AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She saw a deer trail leading deeper into the woods. It would be a good decoy direction.
“I think I can go now,” Sarah said.
Annie helped her up, and they went to the tree. There weren’t any low-hanging branches, so Annie laced her fingers together for Sarah to step into. She boosted her up a foot or so, then got under her and let Sarah put her foot on her shoulder to help her scramble up the rest of the way.
She disappeared into the leaves. “I’m on the blind. Hurry back, Annie. I’m scared.”
“I’ll be right back.” Annie called the dog to her and picked up some pine branches as she went. She wasn’t about to tell Sarah she was terrified out of her wits too.
Thirty-Three
Annie’s legs and arms ached with fatigue, but she pressed on with the task. The tracks they’d left quickly disappeared under the sweep of pine branches.
When she came to a small stream, she decided it was the perfect place to double back. She took off her boots and waded through the water downstream about a hundred years. The cold, wet mud under her feet was slippery, and it took longer than she would have liked. She put her footgear back on and laid a false trail that led away from where her sister was hidden. When she reached a rocky hillside, Annie beelined for the stream, sweeping away her tracks again.
A few yards from the stream, she paused and wiped perspiration from her face with the back of her hand. Her stomach rumbled, and she took out a jerky stick. Sarah was probably hungry too, and Annie hadn’t thought to leave her with food. She’d assumed the backpack her sister had contained the same items the men had given her, but she should have checked.
A snap of a twig made her freeze, and she whipped her head in the direction of the sound before diving into nearby underbrush. She held her breath as she heard the mutter of a couple of malevoices. It had to be the hunters who were following their tracks. She didn’t dare part the leaves to look at them. They were too close and might see her pale face in the leaves.
It sounded like at least two, maybe three.
“They’re leaving a trail even a beginner could follow.” The voice sounded like Joel’s.
“I thought the ranger might make this more of a fun challenge,” said another voice.
Annie didn’t recognize that guy. Someone coughed, and her breath seized in her chest when a familiar voice spoke.
“Don’t assume anything. I know Annie. She’s resourceful.”
Max Reardon? Annie had to be mistaken. She had to know for sure, so she eased a leaf out of the way and peeked through to see the three men down the way and just across the stream. There was no mistake. The third man was Max, dressed in camouflage gear and leaning against a tree while he rummaged in his backpack.
How could he be part of this? He was a pillar of the community, involved in all kinds of good things. He was wooing Anu too. Even Annie’s parents had respected him. Why would a man like that put his reputation and his life on the line for something so horrific? What kind of darkness lurked behind those kind eyes? The reality of it took her breath away.
Joel gave a derisive laugh. “Is that why you didn’t want us to grab her in the first place? You’re afraid she’ll make it out?”
“I don’t doubt our ability to find them. Sarah will slow her down. I actually like Annie, but she’s tenacious. I knew once she put her whole attention on finding us, we’d have to take her down. And here we are.”
“And a fun two-for-one. It gives better odds for each of us to make a kill. I like it,” Eric said.
Annie eased the leaf back into place and put her head down as she tried to assimilate this reality. Max was at the heart of all this. Probably the leader. It broke Annie’s heart to think how this would hurt Anu. But then, she’d expressed misgivings about how Max had seemed secretive, so she might not be as surprised as Annie thought. Anu’s instincts were good, but Annie’s had failed her when it came to Max. She breathed in quietly and tried to manage the impulse that made her want to charge out of this hiding place with fists flying.
How dare he do something like this? How could he and those men chase down human beings? It was abominable.
The sounds of them moving away shook her out of her anger. Once they were out of sight, she wiggled out, grabbed her pine branch, and rushed to the stream. After taking off her boots and socks again, she waded down the stream for about a mile, then regained the bank. Once her feet were dry and shod in her footgear again, she took a path back to the tree. She made sure no sign of her footprints showed. In some areas, she hopped from rock to rock and in others she swiped the marks away with the branches.
She didn’t think they could trace her back to where her sister waited with the dog, but they needed to hide and rest a few hours before they risked it. She prayed Sarah was feeling better. They needed to be ready to run at a moment’s notice, and her sister could barely walk when Annie had left.
She reached the tiny clearing where she’d left Sarah. Waiting a few minutes in the shadows, she studied the terrain and searched for any bootprints leading into the area. Once she was satisfied the men hadn’t arrived before her, she swept her prints away as she approached the deer stand. Once she was next to the trunk, she peered up and saw Sarah’s foot dangling just over the side.
She didn’t dare call to her in case the men were nearby. It would be impossible to climb the tree with the pine branch in her hand, so she threw it as far as she could toward a similar tree, then reached up and began the climb. Her fatigue slowed her down, and she was panting by the time she rolled over onto the floor of the stand.
Sarah was out cold. She hadn’t even noticed the noise of Annie’s climb or the way the stand moved when it took her weight. Annie decided to let her sleep. She took off her backpack and used it as a pillow to try to get some rest herself.
Every muscle in her body ached, and she should have been able to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, they popped back open. The flutter of wings, the croaks of frogs, every rustle from the wind through the trees had her pulse ratcheting up. It was going to be a long night.
She only prayed they could stay hidden in the tree until daybreak tomorrow.
***
