Night. I’d been lying here for hours, drifting in and out of consciousness, hoping, praying for someone to come along. I’d rolled onto my stomach and tried to crawl away from the killer, but I was too weak to get far.

The sound of a car and flash of headlights made me raise my head. Praise Jesus, thank You, God, someone is here.

Voices.

“Hey, Matt, Chris, come over here! This is cool. A body!”

“Naaa, really? Awesome!”

“Whatcha think we shood do?”

“Grab his gun, man. ’Nother gun over there.”

Approaching footsteps. “Hey, there’s a chick here. Pretty. Should we—”

“Naa, man, I ain’t that drunk.”

They moved away.

Help me! I moved my lips, but no sound came from my throat.

“Check the truck.”

The slam of truck doors, then car doors, then the roar of an engine, and they were gone. Silence again descended on the field.

I closed my eyes.

This time it was Maverick, pushing against me and whining, that brought me around. It was hotter than ever, and the sulfur stench punched me in the face.

“Okay, Maverick, okay.” Something tickled my brain. Hot. Sulfur. Something Grace said. Something about Yellowstone.

The ground trembled again, lasting longer.

Hot air pushed against my face.

Maverick whined again, then grabbed my jacket and pulled.

Grace. Outside the lodge. Talking with Dee Dee and Angie. Yellowstone’s incredibly fragile geothermal pools and geysers can be destroyed or altered by man. For example, people routinely throw pennies, garbage, even soap into geysers and pools. This can change the direction of a geyser or . . .

I grabbed Maverick and pulled myself upright. “Right. We gotta get out of here.”

Somehow, Maverick knew what I needed to do. The big dog let me put my hand on his shoulder and use him as a crutch. We started forward, he keeping pace with my hopping.

The ground shook and a rumbling came from behind.

I hopped faster.

Heat like a blast furnace plastered my clothes against my body. The rumbling grew louder.

My hops were more like one-legged leaps.

Ahead, daylight.

Rushing hot air pushed us. The rumbling was now a locomotive engine. The ground bounced.

We weren’t going to make it. Holly shot ahead and out the mine opening.

I put both hands on Maverick’s shoulder and leaped. Go. Go. Go.

Steam scalded my exposed skin.

We hit the entrance and vaulted to one side.

Seconds later, the geyser erupted with boiling water and steam.

Chapter 25

I lay on my back, gasping in the clean, fresh air. “Thank You, God,” I breathed. Maybe I did believe in God. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

How else would we have made it out in time?

The geyser’s outburst stopped, leaving the stench of rotten eggs.