Desperate Rescue - Janet Feldman Series

Leaving Cold Creek, Janet didn’t see any other road signs other than a weather-beaten one on the outskirts that read, “Quail Club,” with an arrow pointing east. She glanced in that general direction, but as far as she could tell there was nothing of interest to see, other than another smaller range of hills in the distance. The narrow road appeared to head for those distant hills and beyond, except to skirt around what looked like someone’s private property. She guessed it was probably that Quail Club.

  Other than that, the whole area was pretty much open range land with a few cattle grazing here and there, but not much else. Janet wasn’t sure how much farther she wanted to drive. She had glanced up the two or three other narrow streets in Cold Creek hoping to see the blue sedan, but didn't. Deciding to keep going, she hoped another road would intersect with this one somewhere up ahead so she could avoid Cold Creek and head home. But mile after mile, there were no other roads. Just this one—all two lanes of it! It wasn’t a busy road either. She hadn’t seen another car coming or going since leaving Rosie’s Café, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  An old makeshift gate and driveway appeared ahead at a small pullout. Where exactly was she? Janet decided to pull over and take stock of where she was and what she really wanted to do. Besides, she was feeling very agitated and needed to stretch and collect her thoughts about Sally. Feeling hungry again, she finished the cold breakfast of scrambled eggs. Somehow, cold eggs just didn’t taste quite the same and the toast was now soft and chewy instead of crisp, but she ate anyway. A bottle of water in the cup holder helped wash it all down.

  The sun was now higher in the sky. Soon it would be midday. She needed to make best use of the daylight. Once the sun dipped behind the tall peaks of the mountain range still looming to the west it would cool down quickly. Hopefully she would find Sally before then and the two of them could find a place to stay for the night before heading back home.

  The sunshine felt good on her face as she leaned back against her car. A breeze still blew in gentle gusts as evidenced by the grasses periodically fluttering along the roadside as well as tossing her hair about. Janet closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. The smells of the outdoors were unique and strangely fragrant, helping to clear her head. A call of a wild bird caught her attention, and she noticed it perched on a bleached fencepost across the road from where she stood. It took off suddenly circled around in a southerly direction eventually disappearing from view. Right now, to be a simple bird in flight sounded really nice. No cares, no worries, just to be able to glide on the breeze and soak up the warm sun sounded pleasant.

  Janet gazed south in the direction she had come from and wondered again about the small town of Cold Creek and everyone's curiosity about her. They must not get very many visitors, she decided. Still scanning the landscape she was overwhelmed with the openness that seemed to beckon, almost as if saying, “Life is wonderful. Enjoy the freedom of the outdoors!”

  Then something caught her attention on the road a couple of miles back. Peering harder, she could see a vehicle had just crested the rise in the road and was coming in her direction. “At last,” she said aloud. “Maybe I can get directions from them, or at least find out where I am.”

  She watched as the car got closer. It seemed to be taking forever, but it was hard to judge distance out here—at least for her. Then something odd happened. The car pulled over and stopped—about a mile away, she guessed. Shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight, she tried to get a better look.

  “Why would they stop, I wonder?” Janet said aloud and was getting ready to wave at them to get their attention when car doors popped opened on each side, and out stepped two people. They stood alongside their car gazing in her direction. Instead of waving at them, Janet continued to watch. One of them leaned into the car, then stood up again and put something to his face.

  “Binoculars! Oh my gosh! They’re looking at me, but why?” Suddenly, Janet was struck with a very horrible feeling. The car was a dark color, and both individuals appeared to be men. A moment later, a third man got out of the car and reached for the binoculars. Janet decided they had seen enough of her, and she most certainly had seen enough of them! She jumped back in her car and pulled back onto the road, wasting no time to accelerate.

  Three men. There had been three men in the car that had abducted Sally last night. Could these be the same three men? Not wanting to wait around to find out, she accelerated even more. Glancing in her mirrors, it appeared they had also begun pursuit.

  “This is not good!” Janet voiced audibly now panicked and terrified, but she tried to keep her wits about her as she raced along the narrow country road, desperately hoping to get away from her apparent pursuers.

  The sun maintained its steady march across the sky and had reached its zenith. The road seemed to go on forever. Much farther ahead, she could see a slight rise in the terrain and that the road disappeared over it. It also seemed like the road was getting closer to the foothills of the mountain range. She hadn’t been paying much attention to how long she’d been driving up to now, but glancing at her clock, she realized it was already past one o’clock. “Really?” she questioned aloud and then glanced in her mirror again. The other car was still following, but not gaining on her. “That’s weird!” Janet said aloud and then accelerate more glancing in her rearview mirror every so often to see if the other car did the same. She couldn’t tell for sure other than they were still behind her. Maybe a little farther back, but not by much. She figured that they knew what she was doing and were slowly matching her pace.

  As Janet’s little gray compact car scurried along the desolate road, she found herself thinking of Sally and being worried about her friend’s fate. At the same time, she was beginning to wonder about her own fate! This all seemed so unreal. Several hours ago they were at a party expecting to have a fun and exciting evening, and now here she was in her car, in a desolate area racing for her life—or so she thought—and trying to figure out how to escape her presumed pursuers to find and rescue her best friend.

  “Some rescue,” Janet mumbled to herself. “This is all so bizarre. I don’t know what to think!”

  Her car was beginning to work a little harder, and she realized she had reached the incline of the road. Pressing her foot on the accelerator even more, the car answered with a burst of energy, and she finally reached the summit. Ahead lay more road of course, but the terrain was definitely changing, and it was becoming more hilly. With renewed hope of finding an escape, Janet wasted no time in speeding ahead, hoping to put more distance between her and the dark sedan following.

  Every few seconds, she glanced in her mirror for signs of the other car. Ahead was another small rise in the road, which then dipped down out of sight on the other side. Eagerly, she pressed on, still checking her mirror. Within a few moments, she caught a glimpse of the other car. It was speeding down the first grade, but Janet was already approaching the next one. Cresting it in record time, she darted down the other side suddenly noticing that the road was now taking on curves and trees. The trees were great, but the curves were slowing her down.

  “Dang!” was all she could say as she was forced to apply the brakes in a tight curve. The narrow road now threaded itself through sparse evergreens, which grew denser with each mile.

  “I just wish I knew where I was,” she muttered absently, thinking how odd it was that she hadn’t seen a sign with any destination miles on it to the next town. Driving now required more attention and concentration. Rounding another curve, Janet noticed a small dirt road to the left as she passed by. Without a second thought, she slammed on the brakes and put her car in reverse. Backing up, she hesitated for about two seconds then pulled into the narrow lane, which dipped down and twisted away from the main road, eventually disappearing into a dense thicket of trees and undergrowth. Although not knowing how much time she had, she carefully and very slowly negotiated the na
rrow dirt lane, hoping not to raise any dust that would give her location away to anyone else passing by on the paved road behind her.

  Janet finally allowed her car to roll to a stop on its own and then switched off the engine, trying not to touch the brake pedal. She lowered her window slightly to listen. The trees created a buffer between her and the road behind, but she hoped she would somehow be able to determine if the sedan drove past. Time crept as she strained to listen. After what seemed like forever, she finally heard something. It was a vehicle, she was sure, but it didn’t sound much like a sedan. The sound, though faint, grew louder, then faded and eventually was gone. She wasn’t sure, but it sounded like it had come from the opposite direction. “Well, of course it did!” she retorted sarcastically. “All this time I’ve been waiting for someone to come along who could help me, and the minute I leave the road, here they come!” Janet was annoyed.

  Still listening, however, she waited for the sound of the sedan driving by as well, but after several minutes, heard nothing. She didn’t know what to think. Sure, they could have driven by without being heard. Sedans aren’t all that noisy. Maybe they passed by at the same time the other vehicle did. Or maybe, they quit following her and decided to turn around and go back the other way. Or maybe, they were just waiting for her to come out of hiding. But then, how would they know she was hiding? Or maybe they found this little dirt lane too! Or maybe I should stop trying to guess and just wait, she thought realizing she was becoming somewhat hysterical. “I need to stay calm.”

  Janet wanted to keep moving, but now worried about starting her engine. Her heart was pounding! Her hands were clammy, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. So much for staying calm! She was definitely on the verge of panicking, and she knew it. After listening intently for a few more seconds, she gritted her teeth and turned the key. The little car sprang to life. Janet began to maneuver along the narrow dirt lane as it wound around trees and underbrush and farther into the hills.

  The roadbed was uneven and rocky as she bounced along trying to avoid large rocks and potholes. It began to climb and change direction from west to north. Finally cresting a ridge, the road dipped down into a small depression, then up again, and around another bend. For the next half hour or so, Janet drove up and over, down and around, and higher into the hills. Eventually, she dipped into another small depression and stopped the car. Exhausted from emotional stress, as much as anything else, she needed a break.

  Leaving the engine running this time, Janet put the gear in “park” and set the parking brake. Stepping out, she nearly fell. Her legs were weak and almost numb. She hadn’t realized how tense every part of her body had become throughout this whole ordeal. She rubbed her legs and finally walked around to get the circulation going again.

  What a peaceful place, she thought, and how ironic. In spite of her situation and mild hysteria, everything smelled good. The breeze was still wafting around, brushing the treetops which sang in delight. A bird chirped from nearby, or at least, she thought it was a bird. It sounded different than most birds she’d heard. A rustling in the branches of a tree above where she stood drew her attention, and she saw a squirrel run along a branch. It stopped and made that same strange chirping sound.

  “So it was you!” She laughed and ran her fingers through her hair and tousled it a bit to get some of the tangles out, then fetched the water bottle from the cup holder and took a long drink. She was feeling hungry too, but decided to wait a while longer. She didn’t have much in the way of food, just a few snacks in a bag in the backseat. She generally kept something in her car for long afternoon commutes home from work. Now, the snacks would probably come in handy, but she wanted to make them last as long as possible.

  Although the sky was still blue overhead, the woods were getting darker and cooler. The sun had made its way across the sky and from her vantage point had nearly reached the highest peaks of the high mountain range. Deciding what to do next was her biggest challenge at the moment.

  “Little squirrel? Where are you? Help me find my way out of here to someplace safe, will ya?” She scanned the branches of the trees, but didn’t see the squirrel, or anything else for that matter—just trees and shrubs. It was very still. Janet continued to listen in silence for sounds of other vehicles or people or anything! But she heard nothing.

  “So do I drive farther up this road or stay here?” she quizzed herself aloud. “It’s certain I’m not going back the way I came! At least not right now.” She even debated about whether or not to take a little walk around, but then decided not too. “I’m not exactly dressed for hiking in the woods.” She smirked as she examined her attire. Still in a party dress and dressy shoes, the thought of taking a walk made her shake her head in dismay.

  Not wanting to stay where she was any longer, Janet decided to continue up the road a little farther. Who knows what she might find? Well, that was the problem, wasn’t it? She really didn’t know, and it could be good or not. Even so, the idea of just sitting in her car didn’t sound all that appealing either. Climbing back into her car, she set it in gear and began the slow drive on up the dirt road, glancing at her car clock. It read four-thirty.

  The ride was no worse than it had been, one twist and bump after another. Although she could still see well enough to drive in the waning light, at this slow pace eventually, she would either have to turn the headlights on or stop altogether. The headlights idea didn’t seem like a good one. They might still be looking for her, so she decided that when it became too difficult to see for safe maneuvering, she would stop for the night.

  “Good grief! I never thought about having to spend another night alone in my car!” Well, there wasn’t much else she could do she surmised. After another twenty minutes or so and only a couple of miles farther, Janet finally decided to stop and get ready for the night, but finding a good place to do that was also a concern. She had just crested a small rise in the road, which then dipped down into another low hollow. “I guess this is the place, then.” The trees were dense, and the hillside began a steep climb to her right. On the left, she could see more sky through the tree branches, and the hillside seemed to descend away from the road, but was not quite as steep she thought.

  “This is good,” she decided. Setting the emergency brake and shutting off the engine, Janet stepped out of her car and popped the trunk. She fished around for whatever she could find that might make her night more comfortable. Excitedly, she found two beach towels, an opened bag of cookies, a half-eaten bag of stale potato chips, and two more bottles of water. “Ah! I had forgotten about these things!” She was glad she hadn’t completely cleaned out her car from a recent trip to the beach with Sally.

  “Sally!” Janet was depressed again. “Where are you tonight?” She just stood there for a moment, clinging to her few items and remembering last night all over again. Tears came. She got back in her car locking the door. Absently, Janet ate a couple of cookies and some chips. She sipped her water, and then, set everything on the passenger seat. Reclining her seat, she lay back, staring out the side window.

  Exhaustion had finally taken its toll. She rolled one towel up to make a pillow then used the second one as a blanket. The car was already losing its warmth, but she didn’t care. Sleep was what she needed. Tomorrow would be a new day—same problems, just a new day to tackle them.

  Chapter 4