it had hit the tree but not as badly as in some of the crashes she’d seen on the news. The force had evidently been enough to injure Marion—possibly a broken nose or a scabbed forehead where she’d jerked into the steering wheel—but the windshield was intact, and the airbags hadn’t deployed.
Jayne skidded to a halt beside her and leaned through the doorway to examine the scene. Her breathing was ragged as she first locked onto the blood then peered around the front seats to check the back. “We need to look for her.”
“Yeah.” Adrienne turned to scan the woods around them. “She might have tried to climb up to the house. Or she could have stumbled downhill if she was disoriented… which is kind of likely. We’re close enough to the house that I would have heard the car horn or loud yells, but she didn’t make a peep.”
“I’ll go uphill,” Jayne said, already turning to begin the climb. “You search downhill. Call if you find anything.”
“Okay.” Adrienne wrapped her arms around herself. She wished she’d had time to get a warmer jacket, but she wasn’t about to go back for one. If Marion were still in the woods, every minute she remained outside increased the risk of hypothermia. So Adrienne set her teeth, huffed in a frosty breath, and rounded the tree.
The headlights blinded her as she stepped into their beams, and she had to feel her way through the trees for the first few paces. That part of the woods was largely made up of tall, thin-trunked saplings and scrubby grass, though she still caught glimpses of the occasional collapsed forest giant. The mist wasn’t clearing as she’d hoped it would, and it made her exposed skin sticky and damp.
“Marion!” Jayne’s voice floated to her, sounding almost like a wraith amongst the trees.
Following her friend’s lead, Adrienne inhaled deeply and called, “Marion!”
She held still, listening, but nothing reached her except erratic, muffled drips and irritated bird chatter.
If I’d just been in a car crash, and it were pitch-black, which direction would I walk in? She turned in a circle, scanning the bushes and trunks surrounding the car, hoping the other woman might have huddled close to the accident. The fog played tricks on her, turning rocks and fallen trunks into humanoid shapes. She tried to remember what Marion had been wearing the day before. She thought it had been orange; that would make her easier to see, unless, of course, Marion had changed after her shift at the vet.
“Marion!”
Please be okay. Adrienne swallowed the lump in her throat and began following the car’s headlights. She was working off the idea that a disoriented and lost person would follow the course of least resistance, which was directly downhill. She zigzagged her path as she descended to cover as much ground as possible, peering into hollows and around shrubs and staying alert for any freshly broken branches or crushed grass that would suggest a human had tumbled through them.
“Marion!”
What happens if we can’t find her? It would take fifteen minutes for Jayne to drive to town, at least twenty or thirty minutes to muster a search team, and fifteen minutes to come back. That’s a long time when the temperature’s this low. But is it less of a gamble than what we’re doing now?
“Marion!”
A shape caught Adrienne’s notice, and she hurried forward, hope blooming through her, only to be disappointed as the mist cleared to reveal it was a stone. She scrunched her face as panic, which had been growing slowly in the background, rose to the surface.
What if she’s dead? She only came here because you said you were low on food. You even heard her car go off the road but didn’t recognise what it was. If she’s dead… it’s probably your fault.
“Marion!” Her voice was hoarse and sounded dulled by the mist. She was shaking, and not just from the cold. “Marion!”
She dropped her gaze and saw she’d stumbled onto a little dirt
Jayne skidded to a halt beside her and leaned through the doorway to examine the scene. Her breathing was ragged as she first locked onto the blood then peered around the front seats to check the back. “We need to look for her.”
“Yeah.” Adrienne turned to scan the woods around them. “She might have tried to climb up to the house. Or she could have stumbled downhill if she was disoriented… which is kind of likely. We’re close enough to the house that I would have heard the car horn or loud yells, but she didn’t make a peep.”
“I’ll go uphill,” Jayne said, already turning to begin the climb. “You search downhill. Call if you find anything.”
“Okay.” Adrienne wrapped her arms around herself. She wished she’d had time to get a warmer jacket, but she wasn’t about to go back for one. If Marion were still in the woods, every minute she remained outside increased the risk of hypothermia. So Adrienne set her teeth, huffed in a frosty breath, and rounded the tree.
The headlights blinded her as she stepped into their beams, and she had to feel her way through the trees for the first few paces. That part of the woods was largely made up of tall, thin-trunked saplings and scrubby grass, though she still caught glimpses of the occasional collapsed forest giant. The mist wasn’t clearing as she’d hoped it would, and it made her exposed skin sticky and damp.
“Marion!” Jayne’s voice floated to her, sounding almost like a wraith amongst the trees.
Following her friend’s lead, Adrienne inhaled deeply and called, “Marion!”
She held still, listening, but nothing reached her except erratic, muffled drips and irritated bird chatter.
If I’d just been in a car crash, and it were pitch-black, which direction would I walk in? She turned in a circle, scanning the bushes and trunks surrounding the car, hoping the other woman might have huddled close to the accident. The fog played tricks on her, turning rocks and fallen trunks into humanoid shapes. She tried to remember what Marion had been wearing the day before. She thought it had been orange; that would make her easier to see, unless, of course, Marion had changed after her shift at the vet.
“Marion!”
Please be okay. Adrienne swallowed the lump in her throat and began following the car’s headlights. She was working off the idea that a disoriented and lost person would follow the course of least resistance, which was directly downhill. She zigzagged her path as she descended to cover as much ground as possible, peering into hollows and around shrubs and staying alert for any freshly broken branches or crushed grass that would suggest a human had tumbled through them.
“Marion!”
What happens if we can’t find her? It would take fifteen minutes for Jayne to drive to town, at least twenty or thirty minutes to muster a search team, and fifteen minutes to come back. That’s a long time when the temperature’s this low. But is it less of a gamble than what we’re doing now?
“Marion!”
A shape caught Adrienne’s notice, and she hurried forward, hope blooming through her, only to be disappointed as the mist cleared to reveal it was a stone. She scrunched her face as panic, which had been growing slowly in the background, rose to the surface.
What if she’s dead? She only came here because you said you were low on food. You even heard her car go off the road but didn’t recognise what it was. If she’s dead… it’s probably your fault.
“Marion!” Her voice was hoarse and sounded dulled by the mist. She was shaking, and not just from the cold. “Marion!”
She dropped her gaze and saw she’d stumbled onto a little dirt
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