“God, they’re setting fire to the damn cabin, Reno!” Clay yelled as he picked Tess up under one arm and Emory under the other.
Reno tried to remain calm. “Grab the bags, Saul. We’ve got to get out of here now.”
“All right.” He picked up some things and motioned for Huck to get the rest. “My journal. I can’t leave my journal.”
“Hurry!” Reno urged them, taking some of Huck’s load with one hand and his rifle with the other. “Clay, we’ve got to get these kids to a safe place.”
Journey
Still shaking, Journey returned to her car and began the trip home. Heading back the way she came, she traveled about a mile when a horrible thought occured to her. What if she saw them again? “Highly unlikely.” After plowing into that guy and facing possible arrest, she was sure they were long gone. Regardless, she couldn’t help but glance into the rearview mirror every second or two.
Once she was out of town and heading north on 965, Journey finally felt like she could breathe. This road was far less traveled. Especially at night. When the state park closed down, there was no reason for anyone to come this way unless they lived out here. And since the residences were few and far between, traffic was always light.
Journey held on to this thought as the wheels turned. As one mile followed another, she gradually relaxed. This feeling lingered until she looked into the rearview mirror and saw headlights. Her heart jumped in her throat. “Stop it, Sojourner. Could be anybody.” No matter – she kept a close watch on the pinpricks of light in the distance.
About five miles from the ranch, she noticed the vehicle following her was much closer. To her absolute horror, she could see the same hulking black truck coming up fast behind her. “Oh, no. No. Please, no.” Horrible thoughts began to bombard her mind. What was she going to do? If she went home, they’d follow her. If she kept going, they might try to run her off the road. What they’d do to her next – she didn’t want to think about.
Frantic, she tried to come up with a solution. Like a gift from heaven an idea came. She’d go to the nearest neighbor’s house, Mr. Blue, the friend of Myra’s who took care of the horses. As neighbors go, his house wasn’t very close – but at the moment, that mattered not one whit. She just hoped they were home. “Where is their road? Come on, Journey, get a grip!”
Leaning forward, she searched for the reflectors that would announce the turn-off. Behind her, the truck loomed like a menacing dragon. The idiots would rev the engine, come right up on her bumper, then back off a bit. She could just imagine them laughing, knowing they were torturing her. Suddenly, up ahead there was a twinkle. A reflector. Boldly, she put on her blinker, hoping the idea that she might have family at home would cause the men in the black truck to think twice.
Scared to death, she made the turn too quickly – one wheel going off the culvert. The only thing that saved her from wrecking was how shallow the ditch was – she just gunned the engine and the car jumped on ahead. Gravel flew as she sped down the drive. To her immense relief, there were two other vehicles parked in front of the brick house. Wanting only to get inside, she threw open the car door, slammed it, and made a mad dash to the covered carport. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the black truck had stopped also – it was just sitting there, engine still running – waiting.
With a clasped fist, she banged on the door. From the angle she was standing, the lights of the truck didn’t touch her. At this point, they couldn’t see her very well, if at all. When no one readily answered, she banged again. Journey bit her lip to keep from screaming. She didn’t want to alert the imbeciles stalking her that she was still alone and vulnerable. After one more round of knocking, she had to admit there was no one home. With the truck still parked at the end of the drive, Journey was effectively trapped. When she heard the engine cut off and a door open and shut, she knew she couldn’t wait around until they caught up with her.
Staying in the shadows, Journey dashed off the carport and into the yard. She moved slowly, allowing her eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness. A full pink moon gave off sufficient light for her to see the way. As she moved, trying to put distance between herself and the men who meant her harm, Journey tried to envision where she was in relation to Myra’s house. Hopefully, the men assumed she’d gone indoors. The last thing she needed was for them to start tracking her like an animal.
Biting her lips to keep from crying aloud, she darted across Mr. Blue’s property. As she rans, she passed an arbor with a swing, a small patch of vegetables, and an unoccupied doghouse. Soon she came to a barbed wire fence. Holding down the bottom strand, she crawled through it. She’d taken no more than three steps when she heard one of the men shout. God, no – they were coming after her. Journey choked back a scream and kept running. As far as she could tell, she was now on state park land. She’d have to cut across a wide swath of rugged terrain near Enchanted Rock to reach her aunt’s property.
CHAPTER FIVE
Reno
Reno was glad of the darkness. He kept the older two boys as close to his side as he could as
