I snuck into the conference room Steve and Tango were in at around 11:30. Steve pretended to chastise me for sleeping in late and Tango sat by and watched with his eyebrows raised. They gave me the thermal imaging footage to review. I glanced over at Steve and was amused to see that he looked like the epitome of smugness. Not to mention he had this look about him like he had just rolled out of bed. He was sitting back with his hands behind his head and a crooked smile plastered on his face as he monitored the screens. He looked so good sitting there that I had to look away to avoid the urge to jump on him.

"Hey—whoa—listen to this, you guys!" said Tango. "This is right before you guys got separated." He handed Steve the headphones first. Steve sat up in his seat and frowned. I received the headphones next and hesitantly put them up to my ears. Tango played the clip.

"…Come here…to the door." It was a very clear and raspy voice. I exchanged glances with the others.

"That…was creepy." I set the headphones down. "I don't think I want to hear that ever again." I sat back and took a deep breath trying to forget what I just heard.

"Hey guys, what's up?" We all looked up to see Kris walk in.

"Hey, listen to this and tell us what you think," said Tango, handing her the headphones. As she listened, her eyes widened considerably and she immediately looked at me.

"And this is when you went through the door to that tunnel?" I nodded and crossed my arms. Tango scribbled his findings down on his notepad, looking excited. I looked over at Steve, whose brow was furrowed in thought.

"What did you find?" Steve asked Kris. She pulled a chair up to the table and took some papers out of a folder.

"Not much, except for one bit of information that I had to dig to find. It seems like no one wants anyone to find out about it because it was fairly recent but it was hidden under a bunch of papers from the 50's." That got our undivided attention. "It turns out that there was a dead body found in the caves in 2001. It was an 18-year-old male caucasian. He actually was from Cranston, Rhode Island, but his family had reported him missing weeks before. Police ruled it a suicide. He was on methamphetamines and also had a blood-alcohol level that was way above legal limit. It turns out the tunnel they found him in was the same tunnel that Felina had her experience." Kris looked up from the papers she had been referring to and reddened slightly to see us all staring at her. "What? Is this good enough?"

"Good enough? You just hit pay dirt!" said Tango excitedly.

However, I was shocked hearing the news that someone from Cranston had been involved with all this.

"Can I see this for a second?" I said, gesturing to the paper. Kris handed it over to me. I scanned the text for anything specific about the guy's identity. According to the article, he was a Cranston East High School dropout. I looked through the other papers for a picture of some sort, but there wasn't any. This new bit of information piqued my curiosity. I had gone to the same high school and had graduated in 2001. Then the recurring dreams and my experience last night came back to me. I shook my head and put the papers back. It probably was just a coincidence.

Jay and Grant had been impressed with what we had found and were in high spirits going to the reveal. Afterwards, we all went to a country tavern and grill for dinner, courtesy of Jason and Grant. There was a live band playing and a dance floor where people were line dancing. Steve, who was more inclined to rock music, sat and stared in disbelief as someone in the band started playing a washboard with spoons. Me and Kris had gotten up to dance like idiots during "Boot Scootin' Boogie," and even got some good-looking cowboys to show us how to dance properly. The guys were sitting at the bar enjoying a few beers. Steve was watching me with an amused look on his face. I ran up to him and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, let's dance." Steve didn't budge.

"No way," he said, taking a swig of beer. I jutted my bottom lip out and attempted to mimic Steve's puppy dog look. Steve saw it and looked away. "Not falling for it!" I batted my eyelashes pathetically. "Now you just look like my cat."

"Ugh, you're no fun!" I said, starting to walk away. I smirked when I noticed I was being followed. Steve grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side in a dark secluded corner.

"No fun, eh?" he whispered, trailing kisses all along the side of my neck. I tilted my head back to allow him better access and slid my arms around his shoulders.

"Mmm…Why don't you wanna dance?" I asked. He broke contact long enough to answer my question.

"Because I already 'danced' with you earlier." I giggled and ran my fingers through his hair as he continued his assault on my neck.

"That's not what I meant. C'mon! Boot Scootin' Boogie is easy!" I took his hands and tried to lead him out to the dance floor.

"I can't dance!" he protested.

"Oh, yes you can! Phew!" I pretended to wipe a hand across my brow which made Steve grin.

"Yes ma'am…you are welcome," said Steve in a fake southern accent and tipping his hat. I stared at him for a moment and then burst into giggles.

"I can't believe you just did a Bill Engvall imitation!" I said with glee. He took a swig of beer with a smirk on his face. "Please? Just one dance? Look, now they're playing Honkytonk Badonkadonk!"

"I'm not dancing to a song called 'Honkytonk Badonkadonk.' Besides, the only 'badonkadonk' I wanna see dance is yours." Steve pulled me close and kissed me keenly. We jumped apart when someone came stumbling around the corner.

"'Ey! This ain't the cafilities…sasilities…uh…b-bathroom!" slurred Tango. We stared.

"Dude, how many beers did you have?" asked Steve, sounding concerned.

"Three," replied Tango, looking proud. Steve nearly snorted beer out of his house.

Tango was never going to live that down.

I was in the dark tunnel once more. This time I had no flashlight to guide me and was running blindly. I felt the same dark presence behind me, the same cold chill, following me. I didn't know whether I was running towards the exit or not. I felt it at my back, clawing, trying to get a hold of me. I tried running faster, but it felt as if I was getting nowhere.

I sat up abruptly, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. I heard fumbling, then with a click the bedside lamp between the two beds came on. I blinked at Kris. I then blinked twice. My eyes widened. There was a black mass hovering right behind her.

"Kris, watch out!" To my horror, four red slits suddenly appeared across her throat. The light faded from her eyes and she fell forward lifelessly. "NO!"

"What the heck is going on in there?!" I heard pounding at the door. I shielded my eyes from the lamplight. I heard Kris running to answer the door but I couldn't see because my eyes hadn't adjusted.

"It's Felina," said Kris, sounding hysterical. "I don't know what happened but she started screaming and thrashing around and wouldn't stop!" I tried to sit up but my head was spinning out of control. I gave up and shut my eyes.

"Felina?" A cool hand pressed against my forehead and cheeks. "Geez, she's burning up." I felt the bed dip down beside me. A familiar scent. Steve's cologne that he wore when he wasn't working cases. I normally loved it, but right now it was making me nauseous.

"Are you awake, Fee?" I merely nodded. I was scared to open my mouth.

"What do you think? Should we take her to a hospital, Jay?" A larger and colder hand felt my forehead.

"We should to be on the safe side," said Jason. Then his tone changed to be gentler. "Felina? Can you get up for us?" I tried to sit up, but laid back down when my stomach rolled and my head spun.

"C'mon, Felina…I'll help you up." I opened my eyes a crack and saw the whole gang standing by my bedside. Steve took my arm and hooked it around his neck, then scooped me up to carry me bridal style. I rested my head against his shoulder and whimpered pathetically. I felt so terrible.

"Whoa, Steve, don't throw out your back," warned Grant.

"I won't." I felt movement, which made my head spin even more. I held on tight to Steve.

"Um…ok…I'll go get the van, then." I heard footsteps running off ahead. My eyes opened just a smidge and I saw we were moving down the hallway.

Everything went black after that.

I woke up to the sound of snoring. I looked to my left and saw Steve sitting slumped with his head bowed over his chest. My head was a little bit clearer and I no longer felt nauseous. The curtain surrounding us and the outside noise told me we were in the ER. I reached out and tapped Steve. He jerked up with a snort, but relaxed when he saw me. He ran a hand over my forehead and smiled softly.

"How're you doing, baby?" he sounded half asleep.

"Doing better," I replied. "That was terrible."

"Yeah, I was worried about you. It sounded like someone was being murdered in your room. You had a fever of 103-something. You've been sleeping for a while now." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I slowly stretched while still lying down.

"What time is it? Where's everyone else? Aren't we leaving today?" I asked. Steve checked his watch.

"It's 9:15 right now. Jason and Grant got their tickets refunded so they can drive the tech van back. They've already left after they checked us all out of the hotel and dropped Kris and Tango off at the airport. They said to call the minute we reach the next hotel."

"When are we leaving?" Gee, I was full of questions today.

"As soon as a nurse clears you."

"Did a nurse clear me?"

"Not yet."

"When will a nurse clear me?"

"When the nurse comes around."

"When is the nurse coming around?"

"…Felina?"

"Yes?"

"Be quiet."