Runaway

by Katie Cross

  I had to believe that Mark would eventually see that out-of-place canoe. Still, it didn't stop the questions that streamed through my mind.

  Where was Atticus? What would happen next? Why didn't Joshua say a word? Was it part of his disappearing act to be totally quiet? If Mark was on our trail, then the less noise, the better.

  Joshua hadn't said a word after he'd pushed me into the lake, and that seemed far more ominous. I'd expected a maniacal prattle. Him to say his plans and reveal everything he'd felt so far, the way it happened in all my favorite movies. But this was cold-blooded reality, and reality was unnervingly silent.

  He paused, not for the first time, to gain some bearings. For as thorough as he'd been with snatching me, he seemed uncertain. He consulted no map or GPS. While I knew very little of the terrain here, likely not much more than him, even I felt totally lost. Eventually, if we kept moving north, we'd hit the river that the highway followed. That's all I knew. The forest could be disorienting on a clear, warm day. With so much snow and quiet, we might as well have been in a different world. Still, I thought I knew the vague direction of Adventura, and that was behind us.

  If I could just get this shivering under control and his attention to lapse, I could try to break free. But it was far more likely I'd freeze first.

  “J-j-josh,” I struggled to say around the gag. “I'm f-f-freezing.”

  He grunted. Likely the only thing that would save me was to keep moving. My feet were totally numb except for a painful crash through my hips whenever I took a hasty step behind him. Perhaps the movement would be enough to stall the inevitable hypothermia. I'd only been submerged for a few seconds. Surely, it would take hours for a real effect to happen if we kept walking.

  That would at least buy time for Mark to find me, assuming we stumbled around the forest that long. Joshua must have a car hidden somewhere. A plan. Something.

  Without a word, Joshua angled us toward a dense canopy of trees on a ridge with rockfall. Navigating those rocks wouldn't be easy with this wet, dense snow. With my hands tied, I'd probably fall and bash my face.

  Not that I'd be able to feel it.

  With relentless determination, I pushed off the abject fear that lived like a wild thing in my stomach. No, this wouldn't be the end of Stella Marie. Grandma would not bury her last loved one. Mark would not save Adventura without me. This is what we did. We saved each other.

  Mark would save me.

  With that burning hope inside my almost-frozen body, I followed behind Joshua as we stumbled toward a towering outcropping of rocks. Before we made it halfway up the rock field, an unearthly scream broke the silence. My blood, already cold, turned to slush.

  Joshua stopped. “What,” he muttered, “was that?”

  “M-m-mountain lion,” I tried to say, but it was garbled through the gag. The eerie sound came again, this time directly ahead of us. It seemed to widen and echo across the air with painful wails. The grating noise made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A movement drew my gaze up, and my heart crashed into my stomach.

  On a ledge of the rocks above us appeared a long, lithe animal. A sinewy tail became a large, catlike body that stood on a tree branch and peered straight at us. The upper lip twitched as the mountain lion sniffed our direction.

  Fear pooled in my trembling stomach. Of all things I'd expected, this was not it. Not that ridiculous mountain lion. The insanity was almost too much to bear.

  New questions and fears ran through my mind at top speed. Was I supposed to look bigger or smaller? Bigger, I thought. But how? The cat slipped to the edge of the branch and onto nearby rocks without taking its eyes off of us.

  Joshua stumbled back a step.

  “It’s massive,” he whispered.

  Massive didn't do the beast any credit. While I didn't know much about mountain lions, this one appeared so thick I had little doubt it was mature. It licked its lips. Corded muscles moved on its front shoulders as it prowled down the rocks and toward us. The snow continued to fall between us. Was this the creature that had been prowling around Adventura?

  Undoubtedly.

  Not for the first time, I both wished for Atticus and feared for him also. How thorough had Joshua been in his attempt to steal me? Had he killed Atticus? The thought brought hot tears to my eyes. I didn't dare ask as I blinked them back. Hope was too precious to destroy.

  Part of me wanted to throw myself closer to the cat—surely Joshua would leave me behind then—because I wasn't sure which was the greater danger anymore. I could bumble my way back to the lake on our trail and hope to get there with my frozen limbs.

  But would the mountain lion let me go?

  Also doubtful.

  Joshua stumbled back another step when the mountain lion stepped onto a lower rock, whiskers twitching. Joshua grabbed onto the back of my coat, keeping me in front of him as we backed away. A rock slid out from beneath him and we both almost went down, but I righted us at the last minute.

  “Easy there, lion,” Joshua crooned while the cat growled. For every step back we took, the mountain lion took another one forward. Snow fell on top of my already frozen head as we skimmed through trees. A new sort of numbness moved through me.

  This is good, I thought, foraging through my brain for any positivity that would keep my dimming hope alive. The mountain lion had certainly slowed us down. If we could hold still, Mark would find us all the sooner.

  Although he may not have realized yet that I was gone. Without movement, the cold would set in with surprising force. In which case, there were three things trying to kill me tonight.

  My whole body shook in another round of shivering as Joshua crouched down and picked up a fallen branch. The mountain lion stalked toward us, body low to the ground, paws deliberate with every step. It let out a low growl that turned into another scream.

  Joshua waved the branch so wildly it almost crashed into my head.

  “Get back!” he screamed. “Back!”

  For just a moment, he'd let go of me. I took a step to the side but fell to my knees as the cat advanced with a hiss, its back curled. The unnerving, grating sound echoed through the forest. Joshua grabbed the branch with both hands.

  “Get back!”

  Yes, I thought as I tried to stand without the use of my arms. Sing, kitty. Sing. Bring Mark to you.

  Joshua jerked me to my feet when I tried to stumble away again. “Don't do anything stupid!” he snarled.

  The mountain lion shrieked and ran at us with an arched back and puffy tail. I suppressed a scream and fell on my butt. Joshua skirted ahead of me to jab the branch at the mountain lion.

  I reached up and ripped the gag off.

  “MARK!”

  Joshua jerked back to me and barked, “Shut up!” but the cat lunged closer. Forced to whirl back around, he swung the branch at the mountain lion with another cry. I shoved back my feet with all my awkward power and stumbled in the slippery snow.

  “HELP! I'm over here!”

  Joshua feinted after me, but the cat advanced on him. Joshua stopped with a livid growl, eyes on fire with frustration.

  My voice cracked as I shoved through snowy trees, screaming Mark's name. Snow and ice landed on my neck with a painful sting as I barreled through the snow, tied arms held up to protect my face.

  Joshua's indecipherable bellow rippled through the trees next. “Stella!”

  The tips of my fingers had turned blue as I tried to wrench my hands free from the hastily tied rope and run at the same time. Buying my only chance, I tried to head back the way we'd come. My thoughts were too scattered and narrow to think of a path, I just went.

  The distant sound of a bark came next. I stopped, my breath arrested with hope. “Atticus!” I screamed. “ATTICUS!”

  The feeling of something hard slamming into me from behind followed. My cheek scraped snow seconds later and a warm gush of blood fell from my nose. Joshua grunted from where he lay on top of me.

  “Don't. Move,” he wrench
ed out.

  The scream of the mountain lion still issued behind us, more startling and raw with every second that passed. Joshua stood back up, a foot pressed into my back that kept my breath from returning full force. I tasted metal in my mouth.

  Darkness swam before my eyes.

  28

  Mark

  The sound of Stella's scream made my already heaving heart flop around in my chest.

  "MARK!"

  I skidded to a stop on the icy grass. Their trail had been clear, but they'd still had some advance on us. Even though daylight still remained, the world had grown dim and the snow fast. Now, she'd sounded close, but not close enough. Driven by pure instinct, I hauled down a rough ridge in her direction. Ben's heavy breathing followed not far behind me.

  Without stopping to check on him, I pressed harder. Atticus bounded easily next to me when she screamed his name. I reached down, yanking the rope off his neck.

  "Get her, boy."

  Atticus bounded away, barreling through the trail. My chest burned and my legs throbbed, my ankles sore from sliding on the slick grass and ice. But I didn't really feel it, driven to desperation by the shrill scream. I prayed Atticus followed the sound of her cries.

  What felt like an eternity later, a bark sounded not far ahead. I glanced up to see a low rolling hill just as Atticus disappeared over the ridge. Stinging snow slammed in my face like tiny little icicles as I gained the ridge, silently grateful for all those trail runs JJ and Megan dragged me on.

  When I crested the top, I skidded to a stop. A snarling Atticus stood not far from Stella and Joshua at the bottom of the hill, near a rocky hillside that led to an outcropping of tall, oddly-shaped rocks. Joshua had one foot planted on Stella while she tried to crawl away.

  Meanwhile, a mountain lion crouched in some nearby bushes, ears planted back.

  Of course.

  Atticus barked and pranced in weird circles, not far from the feline, but out of range of an immediate paw-swipe or lunge. His barks rang through the quiet night, punctuated only by hisses from the mountain lion.

  I immediately stepped back behind a tree, and motioned for Ben to do the same as he closed the distance between us. Joshua hadn't seen us yet. My attention turned back to Stella. She lay on the ground with a pool of blood staining her face in the snow, but presumably alive.

  And fighting.

  She struggled now, but seemed to be out of breath. Rage bubbled back up under my skin. He'd clearly hit her with blood like that spouting all over the place.

  "Atta girl," I muttered.

  Benjamin came up next to me, shoulders heaving. "Is that a damn mountain lion?" he whispered incredulously.

  "It is."

  His gaze darted between Atticus, the mountain lion, and me, then he shook his head in disbelief. "This place is friggin’ nuts," he muttered.

  "We need to surprise Joshua," I whispered. "And we have to move fast. With Atty distracting the cat, Joshua's going to expect us, and he's going to move with her fast. You go around the back. Drop back into that gully." I pointed to the bottom of the hill he'd just climbed, then pointed west. "Loop around and come up behind. I'll stall him where they are right now."

  Ben nodded. "Got it."

  With one last glance at the mountain lion, Benjamin skittered back down the hill, into a draw, and moved his way around the flank of the hill.

  "Enjoy," I muttered.

  With Atticus prancing and snarling, the mountain lion retreated slightly, belly to the ground as it hissed with its ears back. Stella tried to push off the ground. Her hair had clearly frozen into chunks. So she had been in the lake. The thought made my stomach seize.

  Thankfully, Benjamin moved faster than I'd expected. A flash of movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, far enough behind them that Joshua hadn't seen it yet.

  I advanced.

  "Stella!"

  Her gasp rippled through the forest in a silent moment between canine and cat. Joshua, who had been warily watching Atticus and the mountain lion, leaped to action now. He grabbed the back of Stella's neck and yanked her against his chest. She moved with a cry of pain and my entire body twitched. I clenched my fists and forced myself to calm. My moment with this loser would be glorious.

  The gleaming hilt of a knife appeared at her neck. Stella cried out, her chin already bathed in blood. Her entire body trembled. A gag hung around her neck, frozen and inert.

  Oh, yeah. This bastard was going down.

  "Get back!" Joshua screamed.

  Both of my hands lifted in the air, but I took a shaky step forward, as if a rock had given way. There were thirty feet between us. I could cross that in less than ten seconds. He'd need less than half of that to slit her throat. The math wasn't reassuring.

  "Joshua, let's talk," I called.

  "Don't say my name and don't act like this is going to end well for anyone if you so much as step in her direction," he snarled. "If my guess is right, we're fifty yards from the road. So you are going to stay right there while I drag her away from here. Then we are going to get into my car and we're going to leave. Do you understand?"

  My arms lowered.

  "I have a better idea."

  Stella's lips had turned dusky. They trembled so much I didn't think she'd be able to talk, even if she wanted to. Still, her eyes were clear. Afraid, but lucid. A good sign.

  Joshua laughed. "This isn't a negotiation."

  "You leave Stella and I leave you. It's a get-out-of-jail-free card, Joshua, and I think you should take it."

  "She is the prize!"

  "I think freedom is a better prize," I shouted over a burst of icy wind, "don't you? The moment you hit that highway, there are going to be deputies checking every single car that passes. We've already put the plan into motion. If you leave with her, you don't have a chance. If you're clearly alone in your car? Well, that's a much easier escape plan, isn't it? Because I'm willing to bet that you know there's no other road out of my canyon."

  His nostrils flared. It was a lie, of course. To my knowledge, there was no roadblock planned, although that was a great idea that had come too late. But that didn't matter. Because now he was cold, stuck, and outnumbered. Desperation made for a terrible negotiation.

  Vaguely, I attempted to track where the mountain lion had gone, but assumed it wasn't far. Atticus prowled around still, hackles raised. Hopefully, the cat hadn't moved its attention to Benjamin.

  "You think I'm going to believe that?" Joshua asked with a wild half-laugh. "Even if it's true, who said I was taking the highway? Maybe I have a camp here."

  "Then you might have a purring visitor in the night. Mountain kitties love to stalk their prey, you know, and now it has your scent."

  His nose twitched. Without taking my gaze off of him, I attempted to watch for Benjamin. Didn't matter that I lied about the mountain lion either, although it could be true. Uncertainty would follow Joshua, and that bought me time.

  "Listen, Joshua, I get it. You want Stella, but this isn't the way to do it. She's going to die if you leave her out here. If you do have a camp, you'll need a fire in this weather, right? Everything is soaking wet so that will be almost impossible. Not to mention the fire will draw the police. The deputies will have dogs out looking for you that can track you. If you don't take my offer now, this plan is doomed."

  Stella's nostrils flared. She winced as Joshua shifted, wild eyes darting to where the mountain lion had been crouching under the bush. Atticus prowled around, hackles up, alternately sniffing at bushes and then barking.

  "No." Joshua said it firmly. "This is not how it happens. I take Stella. You deal with the mountain lion. That's how this ends."

  "That's up to you." I half shrugged. "But the longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting out of here alive, whether it's from freezing to death or that cat or the police already on their way. Joshua, give her to me and get out."

  My heart thundered when movement closed in behind them. I guessed that Benjami
n would be twenty yards away and hopefully silent, but he wouldn't know about the knife. Joshua hadn't given any indication that he heard something.

  I straightened, then acted like I stumbled. The dirt and snow at my feet gave way, sliding me farther down the hill, but closer to them. Stella let out a muffled cry. Joshua jerked up, the knife pressed firmly against her neck again. She grabbed his arm, clawing at it, but he only tightened his hold.

  "You have one knife, Joshua," I shouted furiously, "and if you plan to cut her throat, you better move fast, because I will be on you in less than five seconds. There will not be time for you to survive what I have planned for you."

  Joshua snorted, but another flicker of doubt had registered in his gaze as he studied me. That moment of hesitation brought the knife away from her throat just slightly. My heart nearly stopped when Stella's gaze caught mine.

  Then she dropped.

  29

  Stella

  Mark looked like a livid vision through the gently rotating snow.

  Flakes fell so thick and gauzy I almost couldn't see him. But he stood there, an avenging god, carefully controlled rage in his eyes. He didn’t even have a coat, just one of those zippered hoodies, over his shoulders that seemed miles wide compared to Joshua. Joshua's gaze darted between him and Atticus, who hadn't taken his attention from the mountain lion that appeared to retreat.

  Who do you fear the most? I wanted to whisper to Joshua. Because both will tear you apart if you let them.

  In the face of the knife that pricked at my neck, all thoughts of the cold had fled. The blood from my nose had nearly frozen to my face and crackled on the edges now.

  All my focus rested on that knife. The pulse of my heart as it beat against the blade. My careful steady breaths. Every now and then, the cat would let out another low warning growl, and Atticus would bark all over again.