Dollar Runaways

Chapter 36: Washed Away

I WOKE UP the next morning to the sounds of pouring rain hitting our tent. It was like last night without the lightning and thunder. It seemed to go on forever too! Mom woke up then too and I curled up in my bag next to her. "How long do you think it will last?" I asked.

"Probably no more than another half-hour, I'm surprised it's lasted this long actually. Most storms here are thirty minutes and done!"

The storm lasted much longer than that though, and it was easily ten-thirty by the time it had stopped raining. I stepped out into the air outside and saw a gorgeous double rainbow leading from the edge of the mountainside all the way across the sky.

"Whoa!" I said, "Mom come see this!" I told her.

She ended up getting her camera and taking some pictures of it, and me in front of it. It was quite the sight and I didn't realize my mistake until Scott said, "Mom?"

I sighed and looked at Mom, trying not to cry. She gave me a hug and said, "It's okay sweetie, and it's all coming unraveled now anyway."

"Scott... Collin and Annie already know about this, and so does Gloria... Ashley isn't my sister, she's my daughter."

"Well, that explains why you mother her a lot more than I would expect a big sister to do..." He took a swig from a water bottle. "What's the story?" He asked.

So, over the fire Mom told our story once more. It was getting so tiring to deal with it all that I tuned Mom out and helped Annie get water to boil for our hot drinks and oatmeal. Annie also mixed up the last of the regular pancake mix. Thankfully we still had some good water, because the stream looked nasty to drink out of. As high as it had been the night before, it was much more now!

Annie did an amazing job with the griddle on the fire that morning and I couldn't believe the pancakes were cooked outside on a campfire! By the end of breakfast Scott was of the opinion, "Let's just shoot the bastard and be done with him, not like we don't have plenty of acres to hide the body."

Mom hadn't been happy I heard it, but in some ways, I had to admit it would be easier! It was 'Western Justice' to them. Because of our late start for breakfast, we had an even later start to get back. "I hope nothing else goes wrong today," Mom told me, "Otherwise we may not make it back tonight."

She was riding alongside me as the trail was wider and said, "Ashley... I don't know how to say this...?"

I wondered if this was about Collin... "Just tell me," I told her.

"The FBI has found us."

I looked at her, "What?!? How??? We can't stay here, can we? Why aren't we already running?" I asked her.

Mom sighed, "I think it's time to stop running. As to the how... Well, the fact it took them a solid month to find us is pretty impressive nowadays. Computers are the bane of everyone's existence if your goal is to stay hidden."

We talked for a long time before we heard, "Help!!!! Help us please!!!!!!!!!" from a small steep game trail next to us that led down the steep bank thirty feet to the swollen stream, which now seemed like a raging river. All of us pulled to a stop and could see a group of people that looked to be in pretty bad shape.

Collin, Annie, Mom, and Scott jumped off their horses and picketed them quickly before carefully peering over the side of the bank. Knowing no one had time to help me down I carefully made my own jump down and almost fell on my face as the mud was slippery beyond belief. I tied Beauty off too to a tree and joined them.

"Are you hurt?" Collin shouted down.

"My son's leg is broken I think, and my wife's arm seems to be as well."