The Haunts of Cruelty

by R. G. Ryan

  Turning in a complete circle, I tried to identify anything that could be used for navigation, but the only thing I saw in the ebbing twilight were a few low-lying bluffs off to the east. So I dug my HK out of the tactical bag and fired up the Nightforce optics.

  Redfern asked for a status update.

  “Getting my bearings,” I reported. “Nothing to see yet of any significance. How far am I from where the SatPhone signal was tracked?”

  He said, “About two clicks to your southeast.”

  “I’m going to strap up and start heading that way.”

  “Roger that. We’re tracking basically every step you take, so we’ll be able to create a digital map of where you’ve been and where you’re going.”

  For some reason that made me laugh.

  “So, the conspiracy theorists are right about you guys secretly tracking us, huh?”

  “Who could say,” he replied with a chuckle.

  I knelt down by the bag and retrieved my black, tactical hood and pulled it over my head. I had always found those hoods a bit claustrophobic, but they were effective at reducing the possibility of a bad guy seeing light reflecting off one’s skin. After re-lacing my boots and arranging my various weapons for ease of movement, I slung the bag’s straps over my shoulders and pointed my feet toward the coordinates I had been given.

  About ten steps into my journey I found myself flat on my face after stepping off an unseen six-inch ledge. One of the hazards of sighting through the Nightforce scope is that your attention tends to be focused on what’s in front of you and not where your feet were treading. I sat up, brushed dirt and debris from my clothes and took a quick inventory of my body to make sure nothing was damaged.

  “I heard that,” Redfern said through my in-ears. “You okay?”

  “Nothing damaged except my pride.”

  He chuckled softly.

  “Happens to the best of us.”

  A spiteful gust of wind came suddenly out of the southwest, growing in intensity until it had reached somewhere around twenty mph by my reckoning. If it kept up, it was going to turn into a cold and bitter night.

  The wind died momentarily and somewhere off in the distance I thought I heard the drone of a gasoline engine of some sort—maybe a motor vehicle, or a generator. But then the wind gusted again and it was lost to me.

  As I kept moving forward I started to feel the effects of having awakened at 4:00 a.m.

  Fatigue is a funny thing. I know that people talk frequently about how physical and mental fatigue are different, but in my experience one is the progenitor of the other. In this case, my physical fatigue fed into the mental fatigue. All of which was compounded by the stress of having the person I loved the most on earth held captive by a stone-cold monster.

  I stopped walking and pulled an energy bar from one of the pockets in my tactical vest and downed it in three bites. I washed it down with an energy potion I had made myself before leaving, consisting of lemons, limes, oranges, sea salt, honey, water, coconut water, electrolyte water, sugar, and strawberries. I had two pints with me and drank about half of the first in one gulp providing an immediate and much-needed boost. And when I resumed my search, my mind was much clearer and my focus more intense.

  The wind died and I heard the drone from an engine again. Standing completely still I tried to pinpoint a direction for the sound. It was impossible. Then the wind kicked up again and it was lost.

  But the mere fact that something was out there gave me hope.

  “I’m coming, little girl. Just hang on,” I said out loud, not caring if Redfern heard.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Cassie, I don’t think you should even be walking around the house on that ankle much less heading out on a major hike,” Eddie said in obvious concern as she watched Cassie hobble from the bedroom carrying a shirt and pair of pants to add to the other odds and ends of clothing they had scavenged.

  “I’ll be fine,” Cassie replied with conviction she neither believed nor felt.

  “Whatever.”

  Cassie joined Eddie at the small, rickety kitchen table.

  “No, I mean it. I’m going to be all right.”

  “But you’re in so much pain and, well, you don’t have any idea whether it’s one mile or thirty miles or what. This is crazy! We can’t—“

  “And what would you suggest as an option? Stay here until someone finds us or until Paul decides to come back with a gun or something?” Cassie paused for emphasis. “We have no choice! We have to go.”

  Instead of continuing the argument Eddie laid her head on the table and sobbed.

  “Hey…” Cassie said gently. “Hey, come on. It’s going to work. We’ve found enough clothes so that we can both dress in layers and stay pretty warm even in that wind.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Eddie moaned through her tears. “I’m afraid you’re not going to make it and that I’ll have to leave you behind or something and I don’t think that I can do that and we’ll both die out there and—“

  “Listen to me!” Cassie said sharply, reaching over and raising Eddie’s head up so she could make eye contact. “We will make it. I am sure of it. In fact, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  Eddie held her gaze before replying, “I wish I had your courage.”

  “You have more courage than you think—you just don’t know it yet.”

  Cassie broke eye contact and started looking for the SatPhone.

  “Where’s that phone?”

  Eddie pointed to a stack of sheets and blankets.

  “It’s right under there, but I don’t know what good it’s going to do us. We still haven’t broken his security code.”

  Cassie stared at the keyboard.

  “I wish my Uncle Jake were here.”

  “Do you really think he’s looking for us?”

  Looking up from the phone she found Eddie’s eyes.

  “I’m betting my life on it.”

  Eddie nodded and then asked, “What does he look like? It seems so long ago when he came and got you and at the time I was, well…high. Like, is he cute?”

  “Cute? Uncle Jake?” Cassie covered her mouth with her hands and laughed girlishly. “I’m sorry, Eddie, it’s just that of all the ways I’ve heard people describe my Uncle Jake, cute is not one of them. Tough, ruthless, even lethal, yes. But never, ever ‘cute.’”

  “Well, is he?” Eddie persisted.

  Cassie wrinkled her brow, thinking it over.

  “I guess for an older guy he is kind of good looking. But trust me, when you meet him, ‘cute’ is not your first impression.”

  “Okay. So what would my first impression be?”

  “I think he would tend to make most people very uncomfortable.”

  “Why? Is he, like, intimidating?”

  “Definitely intimidating,” Cassie replied with a smile.

  “Describe him to me—I’m starting to like him.”

  “Describe my Uncle Jake…” Cassie mused. “Well, he’s big—“

  “How big?” Eddie interrupted.

  “Oh, I don’t’ know. Taller than me. Maybe, six-one?”

  “Ooo, that’s good. Skinny?” Eddie asked, now enjoying the game.

  Cassie laughed out loud.

  “Don’t tell me he’s fat!” Eddie exclaimed, sitting back in her chair, disappointed.

  “No, he’s not fat or skinny. Jake is unbelievably buff.”

  “You’re just saying that to get my hopes up.”

  “Eddie! He’s almost twice your age! What are you thinking? Besides, he is finally and blessedly in a relationship with a really great lady in Las Vegas.”

  Eddie smiled and waved her off.

  “Oh, I’m just joking.” She paused before adding coquettishly, “But a girl’s got to keep her options open, you know.”

  They laughed—each needing the release it provided.

  Still smiling
, Cassie said, “Jake is—or was, I should say—my mom’s only brother and he’s always been there for me.” Her smile ran away as she added, “At least he was when I would allow him to be.”

  “So, you really think he’s looking for you?”

  “I’m sure of it. He’s on his way as we speak.”

  “On his way where, Cass? Here? In case you’ve forgotten, no one knows where ‘here’ is.”

  Cassie smiled that sly smile again.

  “Listen, Eddie, you don’t know my Uncle Jake like I do. The man is spooky. It’s as if he’s got this sixth sense about finding people. That’s why he’s so good at what he does and why he’s the most successful missing persons consultant in the history of the FBI.”

  “Well,” Eddie said with a glance through the front window. “He’s going to have to be really good to find this place!”

  “Maybe so, but if anyone can do it, he can. And don’t forget Michael.”

  Eddie appraised Cassie, nodding her head slightly.

  “He’s pretty special, huh?”

  “Are you kidding? Michael Harvey is the most amazing man I have ever known—and I’m not just saying that because we’re going to be married,” Cassie replied as she fiddled with the phone.

  “It’s funny,” Eddie said thoughtfully, pausing before continuing, “Seeing someone famous on TV or in magazines and imagining things about them and then you either meet them or talk to somebody who knows them and usually things you thought about them turn out to be not true. But the first time I saw Charleston, I mean Michael, on TV there was something about him that seemed so genuine. And his books—believe it or not, I’ve read a couple of them—they’re, you know, uplifting. Like when you’re through reading you feel better about yourself and the world.”

  Cassie tried to hold her smile in place, but her emotions got the best of her and like a pencil sketch dissolving in a rain shower her face was rearranged into a mask of pure grief.

  Eddie came around the table and put a consoling arm around Cassie’s shoulders.

  “I’ve said something terrible, haven’t I?”

  Through her tears Cassie managed to choke out, “No, Eddie, it’s not about you. I’m just—just…”

  Eddie knelt by the chair and put both arms around Cassie, hugging her tightly, and rocking her gently the way a mother would a frightened child.

  “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s all right, Cass.”

  They stayed like that for a minute or two before Eddie broke away slowly and smoothed Cassie’s hair back away from her face.

  “Thanks—I really needed that,” Cassie said, covering Eddie’s hand with one of hers and giving it a quick squeeze.

  “I have to confess something,” Eddie said quietly as she sat back on her heels. “I have been so focused on me that until now I haven’t really considered how completely awful this must be for you. And I’m sorry, Cassie, I am so sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like either one of us has had much opportunity to think about anything other than our own circumstances. I guess I could make the same confession to you—you know, that I have been so intent on my stuff that I haven’t taken the time to consider how much pain you must be in…and how long you’ve had to endure unimaginable abuse from that miscreant.”

  “Mis-what?” Eddie asked, confused.

  “Miscreant,” Cassie explained. “It’s a fancy way of saying low-life.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, then he is definitely a, ah…mis-cre-ant,” she pronounced carefully. “Did I get it right?”

  “Perfect!” Cassie replied, giving her a warm hug then pulling back to ask, “What say we get our stuff together and head out. I really don’t see any advantage of waiting around here all night, especially if a traveled road is closer than Paul said it was.”

  Fear swam briefly across Eddie’s face.

  “Okay,” she replied weakly, and then with more emotion, “Yeah, let’s do it!”

  Cassie stood, hobbled a few steps and nearly collapsed from the intensity of pain but held it together so as not to cause Eddie any more concern than she already felt.

  What are you thinking? Her mind screamed.

  “No time to think, only time to act,” she whispered under her breath.

  Chapter Twenty

  I had been walking for about fifteen minutes and had come to one unassailable conclusion: the landscape around me was so flat and so devoid of even a single distinguishing characteristic, that were it not for the fact that I was following pre-programmed coordinates on my GPS device, there is virtually no way I or anyone else could know where they were, let alone where they were going.

  It was unnerving!

  It was so bad I started mistrusting my technology. If you want to know the truth, I’m not a big fan of technology. I mean I use it, but I don’t really trust its reliability.

  “Gerry, you copy?”

  “Yeah, Jake. What do you need?”

  “This landscape is ridiculous! I mean there is virtually no variation anywhere I look and I’m just wondering if I’m still on course.”

  “According to our coordinates, you haven’t varied more than a few feet in either direction. So, basically, if you keep walking in a straight line from where you are right now, you should arrive at the transmission site in a little more than a mile.”

  “Okay. I just needed some reassurance. This is very weird.”

  He laughed.

  “I know. Nothing for miles and miles except more miles.”

  “Pretty much. Hey, listen, do you think you could check in with Aaron and Gabi, you know, let them know what’s happening? I know they’re both probably worried.”

  “Of course! I’d be happy to.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’m out.”

  I started thinking about the possibility of Cassie having escaped and being out there somewhere desperately trying to find her way using only her senses. What would she do? Where would she turn? How could she have even the slightest prayer of going in the right direction when everything everywhere looked exactly the same!

  And then the sickening thought that she could already be dead stormed its way into my consciousness like a frat boy after free beer. But, the more I thought about it, it just didn’t feel true. I didn’t understand anything beyond that, but at this point… it was enough to keep me going.

  Suddenly I heard the engine again.

  Closer this time.

  Much closer.

  The wind had dropped to roughly half of what it had been initially, which probably explained why I could hear the motor. It could also be due to the fact that this sound belonged to a car or…the van, and that it was coming closer to my position.

  I now had a decision to make: keep moving forward or stay put and let whatever was out there come to me. I’ve never been any good at standing still, so I kept moving forward.

  Carefully.

  One fall was one too many.

  I lowered the HK and took a minute to let my eyesight balance out before moving toward a low dune, which was the only variant I’d seen except for the earlier bluffs at the drop-off point. Even though it was only seven to eight feet at its crown, it was something.

  The wind died and the sound returned.

  “Gerry, I hear that motor again.”

  “Roger that. Any idea what it is? Could it be our van?”

  “No idea. Wait one.”

  Crawling on my belly, I eased my head up over the top of the little dune and pointed my Nightforce scope in the direction the sound appeared to be coming from.

  Nothing!

  Then I thought that maybe there was some sort of acoustic anomaly playing tricks on my ears. So I swept the area in a broad arc.

  I still couldn’t see anything.

  “I found a bit of a rise in the terrain. Only about eight feet, but it gives me a slight vantage point.”

  “What are you seeing?”

  “Absolutely nothing.”
>
  “But you still hear the engine?”

  I said, “Yeah, I do.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Keep going.

  “Okay. Keep us updated.”

  “Roger that.”

  Since there was no immediate and compelling reason to attempt concealment, I stood and moved carefully down the other side of the dune. When I reached the bottom, I sighted through the Nightforce scope and saw the terrain rising slowly toward some bluffs in the distance—bluffs that were substantially higher than the ones back at the drop-off point.

  The nearly full moon had just topped the eastern horizon and was bathing the landscape in a ghostly hue, but it was enough for me to see without the aid of the Nightforce.

  Or so I believed.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Exactly eight-tenths of a mile away Cassie and Eddie were walking slowly and painfully along the rutted two-track road. Twenty minutes earlier, after gathering their meager provisions—and with blankets draped over their heads like ponchos—they had left the house dressed in several layers of clothing to ward off the bone-chilling cold. They walked in the half-light of the moon, directionless but highly motivated to be anywhere other than where they were. Over time, Cassie’s foot had become swollen and was now too painful to hold her weight. But desperation gave her a resolve that transcended pain.

  “Cassie!” Eddie said suddenly, grabbing her arm and halting her progress. “Did you hear something?”

  Cassie listened, and then asked, “What am I listening for?”

  “Shhh! There it is again. Hear it? It sounds like the van!” Eddie said fearfully.

  This time Cassie heard what she was talking about.

  “You’re right. It might be Paul coming back.” She looked around frantically. “We should find somewhere to hide.”

  The landscape provided nothing more substantial than low dunes, creosote bushes and a few Joshua trees.

  Cassie said, “If we go far enough off the road and each lay down behind one of those bushes or Joshua trees, we’ll be basically invisible.”