by K. F. Baugh
“Bored?” Tim asked.
Sage considered his question. “Yeah, whenever we happened to meet up in the backcountry, it seemed like he was looking for something to fill his time. The rumor was, he became insanely rich after he sold his land to the Oriel scientists. I don’t think he knew what to do with himself once he got all that money.”
“When did all that Oriel buyout stuff happen?” Tim asked.
“Back in the early ‘70s, I think. Maybe earlier.”
Tim yawned and returned the computer to his backpack. “You know the thing I don’t get about him? How old is he, really? I mean he goes by Old Hank, for Pete’s sake. I’ve seen newspaper clippings of him at the Oriel guest center. He even looked ancient in those, the ones that show him signing the deed for his land to Terrance Storm.”
“That’s true.” Sage nodded. “Now that I think about it, people talk about him like he’s been around forever.”
“Is there another old timer resident in Black Mills we could ask about Hank?” Tim settled down into his sleeping bag. “Since the Skinwalker came to his cabin, I think we have to find out more about him.”
Suddenly an idea flitted into Sage’s mind. “I need to talk to Liddy.”
“But we can’t go back into town. The police are probably still looking for us.” Tim’s voice slurred with sleep.
Sage shifted as Gus wormed his way between her and Tim. “No matter what, we can’t stay here,” Sage murmured. That part wasn’t negotiable.
A snore sounded from her right, and Sage knew it wasn’t Gus’s. She rolled over and listened to the gentle breeze that danced through the evergreens surrounding the tent. Her mind strained after the details of a newly imagined plan, but sleep blurred and finally silenced them.
Chapter Seventeen
Before dawn, Sage shook Tim awake and the two of them packed most of the camping gear into the Jeep. After replacing the shrubs and branches to camouflage it, they grabbed their backpacks and entered the forest just as the sun came up over sparkling snowcapped peaks.
“So where are we headed?” Tim asked between mouthfuls of energy bar.
“Another place I know. Also safe. It’s a cabin about 15 miles from here.” Sage led him and Gus down the hillside adjacent to the one she’d gone down the day before. She didn’t have the stomach to even consider going back to Oriel.
“Is it a secret lair?” Tim asked. “I could really see you with a secret underground lair. Like Batman.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re the closest thing I’ve met to a superhero.”
Sage let out a bark of laughter. “I’d need a lot more spandex to qualify.”
“Well, who knows what you’re hiding under that flannel shirt and jeans?”
Sage stopped and turned to Tim. “Excuse me?”
Tim’s grin disappeared. “I mean, like a secret identity. Like when Clark Kent goes into the phone booth and pulls off his clothes--” Tim stumbled over a rock and nearly lost his balance. “I didn’t mean … I’m not thinking about what’s under--”
“Tim, I got it. Relax.” Sage turned away and continued her steady march down the hill.
She glanced down at Gus. “You spend one night in a tent with a guy …” Gus wagged his tail and barked. “But I know you’ll keep an eye on him for me.” The dog nipped playfully at her before darting away to race after a squirrel that startled across their path.
Sage heard the crack of underbrush and felt Tim catch up to her. She glanced up but he carefully avoided her gaze.
They hiked on for several hours in companionable silence. When the sun was reaching its zenith, she stopped at a fallen pine tree and set down her pack. “We’re over halfway there now, but I’ve got to stop and eat. I’m starving.”
“So you think it’s safe for us to go into Black Mills?” Tim munched on a handful of nuts.
“Not really, no,” Sage answered between bites of her fruit leather. “We’re going to need some help. My guess is that Officer Olson has been busy while we’ve been up here. Everyone is going to be on the lookout for you and Crazy Sage. Some of the people in town call me that, if you hadn’t heard.”
“Well, I had, actually.”
“What?” Sage stopped chewing. “We only met last week.”
“Yeah, but you were all the catechism kids could talk about during the parade.”
“Huh.” Sage folded up the fruit leather and put it in her pocket. “Hear anything good?”
“I’m not sure good is the right word. I found out that the only person you really talk to is Liddy, but since she’s well liked, people put up with your … reclusiveness. Also, you only come into town every once in a while, and nobody knows where you go the rest of the time.”
“And,” Sage prompted, knowing this was a very bland version of what he must have heard. “They all think I’m crazy.”
“Pretty much. The kids in town are scared of you. Some of them told me you’re a vampire.”
Sage opened her canteen and took a drink. “Well, at least it keeps them away.”
“Guess that’s one way to look at it,” Tim said.
Sage stood and flung her backpack over her shoulder. “I’m sure this is a shocker, Tim, but slumber parties and town bingo night aren’t exactly the best way to keep supernatural abilities secret.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Tim reached toward her, but she stepped back.
“It’s fine. I learned a long time ago that letting people write you off as a weirdo is a whole lot easier than the alternative.” Sage took a moment to find her bearings, then continued up the hill. She struck a brisk pace, hoping that it would keep Tim too winded for any more conversation.
“What are all these trails?” Tim asked after they had paused for water a couple of hours later.
“They’re old Indian trails,” Sage answered. “Mostly the Ute’s.”
“Aren’t you worried we’ll run into someone?”
“Who?” Sage turned a sharp eye on Tim. “The Utes and other Indians have all been exiled to reservations. Tourists and day hikers don’t walk them. They aren’t scenic enough and aren’t monitored by forest rangers in case someone wanders off the trail. Wildlife only uses them now.” Sage looked around and sighed. “They’re from a different age, a different way of life. Pretty soon, animals or not, they’ll probably disappear. The forest will consume them.”
“So how do you know about them?” Tim asked as they shouldered their packs once more.
“The Wind showed them to me,” Sage answered shortly. A breeze rustled through the air as if to acknowledge her statement, and suddenly Sage realized she hadn’t even hesitated to tell Tim this detail. One she would never have dreamed of uttering to another human a week ago. The revelation made her stomach tighten.
A short while later, Sage paused near the rim of another valley. A few hundred feet below, the forest thinned out and a dilapidated, solitary cabin slumped in the middle of meadow flush with yellow and white wildflowers.
“Who lives there?” Tim whispered.
“No one. It’s one of my foster mom’s rental cabins,” Sage replied. “I’m hoping it’s vacant at the moment. You stay here with Gus, and I’ll go scout it out and make sure it’s empty. If I signal you, grab my pack and come quickly.”
Tim nodded and crouched next to Gus. “What happens if there’s someone in there?”
“Run,” Sage said without hesitation.
“I’m not leaving you here,” Tim’s whisper rose a few levels. “The Wind said we had to do this together.”
“It’s just a precaution, Tim,” Sage snapped, too tired from their long hike to have this conversation. “I don’t sense anyone there. Just shut up and let me check it out.”
“I’m getting tired of everything having to be your way or the highway,” Tim stood up and took a step toward her. Sage had to tip her head to keep eye contact with him. “Like it or not we’re a team, and I get to have an opinion too without you going int
o rage mode every time I say something.”
Sage balled her fists, but Gus whined and they both looked down. The dog wagged his tail frantically.
“Fine, if there’s someone in there, do whatever you want, but I’m not going to waste time brainstorming a Plan B with you.”
“Maybe I’ll—” Tim swallowed and crossed his arms. “Just be careful.”
Sage blinked, then nodded. She stole to the very edge of the clearing and smelled the air. Crouched down, she darted half the distance toward the cabin. Her eyes scanned the woods around the cabin for any movement. Seeing none, she dashed the rest of the way to the back of the building. Sage crawled along the side until she was under a window. Carefully, she rose to peer through the dusty panes. It was impossible to make out anything through the grime, so Sage wiped the window with the edge of her sleeve. Again, she strained to detect any movement, but saw none. She closed her eyes and checked once more for any presence on this hillside besides Tim, Gus, and her. Nothing.
Rising from her crouched position, Sage beckoned to Tim and Gus. They bounded toward her from the cover of the forest and followed her to the front porch. Sage felt for the key behind the kerosene lantern that hung next to the front door. She let out a sigh of relief when her fingers touched the rough, cold metal.
She unlocked the door and in one swift movement, ushered Tim and Gus inside. Before closing the door, she grabbed the lantern off its hook and set it on the railing on the front porch.
“What did you do that for?” Tim asked once she was back inside.
“To let Liddy know I need her,” Sage answered and took her pack from Tim’s hands. “The lantern on the porch is my signal to let her know I’m here.”
“How will she see it?” Tim peered out the dusty window. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“We are, but Liddy can find us,” Sage answered. “She has rental cabins all over this area, although she hardly does anything with this one anymore. It’s falling apart.” Sage gestured to the missing slats in the wall and floor, covered by unsightly plywood. Even with Sage’s creative handyman skills, it would take a large chunk of money for Liddy to fix all the problems with this cabin, something Sage knew her foster mom didn’t have.
Sage dropped her pack by the lumpy, threadbare couch and collapsed into it.
“But how will she know to look for you?” Tim settled into an oversized chair next to her.
“Liddy worries when I’ve been gone from town too long, so we settled on this cabin as a check-in location; it’s the only way I can keep her off my back. If the weather’s bad, I sometimes stay here for a few days. Or Ieave her a note,” Sage answered, tucking her knees up to the side to make space for Gus at the end of the couch. “She always keeps tabs on me.”
Tim turned and punched the lumpy cushion behind him. “So you don’t mind it when she does it?”
“No.” Sage closed her eyes. “But she doesn’t butt into my business.”
“Well, now it’s my business too,” Tim said.
“Be quiet.” Sage pulled a blanket off the back of the couch. “I want to sleep.”
“You’re the one still talking.”
Gus sighed with contentment and soon all three of them were sound asleep.
Chapter Eighteen
A rumble of distant thunder woke Sage to the dim shadows of twilight. She tensed and lay still for a moment, eyes on the ceiling, trying to remember where she was. Gus and Tim’s gentle snores broke the silence, and her shoulders relaxed. She settled back into the embracing cushions. Liddy’s cabin. She was safe. At least for the moment.
Gus raised his head and the two made eye contact. The dog jumped off the couch and nosed the front door. “Gotta go out, buddy?” Sage followed him and peered through the front window down the dirt road. A plume of dust rose from a distant vehicle.
“What’s up?” Tim asked in a sleepy voice. “Everything OK?”
“I hope so.” Sage took a step sideways, to the edge of the glass. “Someone’s headed up here.”
Tim came and stood behind her.
Sage squinted through the dirty panes and studied the pair of distant headlights as they meandered up the road. “I think that’s Liddy’s truck. Hard to tell, though, since it’s almost dark. Let’s go upstairs just in case.” She whistled to Gus and led the three of them up the steep stairs into the loft. Once there, she gestured to the back window. “That’s an emergency escape. We can go out that way if the truck doesn’t belong to her. It’s not too far of a drop.”
Gus wiggled next to Sage and Tim’s crouched position against the sloped roof line. Memories of her encounter with the Skinwalker at Hank’s cabin replayed through Sage’s mind on an inescapable loop. Heart racing, she tried to still the anxiety that thrummed through her. Tim murmured something soft and indistinct.
A loud crunch of gravel sounded as the truck pulled in front of the house, then the engine went silent.
“It’s her.” Sage let out a ragged sigh. “We’re safe.” She moved to crawl from their hiding place, but Tim quickly pulled her back.
“Wait. How do you know?”
“It’s fine, Tim.” Sage said, firmly grasping his hand and pushing it away. “Look at Gus.”
Tail wagging, Gus pranced across the loft. He then hopped down the stairs and bounded away with a happy yip. “He wouldn’t do that if it was … if the person was dangerous.”
Following Gus, Sage scrambled down the stairs. She opened the door right as Liddy approached with a load of bags.
“Sage, honey, I’m so glad you’re here,” Liddy said. Dropping her load to the ground, she pulled Sage into a tight hug. “I’ve been worried sick about you. The police are on some kind of rampage. They have pictures of you up around town and in the newspapers.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of a safe way to contact you,” Sage said. Gus slipped past her legs and frisked around Liddy before heading to do his business in the trees next to the truck.
“Now just what the heck have you gotten yourself into this time?” Liddy pulled back and cupped Sage’s face.
“Well, Tim and I—”
“Tim?” Liddy took a step back and peered around Sage. Tim stood in the shadows behind her.
“Hello,” he said, and stepped forward with an extended hand. Liddy eyed it but didn’t move, so Tim let it drop after a moment. “I’m Tim Burgney. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“I know who you are.” Liddy said, shortly. “Both your pictures are splashed everywhere. Whatever the two of you have done, you’ve created a hornet’s nest of trouble with the local authorities.” Her face blanched, and she pointed at Tim. “They’re saying that you’re the reason the sheriff—”
“Was murdered?” Tim asked, his voice jagged.
“Yes, that, and a whole bunch of other things, sonny.” Liddy gestured to the groceries still on the front step, and Tim moved to pick up the bags.
“Who’s accusing him?” Sage said and helped Tim with bags. They followed Liddy into the small kitchenette.
“Officer Olson, the acting Sheriff. According to him, Tim Burgney here is actually some sort of disgraced priest— a serial killer, Satanist in disguise. Which is why he murdered the poor Sheriff in such a terrible way. Documented all this evidence of grisly crimes that happened at some church he worked at. In Africa, I think. Got witnesses to say that he was creepy. Evil. That sort of thing.”
Sage looked at Tim. He placed his bag on the counter and wearily leaned against it. “They’d have their pick of terrible stories from Sudan. Wouldn’t be hard to substitute me into the role of villain.” He clenched his fists and walked away.
Sage felt a surge of rage. “And me?”
“That’s the really strange thing.” Liddy opened a can of soup, poured it into a pot, and placed it on a propane burner. “They’re saying you stole all these whatchamacallit fancy things from the laboratory in Oriel.”
“Oriel? What does any of this have to do with the labs at Oriel?”
Sage said. Tim returned and stood behind her.
“I don’t know, but that’s what the head scientist over at the Research Station said. That Terrance Storm fella. I guess it’s expensive stuff because they keep saying ‘you’re wanted for questioning.’” She stirred the soup and gave it a taste.
“Also, Tim, you’re suspected in the kidnapping of Old Hank,” Liddy said and shook her head.
Sage glanced at Tim. “I was up at his cabin, Liddy. It was trashed. It didn’t look like anyone had been there in a long time. And there were medication bottles all over his bathroom. Antipsychotics.”
“Anti-what?” Liddy turned the burner to low and set the spoon down.
“Antipsychotics,” Tim answered. “The medication doctors give people when they’re not doing well. Mentally.”
“Like going crazy?” Liddy shook her head.
Tim looked down. “Well, crazy probably isn’t the right word, but--”
“I’ve known Old Hank for near on 60 years. Heck, he was here, living in that awful cabin all by himself, back when my folks moved her in ‘55. He was a recluse, all right, but I wouldn’t call him crazy.” Liddy paused and tapped her lip. “But he has become more wild in these last few years, since the Oriel scientists bought his land. I just figured it was all that money. Who wouldn’t get a little wild if a million dollars suddenly fell on his lap?”
“Maybe he took his money and left.” Sage shrugged. “And they’re just trying to find more things to pin on Tim.”
“Well, like I said, everything’s a mess. In fact, the whole thing sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. And most of the townspeople too.” She turned to Tim. “By the way, everyone that knows you says it can’t be true.”
“That’s refreshing,” Tim said.
“What we need is a way to be invisible,” Sage said. “To get back into Black Mills or Oriel and find out what’s really happening.”
