From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone (23 page)

Chapter 8

“I’m scared to go to sleep. What if I see something bad?” David lay in his twin bed with the blue airplane quilt. His Uncle Paul sat beside him on the bed. He’d set his long hair free from the pony tail and it now hung in strands around his shoulders.

“You won’t see anything bad. Because before you go to sleep, you’re going to tell your Dad you love him. And you’re going to see a way to help him.” Uncle Paul glanced at the open door. And forced a smile on his lips when he glanced back, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Call me and I’ll come running in here. I’ll be in the next room sleeping.”

David ached for his parents, even a hug and kiss from his mom would be nice. But Uncle Paul was all he had right now. Mom didn’t say goodnight. She’d been in her room for hours, and David had been told by his aunt not to bother her. Which stung. After all, she was his mom: he should have the right to bother her.

“Could you stay just until I get to sleep?”

His uncle watched him and then said, “You bet, slide over and I’ll lay beside you. But I’m warning you, if I fall asleep don’t get mad if I snore.”

David slid his small boy’s hand into his uncle’s much larger one and scooted over on the bed to make room for his uncle who now lay beside him on his twin bed. The comfort he felt melted away the twisted-up ball of lead that had parked itself in his stomach and hadn’t left, since hearing the news of the crash.

*
·*·*·*

Bruce Hines followed Sally up a steep incline. As he’d quickly discovered, dress shoes with soft-soled bottoms were completely the wrong thing to be trekking the backwoods in. He’d slipped on an incline when he stepped on a pile of wet leaves covering a tree root, and landed hard on his backside.

“You all right?” Sally shouted back.

Bruce wasn’t hurt, but his pride was. “Fine.” He pushed himself up on his knees. This woman with him watched him in a way that let him know he was an obvious hindrance than a help. And of course that did little to help boost his confidence. Never before had a woman, a very obvious alpha woman who appeared comfortable in the backwoods, had to look after him as if he were a wet behind the ears boy. But he had to remind himself that was only because he was way out of his element. Reverse the situation, put this woman in a boardroom with a bunch of politicians and he wondered how fast she’d sink; until it dawned on him as he watched the way she studied the ground and the path ahead, she’d most likely conquer and stomp on many a fragile male ego without much effort.

“Shake a leg, Bruce. Or are you waiting for breakfast in bed?” The woman was tough as nails, and Bruce had a hard time picturing any man having much to do with her.

He stood up, gathering the scattered pack filled with empty plastic water bottles that had survived the crash, and looped it over his shoulder. His head ached, his feet were wet and throbbed from the cold. And he couldn’t shake the chill that had melted into his bones, but he followed Sally up the path through the bushes, making a point to step where she did and nowhere else.

“How do you know we’re going the right way?” Bruce didn’t have the faintest idea where they were as he glanced around; every tree looked the same. He gazed up to steep mountains visible through a break in the trees.

Sally turned back when she spoke, stopping where she was on a mound at the top of a hill, “Listen, hear that?”

Bruce grabbed roots and branches as he climbed up beside her. “No, what am I listening for?”

“Water. That would be one of the smaller rivers that flows into the Columbia. And that I guarantee you is the Bitteroot Mountains… and we are situated most likely on the west side.” She smiled this time, a wide toothy smile.

Bruce blinked. “So if you know where we are, can we hike out of here? Are we close to civilization, a town?”

Her smile faded. “No, we need to get water and get back to the others. We’re not prepared for a trek through the mountains. None of us. Our best bet is to stay put. If we can get water, we need to hunt for food, keep a fire going. Help will arrive.”

“Well, what if help
doesn’t
come?” Bruce couldn’t help playing devil’s advocate. It came easy, working with a pessimist like his boss, who always looked for what might and could go wrong. It always grated on Bruce’s nerves, and he’d laughed about the guy with his associates. But now in this situation, he couldn’t find the bright side of any of this as he slid down the hill in Sally’s wake.

“They will.” This time she snapped her response without turning around. A response that sounded far from convincing.

Chapter 9

David blinked, stuck somewhere between a cold illusion of a dream and the darkness of his bedroom. He was alone in his twin bed, his comforter tucked under his chin. He didn’t understand what his dad was doing and what he saw. But he did know he needed to talk to his uncle.

David gripped his door handle and pulled open his door. The hallway was dark and he clung to the doorknob, shivering in the chilled night air. He heard nothing, he didn’t know where to look. He tiptoed into the darkened hallway and into the kitchen, flicking on the light. He heard a rustling behind him and a hand grip his shoulder. He jumped and stared into the dark eyes of Uncle Paul, bare-chested and his long hair a tangled mess.

“Come on, let’s go back to your room before you wake everyone.” His uncle flicked off the light and lifted him, carrying him back to his room and dumping him on his bed. “It’s just after midnight, bud. Why are you up?”

“I had a dream about Dad. I was watching him in the forest with some woman. And he doesn’t like her.”

His uncle flicked on his bedside light. “Scoot over. Under the covers.”

David slid over as his uncle propped the pillow. “What was your dad doing?”

“He had a backpack, and him and this lady were looking for water. Dad sucks in the forest. He hates it.” David twisted the quilt with his fingers; Uncle Paul chuckled, and when David glanced up he was pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his eyes closed tight as if David had told him some big joke.

When he opened his eyes and gazed at David he said, “Your dad and the great outdoors couldn’t be more opposite. You’re right though: your dad wouldn’t know how spend a day hiking through the woods. He sees a tree as an obstacle that makes a huge mess in the yard. And doesn’t have a clue about the importance of such diversity in nature. He’s much more comfortable navigating the boardroom filled with politicians and administrators solving problems such as where to get the best coffee for their break.”

David stared at his uncle, not sure what to say.

“Tell me everything that you saw in the forest. You said your dad was with some woman, what about others?”

“No, they were going up this hill. Dad was holding onto bushes but he kept slipping in his dress shoes. His pants were all muddy. Mom wouldn’t have liked it.”

Uncle Paul grinned. “No, you’re right there, she wouldn’t. But I think your mom might overlook that one tiny detail, just have your dad home. Do you know why they were walking in the woods?” He asked.

“They were looking for water, and that lady said something about the Columbia bunching into and then she pointed at the mountains.” David watched his uncle’s eyes widen.

“You mean a river branching into the Columbia, I bet. Did you hear her say the name of a mountain? And what side they were on? And where was the Sun?”

David felt the dream snatching away, the details fading. But he remembered gray clouds, the Sun he couldn’t see. “She was talking about roots something mountain. I don’t know, but the mountain was big and over there on that side of them.” David pointed to the wall, his left side. “Does this help?” He gazed hopeful and met a far away look in his uncle’s eyes and his hardened jaw, right before he tousled David’s bed head.

“You said you heard her say root about the mountain. Would it be Bitterroot by any chance?”

“Yeah, that’s it.
That’s
what she said. That’s when she stopped at the top of some hill, and heard water.” His uncle grabbed him in a tight hug and pressed a hard kiss on top of his head.

“Scoot under, back to sleep.” His uncle stood up and lifted the covers to tuck David in.

“But I’m not
tired
. And what about Dad, did I help?” David lay his head on his pillow. His uncle pressed a kiss on his forehead.

“More than you know. Now back to sleep, and if you dream of your dad again, pay attention to where they are; look for rivers, trailheads, mountains and where the Sun is. Okay?” His uncle ran his fingers through his long hair and when he left David’s room this time, he left the door open.

Chapter 10

“I’ve been on hold for over an hour. Look, I’ve spoken with three different people with your airlines about where to look for the downed aircraft, and the survivors. I know the area on the west side of the Bitteroot, and it’s heavily forested.” Paul clutched the cordless phone and leaned against the backdoor of the porch. It was one in the morning, and he realized after he dialed the phone to the airlines, he didn’t have the foggiest idea of how to explain to these people where he got the information to search. He’d pulled the door closed that lead into the kitchen and yanked on a sweatshirt and jacket as he leaned against the coats hung on hooks that covered one wall. There was no heat on the porch, so it was darn cold. But the last thing he wanted to do was wake anyone and have to explain David’s dreams and the connection he had with his father. Although his wife laughed off and on about his beliefs, and didn’t quite believe as she called it “all his supernatural hocus pocus stuff,” Paul believed that everyone had the ability to see into the unknown, and that children were closest to the supernatural world, to their angels, and saw far more in their dreams and everyday around them that mirrored their reality. But parents and most people had become detached and unable to hear that little voice inside themselves. And ignored their dreams, and entrenched themselves in the material world so that they only believed what they saw, and anything else just wasn’t real. And when kids dared speak up about something unexplainable, parents called it an overactive imagination. But Paul knew the truth, and was careful of who he spoke to, and shared his knowledge with.

And now as he stood on the cold damp porch, listening to the background music play of the airlines, he prayed that the next person who came on the line was open to what he had to say.

*
·*·*·*

Some of the survivors weren’t doing well. Several of the injured were propped up near the wreckage, wrapped in the few blankets salvaged, and laying close to the fire. Two of the surviving men fed branches into the fire to keep it going. A pile of green cedar was piled beside the fire to dump on it if and when they heard a helicopter or any search and rescue overhead, to create a billow of smoke.

Sally was arguing with Adam; Jack and Ed joined in. They were getting antsy, everyone was cold and hungry, and the water that took almost all day to find, was almost gone.

Bruce couldn’t remember ever feeling so hungry. His stomach burned and felt as if it were twisting into his spine. Sally had stopped on the way back at a log and lifted it. Bugs crawled on the underside, and she pulled off a couple and munched on them. But Bruce couldn’t bring himself to put something that disgusting in his mouth. She’d just shrugged and said, he’d get to a point where he was so hungry he’d eat anything. But he didn’t care what she said about protein, and bugs being edible. A bug was a bug.

Bruce wanted to lay down in a warm bed and sleep. He even fantasized of his comforter pulled up to his chin. But Jack and Ed were shouting and Adam was looking a lot paler than this morning. He was having trouble standing straight; he staggered and went down a couple times on his knees. Bruce knew that Adam was injured more than he was saying. Sally glanced up and over at Bruce, so he sighed and strode over on two feet that felt more like blocks of ice.

“If they were searching for us,” Jack proclaimed, “they would have found us by now. How many more are going to die before help comes? I say we hike out of here and get help.” Jack was determined, and Bruce was of the mind to let them go.

But Sally stepped in and glanced at Bruce. “I know where we are. But no one is hiking out of here tonight. And only a fool would do it without supplies. If you two take off half–cocked, I guarantee you won’t make it out of here. This is a wilderness. And neither of you are dressed properly. You need decent clothes, dry boots. Food, water. And you need to know where you’re going.”

Bruce didn’t know why he said what he said next. “But
you
do. You know exactly where we are. And which way to go for help.” Every eye stared at Sally, until she inclined her head.

“Maybe so. But that don’t mean I’m taking these two fools anywhere with me, or I’d be foolish enough to try it in the condition I’m in.” She stared at Bruce. “Our best option is stay with the plane.”

Chapter 11

The fire was beginning to die down as the sky lightened behind the heavy gray. The sudden distinct chop of a helicopter in the distance had several of the survivors leaping to the pile of green damp cedar and dumping it onto the fire. Smoke spewed into the air. The helicopter became louder and louder, everyone shouted and waved. The treetops swayed from the fierce wind whipped up from the blades of the chopper as it hovered overhead. A line dropped down and two rescue workers in bright orange jumpsuits slid down.

It was Adam who stumbled over to greet them first. “Hey, are we ever glad to see you!”

A man from search and rescue lifted off his helmet. “How many injured? Is this everyone?”

Adam stumbled, and the man helped him sit. “Whoa, sit down. Help’s on its way. We’ll have you all out of here soon.”

The other rescue worker jogged over. “One of the survivors over there said that two others hiked out of here at dawn.”

Adam gazed up at the rescue worker, who shook his head in disgust. “You can find them right?”

The other guy said nothing. He unclipped his radio from his orange jumpsuit. “We got two civilians out wandering on foot, they took off at dawn.” The radio crackled, and someone cursed on the other end. He then glanced back at Adam. “We’ll do our best, but it’s hundreds of square miles of wilderness.”

*·*·*·*

Paul was holding the phone when it rang. “Hello. Yeah, she’s right here. But I’m his brother-in-law.” He sighed in relief and closed his eyes, and then shouted to everyone who was still in bed. “They found the plane!”

David raced into the kitchen, and watched as his uncle suddenly frowned as he listened to something said on the phone from whoever he was talking to.

“I don’t think I quite understood what you said. Are you saying Bruce wasn’t with the survivors?”

David’s mother stopped in front of Paul and burst into tears; David’s aunt Betty came up behind Gloria and wrapped her arm around her slender shoulder.

Paul did something David never heard him do before: he swore and then shouted into the phone. “Well, you call us back as soon as you find him!”

He hung up and tossed the phone on the kitchen table. “Bruce wasn’t with the survivors, apparently he took off with another passenger from the plane at dawn trying to hike out for help.”

“Why would he do something so stupid?! Everyone knows you stay with the plane!” His mother shouted at Paul.

David didn’t think before he spoke. “He left with Sally. She knew where to go for help. She does guiding. She thought Dad was smart, and said she wanted him to go with her.”

Every pair of eyes focused on the boy. And the way his mother watched him, stared at him, he knew he was in for it… but he didn’t expect her tears, too.

“Why would you
say
something so hurtful? He’s with another woman? Why would, how could you--” She shouted, but Uncle Paul yelled at her before she could finish her tirade, and he picked David up and held him.

“Don’t you talk to him like that, Gloria. David is the one who knew where Bruce was. He saw it in his dreams, and I called the airlines and spoke with every nitwit from here to Timbuktu for over an hour until I got someone to listen, and who would go and check out the area where we thought they were. And guess what? They found them, just where David saw in his dreams. He told me. I told them. And as far as Bruce, he’s responsible and it sounds to me like he thought he had no other choice but to go for help. And if he went with this woman David said, Sally, well he already told me about her. She’s competent in the backwoods, and the one person he
should
be with. So don’t you dare take it out on David again.” Uncle Paul didn’t wait for his mom to say anything; he carried David to his room and set him down.

“Get dressed, because we’re leaving as soon as you’re ready. The injured have been taken to the hospital in Idaho. They’ll find your Dad, and we’re going to go meet him. Okay?” Uncle Paul started to leave just as his mom appeared in the doorway.

Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. She hesitated, and then said, “I’m sorry, Paul. I didn’t mean to lose it like that. Are you telling me that David--” She stopped when Paul rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Gloria, get dressed. We’re leaving as soon as you two are ready.”

She nodded, and then slid around Paul until she stood before her son. “I’m sorry, David. I shouldn’t have said what I did. It wasn’t okay.”

As far as apologies went, it was pretty pathetic. David still ached, for his mother and for his father. His mother didn’t touch him, she just nodded when he said nothing… and left. Paul watched her and glanced back at David. “Shake a leg, David, I’ll meet you in the kitchen for some cereal before we go.”