it.”
“Yeah, he’d rather ride around on his bike. If you bought the car, I could tell you where the money would go, straight into parts for the ‘cycle,” Ed snorted, as if the idea of getting rid of a perfectly good car to ride a motorcycle was insane.
“He’s just jealous,” Erik said. Then shot a grin at Ed. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll still give you a ride to school when Adam’s Jeep is too full.”
Ed turned up his nose. “You couldn’t pay me to ride on that deathtrap. If the Jeep’s full, I’ll either stay home or hitchhike.”
I laughed. “How about call and ask a neighbor for a ride? If I buy Erik’s car, I’ll have extra room.”
Ed puffed out his chest and grinned at Erik. “She offered to give me a ride.”
Erik feigned disappointment. “But I did, too.” He tried to frown, but the sides of his mouth kept quirking up. He gave up and grinned.
Adam had been quiet, listening to the banter between the two. He leaned toward me. “So, are we on for tomorrow after school? You can ride with us. We have room regardless of what these two idiots say. I’ll make sure you get home before dark.”
“Sure, that’s fine, unless you’d rather study tonight,” I offered.
“I can’t tonight,” he said without explanation, then stared straight ahead.
“We have a missing hiker on the trail,” Erik explained. “Whenever one of them goes missing, we scout out the woods and try to help find them. Adam’s dad is the sheriff so he lets us know when someone goes missing. We help search. The national forest runs from here all the way up to Roanoke so it’s a lot of territory for the police to cover. They appreciate all the help they can get. Since the forest wraps right around the Res, we help whenever we can.”
“Oh, I hope you find him safe.”
“Her,” Adam whispered. “It’s a her. A young woman in her early twenties. When she didn’t make it to her checkpoint yesterday, her parents reported her missing. She had made it this far because the store clerks remember her from where she had bought supplies in town a couple of weeks ago.”
“The trail killer,” Ed mumbled under his breath.
“We don’t know that,” Adam’s voice was sharp. “She could just be lost, and if she is, we’ll find her.”
“The trail killer?” I asked, “Who’s the trail killer?”
“No one knows,” Ed shrugged. “Its pure speculation that there’s a killer at all. In this area, over the last five years, a number of young women have been reported missing from the Appalachian Trail and have never been found. It was as if they just disappeared into thin air. Only their gear is found, always by the trail. Of course, there would be a small chance that they saw something they wanted to check out and then just wandered off and got lost. But without their gear? No way.”
“They never found any of them?” I asked as cold chills ran down my arms.
“No,” Adam whispered.
Now do you understand why I don’t want you in the woods alone? the voice whispered as Adam’s eyes seemed to stare into me, their onyx specks shining dark against the gold.
“I understand,” I said. He looked shocked for a second and then a smile tugged at his mouth.
The bell rang and the usual rush of confusion ensued. The boy behind me shoved his chair into the back of mine, sending me into the table. Adam caught the back of my chair and stopped it just as I was about to be pinned.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as he glared at the back of the boy who was heading toward the trash can.
“Yeah, thanks,” I mumbled, getting up from the chair he still held.
An arm came down to help pull me up from the chair. “Are you all right?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, Adam kept me from getting smashed.”
He nodded at Adam. “Thanks.”
Adam gave a slight nod in return as Brian picked up my tray with his free hand.
“Good luck tonight, I hope you find her,” I called over my shoulder as we walked toward the door.
After
“Yeah, he’d rather ride around on his bike. If you bought the car, I could tell you where the money would go, straight into parts for the ‘cycle,” Ed snorted, as if the idea of getting rid of a perfectly good car to ride a motorcycle was insane.
“He’s just jealous,” Erik said. Then shot a grin at Ed. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll still give you a ride to school when Adam’s Jeep is too full.”
Ed turned up his nose. “You couldn’t pay me to ride on that deathtrap. If the Jeep’s full, I’ll either stay home or hitchhike.”
I laughed. “How about call and ask a neighbor for a ride? If I buy Erik’s car, I’ll have extra room.”
Ed puffed out his chest and grinned at Erik. “She offered to give me a ride.”
Erik feigned disappointment. “But I did, too.” He tried to frown, but the sides of his mouth kept quirking up. He gave up and grinned.
Adam had been quiet, listening to the banter between the two. He leaned toward me. “So, are we on for tomorrow after school? You can ride with us. We have room regardless of what these two idiots say. I’ll make sure you get home before dark.”
“Sure, that’s fine, unless you’d rather study tonight,” I offered.
“I can’t tonight,” he said without explanation, then stared straight ahead.
“We have a missing hiker on the trail,” Erik explained. “Whenever one of them goes missing, we scout out the woods and try to help find them. Adam’s dad is the sheriff so he lets us know when someone goes missing. We help search. The national forest runs from here all the way up to Roanoke so it’s a lot of territory for the police to cover. They appreciate all the help they can get. Since the forest wraps right around the Res, we help whenever we can.”
“Oh, I hope you find him safe.”
“Her,” Adam whispered. “It’s a her. A young woman in her early twenties. When she didn’t make it to her checkpoint yesterday, her parents reported her missing. She had made it this far because the store clerks remember her from where she had bought supplies in town a couple of weeks ago.”
“The trail killer,” Ed mumbled under his breath.
“We don’t know that,” Adam’s voice was sharp. “She could just be lost, and if she is, we’ll find her.”
“The trail killer?” I asked, “Who’s the trail killer?”
“No one knows,” Ed shrugged. “Its pure speculation that there’s a killer at all. In this area, over the last five years, a number of young women have been reported missing from the Appalachian Trail and have never been found. It was as if they just disappeared into thin air. Only their gear is found, always by the trail. Of course, there would be a small chance that they saw something they wanted to check out and then just wandered off and got lost. But without their gear? No way.”
“They never found any of them?” I asked as cold chills ran down my arms.
“No,” Adam whispered.
Now do you understand why I don’t want you in the woods alone? the voice whispered as Adam’s eyes seemed to stare into me, their onyx specks shining dark against the gold.
“I understand,” I said. He looked shocked for a second and then a smile tugged at his mouth.
The bell rang and the usual rush of confusion ensued. The boy behind me shoved his chair into the back of mine, sending me into the table. Adam caught the back of my chair and stopped it just as I was about to be pinned.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as he glared at the back of the boy who was heading toward the trash can.
“Yeah, thanks,” I mumbled, getting up from the chair he still held.
An arm came down to help pull me up from the chair. “Are you all right?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, Adam kept me from getting smashed.”
He nodded at Adam. “Thanks.”
Adam gave a slight nod in return as Brian picked up my tray with his free hand.
“Good luck tonight, I hope you find her,” I called over my shoulder as we walked toward the door.
After
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