I opened my eyes to a pile of blue nylon lit by early morning light. It didn’t make much sense, but when I tried to move I found I was pinned under something. I struggled and managed to shift the pile enough that I could see it was the corner of a sleeping bag, and there were a pair of bare legs just beyond.
Jess finished lacing her right sneaker and gave me a knowing smile. The white blouse she was wearing was almost longer than her shorts. She drew up a leg so that she could tug on another sneaker. I could feel the same desire I had for her last night, but how much was I willing to trust her? Jess leaned close and kissed my cheek.
“Come on, hon,” She pulled back. I forced myself to roll over and sit up just in time to see her unzip the tent. She didn’t even look back as she crawled out and walked out of sight. Maybe she was right. Maybe things were easy.
“Mmm…” Veronica groaned before her leg and arm sprawled across me. She pulled herself into my side with a sound of satisfaction.
“Come on,” Jess called to me.
I shook my head, and the world settled back into cold rainy night. A flash of lightning helped my eyes focus on the trees. Everything was glistening in the cold rain as thunder rumbled overhead. I climbed over the log to find the source of the lights was just ahead of us.
The forest tapered into a number of stumps, rotting logs and a chain-link fence topped with razor-wire. Just beyond the fence were several cold decks of logs, and huge stacks of old timber. The lights were somewhere past the decks. I heard a sharp whistle that drew my gaze to Jess. She was standing with her hands on her hips, looking impatient. I made my way across the open ground to her.
“This way.” She waved frantically for me to hurry up. I looked her up and down with suspicion. Jess had changed her appearance again. She looked like she had just crawled out of the tent and my memories. She saw my expression. “What?”
“Wh…?” Jess rolled her eyes.
“Come on.” She started following the along the fence off to our right. There was hardly any vegetation near the fence, only rocks and dirt clumps. Her steps were light as we moved through the shadows. At the end of one of the cold decks, Jess spun on her heel and shoved me down into a bush.
I lifted my head to see two men in camouflage with assault rifles shine a light between the two stacks of timber. They carefully swept the light through the shadows to check every darkened corner. The light passed over my cover and hesitated. My heart was racing as I held my breath. The lights checked the tops of stacks of timber before the men decided to move on. I glanced sideways at her. She was focused intently on the men walking away, but she spared me a look. I let out the breath I was holding and Jess retreated back out of sight.
I gathered my senses and slowly crawled to my feet. What were these goons doing out here? I looked for Jess so I could sort out our next move but she had disappeared. Something moved out in the woods again. I frowned.
I needed a way through the fence or at least a better vantage point. A flash of lightning spurred me to move. Jess had been moving in one direction, and it only made sense to follow her course. I followed the cold deck of timber to the end where light shone between the stacks again. Checking for any more goons, I moved to the next stack and followed its shadow. I was moving further and further from the source of the lights.
When I reached the end of the stack, I hesitated. Maybe Jess had selected the wrong direction? I sensed something out of the corner of my eye at the tree line. When I looked, I saw a shadow move between the trees. A cold chill ran through me and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. It was back. A flash of lightning illuminated the world but the thing didn’t seem to care. The rumble of thunder spurred me into motion.
I charged through a small cluster of saplings. The thing was mirroring me through the tree-line. I stopped at the end of another stack to catch my breath. The only way I could tell that it had stopped across from me was the low shadow that shifted between the trees. I spotted my way through the fence just ahead. A large pine from the forest had fallen on one of the cold decks across the fence.
I risked moving closer to the tree-line to climb onto the fallen tree. It took a bit of effort to pull myself up onto the tree and not slide off. I started crawling up the tree and spared a look back at the forest. The shadow paced at the end exposed tree roots. I took it as sign to crawl faster. After a few minutes I was pushing through branches and in a sudden flash of lightning, I found I was just crossing the fence. I emerged from the branches out onto the cold deck of timber. A pair of mumbled voices made me approach the edge with caution. Peeking over the edge, I saw two more men in camouflage with weapons walking the fence. They walked past the cold deck and disappeared out of sight.
I slumped to let out a shaky breath. The stack was nearly twenty feet high affording me a good vantage point. The source of the light was actually an old logging mill that towered over the yard and surrounding structures. Multiple cold decks of timber marked the perimeter just inside the fence. It looked like some of the logging machines were being used as guard towers. A large metal garage stood between me and the main building with a number of vehicles parked around it. There were a few other prefabricated building scattered throughout the yard between abandoned logging equipment and stacks of timber. Something about that garage held my attention. I decided it was going to be my destination. An investigator ignores their instincts at their own peril.
I took a moment to observe the intervals of the guard patrols spread throughout the yard. They were always in pairs and looked to be armed in a similar fashion. There were too many gaps in their security to be military. I had a few minutes between each patrol. The fallen tree afforded me enough cover so that I could lower myself between the ends of the cold decks undetected. I waited for the next patrol to pass before leaving the shadows.
I wove between a couple more cold decks of timber, and ran into the next patrol. They had their backs to me offering several options. I could try to take them and end up with an assault rifle or avoid them. They were in better condition than I certainly was at this point. In a breath I sprinted across the open ground and dove behind a rusted-out track loader. The guards weren’t as dull as I had hoped. They turned back and started for my position. A rumble of thunder covered me crawling under the loader between its tracks.
A flashlight beam swept around the vehicle until settling on the ground where I had knelt a moment ago. Two sets of combat boots stopped at the spot where the men held a muttered conversation. It felt like it lasted an eternity, but they quietly walked away with another flash of lightning.
“What am I doing?” I breathed to myself.
I crawled out from under the loader and carefully walked toward the garage. It loomed beyond a short cold deck stack and a trailer partially loaded with timber. I ducked under the trailer and moved across the open space to the side of the building. I was partially hidden by a stack of large tires and rusted oil barrels but I needed to get inside. If I followed the building forward toward the lights, I would end up closer to the lights but also out in the open. The other direction led into shadows and toward the next patrol. I drew the pistol from my belt and started for the shadows.
I wove between rusted equipment and stacks of long-forgotten pallets. A flashlight beam appeared at the end of the building just as I spotted what looked like a maintenance hatch. The hatch was long since missing, but the opening looked clear. I pulled myself into the space, scraping my knees on the metal. I managed to squeeze through the opening before the patrol stomped by.
The only thing I could make out was that I was surrounded by pallets and machinery of some kind. The rain on the metal roof sounded like a torrential waterfall overhead. I was shaking when I finally picked myself up and moved around the obstacles I was in the far corner of the garage. Two large wheeled loaders were parked at this end with other equipment. Lights were illuminating some people at the far end. I wanted to get a better idea of what was going on here but in order to do that, I needed to stick to the shadows and stay out of sight. My first step was to make my way to the opposite wall.
A bit of careful movement brought me from one loader to the next, and then back into the darkness of the far wall behind some other machinery and oil drums. I could start to hear a conversation when I reached the mid-point of the garage. A pair of sliding doors were partially open on my right, but the conversation was drawing me forward. I could hear a man’s voice demanding something.
“We only want to know what you’ve told them,” the man stated, with a condescending tone. I found a spot where I could see between some pallets and an industrial pump. One of the men in camouflage was walking around a girl on her knees. She looked like one of the teens from the campsite, if a bit more worse for wear. “Just tell me what they know.” He stopped in front of her, but all she did was cry.
I could take him. I checked the pistol to make sure there was a round in the chamber and the safety was off. I shifted slightly to get a better angle on him when I spotted three others near the far wall. He yanked her head back by her dark pony tail.
“I didn’t!” The girl cried. I clenched my teeth. She would have to wait until I brought the police here. I lowered the weapon.
“Good.” He released her. “That’s good.” The man walked just out of sight off to the left. I could see him picking at a tarp covered trailer hitched up to an ATV. He turned back to her. “You have been found guilty of collusion with the enemy.”
“No!” the girl cried out.
“You have conspired with a corrupt government.”
“Please,” she begged. I shifted to see him, and my heart stopped.
“The punishment…” He drew a pistol and aimed it at her. I closed my eyes as the gunshot rang out. “…is death.” The creep finished. “Put her with the rest.”
I tasted bile in my mouth. That answered what happened to the hikers. The half dozen bodies under that tarp were all that I needed to justify any actions against them. I moved away from the scene and back toward the doors. These militant nuts were no different than the cult that had destroyed my life. If I could get a drop on one of the guards I could get an assault rifle and really do some damage to these creeps, but I needed to do it quietly. One gunshot would bring all of them down on me and as much as I wanted revenge, if I was dead before I could bring in the police then it would be all for nothing. I cautiously stuck my head through the open doors.
There was a bit more machinery scattered along the side of the garage, but across from me was the main building. It easily towered over the yard, and there were a number of security lights aimed at the yard. The main building stretched a hundred meters in either direction and looked to be comprised of three sections that gradually stepped up toward the lights, and a tower that capped the end. The end farthest from the tower had a shed-like section that was darker than any other part of the building.
I waited until after a flash of lightning to slip out the doors and back into the rain. The ground here was more compacted, allowing me to move quicker along the wall of the garage in parallel to the main building. I stopped at the corner of the garage to let another patrol pass. I moved out from behind some rusted drums and carefully crossed the open ground between the buildings. I made it to the side of the building without incident. There was less cover here, but it was better than being out in the open.
All it would take is for an inopportune flash of lightning to silhouette me against the building before I found cover, and then I would be one of those victims. It was a gamble, but it was also all I had at the moment. I just made it behind an empty logging trailer, when the next flash of lighting split the sky. I crouched low between the trailer and the building as I followed the wall. The trailer actually extended past the corner of the building just far enough to afford a bit of cover. I ducked down behind the trailer tires to let another patrol pass. I fought the urge to just pull the trigger on both of them, and let them disappear around the corner before I moved from cover.
I double-checked on where the patrols were, and moved around the corner of the building. A few stacks of pallets, discarded tires, and rusted oil drums covered the end. The one thing that held my attention was the petite figure sitting on a rusted barrel across from the log-puller. I surveyed the area once more before approaching.
I kept my weapon trained on the figure until I got closer. Her white blouse and pale legs were practically glowing in the darkness. She was back to being untouched by the rain. I lowered the weapon in aggravation.
“Is that what you wanted me to see?” I asked when I got closer.
“No.”
“So you do have something in mind.” I spotted a door next to her that had been chained shut. Jess gave a shrug. I fixed my gaze on her. The chain ran through both door handles but the handles looked to be the weakest part. I could break the lock, but I needed to be quiet about it. “You know,” I turned to face her. “I really don’t like this cryptic you.”
“Sometimes it’s not about the answer.”
“Oh?”
“It’s about how you discover that answer.” She crossed her feet and waved her legs impatiently.
“How very Zen of you.” I frowned at her. I followed her gaze to a number of logging tools splayed out on the drum beside her. I picked up a large wrench that tapered to a sharp point on one end. It would be perfect to pry open the chained door next to us. Did she actually arrange the tools? I looked back at the spread. The wear pattern on the drum said the tools had been left there for years. What were the chances? She saw my confused expression.
“There’s power in self-discovery, love.” She grinned.
“Yeah, right.” I shook my head, and moved to the chained door. “Do me a favor, will you?”
“Hmm?”
“Next time you want to help, bring me some aspirin.” I slipped the tip of the wrench through the chain and gave it a couple of turns to tighten the slack. She gave a snort at my remark. I twisted the wrench between the chains again and the doors cracked under the pressure.
“Ah.” She held up a finger and lightning flashed overhead. I stared at her. A peal of thunder rumbled. “Now.” She nodded at the door. I twisted the wrench again and under the cover of thunder, the door-handles splintered free of the door. I cautiously pulled open the door. She only gave a little smile.