Part 3 (2/2)
”As opposed to you.”
”I left, man. I don't stick around for trouble. That's bad medicine.”
”Well, do me this one favor and then you can get lost, as well.”
”What about you?” Joey asked.
Annja looked out into the trees. ”I'll leave with you guys as a group. But somewhere along the trail, I'll bleed off. Don't try to find me. I'll search for Jenny and we'll figure out what to do next.”
”You're going to find Jenny in these woods alone? You?”
”I'm pretty good at finding my way around, Joey. I've been in a lot worse environments than this,” Annja said.
At that moment, the clouds finally opened up and rain pelted down from the sky, soaking everyone in seconds. The students shouted and complained that they had no tents to use for shelter.
Annja sighed and called them all together. ”You're leaving.”
”Now?” one of them said. ”It's raining.”
”So the quicker we get out onto the trail and headed back to the trailhead, the better off you'll be. Move quickly and you'll stay warm, too. Joey here is going to lead us all out.”
”Can he do it?”
Joey looked as if he was going to punch the person who asked, but Annja held him back. ”Yes, he knows these woods better than anyone.”
”What if we get lost?”
”You won't,” Annja said. ”And I'll be bringing up the rear so I'll make sure no one gets left behind. Now, are we ready?”
They all nodded. Annja breathed a sigh of relief. If she could just keep them focused on the task at hand, getting back to the safety of town and away from here, then they'd be all right.
She looked at Joey. ”You all set?”
”Of course,” he said.
”All right, then. Lead on.”
Joey started off down the trail. One by one, the students fell in, forming a ragged line. Rain continued to drench them all. Annja knew she'd have to find shelter pretty quickly if she had any hope of surviving long enough to find Jenny.
She figured the trio of gunmen were probably watching them leave. She hoped they would think that Annja had just wanted to get everyone out in one piece. Hopefully, they would believe that their threats had worked.
Even though they hadn't.
The trees seemed to reach in over them as they walked down the trail. Overhead, the long spindly branches with leaf shoots and pine branches deflected some of the rain, but it was still getting very squishy on the ground. Annja's boots left footprints behind her that quickly filled with water.
The trail was turning into a muddy mess.
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