Only The Trees Know, page 20
“And you’re worried about being poisoned? I don’t think the body can process tree bark.”
“If I’m hungry enough, I’ll make it,” I smirked. “Or I could chew on leaves I guess.”
We were both delirious if this conversation was anything to go by. The morning hadn’t brought better news. We hadn’t been able to tell where we were in the daylight. That meant we couldn’t retrace our steps to the camp, nor could we find our original route. Every tree, bush, and rock looked the same.
Zoe was pretty useless with her broken leg. She’d started running a fever early in the morning. It didn’t stop us from pushing forward and walking a bit. She hung between Liam and I, her arms on our shoulders as we dragged her. Eventually we realized this wasn’t the best option. It exhausted all of us and we weren’t making progress.
We decided then that it was best to stop, leave her in a clearing while Liam and I split up to look for something to eat. Our survival depended on finding food, shelter, and water. And that needed to be done before we lost the sun.
“Did you find anything to eat?” Liam asked.
“Nah, but I did find some wood.” I showed him my find. “We can’t set a fire since we don’t have matches but I figure that maybe we could fashion a spear.”
“To hunt?”
I shrugged. “Or to have a weapon in case we run into that crazy guy again.”
“Good thinking,” Liam nodded.
My stomach rumbled and twisted then, so empty it was eating itself. If I didn’t get food into it soon, I feared that I might faint. Maybe the berries would be okay after all. Another few hours of starvation and I wouldn’t be picky anyway.
“We need to get back,” Liam said after the fifth time he’d twisted around to examine the forest. He’d woken jumpy and distant. He wasn’t acting like himself. Even now, several hours into the day, he looked jerkily in several directions expecting someone to rush us.
I nodded and we both fell into step, making our way back to where we’d left Zoe.
Liam gave an audible gasp when we stepped into the clearing. He rushed to where she’d been propped against a tree. She wasn’t there. The dirt was disturbed where she’d sat. Long drag marks lead from that spot out into the trees and the tangle of the forest. He turned in a full circle frantically surveying the area. Then he called a panicked, “Zoe?”
Berries scattered to the ground as he let go of his shirt and grabbed his hair. He just kept looking around, twirling in a circle before he began to pace. Our food became crushed under his boots. “Where is she?”
“You need to relax. She probably just went to the bathroom.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have left her,” Liam said. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me since he didn’t seem to notice I was there. And he looked around, but not really connecting with anything.
“We can look for her,” I suggested. “Take a breath. Call for her. She can’t have gotten far.”
He nodded vigorously, and then began to yell. Cupping his hands together to amplify the sound. He’d go hoarse in a matter of minutes if he continued that way.
I started to one side of the marks that lead out of the clearing, Liam on the other. We walked out following the direction they’d taken. As the minutes ticked by with still no sign of Zoe, Liam’s agitation skyrocketed. We drifted apart as we worked our way farther from camp, falling naturally into a V formation. Eventually we lost sight of the other. I could still hear him calling, as I’m sure he could hear me.
“Don’t leave me,” Liam yelled, panicked.
I paused, not sure if he called that for me or Zoe. I waited to see if he’d call again. And when he did, I figured it was for me. I wasn’t too far away; it took me only seconds to step into his sightline.
“Why are you leaving me?” he yelled directly at me.
I held up my hands, wanting to calm him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Just make sure I can see you. We can’t separate again.
“We need to cover more ground,” I argued.
“No. Something happened to her or else she’d answer. I’m not letting it happen to you too.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
We started searching again and I followed him.
Liam called for Zoe, his voice cracked and strained. He’d tire soon and his voice would give out. At that point I’d have to take over.
Occasionally I’d yell for Zoe too. But mostly I just trudged along.
Liam followed the drag impressions. It had been more pronounced around the tree at the clearing and occasionally we would catch echoes of the marks on the footpaths. Our progress halted when we reached the edge of a ravine.
“It’s a dead end. She can’t have come this way,” I said, turning to head in a different direction. “Come on, let’s circle back around. She’s probably back at the clearing already.”
I moved as I gave the suggestion, intending for him to follow me.
Liam didn’t, though. He stared over the ravine, the stubborn line of his back straight. His voice was haunted when he said, “She’s down there. I know it in my gut.”
I scoffed loud enough for him to hear me. “You can’t possibly know that, and I’m not about to climb down there on direction from your hunger pains.”
Not that I thought we could climb down it if we wanted to. The ridge cut away into a straight drop. To risk that because he had a hunch was madness. There was no sign of Zoe to corroborate his theory. No blood, no displaced rock, nothing.
“Seriously, Liam,” I said, “There’s nothing down there.”
Liam cupped his hands and called over the side. Zoe’s name carried across the canyon. Of course there was no response, just the echo and then silence.
I raised my eyebrows. “If she’s down there, do you expect to hear her if she called back?”
“Maybe.” He didn’t sound sure about that.
He made for the little trail several feet away. It wasn’t wide enough or safe enough to be a walking trail. Just a little groove of dirt created by animals more dexterous than we were, a shoddy path that we’d probably kill ourselves if we took. One false step and we’d fall over the side.
Liam had already stepped onto it.
“This is not a good idea.”
I hoped that I’d conveyed how stupid this was and that he’d turn back. Though he determinedly took another step forward, so I doubted it. I watched him descend trying to figure out what to say to make him stop. The ground slid out underneath him making him bend to the side, his hand on the cliff for balance.
“You’re gonna kill yourself,” I yelled. “And for what? She’s not even there.”
He didn’t even look at me.
Fool.
When he was several more feet down, he must have realized I hadn’t followed. Finally he looked up. “Aren’t you coming?”
“You’re an idiot,” I said.
He shook his head, starting to descend once again. “What if she is and needs us? I’d never forgive myself.”
I exhaled—it was a half-frustrated sound and a half scream and then I started scrambling after him. Internally, I yelled at myself for following. I knew better, so why then had I given in?
It wasn’t until I almost fell off the face of the cliff that I decided I’d had enough. My feet slipped out from under me and I landed on my ass and slid. I would have fallen over the edge if I hadn’t skidded right into Liam, sending him onto his rear too.
He reached out, managing to grab me and stop himself at the same time. Holding me there, with the lower half of my body dangling over the drop.
My heartbeat made an ocean of white noise in my ears. I sucked breath heavily through my mouth. Adrenaline warmed and popped my ears.
His arms were around me and our hands were connected creating a bridge that bound us together. Liam’s palm was wet and muddy from sweat and dirt. It felt like that was where he was supposed to be—his hand in mine. We turned to each other. Our gazes met and held. Here, on the edge of the world, we’d found a moment of understanding between us.
It was a lie and I was not about to let it continue to ruin me. Nor was I about to fall off this mountain. I would be returning to the top where it was safe.
I shoved away the broken, sad feeling that filled me. Letting go of his hand, I pushed back onto my feet. I couldn’t stay here and deal with this. Scrambling down a cliff didn’t seem half as fraught with tension and uncertainty as facing Liam did.
“I’m going back,” I said, sliding the palms of my hands against my jeans to dry them. I turned around, intending to climb up.
Liam nodded, rising as well, but then he turned downward again in the opposite direction. Apparently, he was insistent on his stupid quest.
I sighed, taking my first step.
Then he reached out to grab me before I could move. “Wait. I see something.”
I slid free of his arm, taking another tottering step uphill. “There’s nothing there.”
“I’m fucking serious,” he said and then I heard the sound of him sliding, scrambling down the trail.
I turned, watching as he made the descent mostly on his ass, his legs and feet in front of him to guide his fall. He moved fast, flying over the terrain. And I was certain at any moment he’d fly over the edge.
I didn’t follow. But I didn’t climb back up either, frozen there. My stomach clinched. I wanted to call him back. To turn away and be done with it.
When Liam finally stopped sliding, I could only see the top of his head. It disappeared as he ducked behind a grouping of shrubs.
A loud wail rent the air.
I knew that he had found her.
I turned then and began to make my way slowly up the crest, not wanting to see her body.
Chapter Thirty-Four
NOW…
Dawson came to life during closing arguments. A natural showman, he addressed the jury with a combination of humility and purpose, providing them with compelling arguments as to why I was innocent. He held everyone spellbound, even the families of my friends who whispered behind us in spite of the fact that Judge Wallis had told them to keep quiet. It was as if the entire room collectively held their breath as Dawson delivered his speech.
Now I knew why he was one hell of an expensive attorney.
I was glad that he was my lawyer. Especially after Ms. Johnson blasted me in her closing arguments an hour before. When she’d stepped away from addressing the jury, I had zero hope left. She’d railed at me. Claiming that I was a cold-blooded murderer who had no remorse. That I’d lured my friends into the woods with every intention of killing them.
Despair mixed with dread, it felt like a physically heavy burden caused me to curve in on myself. It ached and burned. I needed to keep my hope that it would turn out okay, even though everything felt surreal.
My emotions were not steady. They rose higher the longer Dawson spoke. What he said made sense. He brought logic to the table. Maybe I could get off. There was a chance—not a big one, only a tiny sliver of opportunity, but all wasn’t lost.
And then crashed down to reality when I reminded myself that I was probably going to be convicted. It didn’t look good. The jury appeared bloodthirsty. They couldn’t stop staring at me, making me feel like a bug on display. Worse now that they’d heard all the horrible accusations about me from Ms. Johnson. Their judgy eyes did little to give me confidence.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will conclude by reiterating that no murder weapon was ever found. No knife, no drugs, nothing connects the unfortunate deaths of Mr. Crandall, Miss Adler, and Mr. Kirkpatrick to my client, Mr. Harrison.” Dawson stared them down, daring the jury to contradict anything he had to say.
“There was DNA traces, yes. But that is only because Josiah was camping with his friends and casual touch is to be expected, and he made an effort to render aid. Would you convict him because he sought to save his friends’ lives?”
Next to me, sweat poured down Number Two’s face. He was a mess. I wanted to shout at him. Dawson had told us to act like we had the vote in the bag. That confidence was key to winning a jury. My team looking ragged would not play well.
“We dispute that there was any murder in Mr. Crandall and Miss Adler’s case. Those were unfortunate accidents.” Dawson shook his head, appearing sorrowful. “In Mr. Kirkpatrick’s case, there was a murder. The evidence suggests that William Buckley is in fact that murderer. The prosecution has tried to manipulate his role in an attempt to distract you from the truth. He’s a convicted felon with a history of violence. He was in the woods, in their campsite. Admitted to being in an altercation with the deceased.”
Dawson took a step back, angling his body so that he could sweep out his arm to encompass where I sat.
I tried to appear calm and self-assured even though I felt pressure in my head that made my eye twitch. I looked down at the floor in front of Dawson instead of into the faces of the twelve people deciding my fate.
“Contrast that to Josiah Harrison, who has never been convicted of a crime,” Dawson said. “Has no criminal history, and the few reports of misbehavior he does have can be classified as typical teenage angst. Nothing less, nothing more. The prosecution expects you to believe that he premeditated the murder of his friends. Wanted them to die in a brutal and agonizing way.
“I ask you, which scenario is more likely? Why would he have done that? They haven’t provided any legitimate reason for that to be the case.”
Dawson took a moment, letting the tension swell. “Please do your duty, determine that Mr. Harrison is not guilty.”
I closed my eyes. Had it been enough? Did we do all we could? I hoped the jury wouldn’t sentence me to die.
Chapter Thirty-Five
THEN….
IN THE FOREST
Even pressed together as close as we could possibly manage, there was not enough body heat between Liam and I to stop our constant shaking. It had settled bone deep. My muscles contracted and seized, cramping and twisting. My whole body protested its frozen state. I might lose a finger or a toe if we weren’t found soon. It was perhaps a blessing that I could still feel pain because I remember reading down the rabbit hole of Google that it meant those body parts still functioned.
The temperature had also affected my mind. My thoughts were slow. Making connections felt like wading in a thick gel, not quite able to make sense of anything. Everything inside my head was in a state of confusion. Sometimes I thought I was back in the pool house smoking and high, other times I thought I was in the tent with Parker, Zoe and Liam outside sitting at the campfire. Eventually I’d come back to myself, realizing that Liam and I were alone and still lost in the woods.
And that Parker and Zoe were dead.
Each time I crashed back to reality, I hit harder. It hurt a little deeper. And I cared a little less.
Though there was physical closeness between Liam and I, the feeling of disconnection remained miles wide. We hadn’t spoken in hours.
He’d dozed several times throughout the afternoon, often making confused sounds in his sleep as he mumbled and shook. He was awake now; his head rested on my shoulder and his body leaned into mine. It felt as if he sought my comfort, but it was one more thing he asked for that I couldn’t give. I felt stretched thin by his need. And still he sought to take whatever small pieces of me that I had left. Perfectly willing to tear me apart in the process.
We were pushed into a tiny space beneath a craggy rock. A bush at the front hid us from view. An intimate space for two emotionally compromised people.
“He’s after us,” Liam whispered, breaking the silence. “When he finds us, we’ll be dead too.”
I didn’t know what to say. Feeding into his hysteria didn’t seem the best option. We couldn’t control our situation, only our perception of it. I didn’t want to add to his panic. He seemed to be doing well enough with frightening himself on his own. So I sat there, saying nothing, with my head pressed back against the unforgiving rock.
My mind wandered for a time.
I later realized that Liam cried into my shoulder. We’d shifted so that I was holding him now. He was careful to keep the sound of his tears near silent.
Tears no longer moved me. I made no move to shut him up. Instead I let him cry while I dozed.
A loud noise banged through the forest. Birds squawked, feathering through the trees. The beat of their wings swooshing overhead. A cracking branch fell and broke with a loud thump. Followed by several crashing sounds as whatever it was made its way toward us.
I snapped to attention, dislodging Liam from my side.
He sat up too, his body tense and on high alert. The lethargy had slid away giving me back the real Liam in this moment. He reached over to grab for my hand.
“It’s not him,” I said, my voice scratchy from disuse.
The sound had been way too loud. Whatever was out there would be huge. Maybe a bear or a mountain lion. I pictured sharp teeth ripping into my flesh.
“It is him,” Liam insisted.
“No. It’s an animal.”
Liam whimpered. “So we’re going to get eaten? Either way we die.”
I swallowed. His panic had started to bleed into me. I’d tried not to entertain it for as long as I could, but he had a point. We could very well be goners if it was a bear. Bears smelled their food, didn’t they?
“We’re gonna die,” Liam chanted.
I shushed him.
His head came down on my shoulder again and his arms circled me. Clutching me tighter to him. I could feel the heat of his breath on my skin.
I put my hand to his head, pushing my fingers into his hair. Then I held him there and just breathed, allowing myself this moment to memorize the feel of him.
The noise sounded again in the forest. This time a low growl that cut through the stillness. Everything stopped. Birds, squirrels, all the small sounds that were the normal background chatter fell into silence.
I shivered.
“Does an animal sound like that?” Liam asked. His mouth was at my ear and even then, I could barely make the words out.
