Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (65 page)

Sarah nodded and held the trigger. “Deputy, this is Sarah. Connor needs to speak with you.” She let go of the trigger
to hear his response
.

T
he speaker click
ed and the deputy’s voice answered
“What do you need?”

Sarah looked at him
as
he
drove. “Princess, tell him to give me every detail about the little girl he can, what the terrain is like, things like that.”

She relayed the message and he replied over the radio. “The little girl’s name is Maggie. She is
only
seven years old,
weigh’s
about
fifty pounds and is about three feet and five inches tall and she has short curly red hair
with a lot of freckles on her cheeks
. She was last reported wearing a yellow shirt and white pants
before she disappeared early this morning
.
Apparently she lives with her grandparents. They reported her missing when she didn’t come back inside
,
after playing
out
in the yard.
About the terrain, I have a map in my cruiser and when we arrive
,
you can study it.”

Sarah
then
asked “Was she wearing any shoes?”
They
kne
w how important footwear is. Maggie
could travel further with shoes and it would keep her from getting too hurt. The more details
they
have the
easier it will be for tra
cking.

“Unconfirmed.”
Connor
saw
the deputy
glance at
them
in the in his rear view mirror. “Who else is in the truck with you?”

Sarah
spoke instantly. “Besides Connor and myself, we brought Connor’s sister and Mark. Plus, my sister and my father want to help out. You met them
all
during graduation when Connor and I were attacked.”

There was a
short
silence on his radio as
they
raced around a curve in the road
,
going
over
ninety miles per hour
.
The radio clicked when the road became straight.
“Well I thank you all for coming out and helping us.”

What would have taken over an hour and a half
to drive
,
only took
about thirty minutes
to arrive on scene
.

Going up a
steep dirt road
hill,
Connor
spotted
their
destination.
There
i
s a large log house that
had been
on the top of the
mountainous
hill.
T
all tree’s
surrounded them
that were all close together and
Connor
knew this forest could get a little tricky
for tracking
.
The area wasn’t populated with too many people
so that would help
.
T
he tree canopy
was also thick and offered very little sunlight for the ground.
Nighttime would become a problem. He
also knew that this hill blended with other larger hills
, valleys and other dangers
and the little girl could be anywhere.

Cars
and trucks
lined and
surrounding the
rust colored
house and Connor
parked
his truck behind the d
eputy’s c
ruiser
on the side of the now shallow
er
hill. When the
ignition
turned
off, the six of them
quickly exited the vehicle.
Connor
tossed the keys to the trunk
over
to Mark when he
knew
they
would need the machetes and the rope.
Mark
knew what was needed without
being told
.

Mark caught up to them
quickly with a blade in each hand and two bundles of
coiled
rope hanging from each shoulder. As Deputy Burrow exited his car he held a rolled piece of
glossy
paper. He unrolled it on the back of his trunk and pointed. “We are right here.”
Connor
was towering over his shoulder as
he
quickly memorized
the terrain and levels of
the map. The deputy stood up and looked at Connor
when everyone had a chance to look it over.
“This is your show
, S
on.
How do you want to proceed
?”

Connor
looked up and into the clouds
and judged what was about to happen in the near future
, weather-wise
. They were starting to darken
, build up
and
he
could feel the air getting a little moist. “You, Mark, Jack and I are going to track Maggie down
together
.”
Connor
looked at the women and asked “Can I count on you to keep the worried family docile and keep people away from me while I do my thing?
Also if they decide to send a search party
after us
during the night, hand out the flashlights to the search team.
We don’t need people to wind up hurt if they
decide to
come after us.
”
Mark handed Kara the keys to
the
truck.

“But, Brother…” Kara started to complain until Jillian put a reassuring hand over her shoulder.
Her golden eyes were situated on Jack’s back.

“You can count
on us.” Sarah stepped forward. Connor
felt her wanting access into
his
mind.
“Be careful
,
Connor.”

“I will
,
Princess. I’ll be as efficient as possible.”
He
took
his
eyes from her and settled them
on Deputy Burrow’s. “It’s going to rain here in about
two or
three
hours. Find someone with a poncho or an umbrella because the little girl
might be cold
by the time
we catch up
to her
.
” The deputy
understood
his
worry and popped the trunk.
While he rummaged
around
in it,
Connor
turned to see Mark handing a blade and a bundle of rope
over
to Jack.
They each sheathed the blades at their hips.

Deputy Burrow
pulled out an umbrella
from his trunk
and smiled “I’ve got this
!
”
Jillian
then
handed the bag of food and the bottles of water to him.

“Ok, let’s get started.”
Connor
said and everyone followed
him
.

The seven of
them
walked the rest of the way up to the
property
. The inside and outside of the house
remained
swarming with people. Some wore volunteer
and community service
shirts and some were just everyday people
who were trying to help
in
any
way they possibly could
. P
olice
officers, firemen, E.M.T’s
and
multiple
reporters from different counties
set up on the premises
. Some
people
looked
and moved
like experienced hikers and trackers, but they had nothing on
those who just arrived
.

“Deputy Burrow, please get their attention and get them out of my way.
They are disturbing the ground.
” They deputy
looked up at
him when Connor
turned to him on
his
right
hand
side. Then
the deputy’s
playful
smile finally came back
with a vengeance
.

The deputy put two fingers in his mouth and
blew. The piercing whistle hurt all of the ears that were close by, but it got the job done. Everyone
;
both inside and outside stopped what
they were doing and looked at him
.
He spoke loud and clearly saying
“Good, now that I have everyone
’
s attention, please let us do our job.
Please move into one location and stay put.
These trackers will find Maggie.
”

Many didn’t comprehend quickly enough. Others were just looking lazy.

A big and burly man stepped forward
from the silent people
. He was a tall and well built man who had a full beard that was graying.
From t
he way he walked Connor
knew he was an
average
out
doorsman
of some skill
, but
he wasn’t anywhere near Connor’s c
lass
. “Who put you in charge? We’ve been looking everywhere
for hours
and we still haven’t found her trail.
The dogs will be here soon
and they’ll get the job done.
”

Connor
couldn’t take any more of
this man’s arrogance. With his
right
hand resting on
Tool
he
stepped forward. With
his hazel eyes staring directly at him Connor
noticed
the man
froze in fear. “
It’s going to rain soon and the dogs will be useless.
I’m not here to fight with you. I’m here to find Maggie. Now get the hell out of my way or I’ll do it for you.”
The man’s
face paled, but didn’t move.

As
he
walked toward him
he
heard “Connor?”
He
looked
to
his
left
as a man
in his early thirty’s
walk
ed out of the house. “It is you!
”

“Hey Jim.” It was the reporter from last weekend’s survival seminar. “I’m sorry, but I can’t talk right now.”

“I understand.” He turned to the crowd. “Give him space! Let him do his job.
He knows what he’s doing!
He’s a survival expert.
”

Everyone listened
then
and moved to the side
once
they
received support from a person who’s been here for a while
, including
the
reluctant hiker. “Jim
,
there is one thing you could get
for me.” H
e turned around
from guiding the crowd
. “Can you find a full body pict
ure of Maggie?
Pick the most recent picture of her
preferably
.
It’ll help.
” He nodded and hurried into the house.

Connor
started
the
search.

His
annoyed
sister, mate and mother-in-law did as
asked and kept the crowd at bay
.
It
i
s needed because the yard was a mess from everyone trampling it.
He
decided it didn’t matter that the re
porter’s cameras were filming him
even though
his
sister told them to stop.

His
guy friends
stood
with the girls and kep
t
everyone awa
y as they all quietly watched him
at
work.
The last thing
they
needed
i
s for
his
sister to get annoyed and start breaking the cameras with her bare hands. That would only
serve to cause more problems. They
had more pressing matters.