Trust Me

Chapter 19

Ranalla woke alone in the sleeping bag. During the very chilly night, she had snuggled up tight to Vince. Neither one slept deep. He was constantly aware of every sound or movement. She was too scared to allow herself to fall asleep, and the sounds from the wild animals kept sending shivers up her spine. As the sun peeked over the horizon, she had just drifted off to sleep.

Vince got up and looked around for any sign of human activity. As Ranalla stirred, he brought her some granola bars to munch on and some water. They both ate contemplating the next leg of their journey.

"How far do we have to go today?" She took the last bite of her bar and chewed it slowly.

"If we get started soon, we could make the safe house by noon." He began packing up the sleeping bags as Ranalla stood up from them.

"What kind of house is it? Like the cabin?" She picked up the wrappers from the bars and stowed them in her backpack.

"Pretty much. The way will be a little more tricky. We'll have to be careful."

"What do you mean?" She looked up at him.

"You'll see." He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Just do what I say, okay? Even if it doesn't make sense."

"Okay," she said slowly watching the intense look on his face.

He leaned in closer to her. "Ranalla, I can't stress how important it is for you to trust me. We are facing a lot of danger."

She smiled reassuringly. "I understand. I don't know what all we face, but I trust you."

They shared a lingering kiss. "I only hope I earn it," he said.

They started on their journey again. Ranalla could feel the previous day's walk in her muscles, but kept quiet. She knew Vince had enough on his mind without her complaining about sore muscles.

The terrain began to get more difficult to traverse. As they came down one small hill, they had to climb another one. Ranalla was in relatively good shape, but this was beginning to really test her physical limits.

Vince made it to one crest ahead of her. He was waiting on her to catch up. She had just reached up to grasp a rock for support in pulling her to the top of the steep incline when she heard the whirring of a helicopter.

"Damn!" He grabbed her arm and helped her up the rest of the way. They were still within a cover of trees, but wouldn't be for long. "Come on."

He took her by the hand and they began running along the ridge of the hill into the trees. Even though limbs were smacking them in the face, they moved without hesitation. Ranalla couldn't see a thing. She just followed where he led and watched the ground beneath her.

She heard a roar that didn't sound like it was coming from the sky. As it grew louder, she realized it was the sound of rushing water. The helicopter was gone.

Vince kept pulling her forward as he scanned the sky between the trees that reached her. They turned down the hill and rushed toward the deafening sound. He stopped suddenly, and Ranalla slammed into his hard back. He didn't move forward at all from the weight of her collision. She peeked around him and gasped in wonder.

It was the most beautiful waterfall she had ever seen. The water rushed over the edge of the cliff above them and thundered into stepped rocks. Water sprayed over the entire base of the small fall. Ranalla felt the mist on her skin and smiled at the wonderful feel of it. She didn't have time to enjoy it long as he pulled her forward toward the thundering water.

The water soon drenched her, and the noise so loud she couldn't hear herself think. She tried to shout to Vince, but her voice was lost in the roar. She wanted to know where they were going, but didn't have to wait long to find out.

He reached the edge of the waterfall and took a step on one of the boulders that the water was hitting at the base. She pulled back. Was he insane? Was he trying to get them both killed? He paused at the feel of her tug and looked back. She couldn't hear what he said, but she read his lips loud and clear.

"Trust me."

She took a deep breath and looked up through the unrelenting rain that now soaked her. Their eyes met, and she nodded.

The next thing she knew, she found herself behind the cascading water and pressed up against hard stone.