Текст книги "Hope To Escape"

Автор книги: Jack Parker

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The wilderness preserve was a long drive north, and Roden's BMW began to run low on gas. Fortunately, the old gas station near the entrance to the preserve was still there, just as Roden had recalled from years ago. Good thing, he observed, otherwise he would have to turn around and attempt to make it to some other distant station. That would have cost him time . . . and peace. He knew Manda would be all over him for that little screw up, and he'd had enough of that already.

He was lucky that the dilapidated old place was open at nearly three in the morning. There were no other customers around. In fact, he hadn't passed anyone on the road in hours. The lack of traffic couldn't be good for business.

As he pulled up to the only pump the station had, Manda stirred from her uncomfortable sleeping position in the front passenger seat. Her bobble-head doze couldn't have been very restful, but she had exhausted herself with her emotional outbursts and could no longer stay awake. Martin stayed quiet in the back seat. Roden imagined that he had probably fallen asleep over the past few hours, as well. The doctor himself was alert. His worry kept him wide-awake.

He opened the car door, allowing a rush of frigid air into the car, and Manda moaned at the unpleasant chill. Rising from his seat, he stretched his limbs, and winced at the soreness in his muscles.

Just as he was about to shut the door, he heard Martin speak. "Let me out, too, please. I need to use the restroom." Roden pushed the driver's seat forward, and let the tiresome man out. This, Roden pondered, was why his father had always ended up exasperated by the end of their old family road trips. He'd have to apologize to the old man the next time they spoke.

Together the two men walked into the store. The old bearded man behind the counter looked surprised to see customers at this hour, but didn't say anything. His one exposed eye watched the two men as they approached the counter. Martin (obviously, discomforted at the sight of the eye patch) reluctantly asked the old man if he could use the restroom, and Roden asked if there was any coffee brewing.

The old man grunted as he pulled out the key with its extra large wooden key chain and handed it to Martin. He simply pointed the way to the restroom outside, using his thumb as a guide. Martin then made a quick exit. Apparently, he really had to go.

Then, the old man hobbled out from behind the counter and shuffled over to an industrial grade coffee pot. It was empty and the heating plate was cold, but the man flipped the switch and quietly filled the pot with water from the fountain.

Roden smiled. "Thank you."

The old man looked up and smiled back. "So what brings ya out here this time a' night?" Roden's appreciation for the coffee apparently loosened the old man up enough to reveal his curiosity.

Roden took a moment to decide on his story. "We're meeting a friend of ours. He's staying in one of the wilderness cabins."

The old man nodded, accepting this answer, so Roden decided to push for a little information. "You wouldn't happen to have seen him would you? He's in his late twenties, brown eyes, sort of messy brown hair – you know, that modern fashion the younger guys are wearing nowadays. May have been wearing a bomber jacket."

"Yes," replied the old man, "Oh, yes. I remember him. Not many customers this time a' the night. Fact, 'tween the lot of you, you're the most customers I ever see any night."

"Really?" Roden was amused at the thought, and had to inquire, "May I ask why you bother staying open all night then?"

"Sure," grinned the old man, "and I'll be happy ta tell ya. It's 'cuz I'm married." He laughed. It was a high-pitched hissing sort of a laugh, like he had just told the most hilarious joke of his entire life. Roden couldn't help but laugh a little in turn.

"The only way ta git away from the old lady. This here," he waved a hand around the store, "This is my alone time. Most a' the night I spend readin', or fixin' the old lady's appliances. Even surf the net." Roden glanced towards the checkout counter and caught sight of a laptop glowing in the corner.

"Been dabblin' in stocks. Very lucrative business. Done pretty well in it. Haven't told the wife 'bout it yet, though." He laughed again and made to poke Roden in the ribs with his elbows, but was polite enough not to make contact. "Truth is, I've been plannin' a getaway for a couple a' months now. Gonna surprise the old ball-n-chain with a trip to the Hawaiian Islands. Ha, ha. What a laugh I'll git outta her reaction ta that."

"No doubt, no doubt." Roden laughed with him. As entertaining as the old man was, Roden found that they were getting off track in regards to the information he needed. "Say, how long ago did you see my friend come through?"

The old man replaced his grin with a pondering look as he tried to recall. "Oh, 'bout two hours ago maybe. Said he'd been travelin' most a' the day an' was lookin' forward to settlin' in. Had a young lady with him. She sat out in the car, though. Only stayed long enough to fill up his tank an' buy some food an' batteries. Thought maybe he was on his honeymoon?" The old man pried again.

"Ah, no." Roden cut the curiosity short. "She's just a friend."

"Ah, I see. Well, I think he may have a crush on 'er, then. Kept lookin' out the door the whole time he was in here, like he couldn't git enough a' lookin' at her."

That thought didn't make Roden feel any easier about the situation. "Did he say which cabin he was going to be staying in?"

"Can't say as he did. Didn't he let you know? Bein' as you supposed ta meet 'im there an' all?"

"Ah, guess we forgot that part of the arrangement. You wouldn't happen to have a map of the different cabin locations?"

"Na, don't keep such maps here. Ya have ta go ta the Ranger's Station for that."

"Oh."

"Yup, but it doesn't open 'til 'bout eight in the mornin'."

"Eight in the morning?!" No! That would put them several more hours behind.

"That's right." The old man seemed content that he was able to help, not knowing that the new information made Roden physically sick all over again. "Ya know, though, I could draw ya up a quick map. I know where all the cabins are. Been roamin' the wilderness preserve for 'bout forty years now."

"Really?" This was too good to be true. Roden was actually getting one break tonight. "I would be very very grateful."

"Not a problem." The man beamed, "Not like I got anything else ta do 'round here right now." While the coffee brewed the old man skirted back to the counter. He pulled out a scratch pad and began a drawing of lines and boxes, showing Roden the directions as he went. A few minutes later, Roden was folding a detailed, if not well scaled, map and stuffing it in his pocket.

The path basically looped around the entire preserve. The only problem was which path he should take when he got to that initial fork in the road. He couldn't really remember which cabin he had dropped Max off at the first time he was there. It had been so long ago. He did remember making a right turn at the fork. Was it right?

After buying some packaged doughnuts and a bag of pretzel twists, not to mention several bottles of water, Roden headed out to the car while blowing on his steaming coffee. Manda was out of the car and standing by the pump. Roden cleared his throat as he came up behind her, trying to avoid startling her. He deposited his purchases in the car, and inserted the gas pump into his tank to fill it with the fuel he had just prepaid for.

"Sleep well?" He wasn't sure if he asked her out of concern or because he kind of enjoyed riling a bitter reaction out of her. If it was the later, then it wasn't a healthy interaction that he was aiming for, and he realized that he better start checking himself.

The question did receive a bitter reaction. She rolled her eyes and turned up her nose. "This place is dirty and it smells. I can't wait to get going again. Where did Martin go?"

"Is he still in the restroom?" Did the man need to do more than just urinate? Roden wanted to get a move on, as well. "I'll go check on him while the gas is pumping. Keep your eye on it. Don't let it go over twelve gallons. It's an old pump and I don't know if it stops automatically."

"Right, right." Manda rolled her eyes again. She did that a lot. Roden was surprised she didn't pull any of her eye muscles.

He turned and headed in the direction of the restroom. On the side of the building was a wooden door stained a brownish yellow with age. The doorknob was completely rusted, but the dead bolt looked new. A plastic sign on the door, though chipped and coated with an oily dirt, appeared to indicate that it was a restroom. It read: 'Gotta pee? Get the key'.

Roden knocked on the door, and waited. No reply. He knocked again. Still no answer. So, he knocked harder and shouted Martin's name. He didn't hear a stir. It was strange. If there was something wrong with Martin in there, Roden would be livid. He didn't need any more complications.

Again, he pounded on the door and shouted "Martin! You in there?" Before he finished his pounding, Martin appeared out of the dark, coming around the corner from the backside of the building.

"Jeez, I'm right here. Cool it, will you?" He tossed the butt of a cigarette on the ground before Roden, and extinguished the cherry with a twist of his foot.

"What?" Roden was getting fed up with this guy. "Where have you been? You said you were going to the restroom? We need to get going." He turned and headed back towards the car.

Martin caught up with him. "Man, I'm sorry." He nudged Roden in the arm with his elbow and whispered, "Listen. Don't tell Manda what I was doing, okay?"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well," Martin's whisper was tinged with guilt, "I told Manda I was a non-smoker. I'd hate for her to know that I lied."

Roden had to hold his breath to keep from laughing out loud. The only reply he was able to give by the time they reached Manda, was an amused glance and a nod. What a fascinating pair Manda and Martin made.

* * *

The cold was biting in the middle of the woods. There weren't any tall building walls and pavement to hold in the heat like in the city. The numbness that Ess felt earlier in the night crept back into her feet, and the hand that was wrapped around the flashlight ached with icy stiffness while the other grasped the remaining napkins in her coat pocket.

Max was too busy balancing Ess's suitcase, his duffle bag and several sacks of supplies while watching their footing to make any further attempts at conversation. He wanted to, he ached to earn her trust, but his concentration was more important elsewhere at the moment. They would have plenty of time to learn about each other when they made it to the cabin. He had a feeling that they would be there together for awhile.

By the time the dark shape of the cabin was in view – complete with a chimney that must be connected to a fireplace – they were both grateful. In covering the last several yards, they alternately dragged and pushed themselves forward, resolute towards crossing the threshold. Ess felt so thankful when she pulled herself up on the single cement stair at the cabin entrance, that she breathed her relief heavily and sighed aloud, "Finally."

Max gave her a sheepish smile, feeling the fault again for putting her through this trial. She didn't see his expression in the dark. It was just as well. She had told him to stop being sorry so much. He really should work on that.

Since he didn't actually reserve the cabin at the ranger station, he had no key, nor had he been certain that the cabin wouldn't already be occupied. There were no signs of occupation now. That was one plus tonight. How would he explain it to Ess if their hideaway was already inhabited? He'd lose any ground he had gained with her. That was, if he had gained any ground in the first place, which he wasn't certain he had.

"Hmm," Max hummed as he patted his pockets, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh?" Ess wasn't stupid. She knew what that meant.

"I, ah, seemed to have mislaid the key." He realized that this search of his clothing was a bit over the top, but he never was a very good liar.

"Oh, really?" If Ess wasn't cold and with a crazy stranger, she would have been amused.

"Why don't I just try to break in for now?" Max finally determined.

"Good idea." Ess didn't care at this point. She was cold and tired. Besides she wasn't an accomplice in this. She was a victim. Let him break more laws. It was his jail time he was racking up.

Max jiggled the lock and pushed against the door to see how much give it had. The doorframe seemed fairly sturdy. Glancing at Ess, he could tell from her posture that she was eager to get inside. He knew she was tired, and it made him half tempted to break one of the cabin's small windows so that he could crawl in and open the door from the inside. It was only the reasoning that he wanted to keep any vandalism of the property to a minimum that kept him in check on that score.

Ess realized his hesitation. He didn't know what to do at this point. He was a very strange criminal. He kidnapped her, but he helped her instead of harming her; he was invading property, but he didn't want to literally 'break-in'. What a contradiction he was. She didn't know what to make of him.

Rather than appearing to care about his predicament, Ess decided to distract herself by trying to peer into the window. All was dark inside, and she couldn't make out any forms or furniture or even walls – and no visible fireplace. From the size of the exterior walls, the entire cabin couldn't be more than four hundred square feet. It would be crowded in there, and she preferred not to be cramped in with an obsessed kidnapper. Still, at the moment she would give up almost any secure feelings for an opportunity to sit by a warm fire.

It was at that instant that they heard a sharp noise. It sounded like the snapping of a large branch in the distance. Ess shined the flashlight on Max to ascertain if he had heard it, too. She saw the startled look on his face, and her own nerves shuddered. Something was out there . . . and she preferred not to find out what it was.

Frantically she pushed against the window. It seemed a bit loose. When she looked down, she noticed that it had lifted a crack from the sill. Pushing the window up a little more, she saw that it gave way about an inch.

Max was right there in a moment. He used his strength to lift the window higher. Soon it was almost high enough for a small body to slide through. The old solid wood frame was rather heavy, however, so Ess had to leverage her hands beneath the pane to keep the window propped open. Another crack in the woods (wow, it was a lot closer) caused Ess and Max to make another frantic pull and push together. It was enough. Without a word between them, Max took over keeping the window propped up while Ess squeezed through the opening. Once inside, she shined the flashlight around the interior. The light was enough to illuminate the entire modest little room.

As she headed towards the locked door, she hesitated. Should she really let her kidnapper in? That seemed a bit crazy on her part.

Through the window that Max continued to hold open, she heard the rustle of leaves nearby. Damn. She couldn't leave him out there with some wild who-knows-what. Ess continued to the door, fiddled with the lock, and opened it to allow Max inside.

He tossed their belongings through the door, and slammed it shut behind him in one fluid movement. Then, he gave Ess a relieved smile, and headed to the window to see if he could ensure that it was sealed tight against the wild animal and the increasing cold.

Ess peered out the window from behind Max, fearfully curious to see if the thing in the woods had come closer. She was careful not to get too close to him, and was ready to jump out of Max's reach if she needed to.

It wasn't much longer before the nightmare creature they heard entered into view.

A deer. A deer? She let her kidnapper inside to escape a deer? Ess felt that Mother Nature had it out for her. She was determined never to think of deer as harmless gentle beings again.

A second deer came into view, then a third: a buck with large antlers. Now that the fear was gone, it was rather an amazing sight to observe the animals, so calm and at home in their surroundings. It felt like she was part of a National Geographic documentary. She didn't remember really getting this close to nature in motion during her youthful camping trips. It made her smile despite herself.

Max had been watching, too. He was just a little embarrassed that the sound of these three quiet woodland creatures had discomposed him so much in front of the woman whose opinion meant more to him than any other person he knew. He felt like such a coward.

When Max finally turned away from the window, Ess jumped backwards as though she was warding off an attack. That reaction hurt him. Obviously, he hadn't made any leeway into her confidence.

Ess realized that Max was not advancing on her and so straightened from the half crouched stance she had taken against him. By the light of the flashlight, she saw the pain her reaction had caused him. There was disappointment in his eyes; and Ess felt just a little guilty despite her best efforts.

Max turned away and reached for the bags. "You're probably very tired by now." Taking her suitcase, he went through a narrow door into a tiny adjoining room. This room, which smelled faintly of decaying wood, consisted of two sets of bunk beds, with little room for anything else.

Max set her suitcase down on one of the lower bunks, and returned to the main room. Ess stood motionless as he pulled some blankets from his duffle bag. He spread one over the other lower bunk, and moved to a small object in the corner of the room. Ess couldn't see what he was doing, but when he moved away, she saw a faint glow emanating from that corner space.

Max addressed her again. "This little heater will warm up the bedroom shortly. It'll get very hot, so don't touch it, or place anything close to it. I'll start up a fire in the fireplace out here, so the whole cabin will be warm for you by morning."

Ess continued to stand where she was. She didn't know what his intentions were, and she wasn't about to go to sleep in the same room he slept in.

Max continued to prep for the night, trying to ignore the fact that Ess was making no movement towards the bedroom. He grabbed a few logs from a pile stacked along the wall and set them in the fireplace. Next, he grabbed the other blanket and began spreading it on the mangy old couch. When he finally glanced back at Ess, the dejection she had seen in his eyes a short time before was under control.

"I hope I brought enough of your things to see you through. If you get too cold, you can use my blanket. I'll be fine as soon as I get the fire stoked up." Ess just stood there slowly registering what he was telling her. While she was doing so, a little of the pain made it's way back into Max's eyes.

"There's a lock on the bedroom door." He said to relieve her distress. "If you need to use the bathroom, it's through the door across from the heater. This place has plumbing that is supported by a well. I wouldn't take a shower right away, though. The water is like ice. I'll need to turn the water heater on, first, and it's outside behind the cabin. It'll take awhile for the water to heat up."

Ess nodded. It was the first cognizant response she made since Max began to settle them in. This small reaction was enough to melt most of the wretchedness Max was feeling. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Why don't you go ahead and go to bed? I'll take care of everything out here."

Ess nodded again, but didn't move. His continuing thoughtfulness and care just didn't fit with this whole keeping-her-against-her-will thing. She didn't want to trust him. It could be a trap. If he really wanted to harm her, though, wouldn't he have attempted to do so by now?

"You can lock the door," Max stated again when she still didn't move towards the bedroom. "I promise I won't bother you. Not even to use the bathroom."

Ess nodded, yet again, and finally walked towards the bedroom. Max let out a sigh of relief. It was a big step for them that she was willing to settle in. He moved back to the fireplace to work on igniting the flames. Behind him, the bedroom door thudded shut, and he heard the click as the lock latched. He didn't mind it if he didn't have her full trust, as long as she let him keep her safe.