“You think Sunshine is ready for this?” Alison asked, crouched next to me. Our vantage point afforded us a view of the eastern side of the structure. It was easily over fifty years old based on the plank-style construction. The building was long and squat, covered in dead vines, and a thick growth of moss on the collapsing peaked roof.
“She knows what she has to do,” I said with certainty. Alison checked the safety on her pistol again.
“Better hope so.” She took a calming breath.
I focused on the two openings on the side of the structure that probably once were windows. They would serve as our entry point, as Jason and the girls entered through what served as the door on the opposite side. I heard a whistle echo around the structure, the sign Jason had given us to advance. I nodded at Alison.
We kept low, with our weapons aimed at the ground as we advanced for the windows, and moved to crouch below both. My pulse raced as I cocked the hammer on my nickel-plated .45 revolver. It was little comfort when Jason gave the sign to breach the structure.
I grabbed the sill with one hand, stood, and vaulted over the frame into the building. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alison mimic my action. I swept the sights of my sidearm across the interior as Jason burst through the door. Sarah and Veronica slipped through behind him with weapons drawn. There was nothing in the building but a bench on the far wall, a couple of old lawn chairs and a fire pit at the far end.
“Clear,” I sounded off, and everyone else followed suit.
“I don’t think this is our destination,” I said to Alison.
“It’s a sugar-shack,” Jason announced. “They used to make maple syrup here. It’s kind of remote, though.”
“I don’t think anyone has been here in years.” Sarah took out a flashlight, and used it to look around in the rafters. “Complete waste of time.”
“It may not be our destination, but it’s certainly not a waste of time.” Veronica called to us. She held up a blue hiking backpack.
“What’s in it?” I started over to her.
“Watch your prints,” Jason warned. Veronica gave me a look of concern, and held out the backpack to us.
“Dump it,” I ordered. Veronica tipped the pack over, and dumped the contents out onto the bench despite the groan of disapproval from Jason. The contents spilled out as jewelry, watches and wallets.
“Robbery makes for a good motive.” Jason stared at the pile. “We should document it, and take the IDs.” Alison snapped a couple pictures before Sarah scooped all of it into her pack. “Or all of it.” He shook his head at Sarah.
“I think robbery is only a perk of what’s going on.” I glanced around the dusty interior once more before heading through the doorway. I was greeted by Thor patiently standing guard outside. This was a stop on the trail, but where were they going? If it was a stop, then why weren’t there signs of others?
“Something is bothering me,” Alison said as she stepped out of the doorway. I watched the branches bobbing on the nearby tree. “If the kids were brought here, then why aren’t there any signs?”
“The stash is probably from an individual that’s part of the group.”
“And they want to keep it secret because it’s not acceptable to steal?”
“Then that eliminates robbery as motive,” Jason said from the doorway. “That’s more troubling.”
“More so than them kidnapping or killing forty people?” Veronica asked. She moved to the stacks of cordwood along the side, and sat on the lower pile. I closed my eyes, and focused on the sounds of the forest around us. There was something much larger, much worse than we were expecting, at work.
“So, what do we do?” Sarah’s voice had a touch of fear in it, and I couldn’t blame her. Whoever these people were, they were just as bad as the cult. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I opened my eyes to the trail that had brought us here. Even through the fog I could see the trail continued on out of sight. The more I focused on the muddy tracks, the more I noticed. The tracks were deep and there was no indication that they ever came over to this structure.
“Alison.” I turned back to them. “Can I see that camera?”
“Yeah, uh, sure.” Alison checked her jacket and produced the camcorder we had salvaged from the campsite. “Here.” She took a few steps over to me and held it out to me.
“What’s that?” Jason moved a few steps closer. I flipped out the screen and switched on the camera. There had to be something else we were missing.
“It’s a camera we found at the campsite.” Alison answered. She moved around me to better see the screen. “What are you looking for?”
“I’ll let you know when I find it.” I tapped the first scene, and the screen switched to a bunch of teens in a car joking and insulting each other. There had to be something. I heard a slight buzz.
“Skip ahead.” Alison reached for the screen. I swatted her hand.
“Quiet.” I rolled back the clip a couple of minutes. The teens were joking around, and the buzz suddenly became clearer. I saw the same realization on Alison’s face. It was an ATV.
“Map!” Alison and I said simultaneously to Jason. Everyone looked confused, even Thor.
“Did you find something?” Jason reached inside his coat for the map. Alison snatched it from his hands and quickly unfolded it. “What is it?”
“If they were coming in from here…” I pointed at the road on the map.
“That had to be around this section.” Alison traced a section of road.
“We’re right around here.” I tapped my finger near the swamp icon. The section of road was a good three kilometers from our location. I glanced at the trail, and tried to predict the direction. We were traversing the swamp area and headed toward more forest. The nearest road was running parallel to our course.
“It doesn’t go anywhere near that section though.” Alison stared at the map. The trail we were following looked like it would eventually intersect one of the roads. The drizzle wasn’t going to last forever, it was bound to turn to rain later. It was probably for the best.
“Maybe it’s time we got ourselves out of the woods.” I ran my finger along an invisible route from the swamp to the nearest road.
“That’s a bit of a hike.” She sucked in a breath.
“Hey,” Sarah called our attention. “What are we doing?” I surrendered the map to Alison and started toward the trail.
“We’re moving,” I spoke over my shoulder.
“I think the question is where are we going?” Jason amended. I stepped onto a patch of leaves that squished.
“The only way that makes sense.” I pushed through the undergrowth, and back on the muddy ATV trail. Behind me, I could hear Sarah give Thor the command to take the lead again. The big German Shepherd passed me and loped ahead into the mist. The world was more oppressive than before. Shadows had grown thick as open space had diminished. The trail was leading us into a thick fog filled with tall dead reeds and clusters of dead trees. The tracks dipped into a mud-filled gulley that showed traces of where vehicles had gotten stuck. The footprints in the mud weren’t very encouraging for crossing.
Thor stopped at the edge of the mud, and carefully walked his way around. I followed him up on an old fallen tree to cross the stretch of mud. The moss and bark peeled away with every step. I staggered the remaining distance, and found my footing on the other end.
“Very graceful.” Alison’s comment caught my attention. She was standing at the far end with the others slowly coming up behind her.
“I try.”
“I meant Thor.” Alison grinned at me and started across.
“Ooh, do a cartwheel,” Veronica shouted, trying to startle her. Alison’s balance wavered, forcing her to kneel down on the log. The glare she gave Veronica said she wanted to kill her. “What? I thought you could do everything.”
“Watch it, Sunshine, or you’ll see what I can do,” Alison stated. I rolled my eyes at their exchange and walked away.
I slipped on the decaying leaves that covered the sharp rise in the trail. I could still hear the girls bickering behind me. The longer we were out here the worse it was going to be. It was difficult going as the ground shifted with each step. I gave up on the trail and walked alongside the tracks, using the occasional sapling to keep from losing ground.
I reached the top of the rise, and took a moment to catch my breath. Thor stopped a few meters ahead on the trail. A shadow in the fog behind him caught my attention. It was difficult to make out, but there was definitely something there. I focused on the faint silhouette and moved forward. The shadow was too thickly veiled in foliage and fog to discern what it was, but something about it held my attention.
“So,” Veronica started, from over my right shoulder. “How much farther till we can get out of these stupid woods?” I looked at her, noting the fresh dirt on her face. Alison stood a few meters back holding her water bottle.
“I’ll let you know.” I started following the trail again. Thor kept his significant lead as we descended back into the thick undergrowth. The densely packed undergrowth was torn between dead trees and dying saplings. Even so, it was becoming apparent that the trail was leading us toward that silhouette. Even with all of us armed, I doubted that we would be able to handle the group responsible. They would have more people, better knowledge of the area and potentially even hostages. It was in everyone’s best interest to avoid contact with them but the trail was leading us somewhere. I blinked at the exhaustion and when I opened my eyes the silhouette had form for a moment. There was a small peak and a large cross.
“What?” It couldn’t be. Were we that close to the road already? It should’ve been at least another hour or more till we reached the first major road. Something about it still felt strange though. I started to walk faster, and the closer we came to that silhouette, the more it felt less like an illusion and more like our escape. It was definitely a large building of some sort.
The trail wasn’t leading us directly to the structure, but the winding path was gradually drawing us closer. I tripped over a large rock, and let out a curse. As I caught myself, I heard gunshots echo in the distance.
“That’s one good thing.”
“What’s that?” Veronica asked. I slowed my pace enough so that she could catch up and walk next to me.
“The gunshots.” Alison walked past us. “They’re in the distance.”
“So?”
“If they’re somewhere over there, then they’re not near us,” Alison stated. I gave a slight nod of agreement. Veronica mouthed an ‘ah’, and stared at her feet. Thor disappeared around a bend in the trail ahead. I moved a little faster to pass Alison and find out where the trail veered to next.
“Is that a building?” Veronica asked.
The twin muddy tracks of the trail led around a large boulder and between a pair of ancient trees. In the mists ahead, the underbrush thinned and afforded us a better view of the structure. It was still a good distance away, but it was certainly where the trail was leading.
“You think that’s where our targets are?” Alison questioned.
“It’s possible.” I stopped to shout back at the others. “Sarah, you need to call back Thor.” I really didn’t want to advance on the structure and have him give us away to whoever might be inside.
“Thor! Hier!” Sarah’s command brought the dog to a stop, and he started trotting back to us. Before anyone could say anything, I drew my revolver and started toward the structure.
I stopped at the first tree past the tree-line, and knelt down. Hidden among the dead tall grass at this distance, I could examine our target more clearly. The structure was larger than the previous building. It was a squat faded building with fresh plywood over the windows. Rotten wood steps led up to a pair of double doors underneath a partially collapsed steeple. The large weathered planks covering the building put its original construction somewhere over two centuries ago.
Veronica stumbled over something on her way to a neighboring tree, and fell against it. She quickly tried to hide the motion by kneeling down and checking her revolver. Beyond her, Jason crouched near a broken tree with Sarah and Thor. A warbled bird call drew my attention behind me. Alison crouched low near a cluster of brambles. We were all in position. I gave the signal to move.
We advanced on the old church in a rough horseshoe formation with weapons trained on the building. The ATV trail came to a head at the steps of the building to create a muddy lot of sorts. I could only hear our crunching footsteps as we advanced through the dead grasses.
“Thor, Voran!” I commanded as I hit the bottom step. Veronica took the stairs behind me while the others moved to circle the structure. I climbed the soft dank steps to the aged double doors. The doors were reinforced with plywood, and secured with a large padlock. Veronica took another step as I tried the doors to no avail. The new modifications were solid. A loud yelp stopped us.
“Sarah!” Alison broke the silence. There was another loud yelp followed by a long whine. Veronica looked at me with wide eyes. “Sarah!” Alison called again. I jumped down the steps and ran around the side. Alison was toward the back with Thor. The poor dog was rolling around in the grass and whining. “It’ll be okay.” She tried to console him, but he let out a loud bark and continued to roll around.
I stopped and tried to sort out what was wrong with him. Even Alison seemed to be keeping her distance. Veronica darted past me to the poor dog, when I spotted the metal hidden in the grass.
“No!” I shoved her aside and pinned her to the side of the church before she could trigger the bear trap. Sarah and Jason appeared around the side running for Thor.
“Traps!” Alison called to stop them in place. I took my elbow out of Veronica’s back, and carefully stepped away from her.
“Sorry,” I offered, but Veronica only glared.
“It’ll be okay, sweetie.” Sarah was crying over Thor, and attempting to keep him calm. “Jason, help me.” Together they pried the steel trap off of his right front leg. It was my fault, I should’ve been smarter. We should have moved slower, been more cautious, something. Now we had to tend to an injured dog. Alison carefully moved to pick up a large stick so she could set off the trap in front of us.
“How bad is it?” Alison dropped to her knees to help. I turned my back on the scene. I could never do anything right.
“I’ll check the doors again,” I said in a low voice to Veronica. I started walking back toward the entrance.
“Do you see this?” Sarah shouted at me. “Connor!” I ignored her, and kept walking. I knew she would blame me, and she was right to do so. The whining quieted behind me.
“Do you have any bandages?” Alison asked.
“I don’t have anything to field dress this.” Jason actually sounded hurt. Footsteps rushed up behind me, and hands hit my back to knock me down. The dry grasses scraped at my hands and face. I crawled to my hands and knees, feeling the wet soil soaking through my jeans.
“This is because of you!” Sarah was crying. “It’s always your mess.”
“I’m sorry.” I climbed to my feet.
“You sent him there, and you’re sorry?” She stepped in front of me, and shoved me again. “How many times do we have to do this, Connor?” She shoved me back. “How many times?”
“Too many.” I lifted my gaze to see the tears in her eyes. I opened my mouth to apologize again when a loud pop blacked out the world.