But even if
she found that, she’d be taking a risk if she drank from it.
As thirsty as she was―the alcohol
she consumed last night didn’t exactly hydrate her―and as disgusting as
her mouth tasted because of the b
lood she’d been unable to rinse out,
whatever flowing water source she came upon would still have its share of
bacteria, which could cripple her.
Still,
she remembered her father’s words.
If she had a choice between dehydration and illness, she should drink
and pray for the best.
She
stopped for a moment, pressed her back against a thick pine, and reached inside
her pocket for the phone he left her with.
She turned it on, saw that no other texts had been left, and then she
tried to see if she could get a connection, but she couldn’t.
Everything outgoing had been dismantled
and since she was no techie, she knew that whatever he’d done to the phone,
she’d never be able to fix.
She put the
phone back in her pocket―and her heart stopped when her fingertip
s
touched something cool at the very bottom of it.
She knew at once what it was, and the
thrill she felt was undeniable.
She
forgot she had it on her because she rarely smoked, though she did last night
because Patty was with her and that’s what they did when they went out.
She’d been so distracted by everything
that was happening to her, she hadn’t even felt it in her pants.
She pulled out the red Bic lighter and
gave it a flick.
It took three
tries for it to light, but when it did, it was perhaps the most beautiful sight
she’d seen all day.
Besides
the moose.
Hunters
hunted in these woods.
The less
responsible ones would leave debris behind, like tin cans used for coffee or
food.
If she could find an old can,
she would be able to create a small fire and boil water in it.
That would kill off any bacteria and she
would be fine.
She wasn’t so much
worried about food, at least not right now, but water and shelter were critical
for her survival.
She
needed to make plans.
First, she
had to find a water source.
Second,
she had to make an inconspicuous shelter that was near it.
Third, she needed to find something,
anything, that could be used to boil water.
Finally,
what was most daunting is that somehow she had to do all of this without him
hearing her, and she wasn’t sure that was possible, since building the shelter
alone would involve the breaking of branches.
Worse, when she created a fire, the
smell of the smoke would give him an idea of where she was.
At night, if she started even the
smallest of fires to generate heat, he’d see the glow.
So, at the very least, she couldn’t have
a fire at night.
The smoke would
drift in the breeze, which might actually confuse him if the breeze came from
different directions, but the glow was a mainstay.
He’d see it.
He’d find her.
She
thought about that for a moment, and her mind went to a darker place.
If she was prepared for him, was it so
awful if he found her?
If she could
draw him to her, what were the possibilities if she did?
She
looked around her, from the forest floor to the few dead pines scattered amid
the living trees.
She studied their
branches, which, if broken, could be used as a weapon.
But he
has a gun.
So he
did.
But at night, in the
ever-changing shadows cast by a fire, he might not see her until it was too
late.
It was a
risk, a big one because setting a fire would absolutely draw him to her, but
what else did she have?
And
then, in a rush, it came to her.
She
thought it through.
She smiled in
spite of her broken lips and the knowledge that the odds were against her.
She knew she likely wouldn’t come out of
this alive.
But it was
something.
And it could work.
For the
first time since she woke this morning, beaten to a pulp on some random forest
floor by a maniac she didn’t know, she felt a spark of hope and knew exactly
what she had to do.
CHAPT
ER NINETEEN
Ted
Carpenter stood deep in the woods, his gun at his side, his breathing labored,
his heart slamming against his chest as if it wanted out every bit as much as
Cheryl Dunning wanted out of these woods.
He was
lost.
Before
he was chased by the moose, everything was going as planned.
Everything was under control.
She was in his sights.
He was scaring the hell out of her just
as he and Kenneth did with everyone they eventually murdered.
And then
she disappeared.
She probably
saw the moose herself and ducked behind some trees.
If that was the case, then she set him
up.
She intentionally hadn’t warned
him.
She let him run straight into
that moose’s path―not to mention its wrath―as if his life meant
nothing to her
.
As if he wasn’t
there to serve the Lord.
As if he
wasn’t there to
represent
the Lord.
Didn’t she get it?
Obviously
not.
If she was in
front of him now, he’d take her without Kenneth―who demanded to be
present for every sacrifice―and he’d kill her without hesitation.
Right now, he didn’t really care that
Kenneth would be angry with him.
This was about him now.
He
was the elder.
He was the one who
was nearly run down by a moose.
If
he had the chance―which he eventually would―he’d lift his gun to
her fac
e and pump enough bullets into it until it slid off her skull.
The
moose was gone, but instead of a short run meant to frighten him off, the beast
wanted a piece of him and drove him far into the woods before, after what
seemed to him like an eternity, it gave up the chase and wandered off.
He and
Kenneth had been over these woods dozens of times, but who was he kidding?
He didn’t know them as well as Kenneth
thought he should know them.
These
woods were massive.
He obviously
knew the path when he saw
it.
And he knew where the wetlands were in association with the path.
But right now?
After taking so many turns and jumping
over all of those fallen trees?
Right now everything looked the same―an enclosure of fir and pine
trees, the crooked skeletons o
f twisted dead trees, the brightly colored
seasonal trees, a blue sky overhead, the sun square in the middle of it.
And no
feasible way out.
Earlier,
he tried to follow his tracks out of the woods, but they were so jumbled in his
effort to evade the moose, they didn’t make any logical sense.
Sometimes, the tracks went around in
circles.
Often, they criss-crossed
when he dodged the animal.
They
were such a mass of confusion, he couldn’t rely on them to get him out.
He’d
need to call Kenneth for help.
He
reached for his phone and first decided to text her.
“You think you won, but know that you
didn’t.
You will die.
I’m coming for you.”
He sent
it and then dialed Kenneth’s number.
It was a moment before he answered.
“What is
it?” Kenneth said.
“I’m
lost.”
“How can
you be lost?
We know these
woods.
We spent weeks in these
woods.”
“Apparently,
I don’t know them as well as I thought I did, because when we were studying the
land, neither of us was being chased by a moose.
That’s what just happened to me.
A moose chased me, which drove me into a
place that looks like every other fucking place in these woods.
Now, I have no idea where I am.”
A
silence passed.
“Are you
saying you lost her, Ted?”
“I had a
moose on my ass, Kenneth.
Was I
supposed to just stand there and let it trample me?
Kill me?
Because that’s what would have
happened.
It would have killed me.”
“God
wouldn’t have let that happen.
You
and I both know that.
Have you lost
your faith?
The moose is
nature.
The moose is an extension
of God.
It would have stopped and
beheld you.
I can’t believe you’d
let her get out of your sight over of a moose.”
“Well,
that’s what happened.
And if God
separated me from her, then He also will bring me to her.”
“He will
bring
us
to her.
Where are
you?”
“I told
you.
I don’t know where I am.
I ran to avoid it, and now everything
looks the same.
I’m not near any
path.
I’m just in the middle of the
forest.
People do get lost in the
woods, Kenneth.”
“I
don’t.
Use your maps function on
your phone.
Mark your
location.
I’ll come for you.”
“You’re
here now?”
“Of
course, I’m here.
I followed your
tracks off the path.”
“She’s
somewhere near you, then.”
“Is that
your way of saying that you’d like me to find her and kill her?
Are you backing out on me now?
Really?
At this point in the game?
Has this become too much for you to
handle?”
“That’s
not what I meant.”
“Sure
sounded like it.”
“Look,
this is a blip, Kenneth.
We’ll find
her.
She’s not that bright.
She’s a stupid whore.
And she doesn’t have Him on her side
like we do.”
“Whatever.
I’m disappointed in you.
Mark your location, give me time and
I’ll track you down.
When you start
to hear my footfalls, call out softly to me.
Do not expose your location to her.
Just say my name quietly.
Eventually, I’ll find you.
The maps on our phones will assist in
that effort.”
“You
used to say that technology is a sin.”
“I used
to say a lot of things, Ted, but we evolve, don’t we?
Of course, we do.
We evolve.
And I certainly haven’t said that in
years because we changed our minds on technology, which He gave us.
Do you remember that?
Are we clear on that?
We grow with the times.
We use what we have at our hands to
bring down the damned and then we move forward to the next one.
If that means using technology built
into our phones, then we received that technology for a reason.
Got it?”
“Fine.”
“Mark
your location.”
“If
you’d take the time to look at your maps, you’ll find that I already have.”
“Don’t
take an edge with me, Ted.
I won’t
have it.”
“You
won’t have it?
What the fuck does
that mean?
Here’s the deal,
boy.
Don’t you ever have an edge in
your voice when you talk to me.
Is
that clear?
I’m older than
you.
My soul is older than yours.
I’ve been at this longer than you.
I’ve been worshipping God longer than
you.
We have a relationship you two
will never have.
If the Lord Jesus
Christ God Almighty is on anyone’s side, it’s mine.”
“Bullshit.”
“That’s
your interpretation.”