Chapter Two
Gwen had explored these very woods with Ginny and Gabe all throughout their childhoods, but as the two of them began their search, it felt like she was stepping into a foreign world. She recognized the general area, but she felt lost as to where to begin looking. One glance at Gabe told her he was feeling the same way, but he was trying to power through his uncertainty and take charge, something Gwen was unlikely to do.
“What are we even looking for?” Gabe asked.
They had been alternating between shouting for Ginny and looking for clues while waiting for her to answer them. So far they hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary, but Gwen wasn’t sure herself what they were supposed to be looking for. They had a description from the police officer of what Ginny had been wearing the last time anyone saw her, but Gwen doubted they were going to find her clothes anywhere in the woods. If they did…the thought of what that would mean was too terrible to even think about.
Gwen kept her eyes peeled though for any signs of a disturbance or accident. It was possible that Ginny had gone for a walk and hurt herself somehow. She could have been waiting somewhere in the woods, too hurt to move, waiting for someone to come and find her. Gwen didn’t want Ginny to be in any pain, but she had to admit that was probably the best scenario. Anything else would be even more terrifying for everyone involved.
“So, what do you think happened between Dad and Uncle Geoffrey?” Gabe asked quietly, his eyes scanning the woods for any sign of Ginny. “It’s pretty obvious there’s something still going on between them, and I’ll bet it was pretty bad to have lasted for so many years.”
“I know,” Gwen said. “You could cut the tension with a knife. And both Mom and Dad have been acting strange all morning, even considering the circumstances. I thought Mom was gonna snap and blow up at Dad more than once today, but she kept quiet and didn’t say anything. I wonder if she knows what went on between them or if she’s as in the dark about it as we are.”
“I’m sure she knows,” Gabe said, looking over at her. “They’re married. I doubt they keep secrets from each other. He would have had to tell her something over the years. No way anyone could keep drama like that bottled up for so long without spilling it.”
“I don’t know,” Gwen said doubtfully. “I really don’t think Mom knows as much as you think she does. I think she just knows whatever happened was bad and she knows better than to push Dad’s buttons today.”
Gabe paused to shout Ginny’s name again, and the two of them waited with abated breath for her to answer. When nobody answered them, Gwen tried not to let it get her down. After all, they’d only been searching for about an hour and they still had plenty of daylight left to keep up the search. Hopefully the others were having more luck than they were, though. She wondered how far the search party was spread out and how many people were involved. When they had pulled up, there hadn’t been too many people around, but she assumed there were plenty of volunteers already out looking. The news report had mentioned a number, but she couldn’t recall what it was, only that it was a decent sized number.
The two of them headed further into the woods, but they didn’t get far before Gwen tripped and ended up on her hands and knees. Gabe hurried to her side, trying not to chuckle at her clumsiness. “You okay?” he asked, offering his hand to help her up.
She swatted it away. “You’re an ass,” she said, her voice lightening. “Don’t laugh at me.” She was almost smiling as she got to her feet and dusted off her jeans. “What did I even trip over?”
She looked down at the ground, expecting to find some kind of old stump or even a rock. Instead, she found herself staring down at a wedge, one that she recognized. Ginny had bought it for Spring Break during their last visit. The strap was broken, and there was blood on the shoe and the leaves around it. Gwen took a step closer, but Gabe gripped her arm, refusing to let her move another inch. “We can’t touch it,” he said. “It’s a crime scene. We have to get the police out here so they can do their thing. Maybe they’ll find some clue as to where she is now.”
“How are we going to get the police out here?” Gwen asked. “We’ll never find our way back to this spot once we’re gone.” She looked over at him. “You should run back to the house and alert the police while I stay here, that way I can guide you back to this exact spot.”
He shook his head. “No way in hell. We’re supposed to stay together, remember? I’m not comfortable leaving you alone in the woods, especially now that we know for sure something bad happened to Ginny.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to argue with you,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “We don’t have time to go back and forth on this. There’s no telling what happened to Ginny, and the sooner the police are out here, the sooner we can find her. I’m not going to move from this spot, I promise. I’m going to wait right here while you hurry there and back. Please, Gabe. Just go,” she pleaded, her eyes wide.
He sighed, running his hand through his shaggy hair. “Don’t make me regret this,” he warned, his voice stern and full of worry. “Do not move.”
He turned and took off through the trees, leaving Gwen alone in the woods. She looked down at the wedge at her feet and felt her heart twist in her chest. Her eyes saw nothing but the bloody shoe, and her mind raced with all of the possibilities. And none of them were exactly pleasant. Thoughts of kidnappings crossed her mind and refused to leave. Each scenario she played out in her head was worse than the last, and she felt her stomach start to roll. Before, she had tried her hardest not to think about anything bad happening to Ginny, but with this evidence right in front of her, she had to admit that something horrible probably had happened to her.
Please, let Ginny be okay. I can’t lose her.
Gwen waited impatiently for Gabe to return with the police, trying to calm her racing mind. She chewed on her thumbnail while she waited, pacing back and forth a stone’s throw from the wedge, making sure not to disturb the crime scene. She flinched at the thought of whatever crime had taken place. Frustrated tears threatened to spill, but she bit her lip to keep them at bay, trying to be strong.
She found a flat patch of ground and sat down, folding her legs beneath her. Her gaze was drawn back to where she knew the wedge was, and she closed her eyes, trying to shut the image out. She could imagine Ginny’s fear and distress, and even her pain. What if the blood isn’t hers? Before the hope could even build, it came crashing down. Who else could it belong to? Ginny’s shoe is in the middle of nowhere covered in blood. It’s gotta be hers…
Gwen’s eyes snapped open as she heard the rustle of leaves nearby. She got to her feet, knowing it was too soon for Gabe to be returning with help. She scanned the area, looking for any sign that she wasn’t alone, but came up empty handed. She almost dismissed it as her frazzled nerves playing tricks on her, but the sound came again, this time from much closer. Someone or something was making its way towards her, disturbing fallen leaves as it went.
Gwen felt her heart slam up into her throat, beating a hundred miles an hour and gaining speed. Her mouth went paper dry as she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “Hello? Gabe?” She knew it wasn’t her brother, but she had to be sure. When she didn’t get an answer, she knew that whoever it was didn’t want to reveal themselves. Is it the same person that took Ginny? Did they come back looking for evidence they left behind and find me all alone instead?
She heard a branch snap and screamed, whirling to see where the noise had come from. She came face to face with a wolf, and her eyes widened. Her mother had told her stories of wolves all her life, and because of it, she had developed an intense fear of them. She had never seen one up close except for at the zoo, and even though there had been a cage between them, she couldn’t stop shivering. And right now, there was no cage to keep her safe. Just her and a wild animal.
This is what happened to Ginny. She got eaten by a wolf, and I’m next!
The wolf didn’t move from its p
lace near the wedge, but it was close enough to strike if it wanted to. It stared at Gwen with dark blue eyes that were so unnerving it sent shivers down her spine, but she fought to keep herself under control, knowing that if she showed any signs of weakness the wolf would probably attack. She stayed rooted to the spot, forcing herself to keep eye contact with the animal, but her nerves were shot and she was too scared to even think, let alone act.
The wolf wasn’t particularly large, but its fangs were still sharp, and Gwen had no doubts it would be able to run her down and eat her if it wanted. Its gray fur was matted and dirty with mud and what looked like blood, but Gwen couldn’t be sure. The thought that it might have been hurt only made Gwen more scared for her life. Everyone knew that injured animals were more likely to attack, especially if they felt threatened. If Gwen was in its territory and it was wounded…
“Gwen?”
Gabe. She tried to shout his name, but her throat constricted, and all that came out was a tiny squeak. The wolf took a step forward, ears pricking up at the sound. Its eyes looked so sad and lonely that Gwen nearly went to it, despite her intense fear and her desire to be anywhere else. She quickly shook off those troubling thoughts, nearly slapping herself for being so stupid. Wild animals weren’t sad or lonely; they were killing machines. Unpredictable and untamable.
“Gwen, where are you?”
Before she could try to answer, a second wolf darted out of the nearby trees, slamming into the smaller gray one. Gwen screamed as the bigger brown wolf dragged the smaller one away, digging its fangs into the skin of the gray wolf’s back. The gray wolf yelped in pain, but was unable to fight off the larger wolf.
“Gwen! Where are you?”
“Here!” she shouted, finding her voice at last. As the wolves disappeared into the woods, growling and yelping as they went, Gabe burst into sight. She ran to him on unsteady legs, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her face in his shoulder, sobbing. With him were two officers, as well as Geoffrey and Sandra.
One of the officers went straight to the wedge, and the other stayed close, hanging back a bit as he watched Gwen and Gabe. When she had calmed down, Gabe pushed her away. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and told him about the wolves. As she spoke, she noticed Geoffrey tense up, and he quickly left the other officer’s side and came over. “Gwen, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” When she shook her head, he sighed. “That’s good. The wolves in this area are a little notorious for being overly aggressive. I can only imagine what might have happened if we hadn’t been close.”
Gabe kept his hand on her back, soothing her. She wanted to go home and crawl into bed and shut everything out, but she wanted Ginny to be there with her. She forced herself to turn and look at her uncle, her voice cracking as she spoke. “It’s Ginny’s shoe, isn’t it?”
Geoffrey’s face fell, and he nodded. “Yes. She was probably walking home along the road when whatever happened took place. At least now the police have a real place to start. They have dogs on the way, but they won’t be here until early tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can pick up on a scent. For now, they’re telling me we have to return home and call it a night. Especially now that there’s been a wolf sighting.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t feel right, going home when we know something happened.”
“They’ll find her, Uncle Geoffrey,” Gabe said. “We know the last place she was, and the dogs will pick up on her scent. It can’t be that old. You’ll see.”
Geoffrey sighed. “I hope you’re right. Come on, we should get you back to the house. You need something to help you calm down.”
He motioned for them to head back to the road, and Gabe helped Gwen while she steadied her legs. While they walked, Gwen’s mind was racing once again, but not about the wolves she’d seen. For now, those had been pushed to the back of her mind, where she would deal with their appearance later. Right now, she was focused on the look on Geoffrey’s face.
He doesn’t think the dogs will find her, she realized. He has no hope this will help. How can he be so doubtful when we just found a huge clue and upped our chances of finding her? Why doesn’t he believe?