6 Maple Leaf Hunter

by Maddie Cochere

  I checked all of the public areas of the lodge, but Alex wasn’t in any of them. I even yelled into the men’s restroom off the lobby. I looked into the backyard, but there was no sign of him.

  I stood in the doorway of the shed and said hello to Emily before asking, “Have you seen Alex?”

  “Not this morning,” she said. “He didn’t come in for breakfast, so I thought he was sleeping in again.”

  I thanked her and resumed my search. I walked down to Darby and Nate’s campsite, but the RV was locked, and no one was around.

  I wasn’t worried yet, but my heart jumped with alarm at the thought he might have gone to the rock quarry by himself. I rushed down the path to check.

  When I crested the hill, I stopped in my tracks. There was someone walking around the pool of water, but it wasn’t Alex. I quickly scanned the area. He was nowhere in sight. The man stopped and stared into the pool. I didn’t recognize him, and I didn’t want him to see me, so I slowly backed up until I was out of view. I broke into a run down the path and took the trail to the general store. I was breathless when I pushed the squeaky screen door open.

  Walt looked up from the counter. “Hi,” he said. “It’s Susan, right?”

  I nodded my head and grabbed my side. The painful stitch from running was back again.

  “You ok?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” I said, even though I knew I was scrunching up my face from pain. “I was running, and I’ve got a stitch in my side, that’s all. I was wondering if you’ve seen a young man, late teens, a little taller than me, dark hair, green eyes?”

  “No,” he said. “You’re the first person to come in this morning.”

  I plucked a bottle of water from a wooden barrel filled with ice and opened it to take a drink. I paid Walt for the water and stepped outside. I was worried now. There wasn’t any reason for Alex to have gone anywhere, and I was concerned he had run away. With the way he had been acting lately, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he did. I dreaded the thought of telling Mick, but I started the long walk back to the lodge to wait for him.

  When I reached the main path, I remembered the abandoned cabin and thought he might have found his way there. If he was out exploring, he could have checked all of the paths the same as I did.

  I went around the long curve, hoping the colorful, sun-painted scene would be before me again. It wasn’t. The colors of the ground cover, the grasses, and the sky were dull. I looked behind me to see the sky turning dark and thick clouds building. A storm was definitely on the horizon.

  I hurried down the path and over the hill.

  There were no signs of life around the cabin. Any hope of finding Alex disappeared. I pushed the handle and opened the door. Everything seemed the same as before, until I noticed the sofa had been moved. I jumped when I heard a muffled sound and a soft thump.

  I dropped the bottle of water. The sound came again. I was hesitant to move. Was there an animal in the room? I held my breath and stared at the sofa. It was then I saw the top of a head sticking out from behind. I pulled the piece of furniture away to reveal Alex on the floor. His hands and feet were bound with an old, frayed rope. His mouth had been gagged with a filthy rag.

  I was shocked and frightened, but my maternal instincts kicked in, and anger came to the forefront.

  I helped him to a sitting position and attempted to untie the knot in the rag. It wouldn’t budge. I ran to the drawers next to the sink and yanked them open one after another, hoping for a knife. I finally found a pair of scissors. I grabbed them and my bottle of water and rushed to his side. I cut the cloth to free his mouth and began to work on the ropes.

  As soon as his hands were free, he rinsed his mouth with the remaining water in the bottle and spit the dirty liquid out onto the floor. I didn’t ask any questions. He could tell us what happened later. I knew we were in danger, and I wanted to get him out of the cabin as soon as possible.

  “Susan,” he said. “Some man with a gun forced me out of my cabin and made me come here. He tied me up and left, but he said he’d be back. It’s been a while, so he could be here any minute.”

  “Listen,” I said. “We’re going to go back to the lodge as fast as we can. If we see anybody, we’re going to run like we’ve never run before. Ok? Don’t stop for anything.” He nodded his head.

  I made a beeline for the front door, but I was thrown off balance when my foot landed on the mug that had at one time been sticking out from under the sofa. My ankle turned over and hit the ground. An intense, sharp pain shot up my leg. I dropped to my knees.

  Alex panicked. “Susan! Susan! Are you ok? Get up! We have to go.”

  I fought back tears. With his help, I managed to stand. I tried to walk, but the pain was excruciating. I couldn’t put any weight on my right foot. He tried again to help me walk, but it would take forever to get back to the lodge if we had to go like this.

  “You go,” I said. He shook his head vehemently. “You have to,” I insisted. “Get back to the lodge and get help.” I pointed to a long stick near the wall. “Hand that to me.”

  I was able to hold myself upright without his help by using the stick somewhat like a crutch.

  “I can’t just leave you here,” he said.

  “You have to,” I argued. “I’ll go outside and hide in the weeds or behind a tree. I’ll make sure you know where I am when you get back with Dan and your dad or whoever else is there to help. It’s going to storm soon. Get going.”

  He surprised me by giving me a hug and a kiss on my cheek before running out the door and down the path. I watched until he was out of sight in the trees. It was then I realized I was shivering. I wasn’t cold, but I was trembling all over. I took one last look around the cabin to be sure there wasn’t anything there that would explain Alex’s abduction - like four gold bars – but there was nothing to be seen. I turned toward the door again and managed to hobble a couple of steps with the stick.

  The doorway darkened, and I looked up expecting to see dark clouds sweeping in overhead. Instead, I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun.

  My words refused to come. I tried twice to speak, but fear and shock constricted my throat.

  “Surprised to see me?” he asked.

  A high, shrill scream filled the air. Terror flashed across the man’s face. The scream sounded again.

  “What the hell was that?” he yelled. He rushed into the cabin and slammed the door behind him.

  “There’s a Sasquatch out there,” I said weakly. “I saw it the other day.”

  He tried to keep the gun pointed at me as he ran to look out the dirty window.

  It felt as if a nightmare was unfolding before me. “You’re Ralph,” I said incredulously. “How are you even here? You died when you fell on me.”

  “I didn’t die,” he said with scorn. “It was a panic attack. And then I passed out.” He continued to look back and forth between the window and me.

  “What were you running from in the mall that day?” I asked.

  “Shut up!” he yelled. “I’ll ask the questions.” He took one more look out the window and turned to face me. “Where’s the kid?”

  “What kid?” I asked.

  “There was a kid in here,” he said.

  I shook my head and said, “I’ve only been here a few minutes, and there wasn’t any kid here.”

  He didn’t press the issue. He immediately asked, “Where’s the gold?”

  Pain kept me from thinking before I spoke, and I asked sarcastically, “The four gold bars from the Pirata exhibit? I don’t have any idea where they are.”

  The man gritted his teeth. His eyes flashed with anger. “Why you little-,” he snarled. “I oughta shoot you right now.” He took a step toward me and aimed the gun at my head. I whimpered and squeezed my eyes shut tight. He asked again, “Where’s the gold?”

  I was much quieter when I said, “Honestly, I don’t know where the bars are. I haven’t seen them.” He moved the gun closer to my
head. I held my hand up. “Listen. I was suspicious when the guy in Niagara Falls asked where we were staying. It took me a while to put two and two together, but I figured the gold was hidden somewhere in the RV. I looked for it, but I never found it.”

  “What did you do with the coins?” he asked.

  His question threw me for a loop. I frowned. “What coins? I don’t know anything about any coins. I thought it was on the news that only four gold bars were stolen.”

  Oh my gosh! The news. I had completely forgotten to call Samantha to see if she found out anything about the very man who was standing before me with a gun in my face. If my stomach lurched any more than it already was, I would be vomiting soon.

  “You had ten gold coins slipped into your purse at the mall,” he said. “You can’t lie about those, because you had them.” The gun came up again to take aim at my head, and he said angrily through gritted teeth, “What did you do with them?”

  Panic welled up inside me. I had real coins in my purse? The coins at the exhibit were worth five thousand dollars each. Lizzie wasn’t playing with Alex’s souvenir coins at Darby and Nate’s house. She was playing with fifty thousand dollars worth of real gold. The knee of my one good leg felt as if it was going to buckle under me.

  “Please,” I begged. “Let me sit down. You can see I can’t walk. I’ll tell you where the coins are.”

  He motioned with the gun for me to sit on a chair. I managed to get to the table, but I felt lightheaded, and pain caused flashes of light to occur in the periphery of my vision. I sat down and put my head in my hands.

  “The coins,” he said.

  Thunder sounded in the distance. The storm would be upon us soon. The longer I kept the man talking, the better chance I had of being rescued.

  “What are you going to do to me?” I asked.

  “Nothing, if you tell me what I want to know,” he said. He waved the gun back and forth and reiterated, “The coins.”

  I couldn’t tell him they were on the dresser in Alex’s room at our house. I couldn’t risk one of his accomplices going to the house and hurting Mick’s parents, or worse, Lizzie.

  Another wave of pain shot across my ankle. I winced and said, “They’re in plastic dishes in the living room at our neighbor’s house.” I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth.

  “The smaller house next to yours?” he asked.

  I nodded and put my head in my hands again.

  “Ok. Let’s talk about the gold bars again,” he said.

  Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. There wasn’t any rain yet, but the wind had picked up and the weather conditions were turning ugly fast.

  I looked up at the man and said tiredly, “I don’t know where they are. I tried to find them in the RV, but I don’t know where you hid them.”

  He gave me a look of disgust. “The gold bars weren’t hidden in the RV,” he said. “They were in the bag of rocks my son gave to the kid with you.”

  My head snapped up with that bit of information. “No,” I said emphatically. “I looked all through the bag right away when it was given to him. There weren’t any gold bars.”

  “We’re not stupid,” he said. “We didn’t put them in with the rocks. They were sewed into the bottom of the bag.”

  The light flashes popped at the outermost corners of my eyes again. The stitch returned to my side. Pain was everywhere, and I knew I was close to passing out. I struggled to hold onto consciousness. My words were slightly slurred as I repeated his words. “They were sewed into the bottom.” I had picked the bag up earlier today. If there were gold bars in it at one time, they were gone now. “Someone got them,” I said.

  “Get up,” he ordered.

  “I can’t walk,” I said.

  He stepped closer and raised the gun again. “Get up right now,” he said firmly. “Grab the stick and let’s go.” He smiled before saying, “You’re going for a swim.”

  Now I knew why he was at the rock quarry looking into the water. He had probably planned to dump Alex there if he didn’t tell him where the gold was, but now he intended to use the pool of water to threaten me.

  It took every bit of strength I had to get upright and stand on one foot. I couldn’t bend over to pick up the stick. He thrust it into my hand and gave me a push toward the door. My first thought was to club him with the stick, but I was so weak, it might as well have been one of those foam fingers in my hand.

  I took a step forward. I didn’t doubt that he was capable of shooting me right here, but the long, slow walk to the quarry would buy more precious minutes for Alex to come back with help. I managed the last few steps to the door and opened it.

  Large raindrops were just beginning to fall. I stepped out from the cabin. There was no sign of Alex or any help. I had no idea how much time had passed since he left. I took two more steps forward. They were exhausting.

  A loud crack sounded behind me. I turned to look at the man, but my world went dark.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Alex cried out, but a sharp crack of lightning drowned out his cry.

  He took great gulps of air, desperate to take oxygen into his lungs. Despair washed over him. Susan was gone, and he knew his dad would never forgive him.

  His tears mixed with the rain and poured down his cheeks. He clawed at his face and pulled his hair before screaming as loud as he could. Suicidal feelings were quick to surface. He would never be able to live with himself knowing he was responsible for her death. He knew he should have told them about the gold when he first found it instead of burying it in the woods.

  He ran to the cabin and stared at the man lying face down on the ground. The back of his head was bloodied. He might still be alive, but he didn’t attempt to find out. He turned and ran down the path.

  When he reached the fork, he chose the path to the rock quarry. They were never going to find Susan, and he would make sure they never found him either.

  He never flinched as he walked the path. He was impervious to the now raging storm around him.

  When he crested the hill, he climbed onto a large rock to look down on the quarry. He sat motionless, void of all feeling. It would be easy to slip into the dark water.

  Every hair on his head, and all the hair on his arms, stood up at the same time. He realized he had become a conductor for a lightning strike, and he instinctively threw himself forward off the rock. He barely had time to tuck and roll before the lightning struck with a ferocious crack.

  The near-death lightning strike, and the pain from rolling on the sharp rocks, brought his full senses back to him. Maybe Susan wouldn’t be the first. He knew he had to tell his dad right away. He ran as fast as he could back to the lodge.

  When he burst through the door and into the lobby, everyone was waiting. Even Beau was in attendance and seated near the fire.

  Mick stood first and rushed forward to him. “Where have you been? Are you ok?” he asked. “Where’s Susan?”

  Tears flowed again as he threw himself into his father’s arms and lost all composure.

  Emily was quick to grab a heavy throw from one of the sofas and slip it around his shoulders. She rushed off for towels.

  Darby and Nate stood. Seeing Alex break down brought tears to Nate’s eyes. He quickly brushed them away. Both guys knew the news he was bringing wouldn’t be good.

  “I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, and I’m really sorry.”

  Mick guided him to a sofa and sat down beside him. He struggled to remain calm as he asked, “Alex, what? Where’s Susan? What’s happened to her?”

  “There was a man,” he said. “He forced his way into my cabin today. He was looking for the gold bars that were stolen from the Pirata exhibit at the mall.”

  Mick frowned and appeared confused, “There were gold bars stolen from the exhibit? Why would he ask you for them?”

  Alex didn’t want to confess to his stupidity, but he had to tell them everything. “Because they were in the bag o
f rocks the man gave me in Niagara Falls. I found them in a false bottom Tuesday night. I tested them, so I knew they were real gold, and I got scared. They used me, Dad. They used me to get the gold into the country, and I freaked. I didn’t want the cops finding the bars on me, so I buried them in the woods.”

  Mick lost all patience. “Alex, I swear, if you don’t tell me where Susan is this instant, I’ll -”

  He stopped himself. He didn’t really want to threaten him. He wanted to know where Susan was and if she was all right.

  Alex said again, “I’m sorry. I’m trying to tell you. The man saw the empty bag in my cabin. I told him I didn’t know where the gold was, but he didn’t believe me. He searched the room and then forced me at gunpoint to the abandoned cabin at the end of the trail. He gagged me and tied my hands and feet. He left, but he said he’d be back. Susan found me there.”

  Mick’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t that he wasn’t upset about what happened to Alex, and the thought had already crossed his mind that he would find the man who abducted him and beat him to a pulp, but here was finally something about Susan.

  Alex continued, “She cut me loose, and we were ready to run back here, but she tripped on something and sprained her ankle. She couldn’t walk. She made me leave her there and come back here for help.”

  Mick jumped up. “Well, let’s go,” he said. “We can get her back here. Why didn’t you tell us where she was when you first got here?” His exasperation was on full display.

  Alex yelled, “Because she’s not there. The man with the gun came back.”

  Mick’s face went rigid.

  Tears spilled from Alex’s eyes again. “I was running down the path, and I heard the Sasquatch scream – twice. I felt guilty for leaving her there. I was afraid something would happen to her, so I went back. I hid in the woods and watched the cabin for a few minutes, and that’s when I saw the man at the window. I waited. I thought there might still be a way to help her.”

  He stopped talking. The next part was too hard for him to tell.

  Mick’s voice was soft as he sat down next to him again. “Just tell us, Alex,” he said. “Whatever it is, just tell us.”