Chapter 35
35
Just to be safe, they stuck to back roads and the logging trails that connected the east and north roads. “It’s a good thing we both grew up here,” Ruth murmured as they bumped across the hardened ruts of a road so overgrown she was sure no one had driven it all summer. “We know all the secret routes.”
Every time they ventured onto a main road, they’d catch sight of a roadblock. The north road, blocked. The Snow River road, blocked. Near the Fire Peak road, they parked the truck out of sight and crept through the woods to get a better picture of what was going on.
Ten men stood guard around the sawhorses they’d set up to block the road. They all carried weapons at the ready. They were chatting casually with each other, apparently unworried about facing any pushback to their roadblock. Ruth listened closely to hear what they were saying, but was distracted by another sound in the woods. Wordlessly, she tugged Gunnar’s sleeve and pointed at the armed guard posted about a hundred yards from the roadblock.
He nodded to show that he’d seen the man, then gestured for them to retreat.
Back in the truck, she let out the cough that had been building up in her throat. Then they both stayed quiet until they reached the logging road that curved between Fire Peak and Wind Valley—the long way to Thunder Pass, and the most remote.
“So they’re guarding the woods too?”
“They set a perimeter. My father taught me about that too. We can check the Blackbear road, but I’m not sure there’s any point.”
Ruth nodded in agreement. “That one would be the easiest to block, because of Snow River. All you have to do is guard the bridge.”
“Or take it out.”
Nausea rolled through Ruth’s stomach. “Remember what that man said at the compound? Something about taking out the airstrip first or it wouldn’t work?”
A breath hissed through Gunnar’s teeth. “It must be blocked too. Damn.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “Is there a signal? Usually there’s an SOS even if there’s no bars.
She stared at the blank screen. “No SOS.”
“So we’re really, completely cut off from the entire outside world.”
Oh my God. If the entire town was cut off and surrounded, what then? Were they being held prisoner? Hostage?
Aunt Magda’s words came back to her. The kids are exactly where they need to be.
Any hostage situation would be much more effective if there were kids involved. Was their presence in Firelight Ridge part of Luke’s master plan? Maybe he’d encouraged them to run away, maybe even told them to.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, thinking of Noah and the others, how confused they must be.
“Do you think everyone in town has figured out they’re trapped? No one said anything about that at The Fang.”
“It might take a while to put it all together. Some people don’t come to town very often. But I bet they’ll notice armed men roaming the woods.”
“Is it really possible to block every single way out of town? All the Firelight Ridge people I know are stubborn types that don’t want to be told they can’t leave town. I heard that Old Solomon once hiked out with a broken leg because The Fang ran out of whiskey. They aren’t obedient like us Chilkoots.”
“Don’t lump yourself in with them.” Gunnar’s fists were clenched on the steering wheel, knuckles white, as he scowled at the road ahead. “You weren’t obedient. You were protective. You were taking care of the younger ones.”
She waved her hands in the air. “Fine, you’re right, I was always secretly thinking disobedient thoughts. That’s not my point! I’m worried that those armed guards are going to have to use those guns if they want to keep the town under control. Not everyone is going to just submit. People are going to get hurt.”
Her throat tightened as she thought of all the eccentric and endearing town residents she’d gotten to know since she’d moved to Martha’s farm. She didn’t want a single one of them to get hurt. She also didn’t want the kids to be traumatized any more than they already had been.
“We have to do something, Gunnar. We have to stop this before someone gets hurt. It has to be about the gold.”
“Gold?”
She realized that she hadn’t had a chance to tell Gunnar about the gold the kids had found. Quickly, she filled him in.
“Shiiiit. I never believed all those old stories about gold in Thunder Pass. You’re saying they’re true?” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Let’s work this through. What if Luke found a big gold deposit, recruited some Russian mobster named Dmitri to fund a mine, and is trying to keep word from getting out. Does that make sense?”
“Maybe.” She screwed up her face. “But how long can he realistically keep everyone trapped here? How long does it take to mine a lot of gold?”
“Too long. Mining gold is a major operation, and it causes a lot of damage. It’s hard to imagine it staying secret for long, even out here.” He peered into the woods, looking for signs of guards, but they were far enough out of town that none were posted out here. “We could try to capture one of the guards in the woods and interrogate him.”
“That sounds like something from a movie. Besides, it’s quite likely those guards don’t know why they’re doing this. That’s how Luke operates. He keeps most information to himself, and only shares a tiny bit when absolutely necessary.”
“You really know him well, don’t you? So what do you think is motivating him? Is it just money?”
She turned the question over in her head as she watched the terrain shift the higher into the mountains they got. “It could be money, but I think that’s more a means to an end. He wants to be all-powerful. That’s why he demanded such complete loyalty from everyone, and why I’m dead to him now. I wasn’t being loyal to the family and that’s the worst thing you can do as a Chilkoot. We were all brainwashed.”
“Maybe he tried to brainwash you, but he didn’t complete the job. Look at you now. You’re a strong woman, Ruth. You’re caring, you’re kind, and you’re very, very strong.”
She smiled with delight. “Thank you.” An unfamiliar sense of confidence filled her; it felt really good, despite these crazy circumstances.
A moose meandered into the road ahead of them, and Gunnar came to a stop to let it cross. Ruth envied that moose, for whom today was just another day of looking for delicious leaves to nibble. That moose’s entire world wasn’t under threat, lucky guy.
Gunnar peered into the tall spruce towering alongside the road. “This is probably a good place to leave the truck. The road’s going to end soon, and there might be a roadblock there too. I wish we had an ATV with us. That would save some time getting into Thunder Pass.”
But Ruth shook her head. “We’d never get past the guards on an ATV. We’re better off on foot. Are you going to be okay without a machine?” she teased him.
“Are you kidding?” He flexed the bicep of one arm. “I could carry you to Thunder Pass and back. Please don’t ask me to,” he added quickly.
She smiled, and thought there was no person she’d rather hike through the wilderness with in pursuit of answers and a kidnapped sister than Gunnar.