Escape from Fire Mountain (5 page)

Through a crack in the door she saw someone in the yard. She pushed the door open a little wider.

It was Frank, and he was carrying one of the rifles.

Nikki drew a sharp breath. She watched him walk around the house, looking in the windows. In a few minutes he was joined at the side of the house by Strecker.

She couldn't make out their words. But she could hear them laugh and saw them move to the porch.

It was easy for them. Frank turned the knob on the front door, and they walked right in. Nikki sank to the floor and closed her eyes. Why hadn't she prepared for this? Anyone with half a brain would have at least considered the possibility that the poachers might find them. Now, because of her stupidity, the kids were alone in the house with criminals.

She tried to gather her thoughts. It was her fault the kids were in this mess, and she would just have to get them out.

She pushed the shed door open barely wide enough to squeeze through. Keeping low, she ran to the barn. Goblin saw her and trotted up.

“I'm gonna need your help, old boy.” Nikki slipped a bridle over his ears and saddled him. She led him out the back door into the forest.

Staying in the trees, she circled the lodge and came in behind it. She tied Goblin securely to a branch and moved to the tree line at the edge of the forest.

She watched the house. There was no movement. Nikki took a deep breath. Somehow she had to make it from the trees to the back of the house without being seen. The only way was to run for it.

Nikki hunched over and ran for all she was worth. When she reached the house, her heart was racing—not because she was tired but because she was afraid the poachers might have seen her.

She waited.

No one came out.

Staying close to the wall, she made her way to the bathroom window. It was the only one she knew for certain wouldn't be locked.

As quietly as possible, she slid the window open and pulled herself up and over the win-dowsill. Again she waited, but no one came.

Nikki swallowed and opened the bathroom door an inch at a time.

Frank and Strecker were in the den. Nikki could hear them talking over the noise of the television. Apparently they were waiting for her to come back. The kids must have told them where she was going.

The carpet muffled the noise as she crawled down the hall on her hands and knees. At the door to the den she sat on her heels and leaned back against the wall. If the criminals saw her, it was all over.

She took another deep breath and peeked around the corner. Luckily the poachers had their backs to her. Molly was watching cartoons, and James was sitting on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

Nikki waved at him. The first couple of times he didn't see her. The third time his face lit up. He sat up straight and stared at her. She ducked behind the wall.

Frank growled at the boy. “What are you lookin' at, kid?”

James slumped back on the couch. “Nothing.” He sat up again. “Mister?”

“What do you want?”

“My sister needs to go to the bathroom.”

Molly turned around and looked up at her brother. She was about to protest, but the calm expression on James's face kept her quiet.

Frank's eyes narrowed. “She looks fine to me, kid. Sit down and shut up.”

“Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you.”

“Let him take the girl to the John,” Strecker snapped. “They're not going anywhere.”

James took Molly by the hand and started to lead her out of the room. Frank grabbed his arm. “You come right back, squirt, 'cause if I have to come lookin' for you …” He drew his finger across the boy's throat. “Got the picture?”

James nodded and moved to the door. Nikki was waiting down the hall in the bathroom. She motioned for them to hurry.

When Molly saw her, she smiled and started to talk. Nikki put her finger to her lips and pulled her inside the room.

She pointed to the window and gave James a leg up. When he was safely out, Nikki handed Molly to him and slid out behind them.

“This way,” Nikki whispered. She led them to the tree where Goblin was waiting. “I know you guys don't ride, so listen to me. All I want you to do is hold on tight. Got it?”

“We got it.” James helped her lift Molly onto the swells of the saddle. Nikki quickly
untied the rope from the branch, climbed into the seat, and pulled James on behind.

“Where are we going?” James asked.

Nikki urged Goblin through the trees. “I don't know. All I know is we have to get away from here.”

“There they are!” Frank was pointing and yelling from the bathroom window.

“Hang on.” James wrapped his arms around her waist as Nikki moved Goblin into a trot. She held Molly in her lap to keep the little girl from falling while she guided the horse with her free hand.

Goblin took a long drink of cool river water. Nikki splashed some on her face and then took a drink herself.

James and Molly were playing near the shore. Nikki looked behind her. She didn't hear anything, but this time she wasn't going to take any chances.

Goblin was covered with a white lather. They had ridden him hard and covered several miles. He needed a rest. She decided to let Molly ride while she and James walked for a while.

“Come on, guys. Time to get going.” Nikki
lifted the little girl into the saddle. “Hold on tight to the saddle horn, Molly.”

James hadn't said a word since they left the lodge, and Nikki was worried about him. “Are you okay, partner?”

He looked up at her. “Do you think they'll find us?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“That big man said he was going to use a knife on me if we ran away.”

Nikki rested her arm on his shoulders. “You know, James, it just occurred to me that I haven't told you what a big help you've been during all this. I couldn't have done any of it without you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don't think those poachers have a chance against us. Together we're too smart for them.”

James beamed. “Do you have a plan?”

“Sure,” Nikki lied. “There are bound to be people downriver somewhere, making sure that fire is under control. We'll just ask one of them to help us out.”

James seemed satisfied with her answer. Nikki wished she were. In an area that big, the chances of running into someone were remote at best.

Goblin stopped walking. Nikki pulled on the reins. He stumbled a few steps, favoring his right front leg, and then stopped again.

Nikki picked up the leg and looked at the underside. The soft frog of the horse's foot had a large thorn in it. She lifted Molly to the ground and jerked the thorn out. Blood squirted from the hole.

There was nothing she could do for him. If they kept riding him, he might become permanently injured. Nikki pulled his saddle and bridle off and put them under a tree.

“You know the way home, fella. When you feel like it, you head on back there.” Nikki ran her hand down his neck. She turned and picked up Molly. “I guess you'll have to put up with me now. Goblin can't carry you anymore.”

Nikki had just settled Molly on her own
back when they heard something crashing through the brush behind them. She grabbed James's sleeve and pulled him down behind some bushes.

Two of her father's horses galloped by—ridden by Frank and Strecker.

James's face was white. They were going to get caught, and he knew it.

Nikki stood up cautiously. 'They'll be back when they lose our trail. We have to stay in the brush and hope they miss us.” She looked down the shore. Things here seemed familiar.

Of course. She'd been here two days ago when she had come to rescue the kids. She knelt back down. “James, if it isn't burned up, I have a canoe somewhere nearby. Molly, don't make a sound. We're going to work our way down the shore, and we don't want those bad men to find us.”

Walking slowly and staying in the bushes, they moved along the riverbank. They were getting close to the burn, and Nikki was afraid they had missed the canoe.

“There's something.” James pointed to some brush ahead of them.

It was the canoe. The fire hadn't damaged it.

Nikki handed Molly to James, ran to untie the slipknot from around the tree, and moved the canoe into the water. “Hurry, kids. Get in.”

She slipped Molly's arms into the life vest and reached out to push off.

“I wouldn't do that.” Frank's voice boomed from above her.

Nikki looked up—into the barrel of his rifle.

“You've given us enough problems. Step out of that canoe.”

Nikki closed her eyes.

And pushed.

The canoe floated a few feet out into the water.

Frank aimed the gun at the canoe and pulled the trigger. There was a moment's hesitation, followed by a deafening explosion.

Nikki looked back. It was awful. Frank lay on the ground covered with blood. She'd never intended for anything like this to
happen. Her only thought had been to stop the poachers from hurting the kids.

Strecker ran along the shore after them, screaming threats as he clawed through the heavy brush.

Nikki kept paddling.

Everything they passed on one side of the river was charred and black. On the other side was a vertical rock slab that separated the river's two forks.

Nikki concentrated on her new problem. Deadman's Drop was ahead of them somewhere. The current was swifter now, and it was all she could do to keep the canoe from turning on her.

She needed to get back to shore. But the river had a mind of its own. Every time she got close, the current snatched them
and drove them farther out into a crashing torrent.

They couldn't hear anything above the roar of the falls. The shore drew nearer but not fast enough. They smashed into something beneath the water. There was a ripping sound. Nikki looked down and saw a sharp piece of rock tearing through the fiberglass bottom.

The canoe stopped momentarily, then lurched. Water sprayed through the floor, filling the hull. It shot forward and rammed another set of rocks.

Nikki's arms ached. She could hardly move the paddles. The river was winning. It seemed ready to swallow them up.

James yelled at her. She couldn't make his words out above the noise of the rapids. He pointed wildly to shore.

She turned. Forest rangers and firefighters were standing on the bank. They had a long rope and were trying to throw it out to them. Every time they threw, they missed.

The canoe grated on the rocks. Nikki knew it wouldn't stay snagged long.

It started moving again. The current had dislodged it, and the canoe was coming around. The ranger onshore coiled the rope and threw it out.

It was now or never. Nikki lunged for the rope, caught it, and fell into the water. The force of the river drove her into the rocks and pinned her there.

James held a paddle out to her. She wrapped the rope around one arm and reached for the oar. Her fingertips had barely touched it when the river slammed her back against the rocks and down under the water. Her mind carried one thought.

Air.

She broke the surface and took in great gulps. Another rapid washed over her. Everything went dark as the churning water tossed her body about like a rag doll. Just when she thought her lungs would burst, a swell swept Nikki back up.

The little canoe was quickly filling with
water. James valiantly held the paddle out to her again. Nikki pushed her exhausted legs against the rocks and stretched as far as possible.

And made it.

Once she had a grip on the paddle, she used it to draw the craft closer to her. When she finally had her hand on the side of the canoe, the men on the bank started pulling them in, heaving until they dragged it into the shallows.

Nikki crawled to shore and fell on the bank.

Voices echoed.

“… the little boy said something about poachers and a gun blowing up … we've radioed the sheriff's chopper to pick them up … miracle they're still alive … find the parents …”

The voices sounded hollow and unreal, mixed with the roar of the rapids.

Nikki's eyes opened. The men had wrapped them in blankets. James was sitting on the bank, and Molly was perched on a ranger's lap, listening to his assurances that the
sheriff would have the “mean men” in custody soon.