Darkness Falls

by A E Faulkner

  “Look,” Aidan rushes in between us. “We can’t leave someone behind. She could be in danger. It doesn’t mean we change our whole plan, it just means we take a little detour and then get back on track.”

  “Take a detour for how long?” Jasmine snipes. Her brown eyes narrow. “One day will turn into two days and two days will turn into a week. Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

  I lunge at Jasmine. We’re all on edge but Aidan has the fastest reflexes. He comes at me from the side, wrapping his arms around mine, suspending my forward motion. Jasmine’s eyes narrow. What is her problem?

  Wes jumps into the conversation. “Guys, even if Riley is fine, and I’m sure she is, we need a plan. We should check the whole area around where she slept and make sure she didn’t leave a note. What if she saw something on the way here last night that she thought we could use? Maybe she went to find it and she’ll come back? What if she came back here and we were gone? We’ve got to consider all the possibilities.”

  Jasmine grins.

  Goddammit. I’m going to slap that smirk right off her face. Attempting to swipe at her, I realize Aidan’s arms still encase me. “I don’t have time for this. It’s just taking me away from finding my sister.”

  “If I let you go, will you keep your hands to yourself?” Aidan asks, condescension oozing from every syllable. I give him a sharp nod, so he’ll back off. He eyes me as he takes a cautious step back.

  Shifting the focus away from me, Aidan cuts into the sudden awkward silence. “So, Jeff, man, you’re up. Quinn and I vote for going to find Riley. Jasmine and Wes want to see if she comes back on her own. What do you say? We need a tie-breaker.”

  Jeff’s hazel eyes shift around the group, but the hesitation I see in them has nothing to do with uncertainty. His mind is clicking a plan into place. As he runs a hand through his mussed brown hair, Jasmine crosses her arms, preparing to protest. Jeff holds her gaze, but I know he’s talking directly to me even when his eyes shift around the group. His ROTC training shows as he takes charge of the situation.

  “We don’t know what happened to Riley. We know she wouldn’t just get up and leave for no reason,” Jeff proceeds cautiously, “but, we also have no idea where she went. Like Wes said, let’s slow down and look for clues—anything that can help us figure out which direction she went.”

  “Slow down?! We don’t have time to slow down. We need to find my sister NOW.” My voice rises with every word. Maybe getting mixed up with these people was a bad idea.

  “Quinn.” Aidan takes a guarded step toward me, like I’m a cornered viper poised to strike. “Just stop and think. We have no idea where to go. Can you track Riley? Cuz I can’t, and I don’t think any one of us knows how to do that. We have to stop, think, and make a plan.” His tone says this argument is over. Before I can respond, Jeff takes the forefront again and starts ordering everyone around.

  “Wes, why don’t you check Riley’s blanket and the area where she slept?” With a confident nod, Wes breaks away from the group and examines our makeshift beds from last night. Jeff commands confidently. “Jasmine, come with me. We’re going to circle the camp area to look for broken twigs, flattened grass, anything that might point us toward a path or direction she might have taken.”

  “What should we do?” I call out before he takes off. Instead of answering me, his gaze shifts to my side. “Aidan, interrogate the last person who saw her.” I scrunch my face in confusion. What?

  As the others focus on their tasks, Aidan turns his attention to me. “Quinn, can I talk to you for a moment?” Now that everyone is at least doing something, my pulse slows and my ears open. “Sure,” I answer, holding his gaze. My brain bounces between anger that this is happening, fear that I’ll never see my sister again, and awe for the strangers who are helping me get a handle on this awful situation.

  His bright blue eyes resemble tropical waters. Clear and honest. Struggling to focus on his words instead of his physical features, I silently scold myself for allowing this distraction. “Quinn, can you think of anywhere Riley might have gone?”

  I’m at a loss. “No, my sister is chronologically older, but she doesn’t have a brave bone in her body. She would never leave the group behind and go anywhere alone.” I cringe inwardly at the harshness of my thoughts when they translate into spoken words.

  “Okaaaaay,” Aidan stalls, “Did you two go anywhere besides the trailer park? Do you have any other relatives or friends in the area?”

  “No.” I’m adamant. “The only place we have ever stayed down here is at my aunt’s trailer. After we…got to town…we headed to the trailer and planted ourselves there.”

  Just then, Wes steps back over to us. “I really didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, except that it looks like she didn’t take anything with her. She left her bag here. That tells me she didn’t plan to go far.”

  “And, Quinn, you didn’t hear anything?” he raises an eyebrow in question. “No! I would tell you if I knew anything. I’m the one who wants her back the most.” Taking a deep breath, I continue, “I guess I’ve just been so tired from the past week that I finally just passed out and… Wait! I think I heard a branch snapping just before I fell asleep last night. But I guess it could have been an animal or really anything…”

  Wes rubs his smooth chin, asking again, “But you didn’t see anything?” I shake my head in defeat. Looking between me and Aidan, he asks, “You guys got any ideas of where to look?” I explain that the only place we know is the trailer park.

  Jeff and Jasmine appear, sweaty and breathless from running circles around our camp. “Hey guys, we really didn’t see anything out of place in any direction,” Jeff says disappointedly. Scratching his head, he adds, “How is that even possible? No clues anywhere.” Great. So we really have no idea where she is.

  Jeff turns to Wes, asking between pants, “Hey, man, find anything in her stuff?” Hooking his thumbs in his shorts pockets, Wes mutters, “Nothing.”

  Jasmine shifts, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side as if to say, “I told you so.” She chimes in with her own idea, “Maybe we should just stay here in case she comes back.”

  Why couldn’t she disappear instead of Riley?

  “I don’t know, Jasmine,” Wes says. “I don’t like that we don’t even know how long she’s been gone. It could have been as soon as Quinn fell asleep last night.”

  “Alright, guys,” Jeff directs, motioning for everyone to gather. He’s caught his breath and ready to move things along. “Let’s pack up and clear out. We’ll head to the trailer park where Riley and Quinn were staying. We don’t know anywhere else Riley could have gone, so right now that’s our only lead.”

  “And what if she isn’t there,” Jasmine challenges. “Do we waste more time looking for her, or do we stick with our plan?”

  Just when I think her dislike factor has peaked, she opens her mouth again and ups it a notch or two. Before my lips part to respond, Aidan diffuses the tension.

  “Jasmine, let’s take this one step at a time. We can’t go searching all over creation, but we can go to the one place we know that Riley has been before. Let’s focus our energy on that right now.”

  Chapter 25

  Riley’s bag rests at the foot of a log, just where she left it last night. Shouldering my own backpack, I leave hers. It will wait right here for when she returns. One by one, the others gather around the fire pit, bags slung over their shoulders.

  Five heads bob in affirmation when Aidan simply asks, “Ready?” He and Jeff lead the way around the run-down cabins, along the dirt path leading to the campground’s entrance.

  Technically, I was with them when they parked the bikes last night, but between the shadowy trees obscuring our path and my jittery nerves, I’d be lucky if I could find my way out of Rustic Shores at all. I’m glad I’m not captaining this voyage.

  Scanning our surroundings in hopes of spotting a clue that will lead me to Riley, my eyes stall on the horizon
. Just a short time ago the rising sun was shining bright. Now the sky casts a sickly greenish-yellow hue. Maybe a storm is brewing, preparing to wage war with the sunrise’s pleasant blue sky. That’s fitting. It perfectly captures my mood.

  I’m so consumed by my inner thoughts and blindly following the group that I don’t even notice when Aidan stops abruptly. I plow into him before my mind catches up with my body. “I’m sorry I didn’t see—” I start, but Aidan raises a hand in the air and cuts me off. “Where the hell are the bikes?” Jeff just stares at him, slack-jawed and silent.

  After a brief discussion, we agree on one conclusion. Jim and Dan must have figured out we stole their bikes, tracked us down, retrieved their bikes, and snatched Riley.

  Jasmine kindly points out that it’s too much of a coincidence that someone found their camp the same night Riley and I joined them.

  It is too much of a coincidence, but how the hell could they have tracked us down? Can they sniff out a trail? We were so careful. And why would they take Riley? They’d have to know I’d come looking for her.

  Without wheels, our only option is to walk back to the trailer park. When Jasmine complains, I sweetly suggest that she stay at the campground and wait for us there.

  Shooting daggers my way, the guys remind us both that it’s safer to all stick together. Like the bikes, Riley didn’t just evaporate into thin air.

  As our feet meet pavement, the clouds overtake the sun. The humidity is almost unbearable, even for a summer day in Delaware. It saps my fleeting energy. I’m sure our proximity to the asphalt only fuels the heat simmering around us. Digging into my bag as we walk, I discover an elastic band hiding in the seam at the bottom. I’m not sure how long it’s taken up residence there but it’s getting a new home. I pull my hair back into a tight ponytail and secure it with the band.

  Weaving through the cluttered highway is easy on foot, but it requires concentration to avoid looking too closely inside the immobilized cars and trucks we pass. The last thing I want to see is anything that resembles our car. And what happened to it. The wind rushes around us, sharing our path and pushing us forward.

  I turn my attention to the trees lining the highway. Massive trunks rise high above us, their emerald foliage dancing in the breeze. Being out here makes me think of running and the exquisite escape it provides my brain.

  I’m quickly returned to the present by a soft crinkling sound.

  Wes digs some trail mix out of his backpack and offers it around. I pass but the others start munching.

  Aidan drops back to keep pace with me. He thrusts a water bottle toward me. “Here, why don’t you at least drink?” he offers. I shake my head, but he lifts my arm and wraps my fingers around the bottle. “You know what I went through to get that water. I would be extremely offended if you rejected it.”

  “What exactly did you go through?” I ask, turning my head toward him to gauge his answer.

  “Okay, when we ran out of drinking water, I had to find and borrow water jugs, so we could keep refilling our water bottles. Once we used those up, I had to navigate my way through kitty city to refill them. Then I met some crazy chick who started calling me Jugs because of it.” He waves his hands in the air as he speaks, fake indignation oozing from every word.

  I laugh. I actually laugh. It’s the last thing I would have ever believed possible right now. My resolve builds just enough to propel my feet a little faster.

  Chapter 26

  As the outskirts of the trailer park come into view, I steal a glance at my chest, half-expecting to see my shirt billow and cinch as my heart thunders in my chest. I can’t slow my brisk pace. Raising my shaking hands, I force them to smooth the sweaty, loose strands of hair away from my face. My ponytail put up a good fight, but it could only contain my straggly brown locks for so long. The swirling wind didn’t exactly help that situation.

  Aidan glances my way. His weak smile whispers apprehension. I throw him a slight nod and avert my focus back to the highway. I need confidence right now, not pity or confirmation that my fear is about to come true.

  The whistling wind and crunching of gravel beneath our tired feet have been the only sounds for most of the trip. Thankfully, Jeff breaks the near-silence. “Guys, we’re almost there! Where do we look first?”

  “Geez, Jeff, could you sound more excited?” Jasmine comments.

  How do these guys deal with her attitude?

  Shouting echoes in the distance, competing with the rumble of a revving engine. We all stop short, alarmed eyes searching our surroundings.

  I suddenly feel very exposed walking along the highway.

  “Guys,” Jasmine says quietly. “Maybe we should try to blend in with the tree line?”

  We all nod in agreement and dash toward the surrounding vegetation.

  Slinking through the wooded area, we’re careful not to venture too far from the road.

  From this distance, bodies swarm through the trailer park. That’s not a good sign, considering it’s the complete opposite of what Riley and I experienced all the days we were there.

  Jeff stretches his arms out and motions “down” with his hands. In a single movement, we comply, forming a quiet huddle among the shade and shelter of the pine trees. Aidan aims his deep blue eyes my way and whispers, “Quinn, is this normal? The few times Jeff and I have been to the park, it was like a ghost town.”

  I shake my head, shifting my eyes around the group. “No, Riley and I stayed there for a week and barely saw or heard anyone else. Something is really wrong.”

  Aidan leans back on his haunches. I can tell he’s uncertain what to do. It may not be safe to walk in there like we planned, but he must know I’m not just giving up and leaving.

  Beside me, Jeff drops one knee into the dirt and addresses the group. “Guys, you stay here. I’ll go on a recon mission, find out what the hell is going on, and be back in a few,” he says. Flanking Jeff’s other side, Jasmine clutches his arm. “No! We don’t know what’s going on. We aren’t sending you into a dangerous situation. The only reason we’re here is because of her,” she gestures toward me. “She should go!”

  Aidan raises a hand to calm the imminent argument, but Jeff jumps in before anyone can speak. He casually drapes one arm over my shoulder and the other over Jasmine’s. “Now ladies, I know there’s some tension. Just promise me, if you decide to have it out, please let me be right here in the middle of it.”

  A genuine laugh escapes me. Jeff’s ability to diffuse a potentially explosive situation makes him that much more likeable.

  Before anyone else can chime in, Wes speaks. He’s so quiet that I sometimes forget he’s even here. “Hey, I’ll go. I’m like a ninja. Sending Jeff is like sending Godzilla to sneak up on Tokyo. They’d be all over him in no time, but I can slip in and out of there before anyone even blinks.”

  Silence descends as eyes shift back and forth.

  Aidan addresses Wes, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

  Wes gives one brisk nod.

  Aidan looks at us each in turn. “Does anyone object?”

  Again, silence.

  Wes slowly stands, stretching his legs. “Alright, everyone wait here and stay quiet. I’ll be back in a few.” When his eyes catch mine, I send him a silent thank you.

  As Wes dashes off toward the trailer park, we settle into the overgrowth.

  I keep my head down as Jasmine’s words replay in my head. It is my fault they’re all here. I have no right to put any of them in danger. Before my mind can wander too far, Jeff pulls me out of my thoughts.

  “Sooooooo…anyone up for a little game of Truth or Dare?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Jasmine and I both answer at the same time, “No!” In the brief second our eyes meet, daggers erupt from her brown irises.

  Not sure what exactly I did to offend her, but it looks like we won’t be doing each other’s hair anytime soon.

  Hunching my back to stay low, I amble toward a nearby rock. While its flat surface invites me
to sit, the rigid exterior is unwelcoming. When Jeff leads Jasmine toward a rock several feet away from me, I lower myself onto my new seat.

  Aidan scuttles over and plops down next to me. He casually rests his arms on his knees. “How are you doing?” he asks quietly.

  “I’m okay,” I lie. Lowering my voice, I lean toward him. “Aidan, what are you all doing here?”

  His eyes widen as if I actually expect him to answer that question.

  “I mean, finding Riley is my problem. I have no right to ask anyone else to help me find her. Jasmine’s right. I’m the only one who should be here.” With the last few words, I drop my head into my hands so that he can’t see the tears threatening to spill. The universe seems determined to remind me that I am utterly alone now.

  In one swift movement, he places his hand under my chin, turning my face and effectively capturing me with his kind blue eyes. “Quinn, you didn’t ask anyone to come here with you. We chose to come. I know Jasmine can be a little…disagreeable sometimes. She just worries about everyone and I know she’s really anxious to get to her family…I mean, we all are.”

  My gaze turns grateful and a tear tumbles down my cheek. Dammit. Aidan tenderly wipes it away. My eyelashes flutter as I try to contain my soaring emotions. Wind rushes around me, a cool breeze snaking down my spine. When did the temperature nosedive? Maybe it’s because we’re shaded by the trees. The cooler air soothes my clammy skin.

  “Hey, you two, what’s going on over there?” Jeff calls in a sing-song voice. “Do you need some alone time?” I squeeze my eyes shut as my face flushes red.

  “Actually, what we really need is some food,” Aidan says. “How ‘bout you two run to McDonald’s and pick up some burgers and fries?” My embarrassment dissolves into envy as I observe the easy camaraderie they share.

  Rolling my eyes, they land on a shadow prowling through the trees. I reach out, tugging on Aidan’s arm, and nod in that direction. His eyes slide to where I indicate, and a small smirk plays on his lips. “I’d know that ninja anywhere,” he says and stands.