Chapter 4
Something startled Nick awake. He sat up straight looking and listening. Mandy woke up too and looked around.
“What is it Nick?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. “Did you hear something?”
“I’m not sure,” he began then heard a dog barking somewhere in the darkness.
“Dogs,” Mandy breathed out. “Do you think it’s those mean men?”
“I don’t know Mandy. I’m not really sure where they are. Can you tell?”
Both children listened, waiting. Finally, they heard barking again.
“They sound closer!” Mandy whispered excitedly. “I’m scared.”
“Come on,” he said in a tense whisper, taking Mandy’s hand. “Let’s go!”
Hesitating for a moment, Nick looked around trying to decide which would be the best way to go. More barking, now closer helped make that decision. Quickly they headed in the opposite direction out of the clearing and back into the dense trees as quickly as they could, trying not to trip and fall.
Nick figured that they must have circled around the meadow but how far around? Were they on the opposite side? If so, what now? Should they hide or keep moving? Going back into the darkness of the woods didn’t please them at all because they liked being able to see where they were going, but at the same time they didn’t want to be seen – at least not by creepy people!
Mandy held on to a strap dangling from the daypack draped over Nick’s shoulders. Still using his walking stick, he led Mandy deeper into the darkness of the woods then stopped and turned around to watch. He wanted to keep an eye on the open area where they had been sleeping. Crouching near a low branching tree, Nick and Mandy quietly strained to hear more sounds of approaching people and dogs.
The dogs had stopped barking and the silence was deafening. No crickets chirped. No owls hooted. No wolves howled. Nothing. A breeze began to pick up. That could be bad. If he and Mandy were upwind of those men, the dogs would catch their scent and want to pounce for sure!
“Why are we stopping?” Mandy asked anxiously.
“Maybe it’s someone looking for us,” Nick replied quietly. “You know, like the sheriff or Aunt Clara.”
“Oh,” was all she said as they both continued to watch the small clearing. Then they heard the bark of a dog again, just one, but this one sounded like it was behind them.
“Nick?” Mandy asked nervously.
“It’s okay, Mandy. We’ll be okay. Come on.” Nick began to move, and hopefully away from both barking dogs. Until they knew for sure who it was, he didn’t want to be found. “Let’s try to circle the clearing and get on the other side,” he whispered to his sister. She didn’t respond but just kept following her brother.
Moving as quietly as possible and still listening intently, Nick and Mandy continued on around the clearing. A rustling in the underbrush up ahead caused them to stop suddenly – frozen in their tracks. Staring intently, trying to make out the shape of an animal, or person, they both slowly squatted down.
Then they heard another quiet rustling nearby. A dark shape moved away from the undergrowth just a few feet away from them heading in the direction of the meadow. Moments later, a deer stepped into a patch of moonlight on the edge of the small clearing and paused. Its ears twitched forward and back. It sniffed the air and stood motionless, waiting, and listening. Taking tentative steps, the deer carefully stepped into the clearing heading for the meadow beyond, still staying alert.
“Wow,” Nick whispered aloud, admiring the beautiful animal. “That’s where I think we should be headed too. It might lead us to a trail we can follow back to Aunt Clara’s.” He listened and looked around. There were no other noises. No more rustling bushes. No dogs barking. No sound at all. “I wonder if we should…,” but before he could complete the thought, they heard a gunshot that resounded and echoed eerily through the forest.
Gasping in fright, both Nick and Mandy ducked down completely terrified. “No!” he whispered anxiously.
“Nick? Did someone just shoot the deer?” Mandy asked with concern.
“I don’t know, Mandy,” he answered but feared the worst. Without saying so aloud, Nick's realized that if he and Mandy had been crossing the clearing they might have been shot at too.
Even though he didn’t know where the gunshot came from, or where it had been aimed, Nick seemed certain that the deer had been the target. Going through that area was definitely not an option any longer. Not knowing what to do now, they stayed down and continued to listen for more sounds, especially people sounds but they heard none.
Someone had to have pulled that trigger! And what about the barking dogs they heard earlier? Looking in the direction where they first saw the deer, Nick decided to crawl over to that spot and check it out.
“Wait here,” he told Mandy. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Still clutching his walking stick, he slowly made his way over the uneven ground, stopping every-so-often to listen and look around. He certainly didn’t want to be mistaken for a deer and get shot at!
Once at the spot, he examined the area the best he could not really sure what he was looking for other than the deer must have been eating the leaves of the underbrush, he decided.
“Over here!” a voice suddenly shouted a short distance away.
Frozen, Nick caught his breath and dared not move but looked in Mandy’s direction. He couldn’t see her but hoped she was down low in the shadows. His next concern was whether or not they had actually been discovered. Were they moments away from being captured?
“Where?” another voice responded. “Where are you?”
“Turn on your stupid flashlight, dummy!”
“I’m no dummy!”
“Then git over here!”
A light flicked on a few yards away. Nick kept his eye on the light as it bounced back and forth in the hand of one of the men. Eventually it stopped and Nick could see both men. One was carrying a shotgun. At least it looked like one he had learned to shoot at a target range with his Boy Scout troop. All that mattered was that it was a gun.
The two men wandered around, pointing the light in one direction, then another. Nick prayed that they would keep moving away from him and Mandy.
“What’d ya do with the dog?” one of the men asked.
“Oh, I tied him up next to that other doe we shot back yonder,” the other one replied.
“What’d ya do that fer, you dummy? You should’a brung him with ya!”
“Why? And what are ya looking for anyway? That second doe? She git away from ya?”
“Not lookin’ fe that.”
“What then?” the second man asked obviously confused.
“Don’t know fer sure,” the first man said. “Jest that I heard on the sheriff’s scanner earlier that some kids was lost in these woods somewhere. There might be a reward or sumthin.”
“You think they might be around here?” the second man asked.
“Maybe.”
“What makes you think so?”
“The dogs.”
“The dogs?”
“Yep. Remember when they was making such a racket earlier on?”
“Yeah, so?” the second man asked.
“Well, I suspects they was sensing something. Maybe them kids.”
“You want me to go git Butch, then?”
“Yup,” the first man replied.
Nick was fully alert now! Butch? He watched the light from the flashlight of the second man as he headed back in the direction he had come from. Nick had to think fast. If those men were going to let that dog loose, there was no way he and Mandy could outrun it. They’d be caught for sure. Now what? And how was he going to get back to Mandy? Nick was frantic!
The second man was now about halfway across the small clearing. Even if they did succeed in getting away from the first man, once that dog caught their scent, there was no escape!
Nick grabbed a
t a plant to help steady him as he stood up but some leaves tore off and immediately he caught a whiff of a light scent. A thought came to him. He quietly pulled several leaves off the plant and crushed them in his hands then rubbed them on his arms, clothes, face, and neck. He sure hoped they weren’t poisonous! He put some in his pants pocket then keeping an eye on the first man still in the clearing. Carefully he made his way back to Mandy finding her huddled on the ground sniffling. He could tell she was crying and gave her a big hug.
“It’s going to be okay, Mandy. Here, take these,” he said handing her the leaves and told her to do the same thing he did. She didn’t ask any questions but followed his instructions.
With a firm grip on his walking stick, Nick led his sister away as quietly as possible. The first man was still using his flashlight shining it on the ground then in bushes and back to the ground. Nick figured he was looking for tracks or anything that would indicate someone had been around. Fortunately, Nick had not been where he was looking and he hoped the man continued to look in all the wrong places!
A faint bark and then a whimper in the distance told Nick the second man had reached Butch and was on his way back. They didn’t have much time! Trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible, Nick and Mandy continued to move further away and prayed they wouldn’t make any noise that would give away their location.
The moon had crept across the sky casting its light from a different angle and although they could see where they were going a little better, it also meant someone else might be able to see them easier too.
Voices in the distance told them the two men were together again, which also meant Butch was with them. Nick moved more quickly with Mandy at his heels. With their eyesight now well-adjusted to the dark, and with a surge of adrenaline to keep them moving, they were more determined than ever to get away! They continued to move away from the clearing, still listening for the voices of two creepy men and their dog.
Suddenly, they heard the dog begin to bark. Then they could hear the men talking excitedly, but could not understand what they were saying. It didn’t matter. Nick and Mandy needed to keep moving as fast as they dared and find a way to escape. Hopefully, the aroma of the plant would disguise their scent enough to keep them from being discovered.
Still trying to make their way around the clearing, Mandy saw the beams of flashlights! “They’re coming!” she said anxiously.
“I know. Come on!” he whispered tensely, “We have to keep moving!”
At that moment, Nick stumbled over a very large object pulling Mandy down with him. Struggling to get up, they both realized they had just fallen over the body of the dead deer!
“Nick!” Mandy said almost too loud.
“Shhh!” he responded immediately realizing the wounded deer had somehow managed to get back into the trees before collapsing and dying. “Come on!” Grabbing her hand, they fled from the slain deer and continued to move away from the men and their dog.
“I thought I heard something!” a male voice shouted. “Let Butch go!”
“No!” Nick exclaimed under his breath. “We have to run, Mandy!”
Together they both took off running deeper into the woods. In the meantime, the two men and their barking dog hurried in pursuit.
Nick and Mandy stumbled occasionally grabbing for whatever they could to keep from falling down. Noticing a large tree not far ahead in the glow of the moonlight, Nick headed for it. Once there, he looked for another tree to aim for hoping they were going in a straight direction. The last thing they needed was to end up running in a circle and back into those men and their stupid dog!
They still heard the dog barking but it didn’t seem to be getting any closer. As for the men, they couldn’t hear any voices but weren’t going to stick around to find out why! Reaching their second target tree, Nick looked for another large one. Moments later, both kids stopped short at the top of an embankment. Catching their balance, they realized they were looking down at a narrow dirt road.
“A road!” they both whispered excitedly.
“Which way, Nick?” Mandy asked anxiously.
He looked right and left then decided to go to the right. “This way!” he said with confidence.
Within moments, they were running along the narrow road staying in the shadows as much as possible. Even though they knew someone would be able to hear their running footsteps, they kept running anyway. Eventually both had to stop, struggling to catch their breath. Gasping for air, Nick listened for voices and barking dogs. What he did hear, though, and didn’t expect, was the sound of an engine coming from behind.
Tugging on Mandy’s shirt, they scrambled back up the embankment and hid in the trees out of sight of the road. Within moments, a beat up pickup truck slowly drove by without headlights. Both occupants were shining their flashlights out the cab windows. Nick and Mandy ducked down low as the truck rolled by. Nick saw Butch in the back alongside the dead dear sniffing the air. They just hoped he smelled more dead deer than lost little kids!
Both watched as the truck rounded a bend in the road and out of sight before scooting back down the embankment to the road. Nick decided they should continue jogging along in the shadows and try to keep the truck within sight, hoping it would somehow lead them back toward Aunt Clara’s cabin.
As they rounded a bend in the road, the truck had disappeared from view but they could still hear it. Rounding one more short bend in the road they saw the truck had stopped with both men shining their flashlights into the trees and underbrush.
How odd, Nick thought to himself. If they really were looking for “lost kids” how did they expect to find anyone by just waving flashlights around. You’d think they’d want to be as visible as possible and maybe honk their horn so the lost person could find them! He didn’t feel good about these two men at all. And why didn’t they have both dogs with them? What were they really up to?