"We need a team to go in these pines. I would have done it but I ran out of markers. I grew up on this land and even I could get easily turned around in there." Emily looked towards the darkened pines and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Let me go back and radio this in. Be back in a minute."
Emily had the sinking feeling that no one was going to go into the woods with it being this dark. The air was getting cold when she stepped away from the fire, so she knew Parker was in there freezing.
"I talked to the sheriff. He said he'd have a team out here at sunrise."
"Do you have anything to use for markers? Anything to leave a trail?"
"All I have are flares, and I already found you so that's not going to help much. You should head back home and come back at daylight."
"What if he comes out of the woods? Someone has to be here. I'll stay. I'm not a dumb woman when it comes to survival and I have a fire, transportation, and supplies. Tell the sheriff where I am and let him know there's an overgrown horse trail that leads up to the lake, then turns east towards this clearing. Ask him to call Gerald Wilkerson and tell him I'm safe."
"I can't talk you out of this, can I?"
"No. Thanks for your help. My name is Emily Carson."
"Alex Wagner." Alex squeezed Emily's hand. "Be safe out here, Emily."
She watched as Alex flew away from the clearing. Be okay, Parker, just be okay.
Parker heard the helicopter blades again in the distance and he listened intently as they faded. He knew no one was going to find him until he got out of the woods. Parker checked his pockets for mints, gum, anything edible. He found nothing but credit cards, a phone with a dead battery, and a wad of cash. A lot of good this does me now. The wind was picking up and the crackling of the branches seemed extra loud to him. His head was pounding and he was exhausted. His stomach ached, and he was scraped all over the place from the sharp pine needles, but he continued to walk.
***
Russell got the news from the pilot of the chopper.
"Take me out there now."
"Mr. Davis, they have a search team going out at daylight. If you contact the sheriff's office you can find out the time and join them. They don't need to be looking for two Davis brothers."
"Where does Emily Carson live? She has to have more information."
"Emily Carson stayed out by herself in the area your brother went missing. She refused to leave."
Russell called the sheriff and agreed to meet at five in the morning for the search organization and the five-thirty departure toward the location. He didn't even attempt to get any sleep. He knew it'd be fruitless.
The storm hit at four in the morning. The blinding rain, thunder, and lightning sent Emily into a panic. The fire was washed out, and she needed to find shelter. The heavy rain would make it impossible for her to see while riding the four-wheeler, not to mention trying to get through all the mud. Grabbing as many supplies as she could, she ran to the pines to take cover.
At five in the morning, Russell showed up at the sheriff's office only to be told the search was called off until the weather settled down.
"You can't call the search off! My brother's out there!" Russell started to grab the sheriff by the front of his uniform.
"Mr. Davis, you don't want to do that. Just try and calm down. Everyone's on standby and when the weather breaks, we'll do what we can. Right now it isn't safe, and there's no way we can get a chopper up in this wind and lightning."
"I'll go look for him myself." Russell stormed out the door. As soon as he was pelted in the face, he knew there'd be very little visibility. Russell went back inside and sat down.
"Would you like some coffee?" offered the sheriff. James felt bad for the guy and could only imagine what he was going through.
"Please," Russell softly said.
When the rain backed off, Emily climbed on her four-wheeler and tried to backtrack. She was well aware that the area could be dangerously flooded with rains that lasted this long. It was four in the afternoon and she still hadn't seen a soul. As much as she didn't want to believe it, the area was flooded and there was no way anyone was going to get there until the water level backed down. She went back to the woods and continued to call for Parker. At seven in the evening, with the thick cloud cover, there wasn't any daylight. I won't leave you here, Parker.
Parker was getting very nauseated. He tried not to vomit, but when he did, nothing came up. His head was pounding so hard it was making him sick. The stomach cramps were doubling him over at times, and when he walked he had to rest frequently and often hold onto things. He knew the storm was bad and that no one in their right mind would go out in it. Luckily the pines kept him fairly dry and offered protection. He felt so weak and shook from the cold.
"Go get some rest, Mr. Davis. The weather is supposed to be clearing up. We plan on heading out in the morning."
"I'm not leaving. My brother has definitely been out there for two days, probably three." Tears formed in his eyes. "
James just smiled and nodded his head. "If I can get you anything let me know."
***
Emily was relieved to finally see the sky begin to lighten. The fire was gone, with no hope of finding anything dry to build another one. But she didn't worry because she'd already been located, and if they followed the old horse trail they'd run into her. All she could do was pray that the water backed off. It wasn't much longer before she heard the sounds of multiple ATVs. Finally she saw the headlights coming in her direction. There were ten four-wheelers. Many of the drivers were people she'd grown up with.
"Emily, I was worried about you being out here all night."
Emily approached James Dyle and hugged him. "Thanks for your help, James. Parker Davis is in those pines someplace. We need to get him out. It stormed pretty good, but in those thick pines it was relatively dry. I don't know if he brought water with him when he came out here."
"Sit tight, Em, I have a chopper on its way equipped with thermal imaging. We'll find him."
"Emily..." came a choked-out sound of her name.
"Russell?"
Russell stepped closer so she could see his face. She ran at him and buried her face in his chest.
"We'll find him, Emily, I promise you that. I won't leave until I have my brother with me." Tears slid down both of their cheeks.
***
Sometime during the night, Parker tripped while walking and had fallen to the ground. He wasn't injured, but was too weak to get up. He lay where he fell and closed his eyes. The distant sound of a helicopter awoke him, but he didn't think it was real, until the sound became louder.