UNDER THE DOME

UNDER THE DOME: Crypt of Bones

Chapter 1: Crypt of Bones

Joe stood at the edge of the crater, jabbing at his iPad with a finger. "C'mon, c'mon. Christ, I can't figure out why I can connect one minute, and then the freakin' thing cuts out."

Norrie laid a hand on his shoulder. "Give it up, Joe. The world is ending. We're all going to die anyway, so what's the point? It's not like Steve Jobs' spirit is going to magically pop up and hand you an iPhone with unlimited data plan."

Joe blew out a breath, fed up with Norrie's sarcasm. "Geez, Norrie, listen to yourself. Your mom appeared to you, right? You talked to her. She's dead, right?"

Norrie gasped and yanked her hand back. She willed herself not to cry. It wasn't like Joe to be so cruel, so mean-spirited, especially about her mother. Everyone she knew seemed to be on edge, snapping and lashing out at the most nonchalant comments. It was all the Dome's fault. The Dome had taken on a persona, a life of its own, and now it was definitely shrinking, its walls closing in, about to squash them like specimen bugs under glass. 

The earth shook with a low trembling rumble. A groan issued from the crater's maw, as if it were hungry for fresh blood, its edges crumbling, hoping to knock the two humans off their feet so they'd tumble headfirst into its gaping belly.

Joe heaved a sigh and dropped the iPad on a patch of moss under a nearby tree. "Sorry, Norrie. I was just hoping to connect with someone on the outside. There's got to be a reason why the Dome's contracting. I don't think it wants to hurt us--"

"You mean, crush us."

"Well, yeah, but why would it have kept us alive up to now? Why such a slow death? If it wanted to kill us, why didn't it happen weeks ago?" Joe knelt and peered into the crater, dark except for a few floating sparks brightening for an instant before flicking out.

Joe tried to wrap his mind around their dilemma. The Dome was shrinking around them, closing in, limiting their space. Driving them like cattle to a centerpoint -- or a slaughterhouse. But that didn't make sense. Pauline, Julia and Big Jim all seemed convinced that there was a higher purpose to the Dome's actions, that they were all chosen for some divine purpose. Joe thought it was a bunch of crap. Yeah, maybe the Dome had a purpose, but it wasn't tied into anything religious. Alien, maybe.

They couldn't smash their way out of the Dome. They couldn't fly out of it or drive through it. There's was only one other way to go, and the Dome was making the direction clear as day.

"I've got it," Joe said quietly. "I know what the Dome wants us to do."

"You heard it? It spoke to you?" Norrie dropped to her knees beside him. "What are we supposed to do?"

Joe sat back and dangled his legs over the crater's edge. Chunks of dried mud and stones fell into the hole with a gravelly rustle. "We're going down, Norrie. The Dome wants us down there. It's the only way out."

Before Norrie could choke out a "No!" Joe lurched forward and slid down until his head disappeared below the crater's rim. Norrie gasped. This wasn't at all like Joe. He was always analytical, thought things out carefully. He wouldn't just make a snap decision like . . . like jumping into a pit and killing himself. Norrie  lay flat on her stomach and peered over the edge. "Joe?" she called, her voice trembly. "C'mon baby, c'mon. I need you to come back." 

 "Here!" Joe's voice boomed. He wasn't that far beneath her. In fact, she could see the gleam of the crucifix around his neck, the one he always wore but said he didn't believe in.

Norrie reached a hand over the edge. "Grab my hand, Joe." She felt his fingertips against her palm. Worming closer to the edge, she dipped her hand lower and felt him grasp it. Tighter. Pulling tighter. Then a hard yank, dragging her arm -- her entire body -- into the gaping maw. She struggled against it, digging her toes into the ground. "Joe, I can't stop," she whimpered, tumbling headfirst into the crater. Clods of dirt rained around her. For a moment, she was weightless, screaming, heading for a black void.

Then something broke her fall. Joe caught her around the waist and snugged her up against his body. Norrie threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, panting, her legs rubbery. Joe squeezed tighter, running a hand over her hair, inhaling her luscious scent, baby powder mixed with something musky, exotic. "I've got you, you're all right, I've got you," he murmured, nuzzling her neck. 

Norrie was afraid to look down. Heights terrified her, ever since she looked over the railing of a cruise ship -- a Caribbean vacation with her moms -- and vertigo washed over her. She clung tighter to Joe, her breath coming in short gasping sobs. "Don't drop me. Please, don't drop me."    

But Joe did drop her. He loosened his grip, and Norrie slid down a few inches. A scream caught in her throat. In an instant, her sneaks impacted a flat, solid surface. She sucked in a breath and looked down. Beneath her feet was a rock ledge, about four feet wide. She and Joe were standing on it.

Joe barked out a laugh and tugged her toward him. "Best make-out cave ever." 

Norrie pulled back and slapped his hands away. "Smart ass."

"Come back, baby, come back," Joe mimicked in a high mocking voice. "I've got you--"

Before he could say another word, Norrie leaped off the ledge into the darkness. "Well," came her voice from below, "are you coming or not, smart ass."

Joe gritted his teeth and scuttled down the steep incline, boots sliding, hands grasping for rockface with every step. He kept Norrie's receding form in sight as much as possible. A shaft of daylight from above lit the hole, along with the little blinking sparks giving off a dim light, like being in a closet lit by a penlight.

Finally Norrie came to a dead stop. Joe picked his way across the rubble to stand behind her. "What?" His voice echoed. "What is it?" He peered into the darkness.

Then he saw it -- and arched opening in the crater's wall, a dark aperture, an entrance to a tunnel.

"I'm scared, Joe. Let's go back." Norrie turned and started for the entrance. Joe grasped her shoulder and pulled her back.

"This is it," he hissed. "Our way out. We can't go back now. Don't you see? We can save Chester's Mill. We'll be heroes."

Instantly, their world went black.