I touched the bump growing on my forehead. No blood. I took a moment to make sure I was all in one piece before turning my attention to Amber. I knew from the pain that I would have bruises all over my body in the morning. At least I didn’t seem to have any broken bones.
In the crash, Amber had rolled to one side of the van. The mattress she was on had cushioned her. She didn’t appear to have any more injuries. She was still breathing, though her pulse was even weaker than before.
That drug overdose was killing her. I had to get her off this mountain. Fast.
Doug was quiet in the driver’s seat, apparently knocked out. Blood dripped from his right hand, hanging limp by his side. I hadn’t meant to cause the accident. I’d just wanted to get the shotgun out of his hands. At least I had accomplished that, I thought. The gun now rested on the floor between the seats, along with his thermos.
All I had to do was find Doug’s cell and phone Search and Rescue. I just hoped Amber would hang on long enough for help to arrive.
I moved into the passenger seat and slid a hand into Doug’s jacket pockets, searching for his phone. When I didn’t find it, I opened the glove box to peer inside. Then I heard the click of the gun. I turned to see Doug pointing the shotgun at me. I shifted slowly in my seat to face Doug, with my hands in the air. There was blood on his forehead. He must have hit his head against the dash. He favored his shoulder as if it hurt. Blood oozed from the gash on his arm.
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere now,” I said. I turned his attention to the crunched front end of the vehicle. The headlights lit up the bank, but the engine was dead. “You’ve got a cell, right?” I asked him. “Let me phone for help.”
“Get out,” Doug told me. “Now.”
I backed my way out of the vehicle and stood in the snow. Doug went around the back of the van to check on Amber. I followed. “We can still save her,” I told him. “Just give me your phone.”
“I’m not going to jail.”
“You don’t have to. Like I said, you can make a run for it. I’ll take care of Amber.”
“No!” he cried.
“Or stay, if that’s what you want,” I said. “You need help too.” I touched his bloody arm. He staggered a little from the pain.
“You’re not phoning anybody,” he said. He slurred his words. Clearly, the blow to his head had left him even more confused.
“Listen to me carefully,” I told him. “If we stay here, we’ll all die of exposure. We’ll freeze to death. Amber will die first. She’s already close to death now.”
“No!” he whined. “She won’t die.”
“She will, Doug. Give me the damn phone.”
“No!” Doug dug his cell from his back jeans pocket and hurled it over the edge of the road.
“Why the hell did you do that?” I said. He aimed the shotgun at me. “No cops. No Search and Rescue. No one is coming between me and Amber. Nobody.”
“Then Amber may very well die,” I said. We had no way to call for help now. My only hope was that Mom had convinced the cops her story was true. Even if she had, I wasn’t sure emergency crews would reach us in time.
Doug stumbled around in a circle, holding the gun to his shoulder as if trying to find a target. His eyes watered. “There’s no way out of this,” he moaned. “There’s no way out.”
“There’s always a way,” I said. “Please, give me the gun.”
At that moment, I heard a car approaching. The vehicle’s lights blinded us both as it rounded the bend. Doug flinched and turned away.
My mom jumped out of the driver’s side, leaving the lights on. I realized only then that the car was mine.
“Claire!” Mom cried. “Are you all right?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked her. “You were going for help, remember?”
She pointed her thumb at Doug. “I had to follow you,” Mom said. “You know I did.”
Mom had raced up that logging road behind us. I loved her for it, but now I was sure no one would help us.
Doug turned the gun on my mother. “You,” he told her. “Give me your car keys.” When Mom didn’t hand them over right away, he shouted, “Now!”
“Okay, okay!” Mom tossed him the keys.
“Reporter lady,” he said. “Get Amber into that car.”
“Only if I’m driving her to a hospital.”
Doug pointed the gun back at Mom. “Do it.”
“This isn’t like you, Doug,” I said. “The drugs are messing with your mind. I know you don’t really want to hurt any of us.”
Doug fired the gun at Mom’s feet to prove he was serious. The gunshot echoed off the hills around us. “Do what he says, Claire,” said Mom. Her voice was tense.
I held both hands out. “Okay!” I said.
“All right. Just calm down.”
I struggled to lift Amber from the van. I put a shoulder under her arm and hauled her to the car. Then I slid her into the backseat of my Honda, clicking her seat belt in place.
Doug waved both Mom and me away with his gun, swaying as if he was having trouble standing. Then he got in my car and started it up.
“Doug, please get Amber medical care,” I begged.
“You can’t leave us here,” said Mom. She pointed at my flimsy skirt. “We’ll freeze.”
Doug didn’t reply. He slammed the car door shut and sped off past the van.
Mom and I watched my car disappear around the next bend. Cushioned by snow, the forest was eerily quiet. We were alone on that logging road.
“No one knows we’re here, do they?” I asked Mom.
Mom shook her head. She started to cry as the reality of situation sank in. “Oh my god,” she said. “What do we do now?”