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Here’s where the story left off last time.
Ariel needed rest, and so did Kate. She couldn’t fight off Logan if she was woozy from lack of sleep. They squeezed into a small, dense thicket and pulled a green and brown tarp over themselves to help them blend into the forest.
They were asleep the moment their heads hit the mossy ground.
…
The first rays of dawn seeped into the thicket. Kate’s eyes snapped open, her heart lurching. She hated waking up this way, filled with fear and anxiety. She was determined that this would be the last morning that she did so.
Ariel stirred beside her, but didn’t awaken. Her taser was clutched in her hand while she slept. The forest was waking, a chorus of birdsong mingling with the creek’s faint gurgle, but every rustle made her jump and ask herself, was that Logan?
Kate checked the Glock again. One in the chamber, she chanted in her head — its weight a grim comfort. They were safe for now, but their current location was no fortress. Logan’s tripwire and that boating photo proved he was hunting way too close for comfort.
“Wakey, wakey,” Kate whispered as she shook Ariel lightly.
“Where are my eggs and bakey?” Ariel asked with a sleepy smile.
“We need to move again,” Kate whispered, her voice low to avoid carrying. “Dawn gives us light, but it helps him, too. I’m hoping he got tired and went back to our place for a nap.”
Ariel nodded, the smile leaving her face as she remembered the grim reality of their situation. “Where are we headed?” she asked, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.
“We’re going to Mr. Slocum’s,” Kate said. “We’ll stake it out first, make sure Logan isn’t there. But we need help. We can’t just keep running around the forest forever.”
They crawled from the thicket the same way they’d come in. Kate rolled up the tarp and put it back into her backpack. It was damp with dew, but there was no time to dry it off. The Blue Ridge air was crisp, heavy with fog that clung to the hemlock and rhododendron, making the forest feel like a mythical labyrinth. Even in the stress of the moment, Kate couldn’t help but be awed by the storybook beauty of this mountain. She led them onto a mossy path to avoid footprints, her trekking pole probing for slick rocks.
The double-peaked ridge loomed closer, its silhouette a faint guide against the pinkening sky, but the dense Blue Ridge forest, choked with hemlock, rhododendron, and slick shale, hid the ground’s dangers. Kate paused, crouching low to avoid casting shadows that Logan’s flashlight might catch. Ariel mirrored her.
Kate leaned close, her whisper barely audible. “Remember when I taught you about terrain association? It’s like building a map in your head.” She pointed to the double-peaked ridge, distinct despite the fog. “You see that ridge with the two humps? It’s our anchor. The Slocum place is just below that ridge.”
She continued. “You pick landmarks – boulders, unusual trees, – and use them to keep going in the right direction.”
She showed Ariel how to feel the terrain’s tilt with each step, the ground’s subtle rise or fall revealing their direction. “If you know the mountain’s secrets, you don’t need a compass. Things like a twisted tree stump or a boulder split like a heart, and you’ve got a marker.”
Ariel nodded, her eyes tracing the ridge, then dropping to a dead, gnarled oak just ahead of them. Its barren branches clawed the sky in a bizarrely beautiful pattern. “Like that tree?” she whispered, pointing.“
“Exactly like that tree,” Kate said, pride flickering. “Memorize it, then find the next one. We’ve got this.”
She taught Ariel to move in a zigzag pattern, now purposely stepping on rocks or fallen logs to break their trail.
The double-peaked ridge loomed closer, a landmark guiding them through the fog. Kate’s ears strained for Logan’s boots or voice when a sudden crash stopped her in her tracks.
A doe, startled by their approach, bolted through the underbrush and leapt across the trail in front of them, hooves thundering.
Ariel flinched but suppressed the scream climbing up her throat. Kate gripped her arm. “Just a deer,” she whispered calmly, though she felt anything but serene. She could barely hear anything over the panicked thudding of her heart. She took a few calming breaths, and they continued their trek.
Halfway to the outcrop, Kate’s blood ran cold. Scratched into a birch tree, still fresh with sap, were the words “FAMILY.” The carving was crude, Logan’s work, his knife marks deep and angry. Nearby, a braided friendship bracelet lay in the dirt. It had been Ariel’s, from years ago, one he’d stolen from her. A small pile of cigarette butts lay on the ground. He’d hovered here, watching for them, lying in wait here for quite a while.
Kate’s touched the pile of butts – they were cold. He’d been here a few hours ago, not recently, which was a relief. He was trying to anticipate their moves, circling like a wolf. He clearly knew they were headed to get help from Mr. Slocum, and he must be furious that they had eluded him so far.
Ariel’s breath caught, her eyes locked on the bracelet, her voice barely a whisper. “He kept it… all this time?”
Kate’s hand tightened on the Glock, rage battling fear. “He’s playing with us,” she said, her voice low and fierce. “But we’re not his family. We are still going to Mr. Slocum’s, but we need to watch the place for a little while to make sure he’s not waiting to ambush us. Let’s keep walking until we get closer.”
Arial nodded wordlessly. The bracelet had shaken her. They carried on in silence, Kate frantically searching for the right words to comfort her daughter and falling short.
Finally, they reached the double-peaked ridge that was above the Slocum place. Below the ridge, a narrow gully snaked through a tight thicket, its entrance hidden by a fallen pine. It was a tough descent, but once they were in, they were nearly invisible. It was a perfect hideout to scope out the cabin of their neighbor.
They inched down carefully and ducked into the gully, where everything felt damp. Kate led the way, crawling under a fallen pine. She peered through the brush. She could see the side door, the one that Mr. Slocum always used, and the driveway of the little cabin. They were far enough in not to be spotted by a casual glance. They sat. It seemed like a good place for them to lie in wait for a change.
“We stay here and watch the house for a while,” Kate whispered, pulling Ariel close. She was worried about her daughter’s vacant stare.
Chapter 22
Ariel’s knees were getting damp from the moist dirt of the gully, and the taser felt heavy in her hand. Logan had kept the bracelet for all these years, her favorite bracelet, the one she’d braided with pink and blue thread at summer camp. That stupid carving on the tree, “FAMILY,” made her stomach twist, like she might puke.
She stared at the ferns absently, and her brain yanked her back. Back to when she was 10 years old.
Back to the day when everything went wrong.
…
The school office smelled like pencil shavings and Mrs. Carter’s gross coffee. Ariel sat on the hard chair, swinging her sneakers, her backpack heavy with math homework. The clock in the office ticked too loud: “TICK. TICK. TICK.” like it was annoyed with her.
She’d been called out of social studies, right in the middle of a boring lecture about some map. The secretary, Mrs. Carter, had said, “Logan’s here for your dentist appointment, sweetie.”
Logan? Ariel’s tummy flipped. She didn’t know she had a dentist’s appointment. Mom always picked her up for the dentist, bringing her favorite grape gum to chew after. But Mom was at work, and Ariel hadn’t seen her since breakfast.
Maybe she’d sent Logan, even though they’d broken up? Ariel clutched her backpack straps, her friendship bracelet—pink and blue, her favorite colors—sliding down her wrist.
Mrs. Carter led her to the front office, where Logan stood, smiling too big, like a cartoon wolf. He wore a flannel shirt. His hair was messy, and his eyes were… weird. Shiny, like he was excited about something secret. Ariel’s skin prickled.
Logan had been Mom’s boyfriend. They’d broken up yesterday, Mom said he wasn’t right for them, and Ariel had agreed. Logan had been weird lately in ways she couldn’t put into words. She always felt like he was trying to catch her and her mom lying to him. She was certain he spied on them, went through their things, though she wasn’t sure if Mom knew it, too.
But he’d been nice before, bringing her ice cream, joking about her comic books, doing homework. She used to like Logan, even love him, before he started being weird.
Why was he here?
“Hey, kiddo,” Logan said, his voice all syrupy. “Ready for the dentist? Your mom asked me to grab you.”
Ariel frowned. “Mom didn’t say anything about a dentist.” Her voice came out small, but she stood taller, gripping her backpack. Something felt off, like when she’d forgotten her lines in the school play and everyone stared.
Logan’s bright white smile didn’t budge. “Last-minute thing. She got stuck at work. Come on, let’s go.” He held out his hand, but Ariel didn’t take it. Mrs. Carter was already back at her desk, typing, not even looking.
Ariel’s brain buzzed. Mom always called the school if plans changed. She didn’t think Mom would send Logan, not after their big fight. Mom had tried to hide it when she was crying in the kitchen, but Ariel knew she had been upset. Mom said he was “gone for good.”
But Logan was here, and Mrs. Carter seemed fine with it. Maybe it was okay? Her tummy said no, but she didn’t know what to do. She was only 10 years old, and even though she was now in double digits, she couldn’t just run out of the office.
“Okay,” Ariel mumbled, following him to the parking lot, her sneakers dragging. His truck was old, rusty, with a dented fender. It smelled like cigarettes and something sour when she climbed in. No grape gum, no Mom.
Her bracelet caught on the seatbelt, and she tugged it free, her fingers shaky.
Logan started the truck, humming a song she didn’t know. “You’re gonna love this,” he said, glancing at her with that shiny-eyed look. “We’re gonna be a family, you, me, and your mom. Forever. We worked things out and everything is going to be okay again.”
Ariel’s chest got tight, like she couldn’t breathe right. Family? Mom had said she didn’t want him in their life anymore. Had she really changed her mind that fast? It didn’t sound like Mom.
The truck turned left, away from town, away from the dentist’s office she’d been to a million times. The road got bumpy, trees crowding in, no houses, no stores.
It was just the forest on either side of the road.
“Where are we going?” Ariel asked, her voice squeaky. “This isn’t the way to the dentist.”
Logan’s hands tightened on the wheel, his smile gone. “Change of plans, kiddo. Somewhere better. You’ll see.”
Her heart went thump-thump-thump, too loud, like it wanted to jump out. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what a dentist’s office looked like, with its shiny tools and boring magazines. They were in town, where people could get to them easily.
This was just trees and dirt roads. Logan wasn’t taking her to get her teeth cleaned. He was taking her somewhere else.
Ariel’s eyes darted around the truck. A crumpled soda can in the cupholder, a knife handle sticking out from under his seat. Her bracelet felt heavy, like it was yelling at her to do something. She thought of Mom’s stories about being brave, like the time they’d hiked and a snake slithered by, and Mom stayed calm, saying, “Just watch it, don’t panic.”
Ariel wasn’t calm, but she wasn’t gonna cry either. She was in double digits, after all.
She reached for the door handle, slow, like she was just scratching her leg. Maybe she could jump out if he stopped. But the truck kept moving, faster now, the forest blurring outside.
“Don’t do anything dumb, Ariel,” Logan said, not looking at her, his voice sharp like a teacher’s. “You gotta trust me. We’re going to meet your mom and have a little family vacation.”
Ariel’s throat burned. She didn’t trust him. He wasn’t family. He was a liar. And she was pretty sure he was crazy, too.
She thought of Mom, probably still at work, not knowing where she was.
Her fingers brushed the bracelet, and she yanked it off, shoving it into her pocket. The truck slowed at a stop sign, and Ariel’s heart jumped. It was now or never. She grabbed the door handle, yanked it, but it was locked. Stupid child lock!
Logan’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist, hard. “I said, don’t be dumb,” he snapped, his face all wrong, like a mask slipping off. His shiny eyes were scary now, not happy.
Ariel kicked at him, her sneaker hitting his leg, but he didn’t let go. “Stop it!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “I want my mom!”
Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back. She wasn’t a baby. She was smart, like Mom said. She had to think.
Logan ignored her kicks and pulled into a gravel lot, a creepy old house in the distance, half-hidden by pines. “We’re here,” he said, like it was normal.
Ariel’s stomach dropped. This wasn’t like any vacation place she had ever been. She twisted her wrist, pulling free, and scrambled for the knife under the seat, her fingers grazing it. Logan grabbed her backpack, yanking her back. “You’re staying, Ariel,” he said, his voice low, mean. “Families stay together.”
Ariel’s scream stuck in her throat. She wasn’t his family. She was Mom’s. And Mom would find her—she always did. She scowled, made her meanest face to show Logan he’d better not mess with her.
…
Ariel blinked, back in the gully, her taser shaking in her hand. The bracelet memory stung, like a cut that wouldn’t heal.
Logan was out there, still calling her “family,” still trying to take her away. But she wasn’t 10 anymore. She was stronger, tougher, like Mom. The ferns brushed her face, and she gripped the taser tighter, her jaw set.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging author and blogger who’s traded her air miles for a screen porch, having embraced a more homebody lifestyle after a serious injury. She’s the heart and mind behind The Organic Prepper, a top-tier website where she shares what she’s learned about preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty. With 17 books under her belt, Daisy’s insights on living frugally, surviving tough times, finding some happiness in the most difficult situations, and embracing independence have touched many lives. Her work doesn’t just stay on her site; it’s shared far and wide across alternative media, making her a familiar voice in the community.
Known for her adventurous spirit, she’s lived in five different countries and raised two wonderful daughters as a single mom. Now living in the beautiful state of North Carolina, Daisy has been spreading her knowledge through blogging for 15 years now.
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.
