Christmas K-9 Protectors, page 13
“I believe you,” she said, gripping his hand. “Eli, don’t let go, okay?”
He squeezed her cold fingers, but she felt the heat through the gloves she’d hastily shoved on earlier. The warmth of his touch gave her the strength to go into the white-gray abyss of snow and shadows coming at her from all angles.
* * *
“Eli, what’s your location?”
Eli watched his home burning and glanced around. He named the coordinates. “About a half mile east of the cabin, in the lower Chugach Park. We’re headed for Bird Creek, a trail I’ve hiked near my house—what’s left of my house.”
He watched Koko for any signs of an alert. So far, all was quiet. The woods shimmered in shades of silver and charcoal, but the heavy alder thicket surrounded the path. Looking up, he saw the tall alpines forming a canopy that protected the trails from heavy snow. “Lorenza, can they save the cabin? Is the big house okay?”
“We don’t know yet about the cabin. The fire department is there. I’ve got two K-9 teams and two state troopers searching the area. The perpetrators got away on snowmobiles, we think.”
“I haven’t seen anyone out here, but we’re well into the park now,” Eli said, his breath lifting out like smoke in the cold. “I’m going to find us shelter. We need to get warm and drink water. Then we’ll find one of the lesser paths and head northwest toward the jut-off before we reach the falls. Once we get to Penguin Creek, if I can get a signal, I’ll call for someone to pick us up at the northwest overlook.”
“Stay alert, Eli,” the colonel said, her voice firm. “We’re kind of in a fix here, with you out there. Usually, you’re the one barking off stats and coordinates from headquarters, but you don’t have your big screen out there with you.”
“I understand. But I have Mallory and Koko, and Aidan is safe for now. I also know these woods, and I know you’ve got our backs because you’re all familiar with the park.”
“Always.”
The call ended and Eli turned to where Aidan, Mallory and Koko huddled against the massive stump of a fallen tree.
They didn’t have much time before hypothermia set in.
“Okay. Did you both drink your water?”
“Yes,” Aidan said, glancing at Mallory. “And we gave Koko some water, too.”
Mallory’s teeth chattered. “Where are we going, Eli?”
“I know a campground not far from here,” he said. “It’s not open this time of year. Too cold and too much snow. Check your boots. If your socks are wet, that’s a problem.”
“I’m good,” Aidan said. “The trail’s not too bad yet.”
Mallory nodded. “I wore my tall boots and layered my socks.” She checked the K-9. “And I had traction footpads for Koko in my tote.”
“Smart,” Eli said, never doubting she could handle this even if her dark eyes had flashed panic when they had exited the cabin. He’d marched them through heavy snow and cold woods to get to this hidden trail. Only the locals knew about it, and Eli was familiar with every inch of this part of the park. “There’s a campground about a fourth of a mile up the way,” he said. “We’ll find what we need there.”
“Like a latte and a warm bed,” Mallory quipped as she finished her water.
Eli took the water canister back. “Sorry, not that nice, but shelter and warmth. How does that sound?”
“It’s a spa,” she said, standing. “Let’s go, and while we’re walking, explain to me how you plan to get us out of this. Or rather, how we can get us out of this.”
Eli admired her fortitude. “We need warmth and a snack,” he said. “Then we hydrate again before we take off toward the west and turn to head the backway down to a rest area, where I hope we’ll be picked up by friendlies.”
“Good plan,” Aidan interjected. “Let’s do it.”
“Yes, let’s do it,” Mallory said with a half-hearted lifting of her fist. “And, Eli, thank you for saving our lives back there.”
He shot her a wry smile. “You’re welcome. Let’s see if I can keep it that way.”
SEVEN
Mallory sat huddled inside a cavern Eli called shelter. She wasn’t so sure about that, but at least the U-shaped little cave did provide sanctuary from the heavy snow coming down in twinkling white flakes. He had a fire going just outside the open door. She knew the fire brought warmth, and it would also keep the winter predators away. She didn’t want a run-in with a lynx or a moose tonight. They needed the warmth, but the downside was that the fire could also bring human predators.
She touched a hand to Koko’s warm coat. The K-9 had been amazing. She wondered if she’d gained his trust enough. Dogs might not have the same emotions as humans, but if they suffered the same trauma, then psychologically, that showed emotion, at least to her way of thinking. Being here in this scary, fast-moving situation had turned out to be the best possible training for the dog’s return to work. He’d stayed near Mallory, obeying her while Eli’s faint pocket flashlight and the brightness of fresh snow guided the path ahead of them.
The campground Eli had tried to find had proved too difficult to maneuver. They’d been forced to stay on the trail, or risk getting lost. Eli handed her a collapsible tin mug with hot tea in it, bringing her mind back from the shadows threatening to overtake her. “Here, it’s herbal but at least it’s warm. Eat your granola bar.”
“Thanks,” she said, taking a bite of the chewy peanut-butter-and-chocolate snack. “How do you manage to have all these supplies in your backpack?”
“I keep it packed and loaded with whatever I need if I decide to come out here,” he explained. “Like a go bag. If I get in the mood to take off on a hike, I’m ready, and now, I have my laptop in there, too. Not that it will help us much out here.” He stoked the fire with a big, jagged limb, then looked at the path down below. “So far, we’re okay.”
Mallory felt safe with him and Koko. Aidan seemed to go with the flow, but right now he had a lot to deal with. She’d prayed that she and Eli could help his little brother out of this mess, while she sat there trying to thaw her hands and feet.
She expected Eli could figure things out even without modern technology. “So you like to camp out?”
He stopped to give her a surprised glance. “Who doesn’t?”
She stared up at him, wanting to tell him the truth. But she didn’t want to add the worry of her fears to his already growing list of responsibilities. She had to carry her own weight and help him, not hinder him. “Right. Always fun. I’ve been working so much lately, and with it being winter now, I haven’t done much hiking.”
“We’ll have to remedy that,” he replied. “Once we get out of this situation alive, of course.”
“Of course.” She should be thankful instead of whiny. “You’re an amazing man, to get us away from a burning house and bring us on a safe path to get help. Koko is holding his own, so I guess our experiment shows he’s on the mend.”
Eli lifted his chin toward Koko. The dog sat silently beside Aidan and Mallory. “A trouper. Who knew our night would go so wrong?”
“I did,” Aidan said, his head down, his arms wrapped around his knees where he sat against the cavern wall. “I almost got you killed, and now, because of me, your cabin is toast.”
Eli didn’t say much on that subject, but Mallory saw a flash of pain pass through his eyes. “We’re alive,” he told Aidan. “And we’re going to get back to civilization and start fresh tomorrow on trying to nab these dangerous people.”
“I’m in on that,” Aidan said.
“No, you won’t be in on that,” Mallory replied sternly. “We’ll need to hide you and put someone on you for protection until this is all over.”
Aidan scowled at that. “I can stay with one of you. You’re protection-type people.”
“No,” Eli said. “You need to be far away from us. Too dangerous.”
The young man started to say something, but Mallory held up her hand. “You’re on their hit list, Aidan. For the unforeseeable future, you have to stay hidden. It’s our job to make that happen and your job is to do as we tell you—so don’t be stupid.”
Aidan’s eyes widened in an obvious new respect for Mallory. “Okay, I get it. All right.”
“Good,” Eli said. “Let’s eat, get watered up and get moving. Like you said, Aidan, they’ll find us if we hang out here all night.”
After Eli killed the fire with snow and stomping, they gathered up their gear and headed out, but Mallory had a bad feeling. The sun wouldn’t come up until around 9:00 a.m. That meant they had at least six more hours of nighttime to get through. The temperature was hovering at twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind chill even lower.
If the bad people didn’t do them in, the weather surely would. Pushing away the shadows huddling in the growing darkness, she instead began to estimate how much longer they might survive out here. They had to stay moving and warm. If they lost body temperature—seventy degrees or lower range—they’d die. That could happen within just a few minutes.
She tried not to dwell on that. They were covered from head to toe and the warm cave had helped. Now she marched along the snow-covered, winding trail, and uttered silent prayers for all of them.
She’d never wanted to be in this situation again, but she planned to survive this night just as she’d survived that other night so long ago. She owed Eli that much, at least.
* * *
They made it another half mile when Koko lifted his head, stared into the woods near the creek and alerted. Eli stopped, holding up a hand.
“Do you hear that?” Aidan asked, the sound of a revving motor echoing out over the blanketed trees.
“Yeah.” Eli held a finger to his lip. “Someone’s on a snowmobile. Between us and the path I need to take to get us out of here.” He listened close. “But they can’t go any farther on that thing. It’s too dense where we’re going.”
Another roar sounded out on the path. Eli pivoted around. “They’re trying to surround us, cut us off. We’ll need to make a detour.”
Mallory held tightly to Koko’s lease. “I don’t think they’re friendly.”
“No. They tracked us by following the creek somehow, but that water is icy cold and mostly frozen. People rarely come this far in during December.”
“Unless they’re looking to kill someone,” Aidan whispered. “Got any suggestions?”
Eli didn’t answer. He seemed to be calculating in his head. “Okay, we’re going deeper into the woods.”
Mallory stood and tightened her grip on Koko’s leash, her mittens covering a pair of gloves. She was weary, but she refused to give in to the panic that tried to slap her down and paralyze her. “Let’s go, then.”
When they heard voices echoing over the thicket, Eli rushed them off the path. A flashlight’s high beam hit into the air, hovering on them like a spotlight.
Then a shot fired out over the tranquil countryside and singed a tree’s massive trunk about a foot from where they’d stopped to take cover. Shattered pieces of bark and wet snow drifted around their heads and showered them with cold, icy fingers.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Aidan asked, a shudder in his voice.
“Yep, buddy,” Eli said as he pushed them into the woods off the trail. “But we’re not going to let them win.” He helped Mallory position her tote bag onto her back. “Let’s go.”
They took off through the snow and bramble, not caring if snow got inside their boots. More shots rang out, spraying debris all around them. Mallory glanced back, expecting to be overtaken. Then she turned forward and followed Eli into the dense darkness of the snow-covered wilderness.
EIGHT
Eli had to get his bearings. If they got lost, they’d never survive. But the snow had changed things in all directions and made it hard to hear anyone following them.
When the sound of a roaring engine growled through the trees below, he decided he’d take his chances. “Let’s go west,” he whispered, staying behind Mallory while Aidan trudged beside her. “We’ll veer left at that huge spruce jutting out onto the path. I’m fairly sure the turn to the west should be up there.”
“How sure is fairly sure?” Aidan asked, his tone just above a shiver. “I’m not familiar with this area.”
“The falls will be hard to miss since they’ll be mostly frozen over. We’ll need to cross the creek near a deep spot, but they could be waiting on the ice to ambush us.”
“Speaking of ice,” Mallory said. “How do we cross it without the proper traction boots?”
“Very carefully,” Eli retorted. “We’ll stay close to the shore until we find the road out.”
“And if we don’t?” Aidan asked.
“We will, one way or another.” Eli didn’t plan to let anyone freeze tonight, and he sure wasn’t going to let them die.
They crunched through packed and fresh snow, frozen tree limbs and twigs. Eli stumbled and righted himself. Koko remained in his working mode, his footpads giving him some protection. The dog dealt with this trial by fire—or ice in this case—in a professional manner, the way he’d been trained to act. He stopped now and then, lifting his nose in the cold air. That gave Eli a hint that someone could be following them, but he couldn’t cover the deep snow tracks they had to make to get away. Too dangerous to try.
When they reached the spot he’d been searching for, he pointed up. “See the falls. Just a trickle now. They’ll freeze solid before the month is out.”
Mallory glanced up to where a white mass sparkling with icicles all the way down to where the waterfall ended, and the vast creek began. “Wow, if I weren’t running from killers, I’d be in awe.”
“Same here,” Eli replied, glad she still had a dry sense of humor.
“We need a plan,” Mallory said, puffs of fog dancing around her.
“I have a plan,” Eli replied, not sure what his plan actually provided.
“I mean, a plan if we get attacked. You brought your Glock, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’ve had it with me in my shoulder holster since they arrived last night. So that’s a plan, I guess.”
“Aidan and I can find limbs and rocks to throw at them or hit them. We can fight and Koko can attack.”
“All good to know,” Eli said, thinking, except for Koko, that might be a bad idea. “Koko can hold them off.”
“But we can help,” Aidan said, already jumping on Mallory’s suggestions. “We won’t leave him, right?”
“No. Hopefully, he’ll scare them away long enough to give us time to make it to the pickup spot.”
“He can at least maim them,” Mallory said on such a pragmatic note Eli shot her a wary glance.
Koko’s head went back and forth, his nose up while he waited for someone to give him a command.
They made the turn and Eli stepped ahead and scanned the dark horizon. A clear white shimmer caught his attention. “I see the creek.”
They hurried down a bluff, dodging falling snow and rocks. His whole body had become numb from cold, but he couldn’t think about that now. Mallory let out a breath and he turned to check on her. “You okay?”
“Fine. Just hit a stump. I think my socks are wet. Both pairs.”
“We’ll need to get you out of those boots soon.”
He didn’t have to tell her about frostbite. Anyone who lived here knew the perils of dealing with frostbite and hypothermia.
He silently prayed that God would lead them to safety. Bettina would tell him to keep going. The motors roaming behind them told him he didn’t have any choice. When the motors cut off, he knew their pursuers were now following them on foot.
He saw the vast wide part of the creek below. “We made it!” he said, turning to check on Mallory and Aidan. But then his elation turned to bone-chilling fear when he spotted a shadow lurking on the curving hillside, about fifty yards behind them.
“Let’s go,” he commanded, practically dragging Mallory down toward the ice-crusted water.
She held on to Koko, and the big dog growled an alert. “They’re behind us, aren’t they?” she asked on a winded breath.
“I think I saw someone, yes.”
Aidan tumbled down the hill, fell, then got up. A gunshot lifted into the air and bullets hissed near where he’d fallen. “Think? No thinking about it. They’re after us.”
Eli motioned. “C’mon.” The only way they could go now was by following the frozen shoreline or taking the shortcut across the widest part of the creek—the part that wouldn’t be all the way frozen yet. The ice could crack, and the people after them would have a clear shot.
They had nowhere to hide.
* * *
Mallory ducked while gunfire sounded through the trees, her heart pounding fearfully with each step. Koko didn’t like it, either. Afraid this would throw him back into conflict, she kept talking to him softly and patting him on the head whenever they stopped for a breath. “You’ll be rewarded greatly with a nice prize, I promise,” she said after she tried to take a deep breath. But the cold air hurt her lungs.
“Keep moving from tree to tree,” Eli said. “If you see anything you can use as a weapon, go for it.”
Searching for a big limb kept her mind off the shadows reaching toward her like cold tendrils. A good solid limb could give a person a good solid head injury, or at least a damaged face.
She found her chance when they rounded a twist in the landscape. The broken limb almost tripped her, but she called to Eli.
“Hold on.” Then she handed Koko’s leash to Aidan and managed to lift the small yard-long log off the snow. “It’s sturdy,” she said. “I can make this work.”
