The Dead Zone (Book One)

Chapter 11

Paige awoke to the dawn breaking over the horizon, her elevated position in the large pine tree giving her a striking view of the various hues of pink and yellow snaking their way across the sky. Last night Bryson had said that they could leave the tree once daylight came. Well, here it was, bright and early. She was more than ready to set her feet back on solid ground. 

 They'd been in this cursed tree, hiding away in fear of their lives for the last forty-eight hours. She turned, wincing at how stiff her neck and back were. Bryson had insisted that she tie herself to the trunk, for fear she might fall as she slept. Begrudgingly, she had humored him, only because she knew how much his brother being taken had affected him. He wouldn't say it out loud, but she knew he blamed himself. 

 The thick cord he'd given her was wrapped tightly around her waist, pinning her in place as she whispered, "Bryson?" She was unable to see his sleeping form because of the position she was pinned in. When no reply came, she pulled her knife out and cut herself free. Bryson must be really tired to sleep in past her. Probably all the stress of the last few days, she figured. Debating on letting him sleep a bit longer, the cramps in her legs deterred her. They needed to get out of this tree and get to Cedarville. Who knew how much time Zach had before something bad happened? Something irrevocable. 

 Stretching around the trunk, she saw... nothing. Empty branches. Bryson, along with all of his things, were gone. Vanished, as if he'd never been there to begin with. Confusion came to the forefront of her emotions, cloaked with panic and disbelief. First Zach, and now her beloved? What was going on here?! What was she supposed to do without Bryson? Wait for him to come back? How long should she wait? Should she worry? But that last question was stupid- worry had already sat in. Worry that something bad would happen to him. Worry that he'd left her behind.

 Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she tried to look at this rationally. Maybe Bryson had just needed to stretch his legs or go to the bathroom? Or perhaps he was simply just scouting the area. He'd be back soon... hopefully.

 Deciding she couldn't bear to sit in this tree one moment longer, she reached for her pack, something catching her eye. There, carved into the tree, were letters, words. A note, addressed to her.

 "Paige, I left for Cedarville this morning while you slept. I know now that I could not live with myself if something happened to you. I've already let one person down. I couldn't bear it if you got hurt because of my mistakes. Please wait here until I return. I love you."

 The note wasn't signed, but she didn't need a signature to know it was from Bryson. Her eyes kept jumping to the last three words. I love you. She'd never heard him say the words, not fully, at least. He loved her. And she loved him back. He'd left her behind, to protect her. 

He'd gone to Cedarville to get Zach all on his own. 

 She should have seen this coming, she scolded herself, jumping to the ground, her knees cracking and groaning in protest. She needed to find Bryson. And to find Bryson, she'd have to find Cedarville. He'd shown her a brief glance at the map last night, most likely before he'd devised this plan to leave her behind. She recalled that the city lay to the north. The only problem was- which way was north? She lacked a compass, internal or otherwise. Great. Fan-freaking-tastic. 

 Knowing that the woods were quite possibly still crawling with people, dead and alive, set her on edge. Ever since Bryson had found her that first day they'd met, she'd been terrified of facing the world alone. Now, she was terrified to face it without a certain soldier by her side, one with blue eyes that put the sky to shame, and a disarming smile that turned her insides to mush, sending butterflies from her stomach to her rib cage. Bryson had to have known she would follow him. There were no footsteps around the base of the tree for her to follow, and she could detect no trail through the brush that he could have taken. He'd gone above and beyond to throw her off his scent. Damn him and his woodland skills.

 Deciding to expand her search radius, she decided if she couldn't find Bryson's footprints, she'd just have to follow someone else's. Several men had trekked past their tree, thankfully unable to detect them obscured in the lush branches, even when they'd shone their lights up in the tree. They'd gotten extremely lucky. But it seemed Bryson had taken care of those footprints, too. Either that, or she just really sucked at tracking. Both were legitimate possibilities.

 Just as frustration was setting in, she saw it. There, in the brush, several snapped branches hung, swaying gently in the wind, beckoning her. Snapped branches caused by someone, or something, making their way through the thicket. Upon further inspection, she finally found what she'd been searching for. A set of large footprints facing toward her, which meant they were most likely coming from the town of Cedarville. Hoisting her pack higher, she followed them, trying to walk as quietly as she could. Something about this place didn't seem right, and she wasn't even near the town yet. 

 It wasn't the first time this thought had snaked through her mind. As nothing but silence and the chirp of insects and wind in the trees met her ears, she knew what was wrong. Where were all the roamers? The woods were empty of them. And that made her nervous for some reason she couldn't explain. What was going on here? First, human abductions and planned car crashes, and now, no roamers to be found? All her insecurities set her nerves on edge, and she wished Bryson were here for her to share her concerns with.