by Dave Bowman
“I don't know how I didn't hear him. Somehow, he snuck up right behind me. And then he was on top of me. It all happened so fast. I never knew he was there until he had something pressed up against my face,” Charlie said slowly, struggling to find the words.
He shook his head sadly. “I guess I let everybody down. I don't know how it happened. I didn't hear so much as a twig break.”
“Do you know how many there were?” Nick asked.
Charlie closed his eyes again for a moment, trying to recall any fragments of the fuzzy memory. “No, I don't. I was just sitting here with my gun in my lap. Trina was sitting against that tree over there.”
He pointed his chin in the direction of a pine a few feet away.
“She got up and walked into the woods to take a bathroom break. I was alert, but I hadn't looked back into the forest for a while. I didn't want Trina to think I was spying on her, you know? So I was just watching the road. Trina had been gone just a minute or two when it happened,” Charlie said.
He looked down for a moment as he caught his breath, then back up at his friends.
“All of a sudden I felt somebody pressing a cloth hard against my face and taking the gun out of my hands. I fought to keep it, but there was some kind of chemical on that rag. It went straight to my head. Before I knew it, my muscles went all floppy and I guess I passed out.”
Charlie tried to turn his head to look for Trina, but he still didn't have the strength.
“Is Trina okay?”
“She was out cold the last time we checked,” Jessa said. “I'll go check on her again. I don't want her to wake up all alone.”
Jessa disappeared into the woods.
“Do you feel okay?” Liz asked.
“I'll survive,” Charlie said. “I'm not back to normal yet, though. My arms feel like jelly. And I've got a headache like you wouldn't believe.”
“Poor Charlie,” Liz said sympathetically.
“Forget about me,” Charlie said. “What are we going to do about Mia and Bethany?”
“I'm going to go look for them,” Nick said. “Whoever took them must have a cabin up in these woods.”
“But how will you find them?” Liz asked. “These woods could go on for miles.”
Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “That's why I've got to go now.”
Jessa emerged from the woods and rejoined the group. “Nick, you should know by now that I'm not going to let you go off up there alone. You need some backup.”
Nick sighed and looked at her. He didn't want to put her in danger, but he knew their chances at recovering Mia and Bethany were better if she went.
“Is Trina still out?” he asked.
Jessa nodded. “Yeah.”
“It'll probably take her longer to wake up since she's smaller than Charlie,” Nick said. “Liz, you stay here with Charlie. And Matt –”
“I know, I know. Go keep watch over Trina,” Matt grumbled. “But I'd be more useful to help you look for Mia and Bethany.”
“You'll be the biggest help to us if you make sure everyone stays safe down here,” Nick said.
He understood that Matt wanted to play a bigger role in missions like this, but his nephew was still young.
Nick and Jessa went into the trucks for more ammo. Nick grabbed the two remaining headlamps, giving one to Jessa.
“Stay safe down here,” Nick said. “We'll try to return as quickly as we can.”
“You stay safe,” Liz said nervously to Nick and Jessa.
Nick gave her a nod, then started off into the woods. His eyes moved constantly, scanning the area for any clue that would lead them to their target.
27
When she could finally stop crying, Mia dried her tears. Now it was time to focus.
The closet was unbearably cramped. Bethany's back was against one wall, and Mia's back was against the other. There wasn't enough room to straighten their legs, and they both sat with their knees bent.
The lack of air was suffocating. Above their heads were shelves filled with bottles of chemicals, Mia presumed. The smell was overpowering.
The crack at the bottom of the door allowed a small beam of light to enter. Otherwise, it was pitch black. Mia could see Garrison's shadow move through the light that entered the bottom of the door. He was pacing back and forth.
“I'm so sorry, Mia,” Bethany whimpered. “I tried my best to get us out of here.”
“I know,” Mia whispered. “Don't lose hope. There's got to be a way to get out.”
“I don't know. I'm afraid we're going to die in this cabin,” Bethany said.
Mia started to say something, but she stopped. Outside the closet, Garrison was muttering something. Mia strained to listen.
“It's all wrong, it's all wrong. They can't be the right ones.”
His voice trailed off for a moment, then resumed as he paced through the room.
“It can't be them. There must be some kind of mistake. They were supposed to love me. That’s what families do.”
Garrison lunged at something, and the sound of glass breaking made Mia flinch. He was in a rage.
He was silent for a few minutes as he continued to pace.
“He's completely insane,” Bethany whispered. “And dangerous.”
“That's it, that's what I'll have to do,” Garrison's mutterings began again. “I'll just have to start over. I'll have to find a new wife.”
Mia felt her chest tighten. This was not a good turn of events.
Garrison kept muttering, but it became harder to make out what he was saying.
“Yeah… I'll have to stop them. End them. I don't want to, but that's what I'll have to do. Bad girls have to be punished. They must be killed. Yes, yes, I’ll keep the baby, of course, of course. The baby's good. But find a new Suzy and Judy.”
Mia gasped for air. Her throat seemed to close in on itself. She was hyperventilating as she listened to Garrison’s rant. Bethany began to cry frantically.
Garrison paced back and forth a few more times, but his mutterings fell silent. He seemed to have made up his mind.
Mia watched as his shadow grew larger. He was approaching the door of the closet. Her mind raced.
Think of something!
He was much too strong for her. How could she escape this? She thought of Nick and the others. They were probably still looking for a place to spend the night, completing unaware of the kidnapping. And even if they had returned to where Charlie and Trina lay unconscious, they would never make it in time. Not when Garrison's hand was reaching for the doorknob. Not when she looked up to see him throw the door open and stand before them with a crazed grin on his face.
“Suzy, dear, time to come with me.”
He smiled down at her. She was paralyzed.
“She's just a child, you bastard!” Bethany said between sobs. “Kill me and leave her alone.”
“No, Judy,” Garrison explained. “First Suzy. I can't have her helping you escape. You're going to stay in this closet until you have our son. Then you'll have to go, too.”
“No!” Bethany screamed, her face red. “You can't do this! Our friends will find you and they'll kill you!”
Garrison laughed. “No one can find us up here. Didn’t you notice? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
He grabbed Mia's arm and pulled her to her feet. Bethany wailed.
“No, please,” Mia begged. “I'll be good, I promise.”
“It's too late,” Garrison said. “I can't trust you anymore because of what your mother did.”
He jerked her arm up and pulled her out of the closet. As she was led through a hallway, she struggled against him. When he pulled her past a large room, she threw herself in the doorway, falling to her knees.
The delay only bought her a moment, because he spared no time in picking her back up. But that moment was all she needed to look up and recognize a diagram on his wall.
“The father of her baby died from the Hosta virus,” Mia sputtered. “What if there are
complications?”
Garrison looked down at her and frowned. He was confused.
“What?”
Mia’s eyes moved wildly over the microscope and beakers on a long table, then she glanced at the wall full of books. She had seen some lab equipment in the front room, but this office confirmed her suspicions.
“You’re a scientist, right?” she asked.
Garrison blinked a few times, then nodded slowly. “Yes, an – an immunologist.”
He pronounced the word with some difficulty, as if it were a link to some fuzzy past he had forgotten and couldn’t quite access.
Mia’s eyes widened in genuine amazement. “Wow! An immunologist? Were you working on a cure for Hosta?”
He stared at her. “Hosta,” he repeated in a daze. “Yes, Hosta. The virus. But how could you know that?”
“Isn’t that a model of the Hosta virus structure?” she asked, nodding at the large paper tacked to his wall.
His eyes narrowed, getting suspicious. “How do you know these things?”
“I guess I’m sort of a science nerd. I saw the model on the internet, and I remember it. I’ve been trying to get my hands on any kind of information about the virus.”
Garrison suddenly let go of her arm. He looked at the floor and started to breathe heavily. He brought the butt of his hand up to his forehead and began to pound his head repeatedly.
He’s having some kind of psychotic break. He can’t reconcile his two realities.
“Will you tell me about Hosta, please?”
He stared at her. His eyes were round and dilated. Then slowly, he let his hand drop to his side as he spoke. His voice changed to a steady, clinical tone.
“It all happened so fast. We were trying to come up with an antiviral therapy, but nothing worked. The mice kept dying. Then my colleagues started dying.”
“Were any of the mice pregnant?”
“Yeah, we had pregnancy groups. Pregnant mice exposed to the virus mostly died. But there was a four percent survival rate among them, too. Just like the rest of the mice groups.”
Mia took a deep breath. “What if the mother was immune but the father died from the virus? Will the baby be… Would the baby be born healthy?”
Garrison scratched his head. He stared at the diagram of the virus molecule on his wall. “Most likely. There was a small occurrence of complications, though. Even with an immune mother.”
Mia’s pulse quickened.
“What kind of complications?”
“During delivery, there was a small risk of the virus reactivating. There were a few baby mice that were stillborn.”
Mia bit her lip. “I see. And if the baby is healthy? Would it be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus?”
Garrison didn’t answer. He abruptly turned his back to her. He clenched his hands into fists. He began to groan and breathe heavily. Suddenly, he turned to face her.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, his voice rising again. “You’re trying to distract me.”
“No, Daddy. I’m not. I’m just interested in what you know, in your work. I – I’ve never met a real scientist before.”
“That was a different life. Those days are over. Come on,” he said as he grabbed her arm again.
“Wait! You need me! I've been tracking her pregnancy. I can tell you everything about her condition so you can be prepared for any complications.”
Garrison paused to catch his breath. He shook his hands out and cracked his neck, making a loud popping sound.
“Fine. You can stay until the baby is born.”
Mia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thanks, Daddy. I’ll be a big help. You won’t regret it.”
Garrison looked at his work table. “I’ll just make the baby come now.”
Mia swallowed. Her pulse quickened again.
“But she’s not in labor now. How can you do that?”
Garrison grabbed her arm again and led her out of the room.
“I’m going to induce labor. I can synthesize Pitocin. It’s not hard.”
Mia felt her breathing go frantic.
“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea, Daddy. It might not be good for the baby. He’s not ready yet.”
“You think I don’t know my own son?” Garrison looked down at her with fury in his eyes as he pulled her back to the closet and opened the door. “He’s ready.”
Garrison grabbed Bethany’s arm and pulled her to her feet. He yanked her out of the closet, then pushed Mia inside and locked the door again.
“What are you doing?” Bethany asked.
“It’s time for our son to be born,” Garrison answered.
He led her into his office. Bethany fought against him with all her strength. She cried and screamed, kicking at him.
“No one can hear you,” he said.
“Why?” she wailed. “Why do you have to do this?”
“Because this is all wrong. You have to go away. I have to start over with our son.”
Garrison wrestled with Bethany, pushing her down into a chair and holding her with one arm.
“This will be much easier if you just go to sleep,” he said as he grabbed a bottle of some medication and a needle.
“Goodbye, Judy.”
28
Nick and Jessa walked up the hill away from the road.
They found a small path that had been mostly covered over with tree branches. It was camouflaged, but they could follow it.
Jessa walked ahead as Nick moved a bit more slowly, studying the terrain and scanning the forest. Halfway up the hill, she whistled. “Found the truck.”
Nick caught up to her and looked at where she was pointing. It took a moment for his eye to make out the vehicle hidden underneath camouflage tarps and limbs.
The truck was empty and didn’t provide any clues about the kidnapper, but at least they knew they were headed in the right general direction.
Nick and Jessa got to the top of the hill and looked around. The forest spread out as far as the eye could see in every direction.
“There doesn’t seem to be any kind of path from here on out,” Jessa said. “Which means they could have gone anywhere from here.”
“Let’s keep some distance between us so we can cover more ground.”
“Okay, just don’t venture off too far.”
“We’re looking for any kind of trail,” Nick said. “A footprint, disturbed grass or dirt, a broken twig, trash or debris.”
“Right,” Jessa said. “I just don’t know how much time we have. It’s hard to balance looking for clues with covering ground and making progress.”
“Yeah. And so far, I haven’t seen anything. I just hope we’re headed in the right direction.”
Nick came to a patch of mud a few moments later. He froze and waved Jessa over.
“This is a new print. They must’ve come through here just an hour or two ago,” Nick said.
“And that’s definitely Mia’s shoe size.”
They continued on, veering to the left as Mia’s footprint led them. They stopped talking, communicating with hand signals to keep quiet. But after the footprint, there were no more clues to lead them. They had no idea if they were on the right track or not.
The more time passed, the more impossible it seemed to find them. The woods were endless, and they were looking for a needle in a haystack. The kidnapper could have led them in a zigzag or a loop to try to throw off anyone tracking them. For all they knew, they could be going in completely the wrong direction.
Nothing to do but keep going. Stay alert. The forest is a canvas. Look for anything out of place.
Jessa got Nick’s attention with a wave from her spot several feet to the right.
He walked over to her location and looked at where she was pointing. It was a broken twig. The snapped half bent to the right.
Jessa kneeled in front of it. “It’s a new break,” she whispered. “The wood is wet. Not enough time to dry it. I think we should v
eer to the right in the direction this is pointing.”
“It could have been an animal,” Nick muttered.
He looked around. It was a weak clue. They could follow it and lead themselves in a completely wrong direction. But they had to take the risk.
“Let’s follow it. It’s the only sign we’ve had in a while,” he whispered.
Jessa nodded and continued to the right.
Nick ignored his growling stomach. Traveling over the rugged terrain made him even hungrier, but he pushed on. Mia and Bethany were in trouble, and he couldn’t waste a moment in finding them.
A few yards ahead, Nick noticed the pine needles had been tousled about on the ground in two separate places.
Like two people walking side by side.
He continued forward. They had to be on the right track.
They scaled another hill and looked around. The woods stretched out before them and there was nothing out of the ordinary. His chest began to tighten. It was taking too long to find them. Something terrible could have already happened.
He stepped over a rotten log on the ground. Something shimmering in the dappled sunlight that filtered through to the forest floor caught his eye. He bent down to pick it up.
It was a long, curly strand of brown hair. Undoubtedly Bethany’s hair.
Seeing her hair gave him the motivation to push forward more quickly. He charged ahead, his eyes taking in as much information as possible. Using the full spectrum of his range of vision, he scoured the forest floor while staying aware of what lay ahead.
His vision became fine-tuned. The forest began to light up with evidence. Some kicked up dirt here, a break in the carpet of pine needles there, another few twigs snapped off to the side. Nick picked up his speed. Jessa walked by his side now, both of them focused on the trail they had found.
Finally, he noticed that Jessa froze. She turned to him with big eyes and pointed at her ear.
Listen.
Nick stopped. The sound came again, and he could barely make it out. It was a muffled scream in the distance.
Jessa and Nick charged forward silently in the direction of the screams, clutching their rifles. A cabin came into view, and they paused to survey the scene.