Chapter 66
Yes, I'm addicted to flowers, thanks to my mother. With Jenn lounging in a pool everyday with pots and planters overflowing with flowers surrounding her, I'm kind of craving them right now...
Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 66
Echoes from what sounded like a small explosion faded
to silence. Natalie crept beneath a bush and watched a plume of smoke rise
above the far side of the Red Devil's mansion. Through her mind raced a
thousand questions. What had happened? Was it near the mansion or on adjoining
property? Was it a hand grenade? An accident? How would it affect her? There
was no time to investigate. She silently slid away.
A few moments later another security camera lost its
vision to a large rock. Natalie wiped her hands together. "Two down, a few
dozen to go, I guess," she said. She looked around to see if she could
spot her next target. Nothing caught her eye, so she returned to her main objective—escape.
The whir of helicopter blades beating the air caught
Natalie's attention. Apparently her captors didn't like having their little
remote eyes put out. She raced toward the trees for cover. The helicopter rose
over the mansion a moment later. She pushed deep into the foliage.
She shrank against a huge tree trunk. She'd been
forced to hastily enter the area she feared most. Where branches swept the
ground and scrub reached heavenward in the gaps. It was as dense as an
overgrown jungle where cats and men and traps could easily lay concealed.
Without caution or scrutiny, she was now in it.
The helicopter swept low over the cover of trees she
was hiding under. They were searching for her. She hoped her footprints across
the grass had gone unnoticed. The helicopter swooped away and circled the area.
Natalie lost no time. She ripped a sleeve off her red jacket and stretched it
on the ground, then darted away.
Staccato pops filled the air. Gunfire. Natalie stopped
and listened, trying to determine what was going on. The noise ceased, and her
flight continued, taking her deeper into the growth. She spotted a camera
before it located her. She wrapped another red sleeve around a rock and tossed
it into the camera's range. It tumbled and rolled behind a tree as the glass
lens watched. Natalie ran in the opposite direction.
A moment later sounds of the helicopter grew near. It
swooped low over the treetops, spraying the area with bullets. Natalie watched
puffs of bark and dust spattered a good two dozen yards away. It turned and
swung back, riddling the area again from where each sleeve lay and within a
dozen or two yards out. It was a relief knowing they didn't know exactly where
she was.
After the helicopter passed, Natalie scanned the area
for another snoopy camera. At the rate she was going, she'd run out of red
fabric lures. She crept up on the next camera from behind and planned to
swiftly press a leaf over the lens, blinding it. Then she saw it. A thin wire
trip line. Her eyes ran its length and ended at the trap. She placed the leaf
over the lens and tossed a rock at the trip line. It sprang. Natalie raced to
harvest the wire. It might come in handy, but before she could start, the
helicopter returned. She shrank against a tree, pulling her bare white legs
beneath her to hide them. She huddled motionless as the area was sprayed with
bullets. Some hit within inches. A hunk of tree bark fell onto the back of her
neck and she gasped involuntarily, but did not move.
The helicopter disappeared beyond the trees. During the
attack the leaf had been dislodged from the camera lens, but it no longer mattered.
The camera had been hit. Natalie took a deep breath. She hated playing cat and
mouse when she was the one squeaking. She grabbed the shattered camera and
yanked it apart, keeping a sharp edge of metal before tossing aside the rest.
The trap was another matter. She carefully examined it
and found something interesting. The wires were barbed with three tips. Each
had a small syringe. Once caught, the captive would be instantly drugged. Using
the dagger, she cut the tiny syringes free. She retrieved the camera's casing
and slid them inside for perhaps later use.
The helicopter returned. This time hovering. Searching
with a spot light that shifted and jerked. Natalie hid between a rock and tree
trunk, completely motionless. The spot lights were extinguished, but the
helicopter remained. She guessed her captor was searching for her still,
perhaps with night vision goggles. Perhaps with a heat sensor. Possibly both.
As she lay crunched into a tight ball with her nose
pressed into the dust, she thought about her arsenal of weapons. Her mind
designed a slingshot that would propel the syringes. Nope, that wouldn't work.
They needed applied pressure to release the drug. Her mind created a spear with
the syringe on the end. She hoped there were enough drugs in one dose to
instantly stop an attacking cat.
After what felt like an eternity, and probably was,
according to the cramps in her legs, Natalie's heard the helicopter slowly move
off. Still searching. She uncurled and grabbed the long stick she'd spent
several long minutes staring at and mentally redesigning. She quickly shaved
off the twigs and notched one end. She cut a piece from her nylons and
fashioned a syringe tipped bayonet. It was the perfect weapon, but only if she
hit her mark on the first attempt, and hard enough to inject the drug.
A loud pop caught Natalie's attention. Instinct forced
her to the ground again. The whine of the helicopter engine rose and she heard
the blades beat irregularly, as if frantically. The whining stopped. There was
silence. A second later an explosion rocked the air and shook the ground.
Natalie strained to see beyond the trees. A large black cloud rose to meet the
darkening sky. The helicopter was down.
It was time to go. Natalie sprang to her feet and took
three running steps. She stopped cold. Darkness was falling fast. How many more
syringes were hidden in the trees? She moved as cautiously as possible. One
step at a time. After examining where each move would take her. She narrowly avoided
a camera and barely missed the nearby trap. Darkness fell as a nearly full moon
rose, casting ghostly shadows. A breeze picked up and settled, lifting and
stirring the foliage before releasing it. Night birds called and crickets
chirped. "Hush," Natalie wanted to whisper, wishing she could hear
what she was listening for most. Footfalls. Padded steps drawing closer. A low,
deep-throated rumble that could never resemble a purr. Nature did not obey, but
kept up the sweet serenade.
Then she felt it more than heard it. Following
footsteps with hesitation a slight second after she stopped. She could almost
feel hot breath on the back of her neck. She definitely felt the eyes staring
at her through a tangle of leaves. Cold, unblinking, hungry eyes. Her right
hand clenched the syringe stick, flexing her bicep. Her left hand clung to the
dagger. Ready. Her skin tingled, her ears so attuned she could almost hear time
passing. She slowly turned.
Nothing.
Shadows.
Night.
Branches and leaves.
Darkness.
But Natalie didn't trust her eyes. They had served her
well, but it had always been instinct combined in all of her senses, that had
warned her and preserved her in the past.
Smell. She searched with her nose, finding only damp
undergrowth, trees, leaves, night blossoms both opening and dying sticky sweet.
Knotty bark.
Listen. Nothing stood out from the night sounds around
her.
Touch. The earth was still warm from its recent
sunbath.
Natalie resumed her stealthy pace toward freedom. One
step. Another. Each sense was on red alert. She felt it again. Eyes. Searching
for her. Footfalls behind. One more step. She felt the echo of one more step
behind. A twig whispered against something. Fur?
Natalie turned back and crouched. Another twig
whispered and then she saw it. Two eyes staring at her in the shadows.
Unblinking. Man, not cat. Her hand tightened on the syringe spear. Her muscle
flexed.
"To your left. Six feet. Jaguar. Crouched,"
a low voice whispered.
End Chapter 66
Will this be the end of Natalie? Stay tuned.
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