Into the Wilderness

by Traci DePree

  “You stay looking. I’ll go to the hospital with him,” Joe offered. “I’m feeling a bit tired myself.” He smiled at Sam. “It’ll give me some time to rest.” Then he turned to Kate, nodding toward Sheriff Roberts and Eli. “Besides, these two strapping young men can help you more than an old fool like me.”

  AFTER THE AMBULANCE left for the hospital, Kate, Eli, and Sheriff Roberts retraced their steps to the valley below. Kate realized she had underestimated how tired she really was and how difficult the walk back down would be. After less than a mile, she was feeling her age. With each step, she willed her legs to move. She was getting a headache too. They stopped to drink water and rest. Kate realized she was short of breath, and she thought of Sam speeding toward the emergency room. He’d looked so helpless strapped to that gurney as it rolled into the back of the ambulance. But she knew there was nothing wrong with her that a regimen of exercise and healthy eating wouldn’t fix, so she determined to push ahead.

  “It’s the altitude that’s making us feel winded,” the sheriff said as he pointed to the mountaintop ahead. “We’re at five thousand feet and climbing.”

  “I don’t know if I can make it,” Kate said.

  “I can call on the radio,” he offered. “See if we can get a ride to the trailhead.”

  Kate sighed, hating the limitations age could put on a person.

  “There are a lot of people looking for him,” Eli reminded her. “You don’t have to be Wonder Woman.”

  Kate smiled at the image. “I’m hardly Wonder Woman. But I do want to find my husband. Just give me some time. I’m not about to give up now because of a silly thing like exhaustion.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  After sitting in the cool late-afternoon sunshine, Kate began to feel better. The last thing she wanted to do was give up the search just before finding Paul and Marcus. And Paul felt so close. They could be waiting just up the road for all she knew. So while Kate rested, her companions searched the general area, and after a good forty minutes, they returned.

  As she stood, the radio in Sheriff Roberts’ belt buzzed.

  “Sheriff Roberts, come in. Over.” It was Ranger Morton.

  “I’m here. What do you have?”

  “We found two sets of prints, and they look to be walking side by side.”

  The sheriff confirmed their location and told them they’d meet them at the junction of the Spruce-Fir Nature Trail and Clingmans Dome Road, then he signed off.

  Kate smiled into his weary eyes. “Let’s go,” she said.

  The remainder of the climb was challenging, but Kate managed to make it to the trailhead. It was a beautiful area of the park that had an almost medieval feel to it. Tall, straight conifers speared the sky, their dark green foliage drooping luxuriously. Mist laced in and out of the mountains at this altitude.

  They waited at the meeting spot for what felt like a long time, but there was no sign of the other searchers headed their way. The sun balanced on the tightrope of horizon beyond the western mountains. The group watched it without speaking.

  Kate tried to keep her anxiety from returning with the approaching dusk and reflected if only for a moment on God’s beautiful creation. But still, she felt so frustrated. Sure, these forests were huge, but with the clues Paul had left and the number of searchers scouring the terrain, she felt sure they should have found the men by now. But with the sun setting so soon, they’d have to call it a night again.

  Her stomach knotted at the thought of Paul and Marcus out in the woods for a third cold night.

  Just then, the radio crackled, and the ranger came on, “Sheriff, are you there? Come in. Over.”

  Sheriff Roberts shot a glance at Kate before pushing the TALK button. “Yes, sir. What’s going on? I thought we were meeting you where the Spruce-Fir Nature Trail meets Clingmans Dome Road.”

  “It’s taking longer than we expected,” Kate heard the ranger say. “It’s rough going. Lots of steep terrain.”

  “But no sign of Paul or Marcus?” the sheriff asked.

  “No. Nothing new to report on that front. We’re going to set up camp pretty quick. Hopefully it’s not too muddy. A van’s going to pick you up on the Spruce-Fir Nature Trail and take you back to Sugarlands.”

  “All right,” Sheriff Roberts said. “Over and out.”

  Kate sighed, discouraged that they were quitting for the night. “It feels like we’re so close,” she said, then lifted her gaze to Eli.

  The young man reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Kate,” he said.

  Sheriff Roberts looked at Kate soberly. “It’s getting dark,” he said. “I think they’re close; I really do. But we’re just going to have to hold tight, do some of that praying you’re always talking about.”

  The comment struck Kate like a slap in the face. He was telling her to pray? But she knew he was right. She’d let others pray, and she’d thought of God and sent up arrow-prayers to him, but she hadn’t poured out her heart to him, hadn’t asked him for the wisdom she so desperately needed. She’d been relying on her own strength, her own intuition to will Paul and Marcus home.

  WHEN THEY ARRIVED BACK at the motel, Kate called Andrew and Melissa to update them, then called the hospital to check on Sam, since visiting hours were long past. Joe told her that Sam was doing well. He’d had a “cardiac event,” as the doctors had called it, though Joe didn’t know exactly what that meant.

  “They said it wasn’t an all-out heart attack, but they’re going to keep him here for observation. In any case, he can’t be out searching anymore. It’s too hard on him.”

  “Are you coming back to the motel so you can rest?” Kate asked the seventy-year-old.

  “I’m gonna wait it out here until I know Sam’s out of the woods. Shouldn’t be more than a few days,” he said. “They have La-Z-Boy chairs in the rooms, so I’m all set. The nurse even sneaked me some pudding...I think she’s sweet on me!”

  Kate laughed, then thanked Joe for taking good care of Sam before she hung up the phone. Rebecca was in the bathroom brushing her teeth.

  Kate thought about what the sheriff had said to her about praying. She knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, but she’d been thinking about it all evening. She closed her eyes as weariness of soul mingled with weariness of body.

  “Lord,” she prayed aloud. The prayer welled up inside her. She could feel it to her very core—“I can’t do this. My faith isn’t strong enough, but I know you love me even if I can’t feel it. So I’m going to trust you with an open hand. Our lives are yours to do with as you will. Help me not to hold on so tightly but to know that you love Paul and me far more than we can love each other. You have our best interests in mind. You deserve my trust. Please keep Paul and Marcus safe. Give them a sense of direction so they can just walk out of those woods. Give Sheriff Roberts and Ranger Morton and the other men in charge the wisdom they need.”

  When she opened her eyes, Rebecca was gazing at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Thanks, Mom,” she said.

  “What for?” Kate asked, puzzled.

  “For being an example.”

  “What do you mean?” Kate patted the spot next to her on the bed, and Rebecca plopped down beside her.

  “You and Dad never just told us what to do. I mean, you told us, but you also showed us. I appreciate that. You actually live what you believe. I guess I’d forgotten that while I’d been away from you.” She shrugged, and Kate patted her hand.

  “I’ve missed you,” Rebecca added, then she chuckled to herself. “It’s funny how some time in the woods can give a person perspective, but today I had a realization.”

  “And what was that?” Kate asked.

  “I’ve been so hurt by Marcus’ deception, and I’ve been wondering what I did that caused him not to trust me. But maybe he did try to tell me in his own way. There were things that he said, weird things that I didn’t understand at the time, but they’re beginning to make sense now.”

  “Wh
at kinds of things?” Kate said.

  “He’d make these comments like, ‘Some things are too big for forgiveness.’ I’d try to probe into what he meant, asking if he was talking about something in his own past, but then he’d always clam up. Maybe he was hoping I could crack that shell open, and he was giving me an opportunity.”

  “But that’s not your fault,” Kate said.

  “I know that. I just feel like I could have tried harder to draw him out. Sometimes things can be too hard to say out loud.”

  Kate chimed in. “I think you’re right. It’s scary to let people in, especially someone you care about and don’t want to lose.”

  Rebecca went on. “But still, the clues were all there—the impromptu trip to Copper Mill, the nervous way he was acting—but I didn’t start paying attention until a few days ago. He seemed eager to come here, even though we haven’t even made the trek to New Jersey to meet his family. I think he was trying to get away from those men, but I wonder if he was also trying to forget about something. Maybe he wanted to forget about losing his job, but that seems small compared to whatever it is those two men are after.” She paused and lifted her face in contemplation. “I wish I knew what those men want from Marcus.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” Kate said. “Has Marcus said anything that might clue us in?”

  “I haven’t thought of anything yet,” Rebecca admitted. “There has to be a good reason why those men would travel hundreds of miles in search of him. They claimed Marcus was missing, and now he is missing. I don’t know if that’s just a coincidence, but I hope it is, because if those men had anything to do with his disappearance, they could be doing all sorts of horrible things to Marcus and to Daddy. I couldn’t bear the thought of that.”

  She lifted her eyes to Kate’s, then her expression darkened. “There’s something else,” she said. “I know I said earlier that I couldn’t think of Eli as more than a friend...”

  “Your feelings have changed?”

  “I don’t know. I think so. He’s such a stark contrast to Marcus. He’s an open book, warts and all, and I find that so refreshing. He told me about losing his fiancée and everything that happened after that.”

  “That was a difficult time for him,” Kate said.

  “And yet he isn’t ashamed of his past. He sees it for what it was, and he’s stronger because of it.”

  “That’s what mature people do,” Kate said. “They learn and grow from their mistakes.”

  Rebecca nodded and began to twist the corner of the quilted bedspread. “Like I said earlier, Eli’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. He’s strong and yet he’s humble. I really admire that about him.” She paused and added, “He reminds me of Daddy.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  By five thirty the next morning, Kate was up and ready to start anew. She’d had a dream about finding Paul that had stayed with her after she awoke. In her dream, he was grinning from ear to ear as she ran into his outstretched arms.

  When she awoke, she felt certain that this would be the day they would find him. But when they reached Sugarlands to load up the vans, it was obvious that not everyone felt the same way. She glanced at the weary faces. Ranger Morton looked especially tired, and Kate thought his body language even suggested that he was ready to throw in the towel. He wouldn’t make eye contact with her, and when she tried to talk to him, he excused himself and went to talk to one of the other rangers.

  Kate was glad to see that Joe Tucker had rejoined the search since the doctors said that Sam was out of imminent danger.

  “Why does everyone look so defeated?” she asked Sheriff Roberts.

  He hesitated as if he didn’t want to tell her, then said, “As many cold nights as we’ve had...it’s more and more likely that we won’t find them.” He met her eyes. “I’m sorry, Kate.”

  “How can you say that?” Kate searched his face. “This is Paul, Sheriff. We can’t give up the search.”

  “I feel the same way, and we’re not giving up. Not yet. But I just want you to start preparing yourself for the worst.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. The words struck her as if she’d been slapped.

  “We found Paul’s medicine bottle,” she reminded him. “And he left us a trail to lead us to him. He and Marcus are out there. We have to find them. I’m sure we’re not far now.”

  The sheriff nodded. “I know, I know,” he said. “We haven’t given up yet. Hopefully we’ll find something today.” Then he patted her arm and turned to the others who were drinking coffee. “Let’s load ’em up!” he said to the Copper Mill searchers.

  Even though they were continuing the search, Kate couldn’t help but feel deserted. It seemed the team’s leaders were giving up, at least in spirit.

  She glanced around the room as searchers talked in quiet morning voices and sipped steaming coffee. She noticed a man who she figured must have just joined the search-and-rescue team. His back was to her, but she knew she hadn’t seen him with the group before, because she surely would have noticed that black, gelled hair.

  As if he could read her thoughts, he turned to the side, offering her a better view. He was talking to a shorter man, also with black hair. Just then someone moved into her line of sight, and Kate stepped aside to look again.

  When the shorter of the two men turned again, she saw his face—that flat nose and pale eyes. She knew him instantly. She moved through the crowd to get a closer look at his partner and immediately recognized that cleft in his chin. His dark eyes met hers.

  She flinched, then glanced around and hurried to the back of the room where Sheriff Roberts was giving last-minute instructions to one of the volunteers.

  “Sheriff Roberts,” she whispered urgently. “They’re here. Those strange men who came to my house. Come with me.”

  The sheriff’s eyes widened as Kate reached for his hand and began to tug him over to where she’d seen the two men.

  But when they got to the place where the men had been, they were gone. Kate frantically scanned the room, which was quickly emptying as searchers headed for the vehicles. Then she and the sheriff rushed outside, but there was no sign of them.

  It was as if they’d vanished into thin air.

  “They were here, Sheriff! I saw them!” Kate said.

  The sheriff nodded, still looking around. “We’ll keep an eye out.”

  It was now crystal clear to Kate. Those men had everything to do with Marcus’ disappearance.

  KATE SAT WITH REBECCA on the drive to the service road just north of Clingmans Dome Road. They bounced and jostled against each other on the faint track that was overgrown with spruce and fir trees. The woods were very dark and foreboding in that section of the park, not the light, colorful forest of the previous sections they’d searched.

  Kate kept thinking about the two men, wondering where they had gone. Had they decided to follow the search party in hopes of beating them to Marcus? Or did they already have Paul and Marcus hidden someplace? But if they did, why would they try to infiltrate the search team? To taunt them? To find a way to...what? She wished she knew.

  “This is ridiculous!” James Jenner’s voice broke into her thoughts.

  He was seated between his parents just behind Kate, in the back of the fifteen-passenger van. Justin rode shotgun at the front of the van, blissfully unaware of his family’s argument. Kate glanced back to see Livvy shaking her head at her son.

  “Keep your voice down,” Kate heard Danny whisper.

  She assumed he was hoping that nobody had heard them. She glanced back at him and saw that his face was red and he looked ready to burst. Embarrassed for him, she turned back around in her seat.

  “Why do you keep bringing this up?” Kate heard Livvy whisper. “We already told you we’re staying here until we bring Pastor Hanlon home.”

  “Fine!” James said in a low voice. “Then you can stay here, but I have commitments at home that I have to get back to. At least let me go home alone. I need to be there to reh
earse for Sunday’s concert.”

  “There’s not going to be any concert,” Danny hissed. “That’s what you can tell your friends.”

  Kate wanted to jump in and tell them that it was okay, that she and Paul would understand that James had obligations. Who could expect a teenager to drop everything to search for his pastor? But from the tone of Danny’s voice, she knew better than to utter a word.

  James began to argue, but his father cut in.

  “Don’t push me on this, James. We’ve already had this conversation.”

  “It’s not as if your father and I aren’t missing work to help look for Pastor Hanlon,” Livvy added, “but some things are more important than work...Like friends!”

  Kate felt as though Livvy was looking directly at her when she said the words, and tears of gratitude filled her eyes.

  “The guys in the band are my friends, Mom. And you don’t even know what the concert is all about. We just need to practice so I’m ready by Sunday. The guys have been texting me about it—”

  “I’ll take that phone, young man,” Danny demanded. “These friends of yours are no friends. If they were, they’d understand that you have other obligations, and they’d stop trying to manipulate the situation.”

  “Give me my phone!” James’ voice rose in volume.

  At that, the rest of the van grew quiet, and heads turned to see what all the fuss was about. James reached for the phone, which his father reluctantly returned to him.

  “Turn it off,” Danny said in a low voice.

  Livvy’s face had gone red. She met Kate’s eyes and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  Kate shook her head and gave her friend a sympathetic look. She could understand both perspectives, and her heart went out to Livvy and Danny. Raising a teenage son was no easy task, especially in the midst of a crisis.

  When the van finally stopped to let the group out, Kate could already hear search dogs barking up ahead. Each searcher piled out of the van and secured their backpacks. When Kate finally got out, she turned to Livvy who was behind her.

  “Are you okay?” she asked her friend.