Thirty-One and a Half Regrets (32 page)

“We have two choices,” he said. “We can keep trudging through the valley and hope we stumble upon a house, or head back into the trees where there’s less snow and it’s easier to hide.”

“If you don’t think they’re right behind us, let’s go through the valley. We shouldn’t be much slower than they are, so we’ll hopefully find help before they catch up to us. If they even realize we went this way.”

“Valley it is.”

We set off north, following a gravel road that led from the house. We had traveled for twenty minutes without spotting another house or even road when a gunshot rang through the air.

We both froze, our eyes wide.

“What was that?” I asked, breathless.

“It could have been hunters.”

“Is it hunting season?”

“No. Deer season isn’t for another week. But this is rural Arkansas. Some citizens like to make their own rules on private property.”

“If it was Crocker, why would they shoot?”

Mason looked back toward the woods behind us. “Maybe to alert the others if they found our footprints. I suspect their cell phones don’t work out here.”

“What do we do?”

“If it’s hunters, heading for the trees in dark clothes could get us shot. But if it’s Crocker, the last thing we want is for him to find us out in the open...” He paused. “It all boils down to instinct.”

“And what is your gut telling you?”

“That it’s Daniel Crocker.”

“Mine too,” I whispered, my chest about to explode.

“Let’s go that way.” He pointed to the tree-covered hills to the east.

I took off with Mason behind me. Once we reached the slope, we moved parallel along the side of the hill. The terrain was steep and I lost my footing several times, righting myself before I tumbled down the slope.

Voices floated through the valley. I stopped, my ears straining to pick out words.

Mason was several feet in front of me, but he turned back, watching over my shoulder. The voices grew louder and became less muffled.

“…went this way…”

“I see their footprints.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “Shit.” He grabbed my arm and started uphill. “Let’s go higher,” he panted. “Now that they’ve found our tracks, they know we’ve been heading north. There’s a chance we can throw them off if we keep heading east and find another valley to hike through.”

“
Is
there another valley?”

“I don’t know, but the area is all hills and trees, so it stands to reason that we’ll find a valley if we go far enough. At least we’ll be making it harder for them to find us. What do
you
want to do?”

My heart raced with fear. He was right. Anything that would help us elude Crocker was the best solution. “Go east.”

He grabbed my hand and helped pull me up the hill. This one was steeper than the one we’d climbed and descended the day before. When we reached the peak, we had the option to continue along the ridge or go down the other side.

Mason gave me a long look before he started down.

The other side of the hill was the steepest yet. One glance convinced me to give up any hope of trying to go down gracefully. I tried to grab trees on the way down to slow my descent, but after I crashed into two, I sat on my butt and slid down, just like I used to do with Violet. But when I reached the bottom, I questioned the wisdom of my plan. The entire back side of my jeans was wet and muddy. But at least I didn’t have any broken bones and I’d descended the fastest way possible.

My joy was short-lived when I realized we needed to mount another steep hill. We spent the next half hour climbing and descending hills until we finally came into a flat area.

“I think this is a good place for us to start changing direction.”

“Okay.” I leaned into a tree. I was winded and my hands and feet were freezing again.

“I haven’t heard voices for at least fifteen minutes,” Mason said. “I think we can rest for a few minutes.” He moved next to me. “Do you want to sit?”

I shook my head. “Just let me catch my breath.”

He opened his bag and handed me the half-full bottle of now-melted snow. After taking a big swig, I gave it back to him. He drained the rest, then bent down and scooped more snow into the container.

“Do you think we lost Crocker?” I asked as he scanned our surroundings.

“I don’t know, but we
have
slowed them down.”

“Not that Crocker would let that stop him.”

Mason didn’t respond, pulling me to his chest instead. His body heat seeped into mine and we stood together for a long moment. “We need to get going,” he finally said in a soft voice.

I made myself step away from him. “You’re right, but at least I’m warmer now.”

He laughed. “I’ll add transferring body heat to my résumé as one of my special skills.”

We started north through the narrow valley, dodging the thick growth of trees. Snow dusted the ground, but there wasn’t nearly as much as there’d been in the other valley.

“At least there’s hardly any snow here,” I said, grateful that we weren’t leaving behind an easy trail anymore.

“The foliage is too thick overhead. That’s one of the reasons it’s good to be this deep in the woods.”

After we traveled for another hour or so, the narrow valley began to spread out and the trees started to thin. We stayed in the denser trees for cover.

We trudged on another half an hour before Mason stopped and looked around. “Let me get our bearings and make sure we’re headed in the right direction.”

I squatted and leaned over my legs, trying to stifle my disappointment over the thought that we might be going the wrong way. But we were following the valley and I doubted it pointed to true north. It was inevitable that we would be slightly off course.

After a few moments, he squatted next to me and brushed a few stray hairs out of my eyes.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

“We’re actually we’re heading slightly northeast. Not bad at all.” He paused. “Do you want to take a break?”

“Just a few more minutes.”

We didn’t talk, but it was a comfortable silence. We drank the bottle of melted snow, then I stood and reached down to give Mason a boost. When he grabbed my hand, my head started to tingle and my peripheral vision faded to black.

It was dark all around me, and I could hear heavy panting, which I quickly realized was my own. My hands were bound behind my back and a searing pain was shooting through my right ankle and up my leg.

I heard Daniel Crocker’s voice. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Rose.”

A woman’s scream shot through my head.

The vision faded and I staggered as I said, “He’s gonna catch us.”

Mason grabbed my elbow to help me remain upright. “Did you just have a vision?”

I nodded, still in shock.

“What did you see?”

I shook my head, unable to find the words.

His grip tightened as panic filled his eyes. “
Rose
!”

I swallowed, my body shaking. “You were in the dark, and your hands were tied behind your back.” I fought to take a breath, squatting again to fight the feeling of lightheadedness.

Mason sank down next to me. “What else?”

“I heard Daniel Crocker’s voice. He was talking to
me
, and then I heard a scream.”

“What did he say?”

I closed my eyes, trying to get the sound of the scream out of my head. “He’d been waiting for a long time for this.” I swallowed. “And he called me by name.”

Mason stood and jogged several feet into the valley, spinning around as he took in the terrain. “Do you know where we were?”

“No.” My tears won and slid down my cheeks. “It was dark.”

“Was I sitting or standing?”

“Sitting. Your back was against a wall.”

“Was the floor wood? Carpet? Dirt?”

I shook my head, crying harder. “I don’t know.”

He knelt in front of me and took my hands. “Yes, you do. Just think about it.”

I focused on what I’d felt in my vision. “It was hard. I think it was wood. And the room had strange smell. Like fish and animals.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Anything else?”

“It was a small space. There was light at the bottom of a door. I think you were shut in a closet.” I shook my head and stood. “That doesn’t tell us anything.” I glanced at the bag slung over his shoulder. “I want to start carrying a gun again.”

A war of emotions waged on his face.

“A handgun, not a rifle.”

Mason watched me for several seconds before sliding the bag down his arm and digging out one of the handguns. He reminded me how to load it and click the safety on and off. He held onto my hand as I grabbed the weapon from him. “Promise me that if you point it at Crocker or his men, you’ll do it with the intent to use it. Otherwise it might get you killed.”

I tugged without answering.

“Rose.”

I looked up into his eyes. “I used it last time, Mason.”

He studied my face. “You shot him in the leg. This time you have to shoot to stop him. You have to shoot to kill.”

I still had to wonder if I could purposely shoot someone. But if backed into a corner, I hoped I’d do what needed to be done. “Okay.”

He released his hold and I double checked the safety before tucking the gun into the waistband at the small of my back.

Mason watched me with wary eyes before snagging my hand. “Let’s keep going.”

My fingers tightened over his. The feel of the cold gun against my skin made me feel better, which I found shocking. I had been a different person when I shot Daniel Crocker. Though it had happened less than six months ago, I felt years older than the girl who had naïvely convinced a hardened criminal to drag her upstairs. Would I have done the same thing today? I knew I would, but I’d be so much more aware of the dangers now. My fears had been so shallow before I began to truly experience life and all its great joys and disappointments.

My world had been so much smaller.

There had been so much less to lose.

We were both exhausted and weak from hunger, but my vision had spooked us enough to pick up a faster pace. The land flattened for a while before it began to climb again, which made our trek easier. By late morning, we took a break next to a creek and drank more water.

“I think we’ve traveled at least four or five miles,” Mason said, leaning his back against a tree.

I looked up. “So we’re getting closer to Moore County.”

“Yeah. I think we could be there in another few hours. Sooner if we could find more flat patches. Or a house.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I never realized you could get so lost in the woods of northern Fenton County.”

“Like I mentioned, that’s why the meth lab operators hide out here.”

I shivered. We had a big enough enemy without throwing another one into the mix. “Let’s get going.”

The sun shone brightly overhead, which was a double-edged sword. While I was warmer than I’d been the day before, the thin layer of snow was beginning to melt, making our footing slippery in places and leaving muddy footprints behind us.

The terrain quickly became hilly again. The denser sections were easier to traverse since they had seen lighter snowfall, but the ground was wet no matter where we went and we kept losing our footing. We crossed the top of another hill, facing another steep climb down. I leaned over my knees. “Let me take a moment to catch my breath.”

“Sure.” Mason put his hands on his hips and walked along the ridge. “I think it will be easier to climb down over there.” He was pointing to our right when the ground underneath him collapsed, taking him with it.

“
Mason!
” I ran over to the edge, terrified as I watched him tumble down the thirty-foot embankment and land at a heap at the bottom.

“Mason!” Trying to control my sobs of panic, I scrambled down the hill, falling onto my butt and sliding the rest of the way. “Mason!”

He lay unmoving on his side, and my heart leapt into my throat as I reached for him with shaky hands, leaning over his shoulder to look at his face. “Mason, talk to me.” Blood from a cut on his forehead covered his face, and his right cheek had already begun to swell.

His eyes blinked open and his face contorted in pain.

“Can you get up?”

“Give me a second.” He closed his eyes for several moments and I suddenly worried he might have a concussion. His eyes opened again. “I might need your help. I think I bruised some ribs.”

My breath stuck in my chest, my worry deepening. “Okay.”

I reached my arm around his shoulders and gently helped him into a sitting position. He released a cry of pain, breathing rapidly and scrunching his eyes shut. “Give me a minute.” His clothes and exposed skin were covered in mud and leaves.

I pulled a leaf off his hand. “You look pretty banged up. Let me check you over.”

He cracked a grin. “In a different context, I’d like the sound of that.”

I smiled despite my tears. “You’ve got a nasty cut on your forehead.” Blood was trailing from his cheek to his neck. “We have to stop the bleeding.” I looked around for something to press on his wound, but we were surrounded by mud and dried leaves. The blankets were still in Mason’s bag, but they had to be germ-infested. I stripped off my jacket and pulled my T-shirt over my head. The hairs on my arms stood on end when the cold air hit my bare skin.

“Rose, what are you doing?”

I folded up the shirt and pressed it to his forehead. “Can you hold this in place?”

He reached up and winced.

I picked up my jacket and shoved my arms in the sleeves, buttoning it up. “Where else do you hurt?”

He paused before looking into my face. “I think I might have broken my right leg.”

“Let me see.” His two legs were stretched out in front of him and I gently tugged on the hem of his jeans.

Mason groaned.

“I’m sorry,” I said through my tears. He didn’t answer, so I kept pulling, lifting the jeans high enough to see that his lower calf was already swollen and purple with bruising. I struggled to keep my tears in check. How would we get out of here?