Into the Wilderness

by Traci DePree

  “Put it away,” he insisted.

  Finally the greasy-looking man shifted the gun from his shoulder and let the barrel point to the ground. “I don’t like people snoopin’ around my place.”

  “We just have a few questions,” Eli assured as he lowered his hands. “Do you remember me?”

  The man looked Eli in the face and studied him. Recognition flickered for a brief moment, but then he shook his head and said, “Sorry. I ain’t never seen you before.”

  “Yesterday afternoon, a group of us men were hiking out here, and you ran us off with your gun.”

  The man’s body stiffened, and Kate feared he would raise his shotgun again.

  “Two of the men who were with us have disappeared,” Eli went on.

  “Are you accusin’ me of somethin’?” The man took a step toward Eli.

  “No, sir,” Kate said. “We just wanted to ask you if you’ve seen them or if you know anything about them. One was older with salt-and-pepper hair and five foot eleven. The other was in his midtwenties, hazel eyes, athletic build. He seemed to know your name.”

  “My name?” The man’s face twisted, and his eyes squinted to tiny BBs. “What’d he say my name was?”

  Kate glanced at Eli. “Sacco?” she ventured.

  “My name’s Rufus McGreggor!” He raised the gun again. “Like I told you, I ain’t seen no one.”

  “Are you sure?” Kate challenged.

  The man hoisted the shotgun across his chest menacingly. “I said I ain’t seen ’em!” he repeated. “You got trouble hearin’? Now y’all need to scat before I make you! You understand me?”

  They each took a few steps back. “Put that thing down,” Joe said. “We’ll go.”

  The man stood with his gun pointed at the group as they moved toward the trail. Despair came upon Kate like a veil. As they came to a bend in the path, she turned to glance back at the cabin. She couldn’t see the man anymore and wondered if he’d gone inside or was out back. He had to know more, she thought. After all, wasn’t he the reason Marcus had taken off in the first place? She had to find out the truth.

  Joe, Eli, and Sam were talking quietly among themselves up ahead. “Guys?” she called to them. The three of them turned to see what she would say. “I’m going to head back for a few minutes.”

  “But, Kate,” Sam began to protest.

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured. “I need to talk to him alone. If I’m not back in five minutes you can come get me.” Then she turned, not leaving it up for discussion.

  She looked around the premises, but there was no sign of the bearded man. She tiptoed around the side of the cabin, then something caught her eye. A pocketknife lay on a crude wooden table in back, alongside what looked to be a homemade whiskey still. She approached the table and picked up the knife, fingering its ivory handle. It was Paul’s Eagle Scout knife; she would have known it anywhere. And next to it was Paul’s compass.

  A deep fear settled on her at that moment. If the man had Paul’s things...She quickly looked around, knowing she had to get out of there. She needed to tell Sheriff Roberts. The authorities would have to confront this madman. But when she turned to leave, she came face-to-face with the barrel of a shotgun.

  “Where did you get this?” Kate demanded, holding up the knife.

  The man’s eyes shifted, and she saw fear in their depths.

  “Someone gave it to me.”

  “Gave it to you?” Kate shouted, forgetting who was holding the shotgun. She stomped toward the man. “No one gave this to you! You’ve seen him. You know where my husband is.”

  The man’s face fell. “Your husband?”

  “Yes,” Kate said, her voice weakening. “My husband is one of the missing men. I don’t care if you keep his silly knife and compass; I want him back safe. That’s all I’m asking.”

  The man stared at her for a long moment, then finally lowered the gun and said, “I found the knife and compass on the ground after that group left. They were trespassin’!”

  Kate looked at him long and hard. Somehow she knew he was telling the truth. Paul must have dropped his knife and compass. Kate’s heart sank as she realized this man had no idea where Paul and Marcus were.

  When she returned to the path, Sam, Eli, and Joe were almost back at the cabin.

  “It took you long enough!” Joe said, the worry on his face etched in deep lines.

  “What were you thinking, Kate?” Eli said. “You could have gotten yourself hurt or killed coming back by yourself!”

  “I had to talk to him alone.”

  “What did he say?” Joe asked.

  “He doesn’t know where they are. I found these and thought...” Her voice trailed away as she held up Paul’s things, then slipped them into her pocket. “I believe him when he says he doesn’t know where they are.” She took a deep breath and gazed at the vast forest. How would they ever find Paul and Marcus in this wilderness?

  They were almost back to the road when the walkie-talkie in Eli’s backpack buzzed to life.

  “You there, Eli?” Sheriff Roberts’ voice echoed through the air.

  Eli scrambled to find the device among his supplies. Finally he pushed the TALK button and said, “Yes, sir. I’m here.”

  Joe, Kate, and Sam gathered around to hear.

  “We found their trail!” the sheriff announced. “Paul tied a piece of first-aid tape with his name on it around a tree branch.”

  WHEN THE FOUR reached Elkmont, Rebecca, the Jenners, the Wilsons, and Sheriff Roberts were waiting for them. Kate could hear dogs barking in the distance, no doubt leading the way after sniffing the clothes belonging to Paul and Marcus that Sam had brought from camp.

  Sheriff Roberts came up as soon as they climbed out of their vehicle. “Like I said on the radio, we found Paul’s trail,” he began.

  “I appreciate you letting us know,” Kate said.

  “Knew you’d want to be with us when we find them.” The word when wasn’t lost on Kate. It lifted her hopes.

  “Here’s the tape Paul put around a branch.” He held up the piece of first-aid tape with the handwriting Kate knew so well. “So Paul can’t be that far ahead.”

  “Let’s catch up to them, then,” Kate said, hoisting her backpack into place.

  “I want all of us to remain in visual contact with each other,” the sheriff instructed. “And keep calling out Paul and Marcus’ names. Remember, they may be injured, heaven forbid, but that means we need to keep our ears and eyes peeled. We know that Paul was wearing jeans, a blue T-shirt, and a red-and-black-plaid fleece. He was also carrying a green backpack...”

  Kate smiled when she heard that Paul had decided to take his backpack, even though he was just looking around the perimeter of the campground for Marcus.

  Her gaze moved to Rebecca, who stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Her blonde hair was tied up in a long ponytail that stuck out the back of her Bucs ball cap. Paul had a cap just like it.

  “I need to tell you something, Sheriff.” Kate pulled the man aside as the rest of the group set off. “I don’t know if it has anything to do with Marcus’ disappearance, but there were two men—”

  The sheriff held up a hand. “Skip already told me,” he said. “Said you filled out a police report on Sunday on two suspicious men who were looking for Marcus and likely stole a ring from your house. It’s hard to say if the two incidents are related, but we’re keeping it in mind. The deputy is continuing the investigation back home, and the authorities are looking for the car and the men. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough evidence to help us in our current search for Paul and Marcus. But we’ll keep an eye out, Kate.” He gave her an encouraging smile.

  Kate and the sheriff rejoined the group, and when they were within sight of the main search party, Kate, Sam, and Joe fanned out to the farthest edge of the search perimeter, where they were just able to see Eli and Rebecca walking together at the top of the next rise. It was slow going, as the terrain was not only steep in
places but was also overtaken by thick undergrowth. Kate scolded herself for forgetting her walking stick, especially with the pain from her arthritic knee. Sam Gorman helped her climb, and they stopped often to drink water and eat the protein bars they’d brought along in their backpacks. Kate noticed that Joe looked as if he could keep going all week, but Sam looked weary.

  The searchers called for Paul and Marcus as dogs barked up ahead of them. The sound of helicopters overhead was a great comfort to Kate. She knew they were taking the search for Paul and Marcus seriously.

  As she walked, Kate watched her step so she wouldn’t trip over fallen branches or craggy rocks. At one point, Joe held up a hand and stooped down to pick up a long, straight branch off the ground. He pulled a sharp pocketknife from his pants pocket, cut off a couple small shoots that stuck out from the branch, and handed it to Kate.

  “This’ll help steady you,” he said.

  She took the stick gratefully and used it to brace herself over thick logs and around tangled debris.

  They stopped to eat sandwiches at noon. The party had reached the end of the Cucumber Gap Trail, where the trail circled back. After lunch, half the searchers would take the northerly route, while the rest would remain on a southerly track into backcountry.

  Kate was glad for the break. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cool September day, and she was winded from all the climbing. She had expected the search to be physically taxing, but she hadn’t realized how mentally draining it would be. Her eyes scanned every crevice; she noted every variation of color in the landscape, hoping for a glimpse of Paul or Marcus. She glanced at Rebecca and Eli as they walked up to join her for lunch on a long flat rock where many of the searchers were sitting under a yellow and red canopy.

  “I keep thinking about those men,” Rebecca said.

  Kate raised her head. “The ones that came to the house.”

  “They must have been involved in Marcus’ disappearance,” Eli said.

  Kate turned to the husky blond, who regarded her through tortoiseshell glasses.

  “It just doesn’t seem possible that they aren’t involved somehow, but I’m stumped to figure out how. What did Sheriff Roberts say?” Eli nodded toward the sheriff, who was conversing with Ranger Morton on the far side of the bald, a high-altitude meadow in the midst of the forest. Flame azaleas, whose blossoms were long gone, formed a thick hedge along the back side of the rock formation.

  “He said that no authorities from back east contacted him about Marcus going missing,” Sam said from beside Kate, “and that if those men had anything to do with the disappearance, there isn’t enough evidence to support it.”

  “Did he mention if anyone reported seeing strange men around town?” Eli inquired.

  “No, but I asked him to check in with Skip Spencer again later today,” Kate said.

  Kate rubbed her sore knees, then rose to her feet and stretched her already aching back. She reminded herself that Paul had added miles to his exercise regimen for a good month before heading into these woods, so it was no wonder she was feeling the pain. And the altitude didn’t help either.

  Just then a helicopter swooped overhead before heading south. She watched it disappear over the ridge and could hear the thwop of its blades long after it was out of sight. The rest of the searchers stood, and one of the volunteers gathered their lunch trash.

  Ranger Morton lifted the megaphone to his mouth and said, “Let’s move it out, folks!”

  They spread out in a large fan again, with Ranger Morton leading the official team and Sheriff Roberts taking charge of the group from Copper Mill at the farthest edges.

  It was only a few minutes into the afternoon’s hike that Kate noticed a cave. And just outside it, she spotted a very important piece of the puzzle: a backpack, torn to shreds. Kate had seen that backpack before. It was the one Marcus had borrowed for the trip.

  Kate shouted for the rest of the searchers. While she waited for them to arrive, she discovered another important clue.

  “They were here!” Kate said, excitement filling her voice when the group gathered around her a few minutes later.

  Kate drew their attention to the backpack by the cave. Rebecca gasped when she saw it. Then Kate pointed to a cellophane wrapper that was tied tightly to the low branch of a nearby pine tree.

  Ranger Morton untied it and flattened the packaging.

  “Nature Valley granola bars?” He pushed back his brown ranger’s hat and scratched his forehead.

  “He marked a trail for us,” Kate said as she pointed to a tree twenty yards away where another wrapper was tied.

  She walked over to the second wrapper and lightly touched it. She had purchased the box of granola bars herself.

  “He’s telling us what direction to look in,” she said. Her gaze met Eli’s. “It’s his way of saying he went after Marcus, and this is the way he went.”

  “How do you know he isn’t with Marcus?” Ranger Morton asked.

  “Paul would’ve returned to the path if he’d found him.” She shrugged and looked at Sheriff Roberts. He nodded, and Kate knew he agreed with her assessment.

  “Hey look at this!” another voice called from behind the circle.

  It was Joe Tucker. He squatted down just inside the mouth of the cave and pointed to the dirt-and-pine-needle floor. Everyone turned to see what he was talking about. There, clearly visible in the dirt, was a bear track, and it was right alongside the mark of a hiking boot.

  Chapter Thirteen

  With solid evidence that Paul and Marcus had been in the area, the search took on a new sense of hope and urgency. Fear that one of the men had been injured by a bear was in the forefront of everyone’s minds. Kate couldn’t seem to shake the image of an injured and bleeding Marcus, and she jumped every time she saw a tree stump, imagining it was a black bear.

  Rebecca must have noticed her anxiety because she was walking closer to her mother now. Kate was glad for Rebecca’s comforting presence and she worried about her daughter’s state of mind too.

  “You okay, Kate?” It was Sam on her left. His kind face always reminded her of a sea captain, with its weathered lines and permanent squint.

  “I’m doing my best, Sam.”

  “Paul knows how to find his way around the woods,” he assured her. “And he knows what to do if he’s confronted by a bear.”

  “But Marcus doesn’t,” Rebecca said from Kate’s other side.

  Silence followed except for the calls from the searchers, the barking of the dogs up ahead, and the occasional helicopter above them. The searchers had formed a large circle around the spot where they’d found the granola wrappers and were walking mere feet apart, searching the ground in case one or both of the men were nearby, lying in the underbrush.

  The dogs had picked up their scent, and the searchers resumed their southerly route, occasionally seeing footprints along the trail.

  “It’s a good sign,” Rebecca said to her mother, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself.

  Kate lifted her gaze. “What’s a good sign?”

  “They’re well enough to keep walking.”

  “Maybe...” Kate didn’t want to give her daughter or herself false hope, but sometimes it was the only kind of hope there was.

  “But we found their trail,” Rebecca reminded her. “And it looks like they were still able to walk after their encounter with the bear.”

  The women walked in silence for a few minutes, then Rebecca spoke up again.

  “Where do you think they went?” she asked. “And why are we still climbing? Daddy knows that safety is found downstream, since streams flow to rivers and rivers to dwellings, and help. But we’re going uphill. I don’t get it.”

  “Well, if the bear scared Marcus, he may have felt that safety was higher up, or he may simply have run whichever way seemed like an easier escape from a bear,” Kate proposed.

  “I wish we knew for sure what he was thinking,” Eli said.

  A s
ignal came from Ranger Morton to halt. Everyone stopped in their tracks and waited. It was late afternoon already, and Kate felt weariness seep through her bones. Her back and knees throbbed, and her feet needed a good soaking. But she wasn’t about to give up the search. She glanced up at the forest’s canopy of orange and red. Dappled light filtered down, along with the occasional leaf.

  What was taking so long? She glanced ahead where the lead trackers had gathered in a circle with Sheriff Roberts. She could see Ranger Morton gesturing with his hands as they debated something, so she decided to go find out what was going on.

  “What’s the holdup?” she asked as she approached one of the search-and-rescue members.

  A burly man with a thick head of hair and an eyebrow that crossed both eyes turned to her. “Well, we’re not supposed to share that kind of information with unofficial members of the search team,” he said, his shoulders confident but his eyes soft.

  “Please, I know it might be strange that we’re following your trail so closely, but we’ve contributed to this search already...”

  The man crossed his arms over his chest, and Kate sensed she’d offended him even though her statement was true. She softened her tone as she pleaded with the man. “Please, this is my husband we’re looking for.”

  The man looked around cautiously, then said in a low voice, “We’re now seeing only one set of prints.” He pointed to the shoe marks in the undergrowth.

  “What does that mean?” Kate asked. “We know that both men wear the same shoe size.” Kate remembered that from their boot-shopping trip. She couldn’t believe the excursion had taken place just a few days earlier. It felt like years.

  The man shook his head. “They may wear the same size shoe, but they left different prints. It appears that your husband lost Marcus’ trail. We don’t know whose prints we’re looking at here.”

  Kate returned to Rebecca with the disappointing news. Whose tracks were they, and why had the other tracks vanished into thin air? Had one of the men climbed a tree? Discouragement pulled on her shoulders, and she wanted to cry. But she knew that would help no one, especially not Paul and Marcus.