by Harley Tate
Darkness.
Did she slip back down? Did someone rescue her? She tuned out the second round of the same folk song and concentrated. No, she didn’t remember falling.
Crinkling her nose against an itch, Madison tried to scratch it. Her arm didn’t move more than an inch. She wiggled again. Her wrists were bound behind her, not too tightly, but secure enough to restrict her freedom.
She tasted her own blood again as memories flooded back. The man crumpled on the ground in front of her mother. The morning patrol.
Were these the rest of his crew?
The old woman across the fire stood still and proud, her long white braid stark against the darkness of her jacket. Wrinkles etched deep lines across her forehead and around her mouth, but she didn’t seem delicate or weak.
There was nothing frail about her.
As Madison watched, a young boy of ten or twelve rushed up to her. The woman leaned over to listen before nodding. The boy scampered off. Was she the leader of this little group?
Madison heard movement behind her and shut her eyes.
“Is she still unconscious?”
Hands palmed her body and shook her by the shoulders. Madison let her head loll back and forth.
“Yeah. Lilly hit her good.”
“You really think they’ll give us the cabins when they find out we have this girl? She doesn’t seem like much.”
Madison wanted to protest, but she didn’t dare move.
“I don’t know. Eileen seems to think so.”
“What about Hampton? Where is he?”
“That idiot couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag. He’s probably lost in the forest. If he can’t find the fire, then we’ll go looking for him at first light.”
“Eileen’s not going to like it.”
“She doesn’t like anything. That old woman is meaner than a pit bull.”
“And she holds on tighter, too. Have you felt her grip? She gave me a bruise on my arm that lasted a week.”
Madison swallowed. If they were speaking of the white-haired woman, then Madison was thankful she didn’t try to escape just now. A blow to the head was nothing compared to what could befall her if the whole group caught her running away. She needed to save her strength and wait for a better opportunity.
Whatever happened, Madison refused to let them take the cabins. The Clifton property would not fall to this gang of thugs in the woods. She would find a way to stop them.
“Did you find anything on patrol?”
“Naw. That hiker we found the other day was gone. Bastard drank all his beer before Otto found him.”
“If we don’t get into those cabins, we’re gonna starve out here.” The person talking snorted back a noseful of snot. Her voice lowered to just about a whisper. “And I need a hit somethin’ fierce.”
“Eileen promised. We get those cabins, we can get glassed all we want.”
Madison swallowed. They wanted to take over the Clifton place to have a place to get high? Anger raged inside her, but Madison managed to stay still.
People came and went as the evening wore on, emerging from the darkness to sit near the fire before disappearing again into the dark like apparitions. She counted eleven separate individuals. Five women including the white-haired leader, three men, and three kids ranging from barely out of diapers to a max of ten or twelve.
One kid caught her attention. A boy of nine or ten with a moppy head of hair always falling in his eyes. He skirted the fire and with each pass around the flames, his steps grew closer and closer to Madison’s prone form. She needed someone to help her out of this mess. Would he be the one to do it?
As long as she lay still and kept her head canted into the dirt, the adults left her alone. But a boy with nothing to do was a curiosity magnet. He couldn’t help himself.
He eased close enough that she could make out the swoosh on his Nikes and the fraying of his shoe laces. Dirt caked the hem of his jeans and stains streaked the denim. They had been out in the woods for a while.
Where were they from? What were they doing out there?
A cackle of a laugh rose up from near the fire and the boy jumped. He ran back toward the flames like he’d only been dancing, not stalking their prisoner.
Madison waited. She refused to let sleep or pain or impatience get the best of her. After the laughter died down and the adults resumed their hushed chats while watching the flames, the boy returned.
Could she risk it? She thought about the violence it took to bash the side of her head with a rock. Was that only the beginning?
As the boy came closer, she twitched. He froze, but didn’t run. She twitched again, watching him through eyelids opened barely wide enough to see.
This time he glanced behind him before taking another step in her direction.
She fluttered her lashes. He stared. She focused on him. His eyes were wide and dark and unreadable. Did he fear her? Want to free her? Just pass the time?
Madison managed a small, painful smile.
He smiled back.
Maybe this will work. Maybe I’ll get out of here. She opened her mouth to speak when the white-haired woman’s commanding voice cut across the camp.
“David! You get away from the prisoner this instant! Stephanie, guard her!”
The boy shuddered and turned on his heel, running away and taking any hope of escape with him. A woman rose from her seat beside the fire and Madison shut her eyes.
Boots stomped up to the space between her knees and head and a toe nudged her middle. “When can we wake her up?”
“In the morning. If Hampton’s not back by first light, we go to them.” The woman’s voice carried with gravelly weight. “Those cabins will be ours.”
The old woman. She was the leader, Eileen. Madison swallowed. They were all in on it together. The man who showed up at the Cliftons’ front door. These people in the woods. She had to get out of there and save her family. She had to warn them.
As the boots retreated, Madison risked a quick glance. Stephanie took up position five feet away with her side facing Madison and her face warmed by the fire. Madison wriggled her hands behind her back. The straps holding her wrists together cut into her skin, but she braced against the pain.
There was give in the ties. If she worked hard and long enough, she might break loose. It was her only chance. No one was going to help her. She would have to help herself.
Chapter Fourteen
DANI
Northern California Forest
8:00 p.m.
The circle of light barely lit the ground in front of Dani’s feet. With only two flashlights and four people, there wasn’t enough to go around, but they couldn’t stop. Not with close to twenty miles between them and the Clifton property and a potential killer in the woods.
As soon as Colt explained about the sleeping bag and the blood all over the campsite, Walter picked up the pace, marching through the woods like a robot who never tired. Dani struggled to keep up. Her feet were lead blocks, her back ached, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
Another step and she stumbled, catching herself with an outstretched hand. Lottie yipped at her heels, encouraging her to keep going.
“You okay back there?” Colt’s voice carried in the darkness.
“Yeah. Just tripped.”
Larkin’s voice sounded from the right. “Need a flashlight in the back?”
“No. You need to know what’s coming.” Dani tried to pick up the pace and keep closer to the men leading the charge.
The backpack straps cut into her skin and she slipped her thumbs beneath the thin padding to give her shoulders some relief. With her mind occupied by the pain and discomfort, she walked on autopilot, not scanning for latent danger. All she could think about was a bed and a blanket or even a soft spot on the ground to curl up and sleep.
The tree root hid beneath a pile of fallen leaves. Her left foot hooked it and caught. She tried to disentangle her hands from her pack, but everything h
appened so fast. She was upright and walking, then she was falling in the dark.
Her body slammed into the ground face-first and air fled her lungs. The backpack smothered her, pressing her chest into the dirt and leaves. Dani struggled to come free, but the pack proved too strong. Something wet and warm coated her face and filled her nose. She gagged.
Blood.
“H-Help!” Dani tried to call out, but her voice was too weak. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to speak. Darkness surrounded her and a ringing sounded in her ears.
Something wet nosed her cheek and Dani twitched. A bark cut through the noise inside her skull. Lottie.
She was so tiny, but so strong.
All at once the weight pressing her into the ground lifted. Dani sucked in a breath of air.
“Walter! Bring the light. Quick!”
Colt’s voice and warmth enveloped her. He found her.
She tried to speak. “Th-Th…”
“Shh. Don’t move. You could have broken something.”
A light flashed in her eyes and Dani slammed them shut. Men’s voices rose and fell and she struggled to make sense of them.
“There’s blood everywhere. Did she fall on a branch?”
“It’s her head. There’s a nasty gash.”
Hands gripped her shoulders and with a grunt, someone rolled her over onto her back.
“Her leg is twisted. Could be broken.”
“We’ve got to stop that bleeding. Get me a towel.”
Something soft but heavy pressed down on the side of Dani’s head.
“Easy there. Don’t fight it. Can you hear me, Dani?”
She smacked her lips. When did they get so big? “Y-Yes.” Her tongue filled up her mouth like a water balloon in a jar and she couldn’t make it cooperate.
“Good. I’m going to move your leg. You tell me if it hurts.”
Dani said something she hoped was close to “Okay.”
Pain shot up her leg and she screamed.
“All right. If it’s not broken, it’s badly sprained.”
The pressure stayed on her head, but Colt’s voice retreated. She strained to listen. “We can’t move her until the morning. There’s no way she’ll be able to walk and that gash on her head needs stitches.”
“I don’t have the equipment.”
“We can use duct tape or fishing line. Anything to get it closed and stop the blood. Once we reach the cabins, we can fix it up for real.”
Nausea threatened to bring her dinner of jerky and water back up her throat. Dani moaned.
“Easy. You’ve had quite a fall.”
She struggled to sit up, but a hand pressed her back down. “Just take it slow. Don’t sit up.”
“Sick. I’m going—”
Hands hoisted her up from behind and Dani leaned against something solid and warm. “Just don’t get it on my jacket, will you?”
Larkin. Always the one for humor. Dani smiled despite the pain and vertigo. “Ha, ha.”
“At least I know your brain isn’t as twisted as your leg.”
“Says who?”
He chuckled and Dani blinked her eyes open. The dizziness retreated as she tried to bring the world into focus. The longer she sat upright without the weight of the pack stifling her breath or blood dripping into her eye, the more lucid she became.
After a few minutes, she glanced at Larkin. He still held the cloth tight to her head. In the dark, she couldn’t see the blood, but she knew the fabric must be thick with it. She would never make it to the Cliftons’ place like this.
She smacked her lips together again and cleared her throat. “You should get going.”
Larkin shifted his position and brought his head down close enough to look in her eyes. “Maybe you hit your head harder than I thought.”
“I mean it.” Dani swallowed down a mix of spit and blood. “I’m going to slow you down.”
“We aren’t leaving you.”
Leaves rustled and Colt crouched down beside her. “How are you?”
“I’ve been better. But I think I’m okay.” Dani meant what she said. The longer she sat there, the more her wits came back. Her head pounded and her leg throbbed, but she could think and speak. “You need to get going. Get to the Cliftons’ place and make sure everyone is safe.”
“No. You can’t walk. We’re setting up camp for the night.”
Dani reached out and clutched at Colt’s arm. “No. I want you to leave me here. After you get Walter home, you can come back for me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’re doing no such thing.”
“I’m stealing time he doesn’t have.”
Colt took over from Larkin, pressing his own hand on top of Dani’s wound. “I am not leaving you, so stop arguing with me about it.”
She stared up into his eyes and saw determination and fear staring back. “I’ll be okay here, Colt. I can handle a few days in the woods.”
“No.”
“Walter is worried about his family.”
“And I’m worried about you.”
Dani ground her teeth together. This was why she didn’t want to go with Walter. Now she’d gone and made his life difficult. Now she could end up getting someone else killed.
A flashlight beam bounced around the surrounding forest floor, highlighting ferns and twigs before coming to rest on Dani’s injured leg. Walter crouched beside her and focused the light on her ankle.
“Is it broken?”
“I don’t think so.” She straightened her leg out a bit and lifted it in the air. “I think it would hurt more.”
“Good.” He brought the flashlight up toward her face and Dani shut her eyes. “Let’s take a look at your head.”
The pressure eased on her scalp and Dani gasped against the sudden rush of pain.
No one said anything.
“That good, huh?”
Walter lowered the flashlight and the pressure came back even harder than before. Dani opened her eyes.
“You’ve got a nasty gash that needs to be cleaned and closed somehow. It won’t be pleasant.”
Dani nodded a fraction. “Whatever you have to do, just do it.”
Walter stood up. “I’ll start a fire. We’ll need to boil some water.”
The flashlight beam bounded off and Dani exhaled. “I’m sorry I’ve screwed everything up.”
“Don’t apologize. We’re all exhausted. A night’s rest will do us all good.”
Dani didn’t say any more. She watched the flashlight wander around the vicinity, dropping to a low little circle when Walter bent to gather wood and tinder, expanding when he walked. After a few minutes, it clicked off.
Her pupils swelled as she took in the night. Darkness all around. Leaves from the tree canopy above them obscured most of the moonlight. It was eerie in the forest without light. Anyone could be lurking just out of reach.
She glanced to her right and froze. What is that? A little orb of light bounced and weaved and flickered in the distance. She couldn’t tell how close or how far away, only that it was moving. Someone else was in the forest.
Dani reached for Colt’s arm and squeezed. “Colt.”
He shushed her. “I see it.” He reached for her hand, fumbling about in the dark. “Grab the rag. Hold it tight on your head.”
She did as she was told, pressing her hand against the wound as he stood up.
Hushed male voices echoed around her, but she couldn’t make out the words.
Larkin’s whisper made her jump. “Colt and Walter are going to check it out.”
“You should go, too.”
“We’re not leaving you alone.”
Dani protested. “I have Lottie. She’ll bark if anyone comes near.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Dani refused to back down. “You have no idea what you’re up against. Go. I’ll be fine.”
Larkin hesitated for a moment before placing two cold objects in her hands. A gun and a flashlight. “Only for emergencies.
Otherwise stay quiet and dark.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.” The sound of his footsteps retreated and Dani was alone.
She strained to listen, but the sounds of the forest eclipsed any footsteps. Colt, Walter, and Larkin were out there, somewhere.
So was someone else.
Dani slipped her fingers around the cold grip of the gun. The light in the distance was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
MADISON
Location Unknown
10:00 p.m.
Blood coated Madison’s wrists and slicked the plastic as it cut deeper into her skin. Over the course of the last two hours, Madison worked on the zip ties, rubbing and twisting her wrists back and forth as she stretched the plastic a fraction at a time.
She would either rub all the skin off her wrists or the plastic would stretch enough to free her hands. Maybe both.
As she worked the ties, Madison glanced around, careful not to move more than necessary. All quiet. Embers glowed where the fire raged earlier that night. Only one sentry remained awake: a woman with a ratty brown ponytail and a rifle she didn’t seem comfortable holding. If Madison could free herself, now was the best time. She could overpower a novice with a gun.
Even the white-haired woman was gone. She had visited Madison once that night, pushing back her matted hair and propping open one of her eyelids. Madison pretended to be unconscious and hung in the woman’s hand like a marionette with no puppet master. It seemed to satisfy the old woman, but Madison knew that come morning anything could happen.
If she were still there when the sun rose, then she might never escape. Her family wouldn’t know these horrible people were coming to attack. The Cliftons would suffer.
Madison picked up the pace, hyped up on adrenaline and hunger. If only she could move more than her wrists, but she couldn’t risk catching the sentry’s attention until she broke free.
As the woman turned her way, Madison closed her eyes and went limp. She counted to one hundred and peeled one eye open. The sentry was gone.
Where is she?