Chapter 27

27

Inch by inch, Bethanne searched the ground of the shack. In a moment of frustration, she stood up, kicked off her shoes, and started using her toes to help push aside the debris on the ground. She still wasn't sure whether her bare toes were making a difference or not.

Candace groaned. "I thought I just found it, but it's only a twig."

"Did it look strong enough to help with these ropes?" Bethanne asked. At this point, she didn't care what they found, as long as it would help get them free.

"Nope. It would just snap."

She swallowed her disappointment. "Oh. Don't worry, though. We'll find it."

"I know. We just have to stay patient."

"Jah. Patience is the key."

And ... that's what they kept telling each other. They'd find it. They would find that nail, somehow use it to tear through the rope's fibers, and then—with free hands at last—push their way out the locked door and make it to safety.

It was a nice thought, but in reality it was as far-fetched as being sure the police or a forest ranger or one of their fathers would suddenly realize where they were and rescue them.

Searching for the lost nail was harder than Bethanne had thought it would be. And she'd been sure it would be pretty darn hard, given that her hands were still tied behind her back. But they didn't have any other choice. Time was ticking by. The sun was up, and no doubt Scott would return soon.

It was inevitable.

Forcing herself to only concentrate on the task at hand, she grabbed as much of her dress's fabric as she could. Somehow she gathered enough fabric so that her dress no longer brushed against the ground. She was able to move her toe more easily along the floor's surface. She uncovered a gum wrapper and a dead spider. Yet another one. Nothing of use.

She was sure that dirt and grime were embedded in the cuts on her fingers. She felt dirty and sore. Exhausted. Tears pricked her eyes but she ignored them. Crying wouldn't help. All it would do is blur her eyesight and make this herculean task even harder than it was. Turning a few inches to the right, she combed the ground. Shifted and did the same thing. Then did it again.

Five more minutes passed. Or maybe it was ten? She had no idea. All that mattered was finding that nail—or something that would free them.

And then she did.

"I got it," she said quietly. Sure that she now held the piece of metal in her left hand, she waited for some sense of relief or accomplishment.

Nothing came.

All she felt was empty.

"Bethy, you are the best."

"I don't know about that," she said with a small laugh. "Because, to be honest, I have no earthly idea how we're going to use it to loosen our bindings."

Sounding more energized, Candace said, "I do. I'm going to get it from you, then I'll start trying to wear down the rope around your wrists."

"All right."

"Um, I have a feeling I might end up scratching you with it. If I do, I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter."

"As long as we get free, right?"

"Jah." Bethanne knew she sounded as doubtful as she felt, but what could she do? This idea was a long shot, and that was putting it mildly.

Once again, they shifted so their backs were together. Very carefully she handed over the nail to Candace.

"I got it." Candace sounded elated. Hopeful.

Bethanne's spirits, on the other hand, plummeted. But she kept her mouth shut. She had to. No good would come out of her citing the obvious—that all they were really doing was pretending that things were going to get better and they were going to get free.

"Lift your hands a bit."

After Bethanne did so, she felt Candace's fingers grab at the rope and pull. "That's too hard," she called out.

"I know it's uncomfortable, but it feels like there's an especially weak part," Candace said in a strained tone. "Hold still. I'm going to—" Candace paused again as she poked at the rope. Then poked at it again. "I think that helped. Turn this way a little so I can see."

Doing as she asked, Bethanne held her tongue. But really, she was so tired. And thirsty. She was starting to think they would be better off trying to sleep a little bit and regain their energy instead of poking at each other's ropes. "What do you see?"

"Turn again. I think I've got this."

"Really?"

"Bethanne, it's almost broken. I promise."

She turned, and when Candace told her to tighten the rope between them, she moved her hands as best as she could. Then, she heard a snap. "You broke more."

"I hope so. See if you can pull on it hard. Maybe you can break the rope the rest of the way."

"Okay." She closed her eyes and pulled her wrists apart. But all she felt was the twine dig more deeply into her skin. "Candace, it's not going to help."

"It is. Try one more time. If you can't get it, you can't get it. But just try, okay?"

"Okay." One more time she tried to stretch and break the rope by moving her hands apart. Once again the twine dug into her skin. "I'm trying. It's hopeless."

"It's not. Try again."

She was getting angry. "This isn't easy, Candace!" she snapped. "It hurts! And we're not going to get out of here by ourselves. We need some help."

"That's why you've been praying, right?"

Bethanne was embarrassed to admit it, but she'd stopped praying a while ago. "God doesn't care about my wrists."

"Sure He does. And you would know that too, if you weren't in such a mood."

"Did you just say I was in a mood?"

"You heard me. Now, take a deep breath and come on, Bethy," she coaxed. "Try one more time. If it doesn't break, then I'll try pulling off the twine with the nail again."

"You're making me so frustrated. It's hard enough to do this without you bossing me around," she said as she pulled on her wrists. They stung in protest. She could feel them begin to ...

And then they were apart.

"It worked." She knew she sounded incredulous—but she was.

"What?"

"Candace, I did it. You did it," she said as she moved her hands. Her arms sent out shrieks of pain. They hurt so badly. But then, she was staring at her two hands in front of her. Her left was now completely free. The right held the vestiges of the rope. It was easy enough to manipulate the rope to get the rest off. "I'm free."

"That's the best news of the day."

Moving to Candace's back, Bethanne retrieved the nail from her hands. After realizing that the knots were tied too tight to loosen, she got to work shredding the rope surrounding Candace's two hands. "I can't believe you were able to hold the nail the way you did. I'm having a hard time not dropping it now."

"Please don't drop it. I don't think I'm up for another nail hunt," Candace joked.

"Don't worry. I've got this."

But of course she was full of bluster. She didn't "have" anything. Not really. It took her another ten minutes to get Candace's ropes separated, and that was with Candace pulling hard on them.

But then her bindings snapped as well and she was doing the same thing Bethanne had done—grimacing with pain as she attempted to move her arms freely again.

When the last of the fiber was on the floor, Candace threw herself at Bethanne. "We did it. Oh, Bethy, I'm so proud of you."

Wrapping her arms around Candace, Bethanne felt her tears begin to fall. "I'm sorry I gave up hope."

"Don't you apologize for anything. We're doing the best we can."

"Are you ready to get out of here?"

"So ready." With each other's help, they got to their feet.

It was harder than she'd imagined, mainly because it felt like her limbs had gone to sleep. But at last they were both at the door and trying to get it open.

It suddenly swung out, and Scott was standing in the doorway, his expression a combination of shock and anger. "No!" he yelled and lunged at Candace.

With a cry, she stepped back, tripped, and fell onto the floor.

Scott came into the shed and kicked Candace's leg. As she yelped, Bethanne screamed as loud as she could. Hoping against hope that someone in the woods would hear her and come running.

"Bethanne, run!" Candace shrieked. "Go!"

Instinctively, she backed away from them toward the door. But she couldn't make herself go farther. Getting help was the right choice, but how could she leave Candace alone? "I don't want to leave you."

"You have to. Go!" she cried as Scott kicked her again.

When Candace cried out in pain, Bethanne flinched. Every bit of her wanted to save Candace, but she knew she was no match for Scott.

When Scott lifted Candace like a rag doll and started shaking her, Bethanne froze.

"Bethanne, go!" Candace shrieked at her.

When Scott turned to her, Bethanne knew she was out of choices. She turned and ran. Please, God! Help me!

She ran as fast as she could. She had no idea where. All she knew was that she was running as far away from Scott as she could and abandoning her cousin.

"Help me!" she screamed. "Anyone?"

But all she heard was the rustling of the leaves beneath her feet and the startled screech of a bird.

After all that had happened, she was alone again.