Marsh was a man on the run, an ex-con that got lucky that day. His only concern now was to survive; survive and stay ahead of the tracker.
Issy was lost in the woods. Wandering away from the Girl Scout campout, she had become confused and was on her way to a slow death.
Essie was the kidnap victim, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had no choice now but to survive as well.
The manhunter Barnes; the tracker sent to find the man. He had been paid a lot of money for his skills and would find this man no matter what.
"The man we're looking for is an escaped convict that got lucky; they were transporting him from a maximum-security facility down to Texas when he made his escape." "By the way, there was a little girl lost right around here about a month ago; a Girl Scout, it's possible our whacked out friend may have her. If that's the case, may God have mercy on that poor girl; I shudder to think of the things that maniac is capable of doing."
"So, do we even have a name for this guy?" "Yes, Marsh Baxter. Marshall Baxter. Marshall, like the name, not the job."
He looked down at the little girl lying there on the ground; using two fingers, he checked the pulse at her throat. She had a pulse, a weak one, but she was still alive; Marsh lifted her and put her over his shoulder.
The pretty blond lady knelt by the fire as she was stirring it back to life, she was lost in her thoughts; so deep in her thinking, she didn't hear the two come up behind her. "Don't move. Don't make a sound" said the man's voice. The lady's green eyes were wide with fright. She had flinched, he had startled her, but she wasn't about to move, not with that knife at her throat.