by BJ Bourg
I rushed backward, my eyes wide. I stumbled and fell back, landing hard on the ground. Shaking, I stared up at Mr. Bush. His hand shook as badly as I did, but for a much different reason. His gloved index finger was wrapped around the trigger, and I just knew it was about to go off. I’d heard that your life flashes before your eyes right before you die, but all I saw was an evil monster growling down at me.
Just when I thought the gun was about to go off, water splashed in the pool. We all turned to see Charlie flailing about, gasping for air. He treaded water and looked about, trying to get his bearings. He took in the situation. His eyes locked with mine, and he gave a solemn nod. “Abe, I’m going for it—five minutes!”
I jumped to my feet and bounced up and down. “Get under water,” I screamed. “He’s got a gun! Get under water!”
Charlie arched his back, took a final giant breath, and disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Mr. Bush spun around and let out a blood-curdling cry. He shoved his gun toward the pool of water and pulled the trigger. The noise was deafening, piercing my eardrums. Shards of rock ricocheted into the air as the bullet splattered against the far cavern wall. Four more gunshots followed in quick succession and the bullets zipped into the water, sending droplets exploding into the air. My heart sank to my water shoes. I dropped to my knees, breathing a desperate prayer for Charlie’s safety. Mr. Bush returned to the pool and stalked the water’s edge, keeping his gun leveled on the spot where he last saw Charlie.
Joy moved beside me and grabbed my hand. I glanced around. Jennifer and Jillian were clinging to the bars of their cell, staring at the water with worry in their eyes. Mable was doing the same on our side. My mind’s clock told me five minutes had come and gone. There was no sign of Charlie. He had surpassed his limit. I strained to see if I could detect even the tiniest of bubbles. Nothing. After another five minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Charlie, the evil Bush let out a malevolent giggle and stomped to Jillian’s cell and returned the padlock to the chain. Before he walked away, something caught his eye next to the pool. He walked back toward the water and bent to pick up the object from the ground. It was Charlie’s water shoe.
Although those safety pins had saved our butts a couple of times during this trip, I now wished Charlie had purchased new shoes. Had he done that, he’d be safely in his cell right then. Another thought occurred to me, and my heart sank. It had been my idea to pick the lock, so it was my fault he was gone. As I stared at the water, hoping Charlie had somehow found a way to set a new world record, his life began flashing before my eyes. Everything he’d told me about his early childhood, every minute we’d spent together, every funny thing he’d ever—
I jumped when loud screams interrupted my thoughts. I turned to see the girls hanging on the bars of the cells, yelling at Mr. Bush as he walked by. Jillian picked up a chair and threw it at the bars. He ignored them and disappeared up the ladder, then slammed the hatch shut. I turned absently and stumbled to the far right side of my cell. I sank to my knees and stared at the water, trying to wish Charlie to the surface.
Joy sat beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “He did a brave thing. He died trying to—”
“Don’t say that!” I shrugged Joy’s arm off and stood. I felt a lump in my throat and my eyes moistened a bit. Not wanting the girls to see me cry, I walked away, went into the bathroom area, pulled the curtain shut. I sat on the wooden bucket and buried my face in my shirt. My jaw burned. Tears threatened to pour. My body shook as I fought to control my emotions. I felt like a complete and utter loser. I’d gotten Brett killed and now Charlie—whose life would I ruin next?
* * *
It had probably been an hour since Charlie had disappeared in the pool of water, but it seemed like a week. Anger had replaced my sorrow, and I began to seethe. I gritted my teeth. Clenched my fists. Somehow, I had to make that crazy Bush pay for what he did. I would find a way.
I dug the safety pins from my pocket and knelt in front of my cell door. I fumbled with the padlock, trying to unlock it. If I was going to get revenge, I’d have to get out of here, but it proved to be no easy task. I cursed myself for not paying closer attention to how Charlie opened the first padlock. Joy had steered clear of me and hadn’t spoken to me since I ran into the bathroom. She huddled by the far left corner of the cell with Mable, where they chatted with Jillian and Jennifer through the bars, watching me from a distance.
When I heard something, I stopped and turned to Joy. “What was that?”
They had quit talking and were staring wide-eyed. “I…I don’t know,” Joy said.
It had sounded like a muffled thump from somewhere above us. I put the safety pins away and leapt to my feet. Thinking quickly, I snatched up one of the legs from the chair I’d broken earlier and walked to where they sat. I shoved the chair leg through the bars and waited, my arm poised to throw it toward the rungs.
“What’re you going to do?” Mable asked.
“If I can throw it hard enough at the back of his neck I might be able to paralyze him, or at least knock him unconscious,” I said. “That way, once I get the padlock open, we can make our escape with no resistance.”
Mable chewed her fingernails as that familiar square beam of light shot downward followed by the heavy thumps of boots descending the iron ladder. When the first boot came into view I cocked the chair leg back and held my breath. The next boot came down and I caught my breath. “What the…”
I dropped the stick when the feet below those skinny pale legs hit the cavern floor, and Charlie turned toward us, holding a giant axe in his hands.
“Oh my God, Charlie!” I was overcome with joy. A few rebel tears flowed down my cheeks. “What happened? How is this possible?”
“We don’t have much time. Stand back.” Charlie ran toward my cell door, lifted the axe high into the air, and brought it down hard on the padlock. I heard a pop, but it was still attached. Charlie gave it a second chop and the padlock snapped open. As Charlie turned toward the other cell door, I wriggled the padlock free and pushed the door open. I stood back to let Mable and Joy scurry through first. Charlie was able to pop the other padlock off in one shot, and Jillian and Jennifer ran out of the cell. They huddled in the hallway with Joy and Mable.
I slapped Charlie’s back. “Good to see you again!”
He smiled big and tossed the axe aside. “My new record’s seven-and-a-half minutes.”
I whistled, as I looked toward the rungs. “What do we do next?”
“Get out of here before Mountzilla comes back.”
Charlie led the way up the ladder, and I put a hand on each of the girls’ back as they followed gingerly behind him. When they were all safely upstairs, I scampered up the rungs and found myself in a dank storage room. Charlie put a finger to his lips, easing the door open to peek through the crack. When he was sure all was clear, he waved us on. “This way.”
We followed Charlie through several rooms of a log cabin and out onto a large wooden porch. I gasped when I saw the view from the deck. This cabin was at the top of a mountain ridge, and we could see for miles in three directions. Clouds were rolling in, and they looked angry. Charlie kept the lead as we walked down a series of shaky wooden steps and set off into the dense forest.
“Where’re we going?” I asked, ducking a branch here, dodging a bush there.
“As far away from this place as we can go,” Charlie said. “That freak is only a mile or two back there.”
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
“Looking for me,” Charlie called over his shoulder, as he scrambled up the side of a hill. “That pool of water came out under a waterfall. I hid in the forest…doubled back to the cabin…when he came snooping around. I guess he figured I drowned…he had a long pole with a hook at the end…he was shoving it around in the water.” Charlie stopped at the peak of the mountain, and we all caught up to him. He looked around. “What do you think, Abe?”
I scanned the area carefu
lly, searching for any sign of life. Nothing. I strained to penetrate the shadows of the forest, and I stared at it for a full minute before I realized what I was seeing. I pointed. “There—a trail.”
“It looks like we made it out okay.” Charlie turned from where he had been studying our escape route.
I held Joy’s hand and helped her down the mountain. We all gathered together at the center of the trail, and the girls stared in awe at their surroundings. Jillian dropped to the ground and kissed it. “We’re free,” she whispered. “We’re actually free.”
Jennifer wept and threw her arms around Charlie. “Thank you so much for coming back for us.”
“Yeah,” Jillian said. “It’s a very brave thing you did. You could’ve kept going and sent help, but you actually came back for us.”
Charlie shook his head. “I didn’t go back for y’all. I went back for my shoe.”
We laughed. I pointed to the boots. “Where’d you get those?”
“They were in the cabin,” Charlie said. He looked around. “We’d better keep going, or we won’t be free for long.”
I nodded. “Left or right?”
Charlie pointed left. “That’ll take us far away from the cabin, so I think we should go that way.”
The girls all nodded. “Sounds good to me,” Jillian said. “The more distance we put between us and that cabin, the happier I’ll be.”
Charlie took the lead again, and I took rear guard. The day was going, and we needed to get as many miles under our feet as possible. The trail dipped and turned, hugging the mountains on one side and dropping precariously on the other. When we had traveled about eleven miles, we came upon a small stream that flowed alongside the trail. We took turns dropping to our knees and drinking some of the ice-cold water, the girls going first. When we were done, we split up and scouted the area, Mable and Joy coming with me and Jennifer and Jillian going with Charlie. The shadows were getting longer as dusk was setting in.
“Under no circumstances do any of you go off alone,” I warned before we split up. They all nodded, and my group set off to the right of the trail, crossing the stream, and Charlie and his group set off to the left side of the trail. We had walked a hundred yards when we came across a section of rocky bluffs that extended skyward about twenty feet and angled slightly outward over our heads. I nodded. “This’ll be perfect. If it rains we’ll be covered.”
I turned away and led Mable and Joy back toward the stream, where we met up with Charlie, Jennifer, and Jillian.
“Remember those briars we fought with on that cliff?” Charlie asked.
I nodded.
“That’s all we found on that side,” Charlie said.
“That’s okay,” I said. “We found the perfect spot. It’ll offer shelter from the rain and the ground cover is all rock, so we won’t leave any shoeprints.” I set off toward the bluffs, and everyone followed. When we reached it, we spread out and examined the area more closely. “We’ll sleep three at a time,” I said. “The other three of us will keep watch.”
Jillian nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”
I pointed to Mable and Joy. “We’ll take first watch.”
Charlie, Jennifer, and Jillian found comfortable spots close to the base of the bluffs and curled up for the night. As a light drizzle began to fall out in the forest, Mable, Joy, and I sat side-by-side under the rocky overhang and stared out into the darkness. We made small talk in order to stay awake. When I figured half the night had gone by, I shook Charlie and all awake and we traded places. I curled up on the hard ground—with Joy pressed against me—and was asleep almost as soon as my head hit my rocky pillow.
CHAPTER 19
My eyes shot open and I sat upright. It was daylight, and the girls were scattered around the base of the bluffs, sound asleep. Charlie was propped against a large boulder, his head tilted back and his mouth open. Something had stirred me from my sleep. I scanned my surroundings. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Everything was quiet. Except—
I jumped to my feet as a strong breeze carried the distinct and rapid “whop-whop-whop” sound of helicopter blades.
“Get up! We’re being rescued!”
Not waiting to see if anyone had heeded my cries, I broke out running across the rocky ground toward the stream. Once I reached it, I plunged right into the water, high-stepping it down the stream, searching overhead for a gap in the treetops that was large enough to be seen from above. The helicopter drew nearer, the chopping of the blades louder. Just ahead, the stream bent to the right and I saw a clearing on the opposite bank. I raced for it, but just before I reached it, the helicopter zoomed by overhead. I hollered as loud as I could and jumped up and down like a fool, waving my arms in the air. The helicopter didn’t slow down and didn’t change course. It faded off into the distant sky, disappearing over the mountain ridges ahead of me.
I dropped to my knees in the freezing water, exhausted. That was the most I’d exerted myself since recovering from my infection…I was gassed. I cupped my hands in the stream and splashed water on my face. The cold liquid shocked me alert and I pulled myself to a standing position. What if the helicopter reports to headquarters that this area is all clear? No one would come back out here to look for us. What if it isn’t even a rescue helicopter, but some sightseeing bird out touring the Blue Summit Mountains?
“Did you get them? Did they see you?”
I turned to see Charlie standing at the edge of the stream—palms planted against his knees—panting.
I shook my head. “They got away.”
A few minutes later, twigs snapped and leaves rustled as the girls appeared at the river’s edge, their eyebrows raised.
“Are we being rescued?” Jillian asked. I detected a subtle hint of restrained excitement in her voice.
It killed me to tell her the truth. “I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t get its attention.”
There was a collective sigh as the girls collapsed to the ground. Jillian lay on her back and placed her arm over her face. “I’m hungry, I stink, and I’m tired.”
There was a chorus of agreement from the others. “I think I’d rather be back in prison,” Jennifer said. “At least we were safe and had food to eat.”
“Don’t say that,” Mable said. “We’ll be okay. Abe and Charlie will get us home.”
“How?” Jennifer asked. “We don’t even know what direction we’re supposed to go. We could die out here and be eaten by wild animals and never found. We should’ve never left the cave.”
Mable crossed her arms, her jaw set. “They got us this far and they’ll get us home.”
Jillian moved her arm away from her face and stared over at Jennifer. “As for me, I’d rather die out here in the wilderness a free woman than live one more day as a prisoner in that cave.”
“Nobody’s dying,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I stood and trudged out of the stream. “Let’s keep moving. This trail has to lead somewhere.”
After we all took turns drinking from the icy stream, I led the way along the trail. We stopped often for me to catch my breath and for the girls to rest their feet. The flip-flops were less than ideal hiking shoes and they stumbled often along the way. Joy kept pace with me at the front of the line and we spoke as we navigated the narrow trail. I kept my eyes peeled for anything edible, but other than a couple of black bears, a squirrel, and a dozen deer, I saw nothing that would constitute food.
Jennifer complained often about being hungry and, although I kept my own complaints to myself, I felt her pain. My energy had been depleted long ago and I was working off pure will to live. I knew Mr. Bush would not give up and he was probably out there stalking us and waiting for his chance to recapture us all, one at a time. We knew where his cabin was located, and that made us a liability. I didn’t know how far he would go to protect his secret, but I imagined he would resort to killing if he had to.
* * *
It had to have been getting close to seven or
eight o’clock when Charlie walked to the front of the line and waved me to a stop. His face was gaunt and there were bags under his eyes. “It looks like this trail has doubled back toward where we came.”
I looked up at what was left of the sun. He was right. “What’re you thinking?”
“Maybe it’s taking us deeper into the backcountry, away from civilization.”
“We’re going deeper into the wilderness?” Jennifer asked.
“We need to find a place to bed down for the night,” I said.
Jennifer tugged at my arm. “Well? Are we?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
We hadn’t seen any more helicopters, so that led me to believe the one from earlier was random and not a part of any search party. I stared off into the dense forest. The shadows were starting to stretch and the light was growing dimmer.
“Did you see any blackberry bushes?” I asked.
Charlie’s brows furrowed. “You think I saw them and just kept my mouth shut, preferring to slowly starve to death instead?”
“I guess you’re right.” My head ached. We had to eat. Remembering something I’d seen Charlie do, I walked off trail and began kicking rotten logs apart. I bent and plucked thick grubs from where they nestled in little dugouts in the logs. When I’d collected two handfuls, I rejoined the rest of my group on the trail.
“What’re those for?” Katherine asked.
“That’s dinner,” Charlie said.
Jennifer made a face, but Jillian stepped forward. “I’ll eat your left arm if you let me.” She grabbed a couple of the grubs and shoved them into her mouth. After pinching her nose, she chewed and swallowed, scrunching her face as she did so.