by Kurt Newton
Ethan rolled to his left, striking Wolf in the ribs as the canine skidded past. Wolf let out a slight whimper from the blow, but it did not deter him. Ethan got to his feet and backed away as Wolf rushed him once again. Ethan lost his footing on some pine boughs just as Wolf lunged. Ethan dropped the stick and grabbed Wolf by the neck, just under the jaw, with both hands and the two of them crashed to the floor, Wolf on top. Ethan struggled to keep Wolf's muzzle away from his face. Wolf whipped his head from side-to-side and tried to lunge downward, but Ethan's grip was firm, deflecting the lunges to the side. Wolf weighed no more than a hundred pounds, but the canine's strength was nearly equal to a grown man. But Ethan had been on his high school wrestling team, and some of that knowledge was now returning.
Between lunges, Ethan kneed Wolf in the stomach and used the force of the blow to throw Wolf off of him. Wolf scrambled to gain his footing on the leaves and pine needles, while Ethan got to his feet, brandishing an even larger stick. This time Ethan broke the end off, leaving an angular tip sharp enough to use as a spear if needed. Blood spotted the floor at his feet and Ethan realized his forearm was bleeding. Two puncture wounds welled with dark blood.
Wolf circled again. Ethan stared him down, half-crouched, the spear held in both hands, preparing for the next attack. The look in the animal's eyes was cold and calculating. It was either waiting for Ethan to look away or to give it an opening, to show any sign of weakness that it could capitalize on. It had drawn first blood and looked eager to draw more. When it had circled enough so that Ethan's back was to the wall, it made its move. This is it, thought Ethan. I'm going to kill or be killed. But the world suddenly disappeared, blotted out by a pain in his head so intense he couldn't see.
He heard the stick fall to the floor, and then his legs gave out. The last thing he remembered, before passing out, was the feeling of cool cement against his sweaty cheek.
Pike stood before the Pit #1 monitor. Both Ethan and Wolf lay temporarily immobilized by a sub-frequency burst. Pike switched on the auto-recorder.
"When Subject is placed under duress, Subjects' instinctual response returns. The threat of physical harm triggers the fight or flight reflex. However, Subject shows restraint, exhibiting equal force against the force acting upon him. It is my estimation that Subject will defend to the death if necessary. Manual override initiated. Phase one of passive-aggressive training complete."
Pike returned to Pit #1 with a first aid kit. He reset Wolf's collar using the remote in lab coat pocket. He performed the same action for Ethan. He crouched down beside his subject and spoke gently.
"Ethan," he said. "Time to wake up."
38
Lindsey stood over the spot where Ethan's blood had been found. The rocks were now washed clean of any trace of the accident. She pictured Ethan laying there, his body broken by the fall; the scent of his blood picked up on the summer breeze by coyotes or wolves. Did they fight over him? Was Ethan conscious enough to try and fight them off? It was a scenario she wouldn't allow herself to imagine.
She focused again on the rocks before her and noticed something she hadn't seen initially. Jammed between the jagged stones, in the wet dirt and plant matter, was a clump of fur. She reached down and plucked it free. It was coarse-haired and, though muddied, it was recognizably tan in color.
"Find something?" Jared had been searching the perimeter of the ravine, revisiting territory already covered by the search party.
"Yeah. Fur."
"What?"
"Animal hair." Lindsey turned and showed him. "It's got to be either coyote or cougar."
"But they said the blood was Ethan's."
"Yeah, that's what they said."
Jared looked at the tuft of fur in Lindsey's hand. He appeared puzzled at first, but then an idea struck him like an electrical shock. "Wait a minute." He glanced around to get his bearings. He pointed. "Over there." He took off through the underbrush. Lindsey followed, still holding the fur in her hand. About fifty feet into the woods Jared stopped.
"I didn't think anything of it, but it looks like the ground has been dug up here."
Lindsey stared at the patch of leaves Jared was referring to. An area the size of a child's swimming pool had been disturbed. Lindsey stuffed the fur into her rain parka's pocket and picked up a nearby stick. She used the stick to brush away the leaves, revealing the moist soil underneath. Jared found and even thicker stick, one with a split end that acted like the blade of a shovel, and began digging. It wasn't long before they had uncovered something. A smell like rotted meat. And something else. Something that resembled a frayed rope.
"It's a tail."
A paw the size of Lindsey's hand was then revealed.
"You grab the tail and I'll grab the paw," Lindsey said. Jared reluctantly reached into the shallow grave and clamped his hand around the tail. Lindsey bent beside him and took hold of the paw and both began to pull. At first nothing happened. Then the ground heaved and the animal's rump surfaced. That's when the tail snapped and Jared fell backwards, landing on his butt. In his hand the piece of tail hung limply. He threw it aside.
"You okay?" Lindsey tried to suppress a smile, but Jared looked like a little kid who had just fallen off his bicycle.
"Bruised ego, that's all."
Jared got back up and helped Lindsey drag the carcass the rest of the way out of the hole.
"You've got to be kidding me. A cougar? I didn't even know they were around here," said Jared.
The body of the big cat was partially decomposed. Laying on the surface of the ground its body moved slightly, its midsection undulating as if it were still breathing. On closer inspection it was simply maggots and carrion beetles feasting on the animal's insides. The smell was horrendous.
"Do you know what this means?" said Lindsey.
"That we'll never get the smell of dead cougar off our skin?" Jared smelled his hands and nearly gagged.
"It means that if the blood that was found on those rocks was cougar blood, then Ethan might still be alive. I knew something wasn't right when Ranger Rick sent those kids away when they started talking about Backbone Ridge. And those men I saw watching me at the funeral."
"What men?"
"Two guys in a black car. They looked like spies."
"Lindsey, listen to yourself."
"What? You saw the stories in the newspapers. There's something about this place that people aren't supposed to know about."
"Yeah, and maybe when they find out they end up missing like Ethan. Or worse."
Lindsey turned and looked up through the trees at the power lines. "We have to see what's up on that ridge." She began walking back to the ravine, then stopped. "Are you coming?"
Jared stood his ground for a moment. He looked at the dead cougar, then decided to join her. "I sure hope you're wrong."
Ethan.
The transition felt seamless. One moment Ethan was defenseless and preparing to die, the next moment the voice of Dr. Pike echoed in his ear.
Time to wake up.
He felt something warm and wet against his arm. Ethan opened his eyes. Wolf was licking the blood from his wound. Wolf stopped licking and sat back. The primal look in the animal's eyes was gone, replaced by one that could only be described as concern.
"Once again you have performed well, Ethan."
Ethan looked up. Pike knelt over him, an open first aid kit on the floor at his feet.
"First, we need to take care of that arm. I see Wolf has already disinfected it for you. Haven't you, Wolf? Good boy."
Wolf slid down onto all fours and placed his muzzle on his paws. His tail wagged slightly.
Pike daubed the wound with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide, then applied an adhesive bandage to cover the deepest puncture. Ethan watched as Pike tended to his injury. Pike was old enough to be his father, but for Ethan the impression of father brought with it a measure of fear and anxiety. In Pike, however, Ethan felt an odd attachment, like the attachment found between st
udent and teacher, protégé and mentor.
"Is my brother James all right?"
Pike stared at him. For the first time it looked as if Pike was at a loss for words, but that loss was momentary. He wrapped the area of the bite with gauze and taped it in place.
"James is doing fine, Ethan. As long as you continue to behave, he is in no danger."
Ethan thought about this for a moment. It left him feeling sad and somewhat lonely. Maybe there would come a day when James could simply be let go. In the meantime, he would keep his eye on the walls in the hope that his brother would pay him another visit.
"I will do as I'm told, Dr. Pike. I like it here."
Pike paused again. There was almost a smile. "You don't know how pleased I am to hear you say that, Ethan."
Pike snapped the first aid kit shut and stood. He extended his hand. Ethan reached up with his uninjured arm and Pike pulled him to his feet.
"Wolf. Come."
As the three of them exited Pit #1 the loud intermittent whoop of an alarm sounded.
"Go to your room, Ethan, and stay there until I come for you."
"Is there a problem, Dr. Pike?"
"No problem I can't take care of myself."
39
The climb up Backbone Ridge was much harder than Lindsey had expected. But then nothing about the past two weeks had been expected. The rain had made the gravel moist and the grass slippery. She and Jared climbed in tandem, reaching the first plateau by mid-afternoon. They found a cleared spot between the stones where a fire had recently been lit.
"Ethan was here."
Jared sat on a small boulder and broke open the bag of gummy worms.
"C'mon, Jared, we have to keep moving."
"Lindsey, time out, okay? Five minutes."
Lindsey paced a little, then reluctantly sat down beside him. "Gimme some."
"Please?"
She snatched the bag from his grip and fished inside.
"I was going to give you some."
"You were too slow." She popped a worm into her mouth and handed the bag back to him. The valley spread out below. "If it wasn't such a sucky day this view might actually be pretty."
The valley was a rolling green landscape. There were pockets of ground fog that appeared like miniature white ponds. And through it all, like some futuristic elevated tramway: the cut of the power lines.
"Is it me or are the skies getting dark over there?" said Jared.
Lindsey followed Jared's line of sight. To the north it did appear as if the unbroken cloud cover had developed a seam of menacing-looking grey. She tried to keep her anxiety from showing. "All the more reason to keep moving. Break time's over." She snapped to her feet and eyed the summit of the ridge, deciding the next course of action.
Jared stuffed the gummy worms into the book bag and sidled up beside her. "What do you think?"
Lindsey studied the steepening grade ahead, thinking to herself, What would Ethan have chosen? The jagged ledges that made up the central portion between the power line stanchions, where the ravine cut into the ridge, were a challenge. But thin surface soil that clung to the slope outside the stanchion leg was likely just as treacherous. Whichever route they took, it eventually all became stone, so it really didn't matter.
"Ethan probably stayed close to the ravine."
"Okay, the ravine it is. After you," said Jared. "Don't worry; I've got your back."
"My back, huh? You sure you're not using chivalry as an excuse to check out my ass?"
"Thy wicked thoughts offend me, my lady." Jared adopted a British accent and genuflected as if in the company of a queen. Then he transformed back into his American self. "Seriously, though, if you slip, chances are I'll stop your fall. Besides, if I went first, who's to say you wouldn't be checking out my butt?"
Lindsey rolled her eyes. She would have had a comeback for him, and probably would have enjoyed the ensuing tete-a-tete, but the line of storm clouds in the distant refocused her attention. She turned instead and continued the climb.
Using the natural runnels cut into the hillside was the easiest to gain a foothold, but soon even the runnels gave way to bedrock. Like a road that wove up a mountainside, Lindsey tacked left then right, climbing the gritty ledges until reaching an impasse.
"I was afraid of that."
"What's the matter?"
"This ledge. I can't get over it."
"Lindsey, there's two of us. I'll help you get up and over, and then you help me. We're almost there."
"I know but..."
"But what?"
Lindsey had side-stepped to the edge of the shelf where it crumbled away into the ravine. "Take a look at this."
Jared crept up beside her and peered over her shoulder. They were directly above the spot where the blood was found on the rocks below.
"What if Ethan had reached the top and was attacked by that cougar."
"Yeah, and the cougar got the worst of it."
"Did it? Well, where is he? Why didn't he show? And who would fake such a stupid thing and then lie about it? It doesn't make sense."
"Lindsey, look at me," Jared said. "We can turn back now if you want. But I don't think you really want to do that. Sometimes what's real is a lot scarier than what's make believe, right? If we don't find Ethan, then what? Or if we find him, what then? I just think we're too close now to just give up."
Lindsey stared at Jared. His words made sense, but in ways she could not have imagined. She realized Jared was the one here beside her, not some ghost she was chasing after. Perhaps all of this was just some random series of coincidences that had sent her mind traveling in the wrong direction, because she didn't want to face the simple truth that Ethan was gone. And as if to confirm that suspicion, the bond she and Jared had been reluctantly sharing over these past two weeks seemed to solidify at that moment. She reached up and caressed his face. "Thanks. Now let's find a spot for you to give me a leg up. And then we can go home."
And together they scaled the last hurdle, Jared providing the step needed for Lindsey to reach the top of Backbone Ridge, and, in turn Lindsey providing a hand to help Jared up. It didn't surprise Lindsey that there was nothing there but boulders and clots of pine scrub and the power line stanchions, and a brief glimpse at the power lines' continued path along the ridge and down into the next valley. Brief because, as Lindsey stepped back to enjoy the view and reflect, and once and for all let go of the past, she felt the ground suddenly let go beneath her. On reflex she reached out and grabbed hold of whatever she could and found herself clinging to the edge of a trap door, her feet dangling ten feet above the floor of what looked like a concrete bunker.
"Jared!" All she could see was sky, a dark grey ominous layer of cloud, until she saw Jared's face peering down.
"I got you, Linds." But before Jared could kneel down to lend a hand, Lindsey heard a gunshot and Jared disappeared from view with a startled "Oh," which was then followed by an unnatural scream.
"Jared? Jared!" Her thoughts raced and her heart pounded. She heard footsteps. A man stepped into view. He was tall and his eyes were like two chips of ice. He held a rifle at his side. He didn't say a word. He merely stared at her.
Lindsey felt her fingers slipping. "You bastard! You fucking bastard!" She finally let go, hitting the floor beneath her with a bone-rattling thud, the spring-loaded trapdoor slamming shut above her.
Pike stepped to the lip of the ledge and looked down. The young man he had shot lay in a clot of scrub bushes thirty feet below, unmoving. He needed to dispose of the body.
Along the top of the ridge, away from the power lines there was an easier way to descend the hillside, a trail carved by a group of renegade farmers long ago who holed up in the hills until the soldiers of the new constitution tracked them down. It took Pike nearly ten minutes to reach the spot where the young man's body lay. When he got there the young man was gone. In the young man's place was a book bag stuffed with two rain parkas and a half-eaten bag of candy. Blood dotted
the canvas of the bag.
Pike quickly scanned the landscape below. He held the rifle to his cheek as he searched for any movement, lending an ear to the surrounding woods. But there was none. All he could hear was the hum of the power lines overhead.
Then raindrops began to fall from the sky, softly at first but then more steadily.
The kid could be anywhere, thought Pike. A ten-minute head start. It had been a while since he tracked an intruder, but this was the part of the job he derived a perverse kind of pleasure from.
He pulled one of the rain parkas from the book bag and slipped it on over his head. It smelled of feminine body wash. Several feet down the hill he spied a fresh footprint in the loose gravel heading toward the park. He slung the rifle over his back and began the hunt.
Jared ran through the woods, avoiding dense thickets and deadfalls. He had thought about going back the way he and Lindsey had come, but not only did he not have the keys to Lindsey's car, the utility right-of-way was just too open, making him an easy target for whoever had shot him. He aimed for the trails of the Natchaug State Forest instead.
He still had a hard time believing he was still alive. One second he was standing on the ledge trying to help Lindsey up out of the trap she had fallen into, the next it felt like he was kicked in the shoulder by an invisible horse and free-falling backward. The impact must have knocked him out momentarily because he didn't remember hitting the ground below. All he remembered was waking up surrounded by jagged rocks, having missed each one, thankful for the backpack he was wearing.
Lindsey had been right all along. They had stumbled onto the reason for the recent disappearances around Backbone Ridge. And now it was up to him to go get help.
Adrenalin had taken him this far without much pain, but now the reality of the situation began to settle in, and a heavy ache crept into his chest. He looked down and noticed his shirt was now soaked through with blood. It had only been a spot just a few minutes earlier, at the point where the bullet had entered just below his collarbone, but the bleeding had apparently not let up. Add to that the fact that the rain was making it difficult to maintain his sense of direction. The tops of the trees and the sky now blended into a uniform metallic grey. The forest thickened, appearing to close in on him, and he felt the first fingers of panic grip his heart.