Page 2 of Saved By the Lumberjack
"If you don't hear from me by Tuesday, call out the cavalry."
Jake
I'd been looking forward to time off, but not like this.
"We're shuttin' down, boys!"
Calvin Murdock's voice sounds across the worksite. A few minutes later the buzz of chainsaws is silent and the men on my summer crew have gathered around to find out why one of the big bosses is on site.
"They've got a missing girl in the woods and there's gonna be a search and rescue team combing these parts until they find her." Cal explains the situation with a matter-of-fact tone that gives away his military training. "We can't keep track of every searcher's locations and we don't want to add any further danger to the operation, so we're gonna take a break and stop cutting till they find her."
"Before you pack up, Ash here's gonna fill you in on the situation. Anyone who wants to head home for a few days is welcome to do so, but if you want to join the search effort, Murdock Timber will keep you on the clock. Your choice."
Around me, a mix of groans and mumbles emerge from my crewmen. Most of the guys are young. They don't have families to go home to, but spending a few days out of the rigging is always welcome. On the other hand, days off without pay don't sound as good so I expect most of the guys to take the offer to join the search.
Cal steps aside and Ash McAllister moves forward. He's decked out in his rescue crew gear, holding a stack of flyers in one hand and looking grim.
"Her name is Ivy Polsen. Five foot, four inches tall..." Ash rattles off the woman's stats as he hands printed photos of a curvy woman with blonde curls cut in a bob just above her shoulders.
I don't like the stir of familiarity in my gut as I catch glimpses of the flyers coming my way.
"She was expected back in Moonshine Ridge two days ago. We found what we believe to be her campsite this morning. Abandoned, with signs of animal attack. No blood, though, so we think the chance of finding her alive is good if we can do it fast."
A flyer lands in my hands and my blood runs cold as I look at the angel's face I've been looking forward to finding again when I got back to town in a couple of days.
The woman I saw down at Mountain Mocha, talking with my buddy's wife, Phoenix, when I went in to pick up the Squatch claws for the crew on my way back up here last Friday.
"We don't know how long she's been out there, or what kind of gear she has with her." Ash goes on, explaining the seriousness of the situation, but my heart is beating a frantic cadence in my ears.
"Anyone who wants to join the search, you can head up to the hot springs. Deputy Hawkins has a base set up at the Diaz resort and they'll fill you in on the finer points and set you up with a team."
"You heard the man," Calvin shouts as Ash brings his speech to a close. "Meet up at the Diaz resort to check in with base, sooner your boots are on the ground, the sooner we get this lady home safe, sooner we get back to work."
My men start packing up the equipment that can't stay in camp, along with personal things they don't trust to leave behind.
We're working the stretch of forest known locally as the Weeping Wilderness-- supposedly haunted. Most people avoid it since the road across the pass to Paradise Point was relocated a century ago. Too many women went missing while traveling through the rugged mountain pass.
The fact that Ivy could be the next woman that falls victim to these woods isn't lost on me.
"Where's her camp?" I rush to catch up to Ash before he can reach the trail that leads back down to the parking lot.
"You know her?" Ash McAllister's worried eyes search mine, like he sees something in them that he understands.
"No, not exactly." It hurts to admit it. I want to tell him I know exactly who she is. That's she mine. That she's always been mine and if he or anyone else tries to keep me from finding her they'll come up missing themselves.
"She was in town. At the cafe, when I went in to pick up bakery stuff for the crew. She was talking to Phoenix."
Ash nods.
"Yeah, it was Phoenix that called her in when she didn't hear from her as expected."
"Don't make me go all the way up to Serenity Springs. If they're shutting down our operation for the safety of the searchers, her camp's close by."
I'm fighting to keep the desperate edge out of my voice but the adrenaline rushing my system has me ready to punch something. I'm hoping Ash McAllister doesn't give me a reason to make that something his face.
"You know time is working against us. Especially if she's out there without water or a jacket. Let's not waste time we don't have by making me go on a two hour long side quest to check some bureaucratic bullshit off a list.
"Here." Ash hands me a handheld GPS unit with a topographical map open on the screen. "Rapid Jones and Glen Diaz found the camp this morning on a preliminary scout, they have a camp set up on the outskirts of the forest, someone will be there twenty-four seven. Phoenix said Ivy was out here doing field research on the recent...dogman sightings."
