Part 9 (1/2)
Joey shook his head. ”Nah, she says she found her way back to the trailhead. She a.s.sumed something must have happened that made the camp leave. She was trying to get to town when the storm came down. Totally disoriented her. Before she knew it, she was in a bad state.”
”Thank G.o.d we found her,” Annja said. ”She might have died otherwise.”
”Definitely,” Joey said. ”Another thirty minutes and she would have been a goner.”
He led Annja over the trail and down a steep precipice. Bits of shale and gravel broke free, skittering along the path toward the muddy lower ground. Annja thought she could hear something in the distance.
”Is that a waterfall?”
Joey nodded. ”Yep. Better to see it in the daylight, though. At night it's not the same thing. Unless, of course, there's a full moon. Then it's pretty spectacular.”
”I'll have to remember that. How much farther along is she?”
Joey stopped and pointed through the trees. ”There. You see the fire? She's right there.”
Annja couldn't see Jenny but she could make out the glow of the firelight. So could anyone else who might be out tonight. ”You think that was such a good move? That fire's like a spotlight.”
”It was either that or your friend dies,” Joey said. ”I thought saving her was a little more important than being stealthy about it.”
Annja nodded. ”You're right, sorry. It's just I can't help thinking about those guys roaming around in the night, looking for someone to kill.”
Joey waved his hand. ”Those guys are probably back in their tents, sleeping off a drunk. I saw an empty beer can in one of their jackets.”
”What about animals? Would any of them attack Jenny if they knew she couldn't defend herself?”
”Highly unlikely. Cheehawk is about as big a predator as we get around here and he wouldn't bother her.”
”Mountain lion?”
”Last report was from twenty years back,” Joey said. ”Long before my time. And I've explored these woods well enough to think that if there was one around, I would have run into him.”
”Okay.”
Joey led her farther down the trail and then the ground sloped upward again. ”How she made it as far as she did is pretty amazing. I would have guessed that she'd lie down close to the waterfall, but she apparently wanted to get to high ground and try to use it as a navigational aid.”
”Jenny's made of tough stuff,” Annja said. ”She knows how to handle herself.”
”Well, weather can break anyone down,” Joey said. ”Even with training and various other tools, the weather can still beat you. You've got to respect it. She should have just hunkered down and gotten shelter and waited out the storm.”
”Good advice,” Annja said. ”I'll make sure she gets the message.”
Joey smirked. ”I already read her the riot act. She knows she screwed up. But she's looking forward to seeing you.”
”So am I,” Annja said. ”Is it much farther?”
”Just over the next rise.”
Annja smiled. It would be good to see Jenny again, even if she was in a state. At least she was alive. That was the important thing. All they had to do was get her back to town so she could be checked by a local doctor to make sure she had no lingering problems.