Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

mountain and get out of rifle range.” The plan was not foolproof. Nick still might choose to follow them.

Another rifle shot reverberated through the forest, stirring up snow close to the rock. They both crouched lower.

“After I go, count to three and then run as fast as you can.”

She nodded.

Jason burst up from the rock and ran in a zigzag pattern, jumping around the smaller rocks. Two rifle shots zinged past him, one so close that the displaced air pummeled his eardrum. He dived to the ground.

He caught a flash of color below him. Isabel had chosen to go toward a cluster of trees instead of the outcropping. Another shot shattered the silence of the wild. It was aimed at her. From where he lay on the ground, he prayed that the shot had missed her.

She disappeared into the cluster of trees.

Using the moment it would take Nick to reorient himself, Jason burst up from the ground and darted toward the shelter of the trees. He glanced to his side. Nick had worked his way down the mountain by maybe ten yards. He’d have to stop to line up another shot.

Jason could see the trees up ahead and spotted Isabel’s jacket again. His foot hooked on a rock and he stumbled and fell facedown into the snow. The fall shocked and disoriented him. His brain told him he needed to stand up and to keep running, but his body remained unresponsive.

Isabel emerged from the trees, reaching out to pull him to his feet. Another shot sounded. So close. They hurried toward the shelter of the trees five yards away.

Another shot echoed down the mountain, breaking a branch above them. Birds fluttered into the sky. Jason grabbed Isabel and held her close.

“Don’t do that ever again. You could have died.”

She nestled against his chest. “I didn’t want to lose you, Jason.”

More than anything, he wished they could remain suspended in the moment. He wanted to hold her forever. He kissed the top of her head. “Not if I can help it.”

A groaning noise reached his ears, followed by a thud: Nick’s feet as he jumped off a large rock, making his way down toward them.

“We have to keep moving.” Jason peered through the trees, searching for their next point of cover. It was dark enough that most objects were only shadows.

“What if we worked our way back up to the road and got to that plow?” she said.

“It’s worth a try. Move parallel to the road for a while, so he doesn’t figure out what we’re doing,” whispered Jason.

Through the trees, he could see Nick turning from side to side, searching the landscape for them. The glint of the rifle caught in the moonlight.

They sprinted from one rock outcropping to another, from brush to clusters of trees. Twice, rifle shots zinged over their heads, forcing them to drop to the ground and crawl.

Jason gasped for breath as they ran toward a boulder closer to the road. He could see the edge of the road just above him. Isabel kept pace with him as they half ran, half climbed up to the road.

Once they were on the level footing of the road, he leaned over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. It had been at least ten minutes since a shot was fired. He didn’t see Nick anywhere down below.

Isabel patted her heart and took in a quick breath. She glanced nervously down the steep incline, shaking her head. “He doesn’t give up easily.”

As crazy as Nick was, he seemed to have the stalking instincts of a lion.

Once his breath slowed, Jason pivoted and jogged down the road with Isabel beside him. His leg muscles strained from all the running and climbing they’d done. They rounded one curve and then another. Still no sign of the plow. They must be getting close.

Jason slowed down enough to talk. “He may be waiting for us at the plow, suspecting that we would try to get to it.”

Most of the landscape was repetitive. It was hard to know how close they were.

Isabel shot ahead of him. “I see snowplow tracks down there.”

He saw them now too, but no snowplow. When they got to the tracks, it was clear that Nick had backed the plow up until he came to a place where he could turn around and head back down the road.

“So much for that plan.” Isabel slumped down onto a tree stump beside the road.

The plow probably had a radio in it. Had he been told to get back to work? Or maybe he’d just decided to leave them to the elements for now. How far were they from shelter?

“This road has to lead somewhere.”

“Can I rest for a minute?” she said.

He could tell from her tone of voice she was giving up hope.

“Sure.” He paced down the road, looking for smoke rising in the air from a woodstove or lights, any sign of civilization. He didn’t see anything but trees and rock.

It was a sure bet that whoever was behind all the smuggling wouldn’t risk their getting back to civilization. Sooner or later, someone would come looking for them to kill them.

From the tree stump where she sat, Isabel tilted her head. Clouds slipped over the moon, making it darker. The snowfall had stopped at least.

Sitting still made her feel the cold more intensely. She rose to her feet and rubbed her arms, pushing the despair that plagued her to the back of her mind. No matter what, she needed to not give up hope. They couldn’t be that far from a place where they could find help and shelter.

Jason returned and held out a gloved hand for her to take. “Let’s head down the road. We’re bound to run into something or someone.”

“I suppose that’s what we should do.” She couldn’t hide the weariness in her voice.

Jason scanned the area above them as though he were looking for potential threats. Then he looked at her. His eyes