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Chapter 9: The Dark Before
Part 2: Sophie
Dark night and the surreal noises of the woods enveloped her. It was silent, but it wasn’t. For the first few minutes that Sophie ran, she couldn’t hear anything above the sounds of her body: her heart boxing her ribcage, her lungs working like a bellows, her sock-clad feet rustling the underbrush.
Gradually, she became aware of wind whispering through the leaves, of some evening birdsong, of other feet, much smaller than hers, pattering away. She wondered if these woods were less frightening in the daylight, but now wasn’t the time for such musings.
She ran in a random pattern, turning and zig-zagging until she had no clue which direction the cabin was. She was ever so grateful that her jeans were a dark wash and her sweatshirt was navy. When she pulled the hood up – which she did now – she wouldn’t be easily visible in the dark woods.
As soon as she dared, she slowed to a walk and pulled her phone out of her pocket. At the sight of the tiny words ‘No Service’ where little vertical bars should be, she nearly sobbed. What could she do now?
Something niggled in the back of her brain about emergency services and cell phones. Could she possibly still reach 911? But she was too afraid to try to place a call. If her captor was listening at all, he’d certainly hear her voice.
She tried sending a location pin to Sam, but the message failed to send. Then she tried texting 911 with her name and Sam’s. That message took forever and a day, but eventually, a little ‘delivered’ notification appeared. She exhaled fully for the first time in a while.
Still, she walked. She could not stop now. The ground rose slowly but steadily to her right, so she started making her way up. She assumed civilization was probably down, but she couldn’t help wondering if she could get higher up, would she find cell service? Sophie also guessed that her captor would expect her to head for the nearest town or other person. He didn’t know she had a cell phone, she was fairly certain.
Speaking of her cell phone, it buzzed in her hand just then. She hungrily unlocked it and scanned the message. A 911 dispatcher had responded!
Can you describe your location? I will contact Officer Harrison.
In the woods behind a cabin. Drove for 45-60 minutes. Been hiking about 10 minutes.
Do you see the moon? It’s low.
Sophie hadn’t paid any attention to the moon when she sprinted from the cabin. She also hadn’t heard the man yelling, and she suddenly felt uneasy about that. Where was he? Was he coming for her?
Moon. Find the moon. She scanned the trees around her, but the coverage was too dense. She wasn’t sure where to go to find a thinner canopy, either.
Too many trees. Can’t find it. I’m moving uphill.
She walked on for several minutes with no response. She imagined the dispatcher trying to find another way to locate her. What more clues could Sophie give? She hadn’t explored the area enough to know if there was more than one section of forest near Williamson. Come to think of it, they were near enough the border that she could be in Illinois at this point. What dispatch office had received her text, she wondered?
Soph? It’s Sam. You ok?
A little cry of relief escaped her throat, even as she kept walking. The number matched the dispatcher’s. How had they gotten Sam there that fast? Tears escaped and trailed down her cheeks.
I’m not hurt.
Much, anyway. Her feet were definitely hurting from walking in the woods, but nothing needed medical attention.
Can you find me?
Working on it, honey. Keep hiding.
Should I look for a town or other people?
Not yet. Try sending your location to this number.
Sophie followed the steps he had shown her. A green bar crawled slowly across her phone, indicating it was attempting to send the map message, but struggling mightily. She kept hiking, now following a straight path up instead of zig-zagging.
She tried sending a follow-up message that the location ping was on its way, but apparently it queued the messages. Now neither was going through. After walking a ways further, the ‘failed to send’ icon appeared next to both messages.
It won’t go through.
That’s okay. Keep hiking up and tell me what you see.
Trees, but she didn’t think he wanted to know that. She also didn’t know enough to say what kind of trees they were. Wisconsin’s foliage was still quite a foreign subject for her. Something that was green in May?
She hiked on and on, her legs growing weary and the soles of her feet stinging and burning from all the sticks she stepped on. Sometimes the ground was softer than normal, and she didn’t like to think why that might be. Thankfully, she never encountered any strange wildlife. Like most of the critters in Arizona, she guessed the ones here were generally more afraid of her than she was of them. Little did they know she wasn’t some big, bad hunter.
Soph? Still there?
Yup. Just seeing more trees. No landmarks. Sorry.
You’re doing fine. Is the ground dirt or rocky?
Dirt.
Pine needles?
Not many. Some, in some places.
Leaves on the trees?
Some. The spiky ones.
Sam would be laughing at that. He had teased her once about her ignorance of midwestern plant life. Now she wished she had learned more.
Maple. Green or red leaves?
Too dark to tell. Don’t want to risk flashlight.
He’s following?
Haven’t heard or seen since left cabin. Yelled and slammed door when he saw I was gone. No clue if he saw me run.
She wanted to tell Sam the whole story. She wanted to know who had kidnapped her. Ugh, even that word send a shudder down her spine. She was such a normal girl. Normal, everyday girls just shouldn’t get kidnapped. Had she somehow interfered in Denise’s life too much and not realized it? Was it her stalker? Who would do such a thing when she hadn’t hurt anyone?
Tell me if you hear anything.
Will do. Just critters.
Sophie turned now and walked perpendicular to her previous path. This would take her around instead of farther up. She couldn’t exactly call it a mountain; this area had topography more akin to large hills. She hoped going sideways would lead her to an area of different tree coverage to catch sight of the moon, or maybe even enough cell service to hold a phone call.
Still there?
Yup. Walking sideways instead of uphill.
Okay
Five minutes later, she was beginning to see more stars above. She moved a little faster, forgetting to keep her steps quiet. She came upon a clearing with a little shack of sorts and immediately texted the information to the dispatcher/Sam. After being instructed not to approach the dwelling, she stayed under the trees but circled the clearing in hopes of catching a glimpse of the moon. There!
Moon is down –
A loud rustling in the trees made her hit send before she was actually ready, then shove her phone in her pocket. She ducked, hoping the light of her phone screen hadn’t given her away. She felt the device buzz.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” The sing-song voice, while disguised, still perfectly matched that of the angry man who had kidnapped her. Sophie clamped her hand over her mouth to hold back a cry as she watched him step from the shadows and into the moonlight.