Elena went to each log house and jiggled the front doors. They were locked. Probably some forest ranger opened them when the time came. Or maybe people were given a key when they rented the place. Who knew. She certainly didn’t.
“Back to breaking and entering,” she muttered to herself. She went with her earlier MO and found a good-size rock that she could pick up and toss through a window. Her next paycheck was going to go toward window replacements, but she didn’t mind. If she lived long enough to worry about paying for new windows, that was a good sign.
Carefully putting her arm through the broken glass, she had to stand on her tippy-toes to reach down to the lock. What she wouldn’t give to be taller at times. Most of the time, she didn’t mind her size. It meant she could be nimble and fast. But other times, like now, trying to reach the handle below her, it would be nice to have longer arms and be a bit taller.
Her fingers found the lock and managed to turn it. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped inside the rustic one-room cabin with only the basics. There was a queen-size bed in the corner, a couch on the other side creating a break into a small kitchen. She heard a mouse or other critter scurrying around. That would normally freak her out, but right now, the bed looked wonderful and she didn’t care.
Much to her relief, there was a small furnace that needed its pilot light lit. Elena found a multipurpose lighter with a long handle that worked perfectly. Once the flame was ignited, she turned up the heat.
This time, there was no plastic bag or duct tape to fix the hole in the window. Cold air drafted in, but she found an extra-small pillow and smushed it into the area where she’d broken the glass. Kicking off her shoes and peeling off her socks, she saw blisters starting to form. Not good, but she’d had blisters before when she was running competitively. She could brave it until she figured her way out of this situation.
Placing her shoes by the furnace and hanging her socks, she went into the kitchen. There was no food, but there were glasses and running water. She took a long drink, the water almost stinging her lips, and then grabbed the empty plastic water bottle from her backpack, filling it up. She wished she had a bigger water bottle, but this would do for now. Her stomach growled now that she’d had some water.
Even though there was no food, the cabin apparently came equipped with some utensils, including a small, sharp chef’s knife. Elena grabbed that. She wouldn’t mind having something for protection.
Ignoring the churning in her stomach from being hungry and scared, Elena grasped the knife and went over to the bed. She found extra blankets and curled into the fetal position under the covers. The heat was kicking in, and for the first time in a while, she allowed her eyes to close and her body to rest. But she continued to clutch the knife.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The sound of voices outside woke Elena up with a start. Where was she? For a moment she was disoriented. Then everything came rushing back to her. The vision of Amber falling after being shot. Running down a hill, hiding in a small spot on a rock edge, breaking into the house, and now being warm and resting in this cabin.
But there’d been no one else around earlier.
She heard the voices again. Shit. The knife was still clutched in her hand and she tightened her grip as she slithered out of bed, staying low so that she’d be harder to see through a window. She had to put on her socks and shoes. Running without shoes out in the wilderness would be crazy and give the men pursuing her another advantage.
She managed to crawl along the floor to the furnace, where she turned off the heat. There had to be a vent, and like a fire, the furnace noise or vent might expose which cabin she was in. She hadn’t thought about that until now.
Quickly getting her socks and shoes back on, she also found her jacket and backpack so that she was prepared to go again. The rest was helpful, and even though it had probably only been a couple hours since it was still pitch-dark outside, she felt better. The water helped too. Although her stomach grumbled a bit, she was able to ignore it. She’d eat when there weren’t killers coming after her.
Peering out the front door, she saw the men who had been pursuing her on foot going around each cabin. They didn’t know which one she was in and she was able to get a better look at them. They carried themselves like cops, with their backs against the wall of the structure and confidence in how they were clearing each small building. Elena remembered one cop she knew talking about how their heads were on a swivel taking in the surroundings. The men were doing just that, keeping an eye out for anyone ready to ambush them while they hunted her.
How had they found her? The way they looked in each window made her think that maybe they were guessing as to her whereabouts, knowing she would need shelter and wouldn’t want to stay out in the wilderness.
She took a deep breath and gave herself a pep talk.Think. You can escape. You can outsmart these guys. And you can certainly outrun them. They might be cops, but you’re in better shape.
The hard part about the cabins was that they were one room and there wasn’t a good spot to hide. There was a tiny bathroom, but no window to escape. There was a front door and back door. The cabin was truly simple, which didn’t work in her favor right now.
Elena crawled to the back door. If she timed it right, she could maybe sneak out and flee before they saw her. And before they went to the front and saw the broken window with the pillow shoved in it. That was a dead giveaway.
She carefully undid the lock on the back door and waited, her backpack on and knife grasped in her hand, ready. Before her dad had lost his job and things went downhill with her parents, he had taught her some knife skills, including using her whole hand in what he’d called a power grip. That way she could use all her strength. And when you were tiny, you needed all the advantages you could get.
Shadows walked by the front window and around to the door with the broken glass. The moon was out enough to silhouette the men’s figures and she saw one point to the broken glass and door. They were using signals and staying quiet. This was her chance.
She kept the strong grip on her knife and quietly opened the back door, slipping out into the night. Elena tiptoed until she thought she was clear and then she made a dash for the tree line.
But another person was waiting by the back door.
A hand grabbed her backpack and pulled her off-balance. She fell backward, landing on the person and could hear him grunt. Scrambling to her feet, Elena clung to her backpack, which the man was trying to steal. She had to keep it. Inside was everything she had on this case. It might be the only bargaining chip she had.
The man caught her again and pulled her to the ground. She rolled over and landed a kick to his groin. Seeing him double over in pain, she took her chance to run, but he managed to lunge and snatch her again. She had to get away from him, because once the other men joined in, she was doomed.
Elena gripped the knife and reared back, bringing the blade down hard on the man’s hand. He screamed in pain but kept ahold of her. She took the knife and this time managed to plunge it into his neck. She pulled it out. Blood started spurting and she could hear the other people running toward her as the man grabbed his neck.
Breathing hard and quick, she scrambled back to her feet and sprinted. As fast as she could, not caring if branches hit her face. She tripped over rocks and got back up. She ran until she couldn’t run anymore and then stopped. Where was she now? Damn it, in her terror she hadn’t even paid attention to which direction she’d fled.
Doubling over and breathing hard, tears started to fall. Everything she’d been holding in came out as she sobbed, although she tried to stay quiet. Standing up and taking deep breaths, Elena worked to calm herself down. Her hands shook, but her right hand still held the knife, blood all over it.
She listened. Nothing. Had she lost them again? She had to keep going. And she was going to forget about finding shelter. They’d found her there. How, she wasn’t sure, but they had. The only thing she heard was the sound of running water. The creek. If she could find it, she could get her bearings again.
