AN: Standard disclaimer, I own only the mistakes, which are plenty. This is not for the faint of heart. Not a school shooting but something similar so beware of the end if it's a trigger.

63

If you hate waiting in lines and standing by lookalikes,

While wishing the woman would just pick a suspect already,

Maybe try not breaking the law and you can avoid all of that.

—PRO TIP FROM THE LIMA SPRINGS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

Cedes parked at the school drop off for the last time of the school year. "I forgot to tell you that your grandfather is going to chaperone the field trip."

"That's so cool the only thing that could make the trip better would be Ricky and Ashlyn going. But at least I'll have Big Poppa and Kourtney."

"Ashlyn's not going?" she asked surprised.

"No. Her mom wouldn't sign the permission slip. She's been so possessive lately."

"I can't imagine why." Cedes said sarcastically.

"The bus leaves in an hour does Big Poppa know that?"

"He knows. He just had to run a couple of errands." God only knew what for. He probably went to get another untraceable gun. They really needed to talk.

"Meeting Uncle Bryan Ryan was amazing even though he's been in prison. Or possibly because of it," she said.

"Don't get too attached, ladybug, I know it's exciting having a father with a huge family."

"I won't. I just…" She asked, "Are you okay with this?"

"Okay with what?"

"You know. You and Sam having a kid."

"Regina Grace, I am in heaven right now."

"Really, I am, too." Gina smiled a smile so big it was like the sun rising.

"Although…"

"Although?" she asked, sobering.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Mom, what?"

"It's just, if we don't make it, you know he and I will fight for custody."

"You'd fight for me?"

"What? No. We'll fight over who has to take you. I've had you all to myself for fifteen years. He needs to take a turn. Your dad has no idea what he's just gotten himself into." She laughed when Gina frowned at her.

"Mother, that's so not funny."

"It's a little funny."

"No, it's not." She started to open the door, and Cedes realized she was making a huge mistake. Not only was she lying to her daughter by omission, she was putting her life in danger.

"Gina, wait. I know we've given you a lot to think about, but can I ask you to do something for me without explaining why?"

"Sure," she said, sitting back in her seat.

"I can't give you any details right now, but if you see Cooter Menkins close up or far away, I need you to run in the opposite direction. Not walk, ladybug. Run, then call 911."

"Mom, you're scaring me."

"I know." Cedes pulled her daughter in a hug. "And I'm sorry. I promise to explain later, but just for now, just be very aware of your surroundings at all times."

"Is that why Big Poppa is going on the field trip?"

This kid. She should've known she'd figure it out. "It is."

"Thanks for telling me. But what about Uncle Bryan Ryan?"

"You can trust him with your life," she said with confidence.

That brought a grin to Gina's lovely face. "I figured as much when I met him."

"Good instincts."

"Just like my mom." She opened the door only to be greeted by Lima Springs's only tiny boy band.

"Hey, Gina," Jack said. "We're starting a band for real and thought maybe you'd want to be our lead singer."

Gina turned back to her to hide her grin as she closed the door.

Now Cedes just had to figure out how she was going to keep an eye on Schuester while helping coordinate the search with the dogs.

"Hey, boss," Dani said when she walked in the sheriff's office ten minutes later.

"Hey, any word on our Jane Doe?"

"No change, but the dogs will be at the canyon in thirty minutes."

"Great, thank you. Now we just need the ATVs."

"Already loaded and ready to go," Hunt said, walking up behind her. "And why do you look like you didn't get any sleep last night?"

"Because I didn't. I would tell you about it, but I don't want to make you an accessory after the fact."

"Oh, hell, no," he said, leading her out the door. "What's going on?"

"First, we told Gina everything."

"Everything?"

"For the most part. And then I had a visitor." She lowered her voice. "One who may or may not have escaped from a prison recently.

"And he's not in our holding cell because?"

"Because Sam and my father helped him."

"Your dad?" he asked shocked. He quickly changed his attitude and asked, "Do you think your mother will leave him over this?"

She laughed. "No, Hunt, and you're dating someone anyway. Speaking of which, how is that going?"

"No time for that now. You have to tell me everything. Start from the beginning."

While at school, Gina continued her search for Stephani's prom date from hell, hoping to find the original photo of the one that Stephani had cropped for her memories album.

Ashlyn was complaining behind Gina. "I can't believe my mom won't let me go today."

"I know," Gina said. "I'm just upset that the entire freshman class is going. A reprieve from Lily and her minions would've been nice." She spotted the minions surrounding their queen a few feet away."

"Well, at least we won't have to see them every day this summer. I wouldn't mind being around them if I could go on the field trip today."

"Sorry," she said right as she scrolled past the pic she was looking for. "OMG, I found it."

Sure enough, standing right behind Stephani in the original post of the picture was … "Daniel Schuester?"

"No way," Ashlyn said.

"That can't be. He was beaten up, Ashlyn. It must not be him, unless…" She brought out the list of names she'd taken down of all the guys at prom last year who drove trucks. Since their classes were so small, it wasn't a very long list. Daniel was there. "His name is on the list, but this makes no sense."

"Who do you think beat him up?" Ashlyn asked. "I mean, he's like a football player. Kourtney said the other guys are afraid of him."

Gina turned to her. "Afraid? In what way?"

"I don't know, they say he's a little crazy. Like he purposely hurts the other football players."

"You mean during a game?"

"No, I mean during practice. He'll sweep their legs. Mess up their knees on purpose. At least that's what Kourtney told me."

"She didn't say anything to me."

"She didn't really volunteer the information out of the blue. I was wondering about him when he put his number in your phone, so I asked her. Still, he has a full ride to UCLA. Whatever he's doing is working."

"You mean injuring his team members to make himself look better?"

"Maybe. Gina, do you really think he could be Stephani's attacker?"

"I've heard my mom and I know his dad is crazy, but I just can't see Daniel doing something like that."

"My mom says no one knows what people do behind closed doors. You never really understand someone until you live with them. And even then, it's iffy."

"That's true. Does it look like he was the one who threw the water balloon at her?"

"It does. But guys do that crap all the time."

"That's not it. Look at his face. At his expression. It's calculating and vengeful."

"Gina," Ashlyn said, shaking her head. "It's predatorial."

"And she's at a cookout in the middle of summer with a swimming pool in the backyard."

"Okay, and?"

"Well, look at Stephani. She's gorgeous. A cheerleader and a volleyball star. And she's wearing a calf-length bathing suit bottom?"

"I'm not following."

"She said she had bruises. Between her legs."

Ashlyn sank back into her chair.

"If it's him, who beat him up? The girl they found in the canyon?"

"No. No, he was hit hard with a large fist. I don't know who it was, but I need to call my mom." She grabbed her phone and asked for a bathroom pass.

Her mom didn't answer her call. She may already be at the canyon, so Gina left a message: "Mom, I think it's Daniel Schuester. Stephani's ex. I think Daniel is the one—" She turned to see Lily standing behind her.

"Who were you talking to about Daniel?" Lily asked, stepping inside Gina's personal space.

Gina ended the call. "My mom. Why are you hiding in here eavesdropping?"

"I had to go to the bathroom before the field trip," she said, her tone and glare a perfect match. "Why were you talking about Daniel to your mother?"

"Lily, was your cousin Electra talking to Daniel? Were they dating?"

"No. What's it to you?"

"Are you certain?"

"He did have her number in his phone, but only because they met when she came down for spring break. They didn't hook up or anything."

"How long have you been friends with him?"

"We're dating, actually. He asked me out the other day. Are you jealous?"

"Has he ever hurt you?"

"How dare you. He was so nice to you, nicer than you deserve, and now you're going around talking shit about him?"

"Lily, has he hurt you?"

When Lily had no comeback, she said, "I'll take that as a yes," and left the bathroom just as the bell rang. They were due at the bus, so she would have to give up her investigation for now. She prayed her mother would get the message soon, though. She packed her things and said goodbye to Ashlyn. "What are you going to do?" she asked her.

"I have to go to the library and read."

"The horror."

Ashlyn giggled. "Have fun."

By the time she got to the bus, Lily was back to ignoring her. Gina tried to hide her devastation. It was hard. So hard.

"Big Poppa!" she said, running towards him and hugging him once she reached him. "Thanks for coming. I'm sorry you had to."

"I wanted to."

"No, you didn't."

He laughed. "I always want to spend time with you. What did your mom tell you?"

"To run for my life if I see Cooter Menkins."

"So she got straight to the point."

"That's mom."

They boarded the bus. Gina sat with her Big Poppa and Kourtney took the seat behind them.

"Sweetheart," her Big Poppa said, "don't sit with me. Sit with your friends."

"I need all of the details."

"Ah. So, I'm to be interrogated the entire time?"

"All the way up and all the way back."

"Go for it."

Ignoring the fact that Lily looked like she'd been crying—because good—she asked, "First, and I'm asking this only as a concerned citizen, how did Bryan Ryan Menkins get out of prison?"

"Your mother's going to kill me."

An hour minutes later, Gina sat staring into space. She had learned a lot. "So, he saved her?" She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. "He saved Mom from the man working with Sander Menkins.

"And he almost died in the process. Multiple stab wounds."

"Just like Ricky when he saved me."

"Yes."

Tears fell down her face as they pulled to a stop.

Ms. Holiday stood up and said. "All right everyone, your bags will be safe here. We'll walk to the petroglyphs and then come back and have lunch at the picnic tables. We have water bottles, but only take one if you think you can refrain from throwing the bottle on the trail. These images are hundreds of years old. Please respect that."

"Are you coming, Big Poppa?"

"Wouldn't miss it. I haven't been to the petroglyphs in years."

"I love these sandwiches," her Big Poppa said as they finished lunch two hours later.

"Me too," Gina said. "And the petroglyphs were cool. Can you imagine living back then?"

"Right? No cell phones. No internet."

Gina laughed. "I can live without technology. I just choose not to."

"Ah. Is your friend okay? She keeps glancing this way." He pointed to Lily, and Gina and Kourtney exchanged horrified glances.

"She's not a friend, Big Poppa."

"What makes you say that?"

"She's psycho."

"That makes it difficult to develop a relationship."

She laughed. "It does."

"I may have to take a nap on the way back," her Big Poppa said as he took a seat in the middle of the bus. "I'm at that age, you know."

Gina sat beside him again and rested her head on his shoulder. "I might join you."

Ms. Holiday counted students, then gave the driver the go-ahead. "What did you guys think?" she asked the students.

"I loved it," Kourtney said. "I want to write a blog on it, except I don't have one because nobody reads them anymore, which is crazy because who doesn't love blogs; also I like to write fan fiction." She looked up in thought. "I could write a fan fiction piece with it."

Gina laughed as she raised her phone into the air, searching for a signal.

"You'll get one in about ten minutes," Ms. Holiday said, pointing to her phone.

The driver pulled onto the mountain road that would take them back, and Gina tried not to notice the million-foot drop that the tires of the bus seemed to be skirting. She'd never been afraid of heights. She was, however, afraid of their bus driver. She had never been on a school bus before and never wanted to repeat the experience based on his driving.

"You know," her Big Poppa said, picking up on her uneasiness, "you could always ask me about—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a pop sounded and the bus swerved sharply to the left. Gina watched in horror as the bus driver struggled to control the massive vehicle, his arms straining under the force as he tried to slow their descend downhill. Her Big Poppa wrapped his arms around her, securing her against him. After a minute, the driver managed to wrest control over the vehicle the very moment another pop sounded. This time the bus veered in the opposite direction.

The rest happened in slow motion and yet so fast Gina couldn't focus. Gravity gave way as the bus tumbled down the incline. Screams echoed off the glass and metal. For a moment, she was on top of Ms. Holiday and Kourtney was on top of her. Then everything reversed and went the other direction. They flew into the air, time seeming to stand still until it all came to a stop as quickly as it started. They landed hard and upside down, sliding another twenty feet before skidding to a halt. The screams stopped instantly and an eerie silence filled the cabin. One by one, her classmates tried to sit up. Each one looked around confused and disoriented.

"Big Poppa?" Gina said as she scanned the bus and realized he'd landed near the front. "Big Poppa!" She got up and rushed to him, hopping over terrified kids and the scattered backpacks that littered the roof of the bus. She dropped to her knees beside him. "Big Poppa, are you okay?"

"Gina, get back. Away from the windows."

She hurried back, confused as her Big Poppa struggled to push off the door and get deeper into the cabin. She looked over at the bus driver, who under his upside-down seat with blood all over his face.

"Big Poppa, what happened?"

He held up a finger and surveyed the scene. "Everyone, get down!"

But it was too late. Bullets hit the side of the bus and screams of absolute terror filled the cabin as kids scrambled toward the back.

Her Big Poppa was on top of her covering her body until the gunfire stopped.

"It's a shooter. Someone shot the tires. Look." He pointed out the windshield, but Gina all Gina could focus on was the blood soaking his pant leg.

"Big Poppa, you're shot."

"No, I'm injured from the wreck," he groaned, trying to sit up. "I think my leg is broken."

"Jesus help us, Big Poppa."

He took her by the shoulders and shook softly to focus her. "The shooter is up high, but he's going to come down here. Do you understand?"

She nodded, then glanced over her shoulder as the other kids tried to get the back door open. A couple of them had been knocked out. Backpacks and purses were strewn everywhere. Lily looked around in shock, half her face covered by her hair.

"You need to run for the trees, baby girl." He shook her again. "Do you understand? And then you keep running."

"Gina," Kourtney said, crawling to her. She had blood streaming down one side of her face. "What's going on?"

"Gina," he said, insisting she pay attention. "Get these kids away from the bus. Get them to the trees. Hide those who can't run, and then you keep going until you get a signal."

"Ms. Holiday" Gina said when the dazed teacher started for the bus driver.

"No!" her Big Poppa shouted.

She stopped and looked back at him.

"He's better off where he is and the shooter might see you. Stay away from the window."

"We need to get to the radio."

He shook his head. "It's too late. The shooter has a clean line of sight through the windshield."

"Big Poppa," Gina said, a strange kind of calmness overtaking her, "I'm not leaving you here." She grabbed a discarded jacket and pressed it to his leg.

He winced and took it from her. "I'm not bleeding that badly. I'll be okay knowing you've gotten away."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Gina you have to." He took hold of her chin and said softly, "Look, sweetheart, look," before gesturing toward the windshield with a nod.

She looked into the distance, up the incline and to the right. A man came down the mountain toward them carrying a military-style rifle like the kind in the movies. His was walking slowly, calculated, as he loaded a new magazine and slapped it into place. The world tilted around her as shock sank its teeth a little deeper.

"Baby girl," he said to get her attention again. "What do you see?"

"W-what?"

"Tell me what you see."

"Single shooter. Semiautomatic rifle with two—"

"No."

"—three extra magazines. He's … young. Probably in high school, taking the statistics into consideration."

"Good. He's already used one magazine and discarded it. Pay attention to when he starts shooting again. He can't hit anything through windows yet from that angle, but he'll hit ground level soon and then all bets are off. When he pauses between reloads, run for the trees."

Before she could argue, another rain of bullets hit the side of the bus. The screams reached a fever pitch as students crawled over each other to try to get out the back and through the windows on the opposite side of the bus.

"Get to the back," her Big Poppa said above the roar. "The minute the bullets stop, run."

A new determination washed over her. She had to get help. She had to save her Big Poppa. She grabbed armfuls of backpacks and layered them over him for camouflage. He smiled at her and patted her face. Satisfied with her work, she hurried toward the back just as another student shoved the back door of the bus open.

He started to run, but Gina dove over a couple of students and grabbed his arm. When he looked back, his eyes wild with terror, she shook her head. "Not yet." She held up an index finger as though putting him on pause.

He nodded, seeming to understand, and sank onto his knees as they waited for the bullets to stop. A couple bounced off metal and still managed to ricochet harmlessly into the cabin, but they elicited a new level of panic, even in Gina.

She fought to tamp down her fear and decided humor would work best. "Stay in teams of at least two and try not to get separated. If you can't run, hide and wait for help. My mom will be here soon with the cavalry." She had faith. Her mom would figure this out. She would come.

The minute the shooting stopped, she looked at Ms. Holiday and nodded, saying softly, "Now."

Ms. Holiday took the initiative and opened the door. Gina grabbed Kourtney and ran for dear life as kids spilled out of the bus, staying low to keep the bus between them and the shooter as they traversed the uneven ground.

It took the shooter mere seconds to reload and for the bullets to start flying again. Students ran in all directions, but from what Gina could tell, none of them were hit.

They crossed into the tree line, and Gina stopped to look back. Ms. Holiday made it into the trees as she was the last person to get off of the bus just as a bullet ricocheted off a boulder nearby. Another kid screamed and stumbled. Gina started toward her, but Kourtney took hold of her arm as another spray of bullets peppered the treetops overhead. They were like missiles, random and relentless, as though the shooter wasn't even aiming. Which was a good thing, she supposed. But he'd shot the tires with military precision. How was he not hitting anyone?

"Gina," Kourtney said, "he's coming. We have to go."

Gina glanced back at the girl who'd stumbled. She'd made it into the trees and Gina lost sight of her. She scanned the area, wondering if they'd have a better chance of getting a signal if they went up instead of down.

"Run, kids," Ms. Holiday said, trying to catch her breath. "We can't stay here."

Gina looked back and watched with dread as the shooter crouched to look inside the back of the bus. She plastered both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming when he fired a single shot inside, but he only shot the radio. She watched through a broken window as the radio splintered. Her trick must have worked, because he didn't shoot again. She almost collapsed with relief when he stood and started for the trees, but he changed direction and seemed to come straight at them.

"Gina," Kourtney whispered, and they took off, Ms. Holiday was right on their heels.

Students were running through the trees in all directions, branches slashing across faces and rocks twisting ankles, but still they ran. Most of the kids headed downhill toward civilization. Gina split off to the side, running neither up nor down. She didn't get far before she saw Lily tumbling down a particularly steep path. She turned and started toward her, but she had to slow her progress substantially as they half ran, half slid down the path.

Lily hit a tree stump, its sharp angles cutting into her rib cage, but she caught it and held on with all her might, struggling to get her legs under her. Gina skated to a stop and dropped to her knees beside her. She looked over her shoulder. Kourtney and Ms. Holiday were sliding their way down the incline behind her.

Lily was hysterical as she looked for the shooter. "It's him," she said, her face dirty and covered in tears. "I know it's him."

"It's who?"

She looked at Gina as though just realizing she was there. Her chin trembled as she started to cry again.

"Gina," Kourtney said, sliding to a stop beside her.

"He's so mad, Gina."

"Who's mad?"

Lily covered her mouth with a bloody hand.

"Lily, what are you talking about?"

"I … I called him." She hiccupped and scanned the area again.

Gina grabbed her by the collar. "Who did you call?"

"I know it's him. He's so mad."

"Lily, look at me."

Trying to clear her face of tears, she said, "It's Daniel. I called him. Told him what you said in the bathroom."

"You didn't."

A sob wracked through Lily's body and she nodded. "He was so mad."

"We have to get you out of sight, Lily."

"You don't understand. He's not after me. He's … he's after you."

Gina stared at her a long moment before sinking back onto her heels.

"I'm sorry, Gina. I just thought … I don't know what I thought. I was in denial, I guess. But you were right. About everything."

"Did you know he was coming here?" she asked, repulsed. "Did you know he was going to do this?"

She shook her head. "No. I swear, Gina. He was just so mad. He started cursing and told me you'd regret sticking your nose where it didn't belong."

"I usually do," she said, resigned to the fact that she could die here today. But no one else needed to. She turned, stole another quick glance behind them, and looked at Kourtney and Ms. Holiday. "You guys keep heading down. See that line in the trees right there?"

They followed her line of sight to what looked like miles below them and nodded. "That's the road. It picks up down there. Get on it and run until you get a signal or can flag someone down. Kourtney," she said, squeezing the girl's arm, "my Big Poppa is still back there. Please, please, please bring help."

"Where are you going?" she asked, fear constricting her vocal cords. The poor girl shook visibly, and Gina suddenly realized she was shaking just as bad.

"I'm going up. I'll try to get a signal up higher, but I'm not placing a bet on my chances."

"Gina," Ms. Holiday said, "you don't have to do this. We don't know that he's really after you."

"Of course he is. This is what I do." Her voice cracked, and Ms. Holiday looked at her confused just as a branch exploded beside her head.

Gina dove behind a fallen log, taking Lily with her as the other two tumbled down the path. Without thinking, she grabbed Lily and dragged her down the trough on the other side of a crest where they hit slightly more even ground. They glanced at each other and took off at a dead run, adrenaline pushing Lily past any pain she may have felt from her collision with the tree stump.

They ran for what seemed like hours, though Gina was sure it was more like ten minutes. She wasn't the athletic type, however, as the muscles in her legs kept reminding her. As did a fiery pain in her side.

"Wait," she said, panting. "I have to stop."

"Me too," Lily said.

They ducked behind a thick grouping of trees, both of them doubling over to catch their breaths.

"Your hand is bleeding really bad," Gina said.

Lily looked at it, then wiped it on her jeans. It didn't help. "Do you think we lost him?"

"Surely we did." Gina studied their surroundings while gulping handfuls of air. "I'm going to go up, try to get a signal at the top of the crest."

"You're going back?" she screeched rather like a barn owl.

Gina shook her head. "No. I'm going to give him a wide berth and try to get past him. He won't expect it."

"I'm not sure that's a good—"

Gina lunged at her and covered Lily's mouth with her hand. She saw movement from somewhere overhead. It could be any of the other students, but she couldn't take that risk.

They sank to the ground and held their breaths as best they could until the kid in black came into view.

"How does he keep finding us?" Gina whispered. She watched as he pulled something from his pocket. It was too big to be a phone. He studied it, then looked through the trees, seemingly straight at them. "Is he tracking us somehow?"

Lily gasped when a thought hit her. "Can he be tracking your phone?"

"How could he? There's no signal."

"Oh, no." She tugged a pendant out from under her shirt. "He gave me this necklace. Said it had a tracker so he could keep an eye on me. I thought it was romantic." She stared at it before looking back at Gina. "But I don't understand. There's no signal up here. How can he track me?"

"He doesn't need a signal if it has satellite capabilities."

"What?" she asked.

"That means he's after you, Lily. Not me."

"No, Gina. He's not. He told me to give you the necklace."

"What do you mean?" she asked in disbelief. "When?"

"When I called him," she said with a sob. "He said to give you the necklace. I was too jealous to." She raised a quivering hand to cover her eyes, her whole body shaking. "I had no idea he would use it like this."

"Give me the necklace."

"What?"

"Give me that necklace."

Instead of reaching around her neck and releasing the clasp like Gina thought she would, she grabbed hold of it and ripped it off. "Ow," she said when she handed it to her.

Gina grinned at her. "Okay," she said, peeking back up through the trees, "we leave this here and try to get some distance between it and us."

"We should bury it a little. Make it hard to find."

"Good thinking."

They dropped the pendant and brushed some dirt and leaves over it, nothing that would disrupt the signal. Gina looked back just as he raised the rifle to look through the scope. She quickly ducked back behind the trees, bringing Lily with her.

"We need to keep these trees between him and us for as long as we can."

"Shouldn't we go for the road, too? Like Ms. Holiday?"

She nodded. "That's exactly what I want you to do. Just keep going down until you hit a road."

"Wait, what about you?" she said, her whisper rising an octave.

"I'm sticking to my original plan. Getting to higher ground to try to get a signal."

"You're going to leave me?" she asked, digging her nails into Gina's upper arm.

"Lily, he's after me, remember? You'll be safer if we separate."

Lily looked at the terrain below them. She swallowed hard and nodded, not entirely convinced but going along with Gina's plan anyway.

"He's coming. Let's go. I'll break away from you once we've gotten some distance."

They took the slope slowly at first but gravity soon took hold and they found themselves sliding more than walking.

As soon as Gina found her footing, she took a sharp left, glancing over her shoulder just once to make sure Lily kept going. She prayed someone got a call through, but just in case, she still planned on going up. She had noticed when they were at the petroglyphs she had a single bar, but her mother had yet to call or text her back about Daniel. If Daniel was really the shooter, he needed more help than Gina could've imagined.

Now for the hard part. It was true, she wanted to get to higher ground for a signal, but more than that, she wanted to get back to her grandfather. The thought of him lying there alone caused a crack down the middle of her heart. She turned back, and though she could see neither the shooter nor Lily, he had a definite advantage. He had a scope.

She stayed behind another copse of trees and tried to slow her breathing so she could listen. When she heard nothing, she took out her phone and tried to even the playing field, at least a little, by using her camera as a scope. It certainly didn't have the distance of his, but it would work in a pinch. She zoomed in and studied the area she'd just come from to make sure he wasn't following her. When she didn't see him, she felt optimism sprinkled with hope. Maybe they'd really thrown him off their track.

She put her phone in her jeans pocket, drew in a deep breath, and raced uphill as fast as she could. Sadly, it wasn't all that fast. And raced was a bit of an overstatement because of her asthma she wasn't the best athlete. She grunted and groaned as silently as possible with every burning step she took, and it was hard hike for every two steps forward it was one step back as she slipped and slid on the steep terrain. She clawed at the ground in some parts, digging her fingernails into the dirt, ignoring the branches and bushes tearing at her clothes and scratching her face and arms.

Thirty minutes later, she had no clue where she was or how far she'd come. It wasn't like she had any sense of direction to help guide her. Her only saving grace was the fact that she knew up from down. Surely, she would either come to the road they had been on or she would reach the peak. But the more she hiked, the farther the peak seemed to recede. And then her legs simply quit on her.

Unable to go any farther, she found a grouping of boulders and hid as best she could, not really knowing which direction she wanted to go next.

She checked her phone. It was after three now. They would be missed when they didn't show up at school. But hopefully some of the others had already been able to get help. Her mom had to be on the way.

After climbing to her feet and managing to keep her legs underneath her—barely—she started uphill and smelled smoke. She whirled around, searching for it when she found more than she'd bargained for. She sucked in a sharp breath. There was a wall of smoke headed straight toward her.