The park descended into darkness without a sign of the girl. Nick had obviously never met Faith, but the sweet smile in her photograph pulled at his heartstrings. He felt terrible imagining her all alone and scared in a cold creepy forest. But to perform his duties tonight, he couldn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. No, he needed to create some professional detachment— like Rex.

Per protocol, the senior ranger had closed all the park exits in case Faith had been abducted by a human predator. No one was allowed to leave the park without a thorough search of their vehicle. However nothing had turned up, so Faith must still be in the park. Unless she'd been removed by foot for off-road vehicle, which was a distinct possibility if her captor had planned her abduction. Praying this wasn't the case or their whole search was for naught, Nick trudged behind Rex on the narrow trail, their flashlights slicing the black night. After the Incident Commander took control of the scene, Rex and Nick formed their own two-person search team, and the pair waded across a shallow section of the stream to investigate the area where Jonah claimed to see the bear. However, if the animal had been responsible, there would've been more than a drop of blood at the LKP. A lot more blood. And scraps of clothes. And gore. It was a small blessing that hadn't been the case.

Yet, it was unlikely the girl could traverse the river on her own, but Rex wanted no stone left unturned. Search and Rescue had a long history of missing people showing up in unlikely places. Furthermore, protocol stated that with each passing hour, the search radius would widen by two miles— the maximum distance a ten-year old child could travel in rough terrain. Even so, by morning, the rescue would transition to a grid search with hundreds of volunteers and multiple helicopters. Luckily, it was summer, so she shouldn't succumb to exposure or dehydration in just one night.

Leading the way, Rex asked, "Holding up?"

Nick nodded, though the older man couldn't see his gesture. But, if anyone had eyes in the back of his head, it would be Rex Cross. The man was a legend amongst the rangers; he knew this forest better than anyone. Some considered Rex monomaniacal, but Nick thought it a good trait to be that dedicated to your job. Nick felt lucky to have a cabin next to him. Before turning in each night, they would discuss life under the stars. Not that Nick slept much. His nightmares would be the death of him. He certainly hadn't slept well last night. Or the one before that. Which was probably the reason for Rex's question, some of their discussions centered on Nick's insomnia and the reasons for it. Yes, many would consider their friendship odd given the age difference, but Nick considered Rex more like a favorite uncle than a boss.

"I'm good. How about you?" Nick asked stupidly.

Rex laughed. "I'm fine but let me know if you need a rest. I don't want you to fall over from exhaustion and break a leg."

"I should be good for another hour or two."

"I'm afraid we may be out here until morning when we turn it over to the bigger team."

"You think?" Nick sighed.

"Just between us, I don't have a good feeling about this rescue."

"Because of the scent dog?"

"Partially."

No matter what the handler tried. the German Shepard had refused to move ten yards beyond the LKP. A second dog was called in with the same results, so the team was forced to rely on human trackers who couldn't find a trace of the girl either. It was like the earth had opened up and swallowed her whole.

Nick asked, "Have you ever seen that behavior before?"

"Once. It was an experienced hiker, but he didn't have GPS. That's why I insisted you buy a Garmin mini with the SOS feature when you went through orientation. It could save your life one day."

Nick patted his pocket. "Got it right here."

"Good, because we found that boy last year in a location, we'd searched a dozen times. He was face down in the dirt without his socks and shoes. We never did find those damn things."

"How does that happen?"

"I have a theory."

"About the socks and shoes?"

"About everything."

"Can you tell me?" Nick quickened his pace.

"Later. Now is not the time. I just hope I'm wrong, and we don't find that little girl the same way."

"Umm ... I know I should've said something sooner, but did you get a weird vibe from John Norris, the father?"

Stopping, Rex turned to face Nick. "No. Why? Did you?"

"He was understandably upset, but it seemed like the whole family was scared of him."

"Did you get a chance to question the brothers when you took them back to camp?" Rex asked.

"Yes. The older boy said his dad can get angry, but he was in a good mood this trip."

"Do you think he's lying?"

"Maybe, but I don't think he could've killed her and hid the body— not unless the family is lying about the timeline."

"True. But if they're that scared of him, they would lie. He could've done it days ago, and this camping trip is just an elaborate ruse, so we should let his hometown police know about our suspicions. But we don't have to worry about him running; we'd stop him at the gate. He's stuck here. So we all need to focus on finding the girl. One way or another, she'll answer all our questions."

"Agreed." Nick nodded.

Rex turned and headed down the trail with Nick at his heels. Their flashlights bounced from tree to bush. They were alert for the slightest sound of distress. However, the men only heard rustling leaves, buzzing insects, and the occasional owl screeching for the next hour. As much as Nick wanted to find Faith, his weariness crept in. But he pushed on, trying to ignore his aching feet and droopy eyelids when he heard a voice in the woods.

"Heelp!"

He spun around. "Faith?"

"Help mee!"

The speaker was distinctively young and female.

Nick shouted, "Faith, we're right here."

Rex pushed Nick aside and ran in the direction of the girl's voice. Nick followed him into the trees but quickly lost the ranger. His flashlight was useless in the dense underbrush. Branches whipped Nick in the face as he plowed deeper into the woods. Fearing he'd get lost himself, he called, "Rex, where did you go?"

"I'm over here."

"Ok. I'm coming," Nick replied though he was never able to catch up to the ranger. After twenty feet, Nick was sure they'd passed the girl by, so he stopped and shouted, "Faith! Where are you?"

"Heere," the voice called from his left.

He charged off in the new direction, but after ten yards, Nick knew he'd gone too far. Her cries had been mere feet away.

"Faith, where are you?"

"Help mee, Niiiicccckk!"

The voice had transformed to a high-pitched male voice, something akin to nails on a chalkboard. And it had called him by name. Faith didn't know his name. Her kidnapper shouldn't know it either, unless ...

Scared, Nick retreated as he scanned the forest for the owner of the voice. Or Rex. Neither one spoke again, and he didn't dare announce his location. Still backing up, his beam passed over a shape in the woods. Nick's eye only caught it for a second, but the shadowy figure was tall and wide. He dropped his flashlight in fright. He bent down, but his shaking hand couldn't manage to grasp the silver cylinder; the cold metal slid through his fingers like melted butter. When he was finally able to return the jittering light to the figure's position, it was gone.

Not caring how bad he looked, Nick ran back to the main trail where he almost trampled Rex. The ranger lay flat on his back, comatose— his face as pale as a ghost.