Connor held his breath as if he was alone in the house late at night watching a horror movie on TV. But unlike some Stephen King story, he knew the ending—the boy had survived, because he sat beside him with his head leaning on his shoulder. Still, he couldn’t help worrying that the monster might win instead.
Before hearing the details of the escape, Connor had only allowed himself to think briefly about the nightmare his brother must have endured before he chased the thought away. A fleeting imagined scene wasn’t the same as hearing the words blow by blow, the shaky little voice hammering the reality home.
He ran his hand along Jaxon’s torn fingers, the ones that had beaten the frame of the door and ripped the lock off. Admiration for his little brother’s resolve filled him. He doubted that he would have had the strength and nerve Jaxon had shown.
He made a silent vow. No matter what, he would protect Jaxon every minute for the rest of their lives, never to let him out of his sight. Never again would he fail his little brother.
Roxanne paused in her note-taking and asked, “Can you tell me the man’s name?”
Jaxon sucked in a breath and shook his head. “No.”
“That’s okay. We don’t need to do that yet.” Roxanne chewed on the end of her pen. “Let’s talk about what you saw as you left the house. It’ll help us locate it.”
“Not much. The road was dark, and it was snowing.”
“So there was a road all the way up to the house?”
“Sort of, but not really a road. It was pretty overgrown, but the brush wasn’t as thick as it was in the woods. It was just wide enough to get the van through the trees.”
“So not paved. Was it gravel or just dirt?”
“I stepped on rocks. I couldn’t really see them, though, because of the brush.”
Jaxon coughed, a deep, phlegmy sound. Everyone paused, and Connor remembered the doctor’s warnings about his brother’s weakened immune system and his long exposure to cold. Connor grabbed the plastic cup on the bed tray and filled it with crushed ice and cold water from the pitcher. He held the cup in a trembling hand as his brother sipped. With a napkin, he wiped a rivulet of water from Jaxon’s chin. The boy cleared his throat and nodded that he was ready to continue.
Roxanne asked, “How long of a walk until you saw anything else?”
“I was running ’cause I didn’t want to get caught. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes, and then the woods ended.”
“Excellent. Really helpful. What did you see when you came out of the forest?”
“A big field with an old house and a mobile home behind it.”
“Like a farm?”
“Maybe it was once. I don’t know. It was just like a big field.”
“Did you knock on the door?”
“No. It was too close to where I came from. I was scared he might still wake up, find me missing, and come after me.” He quivered. “Besides, you could tell no one lived there. Two of the walls and the roof had collapsed. The windows in the remaining walls were broken, and burn marks ran up the sides. I peeked, trying to find somewhere to hide, but snow was piling up inside, so I didn’t try to go in very far.”
Connor noticed David tense and sit up, but the sheriff motioned Roxanne to continue.
“The exterior walls… Brick, stone, or wood?”
“Wood, except this one with, like, real boards, all straight and smooth like that first picture you drew.”
“Clapboard.” She smiled and scribbled notes. “What color was it?”
“It might have been white, but it was hard to tell in the snow and dark. Anyway, the paint was chipped away and faded.”
“What about the mobile home?”
“It was dark. Didn’t look like anyone was in it. I didn’t want to stick around, though, so I kept going on the road.”
“You’re doing awesome, Jaxon. Was this on the same road through the woods?”
“Yeah. It was hard to find the path, but it took me all the way out to the pavement.”
“Great. At the pavement, did you see a mailbox? Sign? Anything?”
Jaxon looked up at the ceiling as he searched his memory. “Yeah, an old mailbox covered in vines. I didn’t know what it was at first because, well, I haven’t seen one since… Anyway, it said US Mail on the door. I don’t remember a number or name or anything like that. It was rusty and didn’t look like it was used any longer.”
“You see any other houses?”
“Two way off the road in their own fields down long gravel driveways. One of them had big floodlights on a barn, I think, but the houses were dark. I was scared to go to them in case they were friends of his. I figured I should get as far away as possible, so I walked down the paved road, toward some light down the way.”
“How far?”
“I don’t know. Probably took me an hour or two to get to the big road.”
Roxanne scribbled in her book. “Okay, so this was all on a two-lane road. Considering you were walking in snow, that may have been four or five miles. Did you see any more mailboxes along the way?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Remember what any of them said? Or numbers?”
A shake of the head.
“You see any other buildings before you got to the highway?”
The boy shrugged. “Mostly just a few more houses and barns until I got to a big building.”
“Like a warehouse?”
“No, like maybe a factory or something. I’m not sure, but it had lights, and you could hear humming and water splashing. I don’t mean a little water—like a whole lot of water. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but it was the middle of the night, and I didn’t see anyone. I tried to get in, but it had a big fence and a gate.”
David looked up and asked, “Water splashing? Was it near a river?”
Jaxon recoiled against the deep voice, shrinking against his brother. Connor wondered at his reaction but hugged him with his one arm to indicate he would keep him safe. Jaxon licked his lips and answered quietly, “Yeah, the river ran beside it.”
David turned to Roxanne. “If it’s the Wattsville exit, that could be the hydroelectric plant up there.” He turned back to Jaxon, “Any signs you remember?”
“‘No trespassing’ and ‘danger,’ but I don’t remember what all they said.”
Roxanne put a hand on David’s knee and took over the questions once more. “It’s okay, Jaxon. You’re doing terrific. What did you do next?”
“I saw a big road on the other side of the river from the building. I followed the road I was on across a bridge and then to that big road.”
“What did you see?”
“There were two big blue signs with red stripes on top shaped like a shield. They said ‘Interstate 40.’ One pointed under the bridge and to the left and said ‘west.’ The other pointed right and said ‘east.’”
“And you went east?”
He nodded.
“Why east?”
He shrugged. “Because it was closer. I mean, I had to go one way or the other and just picked one. But I’m glad I did.”
Startled, Connor turned his attention away from the FBI agent and back to his little brother. “Because you wanted to come home?”
“No. I mean, yeah, I wanted to come home, but I didn’t know where home was.”
“So why are you glad you went east?”
“Because sunrises are to the east. I’ve never seen one.”
Connor felt his breath catch in his throat. He pulled his brother close and whispered, “I’ll take you to see one tomorrow.”