“Thanks for those cheery words Barnes,” Mercy replied. “But yeah I agree with you, and when we reach Mission Home, maybe I should go in first… alone?”
Flynn stiffened, “No way Mercy. Me and you can go in together, Barnes and Tawny can hang back and watch us.”
Barnes sighed, “No children, none of that’s going to happen. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll stake the place out before any of you go in. I’ve got the scope and the training. We’ll go in when I say so, end of—”
Mercy nodded and pointed at Barnes, “Yeah OK, what he said—”
An hour later they were on the outskirts of Mission Home.
Mercy checked her watch; 6:27 pm. She turned to Barnes, “So all I’ve got Barnes is: Annalise Young, Mission Home Road, Free Union, VA 22940. Will you be able to find the house?”
“Don’t sweat it, look at this place, it’s sparsely populated. There’s just a handful of properties here. I’ll work through them, softly softly, one at a time. I’ll be back in a couple of hours tops, wish me luck—” Barnes turned to go.
Mercy took a step after him, “Hey, wait up big guy.”
Barnes turned to face her. Mercy threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. “OK, now you can go, be safe.”
Barnes stood nonplussed for a second then looked at Tawny and Flynn.
Tawny pulled a face, “Not a chance buddy… you still stink to high heaven.”
Flynn shook his head and raised his eyes, “I’m afraid she’s right dude, you really are rank.”
Barnes shook his head then walked away. They watched him disappear around a bend in the road.
“Feels kind of lonely all of a sudden,” Tawny said.
“Yeah, it’s like your mom or dad just walked out on you,” Flynn replied. He blanched and closed his eyes, “Shit, sorry Mercy, I didn’t mean—”
Mercy raised her hand, “It’s OK, that shit’s ancient history… besides your old man walked out on you, so you know what you’re talking about.”
Flynn nodded but still looked unhappy.
“Hey, over there, a stream. We can get a wash and a drink and shoot the breeze, wait for our guy to come back.”
“Yeah, time for some R&R, I’ll take first watch,” Mercy said.
Two hours later Barnes appeared on the road.
“Hey, it’s our hero,” Tawny said.
Mercy peered at Barnes, frowning.
He’s alone—
They walked towards him.
He’s tired, we’re all tired—
Barnes stopped in the middle of the road and waited for them to reach him.
Mercy spoke up, “So, what did you find Barnes?”
Barnes reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He gave it to Mercy. She opened it and stared at the crumpled page.
38°15'14.6"N 78°39'55.7"W—
Mercy pulled a face, “They’re co-ordinates, where’d you get this from?”
Barnes scratched his beard, “Last house I checked. I found the mail box. It was marked YOUNG… and that was inside. I searched the house. It checks out. I found names on documents, old mail, it’s the right place. That’s your girl’s home alright. Annalise Young. Looks like she’s a regular survivalist, an outdoors gal. There’s hunting, shooting, fishing pictures of her with her dad from back in the day—”
Tawny tapped the paper in Mercy’s hand, “So we’ve got co-ordinates. She’ll have left that for her father to find. So that’s good, right? We can find her? We can use the GPS tracker—”
“No need, I found a bunch of maps inside the house. I’ve worked out where she is,” Barnes said with a tired smile.
“Go on, don’t keep us in suspense,” Mercy said, her voice tense.
Barnes pointed at the tree covered high ground to the west. “She’s up there in the mountains, it’s a campground beside the Appalachian Trail. It’s about three klicks from here over some rough ground—”
Mercy looked at the sky, “OK, that’s a better result than I had hoped for. I suggest we rest up in the house overnight and head out at first light. We’re in no fit state to take on that hike just now. Besides, if I was her and saw a bunch of strangers approaching her camp in the dark… I’d shoot first and ask questions later—”
“Yeah, there is that—” Tawny said.
“Oh, and I saved the best bit till last,” Barnes added. “There’s food and the house is hooked up to some propane cylinders. They’re not empty so—”
“Oh my god,” Tawny said, “are you saying we—?”
“Can have showers?” Flynn finished off for her.
“That’s affirmative,” Barnes said, spitting on the ground as if to seal the deal.
Chapter 23
Campground
“I feel as if I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Tawny said, she emerged from the shower towelling her hair. “There’s even shampoo—”
“Barnes will need to spend an hour in there. Hey Barnes, you go next, you’re in more need of it than me,” Flynn said.
They had drawn straws to see who would shower first. Mercy had won and wasted no time. After her shower she wandered around the house taking in its atmosphere, she looked at the framed pictures of Annalise Young and her father.
I don’t see any pictures of her mother. Another life… another story. Another time—
Mercy joined Tawny in the kitchen. Barnes had left the map from the lumber yard out on the kitchen table. Tawny was studying it by candlelight. Flynn was on the porch outside, keeping watch.
“So, what route do you think we should take tomorrow?” Mercy said, looking over Tawny’s shoulder.
Tawny pointed at the map, “There’s two options, the fast, ankle-breaker direct route that looks good on paper or the slower, safer route by road—”
“Yeah, well, I think we’ll avoid the ankle-breaker route, so what’s the road route like?” Mercy asked.
Tawny traced her finger across the map, “Mission Home north to State Route 601, then turn left here onto Simmons Gap Road then continue on to…. Simmons Gap Fire Road here… which takes us up to Simmons Gap and Skyline Drive. Then it’s three miles southwest to the campground along Skyline Drive.
