Page 119 of Diamonds in the Mud

We made our way through the woods. It seemed to take us forever to hack our way through the thick brush and stay on the tracks.

When we spotted the lights from the cabin, we all stopped and gathered around the four-wheeler. Randy took the keys and pocketed them, then motioned to his men. Three of them headed to the right, three to the left. I went with Randy straight down the middle, directly towards the cabin’s doors.

Everything was quiet. The moment we stepped up onto the porch, the steps made a loud creaking sound under our weight. Then I realized the lights coming from inside the cabin weren’t candlelight. Dark smoke was streaming out from under the door and cracked windows.

I heard Rayne cough from somewhere inside the burning building and sprang into action.

Without thinking, I busted through the old wood door with Randy right on my heels. Flames licked at us and surrounded Rayne, who sat in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. There was blood trickling down her lip and from above her left eye, and her clothes were torn in places. The flames, thankfully, hadn’t reached her yet.

“My god,” I said, rushing to her. I knelt in front of her and cut the ropes with the knife that I kept in my boot.

“It was Jackson Pennington,” Rayne said with a cough towards Randy as I gathered her up.

“Yeah,” Randy said behind us, shielding himself from the growing flames. “Where is he?”

“He took off out back shortly before you got here, after he set the fire,” she said with another cough. I lifted her gently into my arms and the three of us sprinted out of the flames onto the porch and into the dark night.

“I broke free and shot him in the leg before he overpowered me again. He knocked me out. I could have been out for a long time.” She held onto me. “He was bleeding pretty badly. I doubt he could have gotten far on foot.”

Just then another shot rang out, and Randy fell beside us. I fell to the ground, shielding Rayne’s body with my own as more shots rang out in the night.

“Dad!” Rayne cried out, trying to push me off her so she could crawl to her father, who lay motionless a few feet from us. I could hear the fire behind us grow, consuming the old cabin, as the night suddenly grew oddly quiet.

“Clear!” someone shouted.

“Over here.” Another shout.

“We’ve got him.”

“Dad!” I let Rayne crawl to her father and moved over to his side. Blood trickled out of his left leg just above his knee.

“Damn it,” Randy hissed.

“Officer down,” I called out. “Get an ambulance out here.”

“One’s already on the way,” Randy said with a sigh. “My boys called it in when we left.” He coughed as he cupped Rayne’s face. “I love you. If I don’t make it through this, take good care of your ma.” Then he passed out while Rayne cried.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“That something so small could be so beautiful. Worth so much. Only the strongest people can turn away from feelings like that.”

–Anthony Doerr,

All the Light We Cannot See

Rayne

My father was in surgery for six hours. Almost every minute of that time I sat holding my mother’s hand in mine while Jameson held my other hand. Tears blocked my vision as people came and went in the waiting room at the hospital.

When someone, a nurse or EMT, tried to look at my own cuts, I pushed them away.

Only after the first hour did I finally let Jameson clean the dried blood from me. A jacket was placed over my shoulders. Someone handed hot coffee to me and to my mother.

Shortly after the sunlight started streaming into the windows behind us, the doctor came out to talk to us.

“The bullet grazed his femoral artery. He had a lot of tissue damage that took a while to patch up. He may walk with a limp from here out and will need a lot of physical therapy. Possibly another surgery in his future to help that process.”

“Can we see him?” I asked.