7. Chapter 7
seven
Amanda wiped her hand across her forehead and winced when sweat stung her cut. It hadn’t bothered her all morning, but now it wouldn’t stop throbbing. She gritted her teeth and sucked it up. If Gene saw her in pain, he’d call off the search.
She followed Gene through the trees as they hiked the woods along Browns Bridge Road. The woods weren’t too dense there, but there wasn’t a trail they could easily walk on. They had to watch where they were stepping because they couldn’t see the undergrowth covered in a thick layer of decaying leaves. They could always trip on roots and hurt themselves. In fact, she slipped twice already.
“If it’s this difficult for us to walk, how did a teenage girl run through this in the dark?” Amanda thought out loud.
Gene glanced back at her. “Good question.”
He stopped and looked around them. They could see the road from where they were standing.
“I don’t see any sign anyone had gone through here,” he said.
“Someone definitely did. Didn’t you see all the broken twigs near the crash site?” Amanda asked.
“Yeah, but the police walked the area last night. They most likely left those tracks.”
Amanda looked back to where her car had been. The tow truck had come before they’d started their trek. She was glad Gene was around to help her deal with that. She would’ve handled it if he wasn’t there. But it was nice not having to deal with such an enormous task for once, especially when she wasn’t exactly a hundred percent. The short walk had actually drained her energy. But she wasn’t ready to give up yet.
“Maybe I was wrong. She might not run into the woods. It would’ve been scary, all dark and slippery,” she said. “What if she ran past me on that side and kept going? There’s a turnoff up ahead, going into a development. Maybe she ran into that neighborhood?”
“She could live in that neighborhood.” Gene looked thoughtful. “If that’s the case, then maybe she was just out for a walk, went too far, and had to walk home in the dark.”
“It’s possible.”
Amanda hated to admit his theory made sense.
But why doesn’t it feel right to me?
“Here, have some water.” Gene handed her a bottle. “You’re looking pale.”
“Thanks.”
Amanda drank half of the bottle, not realizing she was parched.
“We should walk back.”
“No. We haven’t—”
“Look, if your theory is right, that girl probably belongs to one of the families who live around this road.”
“Why would any parent let their teenage girl walk out here alone?”
“Teenagers are complicated.” Gene shrugged. “Maybe she had a fight with her parents and ran out?”
Amanda knew all about teenage girls. She’d been one, and she had teenagers working for her. They were an emotional bunch and impulsive. Her sister Becca had often clashed with their mom due to their similar personalities, and she’d run off a few times. But never once had Amanda seen fear—no, terror—in Becca’s eyes after their fights.
That’s it! There was terror in her eyes.
“I don’t think the girl was running out of teenage angst,” she said, almost to herself.
“We can argue about this all day, but we know nothing about her,” Gene said. “And there’s nothing we can see here that will help us figure this out.”
“We can’t just quit!” Amanda’s frustration peaked.
“Walking these woods isn’t helping, either.” Gene stepped closer to her. “You’re getting tired. We should go back while you still can. You promised you wouldn’t overdo it.”
“Ugh… I know, but…”
She couldn’t really argue, except she just knew she had to keep looking.
“We can drive to the neighborhood.” He checked his watch. “The school buses should drop the kids off soon. Maybe we’ll get lucky and see her?”
That was a good idea, though Amanda doubted they’d see the girl getting off a school bus like nothing had happened. Amanda felt it deep in her gut. That girl needed help.
But what else can we do?
Gene was right. They had nothing to go on. Reluctantly, Amanda let Gene lead them back to his car.
Gene drove them back into town in silence. Amanda was in the passenger seat, asleep.
I let her push herself too far today.
He probably should’ve insisted they went home when he’d persuaded her to return to the car, but he knew she would feel she hadn’t tried enough. So they drove to the nearest neighborhood, a few minutes’ drive away, and watched the school buses. The kids in that neighborhood were mostly grade school age and younger, but there were a few teenagers. But none was Amanda’s mystery girl.
Gene indulged Amanda further by driving through the next neighborhoods. The more they drove toward town, the denser the road became with businesses and residential neighborhoods. The girl could belong to any of those households. And they couldn’t knock on every door, looking for some girl. But he thought Amanda probably would’ve if he hadn’t put a stop to it.
She’d even told him to stop on the side of the road when she’d spotted a homeless encampment. They’d asked a couple of men there if they’d seen the girl, but neither of them had seen any girl.
Amanda had ended up giving the men their water and snacks. She also told them there were warm meals and supplies at the shelter nearby, where she volunteered and urged them to use it.
Gene couldn’t help but admire the woman for her tremendous kindness, but he felt she was getting obsessed over this mystery girl. He wondered if her head injury was worse than he’d thought.
Was there really a girl?