hope you enjoy
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The icy cold water took Dawns' breath away when she made contact with it at the bottom of the waterfall. She struggled to get the rope and tarp off her, so she could swim back to the surface. She was slowly letting the air out of her lungs, fore she new she couldn't hold her breath much longer, she was getting lightheaded. She felt an arm around her waist and someone pulling her towards the surface. As her head came above water, she started coughing up water. She was pulled to the shore, and soon after she was semi-conscience, her eyes drifted close, but she felt someone cutting the rope off her, and when the trap was taken off of her, the cold hair assaulted her skin. She shivered uncontrolably. A coat was draped over her, and she felt herself being lifted into the air, when she drifted into unconscienceness.
Dave, Quinn, Marcus, Sara and Adam were saddling horses, and getting ready for the at least four day ride to the falls. Dave and Sara were saddling horses, while Quinn and Marcus got together supplies and packed them on to the two spare horses they were bringing. Lisa walked over to them, and handed her husband a white box. "You might be needing this." She told him. "I restocked it, and added things in case they are pretty nasty." Lisa told him. Quinn nodded. Lisa hugged him, and kissed him. "Bring her home." She told him, then walked back to the house, where Kate, Rachel, and Adams' brother in law Jordan were going to stay and wait. Jordan wanted to go along, but the trek was for experience riders, so Adam convinced him to stay behind.
OMALLEY
She was warm, warmer then she had been since she was kidnapped. She felt like the last
few weeks hadn't happened, then she felt an ache in her left forearm. She tried to lift her arm
up to inspect it, but found she couldn't. She opened her eyes and realized she was in a dark
green heavy duty camping sleeping bag. She wasn't in a tent, but dark blue tarp was hung over her
to protect her from rain, and some of the wind. She slowly got her arms out of the sleeping bag,
and inspected her forearm. Both of them had white bandages wrapped around them, the left one was
tinged red, from her blood. She slowly sat up, and realized her entire body ached, and was stiff.
"You're awake." A voice stated. Dawn jumped, and bit back a scream. There was a boy a few years older then she was kneeling beside her. He handed her the cup that was in his hand. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you." He told her, grinning. She relaxed a little. "Your trip down the falls did a bit of damage." He told her.
"How did you know?" She told him, taking a small sip out of the warm cup, it was some sort of tea. It didn't taste half bad. She took three more sips, before she started coughing. The boy took the cup from her, and slowly rubbed her back. She was still cold. She pulled the sleeping bag closer to her. "How long have I been here?" She asked him.
"About two days." The boy told her. "I heard you scream for help, and when I was coming to help, I seen a man throw you over the falls, by the way I kinda buried the tarp and ropes, to make it look like you were dead, and put a makeshift cross on top of it. Two of the men came down to the falls looking around." The boy told her. She nodded, before bolting out of the sleeping bag, and going away from the camp site. She put a hand on the trunk of a tree, and threw up the small amount of tea she had been able to drink. The boy came over to her, and helped her back to the camp site. She sat beside the fire, trying to get warm. He wrapped a blanket around her. "When was the last time you ate?" He asked her, concerned.
Dawn looked at him and tried to remember. "I guess before I was kidnapped." She told him,
surprised. She hadn't really thought about it. The first few days her stomach growled, but after
awhile she ignored it, and forgot about eating. "A few weeks." She told him. "I'm Dawn Black by
the way." Dawn told him.
He looked at her a moment. "Your father is Adam Black used to play pro football." He simply stated. Dawn nodded. "I'm Nathan." He told her.
"Nice to meet you." Dawn told him. She looked around at the campsite for the first time.
Trees surrounded it, keeping it out of view from the water edge, the forest, and the sky. The
tarp shelter was on the far side, with it's back facing the forest. The fire was in front of it a
few feet. "How long have you been out here?" She asked him.
"Two years." Nathan told her.
She was shocked. "How come?" Dawn asked him, curiously.
"Wanted to get away from life, my parents, everything." Nathan told her shrugging, as if the reason for coming here wasn't important. Though Dawn felt as if there was some big reason why he was out here, and he just didn't want to tell her. She respected that, he did save her life after all.
"Not to say that I really want to go back, but how far is it to the waterfall?"
"Five hour hike, or about an hour canoe ride." Nathan told her.
"Can we go back there?" Dawn asked him. "My family is going to be looking for me, and that waterfall was huge, so people around here must know about it." Dawn stated.
"All this land is owned by one rancher." Nathan told her.
Dawn looked down into the fire for a moment. "Do you know the ranchers name?" She asked him hopeful.
"Something Diamonds, use to be U.S. Marshall." Nathan told her.
She looked over at him smiling. "How far to his ranch?"
Nathan looked at her. "At least two days ride on horse back, so in your condition that is at least a week, if not longer hike." Nathan told her. "Do you know him?"
"He's my mothers' sister-in-laws' brother-in-law. He's considered my Uncle." Dawn told him. "You don't have to come with me, just point me in the right direction." She told him.
Nathan shook his head. "No way am I letting an injured, half starved girl go wandering off into the woods alone." He told her. "I'll take you to the ranch, and vanish onces the ranch is in sight." Nathan told her.
"Thank you." She told him.
"Get some sleep, we'll head out tomorrow." Nathan told her.
OMALLEY
Dave helped his sister off her horse, they were at the bottom of the falls. Quinn, and
Marcus were walking the river bank on either side, looking for any sign that she got out. Adam
and Sara walked behind Quinn, as Dave went to the other side and helped Marcus. Marcus was knee
deep in the water, so he could look at water bank. He spotted a section, that looked disturbed
recently and went over and got out of the water and looked at the ground, there was foot prints,
but they were guys boots, Dawn had been wearing her running shoes when she was taken. However, he
followed the footprints into the a small clearing surrouned by trees, it seemed to be the only
spot where trees didn't grow. He noticed in the middle was a mound of freshly distrubed dirt. He
looked at the cross at the end of it, and realized it was a grave. He knelt down beside it, and
wondered what the chances were that this wasn't Dawns' grave.
Marcus walked over to Dave and whispered something to him. Dave looked at him startled,
then followed Marcus to the spot. Daves' expression was grim. "Keep them away from here." Marcus
told him. "I need to make sure it's her grave." Marcus told him grimly. Dave nodded, and walked
off. Marcus found a big piece of sturdy bark, and used it to dig the grave up again. What he
found shocked him. He pulled the trap, and the cut rope strings out from underneath the remaining
dirt, and said a silent prayer of thanks. He brought it out to the rest of them. "I found some-
thing." Marcus told them. They all turned to look at him, and seen the tarp, and the cut rope in
his hand.
"She got away?" Sara asked hopefully.
"Not only that, but she had help, unless Dawn was carrying around a pocketknife." Quinn told her, as he inspected the rope, then he wandered around looking at the ground. He looked over at them. "She didn't walk out of here though." He sadly told them.
"But she's alive though right?" Sara asked, looking at Quinn, then Marcus, then Dave. "I
mean why not bury the body with the trap and rope, if she wasn't alive." Sara tried to reason,
trying to stay calm. Adam wrapped his arms around her.
"You're right Sara. Who ever buried the rope and tarp knew what they were doing. Whoever it is did it to keep the kidnappers from following them." Marcus told her.
"Problem is it's like whoever it is covered there tracks. They vanish past the grave site." Quinn told them. "Let go up the trail a bit, and make camp." Quinn suggested, knowing that they needed to find a place to stay then anywhere near here.
OMALLEY
Dawn took the bag Nathan asked her to carry if she could, and slipped her arms through
the straps, noting how bony her arms, and legs and the rest of her body must look. She pushed the
thought aside and concentrated on the long hike ahead of them. Nathan had been really nice to her
and she felt guilty when they had to stop so many times just so she could rest. He didn't
comment, and just found a place to sit down, and waited. He was patient that was for sure. They
were staying away from the falls, incase the kidnappers were around. Dawn pointed out that if her
parents were looking for her and found out which waterfall it was, they'd go there. Nathan agreed
and before heading out that morning he went to the falls and checked it out. He looked around,
and didn't see anything that suggested that someone had been there. He quickly got back in his
canoe and headed back to his camp.
He handed her a bottle of water from his pack. "Small sips or you'll make yourself sick"
He told her.
Dawn nodded. "Thanks." The sun was beginning to fade, and as they were setting up camp, Nathan told her to his surprise that they covered more ground then he thought they would.
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Hope you are liking it. And if not, I'm still going to keep on writing cause well I like it. (not to be rude or anything)
Reviews are lovely.