Bloodstain by John C. Dalglish Read Free Book Online Page B

Norman pinned her to the tree with his foot. The time in captivity had taken most of the fight out of her, and she slumped back, resigned to what was coming.
    Norman took the gun and placed it against the girl ’s chest, directly over her heart. He watched as she pressed her eyes closed, waiting.
     
    *******
     
    Joe stumbled over a root, falling forward, and the chain saw he was carrying went sailing. “Dang it! I told you it was getting too dark.”
    Jonathon helped him to his feet. “Oh, stop your whining. We needed to finish the last tree so it could be brought out tomorrow.”
    “Yeah, well, it won’t do us much good if we’re dead from falling on our own saws.”
    “Whatever! Just watch your step and take your time. You sure the truck is back this way?”
    “Oh, great. Now we’re lost!”
    “Shut-up!”
    “I will when I want….”
    “No, shush! Look over there.”
    Joe stared out towards the direction his friend was pointing. Through the growing darkness, he could see someone sitting against the bottom of a tree.
    As they struggled to make sense of the scene in front of them, the standing figure removed something from a bag , and laid it on the ground. Next, he removed something else that looked to Joe to be a gun. “Is that a gun?”
    “I think so.”
    The figure on the ground tried to get up, but the person standing pinned them to the ground with their foot. The gun came up to the chest of the person against the tree.
    Jonathon had been crouching , but now he jumped up. “Hey!”
     
    *******
     
    Norman held the gun to her chest. He hadn’t heard anyone coming, and as he pulled the trigger, a voice reached him.
    “Hey!”
    As the gun went off, he flinched. The girl slumped over. Norman searched the woods for where the voice had come from. Unable to find the source, he quickly cut the zip tie from her wrists and pulled the tape off her mouth. He didn’t take time to pick up the wine glass, he just ran.
    He didn’t hear the girl moan.
     
    *******
     
    Jonathon heard the gun go off and dove for the ground. Joe was already there. They stayed low and watched as the man gathered some things and ran for the road.
    When it was clear he was gone, the two loggers got up and headed to where the girl was. It was now almost completely dark, and the men dropped their saws to run.
    When they reached the tree, they found a young girl slumped over moaning. Blood poured from near her shoulder. Joe pressed on the wound while Jonathon called 911. He kept looking toward where the man had run, praying he didn’t come back.
    “911. What is your emergency?”
    “I’m in Canyon State Park, near Archery Road, and a woman has been shot.”
    “Is she still alive?”
    “I think so, but there’s a lot of blood.”
    “Where was she shot?”
    “Looks like in the chest or near the shoulder. My friend is keeping pressure on it.”
    “I’m sending help. Was this an accident?”
    “It didn’t look like it. My buddy and I walked up to see this guy shoot her.”
    “Okay . Can you get to the road to flag down the EMT’s?”
    “Yeah.”
    Jonathon hung up and looked down at his friend. “I gotta go to the road.”
    Joe ’s face was almost as pale as the girls. “Why?”
    “Help is coming and I have to wave ‘em down.”
    “Okay. Hurry.”
    Jonathon took off at a dead run for the road. He risked running into a tree and knocking himself out, but his adrenaline wouldn’t let him slow down. The ambulance appeared a few minutes later, and he stood in the road until its headlights were on him. It stopped and a flurry of activity led to Jonathon leading two EMT’s to where his friend and the girl were.
    “I’m back, Joe.”
    Joe looked scared. “I don’t know if she’s still alive. She stopped moaning a few minutes ago.”
    “It’s all right, Joe. The EMT’s will take care of her.”
    The men moved in and started assessing the girl. Joe got up and walked over by Jonathon. They both stood there, watching