ARTEX
Chapter Four-Found
"What happened?" D.J. asked, moaning as she climbed back onto the back seat.
"There was a pile up," Joey explained.
"Oh man," D.J. moaned. "That's ironic. Didn't Joey just say something about not stopping or it would cause a pile up?"
Joey and I looked at each other.
"Weird," I said. "We'd best call your father, Becky and Jesse to let them know what happened."
I leaned forward and grabbed the walkie-talkie.
BECKY.
Just then, the walkie-talkie which, was clipped on Jesse's belt, crackled and Emma's voice came over the line.
"Danny? Can you hear me, Over,"
Danny went to answer, when someone knocked into him and the walkie-talkie fell from his hand, shattering on the ground.
"Great," Danny muttered crouching down.
"How are we supposed to contact Emma now? Or vice versa?" Michelle asked, sighing.
"I don't know," Jess said, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"We'd best buy the tickets. We'll go as far as Humboldt," Danny said, defeated.
We headed over to the line and stood on it.
EMMA.
There was static on the other end.
"What happened?" Joey asked.
"I don't know," I said, miserably as I tossed the walkie-talkie back onto the dashboard.
"I hope someone called an ambulance," D.J. said, peering out the window.
Sure enough, we heard sirens in the distance.
"I hope not too many people were hurt," Joey said.
"I have an awful feeling there were. Some of the cars exploded," I said.
At that, Joey and I exchanged glances.
"Do you smell gasoline?" he asked slowly.
"Yeah," I replied.
"OUT," Joey said.
Deej, Joey and I pushed open our doors and climbed out. We closed our doors and took several steps away from the car when it exploded.
We dove to the ground. Joey in-between D.J. and I with his arms over our heads protectively.
I felt the heat lick my back. After a few moments, Joey let us up.
"Anyone up for s'mores?" Joey asked, grimly.
"How are we going to get to the rendezvous point at Humboldt?" D.J. asked.
"One word," I said, grinning. "Taxi!"
Several ambulances arrived and began taking people to the hospital. We were okay and managed to get a taxi.
We managed to arrive at Humboldt. Danny, Becky, Michelle and Jesse would be arriving shortly.
BECKY.
We were on the train heading for Humboldt. A man holding a small boombox was sitting across from us on the other side.
Suddenly, Jesse sat up straighter and was alert.
"Jess? What's wrong?" I demanded.
"Listen," Jess said.
We all fell silent and listened to a reporter talking on the radio:
"There was a major pile up on Route 345 North. Several cars overturned and some exploded. Among those that exploded, three people were killed in a Lumina when it exploded. The victims are being taken to Tytoren Memorial Hospital in Graton, Sonoma.
This is the worst accident since the Crash of Flight 198,"
Flight 198 crashed into the Pacific Ocean killing all 104 passengers. Both engines had exploded mysteriously. The plane itself is still submerged.
Jess looked at Danny, and I.
"Emma owns a Lumina…Joey got it for her as a wedding present," Jesse said, slowly.
"Do you know how many Lumina's are out there?" I said. "There's a good chance that it wasn't theirs."
"I feel sick," Michelle said.
"What's wrong?" Danny asked, peering at Michelle. She and I were sitting across from Danny and Jesse on the train.
"I'm worried about Aunt Emma, Joey and Deej," Michelle confessed.
"They're fine, Michelle. Don't you worry," I said, wrapping my arm around her comfortingly.
"But Uncle Jesse said…"
"Uncle Jesse doesn't realize just how many of those types of cars there are there…Lots of people own them," I said, glaring at Jesse meaningfully.
"Aunt Becky's right. There's tons of cars like that out there," Jess said, cottoning on.
"I still feel sick…maybe it was Dad's roast beef," Michelle said.
"Hey," Danny said. "You all ate it like it was going out of style."
"We're hungry, we'll eat anything," Jesse replied.
"Thanks a lot," Danny said.
"No problem," Jesse said, smiling.
"We've entered Graton," Danny replied, stretching.
"I say we get off here, check the hospital and make sure that they're okay, then continue with them," Jesse said.
"Good idea," I said.
Once the train pulled into Graton's train station, we gathered our belongings and headed off the train.
EMMA.
I checked my watch. The train was due any minute.
"There it is!" D.J. said eagerly.
The train pulled into the station and people began getting off. We eagerly searched for Becky, Danny, Jesse and Michelle.
People began clearing and there was no sign of them.
"Where could they be?" I asked, peering around.
"I don't know," Joey said.
I spied one of the conductors and went over to him.
"Excuse me, have you seen three adults with a young blond haired girl?" I asked, pulling out a picture of the family and pointed Danny, Jesse, Becky and Michelle out to him.
"Oh yes! They got off in Graton," the conductor said nodding.
"Graton? Why would they get off in Graton?" I mused.
I thanked him and headed over to Joey and D.J.
"They got off in Graton," I relayed to them.
Joey and D.J. looked at each other.
Suddenly, I knew why.
"They must've heard about the accident! The crash victims were taken to Tytoren Memorial Hospital in Graton! They thought we were hurt!" I said, urgently.
"Let's go!" Joey said.
Once again, we grabbed a taxi and headed back down to Sonoma.
STEPHANIE.
I tried calling for help again. I knew it was useless since no one could hear me.
I began sobbing again. I hoped everyone would come and find me. I just fell back against the floor of the ditch.
EMMA.
We reached Tytoren Memorial Hospital. We asked the nurses station if four people came in asking about us. She said, 'Yes, they're waiting in the waiting room'. We eagerly rushed to the waiting room.
Sure enough, Danny, Becky, Jesse and Michelle were sitting in the waiting room.
"What are you guys doing here?" I cried.
They jumped up and lunged for me. Danny hugged me, then moved to Joey and D.J. Then Jesse hugged me and then Joey and Deej. Finally Becky and Michelle hugged all of us.
"Are you guys okay? We heard a Lumina exploded killing three people," Danny said, worried.
"Yeah. There was a family 5 cars behind us," I said, grimly.
"Let's get to Humboldt. Maybe Stephanie reached there and someone saw her," Jesse replied.
Suddenly, a flash went off before my eyes. I cried out and grabbed Joey's arm. I saw mud and light. The flash vanished.
"Emma? Are you okay?" Becky demanded worriedly.
"I just had a vision of some sort," I said. " I saw mud and light."
"Weird…what do you think that means?" Michelle asked, tilting her head.
"I don't know…but I'm getting a feeling that we should've never left San Francisco," I replied.
"Well, let's head back then…shall we?" Danny replied.
We hopped on board the next train back to SF.
When we arrived back home, D.J.'s best friend, beside Kimmy, knocked on the door. Her name was Gillian Harbor and she was walking her Huskey, Nute.
"Hi Gillian," D.J. said brightly.
"Hi," Gillian said, cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.
Nute was wagging her tail eagerly. I crouched down and rubbed her neck.
She licked my face furiously. She was also wearing a red vest with the letters SAR on it.
"SAR? What's that?" Michelle asked.
Gillian has shoulder length copper colored hair and violet eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a white shirt.
Her hair was pulled into a bun. Several strands hung down against her chin.
"Search and Rescue. I'm training her to be a rescue dog," Gillian replied brightly.
I could almost see bulbs lighting up above everyone's heads.
"Rescue?" Danny asked.
"Yeah…like if someone was missing beneath a pile of brick she could sniff him or her out. All she would need was an article of clothing to get the scent," Gillian replied.
She scanned the kitchen where everyone was gathered.
"Where's Stephanie?"
"She ran away from home. We don't know where she is," Danny replied.
Gillian was shocked, but then a determined look came across her face.
"Go get one of Steph's shirts," she said.
Michelle hurried up the stairs and a few minutes later, she came back down carrying Stephanie's blue sweater.
"Okay…now hold it under Nute's nose really well," Gillian instructed.
Michelle crouched down in front of Nute and held the sweater out. Nute began eagerly sniffing.
Nute let out a bark.
"That means that she's got the scent!"
"Okay…Joey, you me and Jess get into the Taurus," Danny said. "Can Nute lead us?"
Gillian nodded and unclipped the leash.
"Lets go!" Danny said.
Joey gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out the door to follow Danny and Jessie.
JOEY.
We all climbed into the Taurus. Gillian was sitting beside me on the back seat. Nute was galloping beside the car.
Danny was driving, and Jesse was in the passenger seat. I was sitting in the backseat.
"Do you really think Nute will find Steph?" Jesse asked, looking at Danny.
"It can't hurt to try," Danny replied.
Nute began galloping faster.
"That means we're getting close," Gillian explained.
She began explaining the different body languages of the dog that let's her know when a person is close to finding someone buried or missing.
Nute led us to a train yard.
"Why would she be here?" Danny mused.
"The train stations not to far from here. Maybe that's where she was heading," I suggested.
Then, Nute began howling.
"She's found her!" Gillian cried eagerly.
STEPHANIE.
I had dozed off when I heard a dog barking fiercely. I opened my eyes and looked up. A Huskey was standing over the hole, barking. Then, I heard car doors slam. Then, Dad's Joey's and Uncle Jesse's faces.
"STEPHANIE!" Dad cried crouching down.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked, worriedly.
"My leg! I think it's broken!" I called back cringing.
"Okay…Joey, stay here with her. Jesse, come with me. I think there's a management station nearby," Dad said.
He and Uncle Jesse disappeared. Joey crouched down next. D.J.'s other best friend, Gillian, appeared beside Joey.
"You okay?" she asked, concerned.
"My leg's broken," I said, feeling tears forming in my eyes.
"Everyone's probably mad at me, huh Joey?" I asked, miserably.
"No. We're just worried about you, Steph," Joey said, softly and gently. "We even went as far north as Humboldt to find you because we heard that that family that picked you up said you wanted to go as far away from San Francisco as possible."
"Really?" I asked starting to feel guilty.
"Really. Emma, D.J. and I had gotten into a slight accident before," Joey said.
"Are you okay?" I asked, feeling worse by the minute.
"Yeah…we're fine," Joey said, reassuringly.
JOEY.
I could see Stephanie was feeling worse by the minute, especially after I told her about the accident. I had hoped Danny wouldn't go overboard. I mean, she should be punished for running away, but the main thing is that she's okay and alive.
Danny and Jesse returned shortly with a maintenance man. He called 911 and shortly, the fire department came to hoist Stephanie out of the ditch. They took her to Alane Memorial Hospital.
Danny called home and told everyone where Stephanie was. We waited in the waiting room.
Emma, Michelle, Becky and D.J. arrived shortly. Kimmy Gibbler offered to keep an eye on the twins and Haley.
Emma rushed over to me and threw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly.
"Is she okay?" Emma asked, worriedly searching my face.
"We think so, but we're waiting for the doctor to confirm any thing," Danny replied.
Emma stood beside me. I wrapped an arm around her waist.
Just then, the doctor appeared.
"How is she?" Jesse asked.
"She'll be okay. She's got a broken leg and a bruised spine. A few days of rest and she should be good as new. She was lucky nothing more serious had happened," the doctor said, softly.
"Can we see her?" Becky asked.
"Sure. Follow me," the doctor said, as he led us into a room.
Stephanie was lying in a hospital bed with her leg in a cast and it was elevated in a sling. The top of the bed was raised. She looked up and smiled when she saw us.
The doctor left the room. We all crowded around the bed.
"I'm in big trouble, huh?" Stephanie asked, quietly.
"No. We're just glad that you're okay," Danny said, as he leaned forward and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back.
Then Jesse hugged her, then I did.
"I'm real sorry I accused you of touching my makeup and CD player. Haley confessed to being the culprit," D.J. said, gently and softly.
Stephanie looked at her.
"It just hurt that every time something happens to your stuff, you right away blame me!"
"I know…I'm sorry. I should've believed you," D.J. said, quietly. "Please forgive me?"
Stephanie nodded.
"Why'd you run away in the first place?" Jesse asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Because I was tired of everyone accusing me of doing things that I knew myself that I didn't do. Plus, I felt bad when Emma took the blame for touching Deej's makeup," Stephanie replied.
"Why? You didn't do it," I said, surprised.
Stephanie turned her eyes onto me.
"I know…I just couldn't live with the fact that Emma took the blame for something she didn't do. Suppose I had touched Deej's stuff and Emma took the blame then? I'd feel guilty,"
Emma went over to Stephanie.
"Steph, I did that because I knew you were innocent. I had a gut feeling. If you ever need help with something or need to talk, I'm here. I would most certainly take the wrap for you if something was that bad," Emma said, gently.
"But see then if it was my fault, I couldn't live with that," Steph replied.
"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters," Danny replied, hugging Stephanie again.
A few days later, Steph was released.