Jessie

by JJ Aughe

  He had it in mind to start for the river when he heard what his well-trained hearing told him was the faint sound of course fabric brushing by foliage. Quickly stepping into the seclusion of a giant cedar tree with limbs almost touching the ground he waited to see if he had heard right. He didn’t have long to wait, but was momentarily astounded as a red haired woman, an inferior being to him, cautiously stepped into the narrowest edge of the clearing, expertly sweeping the area with the muzzle of an Uzzi pistol.

  Her eyes searching every bush, patch of vines and trees surrounding the small opening in the brush, Melissa cautiously stepped forward. On her left the clearing was bordered by an eight-foot wall of tangled brush and various vines. Ahead of her the wall of brush gave way to a head high stand of fir saplings. On her right the clearing was edged by a giant cedar tree with ground-sweeping limbs. She didn’t see any sign anyone had passed through this area, but something told her the terrorist she pursued was near, maybe even watching her at that very moment. A chill went up and down her spine at the last thought. She tightened her grip on the pistol, her trigger finger ready to squeeze at the slightest of movements. Suddenly she was certain he was there, watching her. Shifting only her eyes, she re-checked every bush and tree surrounding the clearing.

  A wicked grin turned up the corners of Almed’s lips as the woman slowly turned to face his hiding place, the muzzle of her weapon pointing directly at him. Noticing the muzzle of the woman’s pistol was partially clogged with dirt, he silently laughed to himself. She thinks she is armed when what she carries is more deadly to her than it is to me. With that thought he boldly stepped from the seclusion of the branches screening him, saying, “Ah, Miss Calahan-Hough. It is so nice to finally meet you.”

  Seeing her quarry no more than fifteen feet in front of her, Melissa tilted the muzzle of the pistol down, aiming at his legs, firing what she thought would be a short burst. Instead, the resulting explosion sent pieces of the weapon back up her arm, leaving deep gashes as they passed, and into her cheeks and forehead. Temporarily blinded by blood, she landed on her back. Almed was astraddle of her immediately, one of his large fists connecting with her jaw, effectively silencing any scream she might make.

  Leaning close, Almed placed two fingers to the side of the woman’s throat, checking for a pulse. Finding an erratic one, he used the same fingers to wipe the blood from around her mouth. He smiled at his good fortune to have captured at least one of his major objectives. He couldn’t resist the temptation and ran his fingers through the woman’s shiny red hair. As he fingered her soft hair he felt something hard in her ear. Checking, he found her ear bud and removed it, giving it a toss into the surrounding brush.

  “I have plans for you, pretty woman,” he whispered, his lips almost touching hers. “Before I am finished with you I will be hearing your agonized pleas for death.” He smiled wickedly as his body responded to the warmth of her body between his legs. One enormous hand cupping her left breast, he softly laughed. “Oh, but death won’t come until you know true terror! But that will have to wait for another time, my pet. Now I must get you to the river to escape your infidel comrades.” He grinned wickedly as he rose to his feet, lifting her slight weight and throwing her limp body over his shoulder. Turning toward the sound of the river, he stepped back onto the faint path he had been following and vanished into the surrounding brush.

  Jessie shook her head in disgust, lowered her weapon, bent another branch and stepped into the clearing. The way the terrorist had picked Melissa up and thrown her over his shoulder thwarted her only attempt to get off a good shot. She could only watch as he carried Melissa into the brush on the far side of the clearing.

  Blast! she silently breathed as she cautiously followed. That is Almed. If he gets to the river with Melissa he will be able to escape. I can’t let that happen!

  The river was only two or three hundred yards distant but Almed stayed parallel to it on the old footpath. He followed the trail downstream until he came to a sandy backwash littered with logs and deadfall, making it too dangerous to cross with his burden. Tempted to cut the woman’s throat right there and be done with her, he scanned the area again for a way to get around the backwash. As he scanned the surrounding brush he noticed he was near the wide footpath the forestry department kept fairly clear of brush. He hadn’t wanted to use that trail because it was too open. But the woman was slowing him down so he decided to use it now.

  He turned toward his back trail and unceremoniously dropped Melissa’s limp body on the rise of a small sand dune. His eyes glittering with triumph and a baser emotion, he turned her still limp form onto her stomach. Shaking his turbaned head at his lustful thoughts, he unbuckled his belt, pulling it from around his waist, securing the woman’s wrists behind her back. Removing his turban, he used the material to bind her ankles. Finished, he turned her onto her back and noticed she was beginning to recover. To keep her from screaming and giving away his position he viciously sent buttons flying as he ripped her shirt open, used his knife to cut a large strip from the collar to the seam at the bottom. Cutting another, smaller strip from the other side he stuffed the smaller strip into her mouth, the first strip of cloth he securely tied around her head and over her mouth to complete the gag. Satisfied she could make little sound if she tried to scream he again scooped her up, threw her body back over his shoulder and pushed through the brush and onto the main path.

  Jessie trained her weapon on Almed while he bound Melissa. With Melissa’s body shielding him she could not get in a clear shot. As in the clearing, she helplessly watched as he again disappeared through the brush with Melissa flung over his shoulder. Determined, she followed.

  The brush sparse and only head high, Jessie followed as close as she dared. The forestry footpath he was now following led through wide-open rocky areas making it necessary for Jessie to fall further and further behind.

  The footpath made a sweeping turn around a water-filled backwash in a relatively open area near the rushing water of the river, then continued on down-river. Only feet from a shear drop-off Almed stopped and roughly dropped Melissa onto the sand and gravel. Jessie readied herself for any chance at a clear shot as the terrorist checked Melissa’s bonds but had her hopes dashed again as Almed suddenly scooted backwards over the edge of the bank, disappearing from sight.

  Melissa immediately started squirming around trying to loosen her bonds and Jessie was tempted to rush to help her, immediately thought better of it. She realized she had better find out where Almed was and what he was doing before going to Melissa. She crouched so she would be below the top of the low brush in front of her and cautiously sidled sidewise through the brush. She moved slowly, lifting branches and deadfall out of her way so she would make as little noise as possible and kept going until she could find a position that would give her cover and yet give her a clear view of the backwash.

  She finally came to an opening that gave a fairly good view of the backwash and spied Almed busily throwing sun whitened branches and debris across the limbs of a large, partially submerged log bobbing in the water of the eddy. She suspected he was building a raft of sorts. She knew if he succeeded he would take Melissa with him, disappear and she would never see her friend alive again. The rage she felt at that thought didn’t even surprise her. Tamping back that rage she put her mind on what she could do to stop him.

  She had to stop him! She had to! She was the only thing standing between Almed and his escape. She was confident she was capable. The experience fleeing the mountain cabin had confirmed to her that she could do anything she set her mind to. She just had to decide how, when and where. Melissa was his captive and when it came right down to it, Jessie knew that even if it meant taking a bullet herself, she would stop Almed at any cost!

  Almed kept to the off side of the log and she couldn’t get a clear shot at him. She had to move. Glancing up, she estimated the brush to be about five feet high where she stood and she might be able to see the eddy clearer over the top.
She carefully rose to her feet, only to discover that the brush was higher than she had estimated so she moved along the back edge of the brush until she had a better view of the eddy and Almed, his back to her. Taking careful aim at his broad back, she slowly put pressure on the trigger.

  Almed reached for a large sun bleached branch, suddenly sensed he was being watched from behind and turned just as Jessie’s weapon fired, causing the bullet to strike him in the fleshy part of his upper left arm, spinning him around. As he spun, he instinctively dove, disappearing into the safety of the deep water of the eddy.

  Fighting through the tangle of brush between her and the eddy, Jessie rushed to the edge of the high bank, scanned the water and the far bank for him, but Almed was gone. She knew her bullet had hit him, but had it been fatal or had it just wounded the terrorist leader. Either way was okay with her. She knew she should make a thorough search for him. He could still cause more problems if he were only wounded. She scanned the eddy and what she could see of the area downstream. He was nowhere to be seen. He was gone and at the moment she didn’t really care. Her friend needed her. With one final glance downstream, just in case he was in sight, she hurried back along the bank to free her friend.

  Almed, his good right arm clinging to a large slippery boulder at the juncture of the eddy and the river, watched as the woman headed along the bank of the eddy. She had just made a mistake he hoped she would live to regret! He clung to the boulder for a little longer, the strong current pulling at him, while he tried to decide his next move. He ignored the pain from the wound in his arm as he considered his options. He knew he could let the river carry him away to safety, losing one more chance to exact some of his revenge on these infidels.

  He had been taught from a young man that revenge was dangerous and was to be avoided at all costs. But revenge was what had brought him to this point. Before, back when this had all started for him, he had only wanted to finish what others had started. He had come to the realization a few months ago that it was no longer that way. This was personal. He needed to exact a heavy death toll on the friends and loved ones of the pilot who had murdered his brother, uncle and two cousins that day six years before. Revenge was the only thing that would satisfy his anger and grief over his own loss.

  Almed had to make a decision. He could ignore the almost certainty there would be more American infidels coming to help the women, make his way to shore and capture them. Or, he could escape to fight another day. Revenge won out as he pushed himself into the current and swam underwater for a short distance before surfacing and making his way to shore. Once ashore, he cut a section out of the bottom of one of his pant legs, tied it around his wounded arm and checked his weapon. Finding it usable, his mind bent on revenge, he pushed through the brush and foliage, heading upstream.

  Bailey grimly smiled when he found the D.H.S. cell phone. He was certain Jessie had left it as a marker for where she entered the brush. He moved toward the brush and soon found the end of a branch that was bent until it nearly broke in two and left to dangle. Bailey didn’t know whether done by Melissa or Jessie, but he was sure it was an attempt to mark the trail of one of the women’s passing. His assumption was confirmed minutes later when he found more of the same markings. Giving the women kudos for having the presence of mind to think of marking the trail in this obvious way he continued on until Carol caught up to him. He showed her the next marking, explained what he thought they meant. She silently nodded her head in agreement.

  Carol was a step or two behind Bailey a little later as he entered a small clearing. He stopped abruptly when he saw the tall grass, ferns and short foliage in a small area appeared to have recently been pressed down as if someone had just been lying there. He knelt to check it out. His experienced eyes spied blood. Pointing to the spots on a fern frond, his voice husky with worry, he said the obvious. “Someone is hurt.”

  The expression on his face stopped Carol from making the snide comment that his remark immediately brought to mind. Instead, she motioned to another patch of foliage out of its natural position. Seeing he was studying the rest of the clearing, she pointed to another broken branch and urged him on with, “They went through that opening, Bailey. I have a bad feeling about this so I think we had better hurry.” The very loud, ominous report of a firearm a short distance away drowned out Bailey’s reply. Worried for the safety of the two women, they silently hurried on along the faint trail.

  Jessie was shocked at her first sight of Melissa’s injuries. Her friend’s right arm had deep, bleeding gashes, her jaw and right cheek had smaller cuts, scrapes and bruises that were swollen and turning an awful shade of black and blue. Not having anything else to use to treat Melissa’s injuries, she untied the strip of cloth holding the gag in place intending to use it to cover the wound on her friend’s arm.

  “Oh Jessie!” Melissa moaned as Jessie gently removed the second piece of cloth from her mouth. “Did you kill him?” When Jessie, untying the binding on Melissa’s wrists shook her head and said she wasn’t sure, Melissa’s eyes got enormous. “God! Then we have to get out of here! He was muttering something about how he could use me for bait to lure you and Bailey into a trap.”

  Quickly untying her friend’s legs, Jessie helped Melissa to her feet. To stop the flow of blood from Melissa’s arm wounds Jessie hastily wrapped the arm with the green terry cloth material that had bound the woman’s legs. She tried to keep her voice calm when Melissa, her voice a croaking whisper, tried to express her thanks.

  “Don’t try to talk now,” she cautioned. “There will be time enough later for that. I was able to get a shot at Almed. I know I hit him, but I don’t know if he is dead. So, let’s get out of here right now!” Melissa silently nodded her agreement as Jessie helped her onto the well-used footpath leading back toward the campground.

  Almed watched in frustration from behind a brush as the women disappeared around a bend of the trail. I have to capture those two, he reasoned. For now, they may well be my safe escape from here. I’ll make them believe I will set them free once I am safely away. But it will be a lie, he smiled. I have long-term plans for Ms. Melano. The other woman? Not so much. With thoughts of finally exacting his revenge rampaging through his head and another, baser emotion tightening his loins, he scurried silently along behind the women. So intent was he on his revenge that he did not even consider that he might be walking into a situation other than what he planned.

  For the last hundred yards or so there had been no broken branches or blood spatters indicating where Jessie or Melissa might have gone. Carol and Bailey carefully searched each bush they passed, but found nothing. A little ways on, Bailey started to push through the brush in front of him to get to the edge of the river but Carol silently tapped him on the shoulder from behind. Turning his head, he saw she was pointing downstream and looked that way. His eyes instantly lit on a piece of wadded up material.

  As Carol scouted around searching for some indication as to where Jessie or Melissa had gone, Bailey knelt near the rag and, his rifle at the ready, made a quick check of the surrounding area for footprints or any other sign of the women. The area was mostly gravel and he couldn’t see any sign. He changed his area of search to the water of the eddy and saw what appeared to be the recent makings of a log and debris raft. “Hmm,” he quietly mumbled. “Almed must have been building that. Whoever fired that last shot must have scared him off. That might mean the women are okay and headed back to the campground. Or it could mean that he has them captive and is on his way down river to escape. Carol is up there searching for sign so, if Almed does have the women, after I check this cloth out I will circle the eddy to check the other side for tracks or other indications as to where he could have taken them.”

  Carefully opening and inspecting the discarded balled up material he realized it had been cut from the front of a shirt. Suddenly sure he recognized the material he looked up as Carol returned.

  Keeping his voice low, Bailey indicated the breast pocke
t on the material. “This is from Melissa’s shirt. It’s not just bloody, Carol. It is wet with saliva.” Seeing Carol didn’t understand, he continued to explain. “This was used as a gag. See these bubbles in the blood? Blood doesn’t bubble on its own. The bubbles are caused by air in the saliva from the mouth mixing with it.”

  “From the looks of this,” he continued, “Melissa is the one that was hurt before this rag was stuffed in her mouth. I’m almost certain she was Almed’s prisoner. This not being in her mouth anymore can only mean that Jessie found her, released her and they are probably on their way back to the campground.”

  “I agree, Bailey. But, what are we going to do about Almed?”

  “We can only hope that the last shot we heard took Almed out. If not, we will have to let Dennis and his men find him. I am too worried about Jessie and Melissa to search for him without knowing for sure they are safe.”

  “I agree with that too, Bailey,” Carol whispered in reply. “But there is something I haven’t had a chance to tell you. Before I followed you from camp I sent Sean to tell Dennis I was coming down here to back you up. Dennis should have his men down here searching by now.”

  Bailey gave her a painful look that told her that he didn’t really give a hoot and confirmed it with his next words. “Damn it, Carol! I have to make sure Jessie and Melissa are safe. That’s all I care about right now. We should stick together, but if you want to go searching for Almed, I’ll tell Dennis where you have gone. But, I am following the women.”

  Resigned, but a little fearful of what Dennis’s reaction was going to be, Carol shook her head, then nodded. “Okay, Bailey. You win. Let’s get going.”