Single mom, Lucy, is settling down for a quiet evening at home when a call from her son’s teacher sends her racing out the door. Her son is missing, and nothing will stop Lucy from finding him.
Lucy finished ironing her son’s clothes, opened a bottle of red wine, and sat in front of the TV. The small, suburban house was quiet because her son, Patrick, was on a school camping trip. He would be home by the weekend, but for now, Lucy was enjoying having some alone time.
Lucy surfed through TV channels to find something to watch. Just as she settled on a comedy movie, her phone rang. Lucy frowned when she saw the caller ID show Patrick’s teacher’s name.
“Hi, Mr. Randall,” Lucy said. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m so sorry, Miss. Stevens,” Mr. Randall wailed. “I don’t know how this happened, but Patrick is lost!”
Lucy’s heart thumped like a drum, and her mouth dried up like the desert.
“What…” Lucy reached for her wine and drank a gulp. “What do you mean, Mr. Randall? How could he get lost?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m certain we’ll find him soon. I already called the police, and they’re currently out there, searching the woods.”
“Send me the coordinates.” Lucy drank the last of her wine and stood. “I’m heading out there right now!”
Lucy fetched one of the old hiking backpacks from the hallway closet. It was still packed with many basic camping supplies. Meanwhile, her phone pinged with a message from Mr. Randall. Lucy climbed into her car and then set off. She wanted to be there the moment the police found Patrick.
Lucy drove to the campsite. It was located in a fairly remote, forested area on the outskirts of town. Gravel and dirt crunched beneath her car tires as Lucy followed the old logging roads to reach the camping area.
By the time she emerged into the wide valley where the campsite was situated, the sun was setting. Mr. Randall, a man who looked like he was fresh out of college, was waiting for her near the ablutions block.
“When did Patrick get lost?” Lucy asked as she strode toward Mr. Randall.
“How long has he been out there alone?”
Mr. Randall frowned. “We went on a hike through the forest this morning. It was a longer, more difficult trail so we took it slow. I know Patrick was still with us when we stopped for lunch.” Mr. Randall ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “But I’m not sure when he got separated from the group. When we returned to the campsite, he was missing.”
Lucy looked at the children moving among the tents. Part of her felt certain Patrick must be among them, but the children’s sad and serious faces told her otherwise. She then stared at the tall pine trees marking the forest’s edge. Thinking of her son out in the forest by himself brought tears to her eyes.
“Surely one of Patrick’s classmates noticed he had wandered off,” Lucy said. “Weren’t you using the buddy system?”
Mr. Randall sighed. “Patrick’s buddy hurt her ankle and had to be carried most of the way. As for the others…I questioned them all. I will have to file a report with the school board, so I’ve been as thorough as I can.”
“To hell with your report! My child could be injured!”
“Of course, I’m sorry, Miss. Stevens, that was insensitive of me, but I’m sure Patrick is fine. The police have probably found him by now.”
Lucy scowled at the teacher, who was giving her a bright, fake smile. It was clear his main concern was whether this incident would negatively affect his career and not Patrick’s safety.
“Well, if something has happened to my son, then you can be sure I’ll demand that the school board investigate.” Lucy pointed at Mr. Randall. “And if you’ve been negligent in any way…”
“I was not negligent!” Mr. Randall’s face turned red with anger. “How dare you even suggest that? It’s not my fault your son decided to wander off on his own.”
Lucy was about to admonish Mr. Randall for blaming Patrick when a group of people appeared through the trees at the forest’s edge. It was the police! Lucy ran towards them, forgetting her argument with Mr. Randall.
When she drew closer, Lucy scanned the group of sweaty, tired-looking police officers for her son. Her heart skipped a beat when a smaller figure emerged between two trees, but a moment later she realized it was just a short woman. Fear gripped her heart in icy claws when it became clear that Patrick wasn’t with the group
Lucy ran to the officer at the front of the group. “Where is my son? Why have you returned without him?”
“You’re the mother? Well, I’m sorry, ma’am, but we haven’t found your son yet.” The police officer made a placating gesture. “Unfortunately, it’s getting too dark to continue searching now, but—”
“What! But you can’t just leave my son out there overnight.” Lucy grabbed the front of the officer’s fluorescent jacket. “You have to keep looking. He could be hurt!”
“It’s ineffective to continue searching in the dark, ma’am.” The officer removed her hands from his jacket. “We already cleared a large section of the forest, and we’ll continue in the morning. One of the local search and rescue dogs will join us if we haven’t found him by midday tomorrow.”
“You can’t just go home and sleep in your nice, warm bed while my eleven-year-old son is still out there!”
Lucy was furious that the police would abandon her son to the wilds. What good would tomorrow do Patrick if he didn’t survive the night?
“Please try to calm down, ma’am. We are following standard procedure. We’ve done everything we can for now but will resume searching at 6 a.m.”
“You can’t do this,” Lucy sobbed. “Please, I’ll pay you!”
I’m very sorry, ma’am. I know this is difficult for you, but bribing me will not improve the situation. We follow these rules for safety reasons,” the officer said. “The forest is dangerous, especially at night. The terrain—”
“Fine,” Lucy interrupted. “A group of police officers might be too scared to continue searching, but I’m his mother, and I won’t give up until my son is safe.”
The officer shook his finger at Lucy. “Don’t you go running in there alone, ma’am. You don’t know what you’re doing and will just make our job more difficult because we’ll have to search for you too.”
Lucy would not be deterred. She had hiked and camped frequently when she was younger. She returned to her car and fetched the supplies she’d packed in her trunk. Lucy had brought a flashlight, food, and water, in addition to the multitool, hunting knife, and a basic first-aid kit in her backpack.
She also had a map. Lucy sniffed as she remembered how Patrick insisted she get the map prior to the camping trip so he could check out the trails. He’d spent several hours studying the terrain…how on earth had he gotten lost?
It was very dark beneath the trees. Lucy didn’t want to go in there alone, but if nobody else would search for her son then Patrick’s safety depended on her. She turned on her flashlight and set off along a narrow path leading through the trees.
“I’m coming for you, Patrick,” she said. “Just sit tight. No matter where you are, I’ll find you.”
The deeper Lucy ventured into the forest, the more anxious she became. Everything beyond the narrow beam of her flashlight was hidden in darkness. Insects sang in the near distance, but everything around her was silent, save for the too-loud crunch of her boots on the pine needles littering the path.
Once, Lucy heard twigs snapping nearby and froze. She turned her flashlight toward the sound and saw red eyes staring back at her beneath an array of menacing claws. Lucy screamed, and raised her knife to fight the creature, but it was just a deer. What she’d mistaken for claws were just its antlers.
“Get a grip,” Lucy muttered as the stag fled through the trees. “I’ll never find Patrick if I can’t keep it together.”
Lucy gashed an arrow into a tree with her knife. She’d remembered enough of the hiking skills her dad taught her to ensure she marked her trail at regular intervals.
The forest canopy concealed any stars she might have used for navigation, but Lucy believed she was traveling northwest based on the sun’s position when she entered the forest.
A short while later, Lucy stopped to drink some water and check her map. She spread the map on the dirt and studied it with the light of her flashlight. Lucy felt a chill travel down her spine as she studied the page. She was lost!
“That can’t be right.” Lucy turned the map around and examined it from a different angle. She panned over the area with her flashlight and then checked the map again.
The ground rose to her right, which might be the start of the hill marked on the map. If it was, then there ought to be a creek nearby. Lucy studied the ground around her, but there was no sign of a creek, dried up or otherwise. No matter how hard she strained her ears, all she heard was insects and the distant howls of creatures she couldn’t identify.
Her breath came hard and fast as Lucy struggled to make sense of contour lines blurred by the tears in her eyes. She set her finger on the area where she thought she’d entered the forest and traced a line northwest. None of this looked right.
“Think, Lucy, think!”
She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. If only she’d brought a compass with her! If she could just glimpse the pole star…but the darn trees were too thick.
There had to be a way. Lucy gasped as an idea entered her mind. She hurriedly packed up her map and set off uphill. Once she reached higher ground, Lucy pulled out her phone and opened the map application.
“Please work,” she said while holding the phone up high to improve her chances of getting reception.
The single mother stood on tiptoes with her phone held up high, but it was no good. She was too deep into the forest. A low moan of despair escaped her. What now? The map couldn’t help her, but she had to keep going.
Her best option was to continue heading in the same direction, marking trees…Lucy froze. She turned in a circle and studied the trees around her. Which way did she come from?
Oh, God. Lucy pressed a hand against her chest. This couldn’t be happening. Her heart galloped, and she couldn’t breathe. She’d thought she was lost before, but now there was no doubt about it.
Lucy fell on her knees and wept into the pine needles covering the ground. What a fool she was to believe she could find Patrick in this dark forest with nothing more than dim memories of hiking skills she learned as a child.
If Patrick was injured, then he might die because the police now had to split their search efforts and look for two people instead of one. If something happened to Patrick now, it would be her fault.
Lucy would not let that happen! She wiped away her tears and studied the trees around her once more. They all looked alike. There was no way of knowing which way she came, but by God, she’d figure it out.
Lucy dusted herself off and stood. The last tree she’d marked couldn’t be more than a few yards from her current position. She removed her pink jacket and secured it to a tree branch. That would serve as a temporary marker until she found her trail.
Lucy walked a few paces away from her jacket and searched the trees for her trail marker. She didn’t find it, so she turned back and tried again in a different direction
The cold coming down from the Ouachita Mountains caused goosebumps to form on Lucy’s arms. She shivered as she searched. Whenever she returned to her jacket, she wondered if this trial-and-error method of searching would just end up being another of her stupid ideas.
“Who am I kidding?” Lucy said with chattering teeth. “The only thing I’m going to achieve with this is to give myself hypothermia.”
But even though she thought of giving up, Lucy couldn’t quit. Her imagination conjured images of Patrick lying at the bottom of a steep slope with a broken arm, or worse.
There’d been an increase in confirmed cougar sightings over the past few years. If Patrick had run into one of the big cats…Lucy didn’t even want to consider what she might find of her son if that were the case, but no mother could give up when her child needed her.
So, Lucy kept searching for her trail. She was growing tired, however, and stumbled over a rock. She cried out as she rolled down the slope and got a bunch of pine needles and dirt in her mouth. Luckily, she soon reached a level piece of ground and came to a stop. Lucy hurt all over, so she used a nearby tree to stand.
She’d kept a tight grip on her flashlight during her fall and now used it to check her surroundings. A line of flattened brush and skid marks showed her where she’d fallen. She glanced at the tree she was leaning against, and all the breath left her body. She’d found her mark!
Lucy retrieved her jacket and hunkered down at the base of the marked tree. She realized now that wandering through the forest like this would only end with her becoming injured. It was safer to wait for dawn and continue then.
The branches Lucy gathered from the area caught fire easily. She cleared away the fallen pine needles and branches around the fire for safety and sat on a large stone. Lucy drank water and ate some beef jerky while she warmed up.
Lucy stared into the flickering flames and remembered the last time she and Patrick went camping, three years ago. They’d completed the Lily Marsh Trail in Ponderosa State Park and ended their day making smores by a campfire just like this one.
Lucy jerked her gaze away from the fire to peer into the darkness. Was that a footstep she just heard? She listened a few moments longer before deciding it was probably just the crackle of her fire.
She was still hungry so she removed a granola bar from her backpack. As she grasped the wrapper to open it, she heard that sound again. This time, Lucy aimed her flashlight between the trees and searched for the source.
A nightjar let loose a loud cry and flew away through the trees. Lucy almost screamed, but instead laughed with relief. How silly of her to be afraid of a bird!
At that moment, something huffed loudly behind her. Lucy froze. That sounded a lot larger than a bird. Lucy turned and looked straight into the yellow eyes of a cougar.
Lucy leaped to her feet and threw the rest of her granola bar at the big cat. It batted the makeshift projectile aside and snarled. She circled around to put the fire between her and the animal.
“Get out of here,” she screamed. “Go!”
Lucy kicked dirt at the cougar and waved her arms in the air. The cougar disappeared behind a tree briefly, but soon it was back. The firelight danced across its russet pelt as it stalked into the open. Its ears were flat against its skull, and it moved with its belly low to the ground while growling at her. It was going to pounce.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Lucy snatched one of the burning branches from the campfire and waved it around. “Git, you stupid cat!”
The cougar hissed and backed away, but it didn’t leave. Lucy realized the cat must be starving or rabid if it wouldn’t be scared off so easily. She pointed the burning branch at the cougar as it circled around her. There was no way she’d come this far to die now.
Her knife! If she could just get her knife, she would be better equipped to defend herself. Lucy glanced over her shoulder to look for her backpack. That was when the cougar pounced.
Lucy screamed and hit the cougar over the head with the burning branch. Then, without thinking, she ran. It was only when she heard the cougar pursuing her that Lucy remembered you should never run from a cougar. She didn’t have any other options now, unfortunately. Running was the only chance she had to survive.
Lucy pelted through the dark forest. Branches slapped her in the face and tore at her jacket, but she didn’t slow. The big cat was right behind her. She pulled off her jacket and threw it down as a distraction.
Lucy kept running while she glanced over her shoulder to see if the cougar was still there. Her next step landed on air instead of the ground, and the next thing Lucy knew, she was falling again.
Exposed tree roots battered Lucy as she tumbled down the side of a steep gully, and she landed on a bed of hard stones. She hit her head against one of them and went limp.
As the cougar searched for a gentler way down, the creek running along the bottom of the gully carried Lucy away
Lucy woke to freezing cold and a pounding headache. She didn’t understand where she was at first, but then she remembered the cougar.
Lucy sat, and a blinding pain flashed through her head. She was shivering, and every breath felt like she was being stabbed in the side. Lucy checked out her surroundings in the light of the dawn. The cougar was nowhere to be seen. Lucy’s relief faded quickly, however, when she realized she was in a completely unfamiliar area.
The gully she’d fallen down was gone. Instead, she was lying on the stony bank of a fast-flowing stream. All her clothes were soaking wet, and she couldn’t feel her toes.
A quick examination confirmed that Lucy’s arms and legs weren’t broken. Her ribs, however, were definitely injured. She tried to get up, but her limbs gave way beneath her.
Hot tears coursed over Lucy’s cheeks as she stared at the pale sky between the trees. She was injured, exhausted, and completely lost. She hadn’t even spotted a sign of Patrick all night, and now…she didn’t know what to do now.
Movement caught Lucy’s eye. A thin plume of smoke was rising through the trees. There had to be somebody nearby! Lucy summoned all her strength and determination to get to her hands and knees, then crawled toward the smoke.
After a while, Lucy could walk using a branch for support. Every step sent a jolt of pain through her body, but she soldiered on. Soon, she saw a roof appear through the trees.
The smoke was coming from an old cabin built in a clearing. An abandoned car was rusting on the side of the cabin, and weeds grew tall around it. If it weren’t for the smoke, Lucy would’ve thought the place was abandoned.
“Hello?” Lucy hobbled up the steps and knocked on the door.
“Is anybody home? I need help.”
The door opened with a loud creak when she knocked again. Lucy fell inside and cried out when she landed on the floor. A small figure was silhouetted by the light coming from an old stove on the far side of the room.
“Mom?”
Lucy sobbed with relief at the sound of her son’s voice. “Patrick, is that you?”
Patrick’s footsteps thundered on the old, wooden floorboards as he raced to join Lucy. She yelped when Patrick threw his arms around her in a tight hug.
“Careful, baby,” she said. “Not so tight.”
“Are you hurt?” Patrick leaned back to frown at her. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story.” She cupped his cheek and stared at her son. “The most important thing is that I’ve found you. We’re both safe now so everything will be okay.”
