To his surprise the dog jumped in but clawed at the window.
“He wants the window open.” Jenna frowned. “We’ll freeze.”
Hurrying behind the wheel, Kane backed out of the parking space. “I’ll head for the forest near the BW Ranch and then open the window and we’ll see what happens.”
As they got closer to the ranch, Ben’s excitement rose and he barked short sharp barks that Kane couldn’t understand. Dogs and their handlers understood each other but it was plain that they were getting close to Raven’s position. When the dog started to turn around on the seat and then tried to hurl himself out of the window, Kane pulled to the curb. He jumped out from behind the wheel and ran around to open the door. Ben took off and Kane stopped to help Duke down from the back seat. Ben stopped frequently to bark at them before bounding off again. Kane let him go ahead, Duke, his bloodhound, would follow Ben if they lost sight of him.
They grabbed their gear, and with Jenna at his side, Kane ran through the forest with Duke out in front, tail up high and big ears flopping from side to side. Heavy snow-laden branches dropped freezing clumps on them as they crunched along the ice-covered trails. The forest was eerily quiet, apart from the tinkling of icicles turned into windchimes by the breeze. Ahead, Ben would stop, and as they got closer, he’d turn around three times and then continue. “I know that signal. That means he’s found something. I guess it also means,This way. Follow me.”
Approximately one hundred yards through the frozen forest and along twisting trails they came to a clearing. Kane rushed forward and then stopped to scan the area. In the middle, Ben dug at the edge of a huge hole partially covered by a rotting wooden cover. It had been covered with brush and pine needles. “It’s an old bear trap.”
“They have sharpened wooden stakes at the bottom.” Jenna shuddered. “Hurry, he might still be alive.”
When Ben barked, wagged his tail, and then sat down beside the hole, Kane moved closer, checking his footing with each step. “Good boy.” He shone his Maglite down the hole. It was deeper than he’d imagined and on one side an old broken ladder hung in midair. Something moved at the bottom and he swept the flashlight beam back and forth. “Raven, are you down there?”
“Is that you, Dave? There’s an active shooter up there—well, there was. I haven’t heard anything for hours.” Raven covered his eyes as the beam of light washed over him.
“There’s no one around.” Jenna moved closer. “It’s creepy quiet.”
“Thank goodness. I’m freezing down here.” Raven rubbed his hands together and stamped his feet. “Did you bring a rope?”
Kane smiled at Jenna. “Yeah, we did, but Ben wasn’t very specific about what had happened to you.” He chuckled. “Although, he got his point across that you were in trouble. You’ve trained him well.” He peered down the hole. “How long have you been down there? Ben made it to the office and just stood there and barked until someone came along.”
“Hours. I gave him the order to get help.” Raven’s voice sounded a long way away. “I told him to seek Dave. I was hoping you were in the office today.”
“Are you injured?” Jenna peered down the hole, her face filled with concern.
“Only my pride and maybe a few scrapes and bruises.” Raven rubbed his beard. “There’s an old mattress down here, and it broke my fall. I figured it was an old bear trap when I fell, and I was waiting for the stakes to go through me.” He sighed. “Not a bear trap. It has an old ladder, so someone has been using it for a survival bunker, going on the trash down here. Itwas very well concealed and covered in snow. I didn’t see it. I don’t figure it’s been used for a long time. The wood covering the entrance had rotted through.”
Relieved at finding his friend, Kane nodded. “I’ve got climbing gear with me. I’ll throw down a harness attached to a rope. I’ll use one of the trees as a pulley and drag you up. Give me five to get organized. I’ll toss down my Maglite so you can see what you’re doing.”
“Thanks.” Raven coughed. “I hope you have water up there. I’m parched. My water bottle was crushed when I landed.”
“I’ll throw a bottle down to you.” Jenna pulled off her backpack, took out a plastic bottle, and carefully dropped it down to him. “When you’re out of here, I have coffee in the Beast. Where did you leave your truck?”
“On the fire road about fifty yards right of this position.” Raven drank the water and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “There’s an entrance into the forest that joins the fire road almost opposite the BW Ranch. I discovered it when I was fixing the trail cams. My camera is up there somewhere. It flew from my hand when I fell. I would have called for help but there are no bars down here.”
After attaching the rope to a nearby pine tree, Kane went back to the hole and lowered the harness. “I’ve attached the rope to a tree.” He waited for Raven to pull on the harness and took hold of the rope. “Jenna, grab the rope as well. We’ll need both our strength to pull him out of there.” He raised his voice. “Ready on the count of three?”
“Yeah.” Raven’s muffled voice came from a long way away.
Bracing his feet, Kane nodded to Jenna, who did the same. “One, two, three—pull.”
Glad of his thick leather gloves, Kane strained on the rope as it slipped around the tree. His feet slid on the icy ground. “Wait! I need to get a better foothold.” He rolled a few largerocks into the brush and pushed his feet into the indents. “Okay, Jenna. Pull.”
They heaved and a twinge of pain echoed through an old injury in Kane’s shoulder. He bent his knees and leaned back. The first part was the hardest, lifting a man almost the same weight as him would be a challenge, but with Jenna’s help they moved him the first few feet.
“Hold! I can grab part of the old ladder.” Raven’s voice came from inside the hole. “Okay, pull.”
The next part was easier as Raven found footholds and they managed to haul him up and over the edge. Kane slumped against the tree as Raven rolled out of the hole and lay panting on the snow, with Ben licking his face, tail wagging wildly. Raven was covered in leaves and dirt and had a scrape on one cheek, but looked okay. After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Kane tied crime scene tape from the trees in a triangle to warn others of the hole, although it was plain to see. He turned to look at Raven. “You were lucky you didn’t break your neck.”
“Someone was shooting at me, so we weaved through the trees. I got caught up in the branches and didn’t see the trap.” Raven blew out a long breath. “I hope I haven’t compromised the mission.”
Kane shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t have seen you. Not from the BW Ranch and there’s no way they’d have spotted your camera.” He glanced behind him. “They’d need a sniper to get you from that distance, so not the drug dealers. I’m guessing it’s more like an illegal hunter. I’ll call the forest warden and he’ll check it out.” He stared at the overgrown hole. “This old trap has been here for years. No wonder you didn’t see it.”
“I’m lucky I had Ben with me.” Raven ran a hand down his face. “You would never have found me. There’s absolutely no way out down there. The ladder was just out of reach, and trust me, I jumped a thousand times to catch hold of it.” Raven smiled wearily as he sat up and hugged his dog. “Good boy.”
“Let me look at that graze.” Jenna knelt to tend the graze on Raven’s cheek and checked him out for injuries. “You’ll live.” She pushed the first aid kit into her backpack and smiled. “Oh, look! There’s your camera.” She rolled to one side and reached under a clump of bushes and then held it up like a trophy. “It looks okay. Did you get any evidence?”
