Daniel dove for the gun, grabbed it. He scrabbled back, rose to his feet once more and swung the pistol muzzle her way. But Samantha rolled to her feet and struck with the branch again, two-handed. It connected with his shoulder. He stepped back, flinching.
Two words from the past came back to Linda, seeing Sam fight. What Daniel used to say when he was proud of someone in the Family: "You held fast, lovely."
Hold fast . . .
Samantha lunged again, swinging the branch.
But now Daniel had a solid stance. He managed to catch the branch with his left hand. For a moment they stared at each other, three feet apart, the wooden stick connecting them like a live wire. Daniel gave a sad smile and lifted the gun.
"No," Linda croaked.
Samantha gave a smile too. And she pushed toward him, hard, and let go of the branch. Daniel stepped backward--into the air. He'd been standing on the edge of a cl
iff, twenty feet above another nature trail.
He cried out, fell backward and tumbled down the rough rock face.
Whether he survived or not, Linda didn't know. Not at first. But then she supposed he must have. Samantha glanced down with a grimace, helped Linda to her feet. "We've got to go. Now." And led her into the dense woods.
*
Exhausted, in agony, Samantha McCoy struggled to keep Linda upright.
The woman was pale, but the bleeding wasn't bad. The wound would be excruciating but she could at least walk.
A whisper.
"What?"
"Thought you left me."
"No way. But he had the gun--I had to trick him."
"He's going to kill us." Linda still sounded amazed.
"No, he's not. Don't talk. We have to hide."
"I can't go on."
"Down by the water, the beach, there're caves. We can hide in one. Until the police get here. Kathryn's on her way. They'll come after us."
"No, I can't. It's miles."
"It's not that far. We can make it."
They continued for another fifty feet, then Sam felt Linda start to falter.
"No, no . . . I can't. I'm sorry."
Sam found some reserve of strength and managed to get Linda another twenty feet. But then she collapsed--at the worst possible place, a clearing visible for a hundred yards from all around. She expected Pell to appear at any moment. He could easily pick them off.
A shallow trough in the rocks was nearby; it would hide them well enough.
Whispers floating from Linda's mouth.
"What?" Sam asked.
She leaned closer. Linda was speaking to Jesus, not her.