Kat knew that recriminations and regrets weren’t going to bring Emma home. An hour passed, and the flurries turned to bigger flakes, dusting their shoulders and hair and the ground around them. She shivered, wishing she’d brought her coat. She’d been so preoccupied she hadn’t paid any attention to the weather report.
“When’s the last time we had snow around Halloween?”
“Not any time I can remember. It never snows until late December, if even that early.” He looked up at the sky. “I’d take this as a bad omen, if I were that kind of a person.”
It had started snowing in earnest, collecting on the forest floor. Although there were tons of autumn leaves, there were also spots where the snow made footprints easily visible.
“You should take it as a good omen..” She pointed to tiny footprints made by a squirrel. “See? This is good, at least for now.”
She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Emma! Emma, can you hear me? Where are you? Emma!”
They trudged through the woods, and soon with the clouds overhead hiding the sun, they had to turn on the flashlights provided to them by the police. The beams flashed off of tree trunks and branches, catching on the spots of bright autumnal color still hanging on to some of the branches. It was a strange mix of autumn and winter, with the snow covering the red and orange leaves like this. Kat rather hoped this would be the only snow they got this season, but knowing Missouri weather, they’d have ninety-degree days next week just because.
As the sun began to set, Kat could tell that Gavin was getting more anxious. She couldn’t blame him. The snow fell harder, and the temperature continued to drop. They yelled Emma's name over and over again, but all they heard in reply was the echo of other people yelling her name as well.
They were also getting closer to the river, which made Kat’s heart stop as she imagined that Emma had gotten caught in the current. Although the river hadn’t been high as of late, it still had nasty currents that could carry you downstream faster than you’d expect. Would Emma have gotten close enough to fall into the water?
When they were close enough to hear the rush of the river, Gavin stopped to drink some water, and he offered Kat the bottle as well. His face was grim, like he was expecting the worst at this point. She had nothing to say now, no words of encouragement. Only prayers, and a spark of hope, that everything would turn out all right.
“Before we keep going, I want to tell you something,” he said into the dark night, snowflakes melting on his face. “I didn’t just mess up with Emma—I messed everything up with you. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I was an idiot. I hope you can forgive me.”
She waited for the three little words she wanted to hear the most, but they never came. This isn’t the time, she told herself. Despite her disappointment, she also wanted to throw her arms around Gavin. Another part of her wondered if he was just reacting to the emotion of the moment with his sudden apology. Would he have said anything if this hadn’t happened?
Kat pushed the negative thoughts away. They weren’t going to help them find Emma.
He stepped toward her. “Say something, please.”
“We need to find Emma.” It was the only thing she could think to say.
His expression shuttered. He nodded tightly and then kept walking.
Please, please, let us find Emma. I’ll never ask for anything ever again. Just find her and let me know that she’s safe and sound.
As they drew closer and closer to the river, Kat saw a flash of light off to her right. She stilled. Was that a flashlight from one of the search parties? When she saw it flashing multiple times, she had a feeling it wasn’t just one of the officers looking for Emma.
She ran toward the illumination, her heart in her throat. Maybe Emma had somehow found a way to signal them, or maybe someone else was signaling to let them know Emma was near. She heard Gavin call after her, but she was too intent on following the light to heed him.
Kat ran and ran, following the light. She sprinted so quickly that she soon could barely hear Gavin calling her own name. She called Emma’s name, and then she heard a shout. She ran faster and burst into a clearing some yards from the river.
As she shined her light out into the clearing, her breath caught in her throat when she saw Emma next to a man. As she focused on his figure, she realized it was Silas. He had his arm around Emma. Relief spread through her, but when she saw the fear on Emma’s face, she realized that he wasn’t there to help the girl.
He hadn’t gone to help search for Emma: he’d left to find her.
“Silas, let her go,” Kat said, her voice barely a whisper. “Let her go--please. You don’t want to do this. Can’t we talk this out?”
Silas didn’t say anything, but instead pulled Emma closer to his side. She whimpered. When Kat approached, Silas smiled, and it sent a shiver down her spine.
“Hi, Kat. I was hoping you’d show up here.” His once kind eyes flicked over her, and she couldn’t help but feel dirty from his gaze. “And look, I was right. I knew you’d do anything for that son of a bitch and his kid.”
She kept her flashlight trained on Silas’s face. “Why are you doing this?”
“You can’t really think why?” When Emma started to struggle against him, he swore something at her and clamped his arm tighter around her shoulders. Kat was about to run toward them, but he snarled, “Stay where you are.”
Her brain couldn’t come to grips with what she was seeing. Silas was her friend; he was a
