Page 20 of Little Girls Sleeping
“Cisco,” she said, sounding more like herself.
His whines and low, guttural barks continued. Katie estimated from the sound that she had fallen a little more than twenty feet.
“Cisco, good boy. Stay,” she ordered again.
She readjusted her pack and her torn clothes then attempted to climb upward, only to slide right back to her original position. There was nothing to grab hold of and no visible footholds. She tried again, several times, but no matter what she did, she ended right back at her starting point. There was one relatively flat area, but she couldn’t get to it on her own. She needed a foothold to steady her weight until she could pull herself up.
She contemplated her options, but she was exhausted and beginning to feel a panic attack creeping up. More dirt and sand spilled down the cliff, landing on her. This time Katie heard Cisco’s whines and grumbles getting louder, and she realized that he was trying to make his way down to her.
Twelve
A team of ten- and eleven-year-old kids were engaged in a group run to warm up before the soccer game. The brightly colored orange-and-blue uniforms buzzed across the field in small groups. The Pine Valley Wildcats were preparing to defend their undefeated title on their own turf. Their opponents, wearing burgundy and white, followed their example and raced across the grass.
The bleachers were filled to capacity, more than usual for the co-ed game. The parking lot was jam-packed, some cars even parked precariously on the grassy areas, blocking other vehicles. People of all ages had come to watch the spectacle. A photographer was in attendance, taking photos for the local newspaper and website.
Everyone was excited and focused on the game, which was why no one would notice someone who was more interested in watching children than in the score or which team won.
There she was, and she was perfect.
The man had a specific agenda, unknown to anyone. He wasn’t a stranger, but a part of the community. He nodded and smiled to a few people he knew, and no one thought it was strange that he was attending the game. It was a close-knit, supportive community and many of the residents participated in public events and spectator sports.
His hand moved frequently to his pocket, where he had stashed his wallet. The impulse to pull it out was compulsive and hypnotic. It had been a couple of days since he had opened it. With little regard to anyone who might be watching him, he gave in to the urge and flipped it open. Tucked neatly inside was a piece of yellowish newspaper, the crisp corners still folded perfectly. The smiling face of a young girl stared out at him.
Clouds moved frequently across the sky, casting shadows over the field. The game had begun and the ball was in play. The energy of both the spectators and the players was high, every person’s focus on the field.
The man stared a moment longer at the face of the girl in the photo, then carefully folded the article before returning it to its hiding place.
He focused on the field, where a dark-haired girl was yelling to her teammates to pass the ball. Her intense facial expression made her look older than her eleven years. Her smooth skin, expressive eyes, and obvious determination made her particularly special.
She had caught the attention of the man more than two weeks ago. His due diligence had forced him to check her background in order to find out if she would indeed be the chosen one to be saved, protected forever from the evils that roamed the world, looking to destroy the innocent. Her name was Dena Matthews, and she lived with her parents and a younger brother, Brady, who would be five years old in four months and six days.
Dena, I have found you.
This girl was distinctive and irreplaceable. The man knew it the moment he began studying her family and found out that her parents were on the brink of divorce and two months behind on their mortgage. It was the precise résumé he wanted.
It was so typical these days—irresponsible, selfish parenting—but that was what made the man’s opportunities so readily available. He had followed both of Dena’s parents to work and found out that her dad had intentions towards another woman, while her mother had difficulties with several of her co-workers, resulting in loud arguments. They were complacent, unhappy, and didn’t realize that their actions had thrust their daughter into a dangerous situation beyond anything they could imagine.
The man continued to blend into the crowd as he studied Dena and how she handled herself on the field. She was a good player; not great, but her assertiveness and ability to push past the insecurities resulting from her home life made her especially interesting to him.
He stayed and watched as the home team kept their undefeated record. Celebrations burst out among the parents and other students. As the players left the field, he waited with particular interest to see Dena up close again. She made her way past him, skipping and clapping, and he had to restrain himself from reaching out and touching her. He knew that it was almost time for the final preparations.
It was almost time.
Thirteen
“Cisco, stay!” Katie yelled. Her mind flashed to all sorts of catastrophes and injuries that the dog could sustain in his eagerness to get to her.
The dirt and sand kept raining down, covering her clothes and sprinkling onto her head and face. She couldn’t waste any more time.
She used her hands to dig footholds about hip high, then plunged her feet into the hollows, letting out a sigh when they held her weight. More dirt, now infused with small rocks, tumbled down, slamming against her body. She feared a full-blown dirt avalanche, and being buried alive.
She raised her hands and moved them around above her head to find a solid section to grip onto. Forced to keep her eyes closed against the dirt, she inched her fingertips side to side and slightly up and down, desperately searching for anything that would be stable enough to support her.
“C’mon,” she encouraged herself. “C’mon…”
Her heart raced, pounding in her chest. The tendons and muscles in her ankles and knees tensed with a torturous pain, and her fingers were numb, making it difficult to feel the terrain with any accuracy.
She heard Cisco bark again.
