Retribution

by John Sneeden

  Suddenly, there was another flash of light on the mountainside.

  This time, Drenna’s eyes moved quickly to the spot. It seemed to come from an area just to the right of an opening in the trees. She located an outcrop of rock, but it was too far away for her to tell if anyone was there.

  The screen door groaned open behind her.

  “Something wrong?” Trevor asked, a plate of rib eyes in one hand.

  Drenna turned toward him. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re frowning,” he said. “I’ve seen that look before. It’s your ‘something is wrong’ sort of frown.”

  “It’s probably nothing. I saw something flash up on the mountain.”

  “Flash?”

  “It was reflected light, like a mirror or shiny piece of metal.”

  Trevor opened the grill. “Oh, I think I know what it might have been.” After setting the plate aside, he used a steel brush to clean the cooking grate. “There are mountain bike trails up there. I always see at least a few bikers when I’m hiking.”

  “So how would a bike create a flash of light?”

  He shrugged. “Mirrors.”

  “Mountain bikes have mirrors?”

  “Some do. Or it could have been the shiny metal.”

  Drenna nodded but said nothing.

  “We’re on vacation, babe. This isn’t Bosnia or Morocco.”

  “You think I’m worried?”

  Trevor used tongs to place the first rib eye on the grill. “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, you’re wrong. I just thought it was odd. That’s all.”

  He looked at her. “I just want you to enjoy your time here.”

  He was right. Her nerves had been on edge since they arrived, and she didn’t know why. She guessed it had something to do with her transition to normal life. Her old life—the one with dark secrets, lies, and death—didn’t want to let go.

  Trevor set the second rib eye on the grill then closed the lid.

  “I’m sorry,” Drenna said.

  “Sorry for what?”

  “For snapping.”

  Trevor picked up the plate and went to her. “And I’m sorry too.” He nodded at a nearby rocking chair. “Now sit down and enjoy your wine. That’s an order.”

  She smiled. “I think I will.”

  As he went inside, Drenna sank into the chair and rocked. It was soothing, one of life’s simple pleasures.

  Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the moment.

  He’s right. Not everything is trouble.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Is something wrong?” Drenna asked from the passenger seat of the truck.

  They were returning to the cabin following an afternoon of shopping for supplies, and Trevor had been silent throughout the drive back. His silence was telling, but there was also something in his eyes. Something troubled him.

  He gave her a glance then returned his eyes to the road. “No. Why?”

  “You seem different.”

  He shrugged. “I’m probably just a little tired.”

  Just a little tired. Normally that might make sense, but not in this case. They had taken a long nap before driving into town. Not only that, but Trevor had also seemed energetic and upbeat throughout much of the afternoon. Something had happened at the grocery store, their final stop.

  “If you need to talk about anything, I’m all ears,” she said.

  Trevor turned right onto the road that led to the cabin. They would be there in ten minutes, so maybe he’d open up more when they got back. Until then, she’d try to stay quiet. He would tell her when he was ready.

  As they continued on, she rolled her window down to let in some fresh air. A fog had settled over the area, reducing visibility. Even so, she could make out the dark serpentine line of the river a couple of hundred feet below the road. It was a good thing Trevor had experience driving in the area. If someone ran onto the shoulder, they would quickly find themselves making a deadly descent to the cold waters below.

  Despite trying to set her mind on other things, Drenna found her thoughts going back to Trevor. What could possibly be bothering him? It had come on suddenly, making it difficult to comprehend. Had she said something that he had misinterpreted? Was he coming down with something? The latter seemed more likely than the former. If she had said something that bothered him, she was certain he would have told her. Openness and honesty were two of the many things she loved about their relationship.

  Against her better judgment, she decided to try one more time to get him to open up. She reached over and lightly grabbed his arm. “Have I done something to—”

  “If you don’t want to leave your job, then just tell me,” he said, cutting her off. “I told you before, I’ll respect whatever you decide to do. We’ll make things work regardless. You know that.” He looked over at her. “But if you’re going to leave that world, then leave it and don’t look back.”

  Drenna’s brow furrowed. “You make it sound as though I’m equivocating. I am going to leave. I’ve already put in my notice.”

  “Then embrace this new life and stop looking over your shoulder.”

  Drenna was surprised at the strong reaction. She still believed something specific had triggered it, but she had no idea what it was.

  “If you plan on following through, then you need to leave your work behind,” he continued. “I care about you too much to let you go on like this.”

  Drenna was about to reply when his expression changed. She could tell he was going to open up.

  “I saw what happened back at the store,” he admitted.

  She let go of his arm. The store. Her mind went over their time there. Then it hit her. He must have seen her following the man she believed had been watching her.

  After entering the store, the two had divided up their shopping list to save time. Trevor went one way, and she went the other. Drenna had first gone to the frozen food section to look for vegetables. As she studied her options through the glass, she saw the reflection of a man standing a short distance away. He stood perfectly still, watching her with a fixed gaze. She tried to note his appearance, but it was difficult to discern details in the reflection. All she knew for sure was that he was short and had close-cropped brown hair.

  At first, she thought he was ogling her. After all, she was an attractive woman, and it happened almost every time she went out in public. But on this occasion, her instincts told her he wasn’t just a man who had stopped to admire her figure. He was up to something else, although she didn’t know what.

  Trying not to scare him, Drenna acted as though she was focused on the food. She opened the glass door of the freezer, removed a bag of broccoli, and tossed it into her cart. As the door fell into place, she noticed the man was gone. Had he sensed she was onto him, or was she wrong about the whole thing? Maybe he had been ogling her after all.

  Drenna made her way quickly through the store in an attempt to find him again. Unfortunately, the aisles were packed with people, making it difficult to go anywhere fast. Eventually, she made her way to the front in time to see him slip out the entrance. While she hadn’t noted many details, she could tell the man wasn’t from the area. In fact, he wasn’t even American. Like most people in the area, he dressed casually. But his clothes were a different style from the ones common in the States. They were more like those that people wore in Eastern Europe.

  Trevor spoke again, pulling her out of her thoughts. “I saw you moving quickly up and down several aisles. Then I saw you later, and you had that look in your eye like something was bothering you. I’ve seen it before. Many times.” He paused as if letting his words sink in. “You can’t keep living like that.”

  A long silence fell between them.

  Drenna exhaled. “Okay. Let me explain.” She gathered her thoughts. “I saw this man. He was staring at me, and there was something odd about it.”

  “Men always stare at you. It happens every time we go out. I wish they didn’t, but they do.”

&nb
sp; “This was different. He wasn’t from around here. His clothing. He wasn’t wearing the type of clothes Americans do. Trust me. It’s my job to know other cultures, the things people wear.”

  Trevor brought the vehicle to a halt in the middle of the road. “So what? So the guy wasn’t from West Virginia. Have you stopped to consider that quite a few tourists come up here?” He exhaled loudly to convey his frustration. “Look, it’s not just this afternoon. I’ve seen you watching other people before.”

  She frowned. “You have?”

  “Yes, many times. I just never said anything.”

  “Why now?”

  “Because this time, I saw the person I care about rushing through a store to chase some fictitious problem.” He grabbed her arm. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

  Maybe he was right. Maybe she had made too much out of what had happened. She was still certain the man was European, but it didn’t mean he had gone there to follow her. And Trevor was also right about tourists. Many who visited DC took side trips to places like Gettysburg or Harpers Ferry just to get away and see the countryside.

  She smiled at him. “I’m sorry. I just need some time.”

  They held each other’s gaze.

  “Can you work with me?” she asked into the silence.

  “Of course I can.” Trevor released his seat belt then leaned over and grabbed the bottom of her chin. “We’ll both work on this. I just want you to be able to live your life free from the things you were caught up in for so long.”

  “I know you do.”

  Their lips pressed together.

  A moment later, Trevor pulled back, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. “It looks like we have company.”

  Drenna checked the side mirror. Two headlights were coming toward them through the fog.

  “Well, I guess this is a public road.” Trevor pressed the gas pedal to the floor. “Wouldn’t that be a lovely headline? ‘Man and Woman Hit and Killed While Kissing.’”

  She smiled at him. “It wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”

  Drenna leaned back against the headrest. It’s going to work. She had known for a long time that Trevor was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was probably one of the few men who was patient enough to lead her out of the dark wilderness she had been in for so long. He knew when to be firm, and he also knew when to be patient.

  But it wasn’t just his stable maturity she was drawn to. Trevor was also spontaneous and romantic. She smiled as she thought of their hike up a mountain earlier that day. As they neared the peak, he had stopped and pulled her close to him. She remembered feeling the soft rays of the sun warming her cheek as they kissed passionately. It was as though they had suddenly been transported to another world, a world she hadn’t wanted to leave.

  Shortly after that long embrace, he led her to a flat outcrop of rock overlooking the valley and pulled out a bottle of wine. He hadn’t told her that was on the agenda, but it was perfect in every way. After Trevor poured two glasses, they spent the next hour sitting there, talking in soft voices and enjoying the stunning view.

  “Easy, easy,” Trevor said.

  Drenna came out of her thoughts. “What?”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror. “This idiot’s in way too much of a hurry.”

  Drenna checked the side mirror again. The headlights she had seen before were about fifty yards away and closing fast. Too fast.

  As the vehicle continued to gain ground on them, Drenna realized it was odd to see any vehicle on this particular road, much less one that was driving fast. When they’d arrived the day before, Trevor had told her that only two other families lived in the valley.

  So who was behind them now?

  The interior of their truck flooded with light as the vehicle behind them drew near.

  “Trevor, speed up.”

  “I’m already doing sixty-five, babe. Maybe I’ll just slow down and let them pass.”

  “No, keep some space between us.”

  “There’s too much fog. I don’t feel comfortable driving any faster.”

  Drenna was about to suggest he look for a place to turn off then remembered there wasn’t any. There was only about three or four feet of space on the right shoulder, and beyond that was a steep slope that ran down to the river. Pulling off would be suicidal.

  Trevor checked the mirror again. “Good, it looks like he’s going to pass.”

  Drenna looked over her shoulder. The vehicle had moved into the other lane. Although it was hard to make out many details, she saw the outline of what appeared to be a black SUV. Something large. A Cadillac Escalade or something similar.

  “Idiots,” Trevor growled. “If someone is coming around the next curve, they’re going to get killed.”

  As the SUV came up beside them, Drenna sensed something wasn’t right. “Put on the brakes.”

  He looked over at her. “What?”

  “I said put on the brakes!”

  It was too late. The SUV slammed into their side with a sickening crunch. Trevor tried to adjust, but there wasn’t enough time or space. Despite his turning the wheel to the left, they were slowly moved onto the shoulder of the road.

  Drenna grabbed the handle of the door tightly as she realized what was about to happen.

  They were going over the edge.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Obedient to the laws of gravity, the truck slid sharply away from the road. Trevor turned the steering wheel to the left in an attempt to level the vehicle off and eventually make it back up to the road, but the slope was too steep. It was an impossible feat.

  “We’re going to roll!” Drenna shouted as she felt the vehicle tilting in her direction.

  Trevor turned the steering wheel to the right, pointing the vehicle straight downhill. At this point, it was all he could do to keep them from tipping over. On such a steep incline, they had almost no hope of moving horizontally.

  As the truck gained momentum, Drenna scoured the terrain ahead. A dark line of vegetation rose up in the left-hand periphery of the headlights. It would have to do. She pointed. “Over there. Run us into those trees.”

  Only they weren’t trees. They were bushes. Even so, she felt they needed to do something, anything, to stop the momentum.

  Trevor turned the steering wheel slightly to the left, redirecting the truck toward the sparse line of vegetation. Drenna held on tightly with both hands. They were moving at a frightening speed, a five-thousand-pound roller coaster car going down the first drop. But unlike the amusement park ride, there would be no exhilarating turn back up again.

  As they neared bushes, Trevor tapped the brakes. A second later, they slammed into the hedgerow.

  Limbs thumped and scraped the underside of the truck.

  Would it hold?

  The answer came a second later when the truck launched into the air. A cold chill ran down Drenna’s spine as she realized the bushes had been growing along the edge of a steep precipice.

  Everything from that point forward seemed surreal. The flight through the air was like a slow-motion scene from an action movie. They soared horizontally for a second or two before the headlights turned downward toward the dark waters of the river.

  Suddenly, Drenna found herself thrashing around deep in the cold waters of the river. How had she gotten there? Had she sailed out of the truck’s window before entry, or had she somehow managed to squirm out after they went in? At some point, she must have blacked out.

  After several seconds of wildly kicking her arms and legs, Drenna realized her movements had no purpose.

  Get ahold of yourself.

  Drawing on her training, she cleared her thoughts. Her lungs were already burning, which meant she had been underwater for more than a few seconds.

  The surface. Find the surface.

  Still flailing, she turned back and forth. Which way was up? Her heart beat faster as she realized she didn’t know. That was troubling, because if she swam in the wrong d
irection, then she might run out of air before reaching the surface.

  Calm down. Think.

  Even though it was a dark and foggy night, one direction still looked lighter than the other. She turned and swam confidently toward the light, using strong leg kicks to speed her ascent. Seconds later, she broke the surface. She swam in place, filling her lungs with much-needed oxygen. Fortunately, the river’s current was weak, allowing her to easily remain in place as she regained her strength.

  Trevor.

  She had been so focused on surviving that she had forgotten about him. Had he made it out? She turned in every direction but saw no signs he had made it to the surface. She needed to get back to where they’d entered the water. She had likely moved downriver while blacked out, so she swam against the current.

  Seconds later, twin beams of light cut through the water beneath her.

  The truck.

  Drenna took a deep gulp of air and slipped below the surface. Fortunately, the water wasn’t as deep as she had previously thought—that or the truck had come to rest on a sandbar or rock. She swam downward, kicking her legs strongly. Soon, she saw the dark outline of the truck behind the headlights. It sat perfectly still, too heavy to be moved by the current.

  As she drew near, Drenna realized she was looking at the underside of the truck. Somehow, it had managed to flip over before settling on the bottom. She angled toward the driver’s side. Her goal was to grab a rock off the river bottom and use it to smash the window.

  Drenna noticed something that gave her a sense of dread. The truck wasn’t moving because it had managed to settle in between two massive boulders. On the driver’s side, there were at most six inches between the window and the boulder. There wasn’t room to get in.

  Turning, Drenna swam quickly over to the passenger side. Her window had been open, so it was the side she should have gone to first, anyway.

  When she arrived, she found good news and bad. The gap was larger there, perhaps a foot or more, but there still wasn’t enough room for her to reach the window, much less get inside the truck and pull Trevor out.

  Her lungs burning, Drenna pushed off the truck’s underside and kicked back to the surface. Once there, she sucked in more air. As her oxygen levels replenished, she scanned the surface of the river in every direction. As before, she saw no signs that Trevor had come up on his own. The sense of dread that came over her earlier intensified. If he had managed to get out, she would be able to see him. And if he was still inside the truck, he didn’t have much time to live.