Lie Down in Green Pastures (25 page)

"Traveling in the rain might be the smart choice. The rain will wash away our footprints. With the remaining daylight it will be easier to see the mud we're walking through and try to keep from slipping. Using the road in the dark, on the other hand, would allow us to move as if we were in stealth mode."

"Stealth mode?" asked Sarah.

Okay, don't scare them. They have to keep the others calm.

"Yes, stealth mode." He could see in their expressions that they were paying close attention. "There are at least two more men on this mountain with us. It won't be long before they find the two down the hill, and when they do we don't want to be anywhere near here. They will believe we are moving farther into the preserve and we must help them with that."

"How long will it take us to get to the logging camp?" asked Noah.

"I was thinking about two hours."

"I can walk two miles in less than thirty minutes," Sarah said.

"Yeah, in the mall while window-shopping," quipped Noah, at which point both Sarah and Brenda punched him on the shoulders. "Ow."

"I'm sure you can, but there are fifteen of us and we are in the forest," Jeremiah said while trying not to smile. "We do need to move from here quickly and I was thinking of a way to do it. Get everybody up and ready to travel."

All the kids were ready to go in five minutes. Sarah, Brenda, and Noah each carried one of the makeshift spears while Jeremiah had cut up one of the blankets and made a simple backpack to carry everything else. Jeremiah and Noah had already retrieved the burglar alarm as the girls got everyone up and in line.

"Okay, gang, we need to create a distraction," said Jeremiah.

"You mean by like making loud noises?" asked Brenda.

"No, this would be a visual distraction. When we leave the cave we need to make as many footprints as we can. Then a short distance later we will get back in single file and make only one set of prints. Let's go."

Within ten minutes of leaving the cave they had fanned out and trampled the grass, shrubs, and flowers and then reformed into a single line three times.

These kids learn fast,
Jeremiah thought.

Forty-five minutes after they left the cave they were over halfway to the logging camp. Jeremiah halted the group and made sure that each kid drank some water. This was accompanied with sounds of gagging, choking, and spitting.

"This tastes awful," said Bobby just before he took another long swallow from the bottle.

"Yeah, but it's safe," said Noah.

"Okay, Noah, take the lead and move up this ridgeline walking only on the rocks."

"Where are you going?" asked Brenda, with panic in her voice. Sarah and Noah grabbed Brenda's hands to calm her down.

"False trail," he said. "I'm going to leave a false trail. I will catch up in a few minutes."

Brenda's nodding said she understood but her eyes showed that fear was still there. Jeremiah turned to the left and started trampling the dirt as he headed away from the group.

Noah started up the ridge with the others in tow and Sarah walking drag.

That girl is something. Quietly listens to everything, then takes charge when and where she's needed. Not afraid to be a girl but smart and analytical as well.

Jeremiah was not a smoker. His training had taught him how to smoke but not become addicted. Every five minutes he would light one of the inventoried cigarettes. He would let it burn down, then flick offthe flame and drop the butt in the mud without covering it up.

His watch indicated that it was nearly noon and he had been walking for thirty minutes. As he finished his false trail, he removed the compact from the backpack. He tied the open compact to a tree branch so that the late afternoon sun would hit the mirror. If anyone was following, the flashing light off the mirror would convince them they were on the correct trail.Jeremiah figured this could give them another hour's cushion, more if they were lucky.

Sitting on the ground beneath the mirror Jeremiah removed his shoes and socks, using the laces to tie them around his waist. Then he carefully began climbing the tree. Fifteen feet above the ground, Jeremiah jumped from his tree to the nearest uphill tree. He caught a branch near the end and it bowed down but did not break. As the branch started moving up, Jeremiah scrabbled hand-over-hand up the limb toward the tree trunk. He repeated this pattern ten times until he was several hundred feet away from where his tracks ended. Climbing down the tree, Jeremiah started running up the hill toward the ridgeline.

He caught the kids less than a quarter mile from the logging camp. As he approached the kids Sarah whistled to signal Noah to stop.

"What happened to your shoes?" she asked.

"I can move faster and quieter without them," he replied.

"Yeah, stealth mode, right?" she said.

Observant too.

Jeremiah left Sarah and ran up hill to Noah. "Go back down the trail and send Sarah up here. You stay there and walk drag," Jeremiah said to Noah.

Before he had finished putting on his second shoe Sarah was standing beside him. She was slightly out of breath but looked to be in good enough shape to continue.

The logging camp is just around this hill. We must approach it carefully.

"I think we should climb a little higher so that we can see down into the camp," Jeremiah said to Sarah. "I am going to lead you up there and find a good spot to rest without being seen. I am then going to go down to the camp and check it out, okay?"

Sarah nodded understanding, then immediately started moving up the hill. The kids started after her, once again in the same order and single file. Jeremiah had to turn away to hide his grin from the kids. He just could not help it. Thankfully he did not burst into hysterical laughter, but he wanted to. He now realized that all the training he had received in his life had taught him nothing about children and group dynamics.

Jeremiah located a sheltered spot just below the top of the hill and under some trees. The kids except Sarah all sprawled out on the ground acting as if they had run a marathon. Sarah was sitting cross-legged with her back against a tree looking intently down on the camp.

"What now?" Noah asked as he approached Jeremiah and Sarah.

"You and I are going down to check out the logging camp."

Turning to Sarah he instructed, "Ask Brenda to help you keep the others together and quiet. We will be back soon."

"Don't be long. Some of the kids are getting hungry and a few others need a bathroom break . . . bad."

"They can go in the woods."

She pursed her lips. "Some people are cooler with that idea than others."

He had a feeling she was one of the ones who wasn't cool with the idea, but he didn't say anything, just nodded.

Jeremiah and Noah moved down the hill using trees for cover. Approximately fifty feet from the camp Jeremiah signaled a halt and crouched close to the ground. He placed his right hand, palm down, on the ground checking for vibrations.Nothing. Scanning the logging camp he could see three small buildings and one structure that looked like a carport, only much larger. In front of this structure was a large open area.He stared at it long and hard, and then he saw it. There, in the middle of the opening. Two parallel indentations. Helicopter skid marks.

"Great," Jeremiah hissed to himself.

17

C
INDY HAD REACHED THE CHURCH PARKING LOT AT NOON AND WAITED, wishing that Dave's text had said what time the bus would be arriving. She tried playing solitaire for a while using the passenger seat as a table, but twisting her shoulder hurt too much.She suspected that the fall had done more damage and cringed when she thought about what the physical therapist was going to say when she saw her again on Monday.

She prayed sporadically, still uncertain what it was that had awakened her in the middle of the night.

She considered going inside, but she wanted to see the bus as it pulled up. She half drowsed in her car. She hadn't slept much in the last few days and she was beginning to feel it.

The sound of an engine brought her fully alert and she sat up, peering eagerly through the window. A moment later one of the church's fifteen- passenger vans lumbered into sight. As it parked, the second one pulled into the parking lot behind it.

Her heart jumped into her throat. Both vans together couldn't carry as many as the bus could. She got out of her car and ran toward the first bus. Wildman descended from the front passenger seat.

"No bus?" she asked.

"We couldn't get it in time."

"Where's Jeremiah?"

"I was hoping you heard that part of the phone call. He's still up at the camp with fourteen kids. They're going to be stuck there for a couple of days until the rain stops and we can get back across the river. It's okay, though. They have plenty of food, water, games. Cindy? Cindy, what's wrong?"

She grabbed the front of his shirt in her fists and pushed her face next to his. "Where did you say Jeremiah is?"

"He's still at Green Pastures."

Her legs buckled under her and she collapsed onto the ground, screaming.

"What did you see?" asked Noah.

Above the logging camp Jeremiah inspected the helicopter skid marks. From where he was he couldn't tell how old they were. He'd have to get closer before he could determine if it was safe to take the kids down to the camp.

"Stay here and watch for my signal to come down."

Jeremiah moved the last fifty feet to the edge of the camp and came up behind the closest small building. There was nothing that he could see that was out of place when he looked through the window. He moved around the building and saw the front door covered by several cobwebs.
No one has entered here for some months,
he thought.

The other two buildings were the same way. Believing that no other people were there, Jeremiah moved to the center of the open area to view the skid marks. Kneeling down, Jeremiah pressed his fingers softly on the side of the mark in order to gauge how fresh they were. The mud in the marks was very soft, which meant the marks were at least three days old or more.

Jeremiah turned toward the tree line and waved for Noah to join him in the camp. When Noah arrived at his side, they checked to see if any of the buildings were locked. Surprisingly, none of them were. Noah started to enter one of the buildings but Jeremiah stopped him at the last second.

"Do not disturb the cobwebs. The less we change the area the harder it will be for someone to figure out we have been here. Go up and get the rest and bring them down the same path we took."

Noah nodded as he turned and retraced his steps back up the hill.

After Noah had left to get the others Jeremiah surveyed the logging camp.
Now what can we use in this place?

Mark was sitting in an interrogation room across from Frank Butler and he was losing his temper. "Call offyour dogs," he demanded.

Frank smiled insolently. "I do not know what you are talking about, Detective. I don't have any dogs. I'm more of a cat person."

Mark jumped to his feet, ready to punch the man, but Paul put a steadying hand on his arm and gave him a look that said,
Don't give him an excuse.

"You know, the camp was evacuated yesterday," Paul said."There's nothing for your goons to do up there except some tagging of buildings."

Mark's cell rang and he checked it. Cindy was calling. He left the room, wondering why she was calling. Once he closed the door behind him he answered.

"Jeremiah and fourteen kids are still up there!" she screamed in his ear.

"Cindy, what did you say?"

"Not everyone made it out before the river took out the bridge. They left fourteen kids behind and Jeremiah with them."

"No," Mark whispered. Fourteen kids and a rabbi were more than enough for a massacre that would scar the community forever.

"There's a fire trail, but there are logs down over the road and they can't get any emergency vehicles in there with the mudslides," Mark said.