Page 62 of Pretty Broken Dolls
“Let me finish, Cisco,” she giggled, scratching him behind his ears.
The dog padded around the living room and quickly came back to pester Katie.
“Okay, okay. We’ll go on a run.”
Cisco barked in agreement, bounding around the room in circles.
Katie grabbed a light high-protein breakfast and changed into her running clothes and an all-weather windbreaker.
Heading for the door, she said, “C’mon, Cisco, let’s go!”
They drove to her favorite hiking and running area at Break Ridge. It would be near deserted on a chilly Sunday morning, unlike in a month or so’s time, when there would be more visitors. She needed to grab as much fresh air as she could and let her mind take a break from thinking about killers. It would energize her brain and she would be more alert to dive back into the investigation again.
Katie parked just adjacent to the entrance and was the only vehicle in the parking area. She adjusted her running pants to accommodate a small Beretta pistol in her ankle holster. Since she was alone and several miles away from any home or business, Katie liked to be prepared. She preferred to take out any unnecessary complications that could arise.
She slipped her cell phone into her pocket along with her car key. Taking Cisco’s leash, she wound it around her waist and secured the clasp in case she needed it. After a few stretches, she was ready to go.
“You ready, Cisco?”
Three loud barks was his answer. He was a black blur as he spun around and headed to the entrance, indicated by two large pine trees and a small sign saying “River Ridge.”
Katie began her run at the top of the hill and slowly warmed up with a light jog as she increased her speed.
Cisco always knew what to do. He kept up with her ambitious pace: occasionally wandering off the trail, but never for too long, he would then bound back up on the path next to her with his tongue hanging out. He kept a watchful eye for anything out of the ordinary—his main job was to make sure that Katie was safe.
As Katie ran down the path, she steadied her breath and enjoyed the fresh morning aroma of pine and the crisp morning air. There was nothing better. Finally, her muscles eased and her mind softened, as she connected with the beautiful scenery. Even Cisco seemed to be more relaxed.
Katie noticed that in many places the ground was spongy and was holding water from previous storms, although it wasn’t yet muddy.
She climbed up to a lookout, slowing her pace a bit to catch her breath. Jogging on the spot, she stayed to admire her surroundings and to appreciate everything that the area had to offer. Sometimes, when she was so focused on a case, she forgot to take a second to be in the moment and enjoy the world around her.
The wind picked up, whipping through the trees. The breeze seemed to switch directions, first blasting her face and then pushing against her back.
Katie realized that a storm was on the way from the change in temperature and the fast-moving clouds. She didn’t want to get soaked and have a wet dog in the car, so she decided to turn around and retrace her steps back to the entrance. She had been running for a solid twenty-five minutes at a good pace.
The air temperature dropped further as Katie slowed her pace for the cool down, making her shiver. A strange noise reverberated from above—a low boom and then a sputtering sound. She thought at first it was some kind of thunder, but it wasn’t like anything she had heard before. Her instincts told her to leave.
Looking around, she didn’t see Cisco.
“Cisco! Here!” she called.
Within five seconds, his large head and perked ears came into view. He ran faster and stayed next to her as she kept her jogging pace.
The strange sounds continued as she decided to up her pace again, still moving down the hillside. She didn’t stop to look, suddenly realizing that what she could hear was the sound of—
A massive pine tree with a huge trunk fell in front of her and Cisco, making the ground give way.
Katie stopped abruptly, startled and catching her breath as the tree blocked her path, but it didn’t stop there: the trunk kept moving. It made her dizzy, trying to keep her eye on the shifting ground.
Taking hold of Cisco’s collar and keeping him close to her left side, there was nothing that she could do except watch the massive tree trunk slowly begin to slide down the hillside.
That’s when it happened: her footing crumbled beneath her. Katie jumped up as far as she could toward higher ground, but it was no use. Both she and Cisco began slipping down the side of what was left of the running path. She felt the world collapsing beneath her, as if in slow motion.
Grabbing hold of Cisco with one arm around his neck and the other around his body, she held him as they both began to drop, slowly at first, and then the earth took them as if they were shooting down a slide. Dropping into a sitting position, still holding tightly to Cisco, she shot down twenty feet before there was a large enough place to stop—abruptly.
The groaning and cracking of the tree began to subside.
Katie had closed her eyes tight and held onto Cisco for dear life. She had no way of knowing how their ride would end, but the silence was both deafening and frightening. It was like nothing she had ever experienced or seen before and that unknown moment scared her the most.
