Page 44 of Mountain Captive

“Yes.” Chris leaned forward. “A flash of blue—like a shirt or something.” She had just glimpsed the motion through the trees, the brightness of the blue out of place amid the greens and browns of the landscape.

“Is it another searcher?” Rand asked.

“No one else is assigned to this sector.” Carrie started forward.

They all followed. Chris was at the back of the line, and kept looking toward the trees.There!She had seen the flash of color again.

Then she heard the music once more. A high-pitched melody. She stopped, but the others kept going, intent on reaching the trees. She tried to figure out where the music was coming from. Back the way they had come and to the left. She just needed to get close enough to verify there was really someone there.

She took a few steps off the trail, keeping the others in sight. She would check this out, then catch back up with them to report. Abruptly, the music stopped, replaced by a voice: “Help!” The sound was faint and high pitched. A woman, or maybe a child.

Heart pounding, she broke into a trot, moving toward the sound. “Hello?” she called. “Is someone there?”

Something landed on her head, covering her face. She clawed at the rough cloth, but someone grabbed her hands. She tried to cry out, but her voice was barely audible. And then there was nothing but darkness.

CARRIESTOPPEDAGAINand stared intently ahead of them. Rand stood beside her. “There’s definitely someone up there,” he said.

“I see them.” Carrie took off again at a jog. “Hey!” she shouted. “We’re with search and rescue!”

“Why are they running away?” Caleb asked. He caught up with Rand and Carrie. The person they had been pursuing had disappeared behind a grouping of boulders.

“Stop!” Carrie called. “We need to talk to you.”

“Where did they go?” Caleb asked. “I don’t see them.”

Rand looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see Chris hurrying to catch up with them. Instead, there was no one there. “Where’s Chris?” he asked.

Carrie stopped. “She was right behind us.”

“Chris!” Rand listened for a response but heard nothing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted again: “Chris!”

“Caleb, wait!” Carrie called. “We can’t find Chris.”

Caleb jogged back to them. “I can’t find whoever we saw up there either.” He removed his cap and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What happened to Chris?”

“I don’t know.” Rand started back the way they had come. “Chris!” he shouted. Fear constricted his chest, making it hard to breathe. He searched the ground for any sign of a scuffle, but the hard surface showed no footprints or indications of a disturbance.

Carrie took out her radio. “The sheriff’s department is supposed to have a drone up to help with the search,” she said. “I’ll ask them to head this way, see if they can spot Chris.”

“How could she have just disappeared?” Caleb asked. “And where did that guy we were chasing vanish to?”

“I think he lured us away on purpose,” Rand said.

Caleb frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“So that someone else could grab Chris.” He scanned the empty landscape, seeing nothing but mining ruins, rocks and a distant bank of dark clouds in the distance. Rain was coming, though it wasn’t here yet. “The Vine didn’t leave the county after all. Yesterday Chris and I hiked the Blue Sky Trail, and we spotted some campers across the valley that we thought might be them. I meant to report the sighting to the sheriff but never got the chance. The story about the missing family may have been a ruse to get us up here to the mill so they could snatch her.” A cold knot in the pit of his stomach told him he was right.

Carrie ended her call. “Danny wants us to report back to the trailhead. They’re calling off the search.”

“Why are they calling it off?” Caleb asked.

Carrie shrugged. “Not sure. He just said to meet at the trailhead.”

“Did you let him know Chris is missing?” Rand asked.

“I did. He says we need to talk to the sheriff. They need coordinates to pinpoint the search.” She clapped Rand on the back. “Let’s go. The sooner we tell them what we know, the sooner they can find her.”

“You two go on to the trailhead,” Rand said. “I’ll stay here.”

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