Page 68 of All Autumn
Adam and I had buddied up. We always did on searches. It was raining so hard that even with headlamps on our helmets and the heavy-duty flashlights we both held, we couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead.
“I’m not even sure where our grid is anymore,” I grumbled. If it was an adult lost in the woods, the search probably would have been called off until the morning to protect the safety of the volunteers. But everyone on our team, along with the other searchers—probably close to a hundred men combined—refused to give up until we found the boy. I wasn’t worried about getting lost. Along with our GPS trackers, we both had a compass, satellite radios, and other emergency supplies.
Adam stopped in a clearing, making a full circle. “I can deal with the rain, but I hate the damn lightning. Which way?”
“How far are we from the campsite?” I don’t know why I bothered trying to see ahead. There was nothing but rain and blackness.
“No more than a mile, I’d guess.”
“Let’s work our way back. I doubt a child would have made it this far. Pay attention to any rock outcroppings or such that he might have taken refuge under.”
Adam called Rusty’s name as we pushed past bushes and tried not to stumble in slippery mud. Hopefully we weren’t waking up any bears. With this weather they should be tucked away, nice and warm in their lairs. One bear experience was already one too many. Had that been only last week when Autumn and I had gone to the waterfall?
I’d had a moment back at the house, two of them actually. The first was when I’d winked at Autumn and a brilliant smile had appeared on her face, one meant just for me. I’d gone all warm and fuzzy inside. Then she’d noticed Adam standing off to the side when we were getting ready to load up, and she’d gone over and hugged him, telling him to stay safe.
It was impossible to ignore what was happening. I was falling for her. That wasn’t good. It was the last thing she wanted from me, and if I gave her the slightest hint that I might want more with her than a fling, she’d run for the hills. Maybe that would be for the best, stop before I ended up like Adam with a broken heart. Yet the thought of not having her in my life hurt. I had some serious thinking to do.
Until we found Rusty and could go home, I needed to concentrate on our search, along with not slipping and ending up with a sprained ankle or worse. Later I’d think about Autumn and what I wanted to do.
“We should be about halfway back by now,” I said.
Adam glanced over his shoulder. “What would you do if you were a boy lost in the woods at night?”
“Cry.”
He chuckled. “Me, too, but after that?”
“At his age he probably doesn’t know to stay put until someone finds him, and even if he was told to do that, he’ll be scared and forget. He’ll be trying to find his parents, which means he could be anywhere.”
Adam let out a sigh. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”
“The other option is that because of the rain he found a place to take shelter. If he’s curled up under a rock outcrop or a fallen log, we could walk right past him and never see him in this weather.”
“Yeah, his mother said he was wearing jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, so he’ll blend into the night,” Adam said.
“Parents should dress their kids in neon yellow if they go hiking in the woods.” We trudged on, calling Rusty’s name. From the updates on our radios, the other searchers hadn’t found a trace of him either. It was becoming worrisome.
Lightning flashed again, and out of the corner of my eye something caught my attention. I aimed my flashlight at the object. “Adam, hold up.” Almost hidden under a bush was a boy’s blue and white sneaker, the size about right for Rusty.
“What is it?”
I held up the shoe. “Did we get a description of his shoes from the mother?”
“Yeah, blue and white.”
We searched all around the bush, but the other sneaker wasn’t there. “Okay, he’s been here but no way to know how long ago. Let’s call it in, get some others in this area to help us search.”
“What’s that?”
I looked to where Adam was shining his light, about ten feet higher up the mountain. We headed that way. Dangling from the top of a bush was a soaked sock. “Smart kid. He’s leaving signs for us to follow. Keep going,” I said. “He’s got to be around here somewhere.”
Adam called in our report and GPS location. We started moving in a circle, widening our search pattern as we went. We were on the side of the mountain, and between the steep incline and the slippery mud, it wasn’t easy going.
Not five minutes later we came to a large boulder. I shone my flashlight under it, and sure enough, there was a small cave-like indentation. Falling to my knees, I poked my head underneath.
“Shit,” I exclaimed, jerking away.
Adam was instantly next to me. “What?”
