Chapter 36 #2
Walter got up. “Maybe. She might have some tools stashed somewhere. I’ve never been here, but it looks pretty well stocked.”
It took us fifteen minutes and several different makeshift tools, but we finally made enough space between the wood and the window frame to wedge a piece of firewood in there. With Walter and Luke pushing against it, they managed to pop the nails free.
Luke stepped back and turned to me. “Okay, babe. You’re the smallest, so you get to go first and see if you can get the door unblocked.”
I stepped up to the window.
“Lean into me.” He moved in behind me.
I did as he asked.
“Lift your legs and I’ll help you through the window.”
Pulling my legs up, he held my torso while I wiggled and shimmied through the opening. It was definitely a tight fit. Walter might make it through, but Luke’s shoulders wouldn’t.
Turning as I went through the window, I steadied myself on the window ledge and lowered myself to the ground.
Luke leaned his head through the opening. “Go check if she left the hammer.”
After straightening my shirt, I hurried around the front of the cabin and onto the porch.
Right there, next to the stack of firewood, was a carpenter’s hammer.
I shook my head as I picked it up. Walter was right. Sarah truly was full of arrogance.
“I found it!” I yelled and attacked the first nail on the boards barricading the front door.
The claw part made quick work of the nails, and in minutes, I had the boards off.
But the moment I reached for the doorknob to let Luke and Walter out of the cabin, I noticed all the nails through the door and into the door jamb.
Sarah had nailed it shut.
“Oh, man.” I let out a groan.
“What?” Luke’s muffled voice came from the other side.
“The door’s nailed shut. I’m going to try to pull the nails, but I’m not sure I can. Some of them are flush with the wood.”
“Do your best.”
Bending, I peered closer, assessing the nails, then attacked the one sticking up the most. I was able to wedge the claw under it and bend it up, then hook it and pull it out. Two more came out much the same way.
But when I tried the fourth one, there was nothing to get the hammer under. The fifth and sixth ones were the same.
“I can’t get the rest,” I said. “There are three left.”
There was a moment of silence, then the door rattled in its frame.
With a soft squeak of surprise, I stepped back. He was insane. He’d never get it open from the inside.
“Luke, stop! Stop! Stop!” My voice grew louder to carry over the heavy thuds. He finally paused.
“The door swings inward. You’ll never bust out. Let me check the back door.” Before he could answer, I hurried around to the back of the cabin. This time, I pried up the middle of the board covering the doorway and peered inside.
Metal glinted around the knob. More nails pinned the door to the frame.
“Well, shit,” I hissed, letting go of the board and straightening. I turned, looking for something I could use to help me break the door open, but the yard was devoid of debris.
My gaze landed on the shed. Maybe there was something in there.
“Mina?”
“Hang on.” I backed away from the cabin. “I’ll be right back.”
I was halfway to the shed when I heard Luke’s voice again.
“What are you doing?”
Glancing back, I saw him with his head poked out the window. “Checking the shed,” I answered, then broke into a jog.
When I reached the shed, I sent up a silent prayer it wasn’t locked. There were no windows in it for me to squeeze through here.
But I was in luck. When I grasped the lever-action handle, it moved easily, and the door creaked open.
“Oh, hallelujah.” I hurried inside but immediately paused just inside the door to let my eyes adjust.
Once they did, my racing heart sent stars into my vision, threatening to temporarily blind me as I spotted the glint of metal leaning against the wall.
It was an axe!
Blinking furiously and inhaling a breath in an attempt to slow my heart rate, I ran over and grabbed it, then left the shed.
“Holy shit! She really left an axe?” Luke’s eyes widened when he saw what I carried.
“Right? The arrogance is astounding.”
He thrust an arm out the window. “Give me that.”
I paused just out of his reach and frowned. “Why do you get to have all the fun?”
The mixture of confusion and exasperation on his face brought a slow smile to mine. I couldn’t stop the chuckle that slid free.
“Woman. Just give me the bloody axe.” The smile on his face softened his words.
With an exaggerated sigh, I handed it to him. “Fine.”
He took it and disappeared inside.
I made my way back around front. As I reached the porch steps, a mighty bang shook the cabin, sending the dogs into frenzied barking.
Luke had struck the first blow to the door.
I stood back and watched as the door splintered after several blows. In minutes, he had a hole big enough to put his head and arm through.
“Okay, stay back, Mina.” The axe hit the cabin floor with a dull thud. I heard him mutter something, and Betty’s name, before there was a short pause. A moment later, his booted foot crashed through the broken door, sending slivers flying.
I took another step to the side.
With a few more well-placed kicks, he made a hole large enough to climb through.
But first, he passed me both dogs and our backpacks, then let Walter come out.
“So, now what?” I asked, shouldering my bag and holding onto Pebbles’s leash. “The GPS has that back track function, but it’ll take us back down to the shore. Do we need to go that way, or do you think we can head in a general northwesterly direction?”
Luke snapped the chest strap on his bag, a feat in and of itself as Betty, now free to explore the outside world and fresh from her nap, tugged at the leash hooked around his wrist. “I’m not sure how far we hiked in, so it’s probably best if we follow the GPS.
We didn’t bring a map, because we weren’t planning to explore off the trail, so without that, I can’t plot a course to the parking lot from here.
” He glanced at Walter. “Do you have one?”
The old man shook his head. “I don’t have anything. Miranda wouldn’t let me bring anything but some clothes.” He gestured to the small bag slung over his thin shoulders.
“All right.” I heaved a sigh and turned toward the forest. “Let’s get going.”
It was going to be a long, long walk back to the car.