Dangerous world, p.14
Dangerous World, page 14
“Okay. Woods.”
They’d barely taken a few steps beneath the cover of the trees when Bear’s foot caught on something. Unable to steady himself, he fell, twisting himself awkwardly so that he wouldn’t land on Jess.
Instead, he landed right on his tailbone and cried out.
“Dude. Did you just fall on your butt?” Trent was trying not to laugh but his eyes were sparkling.
“Yeah.” Bear held out his hand so Trent could help him up. “I fell on my butt.”
“Poor old Jess. Want me to take a turn carrying her?” Trent was ruffling Jess’s ears. She looked distinctly unimpressed and was wriggling to get free.
“Nah. Let her down.” Bear unfastened the carrier and dropped her gently to the ground.
“What if she runs off?”
“She won’t. Not if we’re with her.”
Trent nodded. “Okay then. Let’s head a little deeper, then set up camp? Find a nice cozy tree to snuggle up with?”
Bear laughed. “Sounds good to me, but we should cover our tracks first.”
“Another fake trail? Will they fall for that a second time?”
“Maybe not, but it’s worth a shot.”
Bear gestured for Trent to follow him and set about walking in circles for a while, looping round, going back on themselves, round and round until he stopped and nodded. “That should do.”
Then he headed off in what he hoped was the direction of the road, so that they could camp just inside the trees and be ready to go as soon as the sun came up. This time, as they moved, they used branches to cover their tracks.
They were reaching the edge of the woods, the trees thinning as they neared the road, when Trent grabbed Bear’s arm. “Stop.” He pointed at Jess. She was scratching at the ground near a bush. She stopped, looked at Bear, then kept scratching. She was trying to crawl beneath it, but there wasn’t enough room between its branches for her to squeeze in.
Bear crouched down next to her and lowered himself onto his side to see what she was seeing. It was too dark. All he could see were leaves, branches, and thorns.
Jess let out a small whine.
“There’s something in there she wants.” Trent sat down on his haunches and peered at the same spot Bear and Jess were looking at. “Stick your hand in there, PB.”
Bear frowned up at him. “Stick my hand in? Haven’t I taught you anything? It could be a snake.”
“They have snakes out here? In winter?”
He furrowed his brow and turned back to the bush. “All right, girl, I’ll take a look. But if this turns out to be a gross, slobbery old tennis ball some other canine left behind, we’ll be having words.”
Jess tilted her head at him and wagged her tail, clearly pleased she was finally being listened to.
Taking a stick, Bear pushed it beneath the bush and started moving it around. It prodded up against something firm. He looked at Trent. “There’s something under here.”
Trent moved back and pulled a face. “Like what?”
“Dunno. It’s not moving.” Bear removed the stick, took a deep breath, then went in with his hand. He was wearing gloves, so he figured he at least had one layer of protection.
He also figured that Jess wouldn’t be so interested in getting him to tease out a snake or a rat.
Pushing his fingers deeper beneath the bush, Bear held his breath. He moved slowly but he soon found what the stick had found; a large, bulky something.
He prodded it. It didn’t move. Taking hold of it, he pulled.
Dragging it free, he sat back and stared at it.
“A rabbit!” Trent grinned and clapped his hands.
“A hare, actually.” Bear studied the animal. It was dead, but with the weather so cold it was hard to tell how long it had been dead for.
“Awesome.” Trent rubbed his belly.
Scratching his beard, Bear said, “No fire tonight, remember? We have no way of cooking it.”
Trent’s face fell. “Seriously? PB. Come on… we can’t look a gift-hare in the face like that.”
Bear’s lip curled into a smile, the way it always did when Trent was simply being himself and making lighthearted comments. Looking back at the hare, he rubbed the back of his neck. It looked in good enough condition to eat; no nasty wounds, no blood. In fact, it looked like it had simply dropped dead and lay there waiting for them.
Jess was panting, open-mouthed, looking very pleased with herself.
Bear shrugged off his backpack and opened it up.
“What are you looking for?” Trent asked, peering into the bag.
Bear didn’t answer but his fingers soon found what he was searching for; a small tin box. Right now it was full of medical supplies, but those could easily be decanted into one of the pack’s inner pockets.
“We’ll slice it up. Put what we can in here and pack it with snow.” Bear pulled a second bag from the backpack, a plastic one. “Then we’ll put the box in here and add more snow. It should stay fresh until tomorrow at least. Give us a chance to get somewhere we can light a fire.”
Trent smiled, and his stomach growled loudly at the thought of eating freshly-caught protein.
“Remember how to slice it up?” Bear reached for his boot, took his knife from his sock and handed it to Trent.
Trent nodded. “I think so.”
“Better get started then… use that rock over there.”
“Right.” Trent swallowed hard, then a determined look settled on his face and he nodded again. “Right.”
Twenty minutes or so later, Trent’s hands were covered in animal blood but he’d done an okay job. He’d butchered the hare well enough, and had managed to create a nice pile of thigh and leg meat, sliced into strips, that fitted into the tin box. Leaving room on top of the meat, Bear tossed a few strips to Jess, then stood up and temporarily balanced the lid on the box. “Let’s head for the road. We’ll camp just inside the tree line. There’ll be snow up there we can use to pack this.”
Trent nodded, looking down at his bloody hands.
“Best wash those off, kid. Don’t want the wolves after us.”
Trent had just finished scrubbing and was about to pass the water bottle to Bear when he stopped. He was straining his ears. “Bear, I heard something.”
Jess was chewing on a bone she’d pulled free from the pile of discarded hare parts.
“It’s just Jess,” Bear said.
“No.” Trent narrowed his eyes. “It’s something else.”
Without asking whether it was a good idea, Trent moved forward through the trees. Bear followed him. His heart was beating hard in his chest. He hated having to rely on the kid for things like this, but he was also glad he had him.
“A fire. I see a fire up ahead.” Trent pointed and Bear ducked to look in the same direction. He was right. There, through the trees, was the unmistakable glow of a fire. But was it Britt? Or someone else?
Part of him wanted to have one final showdown with Britt, finish her off for good. But a bigger part was tired of fighting. His grip tightened on the tin box. His other hand reached for his gun.
Before he could pull it from his waist, however, he felt movement down around his ankles. He looked down just as a flash of white fur hurtled past him.
“Jessamine,” he hissed, lurching forward. “Jess!”
It was too late… Jess had bolted toward the fire.
20
BEAR
“Jess! Jess!” Bear hissed into the dark, praying that the darn dog would turn around and come running back to him.
“What’s got into her? She never runs off!” Trent whispered, looking nervously toward the glow in the distance.
“Probably smelled food. Another hare cooking on the fire.” Bear scratched his beard and narrowed his eyes at the flicker between the bushes, which was undoubtedly a campfire.
“What do we do?” Trent asked, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.
Bear sighed. He glanced behind him. Somewhere back there, Britt and her gang were still following them. His fake trail might have put them off the track, but it might not have. If whoever was up ahead was friendly, they could be useful. On the other hand, if they weren’t….
“We’ll go check it out. Stay quiet and follow me. I don’t want to be seen until we’re sure who we’re dealing with.”
Trent nodded and stepped into line behind Bear.
As they started moving through the undergrowth, Bear found himself holding his breath. “Can you hear anything?” he whispered.
“Voices. Quiet ones. Can’t make out what they’re saying.”
“How many?”
“Not sure.”
Bear gritted his teeth. Not for the first time, he wished he had full use of his senses.
The glow became brighter as they inched toward it. Every now and then, Bear stopped and hissed, “Jess,” under his breath. But she didn’t reappear.
Soon, they were close enough that even Bear could hear the voices. He gestured for Trent to stop. “Wait there.” He held up his hand to prevent Trent from going any farther, then slipped into the shadow of a large, thick-trunked pine tree.
Here, the smell of pine tickled his nostrils; whoever lit that fire must be burning pinecones.
He rested his hand on the tree trunk, felt the rough bark beneath his fingers, and tried to slow his breathing.
“She’s so cute! Look at her little pink coat.” A kid’s voice, a boy, younger than Trent.
“She must have run away from someone,” a man replied.
“It’s funny….” A female voice. Bear tilted his head, angling his good ear toward the campfire. That voice. It was familiar. “She looks just like….”
Bear’s breath caught in his throat. It couldn’t be.
As he told himself to slow down, his feet began to move. Before he could think about what he was doing, he’d stepped out from the shadows.
“What the heck?” A ginger guy with a big beard stepped in front of him. He had a gun. But Bear wasn’t looking at it. He was looking past it. “Stop. Stop right there, buddy.” The ginger guy raised his gun and squared his shoulders.
Bear hadn’t even taken his own weapon from his belt. He moved forward and raised his arm, placing a hand on the barrel of the guy’s gun and moving it gently to one side.
Whoever this guy was, he was looking at Bear like he was crazy. “I said stop. Take one more step…”
“Dad, don’t!” The boy’s voice. Bear glanced at the kid. Jess was sitting in front of him. He had his hand on her back. She was wagging her tail.
“Arlo, don’t.” The woman. She stood up. She was staring at Bear. Her face was dirty, her hair pulled up into a ponytail but with wisps of it flying free and surrounding her face. “Don’t shoot… it’s my husband.”
Bear’s ears were ringing but he knew her voice even without hearing it properly. “Laurel?” He moved closer and reached out to touch her. He stopped with his hands hovering above her forearms. But she didn’t stop. She flung her arms around his neck. She was laughing. Or was she crying? He could feel her shaking as she held him tight.
He put his hands on her waist, then folded them around her. “Is it really you?” he whispered.
Laurel was nodding, wiping tears from her eyes, but smiling as she stepped back and took him in. She was exactly the same. Sure, her hair was tangled, she was covered in dirt and bruises, and she looked like she needed sleep and a good meal, but she was the same. Same sparkling smile. Same hypnotic eyes.
Shaking her head, as if she’d realized there were others present, Laurel put her hand on Bear’s arm and turned to face the guy with the beard. “Arlo, this is Bear. My husband.”
The guy — Arlo — raised his eyebrows. He looked from Laurel to Bear, then slotted his gun back into his belt and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Bear was mid-shake when he realized that this was Arlo he was being introduced to. “Arlo Staaf? The guy who kidnapped you?” Bear looked at Laurel. He was taller than Arlo, bigger, and willing to bet he’d be a lot meaner if he had to be. If he had to protect Laurel.
“He did it for me.” The boy had stood up. “To get me help. My dad’s a good guy really.”
“You’re Liam?” Bear folded his arms in front of his chest.
The boy nodded.
“I met your pal, Peter. He misses you.”
“You met Peter?” Liam grinned.
“You met Peter?” Laurel repeated.
Bear breathed in slowly. He had some explaining to do. But so did Laurel. Was she friends with this guy Staaf now? “I’ll explain,” he said. “But first, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
Turning toward the spot where he’d left Trent, Bear put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. “Hey, kid. It’s safe.”
A moment later, Trent’s gangly frame appeared from the shadows. Bear gestured for him to come forward, and put his arm around Trent’s shoulders. “Kid,” he said, grinning. “You’re not going to believe this. But this…” he turned to smile at Laurel, “is Laurel. My wife.”
Trent’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they might pop right out of his head. “Laurel? You’re kidding! You’re Laurel?” Trent let out a small whoop and smacked his knee in a rather dramatic fashion. “Ma’am, you have no idea what PB’s gone through to find you. We came all the way from Thunder Bay. Through the Boundary Waters. He got bitten by a wolf. Fought off some guys who tried to take our truck. Saved the hospital!”
“Trent, maybe slow down. That’s a lot of information,” Bear muttered gently.
Laurel was watching the pair of them closely. Pushing her glasses up onto the top of her head, she laughed. “Well, it certainly sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do.”
As their initial elation at seeing one another began to fade, Laurel stepped to the side and put her hands behind her back. Suddenly, she seemed shy. Was she remembering that it had been two years since they saw one another face-to-face? Was she remembering the reasons why?
“Trent’s been my travel companion since I left Thunder Bay.” Bear changed the subject and again squeezed Trent’s shoulders. “He’s saved my life more than once.”
“Well, then I’m very glad to meet you.” Laurel pulled Trent in for a hug. As she released him, Bear noticed Trent’s gaze settle on something. He followed it. There was someone else here.
Trent’s body had stiffened. He pulled back from Laurel.
From the shadows, a figure Bear recognized lifted his palms. “Hey, buddy.”
“Bear… is that…?” Trent grabbed Bear’s arm, ducking behind him slightly.
“What are you doing here?” Bear instantly reached for his gun. As he lifted it, Arlo raised his too, but pointed it at Bear.
“Jim.” Bear almost spat on the ground. In front of him, Jim smiled a thin smile. Turning to Laurel, only just stopping himself from putting his arm around her and pulling her away from the guy, Bear growled, “This guy stole my truck and left us for dead. What is he doing here?”
For a moment, their small campsite descended into chaos. Trent starting yelling, trying to tell Laurel and the others what had happened. How Jim had shot him and stolen all their things. Forced them to travel through the Boundary Waters with nothing but the clothes on their backs and one small bag.
In protest, Jim shook his head and muttered a string of, “Let me explain… it wasn’t like that… I’ve changed since then….”
Jess started barking. Arlo told her to shut up. Laurel told Arlo to leave the dog alone.
The only one who was quiet was Liam.
Then something broke through the quiet. Bear only just caught it, but the others froze and the looks on their faces told him he was right.
A gunshot.
Bear looked from Laurel to Arlo. “We’ve got to go.” He’d deal with Jim later.
Softly, not moving, Laurel said, “What’s going on, Bear?”
Arlo’s jaw twitched. “You being followed?”
“Some crazy chick called Britt,” Trent answered for him. “Bear killed her boyfriend Murph and now she’s out for revenge.”
“Murph?” Arlo’s eyes widened. “You killed Murph?”
“It’s a long story. We don’t have time.” Bear waved his arms, gesturing for the others to get going. Why were they all just standing there? “But, yeah. She’s been following us from South Minneha. She’s out for blood.”
“Well, she was after us too a while back.” Laurel reached for one of the packs on the ground, wincing as she pulled it onto her shoulders and starting kicking dirt over the fire.
“I thought we put an end to her back at the farmhouse.” Arlo grabbed his pack too, then his kid’s.
“What about the rest?” Jim was looking forlornly at the other bags on the ground.
“Take what you can, but hurry,” Laurel stepped in. “We’ve got to move. You don’t know what this woman’s capable of.” As she turned, she caught Bear’s eyes. “How many are with her?”
“Not sure. I tried to lose them. Got rid of a few but don’t know how many are left.”
“However many she’s got, it’s too many.” Arlo checked his weapon. “Let’s move, everyone.”
Scooping Jess into his arms, Bear deposited her into her sling and started jogging. When he realized Laurel wasn’t at his side, he looked back. She was limping, leaning on a branch she was using as a walking stick. He slowed, grabbed the pack she’d attached to her front and heaved it onto his own shoulder instead.
She looked at him wide-eyed as if she was about to object.
“Concentrate on moving.” He pointed at her ankle. “We need to get out of here.”
She nodded. They’d gone just a few paces when she turned and met his eyes. “Bear?”
“Yeah?”
“I never picked you as a dog-wearing type. But it suits you.”
21
BRITT
“Britt, up ahead.” Ryan grabbed Britt’s elbow and hissed at her.
