Page 98 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
At first it was just a little bit, barely more than a mist, so light it rested on the fibers of my wool sweater. I walked with my head down and a determined step, following the tracks left by the ATV as it took me deeper into the woods, and into higher elevation.
Dad’s words ate at me while I walked.
Charlie had left. She’d gone back to base camp with Greg, where enough money awaited her to pay off her mom’s medical bills. This was what I wanted for her—and it was a sure bet if she left. If I’d been with her, I would have told her to leave.
Of course she took the deal.
Still, I kept walking until the rain came so hard it washed away the tracks.
I stopped, not sure which way to go. Up higher? Left or right? Or maybe down past the animal trail toward where I could hear water running. The sky grew dark quickly as clouds covered the sun.
I was lost in the deep, dark woods. No coat. No weapon. All alone.
I sat with my back against a tree. I unzipped my bag to grab the SAT phone. It was cool to the touch as I held it in my hand.
It was time to call it in. Charlie wasn’t waiting for me at the end of some wiped-away trail. This rain was a sign to go home, to go back to normal life, to pretend none of this had ever happened.
I went to press the call button but paused. I didn’t want to go back to base camp.
Maybe someday I could pretend to be happy for Charlie and Greg. See them around town and not feel like my heart had gone through a fish-processing machine. I was feeling too raw to show up on a boat and find them holding hands and celebrating that everything had worked out for them after all. Greg’s smug face would do me in.
For Charlie, I could be calm and mature. But not yet.
I spotted a triangular rock formation with a small dry space under it not too far from me. I forced myself to stand and trudge over to it, before scooting inside the crevice. The rain sounded more muffled in here. I lay on my side and watched the wind rustle through the moss and bushes from outside my small haven.
I drifted in and out of an uncomfortable sleep all night between reliving memories of being with Charlie. Finally, the downpour eased, and the sky was once again filled with a delicate, foggy mist. I couldn’t see much farther than my hand in front of me, but at least I wouldn’t get completely soaked.
I exited my rock shelter and patted it in gratitude as I left. I looked at the SAT phone one more time, stuffed it back in my backpack, and zipped it firmly up. Yes, Charlie was probably gone—leaving was the smart choice.
But what if she hadn’t left? What if she was waiting for me somewhere, as cold and miserable as I felt after three nights alone, and I didn’t come?
I’d never do that to her.
I let the tiny flicker of hope in my chest grow as I walked back to where I’d seen the last track. I considered my options as I stared at the muddy ghost of a tire imprint. It would be dangerous to continue walking aimlessly through the woods. But there were only so many places an ATV could even fit to drive with how dense this forest was. I’d follow the most logical path the ATV took until I couldn’t.
The mist lifted as I walked. Unlike yesterday, when I kept my gaze firmly planted on the ground to follow the tracks, I lifted my eyes to look around me. The forest was beautiful. Dewy and magical, like stepping into a fairy-tale forest, with every shade of green possible within my vision. The smell of pine and moss surrounded me fully.
I filled my lungs and held my breath, hoping it would help clear my mind.
The path had opened up to multiple directions they could have taken the ATV. From here, she could be anywhere.
I could shout, but my voice was gone from the last few days of yelling her name and being exposed to the cold.
“Where are you, Charlie?” I whispered through my tight throat.
I turned in a circle, looking down every path she could have taken, searching for something. A gut instinct to go a certain way.
A flash of color caught my eye in the distance, and I paused. A bird, maybe? Most of them had fled south already.
I eased my way back around, keeping my eyes trained in the distance until I saw it again. A flash of orange. I squinted, still not quite sure what it was.
“Well, I wanted a sign, and I got one.” I trudged through the overgrown animal path to reach whatever the orange thing was. Once I got close, excitement zinged through me.
A piece of rope had been tied to a tree. One that matched the rope I’d tied on my finger.
I glanced around where I stood until I spotted another flash of orange in the distance. Energy I hadn’t felt in days filled my limbs as I raced toward it, and then another one, and another, until I was being led up the side of the mountain.
These had to be clues to Charlie. They had to be leading me to her.
