by the Author of The Widow in the Woods
Here’s where the story left off last time.
Kate and Ariel walked without a word for at least ten minutes. The slippers they wore protected their feet some, but they were careful to avoid the sharp rocks they saw. The path was steep, and they needed all their concentration to navigate it in fuzzy house shoes.
Finally, the path leveled off a little. They sat down, side by side, on a fallen branch, to catch their breath. They spoke in whispers.
“Why are we going up, Mom?” asked Ariel. “Why aren’t we going straight to Mr. Slocum’s?”
“I have a cache just a little further ahead, and it has things we might need. Plus,” Kate paused, then continued. “We don’t want to do what is expected. Logan may not wake up until morning, but if he realizes we’re gone sooner, the first place he’s going to look for us is the trail to the Slocum place.”
Ariel nodded. “So we’re going to hang out on the mountain for a while?”
While they talked, Kate pulled a small bundle from each backpack. As she unfolded the trekking poles, they made a snap as the pieces joined together. She cringed each time. It sounded like the crack of a gunshot in the quiet, midnight forest. But they’d be needed to safely navigate the next part of the trail in their bedroom slippers.
“Yes, but just until midday tomorrow. He’ll have looked for us early, but I don’t think he’d ever imagine we’d go further up into the woods. Are you ready to go a little bit further?”
Ariel hopped up and flexed her muscles. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
Kate handed her the purple pair of trekking poles. “Let’s make like a tree and leaf.”
“We’re going to make like a rock and roll.”
“Let’s be like a ball and bounce.”
“We’re out like a trout.”
With a couple of quiet giggles, the two returned to the trail.
Soon, the path narrowed until it was hardly noticeable. The hiking became more difficult as it steepened. Even though they were both accomplished hikers, doing this in the dark, without the proper footwear, was a lot more treacherous than their usual outings. “Go slowly,” Kate cautioned Ariel, who was clambering up ahead of her. “We’re not in any rush. We’re not being followed here.”
“Okay, slowpoke,” teased Ariel. “I’ll let you catch up.”
The trekking poles helped a lot, Kate thought, as she felt her foot slip and land on something sharp. Finally, they reached the point where the ground leveled off again. Kate veered to the right with Ariel close behind her.
They walked another ten minutes or so, struggling through the thick brush. Ariel walked right past the entrance to the cave, which Kate saw as a good sign. “Psst,” she whispered. “Back here.”
She pulled aside the ever-present kudzu that hid the mouth of the cave and shone her flashlight into the darkness just to make sure no creature of the forest had taken up residence in her cache. When she confirmed it was vacant, she slipped in, her daughter close behind her.
Once inside, she took a lighter out of her pocket and lit the tea light candle in the glass lantern stuffed into a ledge near the entrance to the cave. It looked totally empty, even with the light of the lantern. Ariel sat down gratefully, glad for the respite from the arduous hike.
Kate headed straight to the back of the shallow cave. Holding her LED flashlight between her teeth, she moved a gray camouflage tarp that blended with the well so well it was practically invisible. Ariel watched with great interest as her mother revealed a stack of yellow, 4-gallon Tidy Cats litter buckets. She’d be willing to bet that her mom had not secretly dragged up 35-pound buckets of kitty litter, and she was curious to see what treasures her mother had hidden away.
Kate opened the first bucket and tossed Ariel a full water bottle and a little yellow bag. Ariel gasped in delight when she saw it was a bag of peanut M&Ms. Kate sat down with her own snack and guzzled the water. She wasn’t worried about conserving – there were more filled bottles, and she knew of a mountain creek nearby. She pulled another water bottle out of the bin and drank it more slowly.
With a weary sigh, Kate pushed herself up from the floor. “I don’t know about you,” she said to Ariel, “but I’m beat.”
“Same. I -” Ariel interrupted herself with a huge yawn, and they both giggled.
Kate dug into another bucket, frowned, and opened a third bucket. “Yes!” she rejoiced. She pulled out two tightly wrapped sleeping bags and a couple of other mysterious, lumpy bundles. While Ariel was spreading out the sleeping bags, Kate opened the bucket at the back. She pulled out a gun box holding a Glock 19, two boxes of ammunition, and some magazines for the pistol. This should even the playing field, she thought with satisfaction.
In the final bucket, Kate pulled out two pairs of hiking boots – the ones she and Ariel had retired when they got new ones, but they still had life in them, and Ariel’s feet hadn’t changed sizes in a couple of years. She also retrieved socks and a cozy sweatshirt for each of them.
The lumpy things were vacuum-packed pillows. Ariel fluffed them up while her mother put the lids back on the kitty litter containers. “Where did you get all those buckets?” Ariel asked. “We don’t even have a cat.”
“A lady two floors up in our building is always putting her empty buckets into the recycling bin. I just grabbed a few,” Kate replied, muffling her own yawn.
Ariel settled into her sleeping bag. She put on her headlamp and pulled her book out of her backpack.
Kate put on her own headlamp and proceeded to load her magazines with ammo. Once she was done, she saw that Ariel had fallen fast asleep midpage. She gently removed the book from her daughter’s hands and folded down the corner of the page she had been on. She gazed at the girl, filling up on how much she loved her. Then, she switched off Ariel’s headlamp and got into her own sleeping bag.
She didn’t think she’d get a wink of sleep out there in a cave on the side of the mountain, but she didn’t even remember turning off her own headlamp.
When she awoke, it was to the music of the forest birds. She listened carefully, then smiled. She could hear no evidence of other human beings.
They’d made it. At least for now.
She pulled her own novel out of her backpack. It would be several hours before they could make the second part of their journey. She yearned for coffee, and she had the equipment and supplies to make it, but she couldn’t risk the smell wafting down the mountain. Instead, she grabbed a shelf-stable cappuccino drink in a glass bottle from the bucket with the food and water. It wasn’t great at room temperature, but it would help prevent a lack-of-caffeine headache and was better than no coffee at all.
She knew that the day could end in freedom or it could end in their own captivity…or worse. She was determined that it would end in their escape. She had prepared for this fight, and that gave her the advantage. The only one who’d be losing freedom today would be Logan.
She settled back to read, trying not to think too much about the trip ahead.
About Daisy
She is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.
7 Responses
This is what I was waiting for! So glad they got out of that house and to some temporary safe shelter!
Great cache! I used to have more than a dozen small ones on our mountain. Over the years, 2 were found by hunters. Mostly long-term foods. Not any of the really important ones. Today, a son has the directions to find most of them. I’m not likely to be back up there. What I may use is here on the 10 acres where I’m living, and my three acres, around 20 miles from here. My neatest stash here is the wild edibles and medical plants I’ve been planting to look like a lot of uncleared weeds and brush. My garden is now mostly moved to the fenced-in front yard and an area across the driveway. It isn’t hidden here, but you’d have to be right here where it is to see it. It is the wild area that holds the real gems. The planters and trellisses across the driveway will hold grapes and a mix of perennial flowers and edibles. My 60 fruit trees that are just begining to bare fruit are not visible from above or below. I have 2 more large apple trees to plant here, nearer the home. As they mature they will be visible only once you drive up to the house. I’ve raised them in 7 gallon pots and they should bloom a bit next spring. They are now taller than I am. One of the grapes I’ll be setting out this Fall bore a few bunches of grapes this spring. I’ve held off planting until I had the perfect place for them.
My friend has some great generators on the property now but I have excess solar panels from the projects on my 3-acre place, so I’m creating a place to use them here. All I need are a few more deep-cycle batteries. I’m setting up the new garden area with several small solar-powered watering systems on timers. All I’ll have to do is ensure that the 55-gallon drums are filled. I have my compost in 200-gallon covered tubs, and compost tea will be added periodically to the water containers. So it’s not automatically cared for, but almost. That helps as we are getting older. It would also work for someone partially crippled. I have been placing storage benches in most garden areas. Tools, gardening supplies, a place to rest, or to sit and enjoy a cup of hot tea and a great view.
A dump truck load of dirt is slowly filling all my new raised beds. I’m growing things in some beds and still placing and filling many more. I have two ancient piles of horse manure that are also going down. I want to have the last of the fruits in the ground soon. I’ll have the enclosed porch to use as a greenhouse in winter. My Meyer lemon, a pomegranate bush, and 2 dwarf figs spend the winters there. Once it warms in Spring, they go outside until Fall.
I love the planning almost as much as the execution. It is satisfying to see things growing year-round in the harsh high mountain desert. The hillsides nearby are covered in nopal cacti. I’ve canned jelly, syrup, and juice from the colorful tunas (fruit). This coming spring, I’ll try canning nopalitos – sliced or diced young pads. I may pickle some also. I have many more seeds for “wild” plants that should arrive this month. I’m looking for ways to incorporate them into the area where I’ll plant the last two apple trees. I’ve found an area there with edible mushrooms. To me, that was like finding gold.
As always, I’m ready for the next installment, and I have a couple of weeks to wait. Both of the storylines we’re following are great. Thanks.
Kate was very wise by pre-positioning her essential supplies in that cave. It will be nice to read how Kate and Ariel finally achieve victory over Logan. Keep up the great writing.
Yessss, love it! Can’t wait for the next installment! 🙂
Love it, Daisy. And so glad they made their escape. And loving the fact she had coffee stashed, along with all the other necessary supplies. Those caffeine headaches r a beast.
Dear Daisy From Australia I love the story great genre. Looking forward to next episode
I also loved Widow in the Woods. I paid for it. We don’t have your great handgun freedoms here sadly.. as you say it evens the playing field! Harriet Tubman US heroine carried a gun but never fired it.. just kept the slaves motivated to reach the north!
I too am suddenly disabled I fell and broken hip. Take it easy… bits of exercise ..
My physio calls it movement is medicine.. I say move it don’t l9 lose it. Youre a great lady and inspiring mentor. Blessings mam*
I am loving this story!