The terrain varied from dense woods to open clearings, from small hills and gullies to flat grassy meadows, and all at the foot of a mountain. As she drew closer, the smell of burning wood filled the air, and her heart beat faster at the exciting prospect of finding help.
She entered what she guessed was the final wooded area between her and the source of the smoke. Dusk was fast approaching but there was still just enough light to weave her way through the trees, and around ten minutes later, her prayers were answered. A light shone through the undergrowth up ahead. She headed straight for it and soon picked up a narrow track which led her to a large wooden cabin the size of a house nestled between the trees.
She breathed a huge sigh of relief. In a little over three hours, she had found a house in the woods, and judging from the smoke and the light, someone was home.
The track opened out into a clearing around the house. Her footsteps quickened in anticipation. But as she reached the edge of the trees, with just a small stretch of grass and dried earth between her and the front door, she froze.
Apprehension replaced relief as she studied the veranda and the sight of several animals hanging upside down from hooks under the overhang. Two rabbits and what looked like a raccoon, all dead. Whoever lives here must be used to living off the land. Hunting, killing, and preparing their own food. They could be miles from their nearest neighbor. No doubt a deliberate choice, and maybe that’s the way they liked it. So how would they take to some stranger wondering in uninvited?
As she hesitated, the wooden door swung open, and a large man walked out onto the veranda. He stretched his arms and strode down two timber steps and up to a sawed-off tree stump. He grabbed a long-handled axe and went to work chopping up logs on the battered stump.
Lisa studied him, searching for clues as to the kind of reception she might receive. He looked to be in his late forties, and his large frame was that of a man used to physical work. Strong, with a face weathered by the dry summer sun and harsh winter winds. His wiry, mousy-brown hair looked like it had not seen scissors for many months, and likewise, his jawline had to be days past its last shave.
Lisa instinctively stepped back, slipped her hand into the bag, and wrapped it around the handle of the knife. She stood, transfixed by the ferocity of each blow and the thud of the axe as it plowed through the logs and embedded into the tree stump.
But what was she waiting for? She had fought her way through the dense terrain, praying with almost every step for a sight like this: someone who could help rescue Mike.
The door swung open again, and a woman stepped out. She was similar in age to the man and just as weathered, with her slightly frizzy, graying hair pulled back off her face and tied in a ponytail. Her blue, checked, calf length dress looked to be decades old and had long since lost its luster. The flat moccasins on her feet did nothing to enhance the dress, but at least they didn’t add to her already substantial height, which Lisa guessed must be at least five-feet-ten.
But Lisa relaxed a little. Because the woman’s presence made it less likely the man was a serial axe killer hiding from the law.
She took a breath and stepped out into the open. “Hello, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need help.”
The man froze, mouth open, axe poised above his head. The woman just stared at her. Clearly, they were not used to strangers emerging from the wilderness, especially girls in summer dresses.
Lisa held her breath and walked towards them, one hesitant step at a time, while watching for any hint of hostility. “Please, can you help me?”
The woman stepped off the veranda and beckoned Lisa to her. “Come closer, Sweetie.”
Lisa breathed out. Just the simple use of the word sweetie had reassured her. She smiled at the man as she passed him, and he grunted a response.
As the woman studied Lisa from head to foot, she shook her head as if in disbelief. “What on earth happened to you?”
Lisa glanced down at her torn dress and scratched arms and legs. Blood from the wound on the top of her right thigh had trickled down to her ankle, giving the impression that her injury was worse than it was. She forced a smile. “I’m okay, but my husband needs help.”
The woman looked over Lisa’s shoulder, as if expecting to see him.
Lisa shook her head. “He’s not here. He’s back that way about three hours.”
The woman continued to stare, eyes wide.
“Our plane crashed into the trees. My husband is hurt bad. He can’t walk. I think his back is broken.”
The woman nodded. “I see.” She glanced at the man and then looked back at Lisa. “First things first. Come inside and I’ll clean your wounds.”
“They’re just scratches.”
“Maybe they are, but if we don’t get them cleaned up, they could get infected. Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”
The woman beckoned Lisa inside and directed her to sit at a kitchen table. Then she took down a large box from a high shelf, removed a bottle and cotton pads, and went to work dabbing what Lisa guessed was some kind of medical antiseptic over the scratches on her arms and legs. Lisa drew breath with each application.
The woman looked at her and grinned. She seemed to be amused by Lisa’s discomfort. “The stinging will wear off quickly.”
Lisa nodded and glanced around. The main living area was large and open plan. The basin, wooden cupboards, and shelving took up most of the front wall to the right of the door, with two windows overlooking the veranda. There were three worn, brown leather couches arranged in a U shape around a stone fireplace against the back wall. A pot-bellied stove was tucked away in a corner. Along from the fireplace were three doors made from vertical wooden planks. In fact, the entire house was constructed from the same wooden planks. Lisa guessed the doors led to a bathroom and two bedrooms. In the opposite corner to the stove, a makeshift vertical ladder led up to the floor above, probably an attic room used for storage.
After cleaning Lisa’s wounds, the woman applied a few band-aids over the deeper cuts. Then she soaked a towel in water and wiped away the dried blood from Lisa’s right leg, starting at her ankle and working up to the hem of her dress, where she paused a moment. Then she lifted the dress and continued up to the wound, a couple of inches from Lisa’s pantie line.
The antiseptic continued to sting for a minute, but as the pain dissipated, she thanked the woman. “I’m Lisa, and I’m so grateful for your help.”
The woman nodded. “I’m Erica, and my husband is Edward, but we call him Ed.”
“My husband is Mike, I think he has damaged his back because he couldn’t walk, so I had to leave him back at the crashed plane.”
Erica didn’t respond to Lisa’s comments, which seemed strange. She just returned to the basin, emptied the bowl of water, and then returned the medical box to the top shelf.
“My husband needs help,” Lisa repeated, giving Erica the benefit of the doubt that she may not have heard properly.
Erica turned back from the basin with a scowl on her face. “I heard you the first time outside and then again a moment ago.”
A shiver ran down Lisa’s back. That wasn’t the response she had expected from a woman who had been so attentive to her wounds. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m worried about him.”
Erica stared at her for a moment, then softened her expression. “Of course you are. Who wouldn’t be, having to leave him out there on his own.” She turned back to the cupboards. “Now, are you hungry?”
Lisa stared back. Erica seemed caring and considerate towards her, but almost dismissive of Mike’s situation.
She hadn’t eaten since early morning, but food was the last thing on her mind. “I’m okay. I couldn’t eat anything until Mike is safe.”
The door opened and Ed strode in, his arms full of freshly cut logs, which he deposited next to the pot-bellied stove. He turned and stood with his hands on his hips, staring at Lisa. Then his gaze dropped lower.
As she glanced down, her stomach
flipped over. In her slightly confused state, she had forgotten to adjust her position after Erica had finished the first aid. To her horror, her legs were parted and her dress was high across her thighs, no doubt giving Ed a full view of her panties. She drew a quick breath as she brought her knees together and pulled down the hem of her dress.
But strangely, Ed didn’t evert his eyes like most men would after observing her discomfort. Instead, he just grinned and seemed to get some satisfaction from her embarrassment. “So your plane crashed?” he asked, still smirking.
Lisa nodded, hoping Ed would at least be more sympathetic over Mikes’ plight.
But he just shook his head, exchanged a long lingering look with Erica, then walked over to the basin and poured water into a glass from a stainless steel jug.
Another shiver rippled through Lisa. Was Ed prepared to go with her to rescue Mike? She waited for him to finish drinking. “What’s the nearest town?”
Ed put down his glass and looked at her. “Bakerson, if you can call it a town.”
“How far is it?”
“Far enough.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s too far for folks to drop by for a friendly visit, and that’s the way we like it, isn’t it, Erica?”
Erica nodded.
“Has anyone else been here today, before me?” Lisa asked.
Ed frowned. “Like who?”
“The crash left Mike and me unconscious for a while. But as Mike woke up, he saw Carlos, our pilot, staggering off. He headed north. That’s why I came north. I was hoping to find him.”
Ed exchanged another brief glance with Erica before shaking his head. “Must have gone straight past, or ran into an angry bear or something.”
Lisa pulled the survival bag around onto her lap and took out her mobile phone. When the screen woke up, it displayed a signal strength of one bar, weak, but good enough to make a call. But as she opened the keypad, the screen went black. She struggled, trying to turn it back on, but with each attempt, the screen just flashed for a fraction of a second and went black again. She sighed. “My battery is dead. Do you have a phone here I could use?”
Ed laughed. “You really are lost, aren’t you?”
She held up her phone. “A mobile charger?”
Ed laughed again. “Do we look like we use mobile phones? They are one of the reasons we live out here. To stay away from all that stuff.”
“I saw a truck outside. Can you take me into town to get help?”
Ed walked over and sat down at the table directly opposite her. “You don’t need to go into town. We have all the help you need right here.”
Lisa’s mood lifted. “So you’ll come with me to get Mike?”
“Me? Hell, no, not me.”
She looked at Erica. “Who then?”
Ed lifted his chin toward the ceiling and bellowed, “Get down here, you lot.”
There was movement, and several sets of footsteps clattered across the floor above to the ladder in the corner. One by one, five people climbed down and gathered around the table.
Lisa studied each one in turn. The first down the ladder was a man who looked to be in his late twenties. Next came two boys, identical twins, in their early twenties. Then a girl around nineteen, and finally another boy who looked no older than seventeen. Either by coincidence or convention, they had descended the ladder in order of seniority and all appeared to be related except for the youngest boy, who’s small features and red hair contrasted to the stronger build and darker hair of the others.
Erica walked over and proudly placed her hand on the shoulder of the first boy to have exited the ladder. “This is Luke. He’s our eldest.” Then she moved down the line. “As you have probably guessed, these two are twins, Frankie and Freddie.” She moved on and wrapped her arm around the girl. “And this little ray of sunshine is Summer.” She nudged her daughter as if it was a cue for Summer to smile, but the girl remained solemn.
Erica looked back at Lisa. “Tell them your name, Sweetie.”
Lisa introduced herself, then tipped her head towards the last boy in line. “You forgot someone.”
Erica glanced at the boy. “Oh, that’s Billy. He’s not ours. We found him wondering by the roadside a couple of years back so we brought him home. He’s been here ever since.”
Lisa could hardly believe her own ears. This woman had virtually admitted to child abduction. She looked at Billy. He was the youngest, the skinniest, and wore the scruffiest clothes, with more holes in his jeans and checked shirt than the others. His canvas shoes were threadbare and looked like they had been passed down through the family. She wondered if they fed him properly. But as odd as this family seemed, she decided not to ask questions right now. It could aggravate the situation, and as she was dependent on their help to rescue Mike, that was the last thing she needed.
7
MIKE
As Lisa walked away from the plane, Mike had prayed it wouldn’t be the last time he would ever see her. But there were so many unknowns. Was she heading in the right direction, would she be able to find help, and if she could, would she be able to track back and find him in time? If he drank sparingly, he had enough water for two days. But even that made him feel guilty. Lisa had set off on her journey with nothing more than a few sips from the bottle, a compass, a knife, a small flashlight, and her mobile phone that was useless without a signal.
He would have felt better if she had taken the pistol. Glancing down at it in his lap, he wondered if he even had the strength in his arms to lift it and point it at any threat. He dragged his hand over and tried to pick up the weapon. It was only a small-caliber semi-automatic, probably a .32 with just seven rounds. Enough to stop a man, or at least slow him down, but probably ineffective against an adult bear.
He struggled to lift the gun more than a few inches above his lap. It may be one of the lightest handguns on the market, but to Mike, it weighed as much as a cannon.
As the hours passed, he pictured Lisa with her cuts and bruises and her torn dress. He was responsible for their situation. If only he had booked a regular flight. They would be in Quebec by now, having checked into the boutique hotel with a complimentary bottle of champagne waiting for them in their room. He might have been well on his way to earning Lisa’s forgiveness.
He sighed. Would she ever forgive him for his actions, not only with their neighbor, but for arranging a flight with Carlos and allowing him to trick her into agreeing to take off as they taxied along the runway?
His thoughts turned to their pilot. He had known Carlos since childhood and they still shared a couple of mutual friends, one of whom put them in touch when Mike had mentioned he was looking to charter a small plane. But how badly injured was he, and why did he leave them unconscious in the plane? Had he thought they were dead? And did his black leather bag contain narcotics? The more he thought about it, the more he suspected it did. Especially knowing the company Carlos kept. Maybe, deep down, he’d known all along but chose to ignore it. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t asked Carlos any questions about the kind of business he was combining with the trip. If he hadn’t heard it firsthand, he could plead ignorance and keep a clear conscience. He sighed again. Who was he trying to fool?
A sudden noise in the nearby bushes jolted Mike from his self-recrimination. There had been slight rustling on and off ever since Lisa had left, but it hadn’t concerned him. He was satisfied it was just small creatures scuttling along, returning to their lairs and territory, and certainly nothing to worry about. But this was different. The sound of cracking twigs and branches meant something big and powerful was moving around out there, and it was getting closer. Mike scanned the bushes to his left through the open door of the plane and glimpsed black fur moving through the undergrowth.
A guttural grunt confirmed his fears. It was a large bear, and it was only about ten feet away.
Mike had read how bears have an acute sense of smell and can sniff out any intruder in their terr
itory. So he dragged his hand to the pistol on his lap just as the beast pushed between the trees and headed straight for the open door of the plane.
His hand nudged the handle of the pistol, but as he tried to lift the gun, it slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. If the bear hadn’t known his exact location before, it did now.
It slowly and cautiously ambled up to the open door and poked its nose into the plane, twitching and sniffing, and no doubt trying to decide if Mike represented food.
He froze and held his breath. His only form of defense was laying by his feet, but in his condition, it may as well be in another state. All he could do was to keep as still as possible and hope that the bear got bored and moved on.
But it came closer, its powerful chest pressed against the threshold of the door opening. Its huge head was inside the plane and its snout was only inches from Mike as it grunted and sniffed and breathed hot, stale breath into his face. He wanted to turn his head away, but resisted the temptation. So he just closed his eyes and waited.
The bear nudged its snout into Mike’s face a few times before grunting and turning away. Even without looking, Mike could sense the animal leaving the doorway. He gradually opened his eyes just as the bear plodded back into the trees. And just as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone.
As his heart rate returned to normal, his thoughts turned to Lisa. What if she came face to face with a bear or some other threat? Would she be able to remain calm until the danger passed? He prayed she had found a small town, or a team of loggers, or a house in the woods.
8
Lisa
Erica clapped her hands together. “All right you lot, sit down, dinner is ready. Summer, dish it up.”
Lisa hadn’t noticed until now that a large steel pot sitting on the hot plate above a wood-burning stove was gently simmering away.
Summer took down a pile of plates from an open shelf, and with a ladle, began slopping out what looked like some kind of stew. She filled a plate, and Billy took it and placed it in front of Erica. The next plate went to Ed and the rest to the others in order of seniority. Billy placed a plate down in front of an empty seat, which Lisa guessed was for Summer, and then went back for his own.
THE CRUEL SEVEN Page 4