Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Icelandic Mystery. Chapter 10. Tunnels.
“Well, it should not be much longer Steve,” said Sigurbjorn, “how are you doing?” “I’m in a lot of pain and getting very stiff,” I told her, “and I am getting very cold. That is why they took my shirt, to make things as hard as possible for me and hopefully give me hypothermia.” “We must do something about that,” she answered, “though I am not sure what at the moment. But it is only a little further and we can stand up.” “That will be nice anyway,” I said slowly.
I was also trying not to show that I was shivering now. If we do not get out of here soon I will not make it. Sigurbjorn was right, it was only another 10 minutes and we were in a larger tunnel again so we could stand up. However, by this time it was hard to get myself standing but I had to try so Sigurbjorn would not worry about me.
“I know you are having a lot of trouble Steve,” she said, “so do not pretend. We have to get these cuffs off of us somehow. I wonder if it is still daylight enough. Come, let us try to walk a little down this tunnel.” I put all my strength into it and we made fairly good time to another “room” down this tunnel…and it had light in it! “There is a small hole that goes to the surface, right up there,” said Sigurbjorn, “it is nice to have a little light again.”
She was right, it was nice to be out of that darkness. That hole looked very tiny but the light it provided lit up that whole big room very nicely. “There it is,” she said, and we walked over to one of the walls. There was a very sharp rock protruding from the wall so we tried using it to cut these heavy rubber handcuffs off our wrists. Unfortunately it slipped a couple of times cutting both of us.
It did take a while but it worked and we were free again. “Oh my,” said Sigurbjorn, “the whole side of your arm is bleeding from being scraped as we crawled through that tunnel.” She was right. I was so cold that I did not even notice it. Then I really started shivering uncontrollably. “No, this is no time to go into shock,” she said and she began rubbing me to try and generate heat in my body.
She also ripped a sleeve off her shirt and got some water nearby to clean my wounds. She tried hard to get me to stop shivering and finally I settled down. “Perhaps we can call for help,” I suggested. “Unfortunately they would not hear anything, we are a long ways from where your team is likely standing,” she said. “I do not think I will be able to walk much more,” I said, “you might have to go on without me, you will be able to go faster. How much farther is it anyway?”
“Well, walking in the dark is slow, and there is a bad section where we could fall into another hole,” she began, “but if all goes well, even by myself, it would take another day to get out of here.” That is not really what I wanted to hear. That means if I go with her it would take at least twice that long, perhaps longer, since I will get weaker as time goes by. She looked at me.
“Yes, I know what you are thinking,” she said, “but I do not want to leave you here alone. It would be too dangerous, you would get hypothermia for sure.” “Yes, you do have a point,” I admitted, “but if I go with you, then you might have to carry me.” “Then I will carry you,” she said smiling, “we will rest a bit longer, then we will start walking again.”
She definitely will make a good addition to our team. Soon we were on our way again and it was not long before we were at the place she had mentioned. We had brought the handcuffs with us, even though they were cut we both held on to one end loop. She said if I fell then she could hold onto me and pull me back up again.
Somehow I doubted that, but it did give a certain sense of safety anyway. It seemed like such a long time crossing that spot but we finally made it and I collapsed onto the tunnel floor. “Yes, we can rest a bit here,” she said, “but not for long.” “C, can you describe w, where the other e, end of the t, tunnel is located,” I said shivering again. “Sure, but that does not help us,” she said rubbing me again. “Yes, I, I can send a message, in c, code,” I said, “press here, I, I will t, tell you how.”
To Be Continued.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
You need to keep active to stay warm!! You are in a very dangerous place heat wise!!!😬😬😳😲
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Yes, but staying active is getting to be impossible, too much pain and getting very stiff. But hopefully our message will get through to the others.🤔👩👩👩👩👩👩😾😾😾🕵️
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And quickly!😳
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Yep. And something still feels strange about all of this. Someone knows about my old wounds, but how would that relate to this case? The only one that fits is John and yet, I don’t think it is him. Then again…🤔🙄🙄😾
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Or it could be another person on your team??😲😲
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Hey, my team members have been with us for a long time now, they are all trustworthy!🤔🕵️
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Ok… just tossing out possible suspects🙄🙄
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Yeah, we need some suspects alright. I have been sweeping my brain trying to think of some. But so far nothing.🤔😲
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You certainly have more Insight into the possible suspects than I do. But like you said .. it has to be someone who knows your physical ailments and limitations to set you up that way…🤔🤔
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Yep, that is so true, which means it has to be someone fairly recent to know all these things. It can’t be someone from an older case or they wouldn’t know. Unless someone more recent told them, which is always possible. Unlikely, but possible.🤔
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Now we need to wait until Monday for more clues to who this villain is!!🤨🤔🤔🙄🙄
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Hmm, now that is a thought isn’t it?🤔🙄
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That’s right! Like a jigsaw puzzle, need all of the pieces to see the big picture!😉😊😁
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By then the case is solved! And we can go home and warm up.🙄But I don’t think it will be that easy.
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It never is that easy!! It wouldn’t be the Investigators if it were!😉😉
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If it is that police chief that is the boss of The Company, then it will be tough finding evidence against him.😬😬
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And if it isnt… then you don’t really have a good suspect!!🤔🙄
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Yep, so true, only John and this is too elaborate for him.
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Agreed!! It’s so exciting trying to figure this case out!!😁😊
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Yep, I’m having fun with it too! But what if we can’t figure it out? That would be terrible!😲😲
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Not any worse than John always getting away!!🤔🤔🙄🙄 Who ever it is will still be lurking in the shadows waiting to strike again!🤨
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Are you trying to tell me something? Yes, that’s what we don’t want, having someone else waiting for us!😬😬
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Yeah, and never knowing if the next case is a legit case or a setup trap!!🤨🤨
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I know, it’s going to give me nightmares in every letter!😬😬
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That’s why you need to get this person!!😉😁😊
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And we will, we will!🤨
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I’m counting on it!!😉😁
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I am surprised that you did not go into shock ! The sooner you get home, the better off you will be ! You are too trusting of people ! Take care ! 🕵️♂️👩😼😼😼❗️
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Well, it did get close and it might happen yet, we still have a long ways to go! Unless the team gets our message. I only trust our team, not others. Yes, we need to get back home, but we also need to finish this case!🤔👩👩👩👩👩👩😾😾😾🕵️
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