Then I heard a roar and a rumble farther up the forest slopes.
Shit.
I instinctively headed down the mountain. I didn’t want to cross paths with them if I didn’t have to.
I continued like that for another 30 minutes… and then I heard Weaver’s voice shouting through the forest. He was pretty far behind me, but his voice carried in the cold air.
“Jack! Found your tracks, bud!”
Good. I much preferred Weaver coming after me instead of the women. Not only would it keep them safer, but it would be a huge tactical advantage for what I had planned.
So I decided to exploit it.
“This isn’t going to end well for you, Weaver!” I shouted back.
The idiot took the bait.
He kept talking to me… which meant he was still following me.
“I think it will. And actually, it could end good for you, too, bud. I been thinkin’ it over, and I ain’t mad anymore… shit, I’d’ve probably done what you did. Took balls and brains. So I’m gonna make you an offer.”
“What’s that?” I yelled back as I kept pushing myself right up to the threshold of perspiration.
“You take me to those bitches, and I’ll let you have half,” he called back.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“You’re a greedy bastard, Jack, you know that? Wantin’ all that fine pussy for yourself – ”
“I want them to be free, you piece of shit,” I yelled back.
“You think you’re better’n me, huh? You try living out here, all alone, with nothin’ around but a buncha fuckin’ Bigfoots. You try surviving for a year in fuckin’ Antarctica.”
“There aren’t any trees in Antarctica, you idiot!” I yelled.
“FUCK YOU, JACK!” Weaver screamed. “I’M GONNA FUCKIN’ TIE YOU TO A TREE AND MAKE YOU WATCH WHILE I FUCK ALL THOSE BITCHES, THEN I’M GONNA MAKE THEM WATCH WHILE I TORTURE YOU TO DEATH AND HAVE MY BOYS EAT WHAT’S LEFT OF YOU!”
Pleasant guy, Weaver.
“YOU HEAR ME, JACK? YOU HEAR ME, YOU SONUVABITCH?”
I didn’t answer him.
That whole ‘when you peer into the asshole abyss, the asshole abyss peers also into you’ thing.
I didn’t need to spend any more time than necessary conversing with an human sewage pipe like Weaver.
Plus, I was sufficiently convinced he was angry enough that he would follow me, no matter what.
I just prayed that my plan worked.
Otherwise it was going to be an unpleasant ending for all of us.
32
I kept on moving through the forest, going as fast as I could. I stopped every so often to catch my breath, eat a bit of jerky, and take in some water by melting snow in my mouth. Some survivalists will tell you it’s a bad idea to eat snow if you’re out in the wild, because the cold can damage the tissues in your mouth and lower your body temperature – but I was burning up so much energy that I needed something to cool me down. It helped keep me below the threshold of sweating.
As the afternoon became evening and the sun slid behind the mountains, I could tell I was slowing down. What I really needed to do was rest and get some sleep – but I couldn’t. Not with certain death on my tail.
So I kept going.
Night fell, and the entire forest went almost pitch black. There was a tiny bit of moonlight sifting down through the treetops.
Fortunately, I had an ace up my sleeve for this one.
I had resisted using my headlamp for the last several weeks, for exactly an occasion such as this.
Well, to be honest, I hadn’t thought that I would be running from a sadist and his army of abominable snowmen – but I had wanted to save up the battery in case I came to a do-or-die situation. And I couldn’t think of a more do-or-die situation than this.
I turned on the light and attached it to my helmet. The bright light illuminated my path, making it easy as pie to see my way.
Unfortunately, it also make me easier to see at a distance.
“I CAN SEE YOU, MOTHERFUCKER!” Weaver screamed through the trees.
I was sure he wasn’t that close – but when everything around you is dark, and suddenly you catch a glimpse of a light through the trees, you can track it. At least, you can follow in its general direction until you catch another glimpse.
Which worried me, because that meant they were close enough to be worrisome. I didn’t think the light would be visible beyond a quarter mile, so they were closer than I’d anticipated. Either the skiris were faster than I thought… or I was slowing down with fatigue.
Didn’t matter. I had to keep on going.
I moved all night, pushing myself past the point of exhaustion. I stumbled every few minutes, and just barely kept myself upright by grabbing onto trees.
I prayed – not to God, but to somebody else I was pretty sure was looking out for me.
Help me, Katie. If you’re out there, please – HELP me keep going.
The one thing that comforted me was that if I was tired, so was Weaver. And I was pretty sure that the more tired he got, the stupider he would get and the more mistakes he would make when it came to the endgame.
Bring on the stupid.
I kept fairly close to the edge of the timberline so that I could be sure I didn’t go too far in the darkness. I had a destination, and I couldn’t afford to miss it.
My headlamp ran out just as dawn began to break.
I said a silent thank-you to Katie and kept moving.
By the time the sun was above the mountains, I came to the open area that led up to the cave where Lelia and I had stayed. I must have passed the thin, needle-like mountain sometime during the night.
That meant I had been on the move for almost 18 hours straight. I was so exhausted I could barely stay upright.
But now we were in the final minutes of the game. I
