Through the Storm(58)

Conner turned in the direction of the voices and froze. A wolf stared at him from not ten feet away.

In an unhurried back-and-forth sway, the animal shifted its gaze from Conner to the oncoming voices.

Moving slowly and holding his breath, Conner reached for his rifle.

The beast snarled.

With his arm in midreach, Conner stopped.

The wolf gazed into the forest for several moments. Then four pups edged out of the shadows. Together they hurried away into the forest.

Conner sighed with relief, but the voices remained and seemed closer. Taking another slow, deep breath, he eased himself into nearby shrubs. Moments later, Shaggy and two other men strode from the forest and crossed where the wolves had been moments earlier.

“I saw a wolf, I tell you.” Shaggy gestured ahead of him. “It must have come through here.”

“The boss wants us to find Danny. Not an overgrown dog.”

Holding still, Conner waited for them to pass. When they had gone, he slipped from his hiding place and crept several hundred yards.

More twigs snapped.

Another wolf or more men? Conner slid into a grove of large fir trees. Wolves might be less dangerous.

Two more unfamiliar voices whispered as they passed him in the darkness.

“Where do you think the girl is going?” one man whispered.

“I don’t know. Let’s just find Danny and get back to the house.”

Conner inched a few yards to the gully and hid along the bank. He listened for the slightest sound. Hearing nothing, he eased forward.

Cigarette smoke wafted on the breeze.

He waited and watched a red glow float by a few yards distant.

For the next several hours, men in groups of two or three moved through the forest in a noisy and apparently haphazard search for the girl and Danny. Why didn’t they call for them? Did they run away? Escape? If they were looking for someone who escaped, why were some smoking or talking? Even if they whispered, it seemed really thoughtless. If they were stupid, Conner was grateful. It increased his chances of avoiding them.

But progress remained slow, and eventually, the darkness of the forest grew so deep that he couldn’t see the trees in front of him. Crawling into shrubs that he hoped would hide him for the night, he prayed for Madison’s safety and waited for sunrise.





Day Ten

Clark County, Washington, Tuesday, September 13th

As the sun rose on a new day, Neal leaned against a boulder, thinking of eggs and bacon.

Ginger sniffed and pawed at the backpack.

Claire grunted, rolled on her side, and opened her eyes. “Coffee would be so good right now.”

“That would be nice.” He added it to his imaginary breakfast. “But we don’t have any coffee or food and we have another problem.” Neal relayed the news about bandits that he had learned during the night Claire moaned and struggled to a sitting position. “But we can go around them, can’t we?”

“Sure, but it will take longer.”

“Everything seems to be taking longer.” Claire used a low limb to pull herself up. “No coffee, no food.” She shook her head. “Let’s get started.”

Hours later, Neal wiped his brow with a sleeve and then looked into the blue sky. For most of the day, they hiked slowly north in a wide arc toward Riverbank. It had been a warm day. A few clouds would have been nice, but as the sun passed its zenith and slipped toward the horizon, Neal longed to be home. “Are you tired?”

“A bit.”

“We can stop if you need to, but the farm is—”

“I can go on.”

Neal smiled, thankful for her endurance. “We should be there about nightfall.”

*

Thurston County, Washington, Tuesday, September 13th

Birds twittered in the predawn twilight as Conner inched through the forest, listening for any threat.

Leaves rustled with the breeze.

Using hills and trees as cover, he wound his way back toward the gully where he left Madison. When he spotted her, he dashed the last twenty yards and slid down the slope beside her.

She slammed a fist into his groin and with the other hand swung a rock at his face. She stopped with a gasp. “Conner! What were you thinking, coming up on me like that? I could have killed you! Where have you been? I was so worried.”

Conner held up a finger, signaling her to wait as pain radiated from his groin. A few minutes later, as it subsided, he inhaled a deep breath. “Hitting below the belt is against the rules.”

“Sorry,” she said in a soft voice. “Where were you?”

“Hiding and trying not to get killed.” Conner described his night. “The gang is looking for someone named Danny and a girl. They might have been lost, but the thugs didn’t call for them. I think the two might be trying to escape.”

“You may be right.” Madison frowned. “They’re probably on the run from those killers. I feel sorry for them.”

“Feel sorry for us.” Conner shook his head. “We’ll need to avoid their searches.” He pulled out his map. “The gang will look close to their base. Let’s go back a couple of exits and cross over to here.” He pointed out the route with a finger.

Madison nodded.

Conner did a quick check of the area and spotted no one.

“The searchers probably have moved farther away.” He grabbed the trailer bike. “We need to be careful. I’ll stay in the lead.”