By:SoloKane

Ice! The words formed in her mind, just before she saw it. She had made the leap in the dark, and now she slid on her bare thighs and buttocks down the thirty foot embankment, to where she thought Big Bear River was running. She had seen that in the movies. You walk in the water and the hunters can't find your tracks. Good idea! Only the Big Bear was frozen. And now, in the film of moonlight that shimmered through black and silver treetops, she could see that ice playing out like a spool of chrome ribbon. And it was coming at her fast.

THWUMP! She knew her ankle was broken. And though it meant frost bite, she was grateful for the numbness in her feet. And that the cracked bone was only a faint annoyance.

The moon was full. And what a target she must make on the phosphorescent field of ice that surrounded her. What a blessing if the blizzard had lasted one night longer.

The sound of heavy boots crushing crusty snow snapped her back into action. She scrambled on her hands and knees. Damn! He'd be here soon. She tried to break the ice.

Thump! Her fist smacked solidly. Her wrist ached. Thump!

She could hear his breathing, now. And he must hear her. But she couldn't quit. Couldn't just sit there and wait. Thump! Thump! Thump! Craaaaaaack!

She stared motionlessly at where the ice had spider-webbed from the fist sized indentation she had made. A faint trickle of river water worked its way through the crack. Like the ice was crying. She punched at the crack again. Her fist broke through.

Yes! The foot falls were closer now. The snow crunched as if it was being flattened with the blows of a sledge hammer. Almost as loud as the sound of her own heart.

The hole was wider now. Not wide enough. She kept punching. Cracking away at the sharp glassy edges. Wide enough to get her feet into.

Crack! A large chunk broke away. Yes, she could get her thighs through, but never her torso, or her shoulders.

God, he was so close now. She grabbed the edge of the ice-hole with both hands and pulled. It cut her palms, and she saw her blood in slithering rivulets tint the ice. Crack! Yes! It gave way. She flung away the frozen disc and looked down into the black water lurching through the gaping gash beneath its frozen shell.

She swung her legs over the edge. Her vision was blurred and painful. Gripping the edge of the ice she eased her weight into the hole. The frigid liquid slid up her thighs. Between her legs. Her chest hurt, and she knew she had stopped breathing. She gasped for air. And it froze her lungs.

One hand kept hold of the icy edge to keep her head from going under. She scanned the ridge. A shadow moved. Then there was a metallic click. Damn! She grabbed a lung full of air and shoved herself down under the surface of the ice. The last thing she saw before the river closed in over her, was a long fiery spurt of red.

Kerchunk! Zing!

The bullet chopped its way through the ice and spit its way through the water. She watched its wake as it plowed by her. She swam. She had to find another break in the ice somewhere. She could not come out at the entrance she had made herself. He'd be waiting. Whoever he was.

If she could stay deep enough, where he could not see her through the ice, maybe she could get away. Maybe he wouldn't guess which way she had gone. Aching for air, she moved toward the surface. She could see him, an icy blur, above her. Could he see her?

Kerchunk! Another bullet! She twisted. The slug missed. She went for the bottom again. But the burning inside told her she had to breathe again.

Had his last bullet weakened the ice, enough? She lunged. Her powerful swimmer's legs kicked the water forcing her body, spear like through it. She saw the ice coming. And a brief wink of moonlight where the bullet had pierced it. She put her head down to keep from taking the force full in the face.

Whump!

The jarring impact shuddered its way down the base of her neck along her spinal cord and ended in a wave of nausea at the pit of her stomach. A sharp jag of ice sliced her cheek! She felt the winter air in her face, opened her mouth and sucked it in.

She heard a sound to her left. He had moved on down river a bit. Watching for her. She had come up behind him. But now he had heard her. He was spinning. The bolt of the rifle slammed home. Blam!

Down she went. Had she been hit? She didn't think so. But she was too cold to tell for sure. She cursed herself for being stupid. Of course, he'd guess she'd swim down stream. She could get farther on less air.

Okay, what would he think now? He'd think that's how she would continue her flight. Her popping up near him confirmed they were headed in the same direction. Alright, she'd go the other way. She'd fight the current and hope for a break in the ice. If he continued looking for her downstream, just maybe...

Her arms screamed at her when she began to swim. Her legs told her they would not go any farther. They would strike. But she forced them. There was not an objection they could make she would not over rule.

Above her the moon-silvered ice hung like a false sky. Twice she came up and pressed herself against its underbelly, looking for signs of her stalker. She could see none. No feet against the ice. No blur of a human figure. She risked staying there. Making herself a target. But no shot came. Had he continued down stream? She had to hope so.

Her air was giving out again. She pounded the underside of the frozen sheet. Solid. She'd never get through here. She'd have to go try for Bear Neck. She was headed in the right direction. And she was sure it wasn't far. She could feel the tide picking up. That meant Bear Neck was approaching.

Bear Neck was a wicked, almost ninety degree bend in the river, where the water sluiced down the from the mountain peak and slammed into the rocky twist with a white-capping force. The closer you got to Bear Neck, the thinner the ice.

Her fists against the ice were little more than feeble pecks. The water was too fast now. Her air too low. Her energy completely spent. But she would not quit. She did not know how to quit.

The ice broke. She opened her eyes again to the cold waters. Yes. She could see the crack. She used her head to push through.

Air! Her throat hurt and she thought she had forgotten how to breathe. But her body took over, and she felt the painful ballooning of her lungs, her mouth was filled with wet air and river water.

No hunter! She dragged herself onto the snowy shore. Her body was shutting down. Her brain was becoming disconnected. "Right arm! Move!" The limb responded feebly. "Right leg! Left arm! Left leg!" Her body slid along the snow, like a snail, leaving a frozen slime trail, creeping up the side of the ridge. She anchored herself against a protruding tree root here, a sharp edged stone there and forced her nearly useless limbs to propel her forward.

Finally, she could see above the ridge. There it was! The old Saunders cabin. No one used it now. The roof was half gone, the door was off it hinges and the windows had long since been shattered. But it had walls. And a break from the wind. And hopefully her hunter wouldn't come this way looking. Maybe he would think she drowned.

She slithered in the snow. Maybe he would quit and go away. God, four had already died. She thought about them. Kept their faces in her mind. These twisted masses of bone and flesh that used to be people. Even if they were kidnappers. Even if they had scared her to death... She was at the door. Yes. She dragged her way into the darkness.

ii Three Days Earlier "Tec?" she said. The gray haired man behind the counter turned at his voice. When he saw Kylie, he froze. "Kylie? Dear God, is that you?"

She smiled and simply nodded. Suddenly he was over the counter. Quick and nimble as he had ever been. As if the past ten years had added not a day to his age. His embrace was, strong, rough bone shaking. She hugged him back, her cold face buried in the big man's wool shirt. "I'm afraid so," she said. "At least what's left of me."

Tec seemed not to hear her, "I thought you'd be in earlier." "Damned stock holders meeting took longer than I thought. And the Interstate is starting to ice up already."

"Yeah," Tec released his hold but kept one arm draped around her shoulders. "We were getting worried. Virgil has been keeping us posted. Listening for accident reports and making sure you weren't involved..."

"Virgil? Your son, Virgil?" Tec squeezed her shoulders, "You didn't know... Virgil is a policeman now. He patrols the mountain. Does a good job. Come on, you must be freezing. Lets get some coffee."

Kylie looked one last time around the general store, and breathed in the smells of it. The coal stove burning in the center of the room, the dried meats and fruits lined in jars along the walls. Good smells. How many afternoons had her father spent in front of that stove, in Tec's rocking chair, his feet propped up on a log dragged in for that particular purpose. She forced the image away. "I'd love some coffee."

Tec took her hand and led her through the door that connected to the small diner. The place was empty.

"Slow day?" "Almost nobody on the mountain this week," he said. "Just those who live up here year round. The Bear has scared the rest of them away."

The Bear, she thought. She had tried to beat the Bear. It wasn't supposed to be here for another week. But the cold had shifted drastically and suddenly and here she was racing to make it inside before the storm raged in. Kylie had faced the Bear only once. Ten years ago, the year after her mother had died. The winds were so cold that tree trunks literally burst and shredded as if they had been swiped by ferocious claws. Snow was driven so fiercely, flakes embedded themselves in flesh like shards of glass. She had never returned to the mountain since. Not even when her father was killed here, three years ago.

"In fact," Tec was saying, "I was real surprised when you called and said you was comin'. Knowin' how you feel about the place and all. Especially with the storm blowin' in."

"Circumstances dictated," she replied seating herself at the counter. Tec grabbed a cup and a pot of steaming coffee from behind the counter, "Must be mighty powerful circumstances."

She warmed her hands over the cup. She didn't want to tell him about the people she was meeting. Hell, just because she got in before the storm didn't mean anyone else would. Everyone knew she was planning on selling off the mountain. But what everyone didn't know, at least she didn't think so, was that she was about to turn her father's favorite hunting grounds into a wild life preserve.

Almost everyone who lived permanently on the mountain, survived off the money the hunters brought in with the them. The town below was almost entirely owned by her father. The mountain had been originally named after him. Bayer Mountain, over time shortened to Bear Mountain. She knew when the hunter's quit coming, the town would dry up. But it was one of those hunters who had killed her father. Shot him in the woods up at High Tower. And now she didn't give a damn about hunters. Or mountains. Or guns. Or storms named after animals. She had let Charlie talk her out of selling for three years. But now... Now after Charlie... Well, anyway he had little or no influence over her decisions. Soon, Charlie would be out of the picture. He could go...

She had to stop herself from rambling, but she would not answer Tec's question, "Did you get the lights turned on for me?"

"Yep," he said, "And I laid in some supplies for you also. Virgil went up and split enough wood to last you several days if you are going to be here that long. Cleaned the cabin up a bit, too. Seems last time your husband was up there, he left kind of a mess." She sighed. Charlie was always leaving messes for others to clean up, "Well, you thank Virgil for me."

"Thank him yourself," a voice came from behind her.

Kylie turned. She knew right away she was looking at Virgil Pike. She hadn't seen him in ten years. He had been just sixteen. But he hadn't changed. Except for getting bigger. Taller. Broader at the shoulders. His hair was just as brown as it had been. His eyes as deep green. His jaw just as strong. He stood silently in the doorway. Holding his hat in his hand. Virgil Pike had been the first boy she had ever kissed. And now memory of it, all the sensations, came rolling in over her. She gripped the counter to keep steady. Her mouth remembered what it was like to be pressed against his. The feel of his hands... She could feel the heat in her face and looked at the floor. "Thank you, Virgil." The words were a deep whisper. That's all she could manage. "You're welcome," he said. "Well," Tec blustered. "Are you comin' in or not? I can barely afford to keep this place warm. Never mind tryin' to heat up the whole damn countryside."

Virgil stepped in and pulled the door shut behind him.

iii "I don't like this," Sugar said passing the binoculars back to Steve, "The woman shows up four hours late. Then this mother of all storms blows in. And I'm up here freezing my boobs off while she's down in that cracker jack store. And on top of that she's got a cop with her."

Steve glanced down the slope and studied the police car parked next to the mustang. The old man who ran the store had a four wheel drive. Steve had seen it earlier. But it was kept parked in back. He scanned to the left and to the right. Even the heavy woods on the rise where their rust brown station wagon was hidden. He wasn't taking any chances on being discovered.

"Okay. You get back to the wagon. I'll spell you out here for awhile."

"It's just as cold in the car," she replied. "We can't stay out here much longer."

He watched her a minute and smiled. Her brown skin as deep and rich ground coffee, her lips slightly lighter. He liked to watch himself in a mirror with her, and see the way his own long yellow hair looked brushing against her. Gold on black. "You don't want to go back empty handed, do you?"

"I'd like to go back while I still have my hands."

Stephen grabbed her jacket and pulled her to him, "We have spent too much time planning this." "You planned it," Sugar accused. "I didn't. Hank and Ellen didn't. We don't even know who you're working for. I came along because I love you. They came along because they'd do anything you told 'em."

"Sugar, its a chance to do something. I have spent eight years of my life hawking everything from aspirin to motor oil. And I still haven't caught a money making break. And did you spend four years in college to keep working on that stage. Taking you clothes off for drunks who slobber all over you between sets? Trust me... This is gonna work. We are going to have enough money for you to buy a dance studio. I promise."

Sugar brushed snow away from Stephen's face. How had she let him talk her into this? She kissed him, "Okay. As long as you know it's going to be alright."

He watched her walk back to the care, where Hank and Ellen were waiting. Yeah, it would be alright. He hoped.

iv She had spent more time at Tec's than she had intended. She sat at a table with Virgil over hot coffee and Tec's beef stew.

"So," Virgil said, "You're married." "Yes." "Three times." Kylie stared into her cup. Virgil was making her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like discomfort. "That's right. You?" "No. Never tied the knot." "Why?" "Maybe for the same reason you tied it so many times. I never found the right person." It was dark already. And the snow had begun to pick up. She should have left earlier, but it had been so pleasant and warm there, that close to Virgil.

She turned on the overhead light in her car and searched for a cigarette with one hand. The purse spilled. Damned cold! But she knew her hands weren't trembling from the cold. Her body was remembering. She had been sixteen then. She and Virgil had spent the Saturday over on Eagle Claw when the warm gentle summer rain caught them. "Down here," he had said. Kylie had thought she knew every secret the mountain had to offer. But Virgil had led her down the back of the claw to a cave. "We'll wait out the rain here."

"You've been here often," she said, seeing the firewood stacked against the side of the cave. "Yep. When it's not raining, you can see whole valley."

He got a small fire going and they were drying themselves. He pulled his shirt off and hung it on a limb next to the flames. "You want to dry yours also?" He was daring her, she knew. She unbuttoned her shirt staring into his eyes. "You ever bring... anyone else up here?" "No. Its where I come when I want to be alone." She stepped out of her jeans. "Do you want to be alone, now?" He watched her. She knew he liked what he saw. "No." They lay together on a flat rock in the cave. The rain was gentle curtain draped across the entrance that caught the warm. She remembered that rock. How it felt against her bare back, her thighs. The texture of its porous surface leaving indentations on her flesh. She gave up on the cigarette and put her other hand back on the wheel. Why was it that after ten years, three husbands and a half dozen relationships what she remembered was the feel of the rock pressing against her back.

She watched the snow slick roads and wished she had taken him up on his offer to follow her on up the mountain to the cabin. But the last thing she wanted was to be up there alone with him. Or maybe it was the thing she wanted most.

She shook her head. Had to concentrate on the road. Clouds had already clawed the moon out of the sky. There were no stars. Only snow. Her mind drifted again. The sounds of rustling clothing. The gentle warm friction of skin against skin. Mouths together, open, exploring.

Kawhump!

She felt the mustang skid as she wrestled to keep control. It took a moment for her realize she had been rammed from behind. She glanced up at the rear view mirror. The reflection of light blinded her. They were coming at her again. Kawhump!

Damn! She navigated the car out of a sideways skid and watched the bend in the road that was fast approaching. On either side of the road was only blackness and trees.

Whump!

She felt her neck snap back against the seat. Who was driving that other car? Shit. Whump. Christ. Whump.

She felt a tire blow. She wrestled to keep the car on the road. But she was losing. And she saw the tree before she swerved into it. It was a monolithic creature, and she had time to memorize the pattern of its bark. She felt the metal crumple as if the mustang's skin where was her own. And then everything was black.

v Virgil Pike was halfway to the valley when he turned and headed back up the mountain. He had sat in the diner and listened to Kylie speak about her life. About broken marriages. About billion dollar deals. About a husband who was a gambling junkie. About why she hadn't come back to the mountain since her mother died. And all he had told her was that he wasn't married. Now what the hell was she supposed to make of that? Had she thought he was telling her he was available? Was that why she hadn't let him follow her up the mountain? Jesus, imagine that. The fourth richest woman in the whole world and forest ranger. His father liked to call him a cop. But all he did was patrol this mountain. He pulled into the diner again. "Pop," he said, "Keep the short wave on. They've closed half the roads to the valley already. It’s coming in hard." Tec, who had already closed up the store and was doing the same in the diner said, "Sure. But what are you doing back here?" "I'm on my way up the mountain." "You're gonna catch up with Kylie," Tec grinned.

"I'm just going to make sure she gets to the cabin safely. But keep the radio on. If it gets real bad I may radio for help." She'd had a good two hour start and he knew unless she had an accident, he'd never catch her before she got to the cabin. That would be fine. This was just in case.

vi "She's coming around." Kylie heard the voice through a thick swirling fog that wrapped itself painfully around the layers of her brain.

"Good." Another voice. A male voice. "I was getting worried for a minute. Who'd think someone would be dumb enough to drive in this weather without a seat belt. She ain't worth nothing to us dead." Kylie fought against the throbbing in the back of her neck. She was being kidnapped. Oh, Jesus. The moan escaped her lips involuntarily. She tried to raise her hand to her aching head, but then realized her wrists were bound behind her back. "See," the first voice said again. It was next to her. On the right. The second voice had been farther away. Her stomach quivered. She had the vague feeling of motion. She was in a car. She was sitting in the back seat with someone on either side of her. She had heard only one voice in the back, a woman's voice. But there was someone else. Silent, maybe, but close enough that Kylie could feel the body heat. Even hear the heavy uneven breathing. She tried to open her eyes. But they were taped shut. "Who are you?" "Shut up princess," the woman next to her said. "We'll do all the talkin' here." "What..."

A hand grabbed Kylie by the hair and pulled her head back. Something cold and sharp lay across her throat.

"I told you to shut up, Princess." "These rich broads don't think they have to do anything they're told." It was the first time she heard the second voice in the back seat. It was deep. Definitely male.

"Is that right?" the woman asked. "You don't ever do anything you're told?" Kylie didn't answer. "You know what this is against your throat?" Kylie nodded. "What is it?" "A kni... a knife." A hand. A big hand. A man's hand rested on her knee and roughly pulled her legs apart. "What are knives used for, Princess?" Kylie felt her vocal chords tie in a fist sized knot in her throat. It ached. And when she tried to speak only a whining mewling squeak escaped. The hand on her knee crept its way up her thigh. Kylie didn't dare try closing her knees.

"Maybe Princess doesn't know what knives are for," the man's breath was scalding hot on the side of Kylie's face. "Maybe we ought to show her," the woman said. Kylie felt the point of the knife pierce the fabric of her sweater and prick her skin just above the swell of her breasts. She started at the touch of the sharp point.

"Knives," the woman said, "cut." Riiiiip! Kylie's sweater was torn open from throat to hem. "Ah!" She felt the cold air against her belly. Then the knife blade. "No," she whimpered. "Please don't." "Don't what?" It was the man's voice. His hand was near the top of her thigh. "Don't cut me." "Oh," the man said. "I thought you were saying `don't' to something else." His hand moved higher. Thwip! The blade cut through Kylie's bra, separating the cups. The knife resting against the flesh between her breasts. God! "Do you want to die?" "No!" The hand was between her legs. Forcing itself under, between her and the seat. "No what?" "I don't want to die." Kylie felt her inside come loose. Her organs melted and crashed down into her belly. Pushing heavy against her bladder. "What will you give me not to kill you?" "Anything," Kylie said. "Pity," the woman replied, "you don't have anything I want." The blade pressed against Kylie's nipple. "Jesus!" the man exclaimed. "What?" the woman demanded. "The bitch pissed her pants. My hand is soaked."

vii Virgil Pike saw the car. It had been a long treacherous climb up the winding trail. He knew it was taking him twice as long as it would have taken Kylie to make this distance, but the show was almost blinding now. Whipping across the hood of the car with such force it wore away at the paint. He would have to go back soon.

He wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. The headlights flashed against something white of the side of the road, half over the embankment, behind the thick curtain of snow. But as he got closer he knew it was Kylie's car.

He got on the radio. "Pop, I found her car. She ain't in it." "Where the hell is she?" "She's not in the vicinity. And can't track her. Snow has already covered up any sign." "Christ," Tec whispered. "The temperature is dropping fast. I can't stay out here without some heavy snow gear. I'm coming back to the store to outfit. Then I'll set out again." "Right," Tec said. "I'll put the gear together." "See if you can get through to the state cops. My radio is doing good to reach you. Tell 'em we got a situation up here. And if they can give us any help it would be much appreciated." "Son," Tec said. "Be careful."

viii "That's enough!" Steve pulled the station wagon off the side of the road. "Put that goddam knife away." Ellen looked at Hank and then at Steve, "Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm just doin' what I was told. You told me to scare the piss out of her. And I did." "I know," Steve said. "But now its over." Hank leaned forward, "What do you mean its over." "Exactly what he says," Sugar reached over the back of her seat and waited until Ellen put the knife in her hand. "We never should've got involved in this in the first place." "Well," Hank said, "Just what do you propose we do?" "We're going to turn around and take her back down to that diner. And leave her there." "Shit," Hank said. "She'll turn us in. Sure as there is a hell." "No I won't," Kylie didn't have the slightest idea what was happening here. But she was seeing some kind of hope here. "You, shut up," Ellen said. "I'll tell everyone my car went off the road, and you found me. You saved my life. You'll be heroes. There'll be a reward." Kylie understood now what it meant to talk blindly. She was saying what ever came to her. But with her eyes taped shut she was talking to faceless voices. "Really," Hank said. "Ten thousand dollars worth?" "What?" "That's what we were going to get paid for doing this." "Neither do we," said Sugar from the front seat, next to Steve. "Come, on. She's getting cold. Give her the coat back."

Ellen covered Kylie with the coat. Still not untying her hands, she laid it over the bound woman like a blanket. "Steve," Sugar said, "Tell her. Tell her all of it." "Man," Hank groaned. "We're dead. I knew you guys wouldn't go through with this. I shouldn't have even thought about coming along." Steve ignored Hank and reached out to touch Sugar's face. "Please," Sugar said. "Let's just do whatever it takes to make this right again." Steve nodded. "Take the blindfold off her." Hank grumbled, but he helped Ellen uncover Kylie's eyes as painlessly as possible. Kids! That's the first thing that came to Kylie's mind. The woman who had threatened her with the knife, seemed so evil and forbidding in the dark, couldn't be over twenty. The man to her left, the same. The girl in the front seat, was black. Very pretty and her intense eyes watched every move that the driver made. As if she were trying to capture and memorize every movement. "Who is paying you ten thousand dollars?" Kylie asked. "Who are you? You don't look like extortionists. Why in the world are you doing this?" Steve stared at her, "Okay. We're actors." "Actors?" "Well, none of us have done anything more that a few commercials. But that's what we are. Only the jobs are very few and far between. Sugar here dances at a strip joint. She's studied serious dancing. That ain't no kind of life for her." "Are you telling me, that you are a bunch of out of work actors trying to make a score, here?" Kylie shifted in her seat. She was cold. And she could smell her own urine. "Three weeks ago I get this call at home. Didn't give me his name. But said he had a job for me. An acting job. And if I pulled it off he would pay me fifteen thousand dollars." "I thought he was zone head. And didn't pay much attention until I found an envelope slipped under my door the next day. With two five hundred dollar bills." "I listened when he called the second time." "Can I get my hands untied. I'm losing the feeling in my fingers." Steve nodded and Hank freed Kylie's hands. "When he called me back, he told me he wanted me to scare someone. It was a joke he said. But it had to look real. If I managed to scare this person, make her think she had really been kidnapped, he would pay me another fourteen thousand dollars." "Who is this man?" "Don't know. Never met him. Never gave me his name." Sugar stared at him. Steve avoided her gaze. "I know I told you I knew the guy. I'm sorry." Kylie struggled to understand what was happening, "You kidnapped me for someone you never met, on a promise that he would pay you all this money, if you scared me. Did it ever occur to you that the guy might be a little off?" "Yeah," Steve said. "But he did send the thousand. He then sent me details of your trip here. When you would arrive. How long you'd stay. Everything. Then after I agreed, he sent me another five grand. I figure if he's shelled out six thousand bucks, he's got to be for real." Kylie rubbed her wrists, and then put her coat on. She caught Hank watching her breasts. Then shrugged and buttoned the coat. "So you come up here and scare the bejesus out of me, then what happens?" "I make the phone call." "Phone call?" "Yeah. I call this number he gave me, and let him know I got you, and he tells me where to deliver you. He gives me my money, and tells you its all a big joke." "What's the number?" Steve fished a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Kylie. Long distance. She recognized the Boston area code. But the number didn't ring a bell. She knew a hundred people in Boston. Maybe a few that would even like to pull something like this. But none that would have the nerve. Well, it seems like one of them did. Kylie breathed heavily, "So, what now." "I've had enough," Steve said. "I thought I could go through with it. But I can't..." "Don't we have a say in this?" Hank growled. "No!" Steve barked. Ellen reached across Kylie and touched Hank's hand, "Steve's right. This was nuts from the start." Then to Kylie, "I'm sorry. I was just told to scare you. I'm an actress, you know?" "Well, you're very good." Steve started to put the car in gear. "Where were you supposed to make the call from?" "He said there was an gas station. He gave me directions. The only one on the mountain. Said there was a pay phone there." "Gorman's," Kylie said. "I know it. But its closed by now." "He said I'd have to break in. Said there'd be no alarm." "Whoever he is, he knows a lot about the people on this mountain." Kylie thought a moment and then said, "What if I help you get your money?" Steve glanced at her in the mirror. "Well," Kylie said, "You have earned it. And I want to know who this asshole is. Go make your phone call. We'll be doing each other a favor." Hank clapped Kylie's shoulder, "Alright! I knew you were cool, the first minute I laid eyes on you." Steve glanced at Sugar. She didn't say anything. Her face was impossible to read. Ellen leaned forward, "Hey, man. If she's willing, why not?" Steve tried again to get Sugar's okay. But she sulked and leaned against her door, pulling away from him. Kylie put her hand on the black girl's shoulder, "I know this is screwed up, but wouldn't you like to get the jerk that roped your boy friend into this?" Sugar kept silent, but her eyes said, "Yes." Steve nodded, "Okay. Let's go get the bastard."

ix Gorman's was an old white washed stone building that looked old the day it was built. Half the panes in the front windows had been replaced with plywood squares. The door frame was rotted so that it only took one shove of Steve's shoulder to shatter it. Kylie pulled her jacket around her to cover her torn sweater and looked back at the car. The phone was on the wall right next to the doorway, so Steve didn't need a flashlight.

Kylie leaned against the door frame as Steve lifted the receiver and punched the number and listened for the ring. Who would be on the other end? Even in the dark she could see the look on his face. "What?" she asked.

He put the phone against Kylie's ear. "I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this message in error, please hang up and dial again."

Steve and Kylie both knew too late that it was a setup. She saw something on the back of his head as he cradled the phone. A red pinpoint of light. Like in the movies.

Damn! She grabbed his sleeve and tried to pull him to the floor. But already his head was coming apart in a spray of black-red mush. Felt the murkiness of it splash across her face. Her eyes stung as piece of stone wall spouted a geyser of rock and dust. She scrambled inside the door on her knees. She hadn't heard the shot, but she new it came from the woods, across the road.

Behind her the car engine star. Then the sound of shattering glass and screams. Were they leaving her? She looked. The car was spinning in the snow, but it was coming for her. It skidded to a stop sideways at the door. The windshield spider webbed as the driver, Hank, ducked below the dash.

Sugar was crawling out of the car, crawling toward Steve. Kylie scuffled on her hands and knees toward the black girl.

"He's dead," she yelled. "He's gone." She wrapped her arms around the screaming girl, dragging her back to the car, where Ellen kicked open the back door. Sugar was still fighting, but somehow Kylie got her into the station wagon with Ellen's help.

"Steve!" Sugar cried. "Steve!" "What the hell is going on!" Ellen yelled at Kylie, rocking Sugar in her arms like a child. There were shards of broken glass embedded in blond's cheek. "Did anyone hear any shots?" Kylie asked. No one had. She turned to Hank, "If you're driving get the hell out of here!" Hank didn't move. "He's been hit!" Kylie scrambled over the back of the seat when she saw the blood on the back of his jacket. "He's dead!" "Christ!" Ellen choked. "What the hell are we going to do?" Kylie shoved Hank's body out the door, "Stay down!" She put the car into drive, keeping her own head as low as she could. Barely peering over the dash. She put her foot on the gas. Snow was falling harder now. Like a white shroud drifting down, covering the face of a murdered earth. Still she did not turn on the headlights. Sugar was still crying for Steve, Ellen was moaning in what might have been a ritual chant. Kylie wondered how close Ellen had been to Hank. The car eased out onto the snow covered road. She couldn't go down the mountain. It was too late for that. She had to try for her father's cabin, on up the winding track. But what if the killer knew... She forced the thought out of her head. She'd deal with that later. In a few minutes the pumps of Gorman's station were lost in darkness. There was no trace of it, or Steve, or Hank, or the gunman. There was only night, and cold, and crying and the snow.

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