by Sharon Dunn
“Don’t kill them!” one of the men ordered. “Willis wants them alive.”
Zane caught up with her as they raced toward an open area. The ATVs roared to life. They needed to get to terrain where the machines couldn’t follow them. She glanced around.
He pointed toward a rocky incline. She hurried after him just as one of the ATVs burst through the trees. Another bullet whizzed past his ear. They slipped behind a rock and pressed low to the ground. Killing them might not be an option, but wounding them must still be on the table. Zane and Heather pushed themselves upward, using the larger rocks for cover.
They rushed toward the top of the incline. When he glanced down over his shoulder, he saw that one of the men had a high-powered rifle. It was pointed right at him—but before the sniper could take the shot, they reached the ridgeline and headed down the other side.
They sprinted down the grassy side of the hill until they entered a cluster of trees.
Both of them gasped for breath.
Zane ran his hand through his hair and paced as adrenaline coursed through him. “We need to get out of here. It’s just a matter of minutes before they catch up with us.”
“Who are those guys and why did they kidnap you?”
Her question felt like a weight on his chest. She’d saved his life. He owed her an explanation, but there was no time for that now. “The trail on up the mountain is blocked by the rockslide, so we’ll have to go by way of the river.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, he turned and bolted through the trees. If she wanted to stay alive, she’d follow him. She’d already proven she had good survival skills.
The landscape bounced in front of him as he kept pace with Heather.
The sound of the ATVs grew louder then died out and then intensified again. Heather and Zane entered a wide meadow. An ATV emerged from the opposite side of the meadow. Its rider came to a stop and yanked a rifle from a holder attached to the ATV.
Zane grabbed her and pulled her toward the thick evergreens. The first rifle shot stirred the ground up in front of her feet. She jumped back. Zane tugged on her sleeve. Both of them dived toward the shelter of the heavy brush as the sound of more ATV engines filled the forest. The mechanical roar pressed on him from every side. He wasn’t sure which way to go to get away. Were they being surrounded?
Zane hesitated for only a moment before choosing a path. They scrambled downward through the trees. The steep path they were on couldn’t be called a trail, which would make it that much harder to be followed. The noise of the ATVs died out again. Though he doubted the pursuers had given up.
They jogged until they were both out of breath and needed to stop.
A sense of urgency pressed in on Zane as he pointed off in the distance. “We need to go to the river and get across that bridge. We don’t have much time before they catch up with us.”
Looking over to the side, he saw where the ATVs snaked down a distant hill. Far enough away for now—but closing in, faster than he and Heather could possibly move on foot.
“How are you going to get to the river? We can’t outrun them.” Her voice trembled with panic.
As if on cue, a braying noise alerted both of them as Clarence entered the flat area where they stood.
“Looks like our ride’s here.” Heather hurried over and patted Clarence’s neck. “I found him earlier. I’m starting to really like this old mule.”
“They always find their way back,” Zane said. “Let’s drop some of this weight.” He reached for the saddlebags.
He pulled a few essential items out and stuffed them into his pockets before yanking the bags off the mule and tossing them on the ground. “We’d better hurry.”
A moment later, the sound of the ATVs engines clanging filled the forest around them growing louder and closer. He mounted Clarence and reached out a hand for her to get on behind him. Zane spurred Clarence into a trot. The animal was surefooted enough on the rough terrain that he was able to keep a steady pace. But would be fast enough for them to get away?
* * *
Heather wrapped her arms around Zane’s waist and pressed close to him. She buried her face in his shoulder-length hair, melting into the warmth of his back. The solid shape of the box that held her father’s ashes pushed against her stomach. Until that moment, she’d almost forgotten it was there. Saying goodbye to the father she never knew and finding some closure seemed like the furthest thing from her mind.
They needed to get off this mountain alive. Judging from how ragged and dirty the men and boys all looked, they must live up in the mountains for extended periods. That meant they knew how to survive in the harshness of the high country.
The rushing roar of the river greeted her ears even before she saw the cold gray water and the bridge.
Zane turned his head slightly. “Dismount. We’ll lead Clarence across. You go in front of me.”
She slid off the mule. The bridge was primitive; the railings were made of narrow but strong cording. The bottom was fashioned from logs bound together with the same cording, stretching across the wide rushing water, connected at either end to sturdy trees. It swayed when she stepped on it. She steadied herself by grabbing the rope railing. Zane fell in behind her, leading Clarence, who hesitated only a moment before he stepped on the unsteady structure.
The ATV noises stopped nearby. The shouts and cries of men out for violence filled the forest. Before long, two of the men emerged through the trees. One of them drew a handgun and shot. The shot went wild. All the same, the gunfire made her stutter in her step.
“Keep going,” Zane urged, and he peered over his shoulder.
They were halfway across the bridge.
She couldn’t see around him or the mule on the narrow bridge but the look on his face when he turned back around indicated that something had alarmed him.
“What is it?”
“Hurry! The men started to cross and backed up.”
Then she heard it—an awful creaking. The bridge swayed. It was unstable and about to break.
They couldn’t go back.
She lost her balance and buckled to one knee. Heart racing, she pulled herself to her feet and stepped as fast as she dared across the uneven logs. The bridge swayed even more and creaked in a new way. She could see the other side of the river. Solid ground was only twenty feet away.
Trying to maintain her balance, she put one foot in front of the other and gripped the rope railing.
A louder creak filled the air. She caught a glimpse of the rushing water down below, dark and cold. The bridge went slack. And then she felt her body slipping backward and down. Her hand flailed, struggling to find something to hold on to.
She grasped only air as her body plunged into the depths of the freezing water.
FOUR
Zane grabbed hold of the rope remnants of the bridge as he drifted downstream. Clarence’s body rammed into his and then floated away as the animal struggled to keep its head above water. He saw a flash of Heather’s jacket, and then she disappeared beneath the freezing water. His heart squeezed tight, and he waited for her to resurface.
A bullet whizzed past his head. He switched focus to the men—boys, really, no more than teenagers—on the shoreline. The first boy grabbed the gun from the second one, probably not wanting to risk Zane being killed since the orders were for them to be taken in alive.
Zane let go of the piece of tattered bridge as the current pulled him along. There was no more sign of Heather.
Twice, the force of the water pushed him under.
The young men ran along the bank, keeping him in sight. Zane couldn’t see Clarence anywhere, but hoped that the mule had managed to reach land—something Zane now needed to do for himself. He swam hard to get to the far bank. That bridge had been the only way across the
water for miles. The young men on the shore slowed down as the current carried him along even faster.
Though he couldn’t see her, he refused to believe Heather had drowned. She had proved she was a competent athlete.
He knew he had only minutes in the freezing water before hypothermia set in. The current pushed him back toward the closer shore where the pursuers were. He and Heather really needed to get across this river. He rounded a bend. The young men with guns grew smaller then disappeared from view. He felt a rush of relief when he saw Heather up ahead crawling up on a log that had fallen half way across the stream. She had almost reached land, but not on the far shore that would allow them to get back to town. If he followed her, they’d still be trapped on the wrong side of the river. All the same, he was elated to see she had made it out.
He swam through the water, trying to maneuver toward her. She noticed him and worked her way back to the end of the log and held out a hand. She grabbed him by the back of the collar as he drifted by. He angled his torso and braced himself with one of the heavier limbs on the fallen tree as water suctioned around him. She reached out an ice-cold hand and helped him up on the log.
Both of them were soaked and shivering, but at least they’d survived. She rose to her feet and edged her way across the slippery log to dry land. He was right behind her.
He glanced down the shoreline but saw no sign of their pursuers yet. Heather wrapped her arms around her body and waited for him. Water dripped from her long dark hair.
He surveyed the landscape. They’d drifted far enough that it would be a while before their pursuers caught up with them. He knew where he was and where they could go to get warm. “We need to build a fire, but not where we’ll be seen easily.”
“Where can we go?” Her eyes appeared glazed when she looked at him. Shock was setting in. Hypothermia couldn’t be far behind.
He placed his palms on her cheeks, forcing her to make eye contact. “Just stay with me. Do what I say. I got this, okay?”
She nodded.
He sprinted through the trees up toward a rock face until he found an outcropping of rock that would provide shelter on three sides.
“Gather any dry wood you can find,” he said.
One of the things he’d pulled off the saddlebags was a waterproof bag containing magnesium fire starter and dryer lint for kindling. As he drew the fire starter out of the plastic bag, he noticed that his whole body trembled.
Heather returned a few minutes later with a pile of sticks. “Everything is pretty wet.” Her voice was shaky from the cold and all the color had drained from her face.
They needed to hurry and get this fire built.
“Anything you can find will help.” He drew his knife off his belt. “I can split it. The wood on the inside is dry.”
“I’ll go find more.” She turned and dashed toward the trees.
Using one log as a baton and his knife as a hatchet, he split several logs. His vision blurred as water dripped off his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut then opened them.
Dear God, help us stay alive.
He could feel the strength draining from his body and his mind fogging. Heather returned with more wood.
“I’ve got enough here to start the fire.” He pointed at the fire starter. “Do you know how to use that?”
She nodded. “We go camping in California, too, you know.”
She knelt down beside him, gathering the kindling into a pile around the dryer lint. She shaved off some magnesium flakes and then slid the scraper across the rod until she made some sparks. Her hands were shaking, too, as she used them to protect the fragile flames. Once the fire consumed the kindling, Zane placed larger pieces of wood on the fire until he could feel the warmth.
He slipped out of his wet coat. “You might want to take yours off. Lay it across those rocks so the fire will dry it out. You’ll need to sit close to me...for warmth.”
She gave him a momentary stare before stripping her coat and gloves off and scooting beside him.
“All right if I wrap my arms around you?”
She nodded. He took her into an awkward hug. Her body was rigid in his arms, unmoving except for the shivering. Both of them watched the flames as they warmed up and dried out.
“Will they come looking for us?” Her voice sounded very far away and weak.
He lifted his head to look around. Their would-be captors had been tenacious up to this point. There was no reason to think they would just give up now. “Probably.” The fire was small, and they were hidden by the rocks, but they couldn’t stay here for long without running the risk of being found.
“Who are they?”
Her question fell like a heavy weight on his chest. He took in a breath as the past rushed at him at a hundred miles an hour. This wasn’t the first time she’d asked the question. He needed to finally give her an answer. “There’s a man who used to live in these mountains. He’s a doomsday-conspiracy kind of guy who thinks that the authorities are out to get him. So he lives out in places like this, in the middle of nowhere. He recruits boys and young men who need a father figure, indoctrinates them to be just as wild and lawless as he is. They’re his own personal army, committing whatever crimes he plans. This area was his territory for a long time. He left almost seven years ago. He must be back here for some reason.”
“How do you know it’s him?”
“The way those boys acted. And then I heard them mention Willis’s name,” he said.
“How do you know all this about him and his boys?” She brushed a strand of wet hair off her neck.
He took a moment to answer. “I used to be one of them when I was a kid. I was just as wild, until I met your father.”
The stiffness of her body against his softened a little. She took a moment to ask her next question. “My father helped you get away from this Willis guy?”
He nodded. Seven years ago, Willis had made the mistake of telling Zane he needed to get a job in town to bring in money. It was something Willis demanded of many of his followers whose loyalty he thought was without question. But Willis hadn’t known that Zane would bond so deeply with the man who hired him. Stephan’s love for God and His creation and unconditional love for Zane had been such a contrast to Willis’s harsh world of punishment and rewards.
She seemed to relax even more in his embrace. “Why do they want you—or me, for that matter?”
“I don’t know.” He had cut all ties with Willis and anyone who knew the man or held similar views.
“Maybe they’re looking to punish you because you didn’t want to be with them anymore,” she said.
“That was years ago. Willis is a little crazy, but he’s also very calculating. The law was breathing down his neck when he left here. He wouldn’t risk returning just for revenge.” Something had drawn Willis back here.
She slipped from his embrace, stood up and moved closer to the fire. “So what do we do?”
“We need to get across that river so we can get to town, contact the authorities,” he said. “There’s another crossing ten miles down.”
Her expression didn’t change. She held her hands closer to the fire. “They’ll be looking for us there, don’t you think?”
“Probably. Willis knows these mountains better than I do.” Though he didn’t want to scare her, he couldn’t lie to her.
“It’s never easy, is it?” She crossed her arms over her body. “I just wanted to spread Stephan’s ashes, do the right thing.” She turned slightly away from him.
He wondered what she was thinking. She must be afraid, yet she hadn’t fallen apart, and she hadn’t blamed him for the violence she’d been dragged into.
“We’re pretty well hidden here. Once we’re dried out, we’ll put the fire out and wait until dusk. The darkness will provide us some cover.”
She turned back toward him and nodded. Then she sat down beside him again, watching the glow of the fire. He kept thinking that she would cry or get angry with him, but she didn’t. Brave woman.
“This fire saved us,” she said.
“Yes, it did.” He studied her profile as the firelight danced on her pale skin. This was way more than she had bargained for. “I’m sorry. When all this is over and done with, I’ll take you back up to that mountain so you can do what you came here to do.”
A faint smile crossed her lips and she nodded. But something in her expression suggested that she didn’t believe him. Did she think they were going to die out here? “Was it really because of my father that you were able to leave Willis?”
“With Willis you were always scrambling for his approval, trying to accomplish things so he’d pat you on the back. Your father’s love was filled with grace. His support gave me the strength I needed to get away from that life.”
“I wish I could have known that Stephan.” She shook her head, and her voice faltered. “I wish I could have known him at all. If he loved me, why didn’t he try to get in touch with me when he was alive? I couldn’t have been that hard to track down. His lawyer found me easily enough.”
“Maybe he did try once he stopped drinking. Did your mom ever say anything to you about that?”
She shook her head. “Mom died a year ago, so I can’t even ask her now.”
He stood up beside her and touched her shoulder lightly, knowing that there were no words that would take away her pain and confusion.
They waited until the light faded. Hunger gnawed at his belly as they headed back toward the river. He’d grabbed protein bars from the saddlebags. Since that was their only food, he didn’t want to eat them until they had no calorie reserves left. They might be out here for a long time. He needed to be smart about when they ate their only food.
Behind him, Heather’s footsteps stopped. He turned to face her, barely able to make out her features in the fading light.
