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The windshield time gave me a chance to think through what I knew and what I suspected. Chance was OK. I could feel it. Tom was coming. Thinking about those two reminded me of Jim. It would probably be good to give him a heads up, just in case something happened. I expected to lose cell service as I got further out of town, so I called Jim.
"Hi, Jim. It's me again."
"Hi, Em. Are you sure you're OK?"
"I am at the moment, but Chance might not be."
"Tell me what's going on."
"I'm feeling a little paranoid, so I don't what to get into specifics over the phone, but I wanted you to know I think it has something to do with what I found on my last hike." I hoped that was vague enough not to implicate anyone else, but enough info that Jim would know what I meant."
"Does this have anything to do with the SAR call out that just came through."
"Probably. I'm on my way to get Chance. I'll be in touch."
I burst into tears as soon as I ended the call. After I cried myself out, I refocused on how to find Chance. If they left him in the woods, he'd be fine as long as he wasn't in the path of the fire. I tried to think like I thought Chance would. He'd know if he headed toward the fire he might run into the firefighters, but he'd know the risk involved. If he was uninjured beyond the cast on his leg, he'd be confident of surviving if he avoided the fire. I think he'd head away from the fire. I wish I knew more about forest fires. I didn't really know how they moved or spread.
I needed information Tom would have, but I figured he was getting SAR working on the problem. "Call Rene," I said. I heard the call ringing in my phone but a different ring tone coming from the back seat. I looked in the rearview mirror just as Rene pulled off the blanket he'd been hiding under.
"Rene, what are you doing here?"
"We couldn't let you go alone. We promised Chance one of us would keep eyes on you at all times. We don't break promises."
I pulled over. "It's too late to take you back now. You might as well sit up front so we can figure this out together."
He climbed out and got in the front passenger seat. I pulled back onto the road and bounced my ideas off Rene. He agreed that Chance wouldn't be concerned about surviving in the wilderness, but he would be concerned about the fire. I felt badly that I had dragged Rene into this, but it was nice to have company.
"Call Tom," I said. The call rang a few times and then went to voice mail. "Tom, It's Everly. I assume Chance would head away from the fire. Look at a map first chance you get and give me some idea what direction AWAY would be. I'm not well-versed in forest fire behavior. You'll have to teach me about forest fires when I get back. Thanks."
"Hopefully, he'll call back before we lose cell service."
I tried to keep my mind focused on what happened to Chance. Jerry couldn't have subdued Chance on his own. He would have needed help. At least one more guy. "Rene, call Loren. Have him ask around to see if anyone saw Jerry with another guy in the past couple of days. He would have needed help to subdue Chance."
That was the way the trip went. I'd think of something, bounce it off Rene, and we'd do what we could to follow-up by making calls or looking at the map.
At the turn off onto the forest service road, I stopped, and we got out to stretch our legs. I grabbed the flashlight and spread the map on the hood of the truck. "I'm thinking this area is most likely. It's close to where the fire is but not too close. Tom's expertise with fires would be really helpful, but we can't wait. I think it's better to get out there and start looking. We can relocate the search if Tom comes up with more information."
"Everly, you're doing everything you can. That's all anyone could ask. If Chance is out here, he won't be hiding. We'll find him. After all, we cryptid hunters have found things other people haven't seen in centuries."