Chapter 43
In this search the remaining men stayed closer together moving in a tight sweep staying on the trail itself and on either side of it. The hope was that if they encountered any of the men that they were after they would be afforded the element of surprise. Time was not on their side as the decent of the sun was already casting dark shadows in the already shaded areas of the forest.
It didn't take long for them to reach the area that was described by the women. The direction they were traveling was sloping down hill providing a little less physical effort on their part. Johnny and Roy were traveling on the worn pathway when they easily spotted the pattern of blood that had soaked into the arid soil.
For a few seconds the two men just stared at the sight before them, then at each other; making mental notes as to how much blood their friend would have lost even before making it to the location where they had found her. The image of a blood caked Dixie made them shiver even though the ambient air was still quite warm, even in the high elevation.
To his left Johnny picked up a distinct whistle; the one that had been assigned to Joe and the Sheriff. They had made sure to use the signal before approaching, so there would be no miscommunication as to who was coming towards them. With everyone on edge there was no room for any cases of mistaken identity.
"Johnny, any luck? Have you seen anything that helps....?" Joe stopped abruptly as his eyes glanced down towards the ground.
"Is that from the nurse or your girl?" The small town sheriff audibly gulped. In his years in law enforcement he had never dealt with Dirt Bags that were so twisted.
"It's Dixie's blood; this is where the others said that it happened...." Johnny's voice was cold and distant. He already knew that they would no longer find her in this area.
Shortly before they had made it here he had felt her panic and terror escalate to an all time high. His blood ran cold as her physical pain increased to such a degree that he almost passed out. It was feeling her give up that drove him to the brink of insanity. For a few moments he thought that everything was going to be alright; that he would find her around the next bend. Then in a flash he lost his track on her. Fearing that there was only one reason for that to happen; he couldn't bear to voice his thoughts to any of them, not even Roy.
"Johnny, we have to keep moving. We only have a couple of hours more till the sun sets. Alice said that she ran away only a short distance from here when A.J. was shot...." Roy had been staring at his brother and knew that he was 'feeling' more than he was owning up to. Long ago he had learned to read him and his body language. Normally that entailed knowing when to back Kelly down or Gage would flip his lid. Now he was keenly aware that this never ending terror had just been kicked up a notch or two; which could only mean trouble for his little sister.
Another whistle in the near distance sounded, telling the others that Marco and Brice were asking them to move towards them. As the four men left the beaten path they came onto a clearing several hundred feet off of it. The area was exactly as Alice had described it. Under normal circumstances it would have been the perfect spot to have a romantic picnic for two; now it was a grisly crime scene that lacked a victim.
Johnny moved like lightening to the spot where Dr. Early was kneeling as Marco stood over his shoulder observing the fresh pool of blood that had been partly absorbed by the dark green ground cover. Oh both of their faces were a combination of disgust, anxiety and worry.
He took position beside the doctor that he considered to be family; after all as soon as this was over and she was home they were going to nail down an exact date where he would 'officially' be his uncle too. The older man's skin was drawn tightly across his face, highlighting his own fatigue and pain.
"Joe? How much do you think this is?" He was referring to the amount that was lost and how it might relate to her possibilities of survival.
"It's at least a liter or so...she'll be very weak...but she didn't bleed out..." Joe was having flash backs to his own military service where he had been witness to so many kinds of wounds, gun shot and alike. Between that time and his years in the emergency department calculating blood loss scenarios had become second nature.
The others had circled around the area; each of them having the same reaction as the ones before them. They looked on knowing that along with the daylight, time was running out for their friend and colleague. None of them would have had to been in the emergency services to know that any loss of blood would lessen the chances of A.J. being able to defend herself against anything man or beast could throw at her.
Marco clenched his jaw, and then rubbed it when he noticed how sore it had become from that particular reflex. He felt so completely out his realm. Yes, as a firemen he aiding in more than a few searches for civilians in the mountains but never under these kinds of circumstances and not for a loved one. He had only basic medical training and right now that seemed woefully inadequate.
Brice's personality drove most of the men he worked with crazy that he already knew. He was also aware that he never really opened up to any of them; in fact his partner would be the only person in the department or in his life in general that he had done so and only on a limited basis. Now when she needed him and the rest of her family the most they were letting her down. That fact was sending him to a place so dark that it would frighten most individuals. His ability to distance himself from emergency situations was what kept him sane in his line of work and in these moments that skill was abandoning him.
Roy was on constant watch for any intruders in their area. That is when he spotted what looked like sneakers partly hidden by a patch of bushes and shrubs. With out saying a word to his comrades he slowly made his way over to the mystery. When he got close enough to get a complete view of what he had seen he called out to the others.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" His voice was loud enough to get their attention but quiet enough not to alert anyone that they didn't want informed.
Johnny and the rest of the team sprinted towards Roy not understanding what to expect by the tone in his voice. When the arrived they saw the body of what appeared to be a boy who barely could be classified as an adult. His eyes bored into theirs, open and unblinking.
Roy didn't need any of his medical training to instantly know what had ended the young man's life; the gaping hole in his neck and blood soaked shirt told the story. He noted the lack of blood pooling or splattering her where the body, which meant that he had not been killed at this spot. His eyes strained in the darken shadows to follow where the more narrow trail of blood originated.
"Johnny....look....." He walked over to the source and took in the scenery; another dark scene was unfolding before him.
His partner joined in beside him. Along with fresh patches of blood and other obvious signs of a struggle one thing stuck out to his eagle eyes. Laying amongst the tree roots, leaves and rocks were objects that took his breath away. Walking over he sank to his knees the blood draining from his face; his normal bronze tone now pale in comparison.
He gathered them up in his hands as they shook with rage, guilt and sorrow. Pulling them to his chest he closed his eyes praying to regain control of his mind and body. He didn't want to believe it; that he had so miserably failed to protect her from her worse nightmare come true.
"Johnny....hey, can you hear me?" The doctor knelt in front of him worried by the physiological response he had witnessed. It was then that they saw what he was holding near to him.
In Gage's hands was a piece of a shredded and bloodied ladies tank top and the engagement ring that he had given her. They all knew that it would have never come off her finger willingly and that she would not have parted with it for the world. Even worse was the ring itself was encrusted with fresh and dried blood, her blood.
Roy stared at his friend not having any answers. He had been witness last Christmas to what even remembering the life changing event that had left her scared to say the least. Now there was evidence that she may have once again met a fate perhaps worse than death itself.
"Junior, where is she? What do you feel now? Where should we start looking?" He knew that they only way they had even been able to find any of them was because of his best friends connection to each other; sort of a radar love.
"I don't know Roy....I can't feel her any more. What am I going to do? What if she's already.....?" He shook his head violently in an effort to clear the cob webs and hone in on the love of his life.
"NO! NOW THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!! You had better stop thinking like that! We ARE going to find her and get her through this!! You two are meant to be together, period!!!" The usual cool and calm Craig Brice spit out the words of encouragement with defiance, causing his fellow comrades to stare at him in shock and disbelief.
Joe vividly remembered when his sister first met his brother-in-law, their wedding and when they announced that she was carrying his first and closest niece. When she was born his gut told him that she was going to be anything but average. How right had he been? Her entire life she had done things that nearly everyone had told her she couldn't do; which only made her want to do it even more. That meant that this was no time to count her out.
He was the first to recover and offered up his own wisdom. "Johnny...you have to listen to me, OK? She isn't dead, I would know it and so would you. I know that you are beyond terrified right now but dig down deep. Listen to that inner voice of yours. What is it telling you now?"
"You're right Joe....she can't be dead! It's just that I can't picture her or where to look anymore! How are we going to find her now?"
"We'll think of something...." Marco was struggling to give some kind of idea as to exactly what that something might be.
The Sheriff had just witnessed yet another example of the bond that existed between the men and women he had been accompanying during this ordeal. Although he had never met this female wonder he found himself praying for her safety and life all the same. He remembered the other women saying that there were four men pursuing them, which meant that with the discovery of the latest body there was only one more Perp out there somewhere with his hostage.
"Alright Gentlemen, now I have allowed you to come along and search for your loved ones....." The men geared up for yet another fight from the law man. "We could not have gotten this far without any of you, especially you Mr. Gage."
"We know that there were most likely only four men involved in the stalking and hunting of the ladies. Three of men have gotten off easy and are deader than door nails. So that means that if she has been taken then we only have one more SOB to look for."
Johnny was now ready to once again start up the search but was still at a loss as to where to start or how to proceed. He was becoming more frantic as the seconds past and he couldn't locate her in his mind. Looking up to the Heavens for an answer to his pleas he caught the silhouette of a large black bird circling above them.
As he heard its cry he realized that it was that of the Raven. Although these birds were far from uncommon in California; this one stuck out for no logical reason. A rare happy memory from his childhood flashed in his mind of his Lakota grandmother. When he was very young she would tell him stories about the animal spirits and how they could help give you the answers that you sought.
"The Raven, nothing escapes their sight and listen to their words, they will tell you what they see, nothing is a mystery to a Raven." Her words now clicked with him and in that moment he decided to trust the instincts of his people and in the Great Spirit that created them all.
He got up off his knees and without any explanation started in the direction towards the section of the forest where it was circling, giving him direction. Johnny spared one brief second to meet the questioning eyes of his partner.
Roy didn't have to ask for a reason for Gage's behavior. He was just grateful for his apparent epiphany. He could live for another hundred years and never understand how it all worked, only more than happy that it had many times in their careers before today.
