The Healer 4

Part 14

'Lex? ... Can you hear me?' I barely heard Mel. She sounded so weak.

'Mel?! Where are you? Are you okay?'

'I don't know.'

'Are you awake?'

'Yeah. I think so. It's so dark.'

'Dark? ... Can you smell anything?'

'It smells ... like dirt.'

'Oh, my God. No. ... Mel, I need you to think. What's the last thing you remember?'

'Talking to you and Eva, but everything gets fuzzy after that.'

'I think I know where you are, and neither of us are going to like this.'

'Where?'

'You're in the tunnels, Mel. Can you move? Can you get up?'

'I think so.'

I could hear and feel her fear and panic, so I thought 'Just stay calm, Mel. We'll get you out.'

'Okay.'

'Find the wall and keep a hand on it. ... I need to know where you, so I can try to tell Eva. She found a way in and out.' As she slowly made her way through the tunnel, I explained what had happened since I'd last talked to her, leaving out a few details that she didn't need to know.

'What do you think they found?'

'It's a diary, and I'm pretty sure it was my mom's. ... I don't know if I want to know more than that. It sounds like William thinks Isiah is my ... my dad.'

'What?! No way. That's impossible. Vampires can't have kids. ... Right?'

'That's what me and everyone else who knows about vampires believe.'

'Then, he can't be your father. John's right. Your mother must've wrote that in her diary in case someone got a hold of it like them.'

'That doesn't explain how Mary and Dr. Adams got involved, ... unknowingly. ... There's no way my mom would've involved them.' I felt her hand pass over something familiar and quickly thought 'Wait. ... Go back. What was that?'

'I don't know.' As she felt the wall, she explained 'It's hard and cold. ... Metal?'

'It's the water pipes. ... Keep going. If you're where I think you are, there should be a tunnel to the right up ahead.'

'You know where I am?' She thought doubtfully.

'I think so. I spent a lot of time wandering around down there, and the only place I ran across any kind of pipe was in the tunnel just before the one that leads to the exit and the well.'

'Someone's coming.' She thought in a rush.

'Shit! Can you tell where they're coming from?'

'Not down here. '

'It's okay.' As she hit the turn I'd expected, I added 'Okay. Good. I know where you are. All you have to do is stay to the right. You'll end up at the well. It's the safest place I can think of. Try to get Eva's attention. They're down there somewhere or at least close. Eva should know how to get there.' I felt myself waking up, and added 'I'll try to get her attention, too. Stay with me. I don't want you alone down there.' I started to feel someone shaking me lightly and murmuring something, but I couldn't hear what, at first. In a rush, I thought 'There should only be one more right turn, and you should run into the well. Be careful not to fall in. I don't know, if it's dark or not, but you should be able to tell when you're getting close. It should get lighter, and you should be able to feel a difference in the temperature, and notice the smell of the water. It smell kind of stale.'