Chapter 149

Standing alone in the tunnel with no way of reaching the hole her mother had just disappeared through was more terrifying to Jo than she was willing to admit. Just a split second after her mother’s feet were gone through the opening, her heart started hammering in her chest, and she felt like she was going to throw up. But she took a second to assess the situation and reminded herself that she was okay. Lots of people knew where she was.
That didn’t mean they’d be able to get her out.
She knew her aunt could float her out, though. At least she hoped she would be able to. The thought that her powers might not work through the floor made Jo nervous. She took some deep breaths and waited.
Only a few seconds had passed, but the panic was already there. “I trust you, Mom,” Jo whispered. “I trust you.”
Above her, she saw a hand reaching through the opening. She had no idea how that was possible because she’d had to go through feet first, but she knew it was her mother’s hand. Maybe she’d managed to keep the hole open long enough to get her hand inside. Jo didn’t care. At the moment, she needed to reach that hand and get out of here before she lost her mind. How had her mother survived down here for so long and not gone crazy?
Leaping up off the ground, Jo reached for her mother’s hand and grabbed hold of Cadence’s wrist. Her mom’s grip was strong and sure, and with hardly any effort at all, Cadence lifted Jo through the hole.
As soon as Jo was back in the tunnel proper, she lay on her back, panting. It was more from the anxiety she’d felt at being left down there than it was over-exerting herself getting out. After a few seconds, she scooted back, trying to sit up.
“Are you all right?” Her mom helped her up and kept her arm around Jo’s shoulders.
Jo nodded. “I’m fine. God, Mom! I don’t know how you did that for so long. Just a few minutes down there made me want to pull all of my hair out.”
Cadence’s face shifted into a dismal frown. “I know. It definitely wasn’t easy. For the first… I don’t know how long… I felt like I was going to go out of my mind. I just felt like I was losing it, trying to figure out how to get out of there. The fact that you were able to find it so easily makes me feel even crazier.”
“It’s not that, Mom. I don’t think that the opening I used to go down there was always there. I think this is a new development, though I don’t know how it came to be.”
“Why do you think that?” Cadence asked. “Because I couldn’t find it?”
“I’m not sure, but Christian and Dad were looking for all of those years and never saw it before--until a couple of weeks ago. And then I had a dream about it.”
“What could’ve changed to make it so that you could find it? And where do you think the dream came from?”
“I don’t know about the dream, but I wonder if Holland used some sort of magic to make the tunnel stay hidden, and over time it just failed.”
Jo got to her feet knowing that a lot of people were waiting for them. She pulled her mom up, careful that both of them avoided the hole they’d just come from, and headed back the way she’d come, hoping that Zane was much better.
They didn’t get too far before they ran into Zane and Scott who were coming at them in a rush. “Cadence!” Scott shouted. “I can’t believe it!” He threw his arms around her as Zane hugged Jo. He seemed to be all better now, which was a relief.
“You did it,” Zane whispered in her ear before kissing her on the cheek. “You found your mom.”
“I know. I still can’t believe it. We need to get Ryker and Cassidy so we can get out of here.”
“Right. We can’t contact Ryker because he doesn’t have an IAC. We’ll have to go see if he’s still at the door.”
Jo could see Cassidy as a tiny blip on her IAC, the same way that she’d seen her mom. Chances were that Cassidy would detect her sister’s IAC in the same fashion now that Cadence was with them. If that was the case, she was sure to come back on her own.
But there was no guarantee that Ryker was still okay. After all, he’d been standing back there by the door to hell by himself for a while. Without him having an IAC, it was impossible for them to contact him. Cassidy could use her telepathy to get to him, but that didn’t do them any good at the moment.
The group of them hurried toward the opening on the far end of the central hub. Originally, this was where all of the demons had come from. At least, that’s what Jo had been told. Once Holland had been thrown into the portal, everything seemed to change.
“What about that leaving someone behind business?” Cadence asked as they approached the door.
From the tunnel to their left, a huge monster came flying at them, its fang-like teeth glowing in the darkness. Jo and Zane both turned and fired as Cadence fumbled for the gun in her waistband. Once she also managed to sink a few bullets into the creature, it fell to the ground.
“You were saying?” Jo asked once the creature was no longer a threat.
“When your dad and the rest of the guys, who were tricked by Holland and her demented doctor, got lost in here, they had to leave someone behind in order for the rest of them to get out. Heather told them that someone had to be left behind, and that’s why she could never get out.”
“Dad and Christian have come and gone as they pleased for years,” Jo said. “I’m not sure if that’s because technically you were in here or not.”
“It’s too bad Alex doesn’t count,” Scott muttered.
Jo gave him a morbid look and wanted to punch him, but she didn’t. They were almost to the door, and she could see Ryker standing in the shadows with his gun drawn. A sigh of relief washed over her.
“Well, if Christian is still in here, and we can’t find him before a portal opens that we can pass through, I guess we can always leave him behind,” Zane said with a shrug. “Then, we could get a vampire to bring in here to get him out.”
“Or we can all just go out through a hole that I make,” Christian said, causing all of them to turn and point their weapons in his direction. How he’d managed to sneak up on them, Jo didn’t know. Usually, the scent of cigarettes and mint announced his presence before he actually arrived.
Her heart was banging in her chest, and her finger was mere millimeters from pulling the trigger. He was lucky no one had fired.
“Christian!” Cadence said, flying over to him. “It’s so great to see you.”
“I bet he’s never heard that phrase before,” Scott mumbled.
“Cadence? Holy shit!” Christian said, hugging her so tightly, Jo almost wanted to look away to give them privacy--except that was her mom, and that was not her dad. While she was glad Christian was not her father—because… gross--she didn’t like him hugging her mom like that. “Jo actually found you?”
“She did, but I can’t thank you enough for continuing to search for me,” Cadence said, finally managing to get Christian to let her go. “If it weren’t for you and Aaron, I’d still be trapped down there, I’m sure.”
A thought occurred to Jo about two seconds too late. “I’m really sorry about that,” Christian said. “Aaron was a good guy.”
It was dark, and Jo couldn’t really see her mom’s face, but she knew instantly that her mother understood what Christian wasn't saying. “What’s that?” Cadence asked.
“Aaron,” Christian repeated as Jo heard Zane whisper, “Oh shit,” next to her ear. “Did they lie to you?”
“We didn’t lie!” Jo said, stepping over. “I mean… I didn’t tell her the truth, but only because… I needed to get you out of there, Mom. And I was afraid if you knew you wouldn’t… you wouldn’t want to come out at all.”
“Your father’s….dead?” Cadence’s face was ghostly white, and her lips were trembling. Jo wanted to punch Christian in the nutsack if he had one. “Wh-when? Wh-what happened?”
“It’s only been a few days,” Jo told her. “Holland. It’s a whole complex thing involving scandium bullets that can kill Guardians and a bomb. I will tell you everything, Mom. But we have got to get you out of here first. Cadon and a whole lot of other people are waiting to see you. You’ve got to hold yourself together until we get home, okay?”
Cadence was nodding, but tears were rolling down her cheeks. Jo lifted her boot to turn around to head back toward Ryker and the door, but before she stepped away, she slammed her boot down on Christian’s foot.
“Argh!” he screamed. “What the hell, Jo? I was just being honest.”
All the Hunter could do was shake her head. Christian was an asshole, and everyone knew it. He’d done it on purpose. He wanted to be with Jo’s mom so bad, he didn’t even care if he hurt her.
When they arrived at the door, Ryker looked a lot less worried than he had a moment ago. At his feet were the remains of several monsters. “Hi,” he said, looking mostly at Jo. “Nice to see you guys.”
“Ryker, this is my mom, Cadence.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ryker said, offering her his hand. She took it, but she didn’t say anything. Jo figured Ryker was smart enough to figure out why.
“Do you know where Cass is at all?” Jo asked him.
“No, but the monsters tend to come from the door, so I’m hoping the fact that about twelve have come out since she went in means she’s scaring them.”
Jo kept the idea that it might mean that she was dead to herself. “All right, well, she doesn’t seem to be coming out, so… some of us are going to have to go in there after her.” It was the only way, even though it absolutely sucked. “Any volunteers to go with me?”
“I’ll go,” Zane said.
“Do you want me to go or stay here?” Scott asked.
“Mom, you should stay here with Christian and Ryker. They’ll keep you safe. Zane, Scott, and I will go look for Aunt Cass.” Jo looked her mother in the eyes and saw very little response.
Under normal circumstances, Cadence would be jumping at the chance to attack. But right now, she was lost in another world more than she had been before Jo had found her.
Turning to Zane and Scott, Jo said, “Let’s go.”