Fire in the Woods

by Jennifer M. Eaton

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “You didn’t get hit by shrapnel or anything, did you?”

  His lips formed a word, but stopped. “I, I don’t know.”

  “Crap, talk about picking the wrong time to be in the woods.” I moved behind him again, and ran my hand along his back. I couldn’t find any trace of injury, but his skin seemed hotter than Hel…well, really hot.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  His shoulders twitched. “You asking if I was okay.”

  “Don’t you remember holding your head and screaming in agony?”

  He rubbed his forehead. “Oh, umm, yeah. It was…strange.”

  “Strange is kind of an understatement, don’t you think?” I removed my hand. “I can’t see any swelling. Where does it hurt?”

  “In the shoulder middle.”

  I ran my hand across his back lightly once, and applied gentle pressure in the center of the blade.

  He cried out.

  “Oh, Sorry.” It hit me that I’d barely passed first-aid class. I had no idea what I was doing.

  He grumbled, flinching. “Can you first aid it?”

  I laughed. “First aid it?”

  “Can you help me?”

  I sat back, just missing a daddy long-legs scurrying across the ground. “David, I think you need to go to a hospital.”

  He raised his hand. “No. No hospital.”

  “But you’re hurt. You probably need an x-ray.”

  “No. I definitely don’t need one of those.” He stood and cried out, clutching his arm.

  “Listen, are you in trouble or something? Are you running from the police?”

  “No…not the police.”

  I propped myself against a small tree. “So you are running. From who? You’re not, like, a criminal or anything, right?”

  “No. I just don’t want to be found.” His gaze drifted downward.

  Way in the back of my mind, a little trickle of doubt and fear struggled against an overwhelming need to help him. I should have done the smart thing and run, but I couldn’t just leave the poor guy there.

  “Listen. You don’t have to tell me what’s up, but you’re hurt. You at least need some ice.”

  He looked up. “Ice?”

  “You know—to keep it from swelling.”

  A deep furrow crossed his brow. “Can you get me ice?”

  “I guess. Do you want to walk back to my place with me?” I shuddered. Did I just invite a guy I didn’t even know back to my house?

  “No. Bring it here.”

  Relief washed over me, but not because I was afraid of David. I was more afraid of Dad finding me alone with a boy. Bring ice? No problem. I glanced around the trees, no longer sure which way I’d come from.

  “The only problem is I’m not sure I’ll be able to find you again. I’m not even sure if I can find my way out.”

  He motioned behind me. “You are six-hundred and twenty-seven point five meters north east of where you entered the woods.”

  I stared at him as my geek-meter went haywire. “You’re kidding, right?”

  He paled slightly and shrugged, glancing away. “Yes, of course. You did come from that direction, though.”

  He was probably some kind of a math nerd or something. Damn cute math nerd, though. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” I started walking.

  “Jess?”

  My hair grazed my check as I turned back toward him. “Yeah?”

  David eased himself against the log. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” As long as my dad isn’t home, that is.

  I imagined all the possible Major Martinez interrogation questions. None of them ended up good. I turned to the woods and quickened my pace. I had to get in and out of the house before Dad got home.

  3

  I sprinted down my street and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. Busted. Dad’s car sat in his favorite parking space, still creaking as the engine cooled. How in God’s name was I supposed to sneak a bag of ice out of the house with Dad home? The back door!

  The handle of the rear screen door clicked as I tiptoed into the kitchen.

  Dad’s voice came from the living room. “I did tell her to stay home. Mom, I just don’t know what to do with her anymore. She doesn’t follow orders at all.”

  Why was he talking to Grandma about me? Didn’t matter. I had to get that ice. I inched toward the freezer.

  “I know she’s not one of my soldiers. Believe me. If she was, she’d think about the big picture and not focus on herself all the time. And she wouldn’t do such stupid things. I swear she does this to piss me off.”

  I gritted my teeth and slid the ice tray out of the freezer. What dad considered stupid things were all the things that were important to me that he didn’t understand. If he’d look up and beyond that stupid uniform he wore all the time, he’d realize there was more to life than—

  “And this dumb photography thing—dammit Mom, I wish you never bought her that camera.”

  I froze. My heart wiggled its way into my throat.

  “Give her space? Let her make her mistakes? What kind of advice is that?”

  Photography wasn’t a mistake. It was my life, my passion, my—

  “Mom, I need help with her. I thought I could manage it alone, but I can’t. All I’m asking is for you to come for a week or so, just until school starts. There’s too much going on and I just can’t trust her anymore.”

  Can’t trust me?

  Grandma?

  My stomach did a somersault and missed the landing. The ice container slipped out of my hands and crashed on the floor.

  “Mom, she’s back. I gotta go.”

  I dropped to my knees, taking deep breaths as I scooped the slippery cubes off the linoleum. My hands shook. Why couldn’t he understand how much that camera meant to me? Why couldn’t he understand that his dreams weren’t the same as mine? I shoved the container back into the freezer and sat down at the kitchen table. I doodled the deer’s antlers on the edge of a pad, trying to calm myself down as I prepared for the impending fight.

  Dad barreled around the corner. “Jess, where have you been?”

  “I told you, I went to the store.”

  “You were supposed to stay home.”

  “You said last night. I went out this morning.”

  His face reddened. “When I tell you to stay home, I need you to stay home.”

  “I left a note and everything, didn’t I? And I called, like a good little soldier, but as usual, you didn’t pick up the phone. You never pick up the phone.”

  “Don’t you try to turn this around on me.”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t do any more stupid things.” I pushed past him and stormed up the stairs.

  “Jessica!”

  I slammed my bedroom door. The covers poofed up around me as I flopped onto my bed. Only think about myself? Dumb photography? What did he know? I rolled over and hugged my pillow. It was the same argument, different day. Nothing would change. Ever.

  By now, Dad was probably half way to counting to a hundred to calm down. He’d need to get to two-hundred before he’d come up here and give his stylized lame apology. God, I hated that part.

  I rubbed my face, remembering why I’d come home in the first place. I needed to find a way to smuggle some ice past Dad. But how? There was no chance of getting out of the house again until he stopped focusing on me.

  A prisoner until the game played out, I decided to kill time with Maggie. I slipped my phone out of my pocket, and dialed her up. “Hey girl.”

  “Hey, you. What’s up?”

  “My dad as usual, but guess what just happened in the woods? I was chasing after a deer—”

  “Again?”

  “Yeah. Anyway, there was this noise, and it felt like my head would explode, and then there was this guy, and he heard it too.”

  “A guy?” She giggled. “Okay, now
I’m interested. I thought you were going to tell me another stupid Jess chases an animal story. So, fess up. Was he cute?”

  A sigh slipped from my lips. “Didn’t you hear about the noise? I mean, it was really loud. Did you hear anything?”

  “Nope, no noise. Now spill it about the guy.”

  I rolled over onto my stomach. “His name is David.”

  “Isn’t David the name you made up for your dream prince?”

  I giggled. “Omigosh, how’d you remember that? We were, like, thirteen.”

  “I remember those juicy stories you made up about him—all tall, dark and Greek-God delicious.”

  The more I thought about it, David actually did look a lot like—

  “So was he running through the woods taking pictures of animals, too?”

  “No. Can you keep a secret?” I rolled onto my back. “He’s hiding out there from someone.”

  “Hiding? Girl, you’re not hooking up with a serial killer or anything, right?”

  “He’s not a serial killer. He’s like, seventeen, eighteen tops.”

  “Didn’t you see that movie Scream? Those two were—”

  “Can we come back to reality please?”

  “Okay. Okay. Okay. So, what’s he running from?”

  “Dunno.” I rubbed my fingertips, remembering the heat radiating from his skin. “He said it wasn’t the cops. I’m hoping he talks to me when I go back.”

  Maggie snickered. “You’re going to meet him again in the woods? Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, are you finally going to do something naughty? And without me?”

  I sat up, knocking the pillow off my bed. “No. I just want to help him. He’s hurt.”

  “I bet you want to help him.” She giggled.

  “Stop. You are so bad.”

  “But seriously, Jess. You don’t know anything about this guy.”

  I chewed the top of my lip, thinking about Dad’s conversation with Grandma. Was I being stupid? I needed to make a good decision here. “You know what? You’re right. Can you come out there with me?”

  “You know I’d love to meet your prince charming but I need to go school shopping while my mom’s credit card is still squeaking, and tonight is family movie night. No getting out of that in the Baker household.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot.” Oh well. So much for reinforcements.

  “You know what? Just don’t go. Tip off the MP’s that someone’s out there, and they’ll find him.”

  “You want me to turn him in?”

  “No, not turn him in, but if he’s in trouble…You know…They have shelters for kids like that. Confidential and all. They won’t call his parents.”

  I fingered the chain on my neck. “No. It doesn’t feel right. He needs my help.”

  Someone knocked on my door three times.

  “Maggs, I gotta go. My Dad’s revving up for another pep talk.”

  “Okay, but be careful if you go out there, okay?”

  “Yeah, whatever.” I clicked off the phone and opened my door.

  Dad’s hand was poised at eye level, about to knock again. His chest expanded for the obligatory breath before an apology speech. “Jess, I don’t want to fight with you. I just wish you’d listen once in a while.”

  I folded my arms. “I only went to the store.” With a little side-trip into the woods.

  “It’s not just that and you know it.” He ran his palm across the top of his cropped hair. “You know it’s been hard without your mom here, but I’m trying.”

  “I know.” Dang he was good with the guilt trips. An uncomfortable silence lingered, stifling me like an invisible curtain.

  “Listen. I’ve never been able to keep you cooped up, and I realize you’re into all that photography stuff, but until things die down and I can confirm everything is secure, I need you to stay in the house.”

  Crap.

  You see dad, I can’t stay in the house. There’s this drop-dead gorgeous guy in the woods, and I promised to bring him ice. Nah. That wouldn’t go over well. Certain things a girl should just keep to herself.

  “Dad, what’s going on? And what was all that buttercup stuff about last night?”

  He rubbed his face with his palms. “You weren’t really old enough when your mom and I came up with the word buttercup. I was hoping you’d understand what I was trying to say.”

  “Mom told me once to listen if you ever said buttercup during an emergency. That’s all I remember.”

  “Well, we were in an emergency. You did good.”

  “There was someone on the phone, wasn’t there? They were making sure you didn’t tell me anything.”

  Dad leaned against my doorframe. “You know I’m not allowed to talk about work.”

  “Work smirk. I don’t care about security clearance.”

  “There was a possibility of danger. I just needed to know you were safe” He kissed my forehead. “I gotta get back.”

  “You’re leaving again?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry, but the whole base is on alert status.”

  “For how long?”

  “It depends on how long it takes us to find…”

  I waited for a word that didn’t come. “Find what?”

  His head tilted to the side. “Nice try.”

  “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  So, the army was looking for something. Interesting.

  “I’ll be back in the morning for a bit. We’ll have breakfast, okay?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Dad headed down the stairs, and I counted to a hundred before following.

  So, the army was all jacked up in another one of Dad’s top-secret operations. I still had no idea what Dad did in the army, but what I could gather from Maggie’s eavesdropping habit, Dad’s division dealt with dangers of the “who” kind, not the “what” kind. They called my dad to track people down. If Dad was involved, whoever they were looking for had to be pretty big potatoes.

  David was hiding from someone, and he was hurt. Could he be running from the military? A vision of David’s bright eyes and perfectly cut jaw flashed through my mind. I shook my head. Why would Dad be hunting a kid? He certainly had better things to do. Terrorists and the like were out there. Real criminals. There was no way Dad could be looking for David. My gaze settled on my camera case. I grabbed it…just in case.

  Shooting over to the kitchen, I opened up the cupboard, pulled out a gallon-sized Ziploc and filled it with ice. The bag fit neatly into the bottom of my backpack. I threw together a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tossed them in with a couple bottles of water and my camera. The ice chilled my back as I threw the pack over my shoulder.

  I hesitated, my hand on the front door. Dad wanted me to stay home. Until everything was secure. That meant that there was a safety risk, and if Dad was involved, it had to be a pretty big one. He expected me to be a good little soldier and stay inside. But how could I?

  David was out there, alone. Hurt. I couldn’t just leave him there, especially if there was some kind of dangerous fugitive on the loose. I’d made him a promise, and I had to keep it.

  4

  I yanked my jeans free of a thorny bush. I swear I had to be crazy. Just that morning something screeched in the woods so loud it almost burst my eardrums. But here I was, wandering around in those same woods, probably lost, bent on finding and helping a boy I didn’t even know. My chest ached with pressure from my short, choppy breaths. Why did the forest seem so much more sinister than it normally did?

  “Auoi calinart est.” A gruff, masculine voice echoed through the trees.

  The language was odd, musical. Kind of like singing, or maybe Norwegian—or maybe a Norwegian guy singing. I couldn’t decide.

  An elderly man wearing a long, dirty winter jacket slapped a tree branch as he sped-walked around a bush. He nearly plowed into me.

  “Sorry,” I said, backing off the path.

  The man gazed up at me. His n
ose crinkled as if a foul odor suddenly hit him. He blinked and continued on his way, but his icy cold countenance hung with me for a minute. And his eyes…No one had eyes so blue. Except maybe David.

  I shivered. Not sure why, but the old dude creeped me out. His head bobbed as he moved through the bushes. He had to be delirious, wearing that warm coat in the middle of August.

  “Pardon me.” A woman with gorgeous long blond curls ran up the same path. Her jacket brushed against me as she passed. When she caught up to the old guy, she grabbed him by the arm. They muttered, heads close, before he shoved her away and continued down the trail. The woman turned her face toward the sky, fisted her hands, and continued on after him.

  The dude had to be her father or something. Why else would she take that kind of crap from him? I sniffed out a laugh. I hoped that wouldn’t be me and my Dad in twenty years.

  I pushed through the brush and plodded on. The trees were probably laughing at me, because I was pretty sure I’d seen the one with the big, black knot in the bark at least three times, now. Stinking, stupid, big, black, knotty tree.

  A rustling of leaves deep within the trees startled me. I froze, and stared down another gorgeous, enormous buck. Or was it the same one as that morning?

  “Hey, beautiful,” I whispered.

  Swirling antlers blended with the landscape. He barely seemed to notice me.

  “Good boy.” I clawed for my camera, slipping it out of my pack. “Just stay right there.” I pressed the picture button and zoomed in. Click. Gotcha. But a closer shot would be even better.

  I inched forward. Majestic black eyes emitted a sense of serenity, calming me from within their gaze. Crack. The twigs broke beneath my feet. Dernit. The deer’s ears twitched.

  “It’s okay buddy. It’s me, remember?”

  Two little baby steps brought me closer. I held my breath, trying to keep quiet, but my phone vibrated, the ringtone reverberating through the trees. The buck bolted.

  “You’re not going to chase him again,” I told myself. A grin broke across my lips. “Oh, yes you are.”

  Jumping over fallen trees and stomping in muddy patches, I followed him deeper into the woods. My phone finally stopped ringing, but the buck was long gone…again. I laughed and leaned over, resting my hands on my knees. I was starting to make a habit out of this.