Chapter 56
FIFTY-SIX
The air temperature dropped, sending a chill down Katie’s spine.
She had on plenty of layers of clothes, but something tried to get a hold on her—her fear, her conscience, and the thought of losing her uncle.
Her pace was moderate, but she could see her breath swirling in the cold.
Cisco’s panting revealed his breath as well.
Katie stopped briefly to adjust her shirts and coat.
She took the opportunity to listen—really listen to the forest. It wasn’t any different to what she did when they first came to a crime scene.
She scanned the area and tried to see if she could see any movement or hear any voices—anything that would give her a sense of the direction she should take.
There was a snap of a small branch. In a quiet forest, it made a big noise, jarring her nerves.
It was most likely a nocturnal animal moving around, but there was no guarantee.
Anything and anyone could be moving around in the forest. Katie and Cisco stayed stationary, feet and paws immobile, until she felt it was safe to continue.
Five to six minutes later she continued, but this time, she moved slower and stealthier.
Her eyes had acclimated to the darkness, and the trees were her towering guides. She hadn’t used her infrared binoculars yet, so she decided to stop again and take a closer look around. She didn’t see any movement and everything seemed safe.
Instead of keeping Cisco right at her left side, she allowed him a little more latitude. Her steps were almost silent as she slowed her pace, making every footstep count as they seemed to close in on where the smoke was coming from.
Katie instinctively began to move faster. She’d realized her steps seemed weird and squishy, but before she could move aside she fell through a manmade covering on the forest floor into a hole.
She hit the bottom quickly and her backpack helped to soften the fall, but she had a difficult time moving from her position. She realized the trap was set intentionally for her.
Cisco was above looking down at her. He barked twice. He scratched at the ground, causing dirt to cascade down, showing his frustration with not being able to get to Katie.
“No,” she said wanting him to be quiet. “Platz,” she ordered him to down.
The dog obeyed. She could see his outline and his yellowish eyes glowed in the darkness.
She squirmed and moved precariously until she could get to her pack and retrieved the flashlight.
She turned on the beam next to her and was startled to see two stakes in the ground with the ends sharpened into points facing upward.
She could have been impaled quite easily, but somehow had managed to fall on the end side, barely missing the deadly stakes.
The outside of her leg hurt and she could see blood seeping through her pants. Pushing the pant leg upward, she saw a long cut on her shin. It wasn’t deep, but it still was painful. Her leg had already stopped most of the bleeding.
More of the forest ground came down as Cisco became frustrated, wanting to get to her.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. Pushing up her body an inch at a time in the tight hole until she stood, she took a moment to breathe normally. The top of the hole was only a few feet away, but she wasn’t sure if she could climb out on her own.
Katie looked closer at the stakes and realized there was dried blood on them. The pit was most likely a way to catch some type of game. That told her Buck’s cabin was fairly close.
She took a few practice jumps but couldn’t reach the top of the hole. And she was concerned she might hurt herself if she ended up landing on one of those nasty sticks.
“Oh, Cisco…” she said more to herself than the dog. It was a rookie mistake to not watch for any type of tracks or traps.
She pulled out her cell phone and debated if she should call McGaven or even turn the phone on.
She decided to do neither. Instead, she removed the rope from her pack.
She tied knots every twelve inches and then secured her backpack with everything necessary inside.
She didn’t want to toss the backpack up with all her supplies and take the chance she couldn’t get herself out.
“Okay, Cisco,” she said quietly. “I know you can do this…”
The dog sat up, clearly excited.
“You’re going to have to help me climb out.”
Katie wound the rope and then gently tossed it out of the hole. She made sure she kept her voice low but loud enough for Cisco to hear.
“C’mon, Cisco, grab it… you can do it.”
She held her end tightly after winding the excess around her shoulder. She didn’t see the dog, but suddenly she felt a hard tug from above.
“Yes…” Katie tried to make indentations into the wall of the hole and began to climb. “Yes…” she repeated. Slowly, she began to make her way to the top until she pulled her body onto the ground.
Cisco dropped the rope and ran to her, wagging his tail.
“Good boy…” She furiously petted him.
Katie was relieved as she silently reprimanded herself for not being more careful.
She got to her feet and looked around. Knowing Buck’s cabin had to be close, she thought it would be better to hide Cisco.
She wanted to make sure she was completely focused and she couldn’t be if she was worrying about Cisco.
She found a perfect hiding place in the trees between large granite rocks. No one would see him. She led Cisco to the hiding place and made sure he knew he was supposed to stay until she released him with the e-collar.
Katie’s emotions ran high as she thought about the safety of her dog and whether her uncle was close—and if he was still alive.
She continued her trek until she heard two voices talking in low tones.
At first, she thought she was hearing things in the forest, but she sidestepped to the left and continued her advance to the voices.
The smell of a fireplace, as well as what seemed to be remnants of food that had been cooked a while ago, grew stronger.
Katie barely moved and breathed shallowly but managed to see two figures talking.
She recognized immediately Buck was one of the men.
As she studied them longer, she knew Junior was the other man.
Everything in her gut told her her uncle was close.
There wasn’t anyone else on the radar who would have taken him and left Buck’s dog tags for her to find.
Her uncle was definitely near. She prayed silently he wasn’t already dead and they were trying to figure out where to bury his body.
The two men turned and walked away from the cabin.
At least that was what Katie thought it was.
She took a chance and moved toward the building that had been built into the overgrowth of the small hillside.
She moved with stealth until she reached the door of the forest cabin.
It was locked, but there was a small square opening she could peek through.
She looked to where the men had disappeared and back at the hole.
Katie slowly peered through the opening but didn’t see anything.
She moved her position until she could view the room she had been in when Buck kidnapped her, but still nothing.
She was about to give up when she saw the side view of a man in a wooden chair with his arms secured back and something around his neck.
Katie blinked and then looked again. There were some types of nails or screws holding the man.
Katie didn’t think it was her uncle at first until he tried to move. She saw his face in anguish and blood covering his shirt. Katie gasped and fought tears—at least he was alive. But she had to figure out a way to rescue him.
She moved back into hiding, contemplating her next move.
Katie didn’t wait. She immediately turned on her phone and sent a text to McGaven.