Elk Creek

Chapter 11

The minutes seemed to pass like hours as Raina sat in the kitchen of her parents' house, waiting for something, anything to happen. A phone call, Val to ride back into the yard, Iza in his arms, the little curly haired girl to pop out from the pantry and scream 'surprise'. Silence surrounded her.

Raina watched snow fall in heavy deafening flakes. With every passing second, footprints and evidence were being covered up in thick snow. Nails already chewed to the nubs dug into the palms of Raina's hands as she tried to keep herself from snapping at Teresa.

The older woman sat across from her at the table, calmly sipping at a cup of tea. Rather than chew her mother out for not seeming to be worried, Raina pushed herself to her feet, the legs of the chair scraping across the wood floor, piercingly shrill.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she said softly before turning and making her way toward the front of the house. Padding softly into the foyer, Raina remembered a time when she wouldn't have spoken so directly to her mother. Growing up she had always asked permission. Could she go to the bathroom? Could she be excused? Now as she slipped quietly out the front door she didn't hesitate. She was not going to sit and wait for someone else to find her child.

As quietly as possible, Raina retrieved her jacket from the closet. Even at a time when everyone else was on edge, Teresa always observed proper etiquette. Everything had its place.

Jacket on, Raina paused to listen for any sign that her mother was moving toward the foyer. Silence besides the soft clink of Teresa's coffee cup on the saucer. Not sparing a second for any backwards glances, Raina eased the front door open, and slipped out into the night.

Dark wind bit into Raina's skin as she stepped from the too perfect porch out into the snowy yard. Pulling her jacket tight around herself, she started toward the forest.

Raina stepped under the cover of the pines and glanced back over her shoulder, sure that any second the police sheriff would come pulling up to the house. She had to be long gone before he arrived.

The snow was deep, even under the cover of the great pines. Within minutes of stalking through the snow, her jeans were soaked to the knees. Still she continued forward, to where she wasn't sure yet. Her mind whirled trying to come up with a place, anywhere that she may have mentioned to Izabelle or Carter that the monster might use to stash her daughter.

Large flakes, though soft, pelted her like falling rocks, beating her down as the heavy snow pack slowed her pace to a crawl.

The woods had always been a place of escape. A place of refuge to go when life got too tough to handle. Now as she wove through the trees, looking for any sign of her daughter or Carter, the forest stayed true to its past purpose, though now there was no escape.

An eerie silence settled over the forest with the icy blanket. Birds had long vacated the region. The squirrel and other creatures that made the timberland their home all hid themselves away some place out of the elements.

Silently Raina cursed herself for leaving her daughter with her parents. The only place Iza was safe was with her. How could two people who had barely been parents to her look after Iza properly?

Shaking her head, Raina spotted a hint of color against the snow. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she moved closer. A small pink hair band rested, half covered in upturned snow. Iza's hair tie. Raina snatched the small bit up in her trembling hands.

Sparking eyes roved the surrounding area for any sign of the direction Carter and her daughter had gone.

A path­­­­ of upturned snow lead north, deeper into the trees and brush. As she gathered her courage, Raina slid the pink band of hope around her wrist and turned slightly to the north, following the trail.