Chas and Jeb travel down the road leading out of town as Trevor hangs a left in the opposite direction and navigates the four-wheeler down a dirt road that cuts around the perimeter of one of the alfalfa fields.
The air is cool and crisp against my cheeks, and my eyes begin to water. I glance behind me as Trevor turns the four-wheeler onto a bumpy path leading up a hill. It’s hard to imagine that this peaceful little town will turn into a place of terror once the church bells ring. It doesn’t seem possible.
I involuntarily lean forward into Trevor’s back as the four-wheeler begins its decline down the steep hill, the raging river to our left. Jeb’s truck comes into view briefly before taking a curve and disappearing behind some trees. Trevor speeds up, and tiny pinpricks sting my cheeks and forehead. It’s kind of gross to think of how many bugs have splattered across my face in the last few minutes.
We finally merge onto the highway, and I can see the back of Jeb’s truck rumbling along the road in front of us. We’re going to get out of here. We will hop in that canoe, make it across the river and find help.
With a six-month-old baby.
With a good fifteen miles to walk until we get to the state highway. In the dark.
Then it’s another seventy miles to the nearest town. We don’t need a canoe; we need a helicopter. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. Maybe we should have thought this through a little more. Maybe—
I scream when I see a huge pine tree, at least forty-foot tall, fall out of nowhere and crash toward Jeb’s truck. Just when I think it will crush them, it flies forward as if pushed by a very strong, invisible hand. Jeb slams on the brakes, the back end of the old Ford fishtailing before skidding to a stop in the middle of the road. Trevor stops the four-wheeler and both of us race to the truck. My heart pounds in my chest, the crash of my feet against the pavement keeping rhythm with my thoughts— be-okay-be-okay-be-okay.
Jeb’s door flies open and he jumps out, staring at the tree, his hands rubbing his head. I rush to the passenger door and fling it open. Parker wails in his car seat, and Chas sits wide-eyed, her face white, her hands gripping the edge of the dashboard.
I place a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small shake. “Chas? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She turns slowly and shakes her head. “That tree. It almost hit us. We could have died.”
“Can you get out of the truck? Parker is scared. Let’s get him out of his car seat and calm him down.”
She nods, and I reach across her to unbuckle her seatbelt. She crawls out of the truck while I fumble with the car seat, doing my best to soothe Parker with my voice. It doesn’t seem to be working.
“We’re not making it past here,” Trevor says, inspecting the tree blocking the road.
Jeb shakes his head and walks down the embankment, Trevor behind him. “We’ll carry the canoe, the river’s just a few feet away.” Jeb crawls atop the trunk of the huge pine and disappears over the other side while Trevor inspects the ground around them.
“Where did this tree even come from?” He walks into the forest, reappearing a few seconds later. “There’s no hole in the ground or broken trunk anywhere around here. It’s like it was thrown off the mountain, or just fell out of the sky.”
“How is that even possible?” Chas has found her voice, and walks down to join him, leaving me alone with a wailing Parker.
“Shit!” Jeb’s voice echoes off the surrounding forest. Whatever he found doesn’t look good for our escape. “There’re at least three more trees blocking the road. There’s no way we can crawl over all of them—not with Parker and a canoe.”
“We need to go back. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Chas places a hand on his shoulder, trying to reason with him, but he shakes her off.
“Tomorrow is too late. You know what it’s like when they come. We can’t even leave our houses.”
“We can sneak off during the Gathering in the morning. We have three hours.” There’s hope in her voice, but Jeb continues to shake his head.
“These trees won’t be gone by then. It won’t be any easier tomorrow. Besides, they could take one of us tonight. We have to get out of here now.”
We all stand around the truck, Jeb pacing and Trevor looking up the side of the mountain, determined to find out where the tree came from. Parker has finally stopped screaming and curls up with his head buried in my neck like a puppy. I bounce softly while rubbing his back, doing my best to keep him calm.
Jeb turns quickly, a determined look on his face. “We can drive the old hunting trail. It will take us along the side of the mountain. We’ll drive as far as we can and then walk the rest of the way.”
“It’s not safe to drive your truck along the side of the mountain. It’s too steep. It could roll and kill everyone inside.” I can tell that Trevor hates cutting down all Jeb’s ideas, but I have to agree with him. Jeb has never been the best at making informed decisions.
Jeb throws his head back and tosses a string of expletives into the air. It’s a good thing Parker can’t talk, or he would have many fun new words to use.
“Wait. I’ve got it,” Trevor says, stopping Jeb’s tirade. “We’ll drive up to the falls and park at the campsite. We can cross the bridge that goes in front of the falls and hike down the other side of the mountain.”
“But won’t that bridge be washed out, too?” I hate to state the obvious, but why wouldn’t it be? The way the water rages down the side of the mountain, there’s no way that bridge could still be intact.
A low rumbling fills the air, and the ground around us begins to shake. I didn’t realize Northern Idaho was prone to earthquakes. I lean against the truck, holding Parker against my chest as the rumbling grows more intense.
“What the hell is—”
Before Trevor can finish his sentence, several large bucks, a few does, and a handful of elk burst from the trees. They rush past us, jumping over the fallen tree trunks. Chas screams and clings to me, shielding Parker when two very large black bears and a mountain lion emerge from the forest. At first I think maybe the bears and lion are chasing the deer and elk, but then it becomes apparent that they are trying to escape something themselves.
“What the hell is going on?” Jeb yells above the rumbling.
Several more animals rush past us: Horses, more deer and elk, cattle, raccoons, foxes, and a few wolves. We stand and watch, unable to move. Where are they going and why?
Finally, the rumbling subsides and the onslaught of terrified animals tapers out to a few scurrying field mice. The four of us stare at each other, dumbfounded.
“I need to go back home,” Chas finally says, breaking our silence. “I can’t hike through the woods with Parker. It will be freezing up there. I’m sorry. I can’t go.” Her eyes fill with tears, but I know she’s right. We will have a hard enough time ourselves, and bringing a baby along won’t make it any easier.
“You have to come with us. I can’t let you stay.” Jeb takes Chas by the shoulders, trying to reason with her. “Tonight, we’ll camp out at that old church up past the falls. We can make a fire and sleep there. I have gear in the truck. When the sun comes up in the morning, we’ll hike down the mountain. We’ll be okay.”
“I don’t know,” Chas says. “It seems like a lot of trouble.”
“We have to try. Please?”
Trevor passes a sideways glance in my direction, and I know what he’s thinking. We’d be much faster without her, I agree with him there, but I don’t want to leave her behind any more than Jeb does.
“We can try,” Chas finally says. “But if it looks too dangerous, I’m not going.”
“We need to hurry if we’re going to do this,” Trevor says as he climbs back onto the four-wheeler. “The sun has already set. We have maybe an hour or two before the bells chime and all hell breaks loose out here.”
“Guys? We’re not supposed to be out here, right? Reverend Carter said we would die if we were outside our homes when the Redeemers come.” They all look at me like I’m not making sense. “Why would we be safe in the mountains? Is there like a border or something—a fence to keep them out?” I try to make my tone light, but I’m partly serious. What’s to stop them from getting us if we’re up there?
“I guess we’ll find out.” Jeb jumps in his truck and fires it up as Chas puts Parker back in his car seat. Trevor pulls the ripcord on the four-wheeler. It takes four tries before the engine finally roars to life. I climb on behind him and we wait for Jeb to make several three-point turns to get his truck turned around.
The closer we get to the falls, the cooler the air becomes. My cheeks sting with the cold and my eyes begin to water. Just when I think I can’t take the cold any longer, Trevor slows the four-wheeler, following Jeb’s truck off the dirt road and into the camping area. The sky grows darker by the minute and it’s difficult to see. Other than the roaring of the falls in the distance, the air is silent. An owl hoots, startling me.
“It’s kind of creepy out here at night,” I say. I’ve never been up here after dark.
Chas unbuckles a sleeping Parker from his car seat, bundling him in another blanket. The poor little guy is exhausted and barely stirs. “How far away is that church or whatever?”
“Maybe another mile or two,” Jeb says, pulling a large backpack and sleeping bags from the back of his truck. “It’s around the side of the mountain, about halfway up the falls.”
“Why is there a church all the way up there?” Chas asks exactly what I’m thinking. You’d have to be pretty devout to make that trek just to attend services.
“It’s abandoned. It’s been there forever.” Jeb finishes unloading the gear and he and Trevor start loading up. I pick up a sleeping bag and Trevor fits me with one of the backpacks.
“Is it even safe?” Chas is obviously very nervous, and I can’t blame her.
Trevor holds up a hand before anyone can answer her, and we all fall silent. “Hold up. I heard something.” He creeps around the side of the truck, peering into the trees and dropping his backpack on the ground. “You guys stay here.”
“You’re not going alone. Let me come with you,” Jeb says.
“We can’t leave the girls here by themselves,” Trevor says, and I roll my eyes. I don’t think he realizes how much ass Chas and I are capable of kicking.
“I’ll come with you,” I say.
Parker begins to fuss in Chastity’s arms and she rocks him. “Guys, we need to go. It’s getting colder by the minute.”
A flash of red catches the corner of my eye and I turn my head, peering into the woods. I take a step in that general direction and my skin starts to prickle. With every step I take, the tingling sensation grows in strength. I see another flash of red ahead of me and catch a glimpse of a hooded figure ducking into the trees. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m hurtling through the woods toward the figure.
I ignore Trevor’s shouts for me to come back. My skin is on fire, fueling my need to catch whoever it is. Several branches smack me in the face as I press forward, following the red cloak like a beacon through the dark woods.
I come to a clearing near the small pool at the base of the falls and stop in my tracks. My entire body hums with energy and the stone pendant around my neck feels like it’s trying to jump off the chain holding it down. A red-robed figure stands with its back to me, staring up at the falls.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice shaking. The figure murmurs something and slowly begins to raise its hands. A whirling wind circles me, sending leaves and pine needles flying through the air. A blinding pain, like a thousand daggers jabbing at me, pierces my head. My vision begins to blur and I feel myself grow weak from the blinding pain.
“You can’t stop us. We’re bigger than you. Stop now, Cait.”
The voice echoes in my ears, and the ground begins to shake. The pain is unbearable, causing me to grab my head and crumple to the ground. Just when I’m sure my brain will explode, the wind and rumbling stops and everything grows still except for the sound of the falls rushing off the mountain in front of me.
I scream when a hand touches my shoulder. I’m ready to fight, but stop myself when I see Trevor staring down at me.
“What the hell were you thinking? Why are you always doing shit like that? We have to stick together.”
“I saw someone.” I turn back to the falls but there’s no one there. The red-cloaked figure is gone.
“There’s no one up here. Come on. We need to get moving.”
“No. I saw someone. They were standing right there. I think it was one of them. The Redeemers or whatever. They’re here. We have to go back.”
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I stand and dust myself off as Chas and Jeb make their way through the trees and into the clearing.
“We need to go that way.” Jeb points in the direction of the top of the mountain, squinting. “Is that smoke?”
We all turn and look, and sure enough, there’s a faint trace of smoke billowing above the trees.
“Is it a forest fire?” Chas asks.
“It could be a campfire,” Jeb says hopefully. “Maybe someone else decided to leave, too.”
“What if it’s them?” After what I just witnessed, I’m not as eager to go tromping through the woods searching for allies. I’m pretty sure that if there is anyone else out here, they’re not looking to help us.
“I doubt the Redeemers are hanging out in the mountains roasting marshmallows, waiting for the bells to ring. It could be someone who can help us.” Chas’s voice is hopeful, but I can’t find the same amount of hope. We can’t be here. We have to go back.
“Let’s go check it out.” Jeb starts in the direction of the fire and Chas follows behind him.
“Guys, I don’t think this is a good idea.” No sooner have the words left my mouth than the wind picks up, throwing forest debris our way. The smoke seems to grow, and an orange glow spreads across the tops of the trees.
The wind is so powerful it practically pushes me backward. I hold a hand over my eyes, shielding them from flying pine needles. Chas stumbles blindly, cradling Parker. I reach out a hand, grabbing her arm, and wrap myself around her to help protect the baby. The ground begins to rumble and Jeb falls. Trevor helps him up and they stumble over to us. “We have to go back to the truck.”
The wind beats at us, pushing us down the mountain in the direction of our vehicles, telling us to go away. They weren’t kidding when they said we couldn’t leave town.
The closer we get to the vehicles, the less severe the wind is. As we remove our backpacks, the wind has died down to a gentle breeze.
“We need to go home. Please, Jeb? Take us home. Parker needs to go home. I have to keep him safe. I have … ” Chas breaks down, her nerves completely shot. I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s scared to death and I can’t blame her.
“Let’s try once more. Just once—” Jeb stops when he sees the looks on our faces.
“We need to go back, buddy. We’re almost out of time.” Trevor takes the backpack from me as Chas places Parker back into his car seat.
Jeb punches the side of his truck, anger and fear taking over as he faces the realization that our plan has failed. We really can’t get out of here. A loud boom comes from deep in the woods and we all turn in that direction to see a large plume of smoke rising above the trees.
“What are you doing up here?” Monique’s voice startles me, and I have to stifle a scream.
“What are you doing up here?” Trevor asks. “Shouldn’t you be at your birthday party?”
“I was looking for you. I saw you drive off. I came to help you. You shouldn’t be up here. The bells will ring soon and you know you can’t be out here when they finish,” she says.
“Go away.” Chas’s voice is small and tired. “This is none of your business.”
“It is my business. He is my business. I’m trying to protect him. He shouldn’t be here. He wasn’t chosen. He doesn’t have anything to worry about. I don’t care what happens to the rest of you. You can stay out here and get ripped to shreds for all I care.”
“We’re on our way home. We came up to sit by the falls and get some fresh air before curfew,” Trevor lies. “How did you even get up here?”
“I walked, and now you need to give me a ride home, or I’m going to tell everyone you were up here when you weren’t supposed to be.” She crosses her arms and taps her foot like she’s our mother and she’s about to ground us.
Trevor holds up a hand, silencing us. “Did you hear that?”
My heart stutters when I hear the faint sounds of the tolling bells ringing in the distance.
Trevor rushes to the four-wheeler and turns to look at us. “We have to go. Now.”