Chapter 12

Joe was exhausted. He had been stumbling along in the darkness for hours and there was no end to this path. Shivering, he sat down and pulled Frank's t-shirt out of the bag and put it on. It didn't offer much protection against the cold night air.

Joe pulled out a sandwich and started to eat. He wasn't hungry, but he needed to sit down and eating distracted him from the shadows around him.

He shivered again. He had never been so miserable in his life. He was freezing, exhausted and scared, and his hand was burning fiercely. But worst of all, he was alone.

At least I was with Mom and Frank in the basement.

He was beginning to wonder whether he should have left the basement. After all, he still hadn't found help.

Joe sighed and finished his sandwich. It was too late to turn back now.

He got up and moved forward wearily. He hadn't gone very far when the path opened out into a clearing. The break in the trees allowed some of the pale moonlight to filter through. For the first time since he had entered the woods, Joe could see clearly. Adding the clearing to his map, he looked around. His heart sank when he saw that the road forked in two.

Which way do I go now?

Moving towards the fork in the road, he peered down both paths. The left looked a little overgrown but Joe could still see several yards down that path, the right path darkened after a few feet. He remained where he was for several minutes, unsure which way to go and trying vainly to remember anything from the journey in the van the night before.

Suddenly, Joe heard a snapping in the bushes behind him and turned around. He froze as three wild dogs emerged from the trees. They were pitiful, starving creatures, drawn by the smell of food from Joe's bag, but the child didn't know this. All his terrified eyes could see were three huge shapes.

One of the dogs growled savagely and Joe took a quick step back, clutching his bag against his chest. Desperately, he searched the ground for something to use as a weapon; a fallen branch or something, anything, but there was nothing.

Swallowing hard, Joe backed up against a tree as the dogs advanced on him. He could feel tears prick his eyes.

Oh help! Help! Please help! he prayed silently.

Just then, a small shape scurried out of the bushes and ran between Joe and the dogs. One of the dogs ran at the creature, then suddenly retreated with a whimper. Turning tail, the three dogs ran back into the woods.

Joe was floored at the unexpected behaviour of the dogs. What had happened? He stared at the small shape scurrying into the bushes once more and caught a glimpse of a white stripe before it disappeared.

A skunk! Joe realised excitedly.

Then the whiff of something putrid reached his nose. Joe's stomach turned and he retched. Dropping his bag, Joe clamped his hands over his nose and mouth. The smell was worse than anything he could have imagined!

Backing up a little, Joe found himself standing on the left path. He stared down it. The path was a little overgrown but it was brighter than the other path and Joe wondered if he should follow this path.

Seconds later, the decision was made for him when the three dogs returned to the clearing. As soon as Joe saw them, he turned and fled down the path. He never saw them make for the bag of food, he just kept running.

"Fenton! Wake up! Sheriff Coombs is here."

Fenton felt someone shaking him. Drowsily, he lifted his head.

"Mmmm? What?" he mumbled.

Sam Radley was staring down at him. "Fenton, come on! He has the results of the DNA test."

Instantly awake, Fenton scrambled out of bed. "What time is it?" he demanded.

"Nearly two thirty," Sam answered. He was already dressed.

"In the morning?" Fenton was incredulous. How long had they been asleep?

Sam nodded. "The sheriff said it took longer than he anticipated. He'll explain everything downstairs. Tom is on his way over and Jack is putting on some coffee."

Sam left the room and went downstairs, leaving Fenton to dress and brush his teeth. When he was ready, Fenton made his way downstairs.

In the kitchen, Jack was helping Martha make some coffee and sandwiches. Con, Sam and the sheriff were seated around the table.

"Fenton," the sheriff greeted him as he appeared in the doorway. "Have a seat. I'm sorry I'm so late getting back to you, but when I got out there, Ryan - that's the kid's name - was out. It was nearly eleven before he came home."

Fenton slid into the chair beside the sheriff. "What did you find out?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm just waiting for Tom to get here," said the sheriff, "and I'll explain everything."

"In the meantime, you can have something to eat," said Martha firmly before Fenton could protest.

"I've already wasted one day," said Fenton. "I need to get going on this now!"

"Ten minutes won't make a difference," Martha told him sternly as she put a plate of sandwiches on the table. "Now I insist you eat up!"

Fenton sighed and took a sandwich. There was something about this woman that reminded him of his sister.

Five minutes later, Tom walked into the kitchen. "Evening all, what have I missed?"

"Nothing," replied Con. "We were waiting for you to get here."

Tom eased himself into a chair beside Sam. "Well, I'm here now. So out with it, Jim, what did you find?"

"After he tested the blood, it took a long time for Ryan to find anything because he had a little trouble accessing the FBI records," Sheriff Coombs began. Seeing their shocked looks, he added, "the kid's a hacker. How else did you think he was going to get that information?"

"Guess we didn't really think," said Sam.

"Yeah, well, it might not be legit, but the state doesn't think a town as small as ours warrants its own forensics lab," snorted the sheriff. "We have to send everything out, and that can take anything from days to weeks so you should probably be glad that Ryan…"

"We are glad," Fenton interrupted quickly. "And what Ryan did tonight won't go beyond these walls."

"You can count on that," Sam agreed. "If we were in your shoes and had Ryan to turn to, we'd be turning a blind eye to his…hobbies too, believe me!"

The sheriff grinned. "That's okay then, 'cause he really is a good kid."

"What did he find?" asked Fenton and the sheriff's smile faded.

"He didn't find a direct match to the blood," said the sheriff. "But he did find seven markers in common with DNA that's already on file."

"So the blood from the cabin could only belong to a blood relative then?" guessed Sam.

The sheriff nodded. "You got it, and the blood from the cabin belongs to a male."

"And?" said Fenton impatiently. "Who was the name on the file?"

The sheriff lowered his gaze, his eyes unable to meet Fenton's.

"It was yours," he replied.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, your comments mean alot to me.

Kandy Kane: I'm glad you thought that. I intended the first three chapters to be peaceful in order for the kidnappers appearance to be that bit more brutal.

Conventina: Thanks, I had fun playing and developing Fenton's character in this story.

Mocha Addict: I'm a lover of Joe angst myself! But I do try to give both brothers equal time on the page...however, Joe's trouble magnet slips in unannounced sometimes! ;-)

ovrlord11: Thanks, I tried. I hate OOC behaviour from a main character.