Blue Ridge Setup

by Kimberly Rae

  She was finishing “In Jesus’ name, Amen,” when she heard a muffled sound.

  Hesitating, stepping only one foot forward, Kayla leaned toward the bend.

  “Miss Kayla!”

  Jose’s shout was so unexpected, Kayla screamed. The sound scared Jose, who screamed in response. Then Kayla’s laughter drowned out all other sounds as she dropped to her scraped knees and pulled Jose into her arms. “I’m so glad I found you. There are so many people worried about you!”

  “I knew you would know I was here,” the child said confidently. There were no signs of trauma on him, except for the black eye. “Mr. Ryan said it’s easy to remember that God is in control up here, so I came up here. I know up here, He will take care of me.”

  “Oh, Jose, God takes care of His children wherever they are. And He is with them wherever they are.” She looked around with her flashlight. “Which is a good thing, considering it’s pretty creepy up here.”

  “Not as creepy as at my house when those guys are over.”

  “You know, Jose, you are totally right. What a good way to think about it.” She reached into her bag and pulled out two muffins. “What do you say we have a little middle-of-the-night picnic right here while I catch my breath? And then let’s get down this mountain.”

  Jose took the muffin but shook his head at her idea. “No, ma’am. I’m staying right here until those police have put all the bad men in jail. Then I’ll come home. But I’m not coming down till then. They know I took their bad stuff, and they’re really mad. One hit me in the eye.” He pointed proudly at his shiner. “Huh-uh, I’m not going down there till I know it’s safe.”

  Kayla felt weary down to her bones. “Jose, we’ll go to my aunt’s house, and we’ll keep you there while the police find those guys. You’ll be safe there.”

  A full half-hour of arguing could not persuade him.

  Kayla felt the weight of too few options. “Jose, you need to understand something. I don’t know if anyone is coming up here to find us.” What she wouldn’t give for a cell phone right then! “And when the morning comes, there is some medicine that I have to take. It’s really important.” The words from that one web article appeared before her mind. “Jose, if I don’t take my medicine, I could die.”

  Jose sat silently in the dark — Kayla had turned off the flashlight to save the battery for the walk down — but she could hear his steady breathing.

  “Okay, Miss Kayla, I don’t want you to die, so here’s what we’ll do.”

  He words sounded so old coming through a voice so young. Kayla half-smiled, half-winced at his air of maturity.

  “I’m staying here, but you should go down the hill back to the house. You tell everybody I’m okay — hey, do you have any more muffins I can keep here for breakfast? And then when the police put those guys in jail, then you can send someone up here to get me.”

  Kayla wanted to argue. She wanted to pick him up and bodily carry him down the mountain with her.

  “Jose, please will you come with me? I have to go. I have to get my medicine. But I just can’t leave you here alone.”

  “I’m not alone.” Jose’s voice was amused, as if Kayla had forgotten something elementary. “God is here with me.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “And Miss Kayla, He’s bigger than you anyway, so don’t worry, okay?”

  Kayla nearly cried. She unpacked every muffin she had brought and gave them over, then she hugged the boy tight and prayed aloud for his safety as he waited.

  It took more strength than Kayla knew she possessed to begin the walk back down the path. Alone. If she had brought her medication with her, she could wait with him. But what if no one came for them? Regardless, as it was, she had to be back at the house by 6:00 a.m. to take her dose of hydrocortisone. The article had said that if she ever stopped taking it cold-turkey, it would cause an Addisonian Crisis, which could kill her if not treated.

  She had no choice. She told herself so, repeatedly, as she made her way down the path, alternating between praying for Jose and berating herself for not taking more precautions.

  The sound of water bubbling beside her was reassuring. If she was still near the creek, she was headed in the right direction. Kayla swung her flashlight to the right to see if she could spot anything familiar, when her foot slipped on a damp rock. Her arms flew and for a moment she was spread-eagle in the air before falling, falling, down over leaves and twigs and rocks until finally being stopped by a small tree.

  It hurt so much Kayla did not even have the strength to moan. Her side had hit the tree, right on her incision spot. She curled into a ball and wrapped her arms around herself.

  It was then she realized she held nothing in her hands. Nothing in her arms.

  Her bag was gone. Her flashlight was gone.

  And she had no idea where she was.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It was a little after one in the morning when Ryan found Jose, sleeping soundly in his little alcove, muffin crumbs all around him. A slight shoulder shake, and he was up instantly.

  “Mr. Ryan!” Jose threw his arms around Ryan’s neck and hugged hard. “You are fast. So they put the bad guys in jail? Did Miss Kayla get her medicine in time so she didn’t die? You look funny shining the flashlight on your face like that.”

  “I did that so you would know it was me and not a bad guy,” Ryan explained. He deliberately kept his voice calm, though his gut was screaming signals of danger at Jose’s words. “What do you mean I was fast? Where is Miss Kayla?”

  Jose’s arms dropped. “She went down the mountain. Do you have any food?”

  Ryan pulled the bag of muffins out of the backpack. “What do you mean? She was here?”

  “Sure was. She gave me some muffins, too.” Jose talked while stuffing another bite into his mouth. “I told her I was going to wait here until the police got the bad guys, but she said she had to go back because she had to take some medicine, and if she didn’t take it, she’d die. So I didn’t mind her leaving me here alone. I don’t want her to die.”

  Ryan clicked off his flashlight so Jose could not see the panic on his face. Calm down. Breathe. She’s probably already at the house by now, medicine in hand, just fine.

  But something in him knew better. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. “Miss Blossom. Has Kayla come back there yet?”

  Her answer sent chills running down his spine. “No, she’s not here. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the crest of the hill. Kayla was here. I’ve found Jose, but Kayla started down the mountain because she needs her medicine… Yes, I’ll keep you posted. Pray that we find her in time.”

  “Jose.” Ryan allowed the seriousness to creep into his voice. “This is an important question. How long ago did Miss Kayla leave to go down the mountain?”

  “I don’t know. She left and I ate the muffins and then I fell asleep. It was dark when she came and dark when she left.” His voice lowered. “Is she in trouble?”

  “I think she is, little buddy.” Ryan sent up a silent prayer, then spoke to Jose again. “I know you want to stay here, but I need to ask you to come with me and help me find Miss Kayla.” He could not leave the boy up there alone, but he definitely could not stay put when Kayla was clearly in danger.

  “How could I help you find her? I can yell real loud, but what if the bad guys hear us?”

  “The bad guys won’t hear us. The police are looking for them right now, and they’re going to catch them. But how you can help me most is by going down the trail first.” How could he explain this to a little boy? “You see, I’ve been down the trail lots of times, so I don’t think I would go the same way Miss Kayla would. But you’ve only been down it once, just like her, so the way you go is probably more like the way she went.”

  Doubt was edging out of Jose’s voice. “You really think that will help?”

  “I’m praying it will. We have to find her. Will you be brave and help me? Please?”

  Jose stood, making his
voice as low and deep as possible. “Yes, sir! Let’s go!”

  Thank You, God.

  “Lead the way then, little buddy. I’ll shine the flashlight, and you just head down the trail.”

  “And maybe we’ll see her on our way down! Maybe she just stopped for a rest. I hope she kept some muffins for herself.”

  “Maybe. With God’s help — please God — maybe.”

  ****

  Kayla moved and tried to stand. Then she did moan aloud. Her ankle felt sprained. Sitting back down amid the damp leaves, she stilled. Though she listened, turning in every direction, no sound of water reached her ears.

  She was lost.

  Fighting panic, Kayla began to pray, loudly, making her volume itself a weapon against the darkness.

  “God. You are bigger, like Jose said. You know where I am, but I don’t.” Kayla heard the tremor in her own voice. “And I’m really scared. I need somebody to find me early enough so I can get my medicine by six. That’s only a few hours away. Please, Lord, please send help.”

  Knowing she was helpless, knowing any kind of movement would make her pain worse and any kind of searching would possibly lead her even farther from the path, she again curled into a ball and stayed as still as possible.

  Being in the hospital, she had felt completely out of control of her life, but that was nothing compared to this. Here, she was out of options, and without anyone to help. The only One to rely on was God. So, trying to take on Jose’s childlike faith, she handed over her life — not just for that night, but for always — to the One who made her.

  Then, miraculously, she slept.

  ****

  Ryan kept his flashlight in front of Jose’s little feet. The child’s pace was worse than slow. Ryan wanted to beg him to go faster, but knew the rocks were slippery, and he did not want to add a nasty fall to the list of emergencies of the evening.

  While Jose meandered down the trail, calling every once in awhile for Kayla, Ryan used his second flashlight to scan the area around where they walked, looking for any hint of Kayla’s presence.

  When Jose slipped and started to fall, Ryan lunged forward. He barely managed to keep both flashlights in hand while catching the boy before he hurt himself. “Careful there, buddy. These rocks are slippery.”

  “Yeah, that would hurt to fall on one of those. I would slip right into the creek and wash down the mountain, wouldn’t I?”

  A sense of trepidation filled Ryan’s heart. He swung his flashlight to the right, scanning the creek’s journey down the mountain. Back and forth he swept the light, holding one hand on Jose’s shoulder to keep him safe and still.

  “Look! Mr. Ryan — over there!”

  Ryan had to direct the flashlight toward Jose to see where he was pointing, then swung the flashlight back toward that spot. There, pinned between two rocks, water rushing over and around it, was a flashlight.

  “Miss Kayla brought a flashlight when she came to find me.” Jose’s voice was wavering. “Do you think she drowned?”

  Ryan swallowed. “No, Jose. I don’t think she drowned.” He tried keeping his voice even. “But we need to find out what did happen to her.”

  “Kayla?” he yelled. “Kayla, can you hear me?”

  Silence.

  “Maybe she hit her head on the rock and fell with her face down, and she really did drown.” Jose was talking faster now. His little shoulder where Ryan held it was shaking. “My mom says you can drown in a bowl-full of bathwater, so you have to be careful not to fall face down.”

  Ryan was desperately wishing Jose would keep his insights to himself. He continued a sweep of the creek, not finding any other clue as to why Kayla’s flashlight was in the middle of it.

  “Maybe she—”

  “Jose, buddy.” Ryan felt his hand clenching on the boy’s shoulder and released him. “I’ve got to sit down and think for a minute. Can you sit with me and just think, too? No talking?”

  Jose sat beside Ryan. “It’s wet,” he said. “Sorry, forgot I wasn’t supposed to talk.”

  “It’s okay, bud.”

  “I’ll try not to talk anymore for awhile so you can think about what happened to Miss Kayla.” He sat for three seconds. “I’ll sit here and be quiet and help you think.”

  Ryan had turned the flashlight off and had his head bowed, praying for longsuffering until Jose finally did stop talking. Then, in the quiet, he searched his own mind for possible scenarios.

  She could have slipped, just as Jose had. If she had, she might have fallen into the creek, as Jose mentioned, and that would explain why the flashlight was in the creek. Or, she might have tried crossing the creek for some reason and dropped it, but then she could have just picked it up and continued.

  As he thought, he drew a line of light with his flashlight in a sweeping arc from a ninety degree angle to his right, to the same ninety degree angle to his left, pushing the light outward in an orderly, methodical pattern.

  On his third sweep, a strap caught his eye. “Jose.” He pointed. “Do you see that?”

  Jose tapped his leg. He reached for Ryan’s hand and put it on his head so Ryan could feel him nodding yes.

  “It’s okay, Jose. You can talk now.”

  “Oh, okay. Yes, I see it. It looks like Miss Kayla’s backpack. Why did she leave her stuff all over the place? Why didn’t she just take it all down with her?”

  “That’s a good question. Let’s go get that backpack and see if we can find out.”

  The pack was about ten feet down to the left of the trail, in the complete opposite direction of the flashlight.

  They scooted and slipped down to where the pack was. Ryan unzipped it and found it full of items Kayla would not have intentionally left behind.

  What had happened to her?

  “Kayla?” he yelled.

  Jose joined him. “Kayla?”

  Ryan set his first flashlight with the light pointing back toward the trail. It would not do any of them any good if he lost track of their path back out. From the starting point of the backpack, he used his other flashlight to scan the area below them, finding a line of crushed leaves that led down as far as he could see with the light.

  “There.” Ryan was talking more to himself than to Jose. “She must have slipped and fallen, and her backpack must have come off when she fell.”

  “But then why did she throw her flashlight in the creek?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The line from the backpack ran down a steep section of hill that Ryan knew he and Jose could not walk down. They could slide, as Kayla must have, but he was not certain they would be able to get back up to the trail. They might be able to go from wherever he found her and walk around the mountain, but he would have no idea where they were, or how to get to Kayla’s aunt’s house. He was not familiar with the area on that side of the mountain. He had no idea if there were any houses where they could call from for help, or—

  “Of course!” Ryan reached into his own backpack and pulled out his cell phone. “Kayla wouldn’t be calling me a genius at this point. I can’t believe I forgot about the cell phones.”

  In seconds he was talking with Laverne Bloom, who quickly informed him the police were at their house. “Tell Jose they got the bad guys. His mother actually helped them find the gang’s hideout.”

  “They got the bad guys, Jose.”

  “All right!” Jose jumped up, then slipped, and Ryan had to grab his arm to keep him from careening down the hill.

  “Have you found Kayla yet? There are at least four or five policemen here, ready to help if you need it.”

  “We need it,” Ryan said. “I haven’t found Kayla, but we found her flashlight and her backpack. It looks like she slipped on one of the wet rocks near the creek and fell down the steep side of the mountain off the path.”

  Ryan heard Laverne let out a little sob. “She could be anywhere, then.”

  “Well, there’s a pretty clear trail showing where she fell, thanks to the rain we ha
d earlier tonight. It packed the leaves and brush down, so there’s a line where she slid through all that, breaking it up.”

  “Oh, praise God! So what do you want us to do?”

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I definitely need some police to come up the trail and get Jose. We’re somewhere between halfway to three-fourths of the way up the mountain. I am going to slide down the same spot where Kayla fell, but this section is so steep, I don’t think we’ll be able to climb back up to the trail.” He tried to insulate his words for Laverne’s sake. There was no point in worrying her more by pointing out the total impossibility of them climbing this section of the hill, considering Kayla’s injury. And what if she had been hurt in the fall? That would make the situation even worse.

  Then his heart stopped. What if she hadn’t been hurt, and had started wandering, getting herself even more lost and making it impossible for him to find her?

  He felt himself shudder and was glad Kayla’s aunt could not see him at the moment. “The only thing I can think of is for you to send the police up the trail, have them get Jose safely down, then have some come down this steep section where Kayla fell. If you give me their cell phone number, I can help them find us, if, Lord willing, I’ve found her by then.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell them. And I’ll tell them to send you their phone number through that new-fangled way you have of punching buttons to send messages instead of calling.”

  “Texting. Good idea. Ask them to text me their number.”

  Ryan hung up and turned to Jose. “Okay, Jose. I need you to be brave now. I need to go down this hill to find Miss Kayla, but I need you—”

  “I know, Mr. Ryan. I heard you say it on the phone. You want me to wait here until the police come.” He patted Ryan’s arm. “I’d rather go with you, but I know you need me to show the police where the backpack is and the line where Miss Kayla fell.”