hoisting her soaked body up again, then searches for her flashlight. Following a thin stream of water, she sees her flashlight had rolled downstream and got caught in the wedge of a small branch. Surprisingly, it’s light is still on as the stream of rainfall continues to beat against it while flowing down.

While she wants to keep going, Melody has to admit defeat and find shelter before the unruly storm destroys her. The water continues to rise and she knows she needs to find shelter up high. She can try to cry for help, but the thunderous skies and howling winds render her cries useless.

Melody shines her flashlight up high, towards the treetops and edges of the hills. There she sees it. It’s an opening in the hill to her side. She follows the natural incline of the hill until she can see that it is an opening to a cave.

Relieved to end her misery, Melody slips out of the rain, hides out in the quiet cave and already, the rumbling rain has hushed.

This cave has a natural incline which keeps the rainfall from collecting inside. A tunnel leads her deeper into the cave, then as she shines her light on its walls, Melody sees they are cleaner, with not nearly as many cobwebs as the first cave. This surprises her, but she doesn’t question it too much.

Deeper she enters, the rainfall now a distant, light trickle to her ear. She inadvertently marks her trail from the entrance with dripping water from her clothes and backpack, mesmerized to see no bats or critters in this cave.

Then the cave opens up like the deep belly of a whale. Vast darkness is lightly awakened and brought to light at her entry. Masking any interest in her, the cave remains silent, quietly observing its guest. Melody is taken in by how little impact her light has on the room, so deeper she goes in search of understanding her home for the night.

It is strangely vacant and undisturbed. Melody wonders how it can be naturally well-preserved and clean. Walking to the center, she sees a makeshift firewood stove, like you might find in a hut in the heart of southern Africa. It looks just like the pictures her father showed her. As a little girl. A closer look, reveals smoke is rising up out of the fireplace, but there is no fire.

She crouches down next to the fireplace, moves the firewood, and discovers warm embers underneath. They give off a slight, warm glow. Melody looks around to see if she has company and she sees no one. But someone left this fire burning, she concludes.

Rubbing the logs to create friction, like her father showed her as a little girl, the smoke picks up and rises towards the top of the cave, the embers ignite into a stronger glow, then she takes out a small piece of paper from a clear plastic bag inside her bag, it’s dry. She ignites it on the embers, they grow while she blows and the fire is restored.

Now, the smoke rising awakens a couple of bats that were sleeping, soundly in the cave. They fly around the room confused which way to go from the smoke. One flies close to Melody and she flings her raincoat at it, shooing it away. Then the bats find the exit, they fly out in a hurry and escape into the night.

Melody is just grateful she does not have to sleep with bats tonight. After fighting through a storm, the last thing she needs right now is unwanted company.

She strangely finds wood stacked along one side of the wall, takes some of it and adds it to the fire. It is unusual, but she is too tired to think too much into it right now. As far as she knows, the storm is raging outside, but Melody is safe, already warming up inside the cave. After changing her clothes then laying them out to dry during the night, while she sleeps, she realizes how tired she really is.

At once, she sets out a small bed of clean clothes in the shape of a slim bed, close to the fire, yet keeping a safe distance from sparks spitting out. Then she takes a step back and her foot lands on something. It is a pair of men’s shoes.

Chapter 4

It is now morning, Melody is woken up by a chill entering the cave. Her first thought, however, is Whose shoes are these?

The shoes are worn out. They are charcoal, men’s work boots, with scratches on the front and wrinkles on the flaps directly under the shoestrings.

She holds them in her hands, studying them intently. As she sizes them up, she can tell they are roughly a size eleven or twelve in mens. And the treading underneath is wearing off. But she already knew this.

Last night she barely slept, wondering if she was really alone or how long she might be alone before unexpected company stops by. She couldn’t tell how the shoes got there and if the person might come back for them and it troubled her. When she finally recalled the storm being fierce enough to ward off even the bravest of prowlers, she realized she was at least safe for the night.

They could belong to anyone, she thinks, attempting to figure out who they might belong to. She can’t stay here and try to figure it out though, it’s not safe.

Walking to the opening of the cave, she sees the weather has cleared, leaving behind a strangely beautiful catastrophe. It’s the Scottish wild; it can sink a hole in the ground and make it look majestic.

If she wasn’t standing right in front of it, she wouldn’t believe it,