And when he did, how would he find us given the snow, the possibility that I'd taken a wrong turn, and the fact that we'd hiked a good distance from the car? There was no logical way for him to find us.
Shaun marched us through the den and opened a door, revealing a small, unfinished storage room with empty plastic shelves lining the walls. At first I thought it was a water pipe running from the floor to the ceiling, but when he flipped on the light, I saw that it was a solid metal pole. Something about the pole only made the room more terrifying. There were nicks along the shaft, nicks that could have been made by friction from a chain. The rank smell of urine and wet dog permeated the enclosed space. I had to will myself not to speculate further.
Shaun told Mason,” Keep Korbie here. I want to talk to Britt alone.”
”You can't do this!" Korbie shrieked. "Do you know who I am? Do you have any idea who I am?"
The last word had barely escaped when Shaun smacked the gun across her face. A red welt sprang up in its path.
I gasped. My dad never touched me roughly. He never raised his voice to me. Outside of television and movies, I had only seen a man strike another person once. Years ago, I'd been invited to sleep over at Korbie's, and in the middle of the night, I'd crawled out of bed for a drink. In the shadows of the hallway outside her bedroom, I watched Mr. Versteeg give a sharp blow to Calvin's head, knocking him flat on his back. Mr. Versteeg barked for Calvin to get up and take his discipline like a man, but Calvin lay there, unmoving. I couldn't tell if he was breathing. Mr. Versteeg pried open his son's eyelids and felt his neck for a pulse. Then he carried him to bed. I hurried back to Korbie's bed, but I didn't fall asleep. I didn't know if Calvin was okay. I wanted to check on him, but what if Mr. Versteeg returned? I never told Calvin what I saw. I spent years trying to scrub that memory from my mind.
Korbie whimpered, clutching her cheek.
Just like that night outside Korbie's bedroom, I felt hot and sick, and I wanted to cry, even though Korbie was hurting, not me.
I caught a flash of something dark and loathsome in Mason's eyes, but he blinked it away and obediently guided Korbie into the storage room while Shaun steered me down the hall to the bathroom with a rough prod of his gun. He jerked his head at the toilet seat. "Sit."
He left the door ajar, a crack of light spilling into the room. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the shadows. Slowly, his face took shape, his eyes becoming dark holes that watched me, judging, calculating, evaluating.
"The cabin isn't yours, is it?" I asked quietly. "It doesn't belong to you."
He ignored me, but I already knew the answer.
"Did you break in?" I continued. "Are you and Mason in trouble?" If the police were searching for them, I worried what it meant for Korbie and me. We could identify them. We knew other information too, like what cars they drove. I could direct police to the security cameras at the 7-Eleven and show them exactly what Mason looked like. Korbie and I were a liability. There was nothing stopping Shaun from killing us.
He laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. "Do you really think I'm going to answer your questions, Britt?" He braced a fist against the wall, leaning over me. "The gear you told us about earlier. We need it."
"It's in my car."
"Can you find your way back?"
I was about to give a surly no when the faintest worry scratched at the edge of my mind. Instinctively, I said, "Yes, I think so."
He nodded, his gun-hand relaxing, and I knew I'd given the right answer. "How far?"
"In the snow, we could walk it in about an hour."
"Good. Now tell me the best way out of the mountains on foot. No roads or trails. I want to stay in the woods."
I flinched. "You want to go on foot? Through the trees?" "We leave tonight. As soon as we get the gear and supplies." Shaun was definitely in trouble. If we were going through the forest, it was to avoid being seen. I couldn't think of a single other explanation. Hiking through the forest-at night, in a storm-was dangerous. I didn't need Calvin's expertise to know that. By now, several inches of snow blanketed the ground. Trekking through it would be bitterly cold and slow. If we became stranded, no one would discover us.
"Do you know the way or not?" Shaun asked.
The thought that had been scratching wildly at the back of my brain broke through at that moment and made me see with clarity what Shaun was doing. This was a test. I was up first, followed by Korbie. He'd weigh our answers. He needed to know we could navigate him off the mountain. Otherwise, we were worthless to him.
Forcing myself to be brave, I looked at him squarely. "I've been coming to these mountains for years. I know my way around. I've backpacked parts of the Teton Crest Trail multiple times, and I've hiked all over the mountain range. I can get you off it. It will be a lot harder traveling through a snowstorm, but I can do it."
"This is useful, Britt. Good work. I need you to take us somewhere where I can lift a car. What do you say to that?" Shaun leaned in close, resting his hands on his knees. His face was level with mine, and I could see his mind working rapidly behind his eyes. If I blew this, it was over.
"I'll take you through the forest to the highway. It will be one of the first roads they plow." I didn't know where the highway was in relation to us. I didn't even know where we were. But I had Calvin's map. If Shaun left me alone for a few minutes, I might be able to use it to determine our location and figure out which direction we should travel. I wanted to take Shaun to the highway.
A highway meant cars. People. Help. "How far to the highway?"
"Six miles,” I guessed. "But we won't be taking a direct route. Maybe seven?"
"That's my girl." He stuck his head out the door and hollered to Mason, while I shut my eyes in relief. I'd passed this portion of the test. I'd kept us alive a little longer. Granted, the hardest part-convincing them I knew what I was doing once we were hiking through the trees-was yet to come. "Time to switch. Korbie's up next."
Korbie and I didn't speak as we passed. Our eyes met briefly, and I saw that hers were red and glassy. Her nose was swollen, and her bottom lip trembled. My own fingers started to shake, and I squeezed them into fists. I gave her a nod; a secret message passed between us. Calvin and Bear will find us.
But I didn't fully believe it.
Outside, the wind pushed big, wet snowflakes against the storage room window. The snow swirled, making me think of schools of tiny white fish.
Choosing a spot farther down the wall, so that the pole wasn't directly in my line of vision, I leaned back and hugged my knees to my chest. The iciness outside seeped through the cement walls, and I immediately jerked ramrod straight.