Pink streaked the sky as they set off through the woods. Willa pulled her sweater around her in the early-morning chill. Olivia didn’t seem to notice, though she slowed her own brisk pace when she noticed Willa limping.
“I forgot about your ankle,” Olivia said. “Does it hurt much?”
“Not that much,” Willa lied. “I’ll be fine once we get to camp.” Though she had spoken confidently about the unlikelihood of running into Scott Sprague at this early hour, her memory of the story Olivia had told her about Scott’s violence toward Trevor Lawson sent tendrils of fear through her.
“It’s not much farther,” Olivia said. “I lucked out, finding that hiding place so close to camp. It made it easier to slip over here to steal food and supplies, and keep an eye on Mr. Sprague. And I figured no one would expect me to be so nearby.”
A few moments later, they reached a barbed wire fence. Oliva halted and waited for Willa to catch up with her.
“When we cross this, we’ll be on Mountain Kingdom property,” Olivia said. “Where should we go? Not the office. I don’t want to risk seeing Mr. Sprague.”
Willa took her hand. “I’m not going to let him hurt you.” Though realistically, she knew she couldn’t stop him by herself. “We’ll avoid Scott, though, and find someone else to help us.” Someone who would contact the sheriff’s department.
“I’m really nervous about going back,” Olivia said. “Mr. Sprague is really evil, and he knows a lot of important people.”
“The sheriff and his deputies don’t care how important someone is if they’ve done something wrong.” Aaron believed that, and he had said the sheriff was a good man. She took the girl’s hand. “And I’m not going to leave you. Not until I’m sure you’re safe.”
Olivia squeezed her hand. “Thanks.” She faced forward again, and took a deep breath. “I’m ready now. Let’s do this.”
Olivia slipped through the strands of wire, and waited for Willa to follow.
They set out at a faster pace now. “This is my favorite time to come here,” Olivia said. “No one is around. You could walk away with half the camp and no one would know.”
They made a wide berth around Scott’s cabin, then passed the remains of the bonfire, the smell of woodsmoke still hanging in the air. Olivia detoured to grab a partial bag of marshmallows someone had left on a bench in the boat house. She offered the bag to Willa, who declined, but Olivia stuffed two in her mouth.
“Why don’t you have a phone?” Olivia asked after she had swallowed the marshmallows. “I just now thought of that. I’m so used to no one around here having a phone, since we all have to give them up when we get here. But you could have called for help.”
“I lost it, either when I was struggling with Scott, or when I ran away.”
“How did you get away from him?”
“I stabbed him in the thigh with a bent coat hanger I’d been using to roast marshmallows.”
Olivia clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Oh, that’s perfect. The only thing better would be if it was still hot—and if you could have aimed a little more toward the center.”
Willa smiled, and looked toward the parking lot, then stopped.
“What is it?” Olivia moved in close beside her. “Did you see someone? Is it Sprague?”
“I see someone, but it’s not Scott.” She took Olivia’s hand. “Come on. This is one of the good guys.”
Aaron had just climbed out of his truck when he saw them walking toward him. He didn’t run, just waited, but when they were close enough, he moved forward and enveloped them both in a hug. Then he stepped back and looked at the girl.
“You must be Olivia.”
She nodded.
“I’m Aaron,” he said. “Deputy Aaron Ames. We arrested Scott Sprague last night.”
Olivia began to sob. Aaron and Willa moved in to hold her, letting her cry until she had no more tears left.
When the girl had quieted, Aaron looked at Willa. “You’re hurt.” He started to touch the side of her face, then drew back.
Willa hadn’t seen her face, but she could feel the swelling of her lip and around her eye. “Scott hit me pretty good. But it will heal.”
“She sprained her ankle, too,” Olivia said. “But not before she stabbed Mr. Sprague with a marshmallow roaster.”
“That was one of the things that made us suspicious of his story that he had chased off a stranger who was attacking a camper,” Aaron said.
