Chapter 40 Bridget
“Who hitchhikes this late at night?” Bridget asked.
Red hadn’t said a word since they found the empty truck and Bridget couldn’t blame him. Her head was full of questions and her stomach roiled with worry. Had Pete Henshaw caught up with Claire and Beth? Where would he take them?
Red continued up the road in the direction they’d started, but they hadn’t gone half a mile when they saw the two hitchhikers.
Red slowed down and pulled over on the shoulder.
Bridget twisted toward Red. “What are you doing?” They weren’t going to pick up two strangers in the middle of the night. Not if she had anything to say about it.
The kids came up to Red’s side of the car, breathing heavily. Both had crew cuts—one was tall and the other short and stocky—and both looked oddly familiar.
“Have you seen two women and a baby?” Red asked.
“What?” the tall kid said.
“Two women,” he repeated slowly, and Bridget could tell Red was trying not to lose his temper, “and a baby. Their truck broke down back there.”
The short one answered. “Sure,” he said in an offended tone. “That’s why we’re stuck here.”
“What do you mean?” Bridget asked.
“Where did they go?” Red demanded at the same time. He looked like he might leap out of the car and shake the answer out of the boys.
The tall kid took a step back. “Mister, I’m just looking for a ride to somewhere with a motel, that’s all.”
Bridget finally placed the face. “You’re one of Frannie’s friends.”
They turned their attention on her. “Sure, Frannie’s the one who dumped us here,” the short one said.
“What about the women and the baby?” Red barked with impatience. “What happened to them?”
The big kid shrugged. “We were going camping, then Frannie made us pick up these ladies and a kid, and when I made a joke—I was kidding around—she said get out like she was in charge of us.”
Thank the Lord. Bridget felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Claire and Beth were with Frannie, not Pete Henshaw.
“Where did they go?” Red growled.
The boy’s eyes widened and he took a step back.
Bridget laid a hand on Red’s arm. It was rock hard with tension. “We need to find them, boys,” she said calmly. “It’s very important. Do you know where they went?”
“Well, sure,” the shorter boy said. He used that word a lot and it was beginning to irritate Bridget. He pointed into the dark with his thumb. “They were heading toward the dam to camp out, and then tomorrow they are going up to the lookout.”
Red put the car in gear. “What kind of car?”
“A red converti—Hey! Are you just going to leave us here?” The short kid grabbed the side of the car as Red started to pull forward.
“You can come with us or stay,” Red said, tapping the brakes. “Up to you.”
The boys looked at each other.
Red inched forward. The boys threw their packs in the back seat and jumped in. Red accelerated so fast they tumbled backwards.
“I’m Miss Reilly, this is Red Wilder.” Bridget said over the seat back. “And you are?”
They said their names as they righted themselves. “Neat car,” the one named Ernie said, looking over the Thunderbird’s back seat. “Where are we going?”
Bridget ignored the kid. “They aren’t with Pete,” she said to Red. He should be happy.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “I still need to find them.”
Bridget could understand how he wanted to talk to Claire after that letter. The campgrounds couldn’t be far. They’d find Claire and Frannie, and if she was lucky she could still get the Thunderbird back to Mammoth before Dr. Sampson notified the park rangers of his stolen car.
The full moon shone on the mirror-smooth water of the lake as they sped along the shoreline.
The mountain rose on her other side, dark with trees.
It was a peaceful night, and the drive was beautiful, but Bridget could feel the tension coming off Red like a heat wave.
He probably wasn’t going to forgive her for what she’d done, meddling in their marriage.
She really was sorry she’d ever agreed to Dad’s—
Suddenly, the car began to shake.
Bridget bounced hard in her seat, then hit the door with her shoulder.
The boys yelped in back.
Red wrestled with the steering wheel.
Bridget braced herself against the dashboard as Red jammed on the brakes and the boys crashed into the back of her seat. The car veered sideways and there was a horrible crunching sound.
The car stopped, but . . . it was still shaking.
Bridget held on for dear life as the road buckled and swelled like ocean waves and a stand of trees on the hill fell with a terrific crash. Her body bounced like she was on a carnival ride. She caught a brief sight of the lake, choppy with white-tipped waves. Then . . . all was abruptly still.
A distant crash of stone against stone echoed in the dark.
Bridget tried to marshal her jumbled thoughts. What had just happened? An earthquake? She pushed herself upright, but the world was still tilted. Red slumped against the steering wheel. “Red!” She pulled him gently upright.
“What—” he groaned out. “Are you hurt?”
Bridget did a quick assessment. Her shoulder hurt where she’d hit the door, but apart from that she was uninjured. The boys pushed themselves up from the floor. “Are you both okay?” Bridget asked.
“I think so,” Sam answered in a dazed voice. “What happened?”
“Earthquake,” Red said. He pushed open the car door, climbed out of the car and up the bank to the road.
Bridget opened her door and followed. Now that they were safe and the world had stopped shaking, her legs began trembling on their own as she took in their surroundings.
Trees lay like matches spilled from a box.
The paved road where they’d just driven was buckled and cracked, the white lines zigzagging in a crazy pattern.
“Look.” Red pointed.
Bridget walked forward. A cold shiver prickled up her back.
Less than twenty feet in front of them, the road broke off and disappeared into the lake.
If they had been just a little farther down the road .
. . She looked back at the Thunderbird. She knew she should be concerned about the enormous dent in the front bumper from the boulder that had stopped them from careening down the bank, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry about that just now.
“What is that?” Sam was turned toward the lake, a look of confusion on his face.
Bridget followed his gaze. What more could happen?
A giant wave rushed across the surface of the lake. They watched in silence as it gained in height and speed to pass them, the sound like a rushing wind, continuing on into the dark.
“That’s got to be twenty feet high,” Ernie said, his eyes still pinned to where the wave had disappeared into the dark.
“The dam,” Red said, his voice had a tremble in it. “It’s going to top the dam.”
A tremor of apprehension went up Bridget’s spine. “What’s below the dam?” But suddenly, she knew.
“Campgrounds.” Red was already turning back to the car. “Claire and Jenny. Frannie.” He started to run. “Come on.”
But where could they go? The road was gone.
Suddenly, another tremor shook the ground, throwing her to her knees. The boys yelled and Red shouted for everyone to stay down. The trees around them shuddered and the ground heaved. Bridget held on to the ground until the shaking stopped.
When it did, she stayed on her hands and knees.
“We have to warn them,” Red said, pushing himself to standing. “There’s fishing lodges and houses all along the canyon. And then Ennis. Hundreds of people. Maybe thousands.” He came to her and reached down to help her up.
She didn’t give him her hand.
“What are you doing?” He looked like he’d carry her to the car if he had to. But she had something more important to do.
“Praying,” Bridget said, still kneeling. She’d never been so close to death, and she wasn’t going one step farther before she asked God’s forgiveness for her sins. “If I die tonight, I want to be ready.”