Hunted (25 page)

Vicki was trying to get Cheryl to eat lunch when Shelly brought the phone. “Lionel wants to talk.”

Vicki took the phone and walked to the other side of the room. Lionel sounded a little better than before, but something about his voice scared her. He explained what had happened since they last talked. The bleeding had stopped and Lionel felt stronger, but the prospect of the GC being in the woods along with the execution of his friends back at the hideout had terrified him.

“I wanted to talk to you before I go ahead with what I'm about to do,” Lionel said.

“I don't understand,” Vicki said.

“There's a verse somewhere in the New Testament. It's Jesus talking about it being better for a man to poke out his eyes than for his whole body to go to hell.”

“Lionel, stop.”

“I can't remember what Jesus was teaching there, but I figure it's better for me to be able to live without my arm than to stay here and die or get caught by the GC.”

“Lionel—”

“Please, just listen. I know you care a lot about me. So I have to ask your help.”

“I'd do anything for you, but—”

“It's my arm. I've got a pocketknife here, and I think it's sharp enough—”

“Stop it!”

“Vicki, I know it's hard to think about, but this might be my only chance. I have no idea where Judd is—I don't think the GC caught him, but I can't be sure. There's a chopper coming this afternoon, so if I don't get out, they're sure to see me, and you know what they'll do. I have no feeling in my left arm, and I think the bones were crushed.”

Vicki felt woozy. Lionel was talking about something so horrible she could hardly listen. But this could be his only chance to live. She tried to put aside the sick feeling in her stomach. “All right. What do you need to know?”

“Is there anyone there who knows about medical stuff? I'm going to need help.”

Vicki told him about Wanda. “Her specialty is babies. I'm not sure she could—”

“Put her on.”

Vicki quickly explained the situation to Wanda. The woman took a breath and held a hand over the phone. “Even if he does this cleanly, he's going to have to get some medical treatment.”

“There's not much chance of that,” Vicki said.

“If someone doesn't clean the wound, he could get an infection and die. Plus, he needs—”

“If he doesn't get out, he's going to be dead anyway,” Vicki said.

Wanda spoke with Lionel, asking him if he could see any blood or feel any broken bones. Vicki walked out of the cabin and called everyone together. It was time to pray.

Lionel talked with a woman he had never met, asking questions he never thought he would ask, about to do something he never dreamed of doing. In order to save his life, he was going to have to amputate his own arm.

He had heard of mountain climbers doing this, and he had even heard an old radio broadcast once about a man whose leg had been trapped by a falling tree.
It has been done before
, he told himself.

“There's no way you're going to cut through the bone with a pocketknife,” Wanda said. “How is your arm positioned?”

“It's turned up, with the elbow pointing toward the ground.”

“That's good. Now you're going to have to find a way around the bone. Can you reach your elbow with your right hand?”

Lionel reached under the rock as far as he could. “Just barely.”

“Is the arm numb? Pinch yourself, or put the knife blade up to the skin below the tourniquet and see if you can feel anything.”

Lionel preferred pinching himself. He used his fingernails but only felt slight pressure.

“All right,” Wanda said. “I knew a hunter once who had to do this to his leg.”

“What happened to him?”

“He wasn't being chased by the GC like you, but he lived. Last I heard he had taken up fishing.” Wanda paused. “Lionel, how far are you from medical help?”

“I don't know. Probably a couple of hours from the town. But finding anybody who would take me in will be the problem.”

“We'll pray. Now, if you're ready, I can try and walk you through this.”

The clouds were gone, and the sun beat down on Lionel's face. The stream swelled with the night's rain and pushed the edges of its banks. A black bird flew overhead, and Lionel heard the familiar caw of the crow.

In order to perform the procedure, Lionel knew he would have to talk with Wanda, put the phone down, pick up the knife, and continue. “I've always wanted to be a doctor, so here goes.”

Vicki couldn't bear hearing Wanda's instructions to Lionel, so she and the others gathered in the main cabin. Phoenix seemed to sense something was wrong, and he whined at the door. Before leaving to join Wanda, Marshall Jameson suggested they pray short, sentence prayers.

“Dear God,” Charlie prayed, “I want to ask you to show Lionel exactly what he needs to do to get out from under that rock.”

“And, Lord,” Darrion continued, “help Wanda know what to say. Give her wisdom.”

“Father,” Mark said, “you know how much Lionel means to us. I pray you would give him your strength, through your Holy Spirit.”

There was a pause, and Vicki heard a few sniffles around the room.

“I can't imagine what Lionel's going through right now,” Shelly prayed, “but you are the Great Physician. You answered our prayers for Cheryl and baby Ryan, and now we pray you would help Lionel.”

“Nothing happens without you knowing about it,” Janie said. “It's hard to even think about, but we put our trust in you, and we give Lionel and his life to you.”

Conrad slipped into the room and knelt with the others. When he caught his breath, he prayed, “Father, I know Lionel's started the operation. Guide his hand, and help Wanda and Marshall as they talk to him. Don't let him pass out, Lord, and keep the GC away.”

Vicki felt overcome with emotion. She tried to remember the first time she had seen Lionel. She had heard about him from Lionel's older sister. Clarice had shared a seat on the school bus with Vicki, and Vicki had seen her family's picture, but the day after the disappearances was the first time she had actually met Lionel. She saw him first near New Hope Village Church, Lionel on his bike and Vicki on foot. Lionel had the same features as his sister, a cute face and round nose, but Vicki could tell the boy had been crying that day. They were both scared. Their family members had vanished.

As she thought of the emotion of that day, Vicki brushed a tear from her face and cleared her throat. “Father, I know that as much as we love and care for Lionel, you love him even more. You gave your only Son to die for him. So we ask you to comfort us with that love, and help us not be afraid.”

“Give us the chance to help Lionel when he comes back to us,” Zeke said.

“Yes, Lord.”

“Amen.”

Vicki put her head in her hands. Never had she heard the kids pray so strongly or more sincerely. Words came straight from the heart as they pleaded with God to spare Lionel. After a few minutes, the kids didn't pause between prayers, picking up from the last word and continuing in one long petition for Lionel's life. At one point, Josey Fogarty asked the kids to break into groups of two. The room came alive with voices, some shaking with emotion.

As the voices grew louder, the door opened. Vicki looked up and saw Wanda with the phone in her hand. Marshall walked in beside her. Neither smiled or gave a hint of what had happened.

Finally, with his chin trembling, Marshall said, “It's over.”

Throughout the afternoon, Judd felt like he was going crazy. He watched for any sign of Dr. Rose, but he didn't return. Several times Judd reached for the door handle to leave or studied the keys, wondering if it was time to make a getaway, but something told him to wait.

Finally, as evening approached, a figure rushed through the emergency room exit and headed for the Humvee. Dr. Rose hopped in, and Judd threw him the keys. The man squealed his tires on the way out, waving and smiling at the scowling security guard.

“Did you hear anything from the GC about Lionel?” Judd said.

“I heard one Peacekeeper say there's a chopper out there, but I don't know if they found anything.”

Judd sighed and rolled his window down a little to let fresh air in. “Thanks for not sending them to get me.”

“Thank me when you find your friend.”

For a second, Judd had the sinking feeling that the doctor was leading him into a trap. He dismissed the thought, knowing there was nothing he could do but try and get to Lionel as quickly as he could.

Judd gave the man directions and ducked when they saw someone on the street. A GC cruiser flashed his lights, and Dr. Rose cursed. “Get down in the back and don't say anything.”

Judd held his breath as the doctor rolled down his window. He spoke angrily to the patrolman. “I just patched up three of your friends at the hospital—the least you can do is let me go home and get some sleep.”

The man went back to his car, then returned, apologizing to the doctor and telling him to have a nice evening.

Dr. Rose pulled away and found the route Judd and Lionel had taken into the woods. Skirting trees and sometimes going over the small ones, the doctor was able to navigate the way in half the time it would have taken them to walk.

As the sun set, they came to an area near the woods with tire tracks. Judd found food wrappers in the dirt and assumed the GC had been there. He grabbed the tire jack and led the doctor to the stream. The two followed it until they came to the hill from the night before. It was the first time Judd had seen it in daylight, and the height of the incline took his breath away. He climbed over some smaller rocks and spotted the boulder that had fallen on Lionel.

“Would you mind waiting here?” Judd said.

“Go ahead.”

Judd walked slowly, hoping his friend would still be alive. “Lionel?” he called out.

No answer.

“I brought some help,” Judd continued. “You don't have to worry about that helicopter or any of those Peacekeepers looking for you.”

Judd reached the huge rock that held his friend, took a breath, and peeked around the corner. What he saw made him drop the jack and fall to his knees.

24

JUDD
stared in disbelief. Lionel was gone—at least his body was gone. Judd turned away as Dr. Rose raced forward and knelt by the empty water bottles and blood.

“These are the kind of people you're following,” Judd said with disgust. “They chopped off his arm so they could drag him away and cut off his head.”

Dr. Rose scanned the area. “I don't think the GC did this.”

“How can you defend them?”

“I'm not defending. Look at the ground. The only footprints here are yours and your friend's.”

“Then how—?”

“Either somebody got here before us, or—”

“Or what?”

“Or he did this himself.”

“That's impossible. Nobody would be able to …” Judd stopped when he remembered Lionel's pocketknife. The thought of Lionel cutting off his own arm to escape sickened him. He looked around for the backpack and the phone, but they were gone.