He holds his light at hip level and plunges in.
It’s not easy in the dark. He keeps getting hooked on briars and whacked by small branches. He waves his light from side to side, looking for clothing, scraps of paper, any trace of a human being.
Suddenly, the trail pitches down at a steep angle. Alex feels his feet slipping out from underneath him. He grabs a branch, but it snaps off in his hand. A split second later, he’s on his back, rocks jabbing into his spine. His phone is somewhere in the bushes. Alex is breathing heavy, his chest heaving. He looks up through the foliage to the sky dotted with stars.
He closes his eyes and cries out, “Damon! Where are you?”
A few seconds later, he hears a voice call from below, weak and distant.
“Hello?”
CHAPTER 79
ALEX SCRAMBLES TO HIS feet and regains his balance. He reaches through a patch of thorns and retrieves the phone, not even feeling the stabs. He half slides, half stumbles the rest of the way down the trail to where it opens up onto a patch of high grass.
He hears voices ahead and spots a flickering glow through a stand of trees.
It would be easier to go around the trees, but he doesn’t; he picks his way straight through, aiming directly for the sound.
Half a minute later, he bursts into a small clearing with a stream winding through it.
Three young women are sitting in low folding chairs around a campfire. They all leap to their feet at the sight of Alex. One of the women grabs a long stick from near the fire. The other two cower behind her.
Alex is panting from exertion and covered with dirt and sweat. He holds his hands up. “It’s okay! Don’t worry! I’m with the FBI!”
As soon as he says it, he realizes how outlandish it sounds. He reaches into his pocket for his ID and tosses it to the women. “It’s true. Go ahead. Look.”
The young woman with the stick stoops to pick up the leather case. She opens it and shows it to the others. She lowers the stick. “Was that you we heard shouting?”
Alex approaches slowly. “Yes. I was up on the trail. I’m looking for my son. Damon Cross. He’s a graduate student at Chapel Hill. He disappeared around here a few days ago.”
One of the other women reaches into a cooler and holds out a bottle of water. “We haven’t seen anybody,” she says. “Here. You look like you could use some hydration.”
Alex walks the last few yards to the campsite. Now he notices a small tent pitched in the shadows with a neat row of backpacks alongside. He grabs the water and unscrews the cap, then takes a long, deep gulp. He puts the bottle down and wipes his lips. “Thank you. My name is Alex.”
The woman with the stick hands him back his ID. “Yup, Alex Cross. It says so right there.” She points to the other two women. “This is Nell. This is Diana. And I’m Leigh.”
Alex nods to the group. Leigh is tall, blond, and athletic-looking. Willa is shorter, rounder, and Black. Diana is Asian, with long hair falling to her waist.
“You know you shouldn’t have a fire out here,” says Alex. “It’s a nature preserve.”
“We just do it once a year,” says Diana. “We’re careful.”
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna arrest us,” says Nell.
“I won’t tell a soul, I promise. Are you guys students?”
Leigh shakes her head. “Nurses. We work at the UNC Medical Center. Once a year, we hike the reserve and camp out for a few days. It’s our little tradition.”
“We’ve been coming to this same spot for years,” says Diana.
“How did you get here?” asks Alex. “The trail I took was a little rough.”
Nell points in the opposite direction. “We came in from the east. There’s an old utility road.”
“What makes you think your son is out here?” asks Leigh.
“We know he was somewhere on the road below the park entrance before he disappeared, and we found his bike in the reserve.”
