The missing mortals, p.23
The Missing Mortals, page 23
Nathan paused for effect and then continued with his narration. “With his need for revenge satisfied, the husband’s spirit departed this world, but the woman’s spirit remains to this day. Every night she walks the path along the river calling the names of any who will listen. It is said that if you ever hear her calling your name, your own death is near at hand.”
Now that’s a scary story, Emma thought when Nathan had finished. Around the campfire, it was absolutely quiet. Only the howling of the wind, as it swept up and over the bluffs, could be heard. Then, as if afraid they would hear their names being whispered, everyone began talking at once. Nathan remained where he was with a satisfied look on his face. The story had had the desired effect.
After that, some of the other senior Alpha-O’s took turns telling scary stories. There was the usual story about the maniacal killer with a hook for a hand and the killer who always wore a hockey mask. The other stories were good, but none of them had the same effect on the group as Nathan’s.
When the stories were over, Mr. Dorfman and Mr. Criderman instructed the group to pick up any trash around the campsite and to use the restroom if they needed to. Martha got up to look around for trash, and Emma was just getting ready to follow her when she noticed Mr. Dorfman over by one of the wagons. At the moment, he was alone. Realizing that this was her chance, she quickly went over to him.
“Mr. Dorfman,” Emma began quickly before she could lose her nerve, “would it be okay if Martha and I rode back on the other wagon?”
“I guess that would be all right,” Mr. Dorfman responded after a moment. “Just make sure you tell Mr. Criderman that you’ll be riding back with him.”
“I will,” Emma quickly agreed. She headed back to the campfire intending to tell Mr. Criderman right away that she and Martha would be riding back on his wagon, but she couldn’t find him. Reasoning that he’d probably gone to use the restroom himself before the trip back to the castle, Emma decided to tell Martha the good news instead. There was only one problem with Emma’s plan: Martha was nowhere in sight either. Emma began moving around the campsite asking some of the other Alpha-O’s if they’d seen where Martha had gone. No one seemed to know. Emma was just beginning to get concerned when finally someone said they had seen her.
“She was looking for you,” an older girl Emma didn’t know informed her. “Someone told her you’d gone up the trail to the falls.”
Why would anyone tell her that? Emma wondered with a frown. Then it hit her. It would be just like Bobby or one of his friends to send Martha off on a wild goose chase.
Thanking the girl for the information, Emma hurriedly set off on the path that led up to the falls. She needed to find Martha in a hurry. The group would be leaving soon to go back to the castle. As Emma walked, she called Martha’s name. Like the path leading down to the river, this one had solar lights set along it at regular intervals. These, in addition to the light from the full moon, provided sufficient illumination for Emma to safely pick her way along the path. Emma hurried as fast as she could, expecting to meet Martha coming back down at any time. Soon the path left the trees and began to follow along the edge of the bluff. Too late, Emma realized that she too had been sent on a wild goose chase. Martha was afraid of heights and would never have come up the trail this far. Emma was about to turn back when she heard it—the sound of the waterfall. She must be very close to the lookout. As if drawn by an irresistible force, Emma continued up the path. This might be her only chance to see the waterfall firsthand. She would take one quick look and then head back down to the campsite. Martha was probably there waiting for her right now.
Emma climbed quickly, all the while telling herself that she should be headed in the other direction. However, desire won out over reason, and she kept moving upward. The viewing spot turned out to be farther away than she’d thought. The sound of the falls had been amplified by the surrounding bluffs, making it seem closer than it really was. Finally, Emma reached the lookout and had to admit that the climb had been worth the effort. She could see immediately why it was called Boulder Falls. It appeared as if an enormous chunk of rock had broken off and come crashing down the mountainside, finally coming to rest in one of the mountain’s many runoff streams. The water was diverted by the huge boulder in such a way that, instead of following its natural course down the side of the mountain, it was forced over the edge of the bluff. It was a magnificent sight especially with the light of the full moon reflecting off the water as it leapt over the edge and fell hundreds of feet to the river below.
Emma lingered only long enough to memorize how the falls looked in the moonlight. Then she turned and headed back down the trail, all the while regretting her foolish impulse. She was probably going to get in trouble for making everyone wait. When Emma finally reached the campsite, she stopped abruptly, shocked at the sight that greeted her eyes. Everyone was gone along with both of the wagons. Emma hurried to the gravel road they’d come in on earlier that evening, hoping that she could still catch the wagons, but they were nowhere in sight. Apparently, they’d left some time ago. What am I going to do? Emma thought, beginning to panic. And where is Martha? Surely, Martha wouldn’t have let them leave without her.
She was still standing there in indecision when she heard a rustling noise coming from the river path. Convinced that it was the ghost of the mad woman coming to get her, she was in the process of looking for a place to hide when Martha appeared. Emma could have cried in relief at the sight of her friend. As she rushed over to her, Martha exclaimed angrily, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you. Someone told me you’d gone back down to the river to look for one of your gloves.”
“They told me you’d gone up the path to the falls,” Emma replied. She wasn’t offended at Martha’s anger. She could hear the worry behind Martha’s words.
“Well, I guess we’ve been tricked,” Martha fumed. “And I bet I know who’s behind it all.”
“Bobby!” both girls cried in unison.
Martha looked around the now vacant campsite. “How could they just go off and leave us like that? Mr. Dorfman must have seen that we didn’t get on his wagon.”
“I’m afraid that’s my fault,” Emma said with a grim expression. “I asked Mr. Dorfman if we could ride back to the castle on the other wagon. He said it was okay but that I needed to make sure I told Mr. Criderman right away. Mr. Criderman wasn’t around just then, so I decided I’d tell you the good news first, but I couldn’t find you either. Then some girl told me you’d gone up the path to the falls looking for me.” Emma paused for a moment and looked sheepishly at Martha. “I should have known you’d never go up that way.”
“Well, the question is what do we do now?”
“I guess, we’ll have to walk back to the castle,” Emma replied. The problem was she had no idea which direction to go. She hadn’t been paying any attention to the route the wagons had taken on the way to the campsite. Bobby and his mean friends were to blame for that too.
“Surely when the wagons get back to the castle, someone will notice that we’re missing,” Martha reasoned. “Phil and Tom, or even Kim or Cindy, will surely see that we aren’t with the group.”
“Maybe,” Emma replied. “But I don’t think we should count on it. The wagons may not get back to the castle at the same time. All of the eighth graders could be in their rooms and in bed before Mr. Dorfman’s wagon arrives or vice versa.”
Martha frowned. She hadn’t thought of that. Emma was right. They needed to at least try to get back to the castle on their own. She didn’t relish the idea of staying at the campsite any more than Emma did. All of the scary stories they’d just heard had given her the creeps.
“Do you know the way back?” Martha asked after a moment.
“No, I was hoping you did.”
“Well, that’s just great! I guess we’re just supposed to wander around in the dark until some guy with a hook attacks us,” Martha railed.
Despite the seriousness of their current situation, Emma found herself laughing at Martha’s reference. Martha frowned at Emma for a split second before she started laughing too. With their laughter, some of girls’ anxiety drained away. No matter what the next couple of hours might bring, at least they had each other.
I wish Doug and Sebastian were with us,” Emma said wistfully as the two girls set off down the gravel road.
“Well, they’re not, so we’re just going to have to do the best we can without them,” Martha responded. Although she agreed with Emma wholeheartedly, she knew it wasn’t going to do them any good to dwell on circumstances they couldn’t change. They needed to focus all of their efforts on getting back to the castle.
For the next several minutes, the girls walked along in silence. Thankfully, the full moon provided enough light for them to avoid stepping in the road’s numerous potholes. All went well, until a few minutes later, they came to the first fork in the road. Both girls came to a stop in the middle of the crossroad and looked intently in each direction.
“Which way do you think we should go?” Martha asked.
“I don’t know,” Emma said with a shake of her head. “They both look the same to me.”
“Well, we can’t just stand here all night. We’re going to have to make a choice.”
Emma looked down at the road thinking that the tractors might have left some tracks they could follow, but the hard-packed earth revealed nothing. Then she noticed a clump of hay lying on the road on her left.
“Look!” Emma cried, excitedly pointing to her discovery.
“Good eyes,” Martha said. “I guess we go left.”
After that, the girls kept an eye out for more hay. Additional clumps of hay spaced along the road at irregular intervals convinced the girls that they were going the right way. It seemed to Emma as if someone was intentionally leaving them a trail to follow. Maybe on the trip back to the school, Bobby had begun to regret tricking the girls and had decided to help them. Almost as soon as she had the thought, Emma rejected it. It wasn’t like Bobby to be sorry about anything he did. Perhaps one of the others involved in the plot was dropping the hay. With a sigh, Emma realized it really didn’t matter who, if anyone, was helping them. As long as they had a trail of hay to follow, they would be okay.
Emma’s thoughts grew fanciful as she walked along next to Martha. She began to imagine that she and Martha were following the trail of breadcrumbs left by Hansel and Gretel. She just hoped it didn’t lead to a witch’s house where they’d find the two children locked in an oven.
Emma shivered as a fresh gust of wind hit her. The temperature was beginning to drop, and the wind seemed to have more force behind it. She began to think longingly of a warm oven.
“Oooh! That wind is awful,” Martha exclaimed with a shiver as she pulled up the collar on her jacket.
“I know,” Emma agreed. “It’s getting colder too.”
“That’s all we need. The wind may blow our trail away.”
Emma hadn’t thought of that. Just as she began to worry that they might lose their trail, a cloud passed over the moon. The sudden loss of light caused her to stumble.
“I never realized how dark it could get out in the middle of nowhere,” Martha commented beside her. “I can’t see where I’m going.”
“Me neither,” Emma said. She looked up to see high wispy clouds scudding across the sky. Thankfully, the cloud currently covering the moon wasn’t very large. In moments, the moon would be reappearing. “We’ll be able to see again in a minute. The cloud’s almost past.”
“Oh!” Martha cried out in the next instant. “I think I just sprained my ankle. Stupid potholes!”
“Are you okay? Can you walk on it?” Emma hurried over to where Martha stood, massaging her right ankle.
“It’s not too bad. I think I’ll be able to walk on it.” Martha put her right foot down and gradually began shifting her weight onto it. She sighed in relief as it held her weight with only a slight twinge of pain.
“It’s just a little sore,” she informed Emma. “I’m not ready to run a marathon by any means, but I can make it back to the castle.”
Emma let out the breath she’d been holding and sent up a small prayer of thanks. She had no idea what she would have done if Martha hadn’t been able to continue. In all the time they’d been walking, they hadn’t passed any houses where she could have gotten any help.
“Put your arm over my shoulder, and I can help you walk,” Emma offered.
“I’m okay for now. If the pain gets any worse, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. We’ll just take it slow, and if you need to stop to rest your ankle, just say the word.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Martha said.
The moon had reappeared, so the girls set off down the road once again but, this time, at a slower pace. The wind continued to blow, its breath getting frostier by the minute. The shivering girls huddled close together as Martha limped along without complaint. Miserable and cold, Emma lost track of time. It seemed like they’d been walking for hours, and still the castle was nowhere in sight. Was it possible they had taken a wrong turn somewhere? Emma was just about to share her doubts with Martha when a car’s headlights appeared in the distance.
Startled, the two girls looked at each other. Every instinct told Emma to hide. After the stories they’d heard earlier that evening, Emma envisioned the driver of the car as a serial killer cruising along lonely back roads looking for likely victims. She and Martha were the perfect prey for such a maniacal predator. Without hesitation, Emma pulled Martha off the road and into the woods. Martha must have been thinking along the same lines as Emma because she went along without argument. Once they were far enough away from the road, the girls crouched down behind a couple of large trees and waited for the car to pass.
For the first time since this whole ordeal had begun, Emma was genuinely afraid. Would they ever make it back to the castle? Emma began to calculate how long it would be until someone at the school finally noticed the girls were missing. Clarice and Susie, their roommates, would probably get up in the morning thinking the girls had already made their beds and left for breakfast. Clarice and Susie liked to sleep in on the weekends, while Emma and Martha got up at their usual early time. Doug was still in the infirmary, so that left only Sebastian. Surely, Sebastian would notice the girls were gone and tell someone. At any rate, if the girls didn’t make it back to the castle tonight, it would be a long time before anyone came looking for them.
All of these thoughts ran through her head as they waited for the car to pass their hiding spots. It seemed to be taking an unusually long time to get to where they were. When the car finally reached them, Emma knew why. Whoever was driving was just barely creeping along. Emma had plenty of time to get a good look at the car, but from her position and in the reduced light, all she could tell was that it was a dark-colored sedan. She couldn’t see inside the car at all.
“Why is that car going so slow?” Martha whispered beside her.
“I don’t know,” Emma whispered back. Maybe the driver’s just very old, Emma thought. Nothing more was said as they waited until the car was no longer in sight. When they were sure it was safe, they left the woods and began walking along the gravel road once again. After what seemed an eternity, they came to another fork in the road. Emma scanned both directions for any clumps of hay, but the moon had begun its descent in the west, and it was getting harder to see. Sending up a silent prayer, Emma took a deep breath.
“I say we go left again,” she told Martha.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Martha said with a nod.
With Martha’s confirmation, Emma didn’t hesitate but immediately set out on the road they’d chosen. She wanted to get back to the castle before any other cars came along.
Emma noticed that Martha’s limp was growing more pronounced, and every now and then, a little moan would escape her lips. It was obvious her ankle was beginning to cause her more pain. Without asking this time, Emma took Martha’s right arm and put it over her shoulder.
“Lean on me and use me as a crutch,” she instructed Martha.
Emma knew Martha was really suffering when she didn’t argue. It was even slower going now, and Emma felt like crying. They were cold and tired, and Martha was hurting. In an effort to keep back the tears that threatened, Emma thought of how much she’d like to get her hands around Bobby Wilcox’s neck. He was the cause of this whole nightmare. The problem was she had no proof. Once the two girls got back to the castle, Emma would probably be blamed for the whole thing because she hadn’t followed instructions and informed Mr. Criderman right away that they would be riding back with him. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she was going to be in serious trouble when, and if, they ever got back to the castle. As she contemplated what her punishment might be, Emma felt tears welling up again. Only this time she wasn’t able to hold them back.
She turned her head away from Martha so she wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her cheeks, but Martha wasn’t so easily fooled. In truth, she felt like crying herself. Still she tried to comfort her friend.
“It’s okay, Emma. I’m sure we’re getting close to the castle now.”
“It’s not that,” Emma said with a sniff. Then she told Martha what she’d been thinking.
“That’s ridiculous! How could any of this be your fault? We were lied to.”
