CHAPTER 4: The Cabin That Exploded
CHAPTER 4: The Cabin That Exploded
Dominic stared at Sarah.
"You've got about thirty seconds to convince me this isn't the worst idea you've ever had."
Sarah was already moving.
"It probably is."
She yanked two kerosene cans toward the center of the cabin, ignoring the pain in her scraped hands.
"But it's the only one."
Another rifle round tore through the wall, splintering the log beside her head.
Elena fired back through the shattered window.
"They're advancing!"
A voice echoed from outside.
"Dominic Rossi!"
It came through a bullhorn.
"You've lost too much blood to survive. Come out now, and the maid lives."
Sarah looked at Dominic.
"They know I'm here."
"They've known since the estate."
The voice continued.
"Your uncle only wants you."
No one inside the cabin believed that for a second.
Sarah's mind shifted into the calm, methodical rhythm she had learned in nursing school.
Assess.
Plan.
Act.
She examined the cabin in seconds.
The propane tank was mounted just outside the kitchen wall. A burst line and an open flame could create a powerful explosion—but only if they escaped first.
She pointed toward a narrow hatch beneath a threadbare rug.
"What's under there?"
Elena pulled the rug aside.
"A root cellar."
She lifted the wooden door.
Instead of shelves, a cramped tunnel disappeared into darkness.
"I'd forgotten about this."
"The old groundskeeper dug it during the Cold War," Elena said. "It leads to a drainage ditch about a hundred yards downhill."
Dominic almost laughed.
"The old man was paranoid."
Elena's expression remained grim.
"He worked for your father."
Outside, the gunmen tightened their circle.
Their leader studied the cabin through binoculars.
"No movement."
One of the men asked, "Rush it?"
The leader shook his head.
"No."
"Lorenzo wants Dominic's body."
He checked his watch.
"We'll smoke them out."
Two men stepped forward carrying gasoline cans.
Inside, Sarah heard liquid splashing against the outer walls.
Her stomach tightened.
"They're going to burn us alive."
Dominic looked toward the cellar entrance.
"Then we leave now."
Sarah shook her head.
"If we all go now, they'll see us."
She grabbed a lantern.
"We need them looking at the cabin."
Elena understood immediately.
"The explosion."
Sarah nodded.
"It buys us time."
Working together with desperate speed, they poured kerosene across the wooden floor and furniture.
Sarah kicked over a bookshelf.
Dominic scattered blankets soaked with fuel toward the kitchen.
Elena checked the tunnel one last time.
"Clear."
Outside, someone shouted.
"Light it!"
Flames climbed the cabin walls almost instantly.
Smoke poured through the cracks.
Heat rolled across the room.
Sarah coughed as black smoke filled her lungs.
"Time to go!"
She grabbed the lantern, smashed it onto the fuel-soaked floor, and dove toward the cellar.
Fire raced across the kerosene like a living thing.
The last thing Sarah saw before slamming the hatch shut was the ceiling disappearing behind roaring orange flames.
The tunnel was barely high enough to crawl.
Dominic grimaced with every movement, one hand pressed against his bandaged wound.
Sarah crawled ahead, using a small flashlight Elena had pulled from her coat.
Behind them came a deep, growing roar.
The cabin was becoming an oven.
Then—
A deafening explosion ripped through the earth.
The tunnel shook violently.
Dirt rained from the ceiling.
Sarah covered her head as dust swallowed the narrow passage.
Dominic groaned.
Elena shouted over the ringing in their ears.
"Keep moving!"
If the tunnel collapsed now, they would be buried alive.
Outside...
The cabin erupted into a massive fireball.
The propane tank exploded with enough force to shatter nearby trees.
The shockwave threw several gunmen backward into the snow.
Burning logs crashed across the clearing.
For several long seconds, nobody moved.
Then the team leader slowly stood.
The cabin was gone.
Nothing remained except burning debris.
One of the men removed his earpiece.
"It's over."
The leader picked up his radio.
"This is Team Three."
He watched the flames consume what had once been the cabin.
"Target eliminated."
Nearly two hundred yards away...
The tunnel opened into a frozen drainage ditch hidden beneath thick snow-covered brush.
Sarah emerged first, gasping for fresh air.
She turned immediately to help Dominic climb out.
He collapsed onto one knee.
His face had become ghostly pale.
Blood seeped through the fresh bandages.
Sarah checked the wound.
Her expression changed.
"No..."
Elena crouched beside her.
"What?"
"The explosion didn't do this."
Sarah carefully lifted the bandage.
Her fingers came away bright red.
"The bullet shifted while we were crawling."
Dominic was bleeding internally again.
He looked at Sarah with remarkable calm.
"How long?"
She hesitated.
He repeated the question.
"How long?"
"If I can't get you into surgery..."
She swallowed hard.
"...maybe six hours."
Silence settled over the snowy forest.
Six hours.
That was all they had left.
Elena suddenly froze.
She raised one hand.
"Listen."
In the distance came the unmistakable sound of helicopter blades.
Not one.
Two.
Sarah looked toward the gray morning sky.
"They're searching already."
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
"Lorenzo doesn't believe I'm dead."
"No," Elena said quietly.
"He never planned to."
She pointed toward the helicopters growing larger above the treetops.
"He wanted us to think the explosion fooled him."
Sarah felt the blood drain from her face.
"The cabin..."
"...was never the end of the hunt," Elena finished.
"It was only the beginning."
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As the helicopters swept lower over the forest, a spotlight suddenly cut through the falling snow—
—and stopped directly on the three of them.
