Zero Visibility (8 page)

“What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got a rifle, but no bullets,” he said.

Merci’s gaze darted around the room. “Maybe they are somewhere else?” No matter what, she wasn’t going to give in to defeat. Those bullets had to be somewhere. She walked over to a file cabinet and opened the box that was on top of it. Receipts.

Nathan shook his head. “They were always kept in his desk. I’m sure Dad taught the new camp director to do the same. The camp crew must have taken them when they closed for the season.”

The crack of the wooden door being sliced by an ax became loud and insistent again.

“We have to get out of here.” Nathan ushered Merci toward the office door.

The front door of the cafeteria banged open. The stomping of feet intensified. Though she could not discern all the words, the thieves’ conversation was mostly about food.

Nathan led Merci down the hall to back door. “They will go to the kitchen first. That buys us a few minutes.” He walked on his toes and opened the door only wide enough for them to slip through. “But we should hurry all the same.”

The cold night air assaulted them as they raced out into the darkness.

SIX

A
s she ran, Merci glanced out at the meadow that was now marred with footprints. “They know we’re here now, don’t they?” She looked over her shoulder at the back door.

Nathan nodded, but didn’t slow his pace. “Hard to say. They might have noticed the footprints, but our footprints are on the edge of the meadow, not in the middle like theirs.”

“Only two of them came up this way. That means one of them stayed down there…probably with Lorelei.” Merci still hadn’t given up hope that Lorelei was okay. All of this risk couldn’t be for nothing. But what were they going to do without a rifle?

They dove into the shadows the surrounding trees provided.

The priority for the two thieves was food, so even if they had suspicions, they might not come looking for them right away.

Nathan pulled her deeper into the forest. “I know where we can hide until we figure out what we’re going to do.”

He increased their pace enough that she was breathing heavily. He came to a cluster of cottonwoods. “There’s a platform up there.” He pointed at one of the larger trees.

Merci tilted her head but couldn’t see anything but dark branches and sky. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“It was built to be camouflaged,” Nathan said. “It was for the paint ball wars they have at the camp.”

She moved a little closer to the tree, hoping to see spikes or wooden footholds in the tree. The trunk was bare. “How do we get up there?”

“We climb up on the tree next to it with the lower branches and then we leap,” Nathan said.

Her breath hitched, and her hands grew clammy. “And then we leap?” She’d never been one to back away from adventure, but her adrenaline and desire for excitement had worn a little thin over the past few hours.

“They’ll never find us up there, and in less than an hour when we have some daylight, it will provide us with a view of the whole camp.”

Merci sucked in a prayer filled breath. “I guess that is what we have to do, then.”

“I’ll go first. Watch which branches I go on.” Nathan walked toward the tree.

Merci stood beneath the tree as Nathan skillfully climbed from one branch to the next. Once he was on top of the shorter tree, he scooted to the middle of the branch that he had straddled. “You can see the platform from here.”

He repositioned himself so his feet were on the branch. He eased up to a standing position, balancing on the branch that couldn’t have been more than ten inches around. The branch wavered from his weight. He stretched his hands out and jumped.

Merci held her breath. She closed her eyes and braced for the sound of a body falling and branches breaking. A simultaneous thud and a grunt filled the air. When she opened her eyes, she couldn’t see Nathan, but she could hear him.

“Now it’s your turn,” he said.

She pulled off her gloves and put them in her backpack. Fear overwhelmed her. “I’ve never been very good at falling.” She stepped away from the tree. “Maybe there is some other way.”

“Merci, the men have left the cafeteria. I can see their torches. You have to come up. We’ll be safe up here even if they search the whole camp.”

She had no choice. This had to be done. She stepped toward the tree. On wobbly legs, she placed her boot on the branch that Nathan had used. The initial climb was easy enough. Each time she pulled herself up a section of the tree, the next branch she should reach for was obvious. She swung onto the last thick branch near the top of the tree. When she looked up, Nathan waited for her at the edge of the platform.

“I’ll turn on the flashlight for just a second when you are ready to leap.”

“Okay.” Her trembling voice gave away her fear. She swung her leg over the branch to a sitting position. Her pulse drummed in her ears as she gripped the rough cold branch and placed a boot flat on it. She lined up her other foot. The branch was thick enough to provide a secure platform for her boot.

Her throat constricted, and her leg muscles felt as if they’d hardened into granite. This was the moment of truth. She was going to have to let go of the branch.

“Ready?” Nathan whispered. He lifted the flashlight, but didn’t turn it on.

“Wait just a second until I’m standing.” She released the death grip she had on the branch and eased into a standing position. The branch bounced. She held out her arms to find her balance. She tilted her head. “Now.”

He flashed the light on and off long enough for her to see the edge of the platform. She bent her knees and jumped. Time stood still as she held her hands out. One of her hands found the rough edge of the platform but the other slipped. Her heart seized. She was going to fall.

Nathan’s strong arms grabbed her hand. She lost her grip on the platform. She dangled by the hand that Nathan held. Her body swung like a pendulum.

His grip on her hand tightened. “Give me your other hand.”

She angled back toward the platform and reached her free hand up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, gathering her in his arms.

She shuddered, fighting back tears. Once again, she had nearly died, and Nathan had saved her.

His face was very close to hers. He brushed a hand over her hair. “Not so bad, huh?”

She couldn’t form words, only nod in agreement. He tightened his arms around her and drew her even closer. “Hey, you were pretty scared there.”

She sniffled, but still couldn’t think of what to say. She was trembling. Only the strength of his embrace calmed her.

His face was very close to hers. His beating heart pushed back against her palm where she rested it on his chest. She tilted her head. The rough stubble of his face brushed over her cheek. His lips found hers. At first he grazed over her mouth with his own and then pressed harder. She responded to the kiss, scooting closer to him. A calm like warm honey spread through her.

His lips lingered on hers. He pulled away and kissed her cheek. He opened his eyes, and even in the darkness, the power of his gaze melted her to the core.

“Better?”

She nodded, still not able to come up with the words, but not because she was still afraid. Nathan’s kiss had stolen her ability to use language. She had become a speechless puddle of mush.

“Me, too.” He rested his hand under her jaw. “I’m better now.” His fingers traveled down her neck where her pulse throbbed. He studied her for a long moment. “I hope I wasn’t out of line. I’m not sure why I did that.”

She shook her head. The kiss had been wonderful.

He backed away. His voice lost that smoldering quality. “Maybe it’s just all this life-threatening stuff we are facing.”

Her heart crumbled into a tiny ball. Now he was regretting the kiss. “That must be it,” she said flatly.

He pulled away as an uncomfortable silence descended. They looked at each other then looked away.

After a long moment, he reached over and touched her ear. “Those are nice earrings.”

The inflection in his voice suggested that he didn’t want any awkwardness between them. He was trying to keep the conversation going. “Thanks. I got them at a garage sale right before break.” His touch sent a zing of warmth down her neck. “I get most my things secondhand, part of how I managed to pay for college on my own.”

Noises in the distance caused both of them to sit up. She turned back toward the meadow, but couldn’t see anything. Then voices, growing louder and closer, separated out from the other forest noise.

Merci took in a ragged breath as fear returned. “I don’t see them.”

“I do.” Nathan placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Get low, they’re coming this way.”

* * *

Nathan placed a protective arm over Merci’s back as he lay flat against the hard wood of the lookout. The delight and excitement that had flooded through him from kissing Merci was replaced by a need to keep his senses tuned to his surroundings. He didn’t regret the kiss, but he feared he had been too forward with her. He’d felt the need to apologize, but it had come out wrong.

He turned his attention back toward the approaching voices. The men had made their way back through the meadow and appeared to be carrying some items, judging from the way they were bent forward. They must have found food of some sort.

The torches bobbed across the blue-white landscape of snow. The men headed in the direction of the trees. The manner in which the thieves were stopping and shining the torches revealed that they were searching for footprints. So they had become suspicious.

The thieves stepped into the trees, and their voices grew louder and more distinct.

“Do you think it’s that guy and that chick from the cabin?” That voice belonged to the larger man in the orange coat.

“Nobody else could have made it up here,” said the taller, thinner man in the leather jacket.

“Maybe this place has a caretaker or something.”

“I doubt it,” said Leather Jacket. “Whoever it is, Hawthorne is not going to be happy.”

The thieves were within twenty feet of the lookout. Close enough for Nathan to hear their footfall on
the snow.

Nathan tensed.

Nobody ever thinks to look up.

Merci had turned her face toward him. Even in the near darkness, he knew she was afraid.

You’re safe, Merci. You’re safe with me.

The men stomped around a while longer. It sounded as though they were right at the base of the tree.

“I’ve had enough of this. Let’s go eat,” Orange Coat said.

“Yeah, I’m starving,” said Leather Jacket. The thieves’ footsteps crunched in the snow.

Nathan and Merci waited in silence, not daring to move, their cheeks resting against the rough wood of the platform. Nathan longed to tell her it was going to be okay. He longed to calm her with a kiss again. But they could only wait and be quiet and still. As they faced each other, he looked into her eyes, hoping to communicate all that he was feeling.

The footsteps faded and the voices grew farther away. Gradually the sounds of the forest, branches creaking in the breeze, became distinct again.

“I think we are in the clear.” Nathan lifted his arm off Merci’s back.

Merci let out an audible breath as she sat up. “They know we are here now. They’ll be looking for us.” She wrapped her arms over her body.

Having to stay out in the elements without moving had probably chilled her. “Are you cold?” He lifted his arm, indicating that he would hold her.

She nodded and slipped underneath his arm as he wrapped it around her. “Thanks. That’s better.”

Just like it had been better a few minutes before when he had decided to kiss her. He’d never been so impulsive in his life. Now he knew why he had kissed her. They were in a life-and-death situation. There wasn’t time for formalities and first dates. If they didn’t get out of this alive, he wanted her to know he liked her.

Merci turned her face toward him. “What do we do now?”

“They probably won’t start looking for us until full daylight. They’re eating right now. We’ll be able to see where in the camp they are at first light.” He checked his watch. “Sunrise will be in about forty minutes.”

“But we don’t have any way to defend ourselves,” Merci said.

The frustration over not finding bullets had been delayed by having to run out of the cafeteria so quickly. The full force of that reality hit him like a blow to the chest. “Why don’t we eat and drink something from our packs, and I’ll figure it out.”

Merci pulled a protein bar and a water bottle from her pack. Together they watched the slow warm glow of morning spread across the camp, rimming the trees in gold and warming the hue of the snow.

Nathan chewed his protein bar as he watched the camp and cycled through an inventory of solutions for getting Lorelei back. It was possible that the rescue would be a simple thing of finding her alone and breaking her free. On the other hand, she might already be dead. He wrestled with a possible solution when an idea popped into his head. “Crossbows.”

Merci furled her forehead. “Crossbows?”

“In the activities shed. They are stored there. I’m pretty sure they are not hauled away in the off-season. I know it is hardly a fair match, but it is better than nothing. I used to be pretty good with a crossbow.”

“It’s worth a try. We’ve come this far.” Her expression grew serious. “Do you think Lorelei is still alive?”

“We have to find out. If we can’t find her, I say we head back to the cabin. If this weather holds, the plows will be up here in less than twenty-four hours.”

“That long?”

“The deputy might push to get up here faster since he was expecting us in town. It’s not something we should count on, though.” The realization of how alone they were in this fight sank in.

Merci sat for a long moment with her head tilted toward the sky. He wondered if she was praying. Then she stared out at the camp and light slowly spread across it. “Look over there.”

She pointed toward a long skinny building that was used as a girls’ dorm on the other side of the camp. Smoke rose out of the chimney.