Sharon Dunn - Wilderness Secrets

Jesse drew up his jacket collar over his nose and mouth. “Whoa, we better get this over with as quickly as possible. I’m sure breathing this stuff isn’t good for our lungs. I’ll look toward the back. You search the front.”

She opened a box behind the copilot’s seat and the storage pouches beside each of the seats. After searching for several minutes, she came up with a water bottle, several packages of candy and a hat. She tossed the hat toward Jesse. “Put that on. It will help keep the rain and sun out. What did you come up with?”

He caught the hat and placed it on his head. He pointed at the tarp that covered the drugs. “We could use that for shelter if we had to.”

The drugs looked like they had been only partially damaged. The fire had consumed some of the plastic the bricks were packaged in. She shivered but not from the cold. How had she gotten connected to drugs and drug dealers? She had lived a really sheltered life and hadn’t even rebelled as a teenager like her brothers had. All of this was so out of her frame of reference. Maybe if she hadn’t been so naive, she would have realized what a player Brent was. And maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess with Jesse. “Yes,” she said, “bring the tarp.”

She grabbed a lined jacket that was hanging over the back of the copilot seat. She could fashion a makeshift backpack out of it.

“Also, I found this.” He held up an unopened energy drink and a bowie knife. He put the energy drink in his pocket and zipped it shut.

The knife gave her the shivers all over again. “Let’s get out of here.” She pushed open the pilot’s door and jumped out.

Jesse didn’t follow her. He must have still been searching for something—what, she didn’t know. A cold wave of fear washed over her. Was he looking for drug money?

She tilted her head toward the sky. Dark clouds all around, no sign of blue sky. The storm was probably going to last awhile.

Abigail retreated toward the trees. She pulled out her Swiss Army knife and slit the lining of the jacket she’d grabbed at the bottom hem. She cut holes at the ends of the sleeves and in the shoulders.

Jesse finally joined her.

“Find what you were looking for?”

“No,” he said.

So, he wasn’t going to be forthcoming about what he was searching for. “Turns out those paper clips you had in your pocket might come in handy.”

He dug through his pockets. “Well, what do you know.” He handed them to her. His fingers brushed over her palm. “Maybe I’ll earn my MacGyver certificate after all.”

She straightened the paper clips and then drew them through the holes she’d cut in the jacket, so the ends of the sleeves were attached to the shoulders. She put the candy and the water bottle in the backpack she’d just made. “Toss that knife in here, too.”

Admiration spread across his face. “Wow, I’m impressed.” He stepped toward her and placed the knife and drink in her pack. “What about the tarp?”

She handed him her knife. “Cut a hole in it and use it for a rain poncho. This storm is going to last for a bit.”

As if to confirm her prediction, lightning flashed in the sky, followed by thunder a few seconds later.

He slit an opening into the center of the tarp. “What about you? Won’t you get wet?”

She was touched by his concern for her. “My coat is waterproof.”

“We better get moving.” A wave of fear passed through her. “Those other men will catch up with us sooner or later, right?”

He nodded and tipped the brim of his hat to her.

They stepped out of the forest into the downpour. Abigail assessed where they were based on the mountain peaks. She didn’t doubt her ability to get them back on the trail, but it would take some doing. She wasn’t familiar with this part of the forest, but she knew if they moved in the general direction of the mountain peak referred to as Angel’s Peak, they would intersect with the trail. When they got closer and the immediate landscape became familiar, she would pinpoint the trail’s location with more accuracy and then figure out the best way to avoid the men. Maybe by staying close to the trail but not on it.

For now, all they had to do was keep Angel’s Peak in front of them.

They stepped out into the downpour, hiked across the wide-open strip of land where the plane had gone down and entered the forest on the other side.

They walked side by side without speaking, their footsteps pounding out a rhythm. Fear and doubt played at the corners of her mind. Heading back to the trail was the quickest way to get back to town, but it was also the most obvious. Those three men had followed her and Jesse up the mountain without being spotted, so it was clear they had some tracking skills and were in good shape.

In her mind, she saw the different topographical maps she’d studied of the various areas she’d camped and all the places she’d taken clients in these mountains over the few months she’d worked for Big Sky Outfitters. She still wasn’t sure what the best strategy for avoiding the men was. Trying to come up with a less obvious way down the mountain could get them lost. They did not have the food or gear for that.

The forest thinned as the rain pelted her hat and drizzled from the trees. They stepped out into a flat area, where it looked like a forest fire had passed through. The grass had not grown back in yet. The ground was muddy, causing her hiking boots to make a suctioning sound with every step.

Jesse slid, his legs going into a split before he righted himself. “Kind of slippery out here.”

“Yes, watch your step.”

They trudged on through the slick mud. Jesse’s tarp poncho made swishing noises as he moved. The rain tapped out a rhythm.

He did a double step to catch up with her. “Look, I’m an extrovert. This silence is killing me.”

He’d been plenty talkative on his way up here, mostly about the sports he played and music he liked. Nothing in his conversation had hinted that he was in law enforcement.

She had spent most of her time trying to teach him how to read the landscape. Since she had thought he would be hiking out alone, she’d tried to explain possible scenarios he might encounter and what to do.

She didn’t really see the point of getting to know him better. “I’m an introvert. I like the silence.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and kept pace with her. A moment later, he started to hum what sounded like the annoying theme song from a children’s program her niece watched.

“Okay,” she said. “You win. If it will stop you from humming that song, we can talk.”

He smiled. “Good.” He glanced over his shoulder. His smile turned grim and his voice dropped half an octave. “Never mind.”

She spun around. Behind them, at the other end of the muddy field, two of their three pursuers barreled toward them.

Jesse scanned the landscape around them.

Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

They were out in the open, exposed. Some rocks at the edge of the field looked to be their only option.

“Get over there as fast as you can,” he said, directing Abigail toward the rocks.

The mud bogged them down. And now the hillside slanted up.

Abigail glanced over her shoulder. “Those trees are closer. It’s easier to go across than up in this sticky gumbo.” Abigail had already redirected her steps.

Where the wilderness was concerned, he’d trust her choices over his. He slipped a few paces behind her. “We shouldn’t bunch together.” Better to have two targets than one.

Abigail jogged through the mud in a sure-footed way. He stumbled behind, running in a zigzag pattern so it would be harder to shoot him. The tarp he wore as a rain poncho slowed him down.