Cal had been pacing back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck and impatiently watching the disc of the setting sun.
Hailey had spotted a small stone about the size of a hardball a few feet away from her. She exaggerated her discomfort at being bound and kept shifting her posture seeming to try to find a more comfortable position.
Cal glanced back once or twice, grinning wolfishly at her, taking delight in her helpless squirming.
She finally angled herself so she could lean back and grasp the stone with her right hand.
Now what?
She strained against the leather belt holding her wrists and managed to create some slack, perhaps enough to move her fingers about three inches.
There was a small grassy hillock beside her and by wiggling her body she succeeded in poising the rock at the top of it. Now, if only she could pull her loose-fitting coat to the side she might be able to grasp hold of the corner of the outer pocket.
It took several tries, but finally she caught the corner of the pocket with her thumb. She scooted her bum across the grass and grabbed the rock with her fingers.
In order for her to squeeze the rock into her pocket, she’d have to grasp it and rotate her hand like a contortionist, praying the mouth of the pocket was loose enough to allow the rock to drop in.
Cal was staring at the western ridge. She’d have probably only one chance to succeed.
She grasped the rock with the tips of three fingers and rotated her hand, bringing the rock closer to the opening.
Her hand was beginning to cramp and her fingers were trembling with the strain.
She was still an inch or two away from the pocket mouth and knew she’d have to fully rotate her hand, pushing her thumb as far as it could go to make up for those other two inches.
She took a deep breath and twisted her hand with all her might. She felt the pocket stretch and sensed the rock was just above the mouth. She pushed down hard with her fingers forcing the rock against the narrow pocket slit. It just managed to slide in.
Almost immediately, Cal saw the sun touch the tips of the western pines and he wheeled around and strode back toward her.
He hauled her to her feet, turned her around and pushed ahead of him into the brush.
She stumbled and almost fell, but he grabbed her by the hair and righted her.
She gave a cry of pain and he guffawed. “All the more reason for you to watch your step, Whore—you don’t want to hurt yourself and die.”
He pushed her roughly forward again.
Meanwhile, Star had been painstakingly sorting through various scent trails, until he finally locked on one. He gave a little yip and scampered straight ahead through the bush.
Brad followed a short space behind. This time there was no hesitation on Star’s part—he kept his nose close to the ground relentlessly following a strong scent.
As they moved through the brush, Brad noted the broken tips of branches and the dark sodden trail of footsteps that marked the passage of the previous hikers.
From the narrow track and the slightly depressed grass, he concluded that there were only two people. Fortunately, he saw no further signs of struggle as they went.
He strained to hear a sound, any kind of noise ahead, but the woods were strangely silent—deadly silent, he mused.
Parts 1 -47
Part 48
Part 49
Part 50
Part 51
Part 52
Part 53
To be continued...