CHAPTERS 5 AND 6

CHAPTER 5

The Irish angel obeyed to the thief’s command and turned around to face him:

“Leave those children alone, please...”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m here to help them...”

“Kid you said everybody was dead in that damn accident!”

“But they aren’t!”, Monica raised her voice, “Everybody is safe and sound and I’m sure there are people already looking for these children. It’s just a matter of time until they find us. So, please, let us go!”

Hearing that, an angry look came upon the man’s face and he grabbed her arm:

“You’re lying!”

“All I’m telling you is the truth.”

“Damn! You’re lying! It can’t be possible the cops are already looking for these stupid kids in the woods! How did you come here? You’re here alone?”

Wrestling away from his tight grip, she kept on facing him straight in the eyes:

“I’m never alone.”

All of a sudden, a gun shot echoed through the trees, breaking the silence. Fearing for her dear friend, Monica’s heart started to pound loudly, as the other man returned:

“What was it, Jack?”

“I think it was an animal, maybe a deer or something... But what the hell?...”

He was staring at the angel with an inquisitive look on his face:

“Yeah, it’s getting kinda crowded here...”, the other one stated.

“Where did this woman come from?”

“She was together with these children, in the bus. She says that everybody escaped from the accident.”

“So there people already looking for them...”

“Maybe... I don’t believe her... If you ask me, I guess she got lost and ended up here by mistake.”

Jack ran his fingers through his blond dirty hair:

“I don’t like it, Bill. We should’ve broken into that campsite a long time ago, taken all the money and food we needed and got the hell outta here as we had planned! Now look at this! What are we gonna do with this woman?!

“I’ll tell you somethin’: we’re gonna keep on with the kidnapping. Those kid’s folks are gonna give us the money we ask and we’ll use it to get away...”

He turned to face Monica and the siblings:

”... And after that, this woman, together with these damn children, will... disappear in the woods, as they should’ve before!”

*

Two hours after that incident, the criminals tied Monica up and fastened the ropes around the children. As John and Sally had drunk all the water that was in their bottles, Bill had to take some more in a small creek, not far away from where they were. Jack started to clean his gun, keeping an eye on their hostages:

“It’s no use to be out of prison if you cannot be really free...”, Monica was looking at him straight in his eyes.

“What are you talkin’ ‘bout?!

“Hiding away in the woods like an animal is the same as being in a jail, don’t you think so?”

“Listen to me, lady, you have never been to prison, have you? ‘Cause if you had, you wouldn’t be blabbing this bunch of nonsense! If there is a hell, then it’s there!”

“You went to prison because you did something wrong; you committed a crime and had to pay for it. Wouldn’t it be better if you just paid your debt and could walk in the streets again without having to hide from the world, always afraid of taking the next step?...”

Feeling some truth in what she was saying, he lowered his head:

“That’s too late for it now...”, the thief said, resignedly.

“It’s never too late for starting a new life, specially when one is still young, as you are...”

“Problem is that I never had a chance to start anything...”

“Oh, but God is always willing to give His children a chance, you just have to accept His help...”

For a brief moment, the man seemed confused, as if reflecting about what she had just said:

“God?...”

“Yes!”, the angel answered, hopefully. “He’s standing right beside you, ready to hold your hand and guide you through a path of truth, where no one needs to run away from everybody and everything... I can see there’s good in you, so why don’t you just do what is right and leave this life of sorrow and fear behind; why don’t you restart it right now and give yourself a chance?”

Trying to avoid thinking about her words, he came to face her again: “You know what? My life will be better after we get the money from these kid’s folks!”, he replied, ironically, “With new IDs, we’ll go anywhere we want an no one’s gonna mess with us!”

“Don’t you see what you’re doing...”

“Shut up, lady! Just shut up, OK?!”, he snapped back, raising his voice. Suddenly, they heard another noise, as if there was somebody walking in the woods:

“Bill, is that you?”, the thief called. But there was no answer. He insisted: “Bill?...”

Again, the noise echoed in their ears, and Jack stood up with his gun in his hand:

“Who’s in there?! You’d better show yourself buddy, ‘cause I ain’t gonna ask twice!”

After a brief silence, they could hear the noise for the third time, but, this time, it was loud and clear: somebody ran in the middle of the vegetation that surrounded the small clearing. Quickly, the man started to run in the same direction and it took just a few seconds before he disappeared from the hostage’s view.

Only then, Andrew came up from behind a tree, which was across from the direction the thief had gone, and walked towards them:

“Hey, it’s Andrew!”, exclaimed the boy. Monica heaved a sigh of relief:

“Oh, thank God! I was so worried about you!”

“Well, I got a little busy in the last couple of hours...”, he cut the ropes that tied his friends up with a penknife.

“All those noises... so was it you?”

“Yes, John. I was around here all the time.”, he answered, quickly glancing at his best friend, who smiled at him gratefully. The boy was confused:

“But I saw some bushes moving on the opposite side you came from...”

“Actually, it wasn’t me. I picked 3 rabbits in the woods and put them inside a bag. Well, let’s just say they’re not pleased with me at all. But I let them go eventually, and it was them who you saw running through the bushes right now.

“Cool plan!”

The angels chuckled, amused by the boy’s excitement:

“In fact, as it is a rescue mission, there were two plans. Once plan A has failed, and Monica was captured, we had to start plan B, and I think we’ve succeeded in this one!”, Andrew finished to cut the ropes:

“Now, let’s get outta here!”

He took little Sally in his arms but, as they were leaving the small campsite, Jack came back and his eyes widened with anger when he saw his hostages escaping:

“Hey you, stop there, you hear me?!”

Although they were quite startled by the man’s scream, they kept on running:

“Don’t stop!”, said Andrew, heading to an area where the vegetation grew higher and denser, “Follow me and step where I step, right?!”

Jack ran after them, with his gun in his hand, ready to shoot at any moment:

“Damn! You stop out there, or I’ll shoot!”

But the group deliberately ignored that command, and continued to run frenetically through the woods. Sensing that he was about to lose sight of the fugitives, Jack pointed his gun to the sky, decided to scare them with the noise of the shots. But, before he could stop to shoot, the thief stumbled on a creeper, which was tied up from a tree to another and hidden by the vegetation, stretched right in his way. He fell on the ground and released his gun:

“...This is gettin’ more difficult every minute!”

That was when he heard the other criminal calling out his name: “I’m right over here!”

It took some minutes for them to get together:

“What the hell happened here?! Where are the kids and the woman?!”

“They escaped, Bill! There was another man together with them; he distracted my attention and freed the three...”

“Damn it! How come you’re so stupid, man?!”

“I didn’t know it, alright?! We can still catch them, they followed that way...”, he pointed.

Andrew, Monica and the children never stopped running:

“I’ve made some traps with the creeps I found around here. But I don’t think they’ll keep those guys for a long time...”, the blond angel said.

“Where are we going?”

“To the river, Monica. We have to find a way to stay as far as possible from them.”

And Andrew was right. After stumbling in some more creeps, which were tied up around the tree trunks, Bill and Jack followed in the same direction as theirs. That unexpected escape had raised the thieves’ anger to the maximum, not only because they had lost their hostages, and, therefore, the possibility of making money with them, but also because Monica and the children were going to tell the police who and where they were. The kids and the two adults had to be caught as soon as possible.

CHAPTER 6

The deep river flowed along rapidly, with its wide banks surrounded by many rocks and some vegetation. Monica, Andrew and the children ran until they found the powerful stream of water that crossed the woods:

“I can hear them following us...”, John was terrified at the two man.

“Where to, Andrew?”

“It would be ideal if we could cross the river...”

“Do you think there can be a bridge somewhere near here?”

But, before Andrew could answer, they heard Bill’s voice echoing not far away from them.

“Come with me...”, ordered the blond angel.

The two criminals soon arrived at the river banks. Looking around, holding their guns, they were in a desperate search for their previous hostages:

“There’s no way they could’ve gone into a different direction...”

“Maybe they’ve crossed the river and swam to the other side...”

“No, that’s impossible... The stream of water is very strong and those two kids would get drowned...”

“Do you think they’ve found the old wooden bridge?”

“No, that’s a bit far away from here, it takes time to get there... They must be here somewhere...”, concluded Bill, still holding his gun, ready to shoot, and scrutinising their surroundings, ”...we’ll get those guys, even if I have to use my gun to stop them...”

They continued to walk around, and didn’t notice that, hidden between the rocks which were spread along the river banks, and closer to the water, was the group they were looking for. Little Sally held Andrew’s neck tightly and had her eyes closed, while Monica grabbed John’s hand. They could feel their hearts pounding loudly in their chests and were trembling with fear for having the criminals so close to them.

But, after some minutes, the two evil men decided to look for the fugitives in another part of the woods:

“Let’s take a look over there...”, said Jack, pointing to another direction, opposite to the river. As soon as they moved off, the angels and the children sighed with relief:

“Are they gone?...”, asked Sally, still with her eyes closed. Andrew gently smoothed her hair:

“Yes, sweetie, they’re not here anymore.”, he whispered.

The little girl finally opened her eyes and exchanged the angel’s embrace for her brother’s.

“But they aren’t that far, we have to keep our voices low.”

“Andrew, did you hear what they say? There’s a bridge near here...”

“Yes, and we have to find that bridge as soon as possible, Monica.”

They waited for some more minutes before climbing up the rocky river banks:

“Let’s follow the course of the river and keep near the banks, so that we can have a place to hide if... you know...”, said the blond angel, with fear clear in his eyes.

Monica held Sally’s hand and kept the little girl close to her all the time, imagining how painful it might had been to Andrew to carry her along during their escape, as his entire body was aching due to the accident and his left arm was badly injured. Not only had they to face the inhospitable conditions of the woods, but also deal with two dangerous criminals, who were a constant threat to their lives. Together with this, was the fact that, very soon, all the food the angels carried with them, which was reduced to a package of cookies, would be over. They were running against time, struggling to escape from two evil men as well as to find help somewhere. To complete that dreadful scenario, being in human form only made things even more difficult, as Andrew and Monica had two innocent children to protect and take care of and, at the same time, were exposed to all sorts of dangers mortals were.

*

The mountain range lay for miles away, and the only thing they had to guide themselves in the woods was the river, which would lead them to the foot of the first mountain. There, started the road that their bus had initially followed, in the beginning of that disastrous journey. The group walked for about 40 minutes, and their almost absolute silence was due to exhaustion and fear. Each step they made corresponded to a quick and nervous look at their surroundings, as if Bill and Jack would suddenly appear out of nowhere right in front of them, holding their guns. The angels knew how much their escape had infuriated the two thieves, and to imagine what kind of revenge the two men would take upon them was scarier than everything that had already happened so far.

“Can’t we go back to the road where the accident happened?”

“I’m afraid not, John. To return, we would have to pass by those men’s hiding place, and fatally would we meet them on the way.”, Andrew answered, “We’ll keep on this way, I’m sure the others were already found and there are people looking for us. Soon the search and rescue team will find us and we’ll go home.”

“I don’t wanna see those two men again...”

Monica squeezed Sally’s hand and stroked her hair:

“That’s why we’re looking for the bridge to cross that river, dear. Once we are on that other side, we’ll be further away from them.”

“And it seems we’ve just found it... look over there...”

They looked into the same direction Andrew was pointing: an old bridge, made with  wooden planks and some ropes and creepers, was built not far away from them. The blond angel walked towards it and checked the precarious construction, which had probably been made one hundred years ago.

“Is it safe?”, Monica asked, noticing all the concern evident on his green eyes. He considered her question for some instants:

“Well... it’s still standing after all those years. And hunters occasionally might use it, so I think it can keep our weight.”

The water under the bridge flowed fast and wild, making a noise that could be heard miles away, and causing the Irish angel to tremble with fear just in thinking of having to pass over it. It was then that she felt Sally’s little hand squeezing her own, and looked down at her:

“Monica, I’m afraid of crossing that bridge... I’m afraid of the river...”

Blinking back some tears and trying to be strong, she knelt before the girl:

“Oh, dear, I’m afraid too; but we can’t just stay in here, we have to keep on walking. The other side of the river is much safer than this one, and it only takes a few meters for us to get there...”, she gently caressed her cheek, and lowered her voice, “And who is gonna take care of John and Andrew if we are afraid, um? That’s why we have to be brave, for us and for them! They are counting on us!”

She looked at Andrew, who smiled back at her, reassuringly and with all the love in his heart reflected on his eyes. The little girl nodded:

“I guess you’re right. And John really needs me to take care of him; he always forgets to clean his ears and I’m the one who has to tell him to do it!”

The angels laughed at those words and her brother blushed deeply, rather embarrassed:

“Sally! It’s not necessary to tell them those things!”

Andrew patted the boy’s shoulder and tried to light up their mood, although, deep down inside, his concern continued stronger than never:

“Looks like you have a very protective sister, buddy!”

“I’ll never let you win a video game match anymore, Sally, you’ll see!”

The blond angel carefully stepped in the first wooden plank:

“Let’s do the following: I’ll go first and check if it’s safe, which probably is. Then, I’ll return and help you out, ok?”

They agreed, but with a worried expression on their faces. Before he left, Monica grabbed his hand and squeezed it:

“Please, Andrew, be careful...”

He held her hand in both of his and kissed it affectionately:

“I’ll be back in some minutes, I promise...”

The blond angel took the heavy backpack and made his way along the old bridge. Although their precarious condition, the wooden planks seemed to bear his weight with no problem; the only inconvenience was that the construction swung a bit, demanding extra care when walking on it.

It took some minutes for Andrew to get to the other side of the river:

“See? No problem! It’s safe!”, he stated, putting the backpack that contained all their food and first aid supplies on the ground. But the slight smile of relief on his face suddenly disappeared when the angel spotted a flock of birds leaving the tree tops, startled by something which was moving through the vegetation. Immediately, he walked back to his friends, knowing what that movement meant: the criminals were getting closer again and soon would find them.

“Let’s move from here as fast as we can!”, he commanded, taking John’s hand.

In a hurry, the group started to cross the bridge, and the loud noise the water made, together with its incredible speed, made Monica and Sally tremble with fear. Little by little, the two were left behind; and when Andrew and John finished the crossing, they were still in the middle of the way:

“You two hold on a minute, I’ll help you!”, the blond angel said. But, before he could step on the bridge again, Bill appeared on the other side of the river:

“C’mere, Jack, I’ve found them!”, the criminal cried, causing Monica and Sally to look back and fell their blood run cold:

“Oh no...”, whispered the Irish angel, completely paralysed when the evil man pointed his gun at their direction:

“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot!”

The little girl was so terrified at the sound of his voice that she turned to the other side and tried to run. At that very moment, another tragedy took place: the bridge swung violently to the side, causing the little girl to lose her step and fall down in the river:

“Sally!!!”, Monica cried, as the girl hit the water. Feeling her heart pounding loudly in her chest, the Irish angel ignored her own fear and jumped in the river, in a desperate attempt to reach Sally.