Chapter Six
Lunch was uneventful and went by rather quickly. Soon Sam and Billy were on the four-wheeler riding through the Wildlife Management Area. It was a really nice ride, and Sam would have enjoyed himself, had he not known the impending danger ahead. Suddenly, Al appeared in a small clearing just as Sam and Billy arrived.
"Billy," Sam called. "I gotta stop for a minute. Can we stop here?"
"Aw, man. How come you never go before we leave?" He stopped the vehicle just before it passed through Al.
Al looked at the vehicle and then at Billy. "Thanks," he said before re-centering himself about fifty yards into the woods.
"I'll just be a minute," Sam called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the woods. "Al," he said as he reached his holographic friend, "have you found out anything else?"
"Yeah, Ziggy says the crash most likely occurred around 3:30. That's about an hour from now. See, there's a National Weather Service recording station just a few miles..." Al looked around, jabbed his cigar to the southeast, and continued, "...that way. At around 3 PM on January 4, it recorded a sudden drop in visibility as a fog rolled in. Ziggy thinks that's why Billy crashed into the tree. He couldn't see it till it was too late. And then when Jacob went for help, he was mistaken for a deer in the fog and shot."
"Well, this is an easy leap, Al." Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I just have to get Billy to let me drive the four-wheeler, and you can steer us around any obstacles."
Al puffed on his cigar as Sam was talking. "No," he said as he took his cigar out of his mouth. "It won't be that easy. See, in 1995, Billy let Jacob drive the four-wheeler around the field in front of their house. He crashed it and put them both in the hospital. Billy hasn't let Jacob drive it since then, and he's not likely to now."
"It's all I have, Al," Sam said regretfully.