Surviving the Wilderness, page 13
Benny swiveled. “What are you looking at?” His gun spun wildly around the cabin. “Where’s the girl? Where’d she go?” He started for the back door. She couldn’t let him find them. “Look, kid, if you’re hiding, you’d better come out if you know what’s good for you—”
Quinn punched Benny in the back of the head as hard as she could with the strongest right hook she could muster. He swore and dropped the gun. It clattered to the floor and spun, sliding into a gap between the missing floorboards. Then he turned on her. Vile swear words dripped like poison from his lips as venom filled his eyes. A knife flicked open in his hand. “I’m going to kill you for that.”
He lunged at her and she ran, leaping through the open door and pelting out into the night. She ran blind and pushed her way into the trees, knowing with every step she was leading Benny farther and farther from Jeff and his daughter, giving them time to get away and escape. Jeff had rescued Addison. She was safe in his arms. All they had to do now was find somewhere to hide until his brother Vic and the Canadian Rangers came to their rescue. And while she prayed she’d be alive to see it, she knew that if she didn’t make it, Jeff and his daughter would be worth giving her life for.
She felt Benny’s knife catch the shoulder of her life jacket and slash deep into the fabric. She yanked free, feeling a chunk of the compact foam tear loose. And, for a terrifying moment, she nearly fell. He grabbed her by the shoulder. She tossed him off hard and he fell to the ground. She kept running.
Lord, I don’t know where I’m going or what the end game is. Please help me. Please guide me. And no matter what happens to me, keep Jeff and Addison safe.
Something rustled in the trees ahead of her. A figure loomed in the darkness. The silhouette of a tall man with broad shoulders was striding toward her. Who was he? What did he want?
Quinn stifled a scream and turned so sharply she nearly lost her footing. Now she was headed toward the water. There was no way out. She’d have to try to make it to the canoe. And if she couldn’t, she’d have to leap into the pitch-black waters and swim for it. The sound of Benny behind her grew closer. Other indistinct voices were shouting in the trees. They weren’t alone. There was someone else there chasing her in the darkness. She was surrounded.
The ground sloped steeply beneath her. She stumbled down an incline. Benny leaped and caught her around the knees like a football tackle. She tumbled to the ground, feeling him on top of her. They rolled down the hill. Her head cracked against a rock and dizziness overwhelmed her. She felt Benny rise over her then bend down. The prick of a knife pressed slowly into the soft skin at the center of her neck. He snarled, “This ends now.”
She kicked up desperately and knocked him back. He lunged forward again. The knife flashed. Suddenly a figure charged from the darkness with a barely restrained roar. He grabbed Benny by the scruff of the neck, yanked him off Quinn and pressed him to the ground, pinning him there and wrenching the knife from his hand. Benny swore violently, futilely threatening all kinds of revenge she could tell by his tone he wouldn’t be able to affect.
“Jeff?” she called. She scrambled to her feet. “Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” His voice moved warm and protectively in the darkness. “I’m here. I’ve got you.” But what was he doing there? Where was Addison? “Just give me a second to tie this guy’s hands and stop his noise. And then I’ll explain everything.”
Benny’s verbal assault was muffled. Yet he still made enough of a racket she could tell Jeff had gagged him with cloth and far more kindly than Benny had gagged her.
A distant light swung through the forest to her right, illuminating the scene. She blinked into the light but couldn’t see who was behind the beam. Benny was on the ground with his hands tied behind his back and gagged with a bandana. Jeff stood over him. He turned and fixed his gaze on her. His hands reached out. Exhaustion and relief seemed to pour over his strong form. “Thank you,” he said. “You...” His voice caught in his throat before their hands could meet and his lips could say another word.
“Daddy!” Addison’s voice chirped through the trees. “You found Quinn!”
He chuckled. “Yes, Little Girl, I did.”
Then she saw Jeff’s brother step out of the trees, backlit by another still distant rescue person, who was holding the flashlight and now seemed to be running toward them. Vic cradled a squirming Addison in one arm and an equally rambunctious puppy in the other.
Addison practically lunged out of her uncle’s grasp toward her father.
“Here,” Jeff said to Vic and opened his arms. “Let me take her. You can take over this guy.” He gestured to Benny. “I recommend finding a dry corner in one of the houses in the main circle to put him in. Somewhere we can keep an eye on him.”
Vic set the dog down by Jeff’s feet and strode over to where Benny lay on the ground. But Quinn’s ability to focus on the brothers’ conversation faded as the person with the flashlight came closer and she realized it wasn’t some Canadian Ranger or law enforcement stranger. It was Rose. A sob escaped Quinn’s lips and was echoed by her sister. They threw themselves into each other’s arms and hugged, laughing and crying together in relief.
“I’m sorry I’m late to the party,” Rose said when the sisters finally pulled away. “Jeff told us that Benny had lost his gun in the floorboards of the house. So I went, found it and secured it. But I didn’t see any sign of the female kidnapper.”
So, Kelsey was still out there somewhere in the darkness, with a satellite phone, trying to reach Big Poppa. At least, as far as they knew, she wasn’t armed.
“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked.
“Vic came back to the house to help with the evacuation of your campers,” her sister said. “As I think you’ve heard, a friend of a friend of Leia’s fiancé had space for them at a place only three hours away from the cabin. They were reunited with their luggage and belongings there. Then I hitched a ride on the helicopter with Vic, coming to look for you.”
“Which I objected to,” Vic cut in. “And only gave in because you promised to follow direction.”
Vic reached into his pocket, pulled out a second flashlight and switched it on. Then he hauled Benny to his feet with his other hand and steered him toward the ghost town.
“We saw you from the helicopter in the canoe but then we were struck by lightning,” Rose said. “It was a pretty loud and scary moment. I won’t lie. But the pilot was amazing. And managed to find a safe place to lower Vic and me down by rope.”
“If I remember correctly—” Vic stopped walking and turned back “—I told you to stay in the helicopter and let me go down alone.”
Was it her imagination or did her sister actually blush?
“Well...yeah, you did,” Rose said. “But there were two harnesses, and I didn’t think you’d meant it.”
“I meant it!” Vic called. His voice was almost indignant. He resumed walking Benny back to town.
Jeff laughed. “Guess I should’ve warned you, bro,” Jeff shouted after him. “The Dukes sisters are some of the toughest, bravest people in this world.”
“I’ll give you guys a moment,” Rose said. “Also I’m going to use Vic’s satellite phone to call the family and let them know you’re okay. Sounds like Leia and Sally have got everyone we’ve ever met camped out at the farmhouse overnight.”
“Tell them I’ll call them in a minute,” Quinn said.
“Will do.” Rose set the flashlight down against a rock so the beam of light illuminated Jeff and Quinn. Then she turned and followed after Vic and Benny.
“Quinn!” Addison reached out both arms within her daddy’s grasp. “Want hug.”
“Definitely.”
Quinn turned toward the little girl and opened her arms, expecting Jeff to pass her to her. Instead, Jeff stepped forward, slid one arm around Quinn’s waist and pulled her in. Quinn put one arm around the little girl and the other around her father. Addison wrapped her little arms tightly around Quinn’s neck. The three of them stayed there for a long moment, holding each other. And when she tried to pull away, Addison clutched her tighter and tucked her head against her. So she stayed there, with her arms around Jeff and Addison, and their arms around her, feeling relieved, happy and whole in way she couldn’t explain and had never felt before. Until finally the little girl broke the hug first.
“Done hug now, Daddy,” she said firmly. “Put me down.”
“Okay.” Jeff pulled away slowly and set her down.
Quinn stepped back and picked up the flashlight. Addison slid one small hand into Quinn’s and took her father’s hand with the other. They started back for the cabin slowly, with Addison walking between them and the dog scampering ahead through the trees. It was only then she realized the rain had stopped to a faint drizzle.
“When do we get out of here?” she asked.
“As soon as they’re able to send another rescue helicopter out here,” Jeff said, “which won’t be until they’re positive the storm isn’t about to surge back, considering the last one was struck by lightning.”
“But we’ve now got a way to contact the outside world?” she asked.
“We do,” Jeff said. She watched as worry lines creased his brow. “We’re definitely better off than we were. But they’re no closer to figuring out who Big Poppa is, still haven’t managed to bring Paul in for questioning, and got nothing useful so far out of talking to Pastor Drew and his wife. And while I’m beyond thankful we’re all together and finally have backup, for now we’re still stuck in the woods—just the five of us with no way out.”
“Plus we now have a hostage,” Quinn said, “which complicates things. And Kelsey’s out there somewhere in the night with a phone, able to contact Big Poppa and tell him where we are.”
Big Poppa was still on his way, and when he arrived, they’d have no choice but to fight and no way to escape him.
ELEVEN
About an hour later, Quinn and Jeff were sitting side by side in the doorway of one of the abandoned cabins in the center of the ghost town, looking out at the starless night. The treacherous rain had stopped for now and heavy clouds hung across the sky, blocking out the stars. She could hear the gentle sound of Addison’s breath rising and falling as she slept peacefully on the sleeping bag in the empty room behind them and the wheezing snores of the puppy sleeping alongside her.
Two flashlight beams moved periodically through the darkness at different ends of the ghost town as Rose and Vic patrolled the area. Quinn had called the family farmhouse and assured her sisters Leia and Sally that she was alive and well, after Jeff had used the phone to notify the police about Benny. Law enforcement had assured him the police would accompany the rescue efforts to arrest Benny. In the meantime, Vic had done his best to make sure Benny had a fairly comfortable and dry cabin to wait in on the opposite side of the town square. There’d been no sign of Big Poppa yet, and Kelsey seemed to have disappeared into the night.
In the meantime, all they could do was patrol and wait.
Silently, she turned and looked at Jeff in the darkness. He was staring straight ahead into the trees. They’d set another flashlight Vic had brought by their feet in the dirt and angled it slightly upward against a rock, so it would give them some light without shining directly on Addison. Quinn watched as its beam sent shadows flickering along his jawline and up the side of his face.
Addison had been exhausted by the time they’d gotten back to the cabins. Thankfully, Vic had brought with him an emergency pack that had included blankets, so they’d been able to make her a soft, fresh bed to sleep on, away from the cabin Benny and Kelsey had held her in. Both Jeff and Quinn had curled up on opposites sides of Addison on the floor, creating a protective shell around her and holding her hands as she finally settled down. Then Quinn and Jeff had taken turns telling her stories, singing her songs, and praying with her until the little girl’s eyes had finally closed, her breaths had slowed and she’d fallen asleep. Even then they’d stayed there, on opposite sides of her, with her small hands in theirs, until she’d pulled away in her sleep, curled up into a ball and wrapped her arms around Butterscotch as he nuzzled into her neck. She’d buried her face in his fur.
Only then did Quinn and Jeff give up their posts at her side, creep to the doorway and sit there, silently looking out at the night.
For a long time, neither of them spoke. Quinn brushed her shoulder against Jeff’s and as she was about to pull away, he leaned into her, nudging her head onto his shoulder. Gently, their fingers touched and then they linked, and she felt his thumb brush the side of her hand.
She closed her eyes. She’d had no idea that peace could somehow coexist alongside fear or that in the middle of a terrifying ordeal it was still possible to feel safe. When her sister Leia had fallen in love with her detective fiancé, Jay, they’d uncovered the truth about the killer who’d caused their father to hide her and her sisters away from the world and train them to protect themselves from evil. But looking back, she knew without a doubt that she’d had a happy childhood filled to the absolute brim with joy and love. She prayed as she sat there, that no matter what happened next, God would provide the same for Addison.
“Do you think she’ll remember any of this?” Jeff whispered in the darkness, as if reading her mind.
“Probably not,” Quinn said. She turned and looked at him. “I was around her age when my mother died, and I don’t remember much of anything about it, except for the flowers when my father took us to lay bouquets on her grave.”
He sighed. “What do I do if she remembers?”
“You help her reframe the stories,” she said. “You give her new context, focus on the parts about love and courage, and not on the darkness and fear. You heard how hard Kelsey worked to keep Addison from being afraid. I think she’ll be confused. And if she needs professional help, you’ll be there to help her find it. My sister’s fiancé says more than one of the people in his trauma group have gotten family counseling with their kids.”
She caught herself and stopped, remembering how negatively Jeff had reacted before when she’d mentioned therapy and how hard he’d insisted that he was fine and didn’t need therapy. And even while she was pretty sure she’d watched him freeze with panic during the drone strike on the river, she also wasn’t about to try to pry his heart open to talk about anything he wasn’t yet ready to deal with.
But something must’ve shown on her face because he squeezed her hand gently.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I don’t want to overstep and pry into things that aren’t any of my business,” she admitted.
“Thank you,” he said. He leaned toward her and rested his head on top of hers. “But I think you being here, and going through everything we went through, makes you part of this and I owe you some answers to your questions earlier.”
“You really don’t...” she started.
“Well, I want to.” He pulled away and then turned to look at her on the step. His knees bumped against hers. “I never answered your question about how Addison’s mother died because I blame myself for her death.”
The words were so simple and straightforward, yet they seemed to shake the air around them harder than any roaring current or thundering storm ever could.
“I’m afraid I’ll never forgive myself for that,” he added, “and carrying that guilt forever is going to ruin my life, my ability to be Addison’s father, and every relationship I’ll ever have.”
She searched his face, willing her mind to find the right words to say but failing. His eyes met hers, like a man who was drowning and needed someone to throw him a lifeline to help him swim his way to shore. She lifted her hand to his face and cradled his jaw against her palm. He closed his eyes for a long moment, and she watched as his breathing slowed.
“Fourteen members of my unit, including Della, died when insurgents attacked their convoy a few months before I met you while I was serving overseas,” he said.
She took her hand away. He opened his eyes. She expected him to pull away but instead he took both of her hands in his and held them tightly.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t even imagine. Do you want to talk about it?”
“I was supposed to be leading a convoy between a base and a remote outpost,” he said. “Navigation is one of my specialties. But instead of doing my job that day, I was sitting in the brig. Because the day before I’d seen a senior officer bullying a new recruit, so I jumped in between them and confronted him. I know I raised my voice and used language I shouldn’t have. A couple of witnesses said I might’ve pushed him, not that I remember doing it. In the end, I wasn’t even disciplined beyond a day in the brig and a reminder to be thankful it wasn’t going on my record.”
He blew out a long, hard breath.
“At the time, it all seemed so unfair,” he said. “Now, in retrospect, they might’ve treated me better than I deserved. But the bottom line is that I should’ve been leading that convoy, and instead a less experienced soldier was, and they were struck by a makeshift drone with explosives attached.”
She gasped a painful breath. “So that’s why you froze when we were attacked by a drone,” she said.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “And I can’t shake the feeling that it’s personal. That’s why I’m convinced that once they find Della’s former fiancé, Paul, they’ll prove he’s Big Poppa. Because the fact he’s using drones and Della was killed by a drone can’t be a coincidence.”
“You said something about him stirring up anger online,” she said. “There are thirteen other people who lost family members in that attack. Maybe one of them is Big Poppa instead. Either way, I’m sure law enforcement is looking into it.”
