Finley smiled down at the darkly stained tail she’d used to wrap her hand. ‘Gives my shirt character, don’t you think?’
‘A red badge of courage,’ Abilene said.
‘A red badge of lunacy,’ Finley corrected.
Following Vivian to the other side, Abilene said, ‘If this was a war, we could all get Purple Hearts.’
‘Not sure they give ’em for self-inflicted wounds,’ Cora said. They climbed out. Abilene slipped into her moccasins.
‘I guess our little communion does make us blood sisters, though,’ Cora added.
‘Whoopee,’ Finley said.
‘It wasn’t actually so bad,’ Vivian said. ‘I mean, it was only our blood. I thought about that. I figured it wasn’t any worse than if it’d just been my own.’
‘I thought about that, too,’ Cora admitted.
‘Yeah,’ Finley said. ‘Could’ve been worse.’
Vivian nodded. ‘If Batty’s blood had been in there, I know I couldn’t have drunk it. Not a chance.’
‘In a way it’s kind of neat,’ Abilene said.
‘Oh yeah,’ Finley said.
‘I mean, we all have each other’s blood inside us right now. We’re digesting it. It’ll become part of us.’
‘You’re weird as hell, Hickok.’
Cora started to walk away but Vivian asked her to wait. With Abilene holding her steady, Vivian balanced on one leg and struggled to get the wet sock onto her foot. The bottom of her foot looked ruddy, but there were no cuts or scrapes that Abilene could see. At least the sock would now give it a little protection.
‘If you have any trouble you can borrow my moccasins for a while.’
‘It’s not bad.’
‘All set?’ Cora asked.
‘Yep.’
They followed Cora across the rocks, over the top of a fallen log, then along the shoreline to the place where they’d first come upon the inlet that morning. From there, they journeyed through the woods, keeping the lake in sight.
Abilene was surprised at how quickly they came upon the path to the lodge. She supposed that she shouldn’t be surprised; return trips, she had noticed even as a child, always seemed faster than the trips going out.
With a glance to her left, she saw the old dock and the strangely tilted diving platform beyond its end.
‘Anybody wanta go down to the beach and take a snack break?’ Finley asked, waving the bag of chips.
‘Let’s just get on to the lodge,’ Vivian said.
‘You mean I traipsed all over creation with this for nothing?’
‘Eat some yourself,’ Abilene suggested.
Finley didn’t bother, but she did open the water bottle. They all took drinks from it before resuming their trek.
Soon, they stepped out of the woods at the far end of the lodge’s grounds. Abilene felt her heart quicken as she started across the field. She squinted through the bright sunlight, scanning the back of the lodge, half expecting to spot Helen. Maybe by the outer pool. Maybe watching from one of the high balconies. But she saw no one.
Though the field seemed fairly level all the way to the rear of the lodge, Abilene realized that it had a slight upward grade. She was too low, for a while, to see the granite walkway or pool.
But as she neared them, the ground rose.
Helen’s shoes were still there, the open bag of chips propped up between them like before.
Abilene felt her excitement wither.
‘She hasn’t been back for her shoes,’ Cora pointed out.
Nobody else said anything.
They trudged the final distance. The sun was high enough, now, for the balcony of the lower porch to cast a shadow across half the width of the walkway and pool. They stepped into the shade and leaned back against the wall of the lodge.
The granite wall felt wonderfully cool through Abilene’s blouse. Huffing for air, she lifted the front of her blouse and wiped her face.
Nobody spoke.
Cora alone didn’t appear to be winded. But she, like the others, was flushed and dripping.
Vivian bent over and clutched her knees.
After a while, Finley sat down.
Whether or not they believed in Batty’s power, Abilene guessed that they had all approached the lodge with hopes of being met by Helen. Now, they felt only let down and exhausted.
‘This isn’t accomplishing anything,’ Cora finally said. ‘We’d better look for her.’
‘Let’s go back to the car first,’ Vivian suggested. ‘I want to get some shoes on.’
‘And we can take care of our cuts,’ Abilene reminded them.
Nobody made a move to leave.
Maybe we’re scared, Abilene thought. Afraid to start searching. As long as we haven’t searched, there’s still a chance of finding her. But if we look everywhere and don’t turn her up…
‘Why don’t we just rest for a while?’ Finley said. ‘I’m really bushed.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Finally, they left the shade and climbed the driveway to the car. Vivian crawled inside. With instructions from Cora she was able to locate the first-aid kit. She handed it out, then retrieved a pair of socks and blue Nikes from her own luggage.
‘Our stuff’s still wet,’ she informed the others. ‘Why don’t we set everything out in the sunlight?’
The suggestion seemed to Abilene like a delaying tactic. And she was all for it.
Vivian got into her socks and shoes while the others took turns applying antiseptic and bandages to the wounds on their hands. After Vivian had patched her cut, they unloaded all the garments, shoes and towels, and the flashlights that had been thrown into the pool last night. Finley tested the flashlights.
‘Dead,’ she announced, and tossed them back inside the car.
They carried the other things to the top of the driveway, spread them around on the pavement, and weighted them down with shoes.
When the clothing and towels were secure, Finley suggested they get the rest of their things from the campsite.
Once we’ve done that, Abilene thought, we won’t have any excuses left. We’ll have to search the lodge.
But maybe Helen will be waiting at the campsite.
Sure.
She couldn’t even begin to believe it.
As they walked through the overgrown lawn toward the edge of the forest, Abilene realized that nobody had called out for Helen.
