Free Shadowmark (The Shadowmark Trilogy Book 1) by TM Catron Page B

of trees, the night darkening considerably. “Maybe this trip will do you some good,” Lincoln said. “You need to get out of the lab more often, Nelson.”
    Nelson answered with a hand gesture that Lincoln couldn’t quite see.
    It turned out Lincoln had been overly optimistic about their ability to navigate in the dark, and what should have been a fifteen-minute walk turned into at least an hour. After much tripping and stumbling through the trees, and profuse swearing from Nelson, the team reached the entrance to the mineshaft.  
    They stepped inside. The low-seam mine offered little headroom, forcing Lincoln to duck as he stepped in. An oily smell filled their nostrils. Like the railroad outside, the original track had been removed.  
    Carter had wrapped sections of blanket around sturdy branches and soaked them in diesel fuel. They lit one of the torches with Carter’s lighter. Nelson carried three more.
    “This way,” said Lincoln, taking the torch. He began to lead them through the labyrinth of wooden beams and piles of brown rock, their boots disturbing the dust that covered the floor.
    “This place looks like it could cave in at any moment,” said Carter as he looked at the sagging timbers above them. He paused to light a cigarette.
    “Another reason why we don’t need extra people in here,” replied Lincoln. He coughed and waved away the smoke. “Don’t you want to make those things last as long as possible?”
    “Why? Either way, I’m going to run out, I think. Might as well get it over with instead of drawing it out. I need to quit anyway.”
    “Still,” joined Alvarez, “I don’t want to die an early death. Put it out, will you?” She pointed to a pile of coal gleaming off to the left, then looked at the torch in Lincoln’s hand. “Will it ignite, do you think?”
    Carter looked at the coal and took one more puff before stubbing out the cigarette on his shoe and putting it back in his pocket. “Odd, isn’t it? Leaving the coal like that. Wonder why?”
    Since no one had an answer, the group continued on. The shaft sloped downward quickly. A few times, Lincoln consulted the map to make sure they had made the correct turn. Several more piles of coal were scattered throughout the tunnels. Finally, they reached a point where the rock shaft ended in ten wide, shallow steps cut directly into the mountain. Lincoln took the first step without hesitation. He knew where he was now.
    “Lincoln.” Alvarez’s voice bounced off the walls. “Stop for a minute.”
    “What is it?”
    She grabbed Lincoln’s torch and held it out in front of her, looking at the steps in the flickering light. “Let me see your shoes,” she said.
    “What? Like take them off?”
    She shook her head. “No, just let me see the treads.”
    Lincoln raised his foot behind him, grabbing hold of it while Alvarez peered at it.
    “Are these the shoes you wore in earlier today?” she asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Then someone else has been here.” The stairway grew quiet as everyone looked to where she was pointing—at a large boot print on the stairs ahead of them, heading down.
    Carter lit another torch and held it out. “She’s right. Completely different tread.”
    “Are there any coming back up?” asked Nelson.
    “I haven’t seen any. Keep an eye out.” Alvarez walked out ahead of them now, holding her torch low. More of the same boot prints marked the stairs, all heading down, along with some of Lincoln’s own treads, headed in both directions.
    “Looks like someone’s still down there,” said Carter. He stopped walking. “What do we want to do?”
    Lincoln pulled out his gun.“This might be our only chance without Nash.”
    “But shouldn’t we bring in the troops now?” asked Nelson, his voice shaking slightly.
    “There might be troops down there,” said Lincoln. “For all we know, Nash sent someone down here and the guy got lost.”
    “Maybe.” Carter frowned.
    “I’m going down. Everyone still with