“Is that why there’s a light on in their bedroom at night?”
“I think so,” Theo said quickly.
Norm sat back on his heels, noticing the fear in the boys’ eyes. Inwardly sighing, he had no choice but to build a fire and take the risk. Rethinking his plan, he looked at Galen. “Hmm…gimme a moment to get a fire going so the cave won’t be dark anymore, okay?”
Nodding, Galen wiped away a stray tear, then gave Norm a small brave smile. As long as there was light, he and Eamon would be safe.
Rising, Norm looked around and spied a bunch of dead branches on the ground. Gathering them up, he realized he didn’t have any matches, but there were other ways to build a fire and luckily, the time he spent as a Spirit Bear Cub Scout had given him the skills needed.
~/~/~/~/~
Turning back to the edge of the cliff, Smokey scanned the view again, to make sure nothing had changed. Deciding to backtrack and find a different trail, his nose picked up a faint scent of blood. Sniffing, he turned slowly to lock in the direction from which it was coming and, when he was sure he’d found it, hope filled him. By his second step, Smokey had shifted backto his bear and a surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. Without a path to follow, Smokey began to bulldoze his way through the bushes and underbrush. Sniffing the air repeatedly, his bear homed in on the scent that was growing stronger and stronger. Increasing his speed, Smokey threw caution to the winds, focusing only on his need to rescue Willow from the danger she was in.
~/~/~/~/~
Bending down over Willow, Hope pressed her hand to the bullet wound, trying to stanch the flow of blood. She searched her mind for every bit of medical knowledge picked up from injuries her children had sustained when they were young, but none ever involved a gunshot.
“Leave her,” Josiah growled.
Ignoring him, Hope tore off the tail of her shirt, folding it several times before placing it down over the wound. Within seconds, the bandage was stained red as Willow’s blood continued to flow. Pressing harder as sobs escaped her; she knew her efforts weren’t going to be enough to save her friend.
Hovering over Hope, Josiah pressed his gun against Willow’s head. “Either you come with me now, or she will pay the price for you disobeying me.”
“Gimme a minute,” Hope whispered before using a piece of Willow’s shirt to secure the bandage as tight as she could to her chest. Then she rose slowly and looked at Josiah, finally facing the psychopath responsible for all of her nightmares. The fear that had controlled her for so long disappeared and her only thought was to keep Josiah as far away from her family as she could. But first, she had some questions.
“Why, Josiah? Why did you kill my babies?”
“That was an accident.”
“Accident?” Hope slowly shook her head. “No, I was there…I heard you give the orders to kill everyone…including the pups.”
“No you didn’t,” Josiah snarled. “Your fucking friend lied to you…I was trying to save everyone.”
“If you didn’t give the order, then who did? Not Rudy because you would’ve killed him for that,” Hope said. “Why did you do it, Josiah? I deserve to know.”
“You already know,” Josiah replied.
“No, I don’t…tell me,” Hope demanded.
Josiah glanced down at Willow, relieved to see she was near death. When he turned his attention back to Hope, he growled, “I did it for you.”
Hope’s eyes widened in shock. “What in the world do you mean? I never asked you to kill my babies or anyone else.”
Narrowing his eyes, Josiah growled as he grabbed Hope’s arm, dragging her over to him. “Enough! Let’s go.”
Struggling to free herself, Hope kicked and punched Josiah, but when she felt the barrel of the gun against her temple, she stopped resisting. For now, she was alive and she was determined to remain that way, if not for herself, then certainly for her sons and her grandpups.
Josiah grunted as Hope acquiesced to his demands. Smiling triumphantly, he tightened his hold on Hope, but before he could take a step, a loud roar filled the clearing. Wheeling around, he saw a large grizzly bear burst from the forest, headingstraight for him. Without hesitating, Josiah lifted his gun and fired off several shots, laughing as the bear fell ten feet away from them. “Too bad I have to go…he would make a great trophy mounted over the fireplace of my new home.” Then, without another look, he headed into the woods, forcing Hope to come with him.
Dragged by Josiah past the bear, Hope looked down at him, her eyes filling with tears. Whoever had come to rescue her had paid the ultimate price. And after seeing Josiah’s reaction to the bear’s attempt to save her, she knew it would happen to any others who tried the same thing. Determined not to put anyone else at risk, she hurried after Josiah, mumbling a prayer for her friend before disappearing into the forest.
“I will avenge you, my dearest Willow,” she vowed to herself.
~/~/~/~/~
Leaving Theo in the cave with the kids, Norm headed back to the meadow, taking note of the tracks they’d left behind. There wasn’t much he could do about their scents but at least he could brush away their footprints and create some false trails. Stopping at the edge of the tree line, he scanned the area and, satisfied it was safe, hurried over to gather up the blanket along with Jake and Jessica’s clothes. Stuffing everything into the picnic basket, Norm then studied the remnants of Danny’s clothes. They were barely usable but he picked them up anyway. Leaving them would be a red flag to anyone who knew what caused their current condition.
Setting the picnic basket over by the hidden trail, Norm trudged through the meadow, brushing his fingers through the tall grass to leave his scent. After crisscrossing it completely, Norm headed toward the trees surrounding the meadow, and did thesame. When he was satisfied with his efforts, he picked up the basket, ready to return to their hiding spot.
