Dream Shadow

by Mary Wine

  Fredricks’s blue eyes lit on her. A smile twisted his features and Grace gave him her mild expression. He exchanged a sidelong look with the other soldier.

  “Told you. I know this witch.”

  “What about the other one?”

  Grace held her breath while she watched Fredricks consider the man’s request. Her face remained smooth and calm. Pushing herself upward, she gave Fredricks a disgusted look before propping her back against the wall. He crouched down and grasped her jaw to force her to look at him.

  “I’m going to enjoy watching that look get wiped off your face. You will do exactly what I tell you to do or you can watch Jacobs’s little friend here get lead pumped into her.”

  Fredricks unlocked the restraints that bound Grace’s ankles before he hauled her to her feet.

  “Get the other one moving, she’ll help me keep this one in line.”

  Her legs were stiff from not moving, but Grace forced them to support her. The weather outside the cabin was dismal. Thick gray clouds clung close to the ground. Rain immediately began to soak her already chilled body. She assessed the line of men that were standing ready among the trees. These were rugged, trained killers. Their camouflaged clothing was working well to keep them hidden among the forest. Grace slowly noted each one of them. Ranger Clark smirked at her as he fondled his rifle suggestively.

  “I believe Clark enjoyed shooting you,” Fredricks remarked.

  Grace closed her eyes to slits and dropped them to the man’s genitals. Clark stumbled as he fell back because fear made him clumsy. Oh yes, she knew how to be a bitch because at times it was the only weapon she had.

  “Ignore her. She’s trying to get under your skin.”

  Fredricks released her and walked over to his pack for a moment. Grace continued to watch the group of men. Several of the soldiers had turned to study her. A few had even raised their weapons. Good. Gossip could come in handy sometimes, and Grace could tell that these men had been listening to a great deal of it about her. It could help her defeat them later. Grace gave them her best piercing look. Let them think she was trying to read their minds. It worked beautifully. Most of them found a reason to move away from her.

  Fredricks returned and thrust some clothes at Beth. They were standard fatigues.

  “Put them on,” he ordered the girl.

  Beth didn’t hesitate.

  Grace kept herself from looking at Beth. It was the only protection she could give the other woman right now. Grace could not let anyone see that she cared for her. Beth could easily pay a high price if it became known that Grace would suffer from her pain. Once Beth was dressed, Fredricks pulled a poncho over Grace’s head. They looked identical to his men with the exception of how petite Grace was. Keeping Beth from getting shot when Jacobs showed up was going to be a challenge.

  Fredricks addressed his men. “Thanks to motherfucking nature, we’ve got to hike out of here. The clients are paying for secrecy and that means they won’t be flying in low enough to be sighted from the ground. So we’re walking into those mountains and waiting for this soup to clear out so they can pick up in a remote location.”

  They moved out seconds later. Walking north, they were headed into the Cascade mountain range. The terrain was rough and Grace knew it was going to become rougher. The storm raged around them, making it difficult to judge the time of day.

  But the rain was her best friend today.

  The odds were against her and that was enough harsh reality to worry about.

  Fredricks held his hand up to halt the men. He looked up at the cloud cover and cussed.

  “Let’s dig in,” he ordered in disgust.

  They started to move again, this time almost straight up. They didn’t go far. Their goal was the rocks set into the mountain above them. Huge rough pieces of granite rose from the earth like rows of teeth. They formed natural caves that would provide shelter from the elements. Grace and Beth were shoved into one of the highest caves. There was no possibility of escaping upward because the rock face was smooth and reached almost thirty feet above them. Fredricks and another man occupied the cave directly below them.

  Grace propped her back against the cold stone. Beth followed her example.

  Although escape was out of the question, the dirt they sat on was soft. Grace placed her hands in the dirt and started to scratch out words in the sand. While the conversation was slow, it was private.

  But the morning didn’t bring any relief from the storm. They descended to the forest floor while Fredricks spoke to someone on his global cell phone.

  “That’s a sixty-mile hump.” Fredricks was pissed and his voice rose enough to drift to the men. They didn’t seem to care for the change in plans. “I’ve got your merchandise, come and get her.”

  He listened for a minute more. “Fine. I hear you. Mirror Lake, and you’d better be there or I’ll find someone less picky about the delivery details.”

  He snapped the phone shut and shook his head as he put it beneath his poncho.

  “This is as far as I go.” One man stood and faced Fredricks.

  “Shut up and sit back down.”

  “No, I agreed to help you capture the woman. I’ve completed the job.”

  Fredricks’s angry expression didn’t cause the soldier in question to waver. Some of Fredricks’s confidence visibly deserted him as three others stood up to join in the standoff.

  “It’s just a change in plans. I’ll compensate you for the extra time,” he appealed to them.

  “No. I’m not staying around that witch,” another man declared. He was one of the ones that had taken to making the sign of the cross every time he looked at Grace. “Besides, this storm has made this go on too long. It was supposed to be twenty-four hours before she was delivered. There’s got to be a net dropped around these mountains by now by the local law enforcement and the military. I’m taking my pay and leaving.”

  “Fine, just don’t get caught,” Fredricks responded.

  Now that the first four had been successful, another two men stood up and joined them. Fredricks became noticeably nervous as the count grew to six men.

  “What’s your problem?”

  One of the two gave Beth a look before answering Fredricks. “I don’t shoot women.”

  “You knew the risks when you came on board,” Fredricks insisted.

  “Shooting someone in a firefight is one thing. An unarmed hostage is another.”

  “Then go! If anyone else is feeling like leaving, you’d better leave now!” Fredricks exploded.

  Grace watched as another man joined the group. It was a bigger splinter than she had been hoping for. The seven men didn’t spare her a glance as they moved out. Two of them did give Beth a parting look. The men split into two groups and melted into the forest in different directions.

  Good, maybe one of the men that had left would be captured. She wasn’t too sure how much information they had, but it would give Jacobs a better idea as to where to look for them.

  Six men left. Better odds certainly, but still difficult to get around. Unfortunately, it had been confirmed that Fredricks intended to kill Beth to silence her. Grace hadn’t really expected anything else, but it made the timing of an escape all that much more important. Beth had to make a clean break or someone would just drop her in her tracks. There were two reasons why she was still alive. First, they didn’t want Grace to become a burden. Second, was the fact that they didn’t want to have to worry about the body pointing Jacobs in the right direction.

  Sunset took too long to arrive. Grace knew her time was running out. She had to find a way to get Beth out of this.

  Tonight was slightly different.

  Tonight, they were camped on the edge of a small river. It wasn’t the heavy season for rain so the river was eight feet below the top of its bed, but with the storm, the water was rushing and looked deep enough to drop into.

  Grace and Beth sat pressed together with large boulders sticking up and around them. T
he remaining men were spread out to avoid sleeping on the rocks. No great distance, but it might be enough. Grace felt they had to take the risk.

  She and Beth were three feet from the drop into the river. By chance, there was a smooth, almost cylindrical rock next to Beth that was just a couple of inches bigger than Grace. In fact, Beth was leaning on it in her sleep. They still had their ponchos and Grace eyed the rock again. Beth’s poncho would fit over that rock just about right. If Grace curled up next to it, the sentry who was twenty feet away would never notice it was a rock.

  The man in question was watching the forest. He would bring his eyes around to them sometimes, but for the most part he trusted that they were asleep. Grace gave Beth a nudge to wake her. Keeping her movements small, Grace worked at the laces of Beth’s boots. The girl came awake but kept absolutely still. She pulled her feet out of the boots at Grace’s insistence.

  Watching the sentry, Grace gave instructions to her friend with her hands. Beth slowly ducked out of her poncho and slipped it over the rock. Everything seemed to take too long. Each slight noise seemed to be too loud. The sentry stood up, causing both women to freeze in terror. His gaze raked over them, taking in details before turning on his heel to wander over to the tree line. The metallic sound of a zipper opening gave them their chance.

  Grace turned her head and pushed Beth toward the river. Beth hung back.

  “Go,” Grace insisted. This was no time for illogical arguments. Beth dropped down onto her belly and slid headfirst into the water. The river was deep enough that barely a sound was made. Grace moved closer to the rock that had the poncho draped over it and leaned against it.

  The zipper was jerked up. The slight crunch of the man’s feet came as he returned to his post. She felt the eyes of her jailer move over her before the smell of smoke on the night breeze told her that he’d dismissed them in favor of lighting a cigarette.

  Satisfaction filled her.

  She prayed Beth made good use of the four hours of darkness she had left. Beth was strong and she knew the area. She could make it out of the mountains alive, as long as she didn’t do something foolish like trying to rescue Grace.

  Beth’s head broke the surface of the water and she gasped for breath. The water was so cold. It pricked her body like a thousand needles, but she forced herself under the surface again and swam with the current. She finally stopped because she knew she was risking hypothermia by remaining in the water. She pulled herself into the tree line. Her hands were numb, but she got her boots tied on and she began to run.

  Tears streamed down her face, but she kept running. She kept the river in sight because it would lead her back to Benton. Her dad had always told her to follow the water if she was lost in the forest. Rivers only ran one way, so there was no way to get confused. It would lead her to civilization. Fresh tears fell as dawn approached. She was free but Grace wasn’t, and Beth didn’t want to leave her friend. Her conscience demanded that she do something to help Grace, but Beth needed to be practical. There were six armed men back there. She was no use to them and she knew that their leader had ordered she be shot. She had to find help. She forced her body to move faster. It was the only way she could help her friend.

  Beth continued to follow the river. Now that it was daylight, she had to slow down and try to keep under the cover of the forest. If she walked along the riverbed she could be picked off like a rabbit. Hunger gnawed at her, but she forced herself to walk. She had to find Jacobs. Jacobs would know what to do.

  It was well past sunset that night when Beth finally sank to her knees. She couldn’t move. She had never known her body could ache so much. She had to rest. She hadn’t seen a living soul all day long. She huddled up against a tree as she tried to still the shivers that raked her body. These mountains had always seemed so beautiful. Now they just kept growing in size until Beth wasn’t sure if she would ever make her way out of them. Hunters were constantly finding the remains of the victims that these hills claimed.

  She had no idea how long she had slept when something woke her. Beth stayed absolutely still because she was certain she heard something. The wind shifted and the sound came with it. It almost sounded like a jet plane. That didn’t make any sense. It grew louder, and with it came the steady chop of a helicopter’s blade.

  It was pitch black out and she didn’t know if it was friend or foe. Maybe it was the sheriff’s department or maybe it was the scum that had kidnapped her. There was just no way to know for sure. Beth stayed against the tree. It was too big a risk.

  The part of the river that she was nearby was very wide and only about a foot deep. It was a fifty-foot span covered in thousands of smooth round rocks. The helicopter was slowly making its way down the riverbed. Beth started to tremble. The machine sounded so evil and it was black against the night. Spotlights flashed over her as they moved down the riverbed.

  Beth was just letting her breath go when the helicopter stopped and moved back in front of her. The spotlight was off, but it came back on brighter than before. She was several feet back from the water so she didn’t think they could see her.

  “Come out with your hands up!”

  Terror erupted inside Beth. They must have heat-seeking radar or something. Beth didn’t know what to do. She stood up, but her legs were shaking and she knew she couldn’t run very far. The loud speaker interrupted her frantic thoughts.

  “Come out now, or you will be shot.”

  The only problem with that was if these were the bad guys, then they were going to shoot her anyway. But she didn’t have any choice. She slowly made her way into the streambed. She stepped from the cover of the trees and stretched her arms out above her head. Beth stood in the bright spotlight while the wind from the propeller blades chilled her to the bone.

  The standoff continued for what seemed like an endless time. Beth was done being scared and just wished they would get on with whatever they were going to do. The air filled with the sounds of another helicopter. The night was suddenly full of the black machines. Two of the things landed right in the riverbed. The sound of their metal doors opening caused her heart to accelerate yet again. Even with the spotlight on her face, Beth could see the long rifles that were pointed at her.

  The men stopped just outside the spotlight. Beth simply couldn’t keep her hands in the air any longer. Her arms dropped to her sides and she sank to her knees as well. The bone-chilling water quickly soaked her up to her thighs. If they were going to shoot her, they could just get on with it.

  “Hands up. Now!”

  “Go to hell!” Beth intended to yell that, but it came out as a barely understandable croak. The long hours in the freezing water were taking their toll on her voice as well as her body. In fact, in another minute, Beth was very much afraid that she was going to be face down in that damn water again.

  The circle began to close in on her. Beth forced her head up to watch them. Was it her imagination or was that one off to her right a really big man? Maybe he was even as big as Jacobs? That would be too good to be true. He held a large pistol level with her head. Beth kept her face on him as he stepped closer. He stopped just a few feet from her and the pistol lowered.

  “Beth?”

  The sweetest rush of relief hit Beth.

  I know that voice! It’s Jacobs!

  She really tried to get to her feet but her legs refused. It wasn’t necessary. Jacobs holstered his pistol and plucked her up from the water in almost the same movement.

  Oh yes! It’s Jacobs.

  No one picked Beth up like he did.

  Jacobs clasped her body in a hug so tight he later thought it was a wonder he hadn’t hurt her. His body shook as he felt the tremors that ran up and down her frame. She was alive.

  Thank God! She’s alive!

  He lifted her up and away from his body for a moment to look at her face. Those beautiful blue eyes looked back at him and that sweet smile of hers spread across her face.

  He’d prepared himself to find her
body. To be gifted with her life was almost more than he could deal with. Beth would be lucky if he didn’t lock her in the brig for the rest of her natural life. He slowly returned to the business at hand. She was suffering from exposure. He needed to get her out of the water and warmed up.

  Or he just might not get the chance to lock her in the brig.

  Most of all, he needed to find out just where Grace had freed her. There was little doubt in his mind that Grace was responsible for Beth’s freedom. Unfortunately, he knew that her captors would not make the same mistake again.

  “Jacobs.” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

  Jacobs used his radio to order the last helicopter to cut its rotor so that he could hear her. He also turned and walked out of the river to get out of the current’s rushing sounds.

  The unit’s medic was already spreading a blanket on the forest floor, and Jacobs placed her on it. He hesitated for only a moment before he stripped her wet clothing from her body. Her eyes went large and round but she didn’t protest beyond that. She wasn’t so sure when the medic started to pull a blood sample from her arm.

  Jacobs clamped a hand onto her arm to secure it, and used his other hand to turn her face up to his.

  “Relax, Beth. Let us help you.”

  Someone else came up and tossed a black bag to him. Jacobs gently pressed her back, refusing to let her help him get the clothing onto her.

  Jacobs watched the medic as he checked Beth’s blood-sugar level. He was a field medic too, but in this case he wanted to be the one dressing her. Jacobs resumed pulling the clothing onto her. It was too big, but it would help warm her up. Her blood-sugar level was so low he was amazed she was still conscious. He had to talk to her now. He couldn’t wait. The medic gave him a questioning look and Jacobs nodded for him to administer glucose and adrenaline.