Inescapable

by Nancy Mehl

  “Wait here.” He jumped out of the truck and walked over to the place I’d indicated. Navigating our way to the house was tricky because of the drainage ditches that ran on each side of the driveway. One wrong move and we’d end up stuck in a ditch, in trouble ourselves and unable to help my father. It only took one gust of wind for Noah’s broad black hat to fly off his head and blow down the highway. He didn’t appear to even notice. Gingerly stepping on the snow, he was able to confirm I was right. We’d found the driveway.

  He jumped back into the truck and drove carefully past the ditches. Once we cleared them, he stepped on the accelerator and drove quickly to the front of the old, decrepit house.

  Built before Kingdom was established, the house was two stories tall with a large wraparound front porch. It was obvious it had been beautiful in its day, but neglect had stripped it of its former glory, and it was surprising that it still stood at all. The windows were dark, and there was no sign of life.

  “I don’t think anyone’s here,” I said.

  “We need to make sure before we go traipsing out into snowdrifts searching for Matthew,” Noah said. “Why don’t you check the front door? I’ll go around to the back.” He reached for the flashlight in my hand. “The headlights will give you enough light to see.”

  “Okay.” I handed him the light, and our hands touched. It sent a chill through me that had nothing to do with the weather. He gazed into my eyes, and I felt that weird sensation of falling, just as I had with Clay. Quickly looking away, I opened the truck door and got out, putting my head down and fighting the snow and wind as I made my way up the front steps of the aged structure.

  I heard Noah slam his door and turned to see him heading around to the back of the house. When I got to the door, I tried to turn the handle, but it was locked. The door seemed so old I thought maybe a few good shoves would cause it to open. Unfortunately, I only ended up hurting my shoulder. Looking through the window next to the door revealed a light in the house. It was moving. Noah had obviously been more successful. He pulled the door handle, and I stepped inside, grateful to get out of the storm.

  “Is he here?” I asked as soon as he closed the door behind me.

  “Just got in. I haven’t really looked.” He swung the flashlight toward the stairs. “Can you check upstairs while I look around down here? And you might check for any signs he’s actually been staying here. If not, we’re wasting precious time.”

  “I understand.”

  “You take the flashlight. The headlights will give me some illumination down here.”

  “Okay.” I headed toward the stairway.

  “And be careful, Lizzie. Those stairs could be in really bad condition.”

  “All right.” I shone the light on the steps in front of me. They looked solid enough, but Noah’s advice was wise. Holding on to the banister with one hand and the flashlight with the other, I took each step slowly. The wood underneath my feet seemed strong, but the banister wobbled every time I pulled on it. However, by the time I reached the top I felt more secure. Unfortunately, my first step onto the landing almost sent me to my knees. I swung the light down toward my feet. There was a gaping hole, almost large enough for a person to fall through. I carefully moved to the other side of the floor, praying it was more solid. Then I eased my way down the hall, shining the light in front of me. There were several rooms up here. I opened the door at the end of the hall only to find old pieces of furniture stacked on top of each other, most of them covered with cloth. Backing out of that room, I went to the next. Empty. The third room was the same. The fourth room held a bed, a chair and a dresser. It had obviously once been someone’s bedroom, but the dust was so thick on everything it was clear my father hadn’t been sleeping here.

  I wondered why the other rooms had been cleared and this one left alone. Then I noticed a child’s prayer covering draped over the chair in the corner, and a small Teddy bear sitting on the bed looking forlorn and abandoned. This had been Ava’s room. A deep sense of sorrow filled me, and I fought back tears. Being the mother of a young girl made the pain this family had experienced all too real. I quietly closed the door.

  I made my way back down the stairs, carefully avoiding the large hole in the floor. I’d just reached the bottom when Noah came around the corner from the back of the house.

  “I think I’ve found where your father’s been staying,” he said, “but it’s so dark I can’t see much in the room. Bring the flashlight back here, will you?”

  I followed him through the kitchen and into another small room. This bedroom had definitely been used lately. It was clean and dusted, and the bed was unmade. I noticed a Bible on the dresser and flipped the first page open. “It’s Father’s,” I said. “Here’s his name.” As I handed the Bible to Noah, a piece of paper fell out and drifted to the floor. I bent over to pick it up. It was folded in half, and I pulled it open, shining the light down so I could see it clearly. When I realized what it was, I cried out with surprise.

  “What’s wrong?” Noah asked. “What is it?”

  “It . . . it’s a drawing I made for my father when I was seven. I drew our house with Mother, Father, and me standing in front of it. Father scolded me for drawing pictures. Said they sparked vanity in people. He took it away from me, and I cried for a week.”

  “But he kept it all these years in his Bible. What does that tell you, Lizzie?”

  “I . . . I don’t know. It seems mean to keep it after making me feel guilty for drawing it.”

  “I think it says something else,” Noah said gently. “But you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”

  I stuck the picture back between the pages and returned the Bible to the dresser. “Well, at least we know he’s been here. But he’s not here now. That means . . .”

  “That he’s out there somewhere in this storm, and we need to find him. Before it’s too late.”

  CHAPTER / 22

  We drove slowly back the way we’d come, believing Father would have to be somewhere between town and the Strauss place. Using the flashlight helped some, but the snow was so thick the light only cut through the whiteout conditions so much before fading out.

  “I doubt he’ll be far from the road,” Noah said. “Look for the buggy. I can’t figure out why we haven’t spotted it yet.”

  As his words sunk in, realization followed. “Noah! The ravine. He must be in the ravine. That’s why we haven’t seen the buggy.”

  He slapped himself on the forehead. “What an idiot I’ve been. That’s the first place we should have looked. Hold on, Lizzie. We need to get there as quickly as possible.”

  I grabbed onto the handle over the window. Noah wasn’t kidding. He sped up, sending us careening down the road a lot faster than I thought safe. Somehow he kept us on track. The fact that no one else was stupid enough to be out in the storm kept us from running into other vehicles. It took us ten minutes to reach the road to Kingdom. When Noah first turned the wheel, I was convinced he’d miscalculated, because there was no way to actually see the turnoff under all the snow. Thankfully, he knew exactly what he was doing, and he quickly found the ravine. If Father was down there somewhere, it could take time to locate him. The deep crevasse ran at least a half mile long.

  “You stay here,” Noah shouted. “I’m going to look for him. If he’s not here, we’ll move down some.”

  I started to argue with him. Getting my father out might take the two of us, as he was a big man, but since we actually needed to find him first, I decided to stay where I was. At least for the time being. I could see the light from Noah’s flashlight bouncing down the road. A couple of minutes later, he returned.

  “Nothing yet.” He put the truck into gear and drove a little farther. Then he repeated the same procedure. Still nothing.

  The third time, I watched the light as Noah searched the ravine. Suddenly it stopped. Then he held it up, waving it back and forth. He must have found Father. I prayed fervently that he was still alive. Finding
my childish picture in his Bible had touched my heart. Maybe Mother was right. Maybe he really did care about me. Instead of being angry, I just wanted another chance to see if we could find a way to carve out some kind of relationship. Maybe we’d never be really close, but at this point, I’d even settle for civility.

  Noah’s light disappeared as he left the safety of the road. The wind blew the truck with ferocity, and I couldn’t see anything except snow. Not willing to let Noah sacrifice himself for my family, I pulled my knit cap down over my ears, dug my gloves out of my coat pocket, put them on, and pulled on the door handle. With the wind blowing directly against the side of the truck, it was a struggle to get it open.

  When I finally managed to push the door ajar enough to slide out, I was immediately whipped in the face by blinding snow. It felt like grains of sand against my skin. The headlights shone straight ahead, so I wasn’t really worried. All I had to do was watch for the light from Noah’s flashlight. I felt my way down the road, being careful not to walk out of the security of the headlight’s glare. The wind kept trying to push me sideways, and before long the lights were no longer illuminating the path in front of me. When I turned around, I could barely make them out.

  Where was Noah? Why couldn’t I find him? There was no light off to my right, and I didn’t dare move any farther toward the sharp incline that could lead me to the same fate as Dave Parsons. When I looked behind me again, Noah’s headlights had completely disappeared. Fear gripped me. Maybe I should have stayed in the truck, but what if Noah and my father needed help? There was no one else but me. I called out Noah’s name into the darkness, but the wind just shoved the words back down my throat. No one would be able to hear me over the roar of the storm.

  “Oh, God,” I prayed, yelling as loudly as I could into the void that surrounded me. “Please guide me back to the truck. And please, please keep my father alive! Help Noah get him to safety. I need your help, heavenly Father!”

  I kept pushing against the strong wind gusts, trying to go toward the place where I believed the truck was parked, but there were still no lights visible anywhere. I had no idea how long I’d been out in the blizzard, but it felt like hours and my strength was waning. All I could think about was Charity. That kept me fighting as hard as I could to get to safety. She needed me, and I had no intention of letting her down. Suddenly, my foot hit a hole in the road, and I fell. I was so tired, I couldn’t get up. I told myself it was okay to rest a bit before trying again, but something inside me told me to get up and keep going, so I struggled to my feet. I’d only taken a few steps when a light shone in my face, almost blinding me.

  “Lizzie!” It was Noah’s voice calling out my name. I fell into his arms, my energy spent. He picked me up and began walking. It wasn’t long before the headlights of the truck shone through the blanket of white that surrounded us. Noah opened the door and lifted me into the passenger seat.

  “I told you to stay in the car.” He glared at me. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

  “I . . . I thought you might need help,” I mumbled.

  “Well, having to rescue you didn’t actually help me much. You were way off the road on the other side, by the way. It’s a miracle I found you.” He slammed the door shut and went around to the driver’s side.

  “Wh-what about Father?” I asked when he got inside.

  “I am here, Elizabeth Lynn,” a deep voice said from behind me. I twisted around in my seat and found my father staring at me. His usual black hat was gone, and his hair stood on end, giving him a grunge-rocker look. He had the blanket Mother had given me wrapped around him. He was shivering, and there were smudges of dirt on his face, but other than that, he looked all right.

  Noah put the truck into gear and began the drive back to town.

  “Oh, Father,” I said, tears of joy running down my cheeks. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

  “No, Daughter, I am fine. Just very cold and a little bruised. Thankfully, the deep snow kept me from serious injury.” He held out his arms and moved them around. “I am thankful my limbs seem to be working.” He shook his head. “I should not have taken a chance in this storm. I thought I could make it, but obviously I did not plan well. The buggy slipped into the ravine, and down we went. It fell right on top of me. The horse was able to free itself, but I could not. The more I struggled, the deeper my body burrowed itself into the snow. Has the horse been found? Is he all right?”

  “Yes, Father. It showed up at Avery’s house. He’s the one who contacted Noah.”

  “But how did you know where to look?”

  “Mother thought you might be staying at the Strauss place, so we went there first. When we discovered you weren’t there, we figured you had to be somewhere between the house and town. It wasn’t until we couldn’t find the buggy that we realized you might be in the ravine.”

  “That ravine is dangerous,” Noah said. “Two people have gone off the road in almost exactly the same place within a week’s time.”

  “I certainly agree,” Father said, his words stilted by his chattering teeth, “but the ditch helps to drain overflow from the rain. Without it, the road could easily flood and our farmers who live out beyond our borders could not get into town.”

  “Maybe some kind of fence could be erected,” I said.

  “A very good idea, Daughter. It certainly would have made a difference for me tonight.”

  “Are you two getting any warmer?” Noah asked. He’d cranked up the heater all the way and pointed the vents toward my father and me.

  “I’m starting to feel less like a Popsicle every minute,” I said, smiling.

  “I must confess, although I feel better, my body seems to have a mind of its own,” Father said. “I cannot stop shaking. However, I am very grateful for the warmth.” He hesitated a moment. “I do not have the words to tell you how thankful I am you came looking for me, Noah. You had no reason to put yourself at risk for my sake, but I am grateful you did. The snow had almost covered me by the time you found me. I do not know how much longer I would have lasted.”

  “We are brothers in Christ, Matthew,” Noah said, “and that gives me all the reason in the world.”

  “Thanks for saving me too,” I said. “Seems like you’ve rescued the Engels family twice tonight.”

  Noah took his attention off the road for a couple of seconds. His emerald eyes bore into mine. “I promised long ago to take care of you, Elizabeth Lynn, and I intend to keep my word. As long as I can.” He turned his attention back to the road ahead, though I had no idea what he saw through his windshield. There was nothing but white in front of us. It seemed impossible to find the way back into Kingdom in this blinding storm, but somehow Noah did it. We were soon pulling up in front of Cora’s, the only building in town with light shining through its windows. As soon as we stopped, the front door flew open, and my mother came running out. I climbed out of the truck.

  “We found him, Mother,” I shouted, trying to be heard over the wind. “He’s in the back.” I opened the door and pulled the seat forward. Father tried to get out, but he was still a bit wobbly. It took Noah’s help to extract him completely from the truck.

  “Matthew!” Mother ran to him and was almost knocked to the ground by a sudden gust of wind. “Thank the Lord you have come back to me!”

  Father leaned on Noah and Mother as they helped him inside. I ran ahead and held the door open for them. Once inside, Father collapsed onto a chair while Mother hurried into the kitchen to get him some hot coffee. Charity took in the dramatic scene with big eyes.

  “Mama, is Grandpa okay?”

  I went over and gave her a big hug. “Yes, Cherry Bear. He’s fine.”

  She wiggled out of my embrace. “Mama, you’re all wet. Have you been playing in the snow?”

  I laughed. There was a slight tone of petulance in her voice, as if she was upset to think that I’d been having fun without her. “I wasn’t playing in it, honey, I got lost in it. Noah found me. This isn’t
the kind of snow that’s fun. You wouldn’t like it.”

  As if emphasizing my comment, the building shuddered against the gale. Charity’s mouth turned into an almost perfect circle.

  “Mama, that is a bad snow.” She looked over at Noah. “The prince saved you, didn’t he, Mama?”

  If my face wasn’t already red from the cold, it surely turned crimson at that moment. “Charity, I already told you that Noah isn’t Prince Phillip. He’s just a regular man.”

  Noah chuckled. “As a matter of fact, Charity, my middle name is Phillip. And if you want me to be a prince, I’ll be one. Just for you.”

  My daughter grabbed my hand. “See, Mama? I told you so. And you didn’t believe me.”

  I frowned at Noah. Encouraging Charity to think he was our Prince Charming wasn’t healthy. Especially since we were leaving Kingdom. All I needed was for her to think we were leaving our “prince” behind.

  “We’ll talk about it later, Cherry Bear. You wait here a minute while I run upstairs and get some dry clothes. Okay?”

  “Okay, Mama.”

  Normally, she might have been afraid to be in a room with my father, but with Noah there, she seemed perfectly relaxed. She was smiling at him, and he smiled back, obviously taking the whole “prince” thing in stride. Before I could make my exit, Mother came back into the room with Father’s coffee.

  “I’m going upstairs to change, Mother. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded, frowning. “Where’s the blanket I sent for Matthew? It belongs to Cora. I would hate to lose it.”

  “It’s still in the backseat. I’ll get it.”

  “You stay here,” Noah said. “I’ll get it.”

  Not looking forward to another duel with the weather, I quickly agreed. I waited while he retrieved the blanket. It was crumpled into a big, wet wad. I held out my hands.

  “I’ll run it downstairs to the washer before I change,” I said.

  “I’ve already got a grip on it. Why don’t you let me carry it for you? Lead the way.”