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Right below her feet, still fastened to the downed tree, was a badly scorched wood sign, the kind the Forest Service used to mark trails. Ryan could barely make out the words "on Ridge Trail" in the middle of the sign.
"That's amazing. Nice work, Erin." Tyler snapped a picture. He put a piece of surveyor's tape on the sign. "Now let's see if we can find more of the trail."
They walked along the log to the stump. Remnants of trail tread were worn on both sides. Tyler marked that, then they traced back to the intersection with the main trail. Then they continued up, climbing over, under, and around logs to find the trail. Ryan was happy he'd put his grasper arm on that morning because there were several times when he needed it to stay on top of a log or move branches out of the way.
They climbed steadily, and the hill became rockier and steeper. The downed trees and brush thinned, making the trail easier to find, but there was less and less shade. The sun beat down on them, a reminder of his days in Afghan deserts, loose shale crunching under his feet, sweat streaming down his body. About two hours later, the hill walk became a steep mountain climb, with a sharp drop-off into a canyon on one side, greenery crowding the very bottom. The views were amazing—Erin snapped pictures constantly.
The trail was easy to find because there weren't many trees on the ridge, so they climbed at a steady pace. They stopped for lunch at noon, sheltering in the scant shade of a giant rock thrusting from the ridgeline like a spearhead.
"I hoped that we'd meet up with Jules, Dan, and Laura by now, but it took us longer to get through all those tangled trees and bushes than I thought it would." Tyler waved at the mess of downed logs. "They probably ran into the same problem."
"Hopefully, they didn't have any other trouble. Those logs are tricky." Erin took a long drink from her water bottle.
"We'll go up to the top, and then we can decide whether to come back this way, since we've marked it, or continue to look for the trail back their way. I'm a little concerned because I see there are already some clouds gathering." Tyler pointed into the distance at big, white clouds on the horizon. "They don't look like storm clouds yet, but they could become one. If there's a thunderstorm, we'll go back the way we came. It's marked, so it will be safer than trying to find the trail in the pouring rain or, even worse, in lightning. And we'll head back at the first sign that it might turn into a thunderstorm. There's no shelter out here, and we really need to get back to living trees for safety." Tyler's mouth twisted. "Not that it's ever safe to be out in a lightning storm."
"I've been caught in some before. It's scary." Erin peered at the clouds, shading her eyes with a hand.
Ryan grimaced. "Most of my backpacking was in Alaska. You don't get thunderstorms up there very much. Rain, yes. Lots of rain." He did not want to be in a thunderstorm; he reacted oddly to loud noises.
"And mosquitoes the size of eagles." Erin's nose wrinkled.
Ryan shuddered. "Don't remind me. I hated showering in bug spray."
They packed their food and continued up the steep ridgeline, making it to the top in an hour. The views were even better, and Erin took a ton of pictures, including some of the three of them, but there was no sign of Jules and her group.
"Guys, I don't like how this looks." Tyler pointed toward camp. "We can see down this ridge for a long way, and there's no sign of Jules. And the clouds are getting thicker. As much as I'd like to complete this loop, I think it would be safer if we went back the way we came. Agreed?"
Ryan nodded, Erin's head bobbing too, so they started back down the ridge. It was tougher going down than up because the heat of the fire had caused many of the rocks to shatter, and they slipped and slid on the shards constantly. All of them ended up on their backside more than once.
They took a water break before heading into the heavy downed trees. The wind picked up. Tyler's face was grim. "Make sure your rain gear is accessible. I think we're in for it. Be careful on the logs; they're going to be really slick when they're wet. Slow and steady is the safest. And if we're out here and lighting hits, crouch down, preferably under some trees, on top of some sort of insulator, like your pack. If you can see taller living trees, run for them."
They headed into the maze of dead trees and brush, moving as quickly as they could from marking tape to tape. Thirty minutes later, Ryan jumped down onto a rare open piece of ground, relaxing for a second on solid earth. A bright flash of light—BOOM—a mortar? They were under attack! He flattened to the ground under a large, downed tree. Where's the bunker? There should be one right here!
Chapter 26
Trouble Inside, Trouble Outside
Lightning flashed, Erin jumped, and a boom of thunder followed far too quickly. She looked up. Rats, it got really dark, really fast. She looked down the trail; Tyler climbed over a tree about twenty feet in front of her. Ryan had been right behind Tyler, but he was nowhere to be found. She climbed up and over the pile in front of her, pushing through the thick brush.
Ryan was face down on the ground under a log, with his hands over his head. Oh, no.
She jumped over the log between them and dropped to her knees next to Ryan. "Ryan, are you okay?" He didn't move. She yelled over the booming thunder. "Ryan!" Still nothing. She put a hand on his upper arm, and he looked up at her with unseeing eyes. "Ryan, it's a thunderstorm. Come on. We need to keep going."
He curled into a fetal position, facing away from her. Tyler bounded off a log, landing next to her. "What's going on?"
"Ryan's out of it. I think it's a post-traumatic stress reaction. Go ahead—I'll get him out of it." She wasn't sure how, but she'd think of something. At least Ryan knew her well—sometimes people could come out swinging.
Tyler crouched. "Can I help?" He put a hand out but didn't touch Ryan.
"No, and there's no sense in all of us getting hit by lightning. We need to spread out! Go! We'll catch up later."
Tyler grimaced. "I don't like leaving you here, but you're right. I'll go down the trail a couple hundred yards. See if you can get him on top of his pack! After the storm blows through, I'll come back and find you." Tyler pressed a few buttons on his GPS unit, climbed back over the tree, and disappeared.
"Ryan, come on." Erin pulled on his arm, but he didn't move. "It's a lightning storm! We have to get in position!"
He rolled toward her and grabbed her arm with his real hand, pulling her down across his chest. She ended up on top of him, with her face only an inch away from his. His eyes stared blankly—he didn't see her at all. "Ryan, it's lightning. We need to get off the ground!" Erin patted his face. She could slap him, but he might misinterpret that as an attack, and then she'd be in even bigger trouble. "Ryan!"
Was he stuck under attack or in the situation where he lost his arm? She had to show him, make him feel he wasn't downrange, that he was safe. But how? She could give the Sleeping Beauty method a try—most guys wouldn't interpret that as an attack. She fastened her lips on his and kissed him.
