Page 102 of Dark Roads
She spotted a tree hanging over where the river narrowed. The branches drooped into the water like a net. If they kept at the same speed, she might be able to arc toward it and latch on. From there it was only a few feet to the shore.
Too fast or too slow, and they’d miss what might be their last chance.
“Come on, boy!” she shivered out of her cold lips. “Go!” She sliced at the water with her free arm, touched a rock with her foot, and used it to push them forward—powering all her muscles and energy into that singular moment. Wolf must have heard the desperation in her voice because he was leaping forward like a horse in the final moments of a race. The tree was within reach.
Beth’s body was aimed in the right direction, fighting the undercurrent that still wanted to yank them farther into the depths. She could make out each branch, and now she noticed a large rock under the tree. She reached up—her hand touchedthe branch. She held on tight, got her feet onto the rock, then pulled the rest of her body up with one arm. Her other was still grasping Wolf’s bandanna. He was in the water, clawing at the rock, eyes frantic.
“Stop!” Either he lost strength or he understood, because his body relaxed, and he was now floating. She locked her arm around the branch and used the other to haul him up beside her onto the rock. Without any sort of thank-you, he clambered over her, jumped from the rock into the shallow water at the shore, and limped onto the sand. Then his adrenaline must have given out, because he collapsed onto his side, tongue lolling and ribs heaving.
Beth followed, sliding off the rock and wading over to him—then sank onto her knees. He whimpered and snapped his head around when she bumped against his hind leg. The cold had stopped his bleeding, but the gash was big. His leg quivered when she ran her hand down it, and he licked her arm. She looked up into the woods as she rubbed her own leg with her other hand, trying to get her circulation going. No more gunshots. What did that mean?
Wolf watched her face as she got to her feet, stumbling as the blood rushed back to them. Her clothes were stuck to her body, hair roping across her face.
She held up her hand. “Stay.”
Wolf rested his head on his front paws, his eyes still watching her intently, but it was clear he was exhausted, and his sides heaved. Beth staggered in the direction of the gunshots, her eyes scanning the forest. She took a trail that ended in a wall of trees. When she turned, a breeze drifted under her nose. A faint scent. Something familiar. Gasoline?
She pushed through the bushes and found a red gas can and a dirt bike.
The second escape route. She had to be near Hailey’s lower camp. Beth crept forward and peered down into a gulley through a gap in the trees. She caught sight of Hailey below in a small clearing—her hands cuffed behind her back. Some sort of standoff. Vaughn was looming over Thompson with a gun.
Beth’s only weapon was the dirt bike. She thought fast. If she pushed the bike through the trees, she could start it when she was coasting down. It would distract Vaughn.
It sounded simple, but the bike was heavy, and her muscles were weak. By the time she reached the gap in the trees, Thompson was on the ground, his face bloody and his hands above his head.
Vaughn stood over him.
A deep breath, and she pushed off. The bike was huge, and she almost crashed when it rolled over a root, the tire jumping. She dropped one foot onto the ground, careened dangerously to the other side, and corrected it at the last moment.
Thompson, Hailey, and Vaughn looked up as she hurtled through the brush. Vaughn’s arm swung in an arc and he aimed the gun at Beth. She hit the ignition switch. The bike roared. The front wheel lifted, and she shifted her weight forward. She shot down the hill.
Thompson kicked Vaughn in the crotch. Vaughn bent over with one hand between his legs. He lowered the gun, but it was pointed at Thompson again, who was trying to roll away.
Beth was almost at the bottom. Only a few feet away. The front tire of the bike hit a dip, launching her off the seat. But she kept her grip on the handlebars and aimed the bike at Vaughn, and felt the thud of his body being crushed underneath. The bike flipped. She was flying. Flashes of trees, sky, then she hit the ground, sliding forward on her stomach. Breath rushed out of her lungs, dirt filled her mouth, and her teeth snapped together. She had a final second to remember the doctor’swarning about another concussion before she swung her arm up to protect her head and slammed into a rock.
Search-and-rescue arrived on all-terrain vehicles. A red helicopter hovered overhead. Thompson shouted orders into his radio. Beth had gone into shock and was lying on her back with her arm, scraped and bleeding, across her chest. Her teeth chattered as one of the rescuers put a blanket over her. Somewhere behind them, Hailey was complaining on her stretcher.
“I can walk. I have to get my dog.” Chopper blades whooshed through the air as they flew Vaughn out of the woods. If he was being airlifted, he must be in rough shape. Beth was worried that he might die. They’d never get answers. Never see him punished.
“The searchers have already found your dog.” Thompson’s voice was thick and nasally through his swollen nose. “They’re giving him first aid.”
“He’ll run away.”
“He’s too weak.” Beth was in a neck brace and she only had a view of Hailey’s legs, which were kicking as she tried to twist off the stretcher.
“He’s probably bleeding to death! I told you not to leave him.”
“I had to save you!”
“I didn’t ask for help!” More sounds of a struggle. “Let go of me!” The rasp of ripped fabric, a man’s voice, yelping in pain. Flesh hitting something. Hailey was fighting a paramedic.
“Stop!” Thompson’s voice.
“Wolfneedsme.” Grappling noises, a frustrated yell from Hailey, then a confusing silence. Beth waited, thinking that Hailey was planning her next move, but her legs were still.
A female paramedic knelt beside Beth, adjusted one of thestraps, and said, “They gave her something so she can rest. She’ll be okay.”
Beth closed her eyes. They could both rest now.
