Chapter 2 - The Boy in the Ravine
For one horrifying second, I thought Aiden was dead.
I placed two trembling fingers beneath his nose.
Nothing.
I leaned closer.
Then I felt it.
A faint breath.
“Oh, thank God.”
His small body was twisted against a fallen pine tree. The child carrier had torn loose from Emily's back, apparently during the chaos on the trail.
I had no idea exactly how he had fallen.
But one thing was painfully clear.
Michael and Emily had known he was down there.
And they had walked away.
I checked his breathing as carefully as I could. His pulse was fast, and he had a bleeding cut behind one ear.
My left arm hung uselessly at my side.
Every movement sent pain through my shoulder.
Still, I knew we could not remain in that ravine.
The afternoon temperature was dropping.
Clouds were gathering over the mountains.
And the forest was becoming darker by the minute.
I pulled off my cardigan and tucked it around Aiden.
“Grandma's not leaving you,” I whispered. “Do you hear me? Not ever.”
His eyelids fluttered.
“Grandma?”
The sound nearly broke me.
“I'm here, baby.”
He tried to move.
“Daddy pushed…”
His voice disappeared into a weak cough.
I froze.
“What did you say, sweetheart?”
But he had already slipped into unconsciousness again.
I stared up at the ridge.
Had Michael pushed him?
Had he pushed me?
Or had the trail collapsed exactly as they claimed?
I could not answer those questions.
All I knew was that my son had abandoned us after hearing his injured child crying.
I searched my pockets.
My phone was gone.
So was my purse.
The only thing I had was a small silver whistle Robert had given me years earlier.
He used to carry it when we went camping.
“Never underestimate a whistle, Maggie,” he would say. “Sometimes the smallest thing saves a life.”
I placed it between my lips.
The first attempt produced barely a sound.
The second was louder.
By the third, I was dizzy.
I waited.
Nothing.
Then, somewhere above us, a dog barked.
I blew again.
The barking grew louder.
A man's voice called through the trees.
“Hello? Is someone down there?”
I nearly collapsed with relief.
“Help! There's a child!”
The man appeared at the top of the slope wearing an orange hiking jacket.
He looked down at us.
“Good Lord.”
He immediately reached for his radio.
“This is Ranger Daniel Brooks. I need emergency medical assistance at the north ridge. Two injured victims, including a young child.”
He began working his way down.
When he reached us, he checked Aiden first.
Then he looked at me.
“Ma'am, what happened?”
I opened my mouth.
For a moment, I almost told him everything.
But fear stopped me.
If Michael discovered we were alive, what would he do?
I swallowed.
“We fell.”
Daniel studied my face.
“Was anyone else with you?”
I hesitated.
Then I whispered, “My son.”
His expression changed.
“What's his name?”
Before I could answer, his radio crackled.
A dispatcher said, “Ranger Brooks, we may have a connection to a missing-person report. A man named Michael Collins just reported that his mother and four-year-old son disappeared during a hike.”
Daniel looked at me.
The dispatcher continued.
“He says they wandered away from the trail. He's afraid they may have deliberately gone into the ravine.”
I closed my eyes.
May you like
Michael had already begun telling his story.
And somehow, he had made us responsible for our own disappearance.
