“That’s cuz Dad can’t haul his ass up and down this gorge anymore,” Andrei said, then quickly turned them back to their main conversation. “Any lead on the boy’s direction?”
“No. We’ve checked the immediate area of their campsite and come up empty handed. That’s why we’ve branched out.” The ranger pulled off his hat with one hand and scratched his sweat-soaked hair with the other before putting it back on. “We’re just asking hikers to keep an eye out. If you see him, get him to stay with you and just stop on the trail where you are or head to the nearest trailhead. If you can, send one of your party to a high point and call the ranger station. Most people don’t have a signal down in the gorge.”
“In this heat, the boy is going to be severely dehydrated, or worse, sick from drinking the water in any of these streams,” Jude said, stepping up between Lucas and Snow. “Do you know if he’s got any ailments that we need to be aware of?”
“No, we’re lucky in that respect.”
“I’m a paramedic and he’s a doctor.” Jude reached back and wrapped his fingers around Snow’s wrist to try and ground himself. Hundreds of times he had been called to help with a child who’d been hurt, and it was never an easy thing to see. But knowing that a little boy was lost in this massive and dangerous forest was even worse. “Is there anything else we can do?”
“You just hiking today?”
“Camping,” Rowe corrected. “Got a site up off Half Moon Trail. We’re planning to be here through the weekend.”
“You mind if we call on you gentlemen when we find him? Just give him a look over. I have a feeling that getting him to you would be a might faster than getting an ambulance in here.”
“Of course,” Snow said. He stepped up to the ranger and quickly gave both his and Jude’s cell numbers. “Even if you don’t need us, send word when you’ve found him.”
“I’m grateful, doc,” the ranger said with a big sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. After a few more words of both warning and gratitude, he jumped back onto his four-wheeler and continued on down the trail.
When the ranger disappeared, Jude watched as Rowe slowly turned around and looked at them, scratching his jaw before shaking his head. That look didn’t sit well with Jude.
“We should head back to the camp,” Rowe said. “It’s high ground and if they find the boy, it’ll be the easiest way for them to reach Snow and Jude.”
“You mean we’re not going to help look?” Ian demanded loudly before Jude could even draw a breath to ask the same question.
“The Gorge is a big fucking park, Ian,” Rowe started. “And you—”
“All the more reason for us to be looking for him!” Ian looked over at Snow and then Lucas, but neither of the other two men spoke up. “Really? You guys are fucking ex-Army. You went out hunting down bad guys and rescuing people, right? There’s probably no one else better in this entire forest to find Mikey.”
“Ian, you can’t handle it,” Lucas said softly.
“What? I can—”
“Your leg is killing you,” Rowe snapped. He put his hands on his hips and frowned at the younger man. “I know you’ve been trying to hide it, but you’ve got that pinched look on your face from the pain and you limped all the last quarter mile. If we do this, we gotta move fast and light. You can’t keep up and I don’t want you hurting yourself more.”
Ian dropped back down onto the rock he’d been sitting on, his hand going to the same sore spot that Jude had watched him rub for months now. He had a feeling the pain would continue to haunt the young man even after the leg had completely healed.
“Go without me,” Ian said after only a moment.
“Ian,” Rowe sighed.
“I’m serious. Go without me. I can manage at the campsite alone while you guys look for the little boy.”
“You can’t stay at the camp alone. It’s not safe.”
“I’ll stay with Ian,” Lucas said suddenly.
“You sure?” Snow asked, obviously surprised. Jude was too. Lucas always struck him as the type of person who would want to be in the middle of any major plan, not sitting on the sidelines.
“It makes the most sense. Ian and I will hand over all our trail supplies and return to camp while you continue on. We’ll load up Rowe’s truck with some basics at our campsite. I’ll drive Rowe’s truck back to where we parked at the trailhead and Ian will follow me with the SUV. We’ll leave you the truck at the same parking spot so you can get supplies if you need them while you’re searching. We’ll hold down base camp until you come back.”