51: The Series

51: The Beginning Chapter 9

Lindsay and Wren had followed Nim’s directions and had found the service road where Nim was supposed to be. Lindsay pulled down the service road as far as possible. The last thing they wanted to do was get stuck. They were still in the patrol car and were both armed. Wren had gone a step further; he had removed the shotgun from the bracket between the front seats and was checking to make sure it was loaded to capacity.

Lindsay picked up her phone and tried to call Nim. He did not answer. If he was still where he had been, he should have been able to see her car lights. She started scanning the area using her spotlight but saw nothing but trees. She decided to try to call him again before she got out of the car and looked for him.

“Sheriff, is that you on the service road?” Nim asked when he answered his phone.

“Who else would it be, Nim? Do you have a flashlight or something to shine so we can see where you are?” Lindsay asked him.

“Yeah, I’ve got a flashlight on my phone. I’ll turn it on now. Can you see it?”

Lindsay turned off the car headlights and could see the light Nim had. As she watched, she saw something briefly blocking it out, as if something had walked between Nim and the car.

“OK, Nim, I see you. Stay where you are, and we will come and get you. Don’t move. Bye,” Lindsay told him.

She hung up her phone and turned to look at Wren. He was looking at her. She knew from that look he had seen whatever it was that had passed between where Nim was and their car. She turned on the stoplight and aimed it toward where she had seen Nim’s light. She lowered the window slightly, and the smell came rolling into the car. What was happening was not a joke being played on Nim. His friends had left him behind merely out of fear.

“Agent Gold, I need your professional opinion. Do we risk going in and getting him, or do we call for assistance and risk something happening to him?” Lindsay asked Wren.

“Sheriff Gold, my professional opinion is that we need to find him, get him in this car, and get out of here as fast as possible,” Wren said without hesitation.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lindsay said.

They both got out of the car with flashlights in hand and weapons drawn. Lindsay and Wren knew how dangerous this was, but they could not leave Nim there. They could both hear the sounds of movement around them. They could see Nim’s light and were quickly closing in when a large rock hit the tree next to Wren.

“Go! Go! Go!” Wren yelled as they raced toward Nim.

“Nim! Let’s go! Run to us!” Lindsay shouted.

Lindsay saw him stand and start to run toward them. After only a few steps, she saw something land by him, and he went down. A large rock had been thrown, landing next to him and bouncing into his leg. He still had not made it back to his feet but was still scrambling toward them. Lindsay was able to grab Nim’s hand and help him up but found he could not put much weight on his leg.

“Wren, we have a problem,” she said.

“Just get him back to the car. I’ll cover you,” Wren answered.

“Nim, lean on me as much as you can. We will get you out of here,” Lindsay told him.

He put his arms around her neck and was almost on her back. She had her flashlight and weapon in her hands. They headed toward the car, but they were not moving as fast as Lindsay wanted to. She could feel Nim shaking out of both fear and pain. She kept turning to locate Wren, who was staying close. There was even more movement among the trees. They could hear more rocks being thrown toward them, but thankfully, they were not coming as close as they had.

“Wren, you still there?” Lindsay asked.

“I’m here,” he answered.

They were almost back to the car when a large rock flew in front of Lindsay and hit a tree next to her head, shattering it.

“Run!” Wren yelled.

They reached the car. Lindsay pushed Nim into the back before getting in. Wren got in after her. She threw the car into reverse and backed out, throwing a dust cloud up in front of them.

“Holy crap,” Nim said.

Lindsay looked out the windshield to be met with several sets of eyes shining in her headlights. The eyes were all at least seven feet off the ground and were widely spaced. They belonged to massive creatures. Lindsay and Wren both knew what they were but did not say anything. Lindsay felt the back tires hit the pavement, turned sharply, and threw the car into drive. She drove much faster than she should have to get out of the area, but honestly, the only thing she wanted was to get far, far away from that part of the forest and never go back.

“Nim, how is your leg feeling?” Wren asked.

“It’s hurting really bad,” Nim said through tears. “I’m sorry. Both of you, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. There is an intersection up ahead. I can pull over and take a look at your leg,” Lindsay said. “What are your parents going to say about this one?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I moved out and moved in with my sister,” Nim said.

They came to the intersection, and Lindsay pulled the car over. She got out and opened the back door where Nim was sitting. Lindsay shined her flashlight down on his leg and could see that it was severely bruised and swollen. She touched it gently, and Nim flinched. She helped him remove his shoe and sock and saw the bruising extending into his foot.

“Nim, sweetheart, can you wiggle your toes?” Lindsay asked him.

“No,” he said as he grimaced with pain.

Wren had also gotten out and was checking Nim’s injuries.

“Nim, are you hurt anywhere else? Any cuts or bruises that you know of?” Wren asked him as he looked at the young man carefully.

“Not that I can tell. I think it’s just my leg,” Nim answered.

“We need to take you back to the department and call your sister. You do need to go to the hospital. I’m sorry, but even if this is just bruising, it is bad enough you need to be treated tonight. I also think you need to call your parents. I know your mom can be hard to deal with, but they need to know since you are only sixteen,” Lindsay explained.

Nim just nodded and pulled his leg back into the car. Lindsay closed the door. She and Wren looked at each other before they got back into the car. This time, they had all been lucky. Next time, it may not be that way.

Lindsay had called the sheriff’s department to ensure a deputy was there, and thankfully, Max was in the office. She told the dispatcher to keep him there until they arrived. They pulled up to the department and helped Nim out of the car and into the building.

“Max!” Lindsay yelled as she and Wren helped Nim to a chair, “Bring the first aid kits.”

“What happened to you three?” Hannah asked.

“Nim’s friends left him in the woods, so he called us to come and get him,” Lindsay told her as Max handed her a couple of first aid kits.

“What can I do?” Max asked.

“I don’t know yet, but don’t leave right now,” Lindsay told him.

“How is your leg feeling, Nim?” Wren asked Nim.

“A little better than it did. I was able to put more weight on it when we came in than when it happened,” Nim answered.

“That’s good,” Lindsay said as she pulled a chair over to prop Nim's leg on. “I can see it better now, and it looks like it is only bruised. It will definitely hurt for a few days,” she said as she began putting cold packs on it.

Lindsay turned toward where Max was standing, allowing Wren to see she was also injured. She had been hit by debris splinters when the tree shattered next to her and Nim.

“Lindsay, you’re bleeding,” Wren told her without any excitement in his tone. “And you have a piece of wood sticking out of your arm.”

“What? Where?” she asked.

“Your face, neck, and right arm,” Wren said. “If you have tweezers in one of those kits, I will start working on them for you.”

Lindsay found tweezers and handed them to him. He started carefully taking splinters out of her face. She had not even felt them when it happened. She had been too focused on getting everyone out of the forest safely.

“Nim, you need to call your sister to come and get you. I also think you might want to think about finding some new friends. Real friends would not have left you in the middle of the national forest when they got scared,” she said.

“Max, I will tell you personally. Do not take any calls in or near the national forest unless you have backup. There is an animal problem that will hopefully be solved soon, but for now, it is not safe to go alone,” Lindsay said.

“Hannah, make sure to leave a note for Cat and any other dispatcher that no one goes to the national forest alone, no matter what the call is. I hope that none of this happening tonight will make you change your mind about taking over the night shift full-time. This is not normal, I promise,” Lindsay told her.

Wren had stopped taking splinters out of Lindsay and was looking at the large one in her arm. He was pushing on the area around it, trying to decide if he should remove it or make her go to the hospital.

“Linz, this one is large, and it may be deep. I may need to take you to the emergency room to have it taken out,” he told her.

She finally took a good look at what and where it was. It was a pine splinter about the diameter of a bamboo skewer. She could not tell how long it was, but it did not hurt, which surprised her. She began pushing on the area around it and could tell it was just under the surface of the skin. It just looked dreadful. She reached up and pulled it out.

“Well, I could have done that for you,” Wren said as he reached up and began putting a bandage on it.

Just then, Nim’s sister, Maggie, came into the building. “Nim, what happened?” she asked.

“Your brother called the sheriff and me to help him after he and his friends went camping in the national forest, and he was left behind when they became scared. It was nothing to worry about, just an animal making some strange noises, but he did hurt his leg as we were walking out of the woods,” Wren answered for him.

“Lindsay, is that what happened?” Maggie asked.

“It is, and I’m sure that Nim will not want to talk about anything that happened. Isn’t that right, Nim?”

“That’s right,” Nim answered. “Can I go now? I just want to go home.”

“That’s fine as long as Agent Gold says it is OK,” Lindsay said as she looked at Wren, who nodded. “Go home and try not to get into any more trouble. Do me a favor, call me in the afternoon, and let me know how your leg is.”

“Yes, ma’am, and thank you. Both of you, thank you. I mean it,” Nim said as his sister began helping him toward the door. Max followed them and helped Nim get into Maggie’s car, then returned to where Lindsay and Wren were sitting.

Max stopped in front of them and said, “I know when I hear Agent Gold that something big has happened. I also know that whatever happened out in the forest, you two can’t tell me, so I’m not going to ask questions about that. What I will ask is, are the two of you alright, and is there anything I can do for you?”

Wren chuckled a little. Lindsay shook her head, smiled, and said, “You’re right about what happened. I think we’re OK. We may find things later, but for now, we are good. As far as doing anything for us, I don’t think so.” As she finished speaking, she reached up to scratch her head and found another splinter.

“OK, I just wanted to make sure,” Max said. “If you two go home now, you might get close to three hours of sleep before you have to get up and go to work.”

“That is exactly what we are going to do,” Wren answered. “Let’s go home,” Wren said as he stood up and pulled Lindsay to her feet. “Thanks for the help,” he called over his shoulder to Max and Hannah as they walked out the door.