Alright, I hope I caught all the typos etc in this. My puppy has been demanding my attention all morning and it's been hard to concentrate. I may not be able to get another chapter done until later in the week but I'll try.

Chapter 6

Everyone from the camp came running out of their tents to find out what had happened. Debris from the rocks and dirt filled the air.

One of the other hikers ran over to Hawke and helped him to his feet. It took a moment for him to get his bearings before he went over to check on Caitlin. She was surrounded by three others who had helped her to sit up.

"Caitlin!" Hawke yelled as he squatted down beside her. "Are you okay?"

Hawke helped Caitlin by supporting her back with his hand. "Can't….breathe…." she gasped.

"Take it easy," he told her. "Relax and breathe slowly through your nose. You're hyperventilating."

A few minutes later Doc and the others surrounded them as Caitlin slowly got her breathing under control.

"What the hell happened?" asked Ally.

"It looks like someone blew up a part of the trail," Doc replied, still shaken.

Hawke stood up and looked for one of the trail organizers he knew named Chris. "How many teams still haven't reached this check in?" he asked him.

"Six," Chris replied. "Three of them should be close."

"We need to go look for them," Doc insisted. "They could be hurt or trapped by falling rocks."

"I think it's too dangerous right now," said Chris. "I'll contact our home base and see what they can do to help."

"I'll do more than that," Hawke said to his friends as he helped Caitlin to her feet. "I think it's time I called Dom to bring the Lady. With his help we'll be able to find the others and check for more explosives."

"Someone doesn't want the hikers to make it to the end," said Ally.

"It sure looks that way," replied Hawke. "Ally will you take care of Caitlin while I go and contact Dom?"

"I'm going with you," replied Doc. "Then I say we see how far we can get down that trail."

Hawke pulled Caitlin into a hug and whispered into her ear. "Go and get some rest," he insisted.

Then he turned to Doc. "Alright," he said. "Doc, let's go make that call and then see what we can do to help until Dom gets here. Ally, please make sure Caitlin lies down."

Caitlin and Ally watched as the men made their way over to Chris to use his radio and contact Dom.

Ally took Caitlin by the arm and turned her back towards the tents. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you back inside your tent."

Caitlin started to walk with her and then suddenly stopped. "No," she told her. "I can't sleep right now."

"Okay," replied Ally. "Then let's just go over by the campfire there and sit down for awhile."

Caitlin looked over at the large campfire that had been built by the organizers. There were large fold up chairs all around it. Some of the others who were not able to join the search party that Doc and Hawke were putting together had already sat down to warm themselves with the flames.

"I wish we could help," Ally said as they took a seat.

Caitlin's mind was racing. Ally could see that she was focused on everything around them.

"We can help," Caitlin whispered to her. "That was too close. I have a gut feeling that someone here at the check point is responsible for that explosion."

"Even if that's the case," replied Ally. "How can we prove it? You're in no shape to do anything right now. Hawke wants you to rest."

"Hawke is not the boss of me," Caitlin snipped. "I don't need to be treated like a baby."

"I'm sorry," Ally replied. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to figure out who is behind all of these accidents," she replied. "The thing is that if it was a hiker, it would have to be more than one group."

"What do you mean?" asked Ally.

"Think about it," replied Caitlin. "The few groups that left before us made it. Then you and Hawke got hurt. We all managed to get through the first part of the trail just fine but most of those later groups suffered injuries on a part of the trail that should have been easy."

"So you think that someone ahead of us and another group behind us could be working together?" asked Ally.

"Possibly," she replied. "Either that or it's not someone who is even in the hike."

"I can see why someone in the hike would want to take the others out," Ally told her. "I don't get why someone on the outside would want to hurt anyone though."

Caitlin sat back in her chair and closed her eyes before responding. "With seventy pairs participating, there's a chance that anyone of us could have been targeted for something," she replied. "I'm sure Hawke is thinking the same thing. We'll have our friend Michael check on it as soon as Dom gets here."

"What do you want to do in the meantime?" asked Ally as she warmed her hands with the fire.

"Sit and watch," replied Caitlin. "Right now that's all I can do. People tend to trip themselves up."

Ally smiled. "I see why Doc thinks so highly of you," she told her.

Caitlin opened her eyes and turned towards Ally. "He's a great guy," she replied.

"But…." replied Ally.

"How did you know there was a "but"?" asked Caitlin.

"I can see how you are with Hawke," Ally admitted. "I've watched you both dance around the truth."

Caitlin frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Come on," replied Ally. "You know what I mean. The two of you seem to really care about each other yet you act scared to death of one another."

"I'm not scared of Hawke," Caitlin replied while slightly raising her voice.

"Well that's good to know," Hawke said as he and Doc came up behind them.

Caitlin shot Ally a dirty look before turning towards the men. "Did you get in touch with Dom?" she asked.

"He's on his way," Hawke replied. "We're getting ready to head down the path a ways and see if we find anyone."

"We should be back before Dom gets here," Doc added.

Hawke reached over the chair and put his hands on Caitlin's shoulders. "Please try and get some rest," he said.

"Okay, I'll try," she lied. "You be careful."

"Always," Hawke replied with a wink.