It took an eternity to backtrack to the area he’d left her. When they finally reached the spot, Duncan leaped from the four wheeler and scrambled over the rocks to where he’d left Aliyah.
His blood became ice when he saw the tattered remnants of her clothing lying on the ground. The radio and GPS unit were on the ground next to the blanket and his bag, but there was no sign of Aliyah.
“Duncan,” Nick called. “You need to see this.”
Duncan looked up to see Nick fifty yards up the incline staring down at the ground. He didn’t like the one of Nick’s voice at all.
He ran.
When he saw the blood on the ground, his heart nearly stopped. “No. Oh God, no.”
“There’s fur, Duncan.” Nick’s voice was grim. “She was in cheetah form when they shot her. I have fur and blood. A lot of it, and it heads toward the ravine.”
Nausea welled in Duncan’s stomach as he stumbled after Nick. There was a distinct blood trail, and he could see the paw prints, and then an indention where she obviously fell.
She’d been trying to make it over the edge.
“The blood stops here, and there’s a lot. It pooled here,” Nick said. “She stopped here, probably fell.”
Duncan stared at the ground, searching for more evidence, something to tell them what else had happened. Boot prints. Humans. Blood mixed in. They’d followed her up here. Then what?
He spotted another splotch of blood closer to the edge of the ravine, and panic squeezed his chest. He bolted the remaining steps to the edge, looking down at the distinct blood spatters.
The trail led right to the edge. There were scuff marks in the dirt, paw prints right to the very last. As he glanced down the incline, he could see more blood smeared on the rocks. She’d gone into the river.
“They headed south, Duncan,” Nick called.
Duncan tore his gaze from the river and hurried over to where Nick stood.
“She went into the river,” he said hoarsely.
“You go after her,” Nick said. “I can call for backup and we’ll head after the hunters.”
Duncan hesitated. “Don’t go after them alone,” he ordered. “Call Cal. Have him meet you here with at least two deputies. I’ll have the radio. If I find her…if I find her alive, I’ll take her back to the cabin, and then I’ll double back to help finish up.”
Nick eyed him levelly. “Go, Duncan. We can handle this without you. She’s hurt, and she needs you. You can’t leave her.” He thrust his pack at Duncan that held medical supplies and survival gear.
Duncan grabbed it and ran back to the ravine. When he reached the edge, he got down on his knees, rotated around and dropped his feet down.
The pressure in his chest was unbearable. He felt a sense of dread he hadn’t felt since the day he’d been told his parents were gone. Aliyah had to be alive. He couldn’t lose her this way.
He scrambled down the rocky incline, the sound of the water growing louder in his ears. It would be dark soon, and it was growing colder. If she’d taken a dive into the river, and if she shifted back to human, she could be hypothermic in short order.
When he reached the bottom, he scanned the bank, looking for any indication she had merely run along the side. No blood. No fur.
He closed his eyes and swallowed the panic back. Aliyah was counting on him. He’d already failed her, broken his promise to keep her safe.
He unclipped his flashlight from his pants and started down the rocky bank, a fervent prayer spilling from his lips. He followed the winding path as it curved through the small valley. At one point it narrowed as it cut through a gorge and then plunged outward again as the terrain flattened. In another quarter mile the river shallowed to a point where the current couldn’t possibly carry a body, cheetah or human.
His breathing ratcheted up until his vision blurred. Would he find her lying in the calmer pools? He charged ahead, nearly running now. His chest burned as he pushed himself harder.
As he rounded the bend of the last series of rapids, his gaze locked onto the smoother waters only ankle deep. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared to death when he saw no sign of her anywhere. The water rippled along as though no disturbance had ever occurred.
And then he saw it. Blood. Just a small splatter on the rocks in front of his feet. He shined the flashlight on the ground. Adrenaline rocketed through his veins when he saw another small splotch on the rocks heading into the woods.
She’d survived the river.
Resisting the urge to charge into the trees after her, he forced himself to follow the blood trail. He hands shook as he saw the blood increase the further from the river he went. She was still bleeding heavily.
He stopped when he came to a large blood smear, heavier than the prior trail. His heart began pounding furiously. She’d stopped here.
He swung the flashlight in a tight radius, and then he saw it. A human footprint in the bloody soil. She’d shifted.
“Aliyah,” he called. “Aliyah!”
He narrowed all his focus to following her footprints, relying on blood when the terrain was too rocky to register the indention of her feet.
“Aliyah!” he called again as he navigated the next rise. He swung his light downward and across the area in front of him. He froze, his hand stopping the sweep when the pale light of human flesh reflected in the glow of the flashlight.
He scrambled down the hill and dropped to his knees in front of Aliyah’s still form. He reached for her neck, feeling for a pulse. Her skin was still warm to his touch even amidst the chill of the air. He nearly wilted in relief when he felt the faint tremor against his fingers.
He turned her body over, looking for a wound. As he gently rolled her and shined the light across her torso, he saw the jagged wound in her shoulder. Blood still oozed from the wound, but at a much slower rate than the earlier trail had suggested.
“Aliyah,” he whispered as he trailed a hand across her cheek. “Aliyah, honey, wake up.”
Knowing he had to move fast if he had any prayer of getting her back to the cabin, he tucked the flashlight into the waistband of his pants and hoisted her gently into his arms. When she was high against his chest, he moved her up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
He reached first for his radio with his free hand.
“Nick, do you read me?”
There was a long silence, and then the radio crackled.
“Duncan, yeah, I’m here. What’s going on?”
“Target acquired. I’m proceeding with the plan as I outlined.”
Again there was a pause.
“Roger that. We’ve apprehended two suspects. I’ll be down at the station processing them. I’ll see you when I see you. And Duncan? Good luck,” he finished softly.
Duncan shoved his radio back onto his clip then snagged the flashlight from his pants. He shifted Aliyah’s weight and started back to the river. If he followed the bank another mile, it would lead him to an old national forest road that would take him just a quarter mile from his cabin.
He curled his arm over her legs and focused on each step. One foot in front of the other. Aliyah depended on him. He wouldn’t let her down again.
An hour later, he staggered from the national forest road onto the county road that would lead him to his cabin. His shoulder ached. Pain splintered down his spine, but still he continued on.
Aliyah’s head bumped against his back, and he slowed his walk so he didn’t jostle her more than he had to. Sweat rolled down the back of his neck even as the cold evening air made him shiver.
He caught the lights of his cabin ahead, and he redoubled his efforts, lengthening his stride. When he turned into the gravel drive and saw the silver Ford Expedition parked close to the door, he stopped cold.