Finding Hannah

by John Kess

  “She can sleep on the guest bed in Amy’s room,” Mom said.

  I thanked them both and left the table. To kill some time after breakfast I mowed the lawn.

  Throughout the day I felt a growing excitement at the idea that Molly was coming over. After supper I began to worry she wasn’t coming, but a few hours later she knocked on the sliding-glass door next to my room. I was surprised that she wore her backpack with the sleeping bag hanging below it as if she were ready for more hiking.

  “Will you help me take this off?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  She winced as I lifted it up and she slid her arms out of the straps. “It wasn’t so bad when I put it on.”

  She wore shorts, and I was happy to see she didn’t have any bruises on her legs. I figured she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt to hide the bruises on her arms. The dark ring around her left eye had gotten darker, but the other eye looked almost back to normal.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “Better. I don’t feel as sore as I did yesterday.” She groaned as she bent forward trying to touch her toes. She had to stop at her ankles. “It’s like having someone standing on your back.”

  “I’m surprised you walked over here.”

  “My legs are fine; it’s my stupid back.” She lifted her shirt a few inches above her waist to show a purple and red mess.

  “That looks like it really hurts,” I said.

  “It’s just sore.”

  My mom came down to say hello and insisted Molly get some rest. I wanted Molly to heal as fast as possible, so I didn’t put up a fight.

  The next morning, Molly got up early and joined me on the couch as I watched TV. We hadn’t been sitting there long when Amy ran down the steps. “Molly!” My mom was right behind her.

  “Amy, I heard you had a birthday,” Molly said.

  “Guess how old I am?” Amy ran over to the couch and sat next to her. “What happened to your eye?”

  “I fell and landed on it. I’ll be okay. I’m going to guess you’re nine.”

  “No,” Amy said playfully. “I’m seven now.”

  “Wow. Guess what? I’ve got something for you.” Molly dug out a wrapped box from her backpack and handed it to Amy.

  Amy quickly opened it to find a small wooden jewelry box. The inside was full of plastic bracelets and necklaces. Her mouth opened wide as she looked inside. “Wow! Mom, look!”

  “These were mine when I was your age,” Molly said. “But now I want you to have them.”

  “It’s really nice of Molly to remember your birthday,” Mom said. “What do you say to Molly?”

  “Thank you!” Amy squealed as she hugged Molly.

  Molly cringed. I could tell she didn’t want Amy to know how much the hug hurt. Amy cuddled next to her, as she had done so many times with Hannah, while we all watched a movie.

  After the movie was over, I helped Molly start a load of laundry. None of her clothes had been washed from our previous trip.

  During lunch, my parents grilled Molly about what we’d been doing while we were out searching. She told them about the heat, and how she was teaching me to swim. I told them I taught Molly how to build a fire.

  “Can’t wait to get back out searching,” Molly said.

  “Well, you need to rest first,” Mom said.

  “I will tonight, but tomorrow morning I’ll be ready to go.”

  Dad quickly looked at Molly and said, “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’m ready,” Molly said. “I feel much better today.”

  Mom tried to convince her to give it at least another day, but Molly insisted and my parents backed down.

  Molly and I played a board game with Amy after lunch and then Molly took a nap. I repacked my bag and went with my mom to the grocery store to load up on dried food.

  After supper, Molly painted Amy’s toenails with her favorite color, bright pink. When she was finished, Molly let Amy paint her toenails the same color so they’d match. I declined their offer to paint mine.

  Molly read Amy a bedtime story and then got ready for bed.

  I was downstairs brushing my teeth when Molly appeared at the door.

  “Hey,” she said, “I have a doctor appointment next Tuesday, so if we go tomorrow, we’ll have four days to search.”

  I spit my toothpaste into the sink. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’m sure. We’ve got searching to do.”

  I smiled.

  “Today was great,” Molly said. “Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”

  “You’re welcome anytime.”

  We said good night and Molly went upstairs.

  I thought of how common it had been to spend a day with my family, and yet for Molly, the last time she’d been able to experience anything like today would have been before her dad passed away. It made me think of Hannah, and what a great day we’d all have together when she came home.

  * * *

  Dad dropped us off early the next morning on a highway near our new search area. A gray overcast sky hung low, touching the treetops, making it hard to see more than fifty feet in front of us. It was misting as we entered a forest of elm, maple, and birch trees. There was no direct route, so we wove around large clumps of bushes and old tree growths. Dad’s GPS unit had fresh batteries, which was good because I needed to look at it often to make sure we were headed in the right direction.

  The sun came out an hour later, cleared away the mist, and began to cook the forest again. We walked slowly, making sure Molly didn’t overdo it on the first day back. We both knew it would be easier once we made camp and could leave most of our gear with the tent while we searched.

  Molly was truly amazing. I’d never met a more driven person in my life. She was pushing her pain aside to help find someone she’d never met.

  “I think Amy is so sweet,” Molly said. “Is she that way around other people?”

  “Sometimes, but she’s that way around older girls all of the time. She was like that around Hannah.”

  “So she looks up to her big sister?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Molly stopped walking and faced me. “Have you spoken to Amy yet? I mean, have you had a chance to talk to her about that night?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t want to do it on her birthday.”

  Molly nodded. “You still need to do it. Soon.”

  “I know. I will.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  We hiked for two hours, then picked out our new campsite. This time we chose a clearing surrounded by maple trees near a small stream for easy water access.

  We set up the tent and took turns blowing up an air mattress, which filled the whole tent. Dad loaned it to us so Molly wouldn’t have to sleep on the hard ground.

  We took our time eating an early lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

  As soon as we finished Molly said, “Let’s go!” with a new burst of energy.

  We left most of our gear. I carried a small backpack with our GPS, water, and satellite phone.

  The rolling hills slowed us down. I caught Molly wincing occasionally, but she didn’t complain and seemed to continue on with even more determination than before, happy to be rid of her backpack.

  We hiked all afternoon in what felt like an oven. After completing our day’s loop, we were sweating so much that Molly peeled off her T-shirt and hiking boots and lay down in the small stream next to our campsite, wearing only a sports bra and her shorts. I joined her and loved the feeling of the cool gentle current sweeping over me. The water was only a foot deep, but we didn’t care.

  “This feels so good!” Molly said as she lay on her stomach next to me. I could see her back was spotted with red and purple bruises outlined in yellow. She still had bruises on her forearm. I was relieved to see there were no bruises on her stomach or shoulders.

  I flipped over and stared up at the canopy of maple leaves above me. I lay across t
he stream with my feet propped up on the bank, so the water flowed from right to left over my stomach.

  Molly sat up with her back to me and slid close enough that when she lowered herself into the water, her head was resting on my chest and her feet pointed downstream so we formed a T.

  In silence we watched the leaves move in the wind against a background of blue sky dotted with clouds. I was torn between the sweet relaxing feeling of having Molly so close and the dread of another day of searching with no sign of Hannah.

  “Have you ever dated anyone before?” Molly asked.

  “No,” I said, my face turning red. “As you’ll find out when school starts, there aren’t many girls in my school, or at least not many I’d date. There certainly aren’t any girls like you.”

  Molly blushed.

  “What about you?” I asked. “Have you dated anyone?”

  “No. They don’t allow dating at juvenile detention centers.”

  We shared a laugh.

  * * *

  Molly and I settled in for the night and I lay on my sleeping bag trying to fall asleep. The invisible band around my head was back as I thought about Hannah. I heard Blake Weldon’s voice saying “No,” when he was asked if he thought she was still alive.

  I thought about my deadline, and how little time I had left. Closing my eyes didn’t help. I heard Amy crying as I put her in my closet. I saw Hannah’s empty bed and then I heard her scream. I saw myself running through the trees holding my bat, shouting for Hannah again and again.

  A loud grunt made me sit up. It had come from outside the tent. I heard it again.

  I crawled over to the door and looked out the small window. In the moonlight I could see the outline of a huge bear standing on its hind legs underneath our food bag, which was tied up high in the tree.

  Molly shifted in her sleeping bag as the bear grunted again. “What is that?”

  “Shh!” I said.

  The bear dropped down on all fours. It was too dark to see it on the ground. Soon we could hear it grunt again and again as it shook the tree. The food bag swung back and forth in the moonlight.

  The bear returned to the spot directly under the bag, then stood up again sniffing the air.

  “What is it?” Molly whispered and then joined me at the window.

  I didn’t have to answer. As soon as she asked, the bear looked at our tent with eyes that reflected yellow in the moonlight.

  “Oh, my God,” Molly whispered as she pressed herself against me, grabbing my arm.

  The ground shook as the bear dropped back down on four legs and let out a low growl that rumbled through the tent. Molly squeezed my arm.

  The bear grunted, moved back to the tree, and shook it again.

  She cupped her hands around my ear. “What do we do?”

  “Grab a pot and something to smack it with from your backpack,” I whispered.

  I found a large spoon and a metal bowl. Molly had a small pot and its lid. I looked outside and saw the bear still shaking the tree.

  “On the count of three, start shouting and bang those together.”

  “Okay.”

  “One, two … three!”

  We both shouted as we banged the pans together. Anyone within a half mile would have heard the racket we made.

  We kept banging and yelling as we looked out the window.

  “It’s gone!” I shouted.

  “Yeah!” Molly shouted. “Don’t come back!”

  * * *

  The next morning we ate a breakfast of dried bananas, nuts, and granola bars. We packed up our tent and moved farther downstream, hoping to avoid a return visit from the bear.

  We used our new campsite as we searched in the miserable heat the next two days. In the middle of the third day, we found our first house. It was huge and modern with a pool surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. It reminded me of Wiz’s parents’ house, only larger. It was on a hill a few miles from our camp, and no one appeared to be home. There was a security system sign in the front yard. We decided to come back that night to have another look.

  When we returned to camp, I called my parents to make sure we weren’t interrupted while staking out the house we’d found. Dad told me Tony hadn’t posted bail and was still locked up. There had been no word from Molly’s mom, but this didn’t surprise me. I pictured her passed out in her chair.

  After supper, clouds rolled in and it finally cooled off. Molly and I took turns putting on our dark clothes in the tent. We sat on a log facing one another to apply each other’s face paint. Molly insisted I go first. I spread the black all over her nose, cheeks, and forehead. I took my time, making sure I covered everything, being extra careful around her black eye. When I finished, Molly took the face paint and told me to close my eyes.

  “Have you ever let another girl put face paint on you?” Molly asked as she smeared the black paste under my eyes.

  “Only you,” I said. “Have you ever slept in a tent with another guy before?”

  “Only you,” Molly said with a laugh. “Have you ever wandered the woods for days on end with another girl?”

  “Only you.” I could feel Molly’s fingers on my chin as she continued smearing. “Have you ever scared off a bear with another guy?”

  “Only you,” she said. Molly rubbed my cheeks. “Have you ever kissed anyone?”

  “No,” I kept my eyes closed as Molly covered my nose. “How about you? You ever kissed anyone?”

  Molly didn’t answer. The touch from her fingers vanished. I was about to open my eyes to see if I had said something wrong, but then Molly pressed her warm lips against mine. I felt weightless as our kiss drowned out everything else. Molly’s bright blue eyes met mine as we separated.

  “Only you,” Molly said with a smile. I returned her smile. If we hadn’t been wearing face paint, both of our faces would have been bright red.

  “Come on.” Molly stood and grabbed my hand. “We’ve got a house to stake out.”

  Chapter 10

  My GPS unit led us back to the house. It took an hour to get there. We arrived in the dark to see the house all lit up. We found a spot on a hill overlooking it and lay down so our hips touched. Touching Molly made me feel like I was floating. I remembered the feeling of her lips against mine.

  We used our binoculars and spotting scope to survey the house. At least a dozen cars lined the long driveway. It appeared most of the guests were seated in the brightly lit dining room located at the back of the house. Its massive windows gave us a perfect view. The ladies wore brightly colored dresses and the men were in suits and ties. Wine was being poured and everyone smiled and laughed as several conversations were going on at once. A couple had just arrived and were being hugged by several of the other guests who stood to greet them. My stomach growled as the lasagna, bread, and salad were served. The dinner looked so much better than our military-issue MREs.

  “Well, we can cross this place off our list,” I said.

  “Yeah, no way Hannah is there,” Molly said.

  Molly’s black hooded sweatshirt was pulled tight around her face as she looked through the spotting scope. “How much fun would that be? Look at how everyone is so dressed up.”

  “Should we crash the party?” I asked. “We’d fit right in.”

  Molly looked at me and smiled. “They’d think they were being robbed.”

  Everyone inside sat down and the man at the head of the table stood and held up his glass.

  “I’d like to make a toast,” Molly said, looking through the spotting scope, “to my friend, Dylan Beachley, a tenacious searcher of those who are lost and the best woodsman of the upper Northeast.”

  Everyone in the room raised their glasses and took a drink. As they finished, another man stood and also held up his glass.

  “And I, also, would like to make a toast,” I said, looking through the binoculars. “To my friend, Molly Beckstrand, a genius motivator of those searching and the smartest and prettiest girl in the upper Northeast.”
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br />   Again, everyone in the room raised their glasses as if they’d heard us and took a drink.

  Molly and I laughed.

  “Do you really think I’m pretty?” Molly asked.

  “Of course you are. And smart. Do you really think I’m the best woodsman?” I asked.

  “Of course I do.”

  A rumble of thunder made us look to the west.

  “Oh, no,” Molly said.

  “We’d better go,” I said.

  The wind began to blow as we stood and started back to our campsite.

  We picked up our pace as we wove in and out of the trees with the help of our flashlights.

  We were about halfway back, and the lightning flashes were becoming more frequent. I was leading the way with the GPS when I saw a flicker of light to my left and stopped.

  “Molly, look at that.” In the distance was a yard light we hadn’t seen during the day.

  “Let’s check it out,” Molly said, shutting off her flashlight. I did the same and followed her.

  The yard light was on a pole next to a small cabin. It was the complete opposite of the house we’d just watched. It was long and narrow with a door on one end next to a dead-end gravel driveway. The yard was overrun with weeds and the cabin was completely dark.

  There was a woodpile in the back next to a large shed. I couldn’t see any power lines entering the cabin.

  “It looks like a hunting shack,” Molly said.

  “Follow me,” I said. We moved around the side to get a better look. There were no cars parked in front.

  I pulled out Wiz’s night-vision goggles and turned them on. “I’m going to run over to the window and look inside. Stay here.”

  Molly nodded.

  I put the goggles on and saw the whole cabin outlined in different shades of green. I stayed low and moved under the window. I looked around one more time, then raised my head and looked inside. I could see the outline of an empty couch, a woodstove, a cooler, and a table. Sitting on the table was a map. Three deer heads were mounted on the wall above the couch.

  I returned to Molly as the sky lit up with a flash of lightning, followed by a rumble of distant thunder. “You were right. It looks like a hunting shack. No sign of anything that would make me think Hannah is here. Let’s go around to the other side.”