by BJ Bourg
She glanced toward her Jeep and saw the flashlights moving in wide circles as the men searched for something. Little by little, they were getting closer to the campsite. Once they found the tent and other gear, they would know someone else was out here and—if they had bad intentions—they’d start branching out in search of her and her dad.
Bending as much as she could at the waist, she whispered down to her dad. “I need you to start moving toward me, but you’ve got to be quiet.”
The only response she got was Evan going into motion, clinging to handholds and footholds and making his way toward her position. When he was right below her, she leaned down again and told him they were going to move into the crack. “There are good holds on both sides, so the going should be easy.”
Her dad was breathing even harder now, but he nodded his head without hesitation. She could see his face glistening in the moonlight and she wondered if he was well enough to be doing this. Alcoholics often had heart problems and she remembered her mom saying his last doctor visit hadn’t gone so well.
“Dad, are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, sucking in air with his mouth wide open.
“Take slow and deep breaths,” Dawn said. “It’ll help slow your heart rate.”
“I’m okay, rat,” was all he said, but he did as she suggested.
When Dawn figured her dad had gotten enough of a rest to continue for a few more minutes—at least until they could get out of eyeshot of the ground—she turned back toward the wall. With Evan right on her heels, she glided into the utter darkness of the crack and felt her way forward, unsure of what they would find and not liking it one bit.
CHAPTER 18
After being approached in Charmaine’s by the stranger named Bruce, Abel Chism had followed him outside and was introduced to his friends, Lenny and Turk. The three men were interested in doing some daredevil climbs and, although Abel had tried to convince them to go to his property, they insisted on going where Dawn and her dad were going—to the “top secret” Dead Man’s Canyon.
Figuring it was a bad idea, but secretly hoping to run into Dawn out in the canyon, Abel relented and they set about preparing for the trip. When Bruce had mentioned needing supplies for at least a week in the wilderness, Abel had hesitated and said, “I thought this was a day trip.”
Bruce hadn’t even uttered a word. Instead, he’d flipped open his wallet and handed Abel more money.
After loading the gear they’d purchased into Bruce’s truck and heading out from the rock climbing shop—Bruce insisted that Abel ride with them—Turk had pulled out some type of GPS device and was quietly giving Bruce information.
Abel had grunted humorously to himself and remained silent, knowing that no GPS system could find Dead Man’s Canyon, because it wasn’t on any maps. But when Bruce turned to him and asked him for the directions, Abel realized the electronic device Turk was holding served some other purpose.
The drive from Charmaine’s Burgers and Beer to Dead Man’s Canyon was longer than one would expect, and that was due to the narrow and rough mountain terrain. It had gotten dark toward the end of the drive and every trail looked like the last. There were no road signs or trail signs in that area of the mountains. Folks either knew the area or they hired a guide. Otherwise, they had no business being out there. Upon Abel’s guidance, they had finally rounded the last bend in the road and approached the mouth of the canyon. Although it was dark, there was no mistaking Dawn’s Jeep in the headlights from the truck.
Abel had opened his door slowly and looked around for Dawn, wondering if she would be angry at him for coming out here.
“What’s with the device?” Abel had asked, trying to make small talk with Turk while Bruce and Lenny met near the tailgate of the truck and spoke quietly amongst themselves. “I didn’t know GPS equipment worked out here in the mountains.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know,” Turk had mumbled in his broken English, shutting the screen on his device and tucking it under the front seat of the truck.
That had been several minutes ago. Now, here they were, trampling around in the dark with flashlights, looking for God-knows-what. The three men stopped often to secretly confer before continuing on, but none of them would let Abel in on their secrets.
“What are we looking for, Mr. Bruce?” Abel asked, shining his light into the river to their left. “I thought you said you want to camp out here and do some daredevil climbing?”
Bruce didn’t say a word as he led the way through the dark, but Lenny sneered. “Stop it with all the questions. You’re starting to annoy the shit out of me.”
Abel gulped. Lenny was lanky and tall like Bruce, but he looked mean. Abel didn’t know if it was the shaved head and goatee or the permanent scowl on his face and his black eyes, but he looked pure evil.
Abel had never been the smartest kid in any of his classes, but he knew enough to know something odd was going on. No one had grabbed any camping gear and the men didn’t look at all interested in the formation of the rocks. Instead, they seemed to be searching for something, but what could it be?
What if they’re treasure hunters? Abel thought. He’d heard tall tales about old Civil War gold being buried up in the Arkansas mountains, but he’d never paid any attention to it. What if it’s true? What if they kill me once they find it—?
“Look, up ahead,” called Bruce, pointing toward something bright near the riverbank.
Abel strained his eyes and turned his own flashlight in the direction Bruce pointed. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the partially erected tent and the gear scattered around. “Something’s wrong,” he said to his three companions. “This must be Dawn’s campsite, but she didn’t even finish putting up her tent.”
As Abel walked forward to examine the campsite, the three men spread out and began looking all around.
“Dawn!” Abel hollered. “Are you okay? It’s me, Abel. Is something wrong? Are you hurt?”
A metallic click sounded from behind Abel and he turned to see Bruce holding a black semi-automatic pistol. Lenny had armed himself with a large knife and Turk was also holding a handgun, but it was a revolver. By the looks of the barrel, it was a .44 Magnum.
“What are you guys doing?” Abel asked. “Why do you have weapons?”
“Bruce, if this asshole doesn’t stop asking questions,” Lenny said, “I’m going to cut out his tongue and stir-fry it.”
Abel gasped out loud and felt his stomach turn.
Bruce let out a laugh and waved his hand at Lenny. “Don’t mind him, Chism. Lenny likes to talk smack.”
Abel forced a smile but stood grounded, too afraid to move.
“Go ahead,” Bruce said encouragingly. “Keep searching for your friend. We’ve got your back if something’s wrong.”
After hesitating for a moment, Abel continued toward the tent. He pretended to be relaxed, but he was trembling on the inside. The men moved like soldiers who were about to attack something, and Abel began to wonder if they were there for him. What if his siblings had sent them here to kill him so they could get their dad’s land? He tried to dismiss the thought, but it grew like a large pimple right before a date.
“They must’ve been interrupted by something,” Lenny said, squatting beside the tent. “They dropped everything in the middle of putting it up.”
“What if a bear attacked them?” asked Turk in his broken English accent. He had earlier mentioned being from Korea, and Abel guessed Turk was his American name. He was shorter than the other two men, but he seemed much more nimble. He was also nicer.
“There would be blood,” Bruce said, shaking his head. “No, they ran off in the middle of setting up their camp. Something spooked them.”
“You think they heard us drive up?” Turk asked.
“Could be.” Bruce turned his light toward the rock wall behind them. The cliff rose for over a hundred feet. He scanned the rock from left to right. “There’s no getting over thi
s wall, so they’ve got to be farther down the path or across the river.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Abel said, then immediately regretted it.
“What’s not true?” Bruce asked, shining the bright light in Abel’s eyes.
“Um…well, you could get over that wall if you knew what you were doing.” Abel shielded his eyes and looked down at his feet. “I could show you…could lead the way up it.”
If Abel could get them up on that wall, he figured he could get ahead of them and then make a break for it once he reached the top. They would be left hanging onto the side of the wall and—without his guidance—would be helpless and unable to pursue him. If they let go to shoot at him, they would lose their grip and fall to the hard ground below.
Pointing at Lenny, Bruce said, “Go wait by the Jeep in case she doubles back. Turk, walk up and down the river bank and see if you can pick up any tracks. They might’ve crossed to the other side.”
Abel scowled as realization started to set in. He remembered seeing Turk standing near Dawn’s Jeep back at Charmaine’s when he and Bruce had first walked outside, but he’d thought nothing of it at the time. He just figured Turk liked the Jeep and was admiring it. He wasn’t so sure anymore.
After Lenny was well out of earshot, Abel turned to Bruce. “Is it okay if I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you out here because of Dawn? Did you pay me to lead you to her?”
“You’re starting to catch on, my friend.” Bruce pointed toward the cliff with his pistol. “Let’s check out the wall and see if they went that way.”
Abel hesitated. “What are you going to do when you find her? What do you want with her? I mean, why are you searching for her with guns? Do you plan on hurting her?”
Bruce took a breath and sauntered over to Abel and lifted his arm to put it around Abel’s shoulders. When Abel cowered away from him, Bruce sighed. “Come on, son, I’m not going to hurt you. You work for me now, so you’re one of my boys…and I take care of my people.”
“But…what about Dawn?”
“She’s going to be fine. I just need to ask her some questions and then we’ll be gone—out of your hair for good.” Patting Abel’s back, Bruce continued. “Now, I want you to continue calling out your girlfriend’s name and let her know we’re concerned about her. Tell her we came here to do some rock climbing and saw her tent partially erected. Let her know you started worrying about her and you simply want to know she’s doing well.”
Feeling played and wondering how he had let himself fall into this predicament, Abel nodded and led the way to the wall, calling out for Dawn as he walked. Now that he knew they were looking for her and not out here to kill him, it would be better if he went along and cooperated with them rather than trying to escape. No need to piss them off and make enemies out of them. Besides, Bruce said he only needed to ask Dawn some questions. Afterward, he’d be gone.
“Dawn! It’s me, Abel. I saw your tent. Let me know you’re okay!” He stopped and listened, but the only sounds he heard were the normal night sounds of the Arkansas mountains. He was about to call out again when a thought occurred to him.
If these guys only want to talk to Dawn, why didn’t they do it at Charmaine’s? An icy chill crept up his back and planted itself at the base of his spine. It was at that moment that he realized they were going to harm Dawn, and possibly kill her. He’d seen the way Lenny acted and he knew the man was dangerous.
“Why’d you stop walking?” Bruce asked.
He was so close that Abel could feel his warm breath on the back of his neck.
“I was just listening for a response.” Thinking quickly, Abel made his way forward, seeking more rugged ground. When he reached the rock wall, he could feel that there were more rocks in the area and he knew this was the right time to act. If he was going to get away, it was now—but he had to warn Dawn first.
“Dawn! Do you hear me?” Abel hollered. “If you do…get the hell out of here now!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he bolted toward a large V-shaped crack he saw in the wall up ahead. About twenty feet up, the crack looked wide enough for him to squeeze through. He figured he could reach the wide part of the crack before Bruce had time to react, but he was wrong.
A deafening gunshot exploded behind him and a burning sensation immediately pierced his right buttocks and penetrated through to the front of his inner thigh. He collapsed to the ground in pain, falling hard against the rough terrain. Jagged rocks stabbed at his body and only added to his torture. Twisting onto his left side in an attempt to relieve some of the pain, he lay there gasping for air. Shivering in fear, he turned his eyes to the moon and stars and began silently begging God for help. He didn’t think it was possible to be more scared than he was at that moment, but when Bruce’s shadowy frame moved over him and blocked out the moon, he began to weep out loud and beg the man for mercy.
CHAPTER 19
Dawn Luke jerked her head around when she heard gunfire and the painful cries of Abel Chism. “They shot Abel!” she whispered to her dad, who was clinging to the inside of the crack beside her. “Can you see down there?”
“I…I don’t think I can lean out that far. They…they might see me.” His voice trembled a little and Dawn’s heart sank. At that moment, she wished she had her pistol. If so, she would move out to the edge of the crack and start engaging the hostiles and put a quick end to whatever was going on.
“What the hell happened, Bruce?” asked a rough voice from somewhere below. “Who fired that shot?”
Dawn heard the man named Bruce explaining that Abel had tried to issue a warning, so he shot him in the ass. “The little bastard told Dawn to hide, that we were looking for her.”
Dawn shuddered at the familiarity with which Bruce used her name. How the hell does he know me?
“You should’ve let me cut his tongue out when I wanted to,” the first man said. “I might still do it so we don’t have to listen to his crying.”
“You’re not going to cut anything unless I say so…you hear me, Lenny?”
The man addressed as Lenny grumbled a bit and there was more discussion between the men—some of it legible, some of it not—and then beams of light started stabbing the darkness around Dawn and Evan.
“We need to get deeper into the crevice,” Dawn whispered to her dad. Being careful not to make a sound, she inched farther into the crack, letting go of one hold and feeling gently along the wall until she found another. When she had moved one body width deeper into the shadows, she turned her attention to Evan and encouraged him to follow her. “Easy does it…one move at a time.”
She could hear her dad breathing heavily and grunting in the dark as he moved toward her. His boot scraped audibly against the wall and she was about to caution him to go slower when he gasped out loud and she heard the heart-stopping sound of rock crumbling. A large rock plummeted toward the earth, bouncing several times before crashing to the ground far below them.
“Look! They’re up there!” Lenny hollered from the ground level.
Dawn reached out and grabbed her dad’s arm, helping him regain his footing and dragging him closer to her, just as the beams of light honed in on the crevice.
“Do you see anything?” asked Bruce.
“Not a damn thing, but I know that rock didn’t jump off the wall on its own.”
“Get up there and find them!” called Bruce, and it was only then that Dawn realized it was the stranger from Charmaine’s Burgers and Beer. She had seen him talking to Abel at one of the tables.
“Hurry, Dad…you’ve got to move faster,” she said, squeezing deeper into the crack, moving from one foothold to another. She stopped every few feet to listen for the sound of Evan’s heavy breathing to ensure he was still behind her. Although the night air was cool, she was sweating profusely and had difficulty holding onto some of the grips. For a brief moment she wished she had her climbing shoes and chalk, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it
because her dad was struggling.
“I…I don’t think I can go any more, rat,” Evan said after about ten minutes of climbing. “I’m having a hard time catching my breath.”
“We just need to go a little farther. I can feel the crack widening. I think we’re getting close to breaking through to the other side.” Dawn could no longer hear the sound of the men’s voices below. As she pressed on, she tried to figure out what it was that the men wanted with them. When she’d first heard Abel’s voice, she thought he had gathered up a couple of local punks to go out there and harass her for embarrassing him. The fact that they had shown up at night was a bad sign and she’d wanted to avoid a confrontation, but this was far worse than anything she could’ve imagined. These men had shot Abel, so they obviously weren’t his friends, and they were now pursuing her and Evan…but why?
As she pondered all of it, Dawn continued moving. After about fifteen minutes, she reached out with her right hand and felt empty air. There was a brief moment of panic when she thought they’d reached the end of the line and would have to turn back, but then she stuck out her foot and felt solid ground. As she scooted along it, she realized she was on a ledge of some sort on the opposite side of the cliff wall.
“We’re there, Dad—we’ve made it to the other side.” She reached out and helped Evan get to the ledge. It was darker where they were and she guessed the trees were thicker on that side.
“If we head east we should be able to find our way back to your Jeep,” Evan said, pausing to look up at the moon while trying to catch his breath. “We can then go for help and—”
