by Ava Mallory
“It's okay. You're okay. I'm okay.” The sharp pain in my neck and my right leg said otherwise, but it was either lie or fall apart on the side of the road.
I looked around and couldn't see anything but snow drifts. We were stuck. It was time to panic. The car sat with its nose in the snow and its tail hidden behind another drift. No one was ever going to find us. I had to get out of the car and do it quickly.
“Okay, Barney. Let's get out of here. I'm sure someone will come by and give us a lift.” My voice shook. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a car. As soon as we left Colorado, visibility dropped to a mere few feet. Funny how no one – not one single highway patrolman or local police officers – were on the roads, at least not any I could see. Barney and I were completely alone, in the snow.
I tried my door, but it wouldn't budge. Panicked, I moved from seat to seat, my leg burning in pain and tried the other doors. None of them would open.
Barney continued to bark, shaking my resolve even more. He knew we were in trouble.
I maneuvered back into the driver's seat and threw the car in reverse. My tires spun wildly, throwing snow in the air all around the car. My throat filled with fear. My heart pounded against my chest wall. This was it for us. This is where it would end.
Chapter Four
I woke up in a man's arms, my head dangling.
“Who are you? Let me go!” I screamed.
“Alright now, miss. I got you. Just stay still.” The man said as he carried me to the side of the road and laid me down on the cold, wet ground.
“Who are you?” I forced myself up, my head spinning.
The man smiled at me. “I'm the guy that saved your life. What are you doing out on the road? Don't you know the roads are closed? Can't you see that?”
Honestly, I couldn't really see anything other than the glare from the snow.
“My dog. Where's my dog?” I moved to go search my car, but the man put his arm out to stop me.
“I have your dog. He's right there.” He pointed to a huge pickup truck that stood several feet taller than I.
“Is he okay?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“He's fine. Cold, but I think he'll be alright. Now, let's get you in the truck and off the side of the road. You'll die out here.” The man said, grabbing my arm gently to guide me.
I was fully aware of just how close Barney and I were to death and acutely aware of how desperate the situation was for Nubbin. As if on cue, my body began to tremble out of control.
“Let's get you in the truck,” the man said again.
I couldn't think straight. It was all I could do to not collapse at his feet. My clothes were wet and freezing. My head and neck ached. My leg had sharp pains running right through it.
“I can't.” I cried. “Who are you?”
In a low calming voice, the man stopped and stood in front of me, bending his knees so that he would be at eye level with me. “The name is Bill. Bill Neal. My place is just up the road here. I can get you and your dog over there and you can get cleaned up and out of the cold, miss.”
I don't know if I was hallucinating or not, but something about his face, razor stubble and all, told me that he was harmless. He had to be a good twenty years older than me. If things didn't go well, even in my current state, I figured I could take him out. At least, I liked to think that I could. The way things looked, there was no way that I'd be able to survive in the elements and poor Barney wouldn't survive very long either. I had to say yes. I was taking a risk, but it was even riskier not to go with Bill.
“Thank you,” I said, clutching his gloved hand. “Thank you.”
Once we were settled in his truck, he turned up the radio. I recognized Charlie's voice right away and tears immediately sprung from my eyes.
“It will be okay, miss,” Bill tried to reassure me.
I shook my head. Things were very much not okay. That was plain to see.
“I'm sorry. I just recognize the sheriff's voice.” I said, wiping the tears from my face.
“Charlie? Really? You know Charlie?” Bill chuckled. “Is that who you were on your way to visit? Are you the mysterious woman in his life?”
It was my turn to chuckle. As much as I hated to admit it, I did like the sound of that. I wondered if Charlie had spoken about me and what he'd said.
“I hear old Charlie is finally ready to settle down again.” Bill said.
I nearly swallowed my tongue. How did a couple of adults spending time on the phone together turn into a lifelong commitment so quickly? I wasn't ready for that? As far as I knew, Charlie and I were friends. He was a bit flirtatious from time to time, but never once had he crossed a line with me. At least not that line!
“Why do you look so confused,” Bill asked as he pulled into a long driveway, nestled between what looked like miles of snow-covered land.
“I'm just so overwhelmed. The last thing I remember is hearing Charlie's voice on the radio, then everything went black.” I explained.
“You lost control of the wheel?” Bill asked.
“In some circles, I'm considered completely out of control.” I joked. “I honestly don't know what happened. I came out here to find my friend and then...” My voice trailed off as the realization of what I'd just been through hit me. I could have died.
“We're here. Now, it's not much, but it will do you some good. There's plenty of room for you to get some shut eye and clean yourself up a little. Hopefully, you're not too badly hurt. I bet you're pretty hungry too.”
He didn't know how right he was. My whole body ached, but my stomach was doing the most protesting at the moment. I didn't think it was just hunger though. My stomach felt hollow, but so did my entire body. I felt like a shell of who I had always believed myself to be in life. I guess a near death experience will do that to a person.
“Thanks, but I need to get my car out of the ditch and get to Gering. I have to find my friend.” I said.
“Gering? You're about twenty miles from there on a good day, but in this, it could take you all night to get there and just how do you think that you're going to get your car out of that ditch? Do you think you'll be able to just push it out of the snow? I'll tell you what, I'd pay to see you try, if I was a lesser man, but since I'm not, I really don't want to allow you to get back on the road again. You really need to rest. I don't want to be responsible for your death.”
“Allow me?” Uh oh, he just said the wrong thing to me. You see, I had real difficulty with the word allow. I wasn't property. I wasn't a child. I didn't need anyone's permission and I sure as beans wasn't going to let some strange man tell me what I could or couldn't do. I don't care if he did happen to save my life and have a friendly grin and bright, blue eyes that sparkled as he spoke. He didn't own me.
“You don't get to tell me what to do. That's not how this is going to work. If I'm going to find my friend alive, I have to go and I have to go now. “
Immediately, Bill put his hands in front of him defensively. “Whoa. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I am not that kind of man. I'm just trying to help you. I can't let you go out there and get yourself killed. Did you even hear what your boyfriend said in that interview on the radio? There are wild coyotes out and they found themselves someone to kill already. Do you want to be person number two? Do you want to be a victim? It seems to me that we got plenty of victims around here already. I can't in good faith, let you out of my sight and out into the snow. What kind of man would I be, if I did that?”
He stopped me in my tracks with his words. “Wolves?” I asked, stuck on the first part of his speech.
He shook his head, saying again, “No, coyotes. It's mating season ,and, if you get in their way, they'll do something about it. Looks like some innocent sap did just that and he lost his life for it. Now, you don't want that, do you?”
“Of course not.” I began. All I could think about was the fact that the victim had to be Nubbin. I wanted to cry again. I wanted to crawl into a hole an
d never come out, but I had to be sure first and I had to get my car back out of that snow bank and fast. How I was going to manage that, I didn't know.
“I have to find my friend.” I explained again.
My words must have fallen on deaf ears because Bill asked, “Who is this friend you keep talking about? The sheriff, because last I knew, he wasn't missing. And, besides, doesn't he know that you were trying to drive through this mess? I can't believe that he wouldn't have warned you not to drive. Where are you coming from anyway?”
“California,” I said, trying not to focus on the throbbing both my head and my leg were doing.
“Not the sheriff. No, my friend is missing. My other friend,” I said. My tears started to flow again as he led me inside the farm house. “Wait. I need my dog. I can't leave Barney out here.”
Bill assured me that he would get Barney and bring him inside the house, but I refused to believe it until I saw it actually happen with my own eyes. For whatever reason, I latched on to the thought of having Barney at my side and I wouldn't let that thought go until he was safe and secure with me.”
“Now miss, I already told you, you're safe here. Feel free to give Charlie a call and let him know that you're here with me. I'm sure he'll be relieved and he'll tell you the same thing. It's just not safe to be out on the roads. Spring snowstorms aren't like winter storms. These storms will do some real damage.” Bill explained to me.
“Mercy,” I said. “Please, call me Mercy. I'm sorry for sounding so paranoid. It's just with the accident and everything...”
Bill put his large hand on my shoulder to comfort me. “You had a scare there, Mercy. No need to apologize.”
“Do you mind if I use your phone,” I asked, searching my pockets for the prepaid phone that Jimbo and Mack had given to me earlier.
“Sure, please do. Did you travel without a phone? That hardly seems safe. If you lost it in the accident, I'm sure it will come up. I'm pretty sure that no one will be driving on the highway tonight. Once the sun comes up tomorrow, hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll be able to locate your phone and get your car out of that drift.” Bill said, handing me the house phone.
I thanked him and found a seat to sit in while I tried to reach Charlie. As expected, he didn't answer his cell phone.
“Darn, he didn't answer.” I said. For the life of me, I couldn't remember anyone's phone number. “Do you have a phone book?”
“Sure, but if you're trying to reach Charlie, you might want to call the sheriff's office. With all that's going on in the county, I'll bet he's pretty busy, but Jean, his secretary should be around.” Bill handed me the thinnest phone book I'd ever seen. It was almost a shame that someone had to print it.
“Thanks. I didn't think about that. Do they know what happened with the coyotes? Do they know who the victim is? And, have they caught the bank robbers yet?” I asked.
“No, not that I know of. That's all they've been talking about on the news and the radio, but no one has mentioned anything about knowing who, what, how, or when, as far as I know.” Bill said.
I had to laugh, remembering the hog reports I'd heard on the drive. “No, that's not all they talked about. I hear hog futures are up or something like that.”
“Not a fan of local radio, are you,” Bill laughed.
I dialed the number to the sheriff's office. The secretary didn't answer until the fourth ring.
“Yes, I'd like to speak to Sheriff Wagner, please?” I asked.
“You and everybody else.” She groaned. “He's busy. I'm sure you heard, there's quite a bit going on in town.”
Great! All I needed was a grouchy secretary to make my day complete.
“I realize that he's probably busy, but I'm not calling just to chat. I'm a friend of his and I'm here to...” I started, but she cut me off.
“A friend? Oh, well, why didn't you say so? That changes everything. What's your name, friend?” Her sarcasm levels were at an all-time high. I could tell by her tone.
I cleared my throat, more to prevent myself from snapping back at this woman than because my throat was tickling me. “My name is Mercy Mares. Charlie and I are... Charlie and I are friends.”
“I'll tell him you called, but don't expect a call back any time soon. Goodbye.” Jean hung up the phone.
“Why the furrowed brow,” Bill asked.
“He wasn't there,” I said. I didn't want to say what I was really thinking about Jean. For all I knew, Jean could have been his wife.
Bill shook his head. “Yep, she sure is a friendly one, isn't she?” He laughed. “So, who are you looking for, if it's not Charlie?”
I wrapped my arms around my body to hold my trembling body still. Bill said, “Sorry. You must be freezing. You better get out of those clothes before you catch your death.”
I began to shake more violently. My adrenaline rush had wound down and the frigid temperatures caught up with me. I didn't own any winter clothing, so my clothing offered little protection from the elements.
Bill left the room and returned with a couple of quilts and a thick bathrobe. “These were my wife's. They might be a little big on you, but they're better than wet clothes.”
He showed me to a bedroom to change. Barney followed obediently behind me.
“Thank you,” I said as I closed the door.
When I returned to the kitchen, Bill had a fresh pot of coffee and a plate of food waiting for me on the table.
“I hope you eat meat. This is beef country. I fixed a bowl of food for your dog too.” Bill said, pulling a chair out for me. “So, about your friend...”
I rubbed my hands together to warm them up. I just knew I was going to get sick from having been exposed to the elements.
“He's missing.” I said as I sat down. “I came out here to help find him.”
“Are you talking about Schmeckpepper?” Bill asked. “I heard about that. Don't know why he would just take off like that. I don't know why anyone would.”
“You know Nubbin?” I asked, hopeful that he would know where to find him.
Bill changed his tone, saying, “No, I don't know him. I just heard about it on the news. Not much happens here. Now all of a sudden we have all sorts of unfortunate stuff happening. The coyotes killing that poor man. Thieves preying on small town sensibilities and a snowstorm that will probably wreak more havoc than any other storm I can remember.”
“So, they haven't found Nubbin yet?” I asked, hoping I was wrong.
He shook his head. “I'm afraid not. No one knows what happened to him. There's speculation that he may be the one that the coyotes...” He paused as I shuddered to think about it. “I'm sorry. I'm sure they'll find him. He's probably holed up in some place warm, having a good laugh about how people are going on about him.”
I hoped he was right, but something told me that it just wouldn't be possible. Nubbin had never gone more than a day without contacting me. It didn't matter what was going on, he felt the need to call me and tell me all about it. I didn't mind, though. He was such a card. His phone calls would make my day, except for our last conversation. He was upset about something and I was too busy dealing with something else that I didn't take the time to find out what was going on and now this has happened.
“I feel so helpless.” I groaned.
“You're not. You made it this far. Things will clear up and you'll get out of here and all will be well again.” Bill said, turning on a small television that sat on the counter top.
A reporter was in mid-report. “I repeat, they were last seen in Hutchinson, Kansas, driving a gray conversion van with Nebraska license plates. Four men in all. Three men appearing to be in their early to mid-thirties and one described as geriatric.”
*
“Could you please not yell? My head is throbbing enough as it is.” I rubbed my temples as Charlie and a tow truck driver hooked up chains to the rear bumper of my rental car.
Charlie scowled at me. “And, just what were you thinking? The hig
hway is closed. I know you can read. Why did you keep driving? What are you – some kind of hero?”
“Don't you listen, Sheriff Wagner?” I asked, stepping forward to try to help.
“I told you why I'm here. Nubbin is my friend.”
“If he is your friend, you wouldn't have encouraged all the nonsense he's been up to because of you,” Charlie snapped back at me.
Bill put his hands up. “Now, arguing isn't going to solve anything. You're lady friend is just concerned about her friend. No need to be nasty.”
Charlie glared at me briefly, then turned his attention back to the task at hand. “Get in my car, Mercy. And, stay there.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but another round of sneezes took hold of me. I'd spent the night before going back and forth between sneezing and coughing thrown in with a mixture of cold sweats and extreme bouts of heat. I knew I'd end up sick. I just hadn't counted on becoming sick so quickly and so violently. No matter what though, I still fully intended to do whatever I could to locate Nubbin and get him back to the nursing home, safe and sound.