Missing (8 page)

     “Yes, ma’am.”

     “Atta girl.”

     Outside the gate, the searchers were growing weary and frustrated. None of them had eaten in ten hours, and had consumed only the water they’d thought to carry with them. Some didn’t think to take any.

     And all of them were starting to drag.

     The darkness had made the process much worse. Even with flashlights, it was ridiculously easy to miss things. The searchers were stumbling over hidden tree branches or slipping off of loose rock and hurting themselves.

     One man fell headlong into a patch of poison ivy, but insisted on going on, scratching as he went.

     Another twisted his ankle and was forced to drop out of the search line.

     And Frank Woodard had a very difficult decision to make.

     A decision that wouldn’t be well received by any of Sarah’s friends.

     And especially not by her husband Bryan.

     “Bryan, this is Frank. Are you still on the mountain?”

     “Yes. Still no sign of any signal fires.”

     “Ten four. Sami, this is Frank. Come in.”

     “Frank, this is Karen. Sami’s taking a much needed break. How can I help you?”

     “I assume there’s still no word from Hannah or John?”

     Frank was grasping for straws that weren’t there. He, and everyone else, knew that the security desk would have passed the word immediately if Hannah or John had checked in.

     “I’m afraid not, Frank. We’ve been calling them every five minutes for hours. Not a word from them.”

     “And you’re still trying to contact the Army on the ham?”

     “Yes. We’ve even sent an SOS out to anyone monitoring the ham in the San Antonio area. We’ve talked to two operators and told them there’s a missing helicopter and we need to get ahold of the Army people at Kelly Air Force Base immediately.

     “The first man refused to go out after dark. He said it was too dangerous. The second was braver. He said he’d go, but he lived several miles from the base and it would take him a couple of hours to return. We’re still waiting to hear from him.”

     “Ten four. Please keep me posted.”

     “Will do.”

     “Marty, this is Frank. How long before your team finishes their current sweep?”

     “Maybe half an hour or so.”

     “When they finish, have them mark where they left off and stand down for the night. Then take them home, give them my personal thanks, and tell them we’ll start back up at first light.”

     “Are you sure, Frank?”

     “Yes. The longer they’re out there without rest, the more likely they are to walk right past a clue. As dark as it is, if she’s bedded down or taking shelter in a cave or under a bluff, they could walk right past her. The temperatures aren’t life threatening tonight, even if she was lightly dressed. She’ll be miserable, but she won’t freeze. She’ll be better off, and we will too, if we start with a refreshed crew in the morning.”

     “Ten four. I’ll be back at first light with my crew, and we’ll start up where we leave off tonight. Please let me know if she makes it back home before then.”

     “Will do. Have Lenny monitor the ham while you get some rest. And Marty?”

     “Yes, sir?”

     “Thanks for your help.”

     “Anytime, Frank. Anytime at all.”

     “Bryan, this is Frank.”

     “I copied, Frank.”

     It was easy for Frank, and anyone else listening, to hear the irritation in Bryan’s voice.   

     “I know you don’t like my call, Bryan. I wouldn’t if I were in your shoes. But there’s too much chance we’ll miss something important if we work through the night with an exhausted crew. And then we’ll have to write off tomorrow too, because we won’t have anybody still standing to do a search. We’re better off, and so is Sarah, if we break until daylight.”

     Bryan saw Frank’s logic. And if anyone else was missing, he’d agree with it.

     But it wasn’t Frank’s wife. It was Sarah. And he couldn’t bring himself to abandoning the search while she was still out there.

     It was as though Frank read his mind.

     “Bryan, I know you wouldn’t get any rest tonight even if you came back. I’ll leave it up to you. You can break with the rest of the team, or you can stay up on Salt Mountain and watch for signal fires as long as you’re able. If that’s your choice, I’ll bring you a blanket and some water and a sandwich.”

     “Make it ham and cheese.”

     “Ten four. I’ll be there in a bit, as soon as I get everybody else corralled and accounted for and release them for the night.”

Chapter 13

   
 
“What happened?”

     Her words were weak. Her throat was dry. It hurt to speak. But she wanted to know.

     “I don’t know. I didn’t even know it happened. I just felt this incredible jerk and everything instantly went black. I woke up with my face in the dirt.”

     “Where are the rest of them?”

     “On the other side of the wreckage. One of them is in a tree, ten feet off the ground. I can’t tell who it is. He still has his helmet on. The colonel… well, you don’t want to know.”

     “My name is Hannah.”

     “Hi, Hannah. I’m Joel.”

     “Will they be coming for us soon, Joel?”

     “Yes, ma’am. When we don’t report in they’ll send out a search party based on our flight plan.”

     “Will they wait until morning?”

     “I don’t know. I hope not. I’m getting cold.”

     “So am I.”

     He crawled to her, placed his body against hers, and gently put his arm around her waist.

     She didn’t mind.

     “Thank you. That helps a little.”

     “There are some emergency blankets in the first aid kit. But I don’t know where it is. Would you like for me to try to find it?”

     “No. It’s dark and I’m cold and afraid. I don’t want to be left alone.”

     “Good. I’m glad. I don’t think I’d be able to find it in the dark anyway.”

     “Joel, is this what it feels like when you’re dying?”

     “I don’t know. What are you feeling?”

     “Like I’m in a daze. Like everything is so surreal. And dark. Darker than any night I’ve ever seen. And I don’t feel any pain anymore. I feel tingling in my lower body, and my belly is very warm. But I feel no pain. I find that incredibly odd.”

     “I’m no expert on dying, Hannah. I’ve only done it seven, eight times tops. But I’m pretty sure you’re not dying.”

     “How can you be sure?”

     “Well, number one, you’re much too beautiful to die. And number two, I need someone to talk to while we’re waiting to be rescued. So I refuse to give you permission to die. And number three, you have to live long enough to divorce your husband and marry me.”

     He wanted her to smile and stop thinking about dying, but in the darkness he couldn’t tell if it worked.

     She drew silent, and for a moment he thought he’d lost her.

     But then she found the words she’d been searching for.

     “I know he’s frantic. He’s going crazy. I feel bad for him.”

     Then, as though Joel didn’t know who she was talking about, she clarified.

     “My husband.”

     “I figured.”

     “And my son. I hope they haven’t told him we crashed. He’s so young and he hurts so easily.”

     “Tell me about him. What’s his name?”

     “Mark Junior. I call him Little Markie, because he’s just like his dad. And he’s the sweetest kid in the whole world.”

     “How old is he?”

     “He’ll be seven soon. He’s growing so fast. And there’s so much he’s never experienced.”

     “Like what?”

     “He’s never been to the city. He’s never been to the beach, or to an amusement park. He’s never even ridden in a car.”

     “Cars are way overrated. But at least they’re better than helicopters.”

     This time he succeeded. Despite the gravity of their situation, she managed a smile.

     It was too bad he couldn’t see it in the darkness.

     “How long have you been flying on helicopters?”

     “Let’s see. Three years before the freeze. Two years since the thaw.”

     “Do they crash very often?”

     “Actually almost never. Usually even when they have mechanical problems they can land safely. I’ve flown over eight hundred sorties and this is the first time I’ve been in a crash. And this will be my last flight, too.”

     “No. You’ll survive. If I have to, you have to. You’ll fly lots more.”

     “No. That’s not what I meant. My Dad once told me, on the day he caught me smoking pot, that if only the good die young I’ll live forever. I’m gonna hold him to that. No, I meant I’m gonna find a safer MOS. A safer job in the Army. I don’t much like helicopters anymore.”

     “Me neither. And to think I had ten friends who volunteered to take the tour in my place. And I told them all no. I thought it would be fun.”

     “You’re not having fun?”

     “Hardly. Are you?”

     “I’m lying next to a gorgeous woman, all alone in the woods. It’s every man’s dream. How can I not be having fun?”

     “Wait! Joel, I heard something. Over there. On the other side of the wreckage. Are you sure no one else survived?”

     He almost told her that just before the darkness fell, he’d seen West Texas turkey buzzards circling overhead.

     He almost told her that the sound she was hearing was almost certainly the buzzards picking at human flesh.

     Eating the carcasses of what once was her friend, and Joel’s colleagues.

     But he thought better of it.

     “I’m sorry to say I’m positive, Hannah. What you’re hearing is probably just a deer, or a raccoon.

     “It’s just you and me, kid.”

     Then he passed out.

Chapter 14

     It was just after midnight. Most of the search team had been released for the night and told to try to get some sleep.

     Most of them, if they were able to sleep at all, would do so fitfully.

     “Try your best,” Frank had asked them. “We’ll start back up at first light, and I need you all alert and on your toes.”

     Frank Woodard, like many military leaders, was bad at following his own advice.

     Instead of trying to get some sleep himself, he was at the control center with Karen.

     They were watching Sami, now laying on a couch in the open lounge across the lobby.

     The lights had been dimmed, and Brad was sitting on the floor beside her, wiping her tears.

     Frank and Karen could very clearly hear her sob.

     Karen’s heart went out to her.

     “Not just her father, but also her two best friends in the world, are missing without a trace. How can fate be so cruel to one human being?”

     “It does seem odd that it would happen at the same time, doesn’t it?”

     At that moment, the radio sprang to life.

     Bryan, still sitting on Salt Mountain and scanning the darkness of the woods looking for any sign of a signal fire, said, “Karen, check your west-looking monitors. Tell me what you see.”

     Karen instantly spun around in her chair. Her eyes as well as Frank’s immediately went to monitors seven and eight.

     “We see them, Bryan. The headlights from four vehicles traveling in convoy, heading this way on Highway 83. Is that what you’re talking about?”

     “Yes. I couldn’t tell how many there were. I just saw some headlights pass between the trees at short intervals. Do you think they’re headed this way?”

     “Possibly. It could be Marty coming back. Maybe Lenny scared up a second shift of searchers.”

     “Or…” Brad said as he and Sami approached the desk, “Maybe the helicopter never left San Antonio. Maybe it wasn’t working so they’re bringing John and Hannah back by car.”

     Mark came running down the hallway, in time to hear Brad’s words.

     “Brad, if you’re right I’m gonna kiss you.”

     “Oh, no, you’re not.”

     The words came not from Brad, but from Sami.

     Frank brought logic into the equation, and crushed the mood.

     “If they were bringing John and Hannah home, they wouldn’t have needed four cars to do it.”

     “Damnit!” Mark exclaimed. “They’re turning down the wrong road.”

     Again, Frank stated the obvious.

     “If John were with them, he’d have told them the right place to turn. It’s either Marty with a fresh crew who took the wrong turn, or it’s the Army. In either case, that road doesn’t go far before it dead-ends. We’ll find out soon.”

     After ten agonizing minutes, the same four sets of headlights emerged from the dirt road and re-entered Highway 83.

     As soon as they slowed and turned down the narrow road to the compound, Frank called on the radio.

     “Who’s manning the main gate?”

     “Rachel. What do you need, Frank?”

     “Rachel, do you still have that box of flashlights we brought back?”

     “Yes, sir. I just finished putting fresh batteries in all of them.”

     “Ten four. We’ve got visitors outside. We’ll be going out to greet them.”

     Frank turned to the others.

     “Who’s coming with me?”

     Poor Karen was the only one left behind.

     She watched on the monitors as the four of them… Frank, Mark, Sami and Brad, reached the inside of the gate.

     Then she scanned the exterior monitors to make sure no one was on the outside, waiting to force his way in.

     Only then did she make the call.

     “You’re clear, Rachel. Let them out.”

Chapter 15

     “Good evening, folks. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Jim Weiss from Kelly Air Force Base.

     “We’re missing a chopper. I’m hoping you’re going to tell me it landed here safely and everyone aboard is okay.”

     Frank was the only one who shook the colonel’s hand.

     Sami slumped to the ground and sat there. Brad knelt down beside her. Neither said a word.

     Mark kicked at the dirt beneath his feet and cursed.

     Frank said, “I wish I could tell you that, Colonel Weiss. I wish to God I could tell you that. The truth is, though, we’ve been waiting on pins and needles for them for several hours.”

     “So they didn’t contact you with your radios to say they were lost or having mechanical problems?”

     “No, sir. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t try. Our radios only have an effective range of about five miles.”

     Mark suddenly lashed out.

     “How in the
hell
can you just lose a helicopter?”

     “We’re hoping they had electrical problems and set down in a clearing somewhere. Depending on the nature of the problem, it could have knocked out their communications gear at the same time. If they were at least five miles away from here, that would explain why neither of us have heard from them.”

     “Okay. So now you know they’re not here. Now how about getting out there and looking for them?”

     Frank put one hand on Mark’s shoulder and another on his chest. He was afraid Mark was going to lunge at the officer.

     “I’m sorry, colonel. His wife is on board that helicopter.”

     “I understand completely. Actually, we started a search an hour ago. We had specially equipped helicopters fly in from Fort Hood. Helicopters with night vision and FLIR technology.”

     Sami was stumped.

     “
What
technology?”

     “I’m sorry. It’s a military acronym. FLIR is Forward Looking Infra-Red. It’s a camera system that sees and interprets heat signatures. It can spot people in pitch blackness, when even night vision capability doesn’t work.”