Fate and Destiny (18 page)

“
That’s long enough for
me. I’m going to go follow the tracks and make sure he’s
okay.”

Andrew moved towards the
trees. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled at Destiny.

“
Stay in the cabin, or at
least close by. I don’t want to go looking for you too.”

Remaining where he left
her, Destiny watched until Andrew disappeared into the woods. Her
heart raced, increasing in rhythm, alternating between thumping and
cracking completely. The tears she refused to shed while Andrew
could see now flowed freely down her cheeks.

Mentally, she shifted into
survivor mode. Don’t think anymore, just act. Moving swiftly,
unaware of the wetness on her cheeks, her feet tread confidently
across the snow. Removing the glove, hand unzipping the pocket,
keys appearing. Pressing the button on the remote to kill the alarm
and unlock the doors. Into the truck, key in the ignition, eyes
scanning the trees for the dog or man. No thoughts, only
reactions.

The engine roared to life,
the sound amplified through her ears but not quite registering
within her brain. No turning back, foot on the brake, shifting into
drive. The tires slipped but held enough to propel forward.
Rolling, still no movement from the trees. No black dog barking. No
handsome man trying to stop her. Her vision blurred, blinding her
for a moment with selfish tears. Her mind tried reasoning with her
to stay, but the torturous ripping of her heart urged her to keep
going. Wiping her hand across her face, clearing her eyes, she
drove down the driveway, keeping the tires in the tracks created by
the plow truck.

On the curve, the truck
slid again, she turned into the skid and the chains gripped. In the
rearview mirror, the cabin disappeared and everything surrounding
the truck became unfamiliar. This was not her home. Not her cabin.
Not her driveway. She didn’t even really know where she was. Or
where she was going.

The driveway ended at a
road cleared going down, and buried in snow going up. Despite the
chains, which were a new idea to her, the truck still spun on the
icy patches. Having never driven on snow or ice before, it took all
of her concentration to keep the truck in line with the road. Easy
on the brake, especially on the downhill parts, basically coasting,
prepared for the numerous times the truck threatened to lose
control. On a whim, she unzipped the other outside pocket of the
coat, hoping Andrew kept his wallet there. Money for gas would
certainly help her get farther.

Her hand gripped around the
heavy steel. Recognizing the item as a pistol, disappointed it
wasn’t cash; she withdrew her hand, leaving the weapon in
place.

Her fingers fumbled with
the heat control, distracting her from the road ahead. Not that
there were any other cars to watch out for, and only for a second.
A warm blast streamed into the cab, her eyes shifting back to the
road. In that split second, the road curved sharply to the right.
Still reacting instead of thinking, her foot slammed on the brake.
The truck becoming a sickening attraction in a carnival as it spun
out of control. Gripping the wheel, steering into the turn, then
steering into the skid. Nothing helped.

The top heavy truck slid
right over the edge of the road, Destiny scrambling to grab onto
anything, ready for the feeling of rolling over completely or
flying off a hidden cliff. Her body hadn’t shut down simply because
she wanted it to, now her brain screamed she would suffer horribly.
During the spin, she lost all sense of direction, not sure if the
truck was going off the road facing the cabin or down the
mountain.

Hands still on the useless
wheel, the truck tilted forwards then sideways. Unable to brace
herself, Destiny’s head crashed into the window. Her bruised brain
shut down, sending her into the scary black place that was becoming
too familiar.

18.

She might have been out for
a few seconds or a few hours. Her vision blurred, then cleared
before shimmering again. The ache in her head was nothing compared
to the thumping from the first time she cracked her skull against
the rock. She was such a fool. She didn’t even make it down the
mountain far enough to be able to hitchhike out. The sunlight was
gone, either low on the horizon and hidden by the trees or blocked
behind the angry gray clouds. Either way, the interior of the truck
was dim.

Lifting her head slightly
away from the cool glass, the vents in the dash blew hot air into
her eyes. Squinting, she reached over to flip the heater off. The
truck was still idling. Glancing out the window, relief swept
through her. She was not teetering on a cliff or smashed against
the side of the mountain.

The truck sat harmlessly in
the ditch where the road curved. Sitting up straighter in the seat,
she glanced around. The truck faced up the hill towards the cabin,
the tires spinning uselessly over the ice filling the ditch.
Switching the gears into reverse, then back into drive, the tires
still spun, finding no solid ground to grip.

Groaning, Destiny leaned
forward, resting her head against the steering wheel. How far could
it be to get to the town? A mile? Maybe two? Maybe ten. With night
quickly taking over, she would freeze to death before she got
anywhere. She couldn’t stay in the truck. Andrew would find her. He
was probably already looking. He would not understand why she
left.

Time to turn the brain back
on and start thinking. Andrew said there were cabins all along the
mountain. Each of them must have a fireplace. She could scavenge
useable wood and trek down the mountain first thing in the morning.
Retreat back to Vegas to get the evidence that would free her. An
invisible clock in her mind warned time was running
out. 

Switching off the engine,
she left the keys in the ignition. Andrew would locate the truck.
Apparently, it didn’t actually hit anything during the loss of
control. He would be able to have it towed out and taken back to
his cabin. The truck became a beacon alerting him to her presence
and she needed to get as far away from it as she could. Unbuckling
the seatbelt and opening the door, she stepped out into deep snow,
her shoes sliding on the same ice patch the tires sat on. Holding
onto the truck, she made her way up the side of the embankment and
onto the road.

She gave up trying to walk,
opting instead to slide down the road. If she got just a little
traction under her feet, she could take a quick step, pushing off,
then stiffening her legs and sliding. She’d seen movies where kids
used the same technique on frozen ponds. She understood why they
did it. The movement would actually be fun if she could turn her
brain off again. It wouldn’t let her. Every part of her mind was
working overtime, thousands of thoughts and fears racing through at
the same time. Aggravating the concussion didn’t help and the fear
of falling and hitting her head caused her to be cautious in her
slides.

Maybe another bump to the
head wouldn’t be so bad. She could turn it off permanently that
way. Through all of the hard knocks of life, she had never thought
of giving up before, but now she had lost everything. No job, no
home, no future. Wishful thinking and childish fantasies were
simply not enough to live on. When she made it back to Vegas, at
least she knew where she could get a job and make some fast cash.
Many women there chose that path. The ones who didn’t end up strung
out on drugs, beaten, or murdered seemed to be okay.

Another slide, traction,
two steps, slide. Concentrating on where her feet were and what
they were doing, she almost missed the figure coming out of the
woods towards her on the road. Catching sight of the movement from
the corner of her eye. She stopped, mid slide, stumbling as she
regained her footing. Breathing deeply, her first thought was of
Andrew. She could take whatever he could dish out. She just had to
lock away her heart. In the dim light, the figure approached. Her
heart escaped its cell to beat in her throat as she realized it was
not Andrew coming towards her, but Doug.

It couldn’t be. How did he
get up here? Where was the sleazy guy? Unable to breathe or speak,
her heart stopped, resuming the pace in triple time. Dizzy, her
legs weakened, threatening to drop her to the ground. Doug’s hands
were up, his face slack as he ambled towards her. He had been smart
enough to wear deep treaded hiking boots, allowing him to walk
across the frozen road almost normally.

Finding the last of her
resolve buried deep within her, she forced her arms to move,
quickly opening the pocket of the coat and drawing the pistol.
Shaking violently within, she was amazed to discover her hand was
steady as she pointed it directly at Doug. She had no idea if the
thing had a safety or if it was even loaded, but Doug wouldn’t know
either. He stopped within a few feet of her.

“
Please don’t shoot me,
even though I deserve it. I swear, I don’t want to hurt you. I came
here to help you.”

Hoping her voice sounded as
steady as her hand, Destiny eyed him warily.

“
Why would you help me?
You left me here. You tried to kill me already.”

“
I didn’t want to. I
couldn’t kill you. They wanted me to shoot you and bury you but I
couldn’t do it. I didn’t think you deserved that.”

“
How much did Charles pay
you to get rid of me? What am I worth? I don’t have any money. I
can’t make a counteroffer for my life.”

The gun didn’t waver.
Neither of them moved. The clock in Destiny’s head ticked
away.

“
I didn’t get paid
anything yet. Lenny didn’t tell me how much we were going to make,
only that I could pay off what I owed. I’m sorry about all of this.
Please believe me. I want to help you.”

He looked sincere, but
Destiny was no fool. He came back to kill her and the sleazy guy
probably had a gun pointed at her head right now.

Glancing around, the hairs
on her neck prickling, Destiny yelled loud enough to be heard by
anyone nearby.

“
I’ll shoot him! Show
yourself!”

No one came forward. Doug’s
look of sincerity morphed into complete confusion.

“
There’s nobody else here.
Just me. Lenny got arrested in town. We found out you were up here
and alive and he wanted to come back, but the cops took him to
jail. I came up here alone to help you before he gets
out.”

Unsure of what to do next,
Destiny moved closer to Doug, circling around behind him, sliding
but still maintaining her footing. Doug didn’t move at all. His
hands out in a non-threatening manner.

“
Destiny, please listen to
me. I won’t hurt you ever again. They couldn’t pay me enough to
hurt you now. I’m so sorry I left you here.”

Glad her brain was clicking
faster than her heart, Destiny thought through her
options.

“
How did you get up
here?”

“
I have the plow. I drove
it up here. Its parked at the cabin just around the road
there.”

“
Why did you come out of
the woods?”

“
I heard the truck coming
down the hill. I hoped it was that guy from the cabin and you were
up there alone so I could go up and talk to you. This cabin here is
sitting just on the other side of the trees. If you look, you can
see it. I’m hiding out there.”

“
This is what we are going
to do. We are going to walk over there very casually. You are going
to lead and I am going to follow, and I am going to keep the gun
pointed at the back of your head. You do anything that makes me
nervous and I blow you away. Understand?”

Doug nodded, slowly walking
back the way he came through the woods. As she turned to follow,
she looked past him, glimpsing the corner of a log cabin through
the winter tree limbs about fifty yards from the road. Another
ditch of ice flanked the opposite side of the road. Reaching the
edge of the trees, Destiny found traction under her
feet.

Doug walked in front of
her, not taking the risk of looking back. Although she didn’t keep
the gun pointed levelly at him, it would only take a second to
raise it up and pull the trigger. The cabin came more fully into
view. Instead of two windows, it only had one medium sized window
on the front. The glass and most of the wood panes were
broken.

“
Doug, when we get there,
you just open the door and walk in. Then I want you to go as far
away from me as possible so I can keep my eye on you. Don’t make
any sudden moves. I don’t want to shoot, but I will.”

“
Yes Ma’am,” Doug’s hands
remained in the air where she could see them even though she didn’t
instruct him to walk that way. The clearing around the cabin was
not as large as the one around Andrew’s. Thinking of him moistened
her eyes. This was no time to cry. Any sign of weakness, and Doug
may take that opportunity to turn on her.

At the door, Doug did
exactly what Destiny wanted him to as if he were a very large
child. He opened the door, left it open for her, and then slowly
walked across the room to a couch. The couch must be a foldout
because the cabin consisted of one room similar to Andrew’s. An
armchair sat across from the couch. Destiny sunk into it,
exhausted. Her body had not healed as much as she previously
thought. Doug placed his enormous hands on his equally large knees,
always careful to move slowly. The barrel of the gun remained
steadily pointed in Doug’s direction although Destiny didn’t have
the strength to keep her arm up, instead letting it rest on her
leg. “Okay Doug. I need to know some things.” Doug nodded but
didn’t speak. His face void of any emotion.