Ok, I'm a bad bad bad person to leave you all hanging. I have no excuses. You can all have me hanged if you like. And now that is out of my system here is chapter 4.

Chapter 4

The drive to Jim's was supposed to be boring and uneventful. All of that changed when they got just outside of Selby, South Dakota. Katie suddenly slammed on her breaks and was out of the Jeep before Racheal could lodge a protest about her head's sudden meeting with the dashboard. Katie wasn't worried about that though, she just had to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

She approached the side of the road cautiously. Just before reaching the small drop off, she dropped down to her knees and crawled the rest of the way. She peered over the embankment into the small irrigation canal and her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't been seeing things at all. Lying face down on the canal wall, with her feet in the water, was a small girl. She looked to be about eight years old, with short blond hair.

"What's going on Grace?" Racheal asked as she got out of the jeep.

"Grab a flashlight and the first aid kit." Katie called. "There's a little girl down there."

She heard Racheal gasp and then heard the door of the jeep open again as she slid over the embankment. Katie could've easily reached down and pulled the girl up, but she wanted to make sure the action wouldn't injure the child. Katie slowly rolled the girl over and checked for a pulse, then she carefully picked her up and walked up the side of the embankment. She got to the top just as Racheal turned on the flashlight.

"Ow." Katie said. "Why do you always do that to me?"

"Sorry." Racheal replied. "How did you know she was down there?"

"I saw her fall." Katie replied as she gently lay the girl down on the side of the road and took the first aid kit from Racheal. "Shine the light on her would ya?"

"Sun's almost up." Racheal said as she did what Katie asked.

"I know," Katie replied. "But I need more light."

"Oh god," Racheal gasped out. "What happened to her?"

"Looks like some kind of animal attack." Katie replied.

The girl's dress was shredded to pieces and covered with blood. Katie was surprised the little girl was still alive at all.

"We need to get her to a hospital." Racheal said.

Katie nodded. As she reached down to pick the little girl back up, the child suddenly opened her eyes and started screaming.

"Ssssh, ssssh." Katie said soothingly. "It's ok. We're not going to hurt you."

The girl continued screaming for several more minutes as Katie talked to her. When she finally calmed down, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Katie's neck.

"Apparently she's not as bad off as we thought." Racheal said with a small smile. "Not if she can move that fast."

Katie nodded at Racheal as she wrapped her arms around the girl and stood up.

"I think we better find a hotel." Katie said as she walked toward the Jeep.

"What about taking her to a hospital?" Racheal asked.

The girl began shaking her head violently against Katie's shoulder and squeezed the teenager's neck tighter. Katie whispered to her for a second and the child relaxed.

"I think we need to settle her down a bit first." Katie replied. "She's to wound up right now."
"Ok." Racheal said tentatively. "But something about this is totally off."
"Agreed." Katie said as she opened the door and got into the passenger side of the jeep. "You're gonna have to drive. I don't think she's letting go of me anytime soon."

"Now you're gonna let me drive." Racheal said with a shake of her head.

"Well, I could try to drive with the munchkin wrapped around my neck." Katie replied.

"Ok, I'll shut up now." Racheal said as she started the jeep.

They drove the rest of the way into town and stopped at the first hotel they could find. Racheal checked them in and then came out to carry bags in while Katie carried the now sleeping child. They hurried up the stairs to their room and quickly closed and locked the door behind them.

"You know" Racheal mused. "People don't ask as many questions about your age when you just hand them a wad of cash."

"How do you think I've gotten away with hunting by myself for nearly a year?" Katie replied as she pried the girl's arms from around her neck and laid her on the far bed.

"Yeah, we still need to have a little talk about that." Racheal said angrily.

"No" Katie replied. "We don't"

"I could always call your brother and tell him about it." Racheal said.

"And I could shave your head while you sleep." Katie said with a grin.

"Yeah whatever." Racheal said. "So what do we do with our little ward here?"

"Let her sleep for now." Katie replied. "We'll try to get some answers from her after we get her cleaned up and fed when she wakes up."

"Ok, you're in charge with this one." Racheal said. "But something is still way off here."

"Why don't we both follow her lead and get a couple hours sleep." Katie suggested.

"Good idea." Racheal said through a yawn.

Katie stood and took the bed closest to the door, which left Racheal to share the bed with the little girl. Katie watched as Racheal lay down on top the covers and the little girl burrowed herself into her friend's side. She made sure they were both completely settled before allowing herself to fall asleep.