Chapter 17
Mark pulled his mask up with his free hand, then took a step backward. Beth moved with him. Before she could say a word, several large pieces of coal and rock fell, the noise deafening in the tiny cave. A chunk of limestone easily two feet wide and three feet long landed where he’d just been standing.
“Safe bet he knows we’re here,” Beth said, her voice muffled by the respirator. “You okay?”
“I’m good. I think we found our man.”
She followed the light and saw pale white through the shifting dust. The skull and arms were unmistakable, as were the long leg bones. The torso was hidden by a pile of rocks, none of them as big as the one that had just missed Mark.
They’d obviously been big enough.
The man’s arms and fingers had been stretched out toward the entrance for decades,
