Page 27 of Redwood Blaze
“Retreat!” Millie and I call out at the same time, realizing that we’re the two senior team members now.
We regroup about a half mile away and check over the guys. Blake isn’t in the group and that’s semi-concerning.
What more can that jerk do?
“Do you think he’s back at HQ?” I ask Millie.
She shakes her head. “That’s not like him.”
She thinks for a moment. “He has to have a com on him, right?”
“Let’s find out.”
She pushes on her com. “Gideon. Calling Gideon.”
The guys look at each other, more confused than ever. It’s not a name they know, so I can imagine.
The com crackles to life. “Millie, I’m trapped. Please help. Two miles to the south. I got pushed away and then lost my bearing.”
Some might say we have a choice. Leave him or save him. But wedon’thave a choice but to rescue him. That’s what we do. We hop into a truck about a mile down the road and set off toward his location.
We take two of the guys, bigger guys— Quinton and Sterling. This Gideon could be lying. He could be armed. It could be an ambush.
But when he calls back through the com and is frantic, his voice almost like a schoolgirl, we know it’s real. And that’s when I see Millie’s brow start to furrow. It’s hard to stop the worry. I grab her hand and lift it to my lips. Sterling’s driving and his eyebrows rise when he sees us in the rearview mirror.
“I know, baby. It’s okay.”
“I don’t want to care. I don’t want to hope he’s okay. But I don’t want to see him… see him…”
“I know. He’ll get what’s coming to him, but he’s not going to get to be a human marshmallow.”
She leans into me. “Long ass vacation, Callum.”
I kiss the top of her head.
“Yes. Long ass vacation.”
In ten minutes, we’re near where he said he was but there’s no one to be found.
“You stay here, please.” I motion to the two guys to get out.
Millie nods, her body shaking. She’s hit a wall. “No, I’m coming with you. He’s my problem, I want to take care of it.”
“Then stay behind me,” I tell Millie, feeling the weight of my chainsaw resting against my shoulder. The engine purrs to life, a sound that mingles with the distant crackle of flames. I scan our surroundings— in the chaos of the fire and the slight worry for Gideon, something feels off.
“As long as you’re beside me, I’m okay,” she whispers back, her voice firm but tinged with fear.
We tread cautiously into the dense woods, searching for any sign of Gideon. The tangled underbrush and shadows make visibility difficult, and the tension radiates from Millie in her shuffling feet and darting eyes. The air grows heavy as we delvedeeper, the faint smell of smoke still clinging despite the safer distance we try to keep.
Then, we hear a loud revving sound slicing through the forest, crashing and snapping branches like thunder. My stomach drops.
It’s a trap. I know it’s a trap.
“Gideon!” I shout, adrenaline surging. “Answer us!”
“I’m trapped!” he calls back, a wild panic in his voice. “Help! I can’t?—”
The chainsaw roars, cutting through the silence, and then?—
