Chapter Sixteen

Carlo had crossed the Blissful Point town line more than half an hour before, but because the roads were so bad he was still a distance from the lake. He was grateful his old car had made it this far in such taxing conditions, though, as its general reliability was questionable on the best of days. Far as he could tell, he was getting closer to the road that lead out to Katherine’s, but he was only able to make out occasional landmarks. The windshield wipers could no longer keep up with the barrage of flakes, visibility was down to less than a few feet, and a violent and incessant wind assaulted the car, rocking it back and forth and making control at anything other than a slow crawl all but impossible.

He hadn’t seen another car or truck since he’d left the highway. Man and animal both had taken shelter. Everyone, it seemed, but him.

Though the things he had experienced in Rhode Island continued to haunt his mind, offset now and then by whispers reminding him of the whiskey bottle in the glove compartment, it took every ounce of concentration Carlo could muster to maneuver through the storm and rising accumulation. Even at slow speeds, the deeper he ventured into the wooded area leading out to the lake, the harder it became to continue.

There had been plenty of huge snowstorms in the area over the years, and Carlo had witnessed many of them. But he’d never seen anything like this. For the first time since he’d set out, his head had cleared enough to consider how dangerous an undertaking this was. People died in weather like this, in areas like this. They froze to death in their cars.

The idea of a drink was more appealing by the minute. Just one quick pull to settle your nerves, the voice in his head suggested. Just one and you’ll be able to think.

He fought the urge to even glance at the glove compartment and kept his focus on the windshield. The car groaned, rocked then surged forward, as if it had momentarily slipped out of gear. He gently tapped the brake then returned his foot to the gas. With great difficulty, the car continued on, but Carlo knew it wouldn’t take him much farther.

Through the snow, he glimpsed a familiar old roadside sign that directed tourists to the resort. A small portion of it was still visible above the snow drifts, so he turned and did his best to follow a path where he assumed the dirt road beneath was hidden. He knew from his location he was less than a mile from the lake, but he seriously doubted he’d be able to drive the rest of the way. Visibility was close to nonexistent, and the snow was becoming deeper and thicker.

Within seconds the car ground to a halt, but Carlo kept the engine running and the wipers going as a strange hulking presence on the road ahead emerged through the whiteout. He leaned closer to the windshield for a better look, squinting through the storm at the dark mass. It was difficult to gauge distances, but he guessed it was perhaps fifteen yards ahead of him. Had the snow not stopped his progress, there was a good chance he might’ve run right into it. Its black coloring and sheer size were the only reasons he’d seen it.

After watching it for a few moments, he realized it had to be a vehicle of some kind, probably a large truck or an SUV. But surely something that size could’ve continued on, so why was it stopped in the middle of the road?

Oh, Christ, he thought. Marcy.

Carlo opened the door but it caught against a drift. He gave it a hard shove with his shoulder and it swung open far enough for him to climb out. As he did, a freezing gust of wind slammed his face with spikes of icy snow that felt like tiny needles. Even before he’d cleared the car, his face and hands began to sting and his eyes were watering. The wind was so constant and loud he could barely hear himself think, and were it not for the snow up to his knees, it would’ve knocked him over.

He trudged forward toward the SUV, sinking at times in snow drifts nearly to his waist. The deeper he sank the tighter the snow closed in around him, and the colder he became. If he lost his balance and fell into snow this deep and thick, the odds that he’d be able to get back to his feet were slim. He’d die out on this road and probably not be found for days.

Plodding at a slow but steady pace, he did his best to keep the SUV in his line of sight. In a storm of this magnitude becoming completely disoriented was not only possible, it was likely.

Eventually, he reached the SUV. The engine was off but there appeared to be no damage to the vehicle. The accumulation across the hood and roof suggested it had been parked out there awhile, but unlike his car, where the snow had been halfway up the doors, the SUV sat much higher and should’ve been able to continue on. It made no sense, why would Marcy simply stop in the middle of the road? 

Carlo pounded on the driver-side door, knocking away large chunks of frozen snow. Once he’d located the handle, he pulled it, and the door opened.

The cab was empty but for a leather purse lying on the seat.

He climbed up into the front seat then closed the door behind him, shutting out the wind, snow and cold. A violent shiver throttled him from head to toe, but passed quickly. He rubbed his hands together furiously until he’d caught his breath and could again feel his fingers. Carefully, he next cleared his face of ice and snow.

The keys were still in the ignition. He turned them and the engine kicked on.

Techno dance music blasted from the stereo, nearly sending Carlo through the roof. He quickly shut the stereo off and turned the heater on instead. Wave after wave of warm air washed over him, and though his jeans were still wet and caked with frozen snow, it helped weaken the chill and settle his nerves.

He had no doubt this was the new SUV Marcy had told him about, but to be sure, Carlo grabbed the purse on the seat and rifled through it. The wallet inside held Marcy’s driver’s license and several credit cards with her name on them.

But then where the hell had she gone? She wouldn’t just stop and abandon the SUV for no reason.

Something had forced her to stop.

Carlo gave a quick look around but could find no sign of struggle inside the vehicle and no damage to the exterior.

He opened the door and stood up in the doorway, bracing himself against the top of the door. Any tracks Marcy had left upon exiting the vehicle had long been covered over. Carlo screamed her name twice, but could barely hear himself over the wind.

He dropped back behind the wheel, shut the door and switched on the wipers. As they cleared the windshield he again pawed the snow and ice from his eyes and face. He dropped the SUV into Drive and started forward, surprised at how easily it cut through the deep snow.

He continued on, doing his best to keep an eye out for Marcy. If for some unknown reason she’d walked the rest of the way to the lake, he could only assume she was either already there, or that he’d come across her on his way. Though he sat higher in the SUV than he had in his car, visibility wasn’t much better. But Carlo saw no signs of anyone of anything, so he increased speed and blew through the drifts, confident now that he’d reach the lake within a minute or two.

Until he saw something in the road.

A child in a winter coat standing perfectly still, a hood pulled up over its head to conceal its face.

The child had materialized from the sea of snow so quickly that Carlo could only react instinctively, slamming the brakes and jerking the wheel, which sent the SUV careening off into the enormous snowdrifts on the side of the road.

An explosion of powdery snow erupted all around him as he hurtled directly for the forest, the trees growing larger and racing toward him in the windshield like some carnival ride gone amok. Carlo stomped the brakes again and yanked the wheel back in the opposite direction, but it was too late.

The horrible sounds of impact detonated in his ears, and a stampeding darkness closed in around him, swallowing the light in a furious rush.