Stowaway in Time

one and Anne the other. It would have given them a head start, since she would now be on foot. They might not have realized she would be out as long as she had.
Who could she call for help? She’d dated a cop for a while, but their relationship had ended badly, with accusations on both sides. Her mom would have no way of finding her. Calling 9-1-1 might be her best option. She pulled out her phone and checked the bars. No cell service.
Would she be able to find her way back to the lodge in the dark? Her stomach twisted as she remembered driving randomly around so Bob and Anne wouldn’t realize they were being followed. But they had gone relatively straight, always keeping to the trails that led towards the river. She just needed to pick a trail and try to head away from the river. Worst-case scenario, she could spend the night in the woods and wait until morning.
“Pick a trail,” she muttered to herself as she skirted the edge of the woods. However, there didn’t seem to be any trails, and the woods seemed different, the trees taller, the brush less pervasive. “Everything looks different in the dark,” she told herself, although that didn’t explain why she couldn’t find any evidence of the many trails she had driven on just that morning. She took a deep breath. Set out blindly through the woods or hunker down for a long cold night? Shivering all night long didn’t appeal, but neither did getting lost.
“Oh, the hell with it,” she said, plunging into the forest and heading in the direction she thought the lodge was. She turned on her cell phone’s flashlight feature. The thin beam of light barely penetrated the darkness. Keeping to a straight path was more difficult than she would have guessed. She inched her way past a massive tree, the trunk so thick she wouldn’t have been able to hug it if she wanted to. Some areas were so thick with vegetation, she had to find a way around them, hoping she wasn’t getting turned around. The light from the stars barely penetrated the woods, slowing her progress to a crawl. At least the exercise kept her warm.
She kept on. Her legs ached and her fingers grew cold inside her gloves. Surely she should have reached the lodge by now. She must have gone the wrong way. Was she about to reach the clearing again, having gone in a circle? She trudged further, but neither lodge, nor clearing came into view.
At last she stopped to rest. A glance at her watch showed her it was nearly eight. She’d been walking for almost three hours, long enough to get back to the rental center. She must have gotten turned around. Her stomach growled and her mouth felt dry. She kept most of her supplies in her car when she was on stake-out, but there should be something in her bag. She slipped it off her shoulder and dug inside.
The contents comprised dozens of bits of paper—envelopes, napkins, and junk mail, all filled with her loopy handwriting—an old pill bottle, her mace, bungee cords and carabiners, her multi-tool, and...
Bingo! A handful of energy bars, squished and probably stale, a bag of M&M’s, and a half-full bottle of water. Better than nothing. She picked a bar at random, peeled off the wrapper and broke it in half. Returning half to the bag, she savored the other half, chewing slowly. It’s not like you’re going to be lost in these woods for weeks. Still, it seemed the prudent thing to do. It was hard to be optimistic when it was cold and dark. A hot cup of coffee sounded like heaven, but she made do with a few swallows of water.
Her snack disappeared all too quickly. What now? Continue walking when she had no idea where she was going? Or stay and wait for help?
What help? No one knew where she was. No one even knew she had been following Bob. The newspaper had taken her off the story. She lived alone, didn’t always show up at the office when she was pursuing a lead, wasn’t dating anyone, and only talked to her mother once or twice a month. How long would it take for someone to realize she was missing?
Wait, the rental agency wanted their ATV back. They would come after her, probably put the police on her tail if they thought she had stolen it.
Okay, but what happened when they found it? They might have sent someone after her when she didn’t return the vehicle by closing time. Had they found the ATV and taken it back to the lodge? Was that why she hadn’t been able to find it? But surely they would have looked for her. Accidents happened and it wouldn’t do their business any good if it got out that they didn’t care about their customers.
She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She should have stayed where she was. Then they would know where to find her. Could they bring in tracking dogs?
She reined in her racing thoughts. Yes, she was in the country, but this was Tennessee, not a vast national park. She could have wandered into Reelfoot Lake State Park, which wasn’t far from the ATV site, but she wasn’t in Yellowstone. If she kept walking, she would eventually find a road or a farmhouse or something. She forced her aching body onward.
After another thirty minutes of walking, she turned off the flashlight to conserve her battery. She wandered farther by the light of the moon, but saw no sign of human life. No houses, roads or electric power lines. She truly appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. No point in wasting more energy. She would have to wait out the night.
“When I find Bob and Anne, I will kill them,” she muttered to herself. At least she had her coat and gloves. She piled