Wilderness Sabotage

by Heather Woodhaven

  The other ATV motor approached and quieted. One of the men shouted in the distance, his words muffled by a gust of wind that howled against the door. Footsteps crunched against the snow.

  “Back door,” Shawn whispered. They ran across the floor together and burst into the cold. He cringed at the sudden change in temperature, remembering all too well the level of cold he’d experienced hours ago. He never wanted to go swimming again.

  Jackie raced ahead to a spot without windows and pressed her back against the thick wooden siding. Shawn mimicked her actions a half second later. The shadows worked to their advantage, covering the side of the building in darkness. A man shouted something about the heat and the oven still being hot. He looked upward. Couldn’t one thing go right today?

  “It’s time to give it up,” another man yelled. “I saw you fall into the lake. It’s time to show yourself if you want to live.”

  “They know we’re here,” Jackie whispered. “One look out the back window, and they’ll see our footprints.”

  Shawn searched the area for a solution. They couldn’t outrun the men, especially if they returned to their vehicles. His muscles felt like they’d just endured a marathon after the ice incident. He had replaced his holster, so he had his gun, but there were at least two armed men out there. He slipped the gun from his belt.

  Jackie stared at his hand with questions in her eyes.

  He couldn’t shoot to kill without risking Pete’s location dying with them. He needed to arrest them, get to a phone and call for backup and a search party. “If we can separate them, I can disarm them, one at a time.”

  The moon highlighted the closest tree, a giant oak that didn’t so much as budge with the wind, towering above them. Without leaves, the branches wouldn’t offer them any camouflage, but the close proximity to the roof would allow him to gain a good vantage point and be able to use the element of surprise. Rarely did people look up.

  He pointed to the tree. “Climb.” If ever there were a degree for climbing trees, Jackie would’ve earned it by the time she was in third grade. So he had no reservations that she could still do it.

  She nodded. “Lead the way.”

  He almost argued, but he was slower than her. Strategically, he grabbed at the lowest hanging branch and vaulted up the tree. Years of practice meant he didn’t need to study physics to know how to scale the oak using the least amount of energy and strength possible. His feet took much of the weight, but his body had taken a beating over the last couple of days, so every movement hurt. He glanced down to see if Jackie was right behind him.

  She wasn’t there. His stomach flipped. He searched frantically, poking his head on either side of the trunk, looking for her. Footprints reflected off what little light still shone from the sky. He spotted her at the edge of the grouping of evergreens. His heart raced. It took all his self-control not to yell, “What are you doing?”

  Two bullets rang out into the night sky. “I’m losing my patience,” a man hollered. “We’re going to catch you sooner or later. The faster you show yourself, the faster we can all get warm. Unless you’d prefer to die in the blizzard...”

  As if they’d forget about the two murders the men were responsible for and surrender? He’d take their chances with a blizzard any day. He couldn’t see the men, not even the one who was doing all the yelling, and he still had no idea where they were. They had to be out front searching for them. Jackie spun around at the tree line and her gaze found him. She held up one finger as if to say “one second,” and then she made a second path, heading right back to his tree, but this time walked backward.

  Instantly, he understood. She wanted to make a fake set of tracks to make it appear as if they’d run deeper into the forest. A diversion would give them time to escape, maybe even commandeer their vehicles and go straight for town. A smart idea, if only they had more time. Any second—

  One of the men rounded the east side of the building. Shawn froze, paralyzed at the thought of what was about to happen. The man pulled out a handgun and aimed it at Jackie. She didn’t see him, though. She was too busy keeping a lookout on the opposite side of the building.

  Shawn kept one hand on the tree trunk, aimed and yelled, “Drop your weapon!” The man spun in his direction, gun still in hand. Shawn fired and the man dived to the ground.

  A bullet whizzed past Shawn’s ear from the opposite direction. He twisted to see the second man below, aiming a gun directly at him. A rustling of tree limbs in the distance caught their attention.

  “Go after her,” the second man yelled to the first. “She’s getting away!”

  Shawn used the distraction to make his move. He lunged for the roof, except his backpack caught on something. He struggled against the branch’s pull on the pack, as the first man took off after Jackie. Shawn slid out of the handles.

  The second man moved his aim back to Shawn. “What goes up must come down,” he said with a sneer.

  Shawn grabbed the dislodged pack and threw it. The pack met its mark, hitting the gunman’s nose. Shawn leaped from the thick branch to the roof, no longer worried about stealth. He needed to get to Jackie before the other gunman did.

  He landed and dropped into a crouch, doing his best to sink his feet and fingers through the snow to find a grip on the roof. Not much stuck to the metal shingles, but it proved slicker than he would’ve liked. He scampered up one side and slid down the opposite side of the roof. Without a gutter to stop his descent, he slammed into the ground, dangerously close to the ATV plow, in the giant mound of snow the blade had pushed aside. He rolled off and climbed up the side of the ATV. The keys weren’t left in the ignition.

  His hamstrings stung from the effort of jumping to standing, but he pushed through the pain and launched into a sprint, banging on the trailer as he passed. Jackie’s imagination got the best of him and he feared she might be right about the trailer being used as hostage storage. Not a single noise, though. Unless Pete was already dead. Shawn shook off the thought and darted into the first grouping of evergreen trees. Jackie was somewhere within them, along with the other gunman.

  He lifted up a silent prayer that he’d be the one to find her first.

  * * *

  Jackie’s heavy breathing would give her away, she was sure of it. She couldn’t run in the deep snow, her feet crunching with every step, without being found instantly. The grouping of evergreens, taller than the likes she’d normally seen, discouraged passage. The sunset gave way to darkness in the forest. The branches, heavy with snow, hung down like giant fingers eager to grab her.

  The snow had come down harder here—or, more likely, the sun’s rays didn’t quite make it through the thick vegetation to melt the snow as easily. The heavy buildup underneath the trees meant there’d be no hiding places.

  The crunching of footsteps behind her grew closer, faster. An unleashed scream continued to build, tightening her chest and neck, until she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it inside. She pushed past two tree branches.

  The land opened. No more trees. In front of her an expanse covered in dark shadows stretched for at least a mile, lit up only by the moon rising. The sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains to the west.

  With every step she took, four crunching footsteps could be heard rushing her way. There was no time to hide her tracks. Please cover me, Lord.

  Her toe caught a rock and she tripped. Pine needles slapped her face as she fell to her hands and knees, right through the branches. The clouds shifted and the moon shone over the beautiful expanse of rolling hills. Tall grasses poked out of the blanket of snow, and a few monoliths stood guard in the distance. Giant boulders peppered the field and wore stacked snowflakes like Santa hats.

  Not a single tree to be found on the lot in front of her, though. Nowhere to hide. She would have to run in the deep snow, flat out, for five minutes before she reached one of the towe
ring monoliths. Even then, there was likely nothing behind it besides more open space. She’d be an easy target. And what about Shawn? Had he escaped or was he—

  Judging by the footsteps, there was definitely more than one man following her, which could only mean one thing. They weren’t after Shawn because they’d already got him. Her eyes burned hot with sudden tears, the moisture leaking slightly and stinging her skin. But she needed to see clearly. Now wasn’t the time to lose it.

  She blinked rapidly. This was her fault. She kept listening to her gut on instinct, the way she’d been trained, but when was she going to get it through her thick head that she wasn’t her father? She had no business trying to help. She should’ve just gone up the tree instead of trying to fool the men into following her fake tracks.

  The sound of other footsteps stopped. Her ears strained. Whispers filtered through the branches. “You go that way. I’ll take this side.”

  They were going to ambush her, then. They had guns. She had nothing but a Taser she’d foolishly stuffed in the backpack with everything else, in too big of a hurry to be more strategic.

  If Shawn had managed to stay alive despite the gunshots she’d heard, she needed to keep her wits about her. If they caught her or tried to shoot her, he would come for her. The certainty surprised her. This was different from the night of the accident, the night he’d left.

  She’d seen the determination to get her to safety in his eyes ever since he’d rescued her. Whatever messed-up notion he carried about not being good enough, she knew he wouldn’t let her die without a fight, which meant he would die trying to save her.

  She couldn’t allow that. With a new rush of determination, she picked up the rock that had tripped her, bolted upright and sprinted for the boulder fifteen feet away. She kicked her foot out and dropped to the ground, sliding behind the boulder like going for home plate. The moment she squeezed between the tall grass and the boulder, she popped up on one knee and threw the rock at the closest evergreen tree. She hit her mark and snow cascaded down from that tree and another whose branches intertwined it. The snow would cover her tracks.

  She dropped down into a seated position and leaned over, her head between her knees. Please cover me and protect Shawn. The prayer ran on a loop in her head as the seconds felt like minutes.

  She couldn’t afford to move in the snow without the men hearing her. She wrapped her arms around her legs and covered her mouth to muffle her heavy breathing and the cloudlike vapor it produced. Her heart pounded hard against her ribs. Her throat stung with the shallow inhalations of freezing air.

  Branches rustled. “You see her?”

  “No. You?” the deeper voice of the two asked. A light beam traveled over her head to the ground not more than three feet in front of her. She held her breath.

  The bushes moved, but not from wind. Something had erupted from its slumber. A squeak escaped her lips as the flock of dozens of birds that took flight covered her mistake.

  The beam of light moved upward, illuminating the animals. The funny-looking birds, the sage-grouse, flew low to the ground, their wings fluttering so hard they sounded like a fleet of miniature helicopters taking off.

  A bullet shot into the night. The sound of wings continued flapping, drifting off into the distance. Her heart beat against her chest so hard she was sure the men would be able to hear.

  “You missed,” the deep voice said.

  “Warning shot. What were those freaky, bearded chicken things, anyway?”

  “I don’t know, but you’ve just given away our location to the ranger.”

  “He missed me. He’s not a good shot.”

  “What if he didn’t mean to hit you? He told you to put your gun down.”

  “Either way, then, we don’t need to worry about him making trouble when we leave.”

  Hope soared. The ranger they’d mentioned had to be Shawn. So he was alive. But if they weren’t worried about him making trouble, what did that mean? The beam of light bounced around the ground again.

  Jackie forced herself to raise her head just enough to see over her knees and get a better view of her surroundings. As soon as the men were gone, she’d need to leave her hiding place. No cliffs or drop-offs were apparent from this vantage point, but there were a lot of things to trip over. The areas in front of the monoliths seemed to have less snow, as if they’d been groomed before, almost like snowmobile paths. Odd.

  “I’m not going any farther,” the scratchy voice concluded. The light clicked off. “You know why. Maybe she doubled back and went into the trees, headed the opposite direction.”

  “Or you could think of it as your motivation not to get on the boss’s bad side and check it out just in case,” the deeper voice responded.

  “That job wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. I’m not going back there, so drop it. You got the ranger’s gear?”

  Their conversation didn’t make any sense. Where didn’t he want to go? What job wasn’t part of the deal? She really hoped he meant killing them wasn’t part of the deal.

  “Yeah, I got it.” A zipper being opened sounded closer than Jackie liked. “Water bottles, food, a blanket... He’s not going to make it to town before the blizzard. No way they’re going to survive without this stuff.”

  “What about the warming hut?” The crunching of snow followed his question.

  “We’ll disable it on our way back. Things will be worse for us if we don’t stay on schedule.”

  She relaxed ever so slightly, pulling her coat tighter. If the men took what she’d deduced was the snowmobile path, they would round the bend and see her. She needed to find Shawn and hide. It would take those men a few minutes to weave their way back through the forest to the warming hut. Still, she waited until there was utter silence.

  She moved to get up. An owl broke the quiet with his song. She froze. The owl called out again. Wait. Though it sounded remarkably similar to a real one, if she listened closely, this “owl” was increasingly enunciating his sounds. That was no owl. The call almost sounded like Who cooks for you?

  Her dad had once taught them that the word choice allowed them to mimic the cadence of an owl call better than a simple repetition of “hoo.” They used to play epic games of hide-and-seek in the mountains, teasing each other with the calls. She hesitated. Was her voice strong enough to sound authentic?

  She took a breath and tried. Footsteps answered her own high-pitched call, though she slurred her words together more to sound realistic. The trees moved slightly and Shawn stepped out into the moonlight. Her heart almost stopped at the sight of him standing there. She rushed for him. He followed her lead and ran toward her. Without thinking, she opened her arms, and they embraced.

  She pressed her cheek on his chest, his coat open enough that she could hear the rapid beating of his heart underneath the forestry uniform. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her closer. His chin rested on the top of her head. “I was so worried about you,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to risk shouting your name. I’m thankful you remembered.”

  She laughed but didn’t move away. “Your call was a little too enunciated.”

  “I was afraid you would think I was a real owl.”

  “You’re not that good,” she teased.

  “It’s been a long time, though.” His voice softened, as if his words held more meaning.

  “Yes.” It had been a long time since they’d adventured together, but the embrace brought back sweet memories, as well. A motor revved, giving her confidence they could talk louder. She lifted her head to look in his face. “Did you hear them talking? They’re on some sort of schedule, but they’ll be back to disable the warming hut.”

  He dropped his arms. “Let’s step into the line of trees.” They huddled side by side among the trees as the ATV motor grew louder. Huh. She really thought they would’ve passed through by now and sh
e could only distinctly hear one. It almost sounded as if they were trying to warm up the engine, maybe because of the frigid temperatures.

  “They didn’t want to go after me in the open field,” she said. “Seemed odd to me.”

  “They probably didn’t know if you were armed or not.”

  “It almost sounded like they’d been here once, though.” She supposed it didn’t matter now. “How’d you get away? I heard shots.”

  He exhaled. “By the skin of my teeth. How’d you?”

  “I think God answered my prayer. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I was able to hide and the sage-grouse offered a diversion. I think I see why you like those birds.”

  “Doesn’t sound ridiculous to me.” He smiled. “I like them even more now. Your dad was the one that helped me appreciate the way the ecosystem was created. I’m not against progress or hunting. I just want to protect the land.” Howls filled the night sky and a gust of wind drowned out the noise. “At the moment, I’d be fine if the land had less animals that could eat us.”

  A shiver ran up her spine.

  Shawn put an arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “I should be asking you that. You barely recovered from the lake. And were they right? Did they get your pack with the supplies?”

  “I’m afraid so.” He sighed. “All the more reason to start moving. I feel like a hypocrite hiking in the dark when I spend my days preaching against it.” He picked up a stick and handed it to her. “You know the dangers, too, but I don’t see any way around it.”