Radium Halos Read Free

covered in mud.
    I skipped over
him to the tall, lean, dark-haired guy walking beside him. The
complete opposite in dark jeans and black shirt ‘The Beatles’
emblazed with a Union jack design on his chest. Even with Rylee’s
small light his eyes matched his hair, their reflection dark
against the dim light. His hands were stuffed into his back pockets
and as he chuckled at something Seth muttered. I heard my own
breath catch.
    I couldn’t stop
staring. Cute, very cute. My heart sped up a few erratic
beats as I wondered how his voice sounded. Then I remembered they’d
just scared the crap out of us. “Seth, you’re such a dill-weed.
Poor Heidi’s nearly pee-ed her pants.”
    “Sorry,” Seth
said, his baritone echoing off the nearby walls. “We broke in here
when the storm started. I hope I didn’t scare you. We were just
messing.”
    “It wasn’t
funny. At all,” Heidi said.
    “Sorry. We were
just around the corner when we heard you guys crawl in.” Seth
craned his neck, trying to look behind us. “No one else?”
    Brent stepped
forward. “They all ran for their cars. Did you break the board at
the entrance?”
    “Yup.” Seth
grinned, flexing a massive arm muscle. “By the way, this is Kieran.
He moved in down the street from me a couple of days ago.”
    “G’d ev’nin’.”
Kieran’s low voice carried a thick accent. English?
Australian?
    Rylee sloshed
over and hugged Seth and then Kieran. “I’m Rylee.”
    “Nice to meet
you.” Kieran politely stepped back.
    Heidi waved a
little hand, then reached for hair to play with out of habit. Not
finding any with the new hairdo, she scratched her neck instead
“I’m Heidi. Are you from England?”
    “Och.” He
smiled and shook his head. “Not hardly. I’m from Inverness, a wee
town in Scotland.”
    Brent nodded
and held his hand out. Seth slapped the front, then back. The shake
was their Boy Club greeting they’d made up in third grade and,
sadly, still used it. “’Eh, Kieran. I’m Brent, the music man.” He
patted the guitar case on his back that I’d completely forgotten
about. He hummed a few chords of “Auld Lang Syne.”
    Kieran
grinned.
    I stepped
forward and inhaled trying to think of something witty to say. The
deep breath killed all thought processing and instead gave me the
opportunity to breathe in Kieran scent. Probably some aftershave
mixed with the Highland waters of Scotland. Trying to appear
cool I crossed my right ankle over my left and nearly fell into the
running water. Thank goodness for the dimness. “Hu-hello,” I said,
groaning inwardly at the rust in my husky voice. “I’m Zoe. Fancy
meeting you in such a…a… memorable place.”
    “Speaking of
which,” Brent said. “Do you know a way outta here? Zoe seems to
think we’re trapped.”
    “We’re not
trapped.” Seth pushed passed us to the opening of the mine. Rylee
shone her little light at the jammed entrance and we all moved
closer to Seth. He spread his feet and squatted down to push
against the tree trunk. Brent and Kieran joined him, their arms
flexed with exertion against the pale flashlight.
    “The tree’s
not… going to… budge.” Seth grunted as he pushed harder. He lost
his footing and crashed to his knees in the rushing water. “Crap.”
He grabbed Brent’s outstretched hand and vaulted up, soaked to the
waist. “There’s a run off rain spout by the mine opening, the tree
must’ve took it down as it fell. That’s why there’s all this water
running in here.”
    My teeth were
nearly rattling out my head. I blinked in surprise, not realizing
how cold I’d become. Or maybe it’s just the mine. Or the
fact that we were stuck here! I hated this place, but wasn’t about
to admit it out loud. Wringing my hands, I pressed my lips together
to stop their trembling. Images of being forced into the deep, dark
pits of the mine, and never being found, galloped through my
head.
    Seth reached
toward Rylee. “Give me the light. We had one but it