Chapter 10: Tracking His Scent

The rain began to come down harder now. Garin was huddled underneath a tree, the cold rain had seeped into his thin sneakers. He was shivering uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around his knees, trying to stay warm. He had eaten most of the food in his pack. It was only meant to last three days max. He had only a handful of granola bars and jerky left to get him through, but he had no idea how to get home.

He had wandered for two days; the trail being washed out from the storm that had ripped through the mountains. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He sat watching the rain pelt down, rivulets of water running down his face and into the neck of his sodden jacket.

Willow was irritated. Lyall had come by every day while she was at work until she finally told him that she needed space. He was too distracting. He took it the wrong way of course but at least he had left her alone. She hadn’t seen Garin in a while and was crestfallen.

His scent was washed away with the freak storm that had hit. She ran towards the café, her thick unruly curls shoved into the hood of her rain jacket. She wiped her feet on the mat and squeaked towards the register, considering closing since it was completely dead in here.

“No one has been in for hours,” Caitlin said, glancing up from her magazine.

“I believe it. It is crazy out there! I could barely see,” Willow replied, dripping on the floor. Caitlin eyed her.

“You need a car,”

“Yeah, yeah. I like to walk. Just not…in a monsoon,” she said with a smile and walked back to her office, hoping to warm up by her space heater while she balanced the till. She grabbed a spare towel and blotted dry her hair before twisting it into a simple knot atop her head.

The heater kicked on and she stretched her frozen toes towards it, savoring the warmth. She pulled up the day’s transactions and saw that Caitlin was right. There had only been seven orders all day. It was only noon but since the storm was supposed to last through tomorrow, she decided to close early. She had gotten a new book and was looking forward to a few uninterrupted hours of reading.

She padded out to the front of the café.

“I’m closing early. No one is coming in this,” she said to Caitlin.

“Awesome! Do you want a ride?” she asked Willow while she gathered her things. Willow shook her head.

“Nah, I have a few things to do before I lock up. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She watched Caitlin leave and locked the door behind her, turning the sign from open to closed. She was nearly back to her office when she heard a frantic knocking at the door.

“For Christ’s sake, no one needs coffee that badly,” she murmured under her breath and walked back. Mr. Schwartz was banging at the door, his eyes wide with panic. She hurriedly unlocked the bolt and he dashed in, out of breath.

“Oh Willow!” he gasped.

“What is it?” she asked, pushing him into a chair. He took a few deep breaths and tried to gather himself. He shook his head once and droplets sprayed across the floor. His face was an unhealthy shade of pumice.

She quickly made him a tea and pushed it into his hands.

“Now what is going on?” she asked, sitting in a chair across the table from him.

“Garin Brochade has been missing for two days!” he exclaimed, and she felt herself go cold. Missing? How was he missing? It made sense. She hadn’t smelled his scent for about two days, but she figured maybe he had been busy or found a different coffee shop.

“Slow down. Tell me what happened,” she said, trying to calm her own racing thoughts.

“He just disappeared, His family said that they noticed his far in the driveway and that one of their hiking backpacks was missing. They figured he just went somewhere to blow off some steam from writing, but he never came back. The trail was washed out. No one can figure out where he went!” Mr. Schwartz hiccupped roughly, and Willow motioned for him to drink the tea. He slurped loudly.

“Do they have anyone looking for him?” she asked, feeling as if she were going to burst from her own body.

“They haven’t made any progress because of the storm. They are going to go out tomorrow once it passes.” He handed her back the empty cup.

“Thanks for letting me know,” she said and stood. He stayed rooted to his seat. “What?” she asked as he eyed her.

“I thought that perhaps with your family's particular set of…skills you could help,” she froze. She had always suspected that he knew more than he let on. He was the leading researcher in the country on the Women of the Moon.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied with a sniff.

“Please!” he yelled and grabbed her elbow. “Please,” he said softer. “Garin doesn’t deserve to die cold and alone in the forest,” her heart stopped at the thought and she nodded, not meeting his eyes.

“Thank you, dear girl. Thank you,” he slapped his sodden hat back onto his head and lurched to his feet. “If anyone can find him, it’s you,” he said and left, the door slamming closed behind him. Willow was still frozen, she couldn’t move.

She didn’t know what to do. Rather she did know what to do but what if…what if it were some type of elaborate ruse to get her alone? She didn’t think Garin would be a part of something so sinister, but she barely knew him. She couldn’t make assumptions off of passing conversation and a few stolen looks. Could she?

She could take a look. If it seemed like a trap, she could at least outrun them. Locking the door, she ran home. She would need to take supplies with her. He could be hurt. He was definitely cold and wet. Probably hungry.

Thankfully, her grandmother wasn’t home. She had been spending the past few days at a relative's house. There was a new baby in the family so her grandmother was spending every waking moment cuddling and coddling the thing.

Packing quickly, Willow shoved a tent, emergency blanket, food, and a first aid kit into a large backpack. She grabbed extra clothes for herself and realizing that he was probably soaked through, awkwardly packed her largest pair of sweats, an oversized hoodie she had won at a Young Entrepreneurs conference, and a pair of woolen hiking socks.

The rain hadn’t lessened when she stepped back outside. She would start near his house and go from there. There were only a few trails accessible outside of the Estate and she knew most of them. Even though the rain was pelting down, she knew she would be able to track his scent.

She ran through the forest, anxious to find his trail. As she neared the Estates, she caught a small whiff of something. She stopped; her head titled slightly upwards. It was him. He had taken the least traversed trail. Also, one of the more dangerous as it was not so easily navigated and lead along the edge of the cliffs.

Taking a deep inhale of his warm scent she plunged ahead.

“Please don’t be dead,” she whispered, holding his scent close.