Senses Beyond by Toni House

Author:Toni House [House, Toni]
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER TEN

A sound of broken branches snapping caused me to jump. My head hit the rock wall and started to throb. I could hear the rustle of sand and dirt and rocks sliding down the mountain and the hurried and desperate sound of a human voice as he screamed, “Whoa!” There was a definite thud as his body hit the hard earth. “Damn it.” I could hear Malcolm swear on the other side of the mountain.

My pulse quickened, and I rubbed my head. Maybe now was my chance to find Mom. I picked up several smaller boulders and stacked them in front of the mouth of the tunnel. It was as much to keep Budweiser in as to keep Malcolm out. I dragged a small branch over the soft dirt to hide my footprints then ran in the direction of the river. The cold wind stung my eyes and made my nose drip. I shivered. I decided to go around the back way to the house, which would take a lot longer but I couldn’t go back along the same path as before because of the likely chance of an encounter with Malcolm.

The fort was on the edge of our land a few feet from the face of the Alabama River and was hidden between several large oak trees. The dense woods and tall grass hid the fort from view even during daylight. Uncle Danny taught me how to use nature to build and hide forts in plain view, something he learned in the marines. He told me to first use what’s there then add nature’s building blocks to it. The fort was much like the tunnel where I had left Budweiser, but it was bigger and had several tunnels that connected to each other. Most of them only a very small adult could crawl through, like someone the size of my mom.

As I ran toward the Alabama River and the fort, I made too much noise. The grass and twigs rustled and snapped, and the noise seemed to echo throughout the forest. It was October and the forest vegetation had begun to die and everything was brittle, so there was no way I could keep quiet as I ran through the forest. I hoped as I got closer to the fort the sound of the river would drown out my footsteps.

“Bosworth!” I heard Malcolm yell. “That’s your name, isn’t it? Bosworth Daniel? What a name! Your Uncle Danny’s name, right? You can’t run and you can’t hide. I’ll find you, and your uncle can’t help you, Booger. No one can.”

I ran faster. How did he find me so quick? My heart pounded in my throat. I’m not a natural runner—I’m long-legged and clumsy but fast for someone my age. I ran as fast as I could toward the fort but it was on the far edge of the land, through the forest and the manmade trail that snaked through it. I decided not take the trail just in case he had found it, and instead chose to stay in the thick trees and tall grasses.

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