The Trip

Chapter 1

“Dad!” yelled Nathan excitedly as he clicked his seatbelt in place, “Let’s go!” Nathan was an average 10-year-old high-spirited little boy. His laughing brown eyes, which he inherited from his mother, were anxiously watching his dad stow away their camping gear in the rear of their beat-up old jeep. Nathan was warmly dressed in a red flannel shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and a fur lined all-weather coat to combat the snow and the cold that was forecasted for their weekend in the mountains. Today was the start of the annual camping trip with his dad and he couldn’t wait to get on the road. “Alright, alright, I’m coming,” George Lancaster said with a slight smile as he put the last bag into the jeep. Nathan was always so eager to get on the road. He and Nathan had been taking their annual father/son camping trip for the last five years, starting when Nathan was only five. George always looked forward to it, even more so now that Nathan was getting older. He knew that soon Nathan would be more interested in hanging out with his friends than spending time with him. “Ok, son are you ready?” George asked as he took one last look in the trunk to make sure everything was packed. He was also dressed warmly in a similar red flannel long sleeved shirt as Nathans. He had on jeans, long underwear and a heavy coat that should stand up to the snow, wind and cold. His longish black hair was covered up with a cap. “Yep, let’s go dad,” Nathan said as he looked over to see his dad coming around the car. He loved going camping with his dad every year. They would pitch their tents, gather firewood, and then go fishing. Nathan loved fishing. He and his dad had a standing bet that the one that caught the most fish would select the camping location for the next year, and he was determined to win this year. George opened the door to the family’s old Jeep Cherokee. It had seen better days and wasn’t in the best shape, but it was part of their camping tradition, and he loved it.

“Ok, bud let’s go.” George put the keys in the ignition and turned the switch. There was a dry clicking sound and nothing else. Oh no, thought George here we go. I really need to replace the old girl, he thought. He said this every year, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to get rid of her. He turned the key in the ignition a second time and this time the engine rewarded him by sputtering to life. One more year he thought fondly. We’re getting one more year out of her, but he knew she was on her last legs. He would have to seriously think about replacing her before next year’s trip.

“Off we go,” he said with a smile as he pressed the play button on the car’s CD player. A popular rock song came blaring through the speakers. Nathan started singing, his high sweet voice cracking just a little. George smiled and after a moment he chimed in to sing the chorus with him.

George and Nathan had been traveling for a few minutes and suddenly Nathan began giggling. “What’s so funny, bud” George asked, glancing fondly at his son. “I just remembered something,” he said. “And what’s that,” George asked? “I was remembering last year when you fell into the water trying to reel in that catfish,” George laughed at the memory of him dripping wet, rod in hand and no fish on the line. That was one big catfish, and he couldn’t believe he fought it for 15 minutes just to lose it when he lost his footing on the creek bank and fell into the lake. Leave it to Nathan to remind him of the one that got away. He reached over and tousled his hair, “laugh now, ‘cause when I get my rod in the water, I’m reeling in the biggest fish you ever saw,” he said confidently. “Sure dad,” Nathan said laughing at the empty boast. He loved his dad fiercely, but he always tended to overestimate his fishing abilities; and his golfing abilities; and his skiing abilities. The list actually went on and on, but Nathan knew his dad had a lot of other great qualities that made up for his less than stellar performances in outdoor sports. For one he was a successful architect. For another he was a great baseball coach. Nathan was proud of him and enjoyed spending time with him. He knew his dad worried that he was getting older and wouldn’t want to continue the annual trips, but Nathan thoroughly enjoyed them and couldn’t think of ever stopping. He would let his dad know on this trip so he wouldn’t worry. How was he to know that this would be their last trip together?

Chapter 2

They headed to the highway and George set his trip meter. The campsite was exactly 323 miles away. They drove along the highway for the first 277 miles, then it was a series of winding roads that made up the remaining 46 miles. About 10 miles before the winding roads started it began to snow. Just a light dusting at first, then a little harder. George had checked the weather beforehand and knew that they wouldn’t see much snow, but he sure hoped what they did see wouldn’t soak the ground completely. Only another 55 miles or so, he thought. Just then a deer darted across the road. George saw him, but he knew it was too late. He felt the SUV hit the deer and could see the body coming through the windshield. He put up his hand as the windshield shattered into a million pieces. The jeep swerved, careening into the guardrail, and then plunging down the side of a cliff. The jeep turned over and over as it fell, finally coming to a stop about 50 feet down.

George awoke to the sun blazing in the sky. He was dazed and for a moment couldn’t remember where he was or what had happened. He could barely see out of his right eye and drying blood seemed to be coating his head. He was nauseous and felt like he was going to pass out. He tried to turn his head and look in the backseat for Nathan, but he didn’t make it. As the blackness was staring to wash over him, he started calling out for Nathan. There was no response. “Nathan!” he yelled just before the blackness took over completely.

George slowly began to stir. He tried to open his eyes, but his head hurt so badly it seemed a better idea to simply go back to sleep. Then he remembered what happened. “Nathan! Nathan,” he yelled as he opened his eyes and tried to move his head. He looked around and saw that he was upside down. The car had come to rest on its top and he was hanging suspended from his seatbelt. He tried again to look in the backseat for Nathan, but he still couldn’t turn his head. It was angled to the side, pressed to the roof of the car. He worked to get his hands above him all the while calling out for Nathan. After several minutes he was able to put his hand above his head and push himself up. There was a pain in his neck from being at that angle for so long, but he was finally able to look in the backseat. What he saw made his heart stop. There was Nathan’s little body lying on the roof of the jeep motionless. George became frantic and started to struggle to get out of the seatbelt. “Nathan! Nathan! Please God, please God. Nathan!” He alternately screamed Nathan’s name and prayed to God that he was alive. After several frantic minutes he heard Nathan moan softly. George was still struggling to get out of the seatbelt, but he breathed a sigh of relief that his son was alive. George continued to struggle but couldn’t get the seat belt to release. He decided he needed to calm down and see if there was anything in the car that he could use to cut the seatbelt. As his breathing regulated, he became aware of an unbearable pain in his left knee and an excruciating pain in his left foot. From his position he looked up at his knee and almost fainted. There was a bone sticking out of the top of his knee. He couldn’t see his feet, but he could tell that the left one was at an unnatural angle that he was sure meant that it was in seriously bad shape. George tried to ignore the pain and began looking around the vehicle from his upside-down position. He remembered the Swiss army knife that he kept in the glove box. He tried reaching over to open the glove box and was treated to a pain in his knee that was so severe he almost passed out again. He knew he couldn’t afford to pass out nor could he waste any more time hanging upside down. He had to get Nathan out of the vehicle and to a hospital pronto. After the first groan he hadn’t heard much else from him, so he knew that he was in a bad way and needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. He gritted his teeth and took another stab at reaching for the glove box. This time he was able to get it open. He strained a little more and was able to reach the knife. He opened the knife and proceeded to cut both the shoulder and then the lap restraints. As soon as the lap restraint was cut, he fell hard onto the top of the vehicle. He immediately screamed in pain and felt the blackness take hold again.

Night was starting to set in when George awakened for the second time. He could hear sounds in the darkness, animal sounds. He knew that there were all kinds of animals in this area; wolves, coyotes and bears just to name a few. He looked in the backseat at Nathan and started crawling towards him. He called out softly, “Nathan? Nathan, can you hear me buddy?” There was only silence. George put two fingers to Nathan’s throat to see if there was a pulse. His heart stopped. He couldn’t feel anything. He laid his head on Nathan’s chest. He thought he could hear a heartbeat, but it was very faint. George knew he needed to get Nathan to a hospital, and soon. He suddenly remembered his cell phone. It had been in the cup holder before the crash. George looked around the car trying to find it. With the jeep upside down everything was now on the ceiling and he couldn’t find the phone among the items now littering the car. It must have been knocked out during the fall. He desperately needed to locate the phone and he needed to get Nathan out of the vehicle and warm him up. He looked at the back windshield and saw that it was cracked. He wiggled his way to the rear of the car, groaning in agony all the while. When he reached the windshield, he used his right foot to kick it out. Luckily, it was loose enough from the crash that it shattered easily, and George was able to kick most of the glass out. He gingerly dragged himself out, then turned around and reached for Nathan. He dragged him slowly from the wreckage. He found a downed tree a few yards away to lean against and pulled Nathan into his lap. He sat there for a moment trying to catch his breath. He inspected Nathan from head to toe. His face was covered in blood, which he credited to a huge gash on his forehead that had probably been gushing blood earlier but was all dried now. His right arm seemed to be twisted at an odd angle, so it was surely broken. Those were all the injuries that George could see, but he knew that he could have internal injuries that could be very serious. George knew he needed to get help. He looked up at the cliff that they had come down and knew he couldn’t go up that way. He decided that his only chance was to try to make it through the nearby woods, but he couldn’t take Nathan with him. His heart ached at the thought, but he knew he had to leave his son behind in order to get help. He laid him on the ground and made his way painstakingly back to the vehicle. George looked through the jeep to see what he could find to wrap Nathan in and to try and bandage his knee. He rummaged through their supplies and grabbed Nathan’s sleeping bag, a blanket, and some bottles of water. While looking for some sort of bandage he glanced out of the window on the driver’s side and saw the first aid kit that he always kept in the jeep’s trunk. He made his way out of the jeep and crawled to it. He quickly looked around the area hoping against hope that he could find his cell phone, but no luck. He picked up the first aid kit. The only items of any real use were an ace bandage, some aspirin, and some alcohol swabs. He took the aspirin and put them in his shirt pocket. He then opened up the swabs and tried to wipe some of the soil and grass from around his exposed bone. He didn’t know what else he could do about the bone, so he took the bandage and wrapped it around the knee to prevent anymore dirt from getting to it. He crawled back to the jeep and began pushing the sleeping bag, blanket, and water ahead towards Nathan. He wrapped the blanket around Nathan and gently rolled him into the sleeping bag. He zipped it all the way with just enough room to let in some air. He kissed Nathan on his forehead and whispered, “I’ll be back soon buddy. I’m going to get some help and we’re coming back to get you. Stay safe.” With a heavy heart George swallowed the aspirins washing them down with some of the bottled water and set off into the woods. The going was slow, impeded by his injuries. George wasn’t even sure how he was moving he was in so much pain, but the thought of Nathan out here alone gave him all the motivation he needed to keep going. He just hoped he could find help in time.

Chapter 3

It was fully dark now and George had been moving for several hours. He came to a downed tree and sat against it for a quick rest. He wondered how far he still needed to go before he could find help. Just then he heard a sound and saw some rustling in the woods ahead. George looked around and saw a stick that was as thick as his arm. It was the only thing around that he could use to defend himself. The question was defended himself against what. With all the wild animals in these woods it could be anything from a snake to a bear. He tried to stay as quiet as he possibly could while trying to pinpoint the location of the sound. It came again even louder which meant that whatever it was it was coming closer. George looked around for a place to hide. His eyes, now adjusted to the darkness, saw a dark crevice a few feet away. He slowly made his way over to it just as the animal or rather animals came into view. It was a pair of wolves. George started to panic. Stuck as he was, he had no way of protecting himself against two vicious wolves. His stick might as well be a leaf against them.

George remained in the crevice hardly daring to breath. After a few minutes, the wolves quickly passed by, and George could breathe again. He thought about simply staying in the somewhat protected area for a little longer but knew that time was of the essence. He slowly crawled forward, looking around him all the while. There was no sound and George felt reasonably confident that he was out of danger, at least for now. He restarted his slow trek through the woods.

George traveled for another few hours, but the pain was getting worse. He could no longer feel his left foot. He was concerned that he was compounding his injuries, but he really had no choice. He was Nathan’s only hope. The woods were becoming so dense, and it was so dark that he could no longer see more than a couple of feet in front of him. George knew he needed to stop for now. If he kept going, he knew he could wind up hurting himself even worse. He found a tree and leaned against it. He wanted to stay awake, but between the pain and the hours of crawling, George was exhausted. His eyes slowly begin to close. His breathing became even, and he no longer felt pain. Just the sweet surrender of sleep. He was dreaming of the first fishing trip that he and Nathan ever took. George remembered that first trip like it was yesterday. Nathan was so excited and couldn’t wait to roast marshmallows. George had to calm him down and keep him occupied with setting up camp. “Listen Buddy, we have to put up the tent, search for firewood and catch some fish before we can start roasting marshmallows,” George told him. Nathan’s tiny little face fell until George took him to the lake and handed him a fishing pole for the first time. It was a magical moment, one that George never forgot. Suddenly, his head fell forward and he woke with a start. George was confused at first, but then he remembered where he was. He had traveled for a while and was now lying against a tree. As he tried to adjust his position, he heard the noises from earlier and froze. The wolves were coming back. George started to panic. He began slowly digging underneath the tree to make a crevice that he could hopefully wiggle into, but would he have enough time? Luckily, the soil was loose, and he could move the dirt rather quickly, but the wolves were getting closer and closer. Just then George heard another sound.

Chapter 4

Lincoln Woods walked outside his cabin, breathing deeply of the fresh mountain air. His twinkling brown eyes and wrinkled brown skin breaking into a contented smile. “Another beautiful day in paradise,” he said quietly to himself. Lincoln had been living at the cabin for the last two and a half years. He was a retired Marine colonel and wanted nothing more than to live out his remaining days gazing at the mountains in the distance and fishing in the stream down the road. It would have been wonderful if his wife Joanne could have been there to share it with him, but Joanne was gone now. It would be three years next week from the day he lost her. He looked up and spoke as if Joanne could hear, “Good morning my love,” he said tenderly. “Today I think I’ll drive into town and treat myself to a nice breakfast at Sugar Pie’s. Although I got to remember to tell that lazy waitress no pepper on my eggs this time,” he grumbled. He knew he had told her that the last time, but she still brought him eggs with pepper. He hated pepper. Lincoln headed for his truck, a Ford F150 that although had seen better days was in great shape. He opened the door and got in, turning the radio on, and pushing the button for the CD player. “What do we feel like listening to this morning Joanne? How about some Ray Charles?” He pressed number two for the second cd in the player and the bluesy, soulful sounds filled the truck.

When Lincoln arrived at Sugar Pie’s he ordered a nice hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. After a couple of cups of coffee, he was ready for the check. The waitress came over,” Ok Mr. Woods, here you go. I hope you enjoyed everything.” “I sure did Ms. Nicole, thank you very much,” Lincoln responded. Although as he got up to leave, he said under his breath, “there was still pepper on my eggs.” He walked out the door and thought about what he wanted to do with the rest of his day. He remembered he wanted to get some new lures for his poles, and he might as well stock up on groceries since he didn’t know when he would make it back into town. He got in his truck and drove to Jessie’s Bait & Tackle. Jessie’s was located a couple of blocks from Sugar Pie’s, so it only took a few minutes to get there. Lincoln got out of his truck and walked to the door. He could see through the glass door that Jessie was there, and he prepared himself for a long talk. Jessie always had a story to tell. The good thing was that his stories were always entertaining. The bad news was that they were all soooo long. Oh well thought Lincoln, what else do I have to do today? He opened the door and called out to Jessie, “Hey there, how’s it going?”

A couple of hours and several stories later Lincoln finally left Jessie’s. Next, he drove to the local supermarket and proceeded to replenish his supply of canned goods and for variety he bought several packages of meat; he could only eat so many fish, he thought to himself. As he was looking at the packages of steak and chicken the butcher, Eddie, came out to chat. “Hi there Mr. Woods, how’ve you been,” Eddie asked cheerfully as he placed some packages in the refrigerated meat section? “Hi Eddie, I’ve been great, just great. Went fishing the other day and caught a walleye you wouldn’t believe. It had to be about 30lbs!” Lincoln bragged. “Wow, that’s incredible. I keep saying I’m going to get out to the lake, but something always comes up,” Eddie said sadly, but instantly cheered up and asked Lincoln what he could get for him.

Lincoln paid for his purchases, carried the groceries to the truck and placed them in the back. He opened the door and got in. With no other errands to run for the day Lincoln decided to head home. It was getting late, and he wanted to get home in time to catch Jeopardy, so he decided to take the highway since it was faster. He made his way to the highway and started the 45 miles back to the cabin. A few miles down the road Lincoln spotted several car parts littering the road up ahead. “Looks like someone had an accident,” he said to himself. As he continued to drive, he came upon more parts and what looked like tire tracks and a lot of broken branches leading into the cliff. He slowly brought the car to a stop and got out. He walked to the cliff and peered down. He could see more broken branches and further down a car that was upside down. Lincoln thought, what a time not to own a cell phone. He had gotten rid of his when he decided to move to the cabin. He didn’t have a need for a cell phone. He had no children; no family and Joanne was gone. He tried calling down to the car to see if anyone would answer. “Is anyone down there? Hey, is anybody down there?” He paused to listen in case someone was hurt, but all he heard was the wind blowing and birds chirping. Lincoln went back to his car and opened his trunk. He began pulling out a length of rope, a flashlight, and a knife. He tied the rope to the guardrail and proceeded to slowly make his way down the rope to the car below.

When Lincoln was still a soldier in the Marines, he spent time with one of his best friends, Jonathan Winters, climbing mountains and repelling down. It took Jon quite a while to convince Lincoln to climb a perfectly good mountain instead of merely gazing at it in appreciation. Lincoln finally gave in, and they spent an incredible weekend hiking the Appalachian Trail culminating in a climb of Mt. Katahdin. He couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed it. For the next 14 years he and Jon set aside a couple of weekends every year to go climbing. Jon died a few years back and Lincoln was too old to continue climbing mountains, so he gave it up and decided to simply enjoy gazing at their magnificence again.

Lincoln was glad he wore his boots today as he gingerly placed one foot on an exposed root. Although he hadn’t gone repelling in years, he was able to make it to the bottom without too much effort and it only took about two minutes. Not bad he thought to himself. As Lincoln approached the overturned car, he called out again, “is anybody in there?” He saw the deer carcass sticking out of the windshield. He bent down to get a look inside and felt sick. The front of the car was empty and covered in blood. The backseat was also empty and there was a lot of blood there too. There were obviously some bodies that were hurt and hurt bad. He looked around the car and spotted drops of blood leading away from the car. His eyes followed the blood trail, and he spotted a body or rather body parts on the ground. Whoever it was now appeared to be mutilated almost beyond recognition. Clearly animals had gotten to it. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like a child’s body. He warily walked near the remains, watching in the woods for the animals. He saw a hand. It was a small hand. It did indeed look to belong to a child and Lincoln was saddened by this tragedy. He saw a trail in the grass as if someone was dragging something and began to follow it, calling out every now and again. “Hello, is anybody out there? Hi, my name is Lincoln, is anybody out there?” After following the trail through the woods for several more miles, he began to hear rustling up ahead. He stopped walking and stood completely still straining his ears to distinguish where the sound was coming from. There it went again; he could hear someone or something moving around ahead. The sound was coming from a couple hundred feet north and to his left. “Hello,” he called out. “Hello!”

Chapter 5

George strained his ears. He thought he heard a voice calling, but he couldn’t really tell over the pounding of his heart. He scrunched down as far as he could in the crevice and tried to listen. There it was again. George was positive it was a voice calling out. He wanted to answer but didn’t want the wolves to close in on his position. The voice kept coming closer. He hoped that whoever it was at least had a weapon. Of course, maybe the wolves would high tail it out of here as soon as the stranger approached; at least that’s what he hoped. George saw a light moving through the darkness. He decided to chance speaking. “Help, I’m over here!” George screamed out to alert whoever was approaching. The wolves who were previously facing the direction of the stranger now turned to look directly at George.

Lincoln heard the voice, but at the same time his flashlight focused on the wolves ahead. When the wolves turned to the voice Lincoln moved his light around to make sure there were no other wolves trying to sneak up on him. He didn’t see any, but he still approached the two in front of him warily. As he began walking forward, he stepped on some twigs which crunched under his feet. The sound was deafening in the quiet and the wolves turned back to face him. Lincoln lifted his right hand which was holding the crowbar. As he began brandishing the crowbar and moving closer to the wolves, they began too slowly back away. Lincoln became more aggressive and started shouting at the wolves, “Get out of here! Go on, get!” The wolves suddenly turned tail and loped away. Lincoln stepped forward slowly at the same time George wiggled his way out of the crevice under the downed tree. “Thank God you got here when you did,” George said as he leaned against the tree. “Yep, those wolves would have made a nice entrée out of you,” Lincoln said with a slight smile all the while looking in the direction that the wolves had gone. George smiled tiredly. “My name is George” he said tiredly while extending his hand at Lincoln. “Hi, I’m Lincoln,” he replied as he shook the proffered hand. “I saw your jeep back there. That was a pretty bad wreck”

Lincoln spoke while checking George out. “Yeah, that deer came out of nowhere. I couldn’t stop in time. We went down the cliff, rolled about a half dozen times and were stuck in the jeep for a few hours. I was able to get us out, but I got banged up. My son is back there and he’s in pretty bad shape. We’ve got to get some help. He needs a doctor badly,” George finished looking tired and pained. Lincoln felt awful. He didn’t know how he was going to tell this man that his son was gone, but he knew he had to find a way. He opened his mouth to tell him but couldn’t find the words. The sudden quiet worried George and he sensed that Lincoln wanted to say something but seemed to be having a hard time with it. He couldn’t imagine what he wanted to say, but he knew they couldn’t stay here wasting time, so he decided to ask him what was wrong so they could get going. “Hey man what’s up. Is something wrong,” George finally asked not sure exactly what he expected to hear. Lincoln knew he had no choice but to tell him. “Yeah, uh, I saw your son when I passed the wreckage. I… uh, I don’t…I’m sorry. Your son, he… he was…” he stammered not able to say the words. “He was what,” George demanded as he struggled to stand? “He was what,” he screamed it now when Lincoln didn’t respond? “Something got to him,” Lincoln finally said slowly looking away from George. “What do you mean something got to him,” George demanded, feeling a hitch in his breathing and a sudden pain in his heart. “What happened to my son? What” he yelled this, however as he looked into Lincoln’s eyes, he knew the answer. Lincoln could only shake his head. George collapsed back to the ground. He began sobbing and could only scream “NO, NO, NO, NO” over and over again.

Lincoln let George cry. He didn’t know what else to do or what he could say to comfort him. After a few minutes George began to quiet down. Lincoln walked over and checked out the bandage on George’s knee and looked at his left foot. He could see that he needed to get him out of these woods asap. The temperature had dropped significantly and neither he nor George’s coats would adequately protect them from the cold or the wind that had picked up making it feel much colder than the 16 degrees that was forecasted for tonight. Lincoln knew that George shouldn’t be traveling with his injuries. He decided he needed to head back to his car and drive to town to get help. He took off his coat and started to wrap it around George, but George protested. “What are you doing,” he asked angrily, not sure why, but wanting to lash out at someone? Lincoln kneeled down beside George, “listen, you’re not in any condition to keep going. Besides, I don’t know how far these woods stretch and the last thing we need is to be stuck out here all night. I’m going to head back to my car and get help. It’s about five miles back so it shouldn’t take me too long. Do you think you’ll be ok until I get back?” George just stared back at him. After a few seconds he said, “what does it matter?” Lincoln knew he was hurting, but he also knew they didn’t have time for arguing. He quietly laid his knife on the ground and stood up. “Once I reach my car it’s about a 30-minute drive into town. I should be back in less than two hours.” “Don’t you have a cell phone,” George asked? “No,” Lincoln responded. “Haven’t had a need for one since my wife died.” He turned around and starting walking back the way, he came. When he had gone about 50 feet, he heard George call out to him. He turned around, “what did you say,” he asked? “I said I’m sorry and… and thank you,” George looked down at the ground. He was bone tired and the pain from his injuries was almost unbearable, yet it was eclipsed by the even greater pain at having lost his only son. He was so cold and in so much pain that he could barely speak, but he wanted to thank this stranger for coming and risking his life to save him. He knew that he had behaved abominably towards him, and he didn’t deserve it. Lincoln gave a nod, turned back around, and headed back the way he came. He didn’t blame George and was not upset with him. Anger and loss were emotions that he knew well.

Lincoln walked the five miles or so back to George’s jeep. He looked up at the cliff searching for the rope that he used to climb down on. He began the 50-foot climb by pulling himself up the rope and feeling for footholds along the way. He was making pretty good time and was more than half the way up when he put his foot on a root and felt it give way. There was a soft patch of dirt here, so he needed to be careful. He felt around the dirt trying to find a more stable root. It took him a couple of minutes, but he eventually found a root that he thought might hold his weight. He carefully continued his climb and was less than 10 feet from the top when the root under his right foot gave way. He held on tight to the rope as the root beneath his left foot started crumbling too. He slowly moved his right foot along the dirt and found a rock protruding from the cliff wall. He gingerly put his foot on it and pushed down to test how well it would hold. Slowly he put his entire weight on his right foot which thankfully the rock was able to hold. He then began moving his left foot along the wall looking for another foothold and was able to find a root that was strong enough to hold his distributed weight. He continued climbing the remaining 10 feet and hoisted himself over the top. He lay down on the hard surface of the road trying to catch his breath. He had made it. Now he needed to go get help. He stood up and walked to his truck. He opened the door and got in, starting the engine, and roaring off down the highway in search of help.

Chapter 6

George was numb, both mentally and physically. He felt as if he was in the middle of a nightmare and was praying and hoping that he would wake up soon. He would open his eyes and see his bedroom and know that Nathan was safe in his bedroom down the hall. The nightmare wasn’t ending, and he didn’t know how he was going to cope. Nathan was gone. He was stuck in the woods in the middle of the night in below freezing weather with wolves howling in the distance. Although not as distant as George thought they were. He listened intently and thought he heard movement in the clearing further up leading deeper into the woods. Wedged as he was in the crevice between the downed tree and ground, he wasn’t particularly interested in leaving his temporary sanctuary; however, he needed to see if the wolves were nearby. He slowly scooted forward, lifting himself up to face the tree. He raised his head just enough to see over the top of the tree. He saw emptiness but sensed that the clearing was anything but empty.

After several minutes of staring into blackness, George began to sink down again certain that the wolves either weren’t really there or that they hadn’t pinpointed his position. As his head dropped below the top of the tree, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked quickly to his left and saw one of the wolves moving stealthily towards him. His heartbeat increased and he felt a knot in his stomach as panic started to set in. What could he do? His only weapon was a knife and although he only saw the one lion, he knew that there had to be more that were also probably trying to close in on him. George gripped the knife tighter and considered his options. He could remain where he was, presenting a smaller target with his back protected by the tree, or he could confront the wolf and hope that he could stab him with the knife before he was ripped to shreds. Neither possibility was appealing, but he couldn’t remain there all night. The longer he waited the more time it allowed for the other wolf to come looking for his friend. George took a deep breath. He lifted up and peered over the tree. Squinting into the dark he tried to ascertain the wolf’s location. He let out a sharp gasp as he had just enough time to realize that the wolf was on the other side of the tree, a mere foot, and a half away. As he stared at the wolf it bounded lightly on top of the tree, eyes intently on George as he reached down with immense jaws to snap at his head. George quickly ducked and rolled out from under the tree. As he came to a stop a few feet away the wolf lunged. George threw up his right arm to protect his throat as the wolf landed virtually on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. With his left arm George started slashing away at the wolf. The animal roared in pain but refused to let George’s arm go. George pointed the knife forward and plunged it into the wolf’s neck. Blood poured out of the wound onto George’s chest and face. He pulled the knife out and plunged it in again and again. The wolf, finally loosening his grip, fell to his side. George quickly scooted away as the wolf continued trying to bite him. However, it was a feeble attempt as his blood was draining from his body. George lay on the ground, breathing deeply; his entire body shaking. He had just battled a wolf and won.

George didn’t know how long he lay on the ground catching his breath, but he suddenly heard a sound. He immediately tensed thinking that the other wolf had come to investigate what was taking his brother so long. His heart was pounding so hard he could barely make out the subsequent sounds at first, but gradually his ears were picking up actual words. George started shouting, “Hey!!! Over here, I’m over here!!” Several lights shined in his direction as George, overcome with emotion, passed out.

Chapter 7

The alarm clock sounded, announcing the start to one of the saddest days in George Lancaster’s life. George really didn’t need the alarm clock. He felt as if he hadn’t slept in weeks even though it had only been four days. Lily reached over and turned off the alarm. The silence left in its wake was deafening. George rolled over and looked at his wife. The sadness he saw reflected in her beautiful brown eyes was almost more than he could handle. Tears began falling down his cheeks. He didn’t even realize it until he saw the tears running down Lily’s face. She lifted her left hand and put it to his cheek. He started sobbing; loud, heart wrenching sobs.

George stood at the door to Nathan’s bedroom. He stared at all the toys, the bed, and the posters on the wall. Tears streaming down his face, distorting everything. “It’s time to go,” Lily said softly as she came up behind him. George couldn’t speak. There were no words. He turned to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, sobbing quietly. She held him and cried with him. “We have to go, or we’ll be late,” she said stepping back. George looked into her eyes and saw his own sadness and pain reflected back at him.

When he had woken up in the hospital after Lincoln rescued him and saw her at his bedside, he lost it. He had come awake slowly. The pain from his injuries was bad, but nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to remain asleep so he wouldn’t have to face his wife, wouldn’t have to acknowledge that his son was gone. Tears began rolling down his face. “George?” He heard his name whispered. “George?” He slowly opened his eyes and saw Lily bending over him. “I’m so sorry,” George cried. The tears came harder. “I’m so sorry.”

Lily and George drove without speaking. They were both so lost in their thoughts that they arrived at the church before they realized it. They sat in the car for a few minutes. Finally, Lily said, “I don’t blame you.” George closed his eyes as tears began to slowly cascade down his cheeks. He couldn’t talk. It hurt too much; besides, he didn’t know what to say. He opened the door and stood up. His knee and foot were still in pretty bad shape, but if he walked slowly and used his cane, he could get around ok. He went to the back door and opened it to get his cane out. Lily got out of the car and came around to help George. He took out the cane and turned to face her. “I love you,” she said softly looking into his eyes. “I love you too,” George whispered. She put her arm through his and they walked towards the church.

The service was beautiful, and the church was packed with family and friends. George was glad that it was over. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, and he certainly didn’t want to hear anymore condolences. If anyone else said, “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he felt that he would scream. As he was walking towards the car he happened to look up and saw a man standing near his car. The sun was shining directly in his eyes, so he couldn’t immediately make out who the person was, but as he got closer, he recognized the big, burly man standing uncertainly in front of him. He hadn’t seen Lincoln since he was rescued. He hadn’t had a chance to thank him for all he had done. He stopped in front of him. Lincoln looked shyly at him, feeling decidedly out of place. He wasn’t sure if he should have come, but he felt a kinship for this young father who had lost his only son and he wanted to pay his respects. They stood looking at each other for a moment. Words seemed inadequate as George leaned forward and embraced Lincoln. Lincoln wrapped his arms around George, and they stayed that way for a minute. Finally, George stepped back and said, “thank you, for everything.” Lincoln smiled a small smile and nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak just yet. George turned to his right and motioned for Lily to come forward. “Lily,” he said, “this is Lincoln.” Lily walked up to Lincoln and threw her arms around him. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. Lincoln awkwardly embraced her and mumbled a low “you’re welcome.” She stepped back and lifted his hand. “If there is ever anything that we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know. You saved my husband, and I am forever in your debt.” Lincoln nodded, “thank you.” Lily walked around to the driver’s side of the car and left the two men alone to talk.

Lincoln stood silently staring into the distance, not sure what to say. George, equally hesitant, stared at the ground for several moments. He was happy to see Lincoln, but he had spent the last several days in misery and something inside him wasn’t ready to express happiness. It seemed unfair to Nathan. George knew intellectually that this made no sense, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be happy just yet. He looked up and reached out his hand to Lincoln who looked into his eyes before shaking it. Lincoln recognized the look of anguish and sadness in George’s eyes. He saw the guilt from having survived and the pain that was preventing him from moving forward. He understood grief well. He shook his hand and George whispered a soft, “thank you.” Lincoln merely shook his head, then turned and headed for his truck. George watched him walk away, hating his inability to feel anything other than pain. He watched Lincoln drive away then opened his car door and got in, wedging his cane into the seat with him. Lily got into the driver’s seat, buckled her seat belt, and started the engine. She didn’t say a word. She couldn’t understand why George was so withdrawn and distant from the man that saved his life. She knew he was hurting and needed time, and she hoped his pain would soon let up enough to let the rest of the world back in.

Afterword

The last year had been agony for George. He eventually went back to work, a place where he could lose himself for hours until he realized that he’d gone hours without thinking about Nathan. After some months passed, he could go days without being consumed with thoughts of Nathan. Here it was, one year later and he knew what he had to do. He woke up early this morning. After a shower and quick bite to eat he went into the bedroom and picked up his bag; his tent and all the other supplies that he would need were already packed and ready to go downstairs. He woke Lily up with a kiss and said goodbye. She looked into his eyes and whispered, “I love you. Drive safely.” He smiled down at her and gently rubbed her stomach before bending down to kiss it. Their son was due in about a month and George couldn’t have been happier. He hated to leave, but he felt that this was something he needed to do. He said goodbye and headed downstairs. He walked out the door lugging his bag, tent and supplies and headed for his new Jeep Grand Cherokee that he bought a few days ago. He loaded everything into the trunk, got in and started the engine. He headed to the highway and began the trip that he didn’t finish last year. After driving for several hours, he came to that fateful spot. He pulled the jeep onto the shoulder and got out. He looked down over the cliff as if he could still spot the wreckage, but it had all been cleared up. He stayed there for several moments remembering his son. A car approached and slowed down. From a rolled down window he heard “are you ok? Do you need any help?” George turned toward the car and smiled. “No, I’m fine. Just stopped to stretch my legs.” “Oh, ok,” said the driver, looking uncomfortable as he drove off. George didn’t realize that tears were running down his face. He was so caught up his memories that he didn’t even know that he had been crying. He wiped his face with his hands and got back into his vehicle. Before going to the campsite there was one more stop, he needed to make. He turned the jeep around and headed back up the highway. About 15 miles down he saw a sign for Barrett Rd. and turned on to it. He drove for another mile before seeing the cabin. It was a lovely cabin. Not too big, but with a huge front porch and several rocking chairs. It had a homey welcoming feeling to it that drew George to it. He pulled up to the house and got out. He hadn’t seen anyone on the porch, but as he closed his door, he saw a figure stand up from one of the rocking chairs that lined the porch. “Good morning,” said Lincoln with a big grin. “About time you got here,” he said laughingly as he saw the quizzical expression on George’s face. “How did you know I’d be here,” asked George. “Let’s just say that I had a feeling,” Lincoln said knowingly handing George a cup of coffee. George smiled at this kindly old man who had forever changed his life. He didn’t know what the future had in store for him, but he was eternally grateful to this man for giving him one.