When I managed to calm down, he asked me again, “Who’re you? What ya doin’ all the way out here?”
“I’ve been kidnapped, and I escaped. Please help me!” I panted through my tears.
He whistled. “Good lordy! They still after you?” He scanned the forest behind me.
I shook my head. “No… yes. I don’t know,” I finally said.
He took me by my arm. “Okay, let’s go back to my camp and you tell me everything.”
“Do you have a cell phone? I need to call the police.”
“No, girly. I left it back in my truck. There ain’t no service up here. It’d be useless.”
I looked at him panicked. “How far away is your truck?”
“Oh, it’s about a two-day hike from my campsite.”
My stomach dropped. Two days.Two days.
He patted me sympathetically on the arm. “Now, now. Don’t look so discouraged. I’ll get you outta here. Meantime, me and Patsy here, we’ll protect you.” He patted the gun… or Patsy that hung from his shoulder. “Now tell me how you ended up here.”
After findingsomecomposure, I told him everything as we walked through the forest, starting with the bank robbery. We walked slow, because the man had a messed-up knee. That made me nervous. The robbers could catch up to us. I could feel them gaining on us. But the man assured me that we were a needle in a haystack. They wouldn’t even know in which direction I had headed. It calmed me enough to tolerate the slow progress we were making. By the time we reached his camp, I had told my story and answered all his questions. He had promised me that we would pack up his camp and leave first thing in the morning. I objected at first, wanting to start the hike back to his truck as soon as possible, but he made a good point. It was already two o’clock. By the time his camping gear would be packed up, we wouldn’t have much daylight left anyway. And we really shouldn’t be out and about at night. Not again. So, I reluctantly agreed. At the very least, I had someone with a gun, who could stand up to Grayson.
When we reached the camp, he gave me some water and then started a fire to cook me some food. I was famished. The camp was neat, but it wasobvious he had been here for quite some time. He didn’t have much but a tent, a fireplace with his cooking utensils, a washing line spanned across two trees with some clothes on it, and a stump he used to chop wood.
“I haven’t gotten your name,” I said as the fire’s heat spread through my palms, while watching the hunter get his pot ready.
“The name’s Donald, but everyone just calls me Digger.”
“What brings you out here, Digger?” I asked. Whatever it was, I was glad. I hadn’t seen another human being in… It was hard to remember how many days it’s been. My luck had surely changed if I’d found Digger.
A crow squawked loudly from a nearby treetop, making me jump.
“Just some huntin’. The biggest bucks are out here this time of year.” He looked around for the crow.
How was he going to get a buck back to his truck, seeing that he already struggled to walk? I didn’t ask. Offending Digger would be stupid. He was my only chance at making it out of these woods alive.
It was silent while he added meat and spices to the pot.
“So, no one knows you’re out here, hmm?” he asked, stirring the pot.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Otherwise, they would have found me already. I think it’s been about two weeks now.” I stared into the fire, trying not to cry. I just wanted to go home.
“You’re lucky to be alive then.” After a while, he asked again, “So you think they’re searching for you right now? The robbers, I mean.”
I thought about it. “I believe so. The man in charge, the one who decided to take me, he’s probably furious right now. He won’t just let me go.” Ishuddered.
Digger nodded. “Yeah, I get that. A pretty young thing like you…”
“Sorry?”
“Oh, I just mean if I was them robbers, I would be mad too, that you bested me. My mama always said,Digger, a woman is either pretty or smart, I ain’t never seen one that’s both.” He mimicked his mother’s thick accent. “So, I guess they didn’t expect someone like you to be so cunning.” He smiled at me as if he just gave me a big compliment.
Odd man.
“I guess your mama must have been pretty then,” I said dryly.
He laughed loudly, his belly bouncing up and down. “Yeah, she was. Had red hair just like yours. Had all the men in the county knockin’ on our door.” He looked off into the distance, as if recalling old memories. “Had always wondered what the fuss was about with them redheads.”
