The sun has set, and it’s getting dark.
I check my phone. Coverage is weak, but hopefully, it’s enough. I send a pin of our location to Harding.
“We’re going to have to stop. It’s getting too dark. Hopefully, Ozzie and Harding will get here soon.”
“Do you think they’ll keep looking for us or give up?” Willow asks. She has no idea why they are after us and hasn’t even asked.
“They won’t give up. The woman, Sylvia, believes I have information that could make her a lot of money.”
The loud engine returns, slowly coming toward us. It stops about twenty feet down the highway.
“Did you see anything?” Sylvia asks.
“Nothing,” a man says.
“Dammit!” Sylvia says.
“They must have gone the other way,” the man says.
“Or they crossed the road,” Sylvia says. “Go search for them in there.”
“We can’t search. It’s dark, and we don’t have flashlights,” a man says.
“Yes, you do. Use your phones,” Sylvia orders.
Willow takes my hand and gently pulls me. I follow. She leads me to a dried-up creek bed.
“When they come up on this, we will hear the rocks crunch under their feet,” she says.
We carefully cross the rock bed, and the forest gets much denser.
“Right here,” she says.
With the little bit of light remaining, I take in the area. It’s behind a very wide tree that will hide us both. If we hear anyone on those rocks, there are several other trees nearby that we can weave and move between while continuing to conceal ourselves.
Twigs crack about thirty feet away. They are close.
“You notice she’s not willing to come into the woods and search for herself?” one of the men says.
“She doesn’t have to. She’s the one with the money,” another guy says.
“Shut up. You want them to hear us coming?” a third guy says. “Let’s go back toward the road. It’s easier to see there.”
More twigs break farther away, indicating they are going back toward the road and the campground. Their voices fade as well until we can’t hear them any longer. Then, the loud car drives away from us. That’s a good sign.
Another car approaches. Its engine is not nearly as loud.Please get here soon;I will Ozzie and Harding. I don’t like that Willow is here with me being hunted.
The car stops on the highway, and two car doors open and close.
“Durango?” Ozzie calls out.
I grab Willow’s hand, and we make our way toward his voice. “Here!” I call back.
We step out from the tree as Ozzie comes toward us with a flashlight.
“Let’s get you out of here,” he says.
We follow him back to the car and get into the back seat. That’s when I spot Moose in the driver’s seat.
