Finally it was Charlene’s turn. She clipped in with the help of the platform leader, tucked her ponytail into her T-shirt to keep it out of the pulley, grabbed hold of the rope as instructed, and lifted her feet. She flew, wind singing in her ears. As the world dropped out from beneath her feet she screamed with glee and excitement. This was what birds must feel like, a kind of freedom she’d never experienced. The two pulleys whined on the double wires overhead; Charlene briefly closed her eyes, and then looked out feeling like an eagle. As she slowed and stretched her toes to reach the platform she cried out again celebrating her success.
The man helping her smiled widely. “You like?”
“O…M…G!” was all she could say. She couldn’t wait for the next line. Charlene followed the path hacked through the woods, descending lower toward the mountain. The path twisted and turned past rocks and trees, and suddenly there appeared a second launch platform with an attendant. The helmeted people in front of her were lined up as they took their turns clipping in and riding. There were a great many smiles, including her own.
Willa arrived from behind, equally wide-eyed and thrilled. “That was amazing!”
Following the second zip line Charlene waited for Willa. The forest path was dark, despite the sunshine blazing into the ravine. She waited not for her own sake, but for Willa’s, who was more of a thinker than an action figure. Charlene knew that if something gave her the creeps, it would terrify Willa—although Willa would never say so.
When Willa arrived, the gloomy path stole all conversation. They moved along, looking in all directions, jumping at the slightest snap of a twig. Weird bird calls and animal sounds filled the woods. The path stretched on, turning and twisting.
After another minute, it was clear to Charlene that something or someone was stalking them from uphill to the right. She hoped Willa had not picked up on it. She tested her theory by slowing down and speeding up. The sounds stayed right with her.
“I hear it,” Willa whispered. “What do we do?”
Charlene waited for Willa to catch up. “You are going to run until you reach the next platform.”
“I’ll never keep up.” Willa was not a particularly fast runner.
“I said ‘you,’ not ‘we.’ I’m going to provide a diversion.”
“Meaning?”
“All you need to do is stay on the path.”
“We’re supposed to stick together.” Willa added, “I’m supposed to be protecting you.”
“Whoever, whatever that is, I’m faster. And I want to know what’s up there.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Color me curious, not crazy.”
“Don’t leave me!”
“On three. One…two…”
Charlene took off uphill, immediately swallowed by the forest.
Willa had never run faster in her life.
Charlene ran toward the last place she’d heard sounds. She believed she would find Greg Luowski tromping through the woods. It wasn’t going to be Maleficent or the Evil Queen running through a forest in pursuit of them. It might be Mattie Weaver or one of the volunteer DHIs Wayne had recruited to help. It didn’t matter; she wasn’t afraid. Her confidence resulted from her own physical prowess—she could run faster, jump farther, climb more quickly and higher than most boys. Let someone try to catch her.
She moved as silently as a huntress, dashing through the trees like a wraith, pausing every few yards to listen attentively. Who? What? Where?
Finally, Charlene stepped out from behind a tree, took two steps, and collapsed to the forest floor, rolling up against a rotten log. All her heroic dreams of allowing herself to be chased were quashed by the distant sight of two figures approaching. Costa Rican, judging by their dark skin and hair.
But it wasn’t their hair or physiques that frightened her; it was the camouflage clothing they wore. It was their bent postures as they paralleled the path. But mostly it was the military face paint that told her this was no game of catch-me-if-you-can.
These two were hunting; and they weren’t after animals.
Charlene lay pushed up against the log, hoping they hadn’t seen her. She listened for the sound of their footfalls, but the annoying prattle of an excited adventurer on the main path blanketed her ears.
“That was amazing!” One of the camouflaged figures—a woman—mocked in heavily Spanish-accented English.
Willa had said this to Charlene only minutes earlier.
The other figure—a man—shushed her.
By this time, the two were dangerously nearby. If Charlene tried to run, she would give them the advantage; if she stayed and they drew even closer, she was giving herself over. She held her breath.