Chapter 29

29

She was running. Bethanne was running so hard and so fast, her lungs felt like they were about to explode. Around her, the woods seemed to have come alive. Noise surrounded her, and all her senses seemed heightened. The trees seemed thicker, more birds were crying out, more rocks and stones were in her path.

Every time she tripped, Bethanne scrambled back to her feet without a care for the scratches on her legs or the cuts on her bare feet. All that mattered was getting help. Getting someone to help her save Candace before Scott killed her.

Tears streamed down her face as she thought of her last seconds in that shack. Scott yelling at her. Hitting and kicking Candace. Her thinking that if her cousin was going to be scarred and hurt for the rest of her life, it would be her fault.

And maybe it would be.

All Bethanne knew for sure was that she probably would've turned back ... except for one thing. Candace screaming for her to go.

Over and over the scene replayed in her head. The dust and the smell of sweat on Scott's clothes. The way Candace fell to the floor. The way Candace cried out when Scott first hit her.

The first whiff of fresh air.

The way her legs protested when she first attempted to run. All of it would be permanently etched in her head. All the feelings that accompanied it too. Desperation and helplessness. Even anger that once again she'd been caught at a man's mercy.

But that was it, she thought as she located another break in the woods and sped forward, stumbling over a fallen tree limb. She wasn't just thinking about herself now. She was thinking about Candace. She would do whatever it took to help her.

Just as Seth Zimmerman had done for her all those years ago. He'd risked everything to help her—and had paid for his help by going to prison. If he could do that, then she could do anything to help Candace. Anything.

The pain in her feet lessened when she reached the path. The ground was damp. What wasn't mud was covered with a fine layer of moss and clover. Compared to the leaves, twigs, and rocks she'd been running on, it felt heavenly. She gave thanks to God for this brief respite.

She had no idea where she was. Lott had been the one who'd always pushed the boundaries, dashing into the woods as a little boy, hunting and fishing and sneaking around when he was a teenager. She'd been too good.

Or maybe just too scared. Not of her parents' reactions. No, they might have given her a talking-to, but she'd put the fear in herself. She'd been too afraid to push her own self-made boundaries. Only when she'd been so eager to gain Peter's complete attention and love had she let her guard down.

A woodpecker drilled into a tree nearby, startling her. She paused, attempted to catch her breath. Saw a pair of sparrows suddenly take flight. Had she scared them? Or was it someone else?

"Is anyone out here?" she called out.

The voice sounded weak and strained. Even to her own ears. Thinking of Candace, of the way she was depending on her, Bethanne cried out again. "Hello! Can anyone hear me? Help! I need help!"

The woods surrounding her rustled again. Afraid and unsure, she started walking, biding her time, slowly building her pace. Gathering her courage. "Hello? Anyone?"

The bushes around her moved again. She felt like a dozen creatures were staring at her. Curious. Unafraid.

"Help me!" she screamed. "We need someone!" Gott, we need You! she called out in her mind.

"Bethanne?"

The voice was faint. It sounded like it was coming through an echo chamber. And somewhere far, so far away.

But still, she answered. "Yes! It's me!"

She thought she could feel the ground vibrate. The by-product of pounding feet on the ground.

"Bethanne, keep yelling! We're coming for ya!"

"I'm here!" Ignoring the pain radiating from her feet, she started running along the path again. "I'm right here!"

"Don't move. Stay where you are. We'll come to you."

Stay? She wasn't that far from Scott. Would he leave Candace behind to stop her from yelling? Or, in retaliation, would he hurt Candace so badly that even if she wanted to get free, she couldn't? Indecision paralyzed her.

No choice seemed right. Nowhere felt safe. She closed her eyes and made herself concentrate on steady, slow breaths. The way she used to breathe when she was having a panic attack while trying to leave her room.

"Don't move, Bethanne!"

She stopped and looked around. The voice had come from another direction. Was it Scott's? She didn't think so, but it didn't sound like the same voice as before.

"Help me!" she yelled again. Even if Scott grabbed her or tried to silence her, she still had Candace to think about.

The noises all around her grew louder. Rougher. More broken. Careless.

"Bethanne?"

"I'm here! I'm not moving!" More softly she added, "I'm right here, God. Please hurry. Please, please hurry." No one would hear her but the Lord, but she didn't care.

"Bethanne? Sweetheart, where are you?"

Jay. That was Jay's voice. "Jay? I'm here!"

"We're coming!" His voice sounded wonderful. Relieved. Happy.

Perfect.

"Keep yelling, Bethy! Yell as loud as you can!"

"I'm here!" She screamed it. Realized that she wasn't just yelling to her rescuers. She was yelling to God. Yelling to the world. Yelling to herself.

She was alive and she was worthy and she counted. Never again was she going to hide in a room and convince herself that her own company was better than the love of others.

Never again.

"I'm here!" she called again. So loudly that her voice was already hoarse.

In the woods around her, leaves rustled. Footsteps pounded the ground. And then, practically at the same time, four men appeared. Jay and Lott ... and Chief Foster and Ryan.

All of them stopped abruptly and stared at her as if she'd appeared out of nowhere.

And then Jay rushed forward and pulled her into his arms. "Thank God," he whispered as he ran his hand over her hair that was now falling down her back. "Thank You, God."

She clung to him so hard, she was afraid she might be hurting his arms and chest. Keeping her head against his chest for just a moment, where she could hear each beat of his reassuring heartbeat, she whispered, "Jay, I ... I canna believe it. You found me. But Candace is still there."

Hearing him take a ragged breath, she lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. They were as blue as ever. But they were also filled with tears of relief. Lifting her hand, she swiped her fingers on one of his cheeks, realizing after the fact that she'd left dirt on his skin.

Suddenly, he tensed and kind of thrust her away from him. "I didn't even think. Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so. Not too badly, anyway."

He grabbed one of her hands. "There's blood on your fingers. And your wrists! Oh, Bethy, what did he do to you?"

"We were tied up and then I had to get a nail. It's a long story." Turning to Chief Foster and Ryan, she said, "She's in some sort of building. Scott was kicking her when I left. I didn't want to leave, but I had to get help. She told me to go."

"Do you know where it is?" Ryan asked. "Can you get back there?"

"I think so."

"I know where it is." Jay looked at Chief Foster. "It's that old shack on the other side of the broken bridge on Cripple Creek."

The chief nodded. "I know it. We're close, then. Jay, get Bethanne to the main road. I'll radio for an ambulance. Ryan, you're with me."

But Bethanne couldn't go to the ambulance yet. Candace was still out there. "I want to go with you."

"We need you safe, Bethy," Jay said.

She was about to argue when she noticed her brother walk to her side. "Lott."

"I wanted to give you a moment with Jay, but I can't stay away another second." He held out his arms. When she walked into his embrace, he held her gently and kissed her brow. "I've been so worried about ya."

"I know. I've been worried too. But we have to go get Candace."

Lott held up his phone. "While you've been reuniting with Jay here, I've been texting Sheriff Johnson and telling him where you were. He's heading there now."

"I hope he gets there soon."

"Ryan and Chief will be there soon too. Don't worry."

She couldn't seem to let go of her panic, though. "Nee, I promised Candace I'd help her." Looking back at the path, she added, "Lott, Jay, I need to take you there."

The men exchanged glances. "I don't know if that's the best idea, Bethy," Lott said. "The police will be there soon. I think Mamm and Daed would appreciate it if we took you to the ambulance that's waiting on ya."

"I agree," Jay said as he rubbed her back. "Having you safe will relieve everyone's minds. The policemen won't like you returning to the thick of things."

Turning back to him, she said, "Jay, I canna leave these woods without Candace. I simply can't."

Jay and her brother exchanged glances. "All right, then. Let's go."

"Jay, hold up," Lott said. "She doesn't even have shoes on."

She loved her brother, but he wasn't going to treat her like a child. She really didn't want him speaking about her as if she wasn't standing there. "My feet are going to be okay. Let's go."

"But Bethanne—"

"Lott, Candace is our cousin. I'm not leaving her."

"Fine."

"Let's go." Jay held out his hand, then looked as if he wondered if her fingers were too sore. "Can you hold hands?"

Her fingers were sore, but she wouldn't dodge that connection for anything. Slipping her left, slightly less-sore hand into his, she smiled at him. "Always."

"Ach, you two. Enough. Let's go."

Without another word, the three of them headed back in the direction from which she came. Now that she wasn't alone—and she knew that Ryan and the chief were likely already at the shack—some of the frantic energy surrounding her had dissipated. Her heart was still heavy, and she was still scared to death for Candace, but if the Lord could bring Jay and Lott into her path, she felt certain that He would save Candace too.

Don't lose hope, Candace! Keep strong for just a little while longer. It's almost over.

Bethanne hoped with all her heart that was the truth.