Eventually, three men emerged from the shadows of the woods. Jack carried Nancy in his arms, her head tilted backward, and her left arm hanging down.
The three men seemed exhausted, and were breathing heavily. Nancy, however, wasn’t moving at all.
“Is she dead?” Julie asked, a shiver in her voice.
“No, she’s just sleeping,” Jack said, and took another deep breath. “I found her curled up underneath a tree. She begged me to take her home. We all need to keep a better eye on her from now on.”
“I’m sorry. It all happened so fast. I couldn’t get hold of her.”
“It’s not your fault, Julie,” Jack said. “We all need to keep a better eye on her.”
Andrew nodded. “I’ll stay closer from now on.”
“Why aren’t they coming for us?” Julie’s voice quavered.
“I don’t think the black box is transmitting a signal. If it was, they’d be here by now,” Andrew said. “Something’s wrong.”
“They can locate planes at the bottom of the ocean,” Jack said. “Finding a plane in a shallow lake shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Perhaps, that is the problem,” Andrew responded. “The bottom of the ocean is hard, and the water’s deep. However, the bottom of a shallow lake could be remarkably soft. Perhaps the transmitter’s buried in mud.”
“Is the transmitter located at the front or the back of the plane?” Julie asked and looked at Jack.
“How would I know?” Jack frowned.
“Well, you seem to know a lot about airplanes,” Julie responded.
“I only know what’s in the news,” Jack claimed. “But I’m certain there’s a transmitter on the plane.”
“Something’s wrong.” Andrew shook his head. “They’re not coming.”
“You think we should leave?” Jack asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m just saying. If we’re going to walk out of here, then we can’t wait too long,” Andrew said. “If it’s this cold in late August, then imagine how cold it must be in October.”
Jack looked across the shore. “Either way, they are looking for us. And if they fly over here, they’re bound to see the sign.”
“If they fly over here,” Andrew replied. “But we’re not where we’re supposed to be. I don’t think we’re anywhere close to the ocean.”
“Satellites are everywhere these days. Someone’s always watching.”
“Have you looked at a map recently, Jack? That sign is fifty feet wide, and the Canadian wilderness is half a continent.”
“It’s only been two days, Andrew.”
“I’m not saying we should leave tomorrow, but we should at least get a better view of the surroundings,” Andrew said. “A road could be within close proximity. Cars could be passing by us as we speak.”
“That’s true.” Jack nodded.
“We should get a good view from the top of that mountain over there.”
Andrew pointed at the dark silhouette of a mountain, slowly fading away in the sunset. Jack looked in the same direction.
“When you say we, I take it you mean me.” Jack looked at Andrew.
“Well, there’s no point in me going up there, I can only see a road if I’m standing on it. Julie can’t walk, and Candy shouldn’t walk. So, that leaves you and Bigfoot.”
“What did you call me?” Kevin yelled, and looked aggressively at Andrew.
Andrew twitched. “Take it easy, Kevin. I meant it as a compliment.”
“How is being referred to a hairy ape, a compliment?”
“He’s not an ape, he’s…” Andrew shrugged. “…Bigfoot.”
Kevin kept staring aggressively at Andrew.
“I just meant you’re a big guy. No more.” Andrew looked cautiously at Jack.
“He’s right, Kevin. We should pair up. There could be wolves in these woods.”
“Wolves?” Julie said in a trembling voice.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, Julie. If they come too close, just stand back to back and wave a branch at them. They’ll go away,” Jack said. “Wolves hardly ever attack people. That’s just in the movies.”
“What if we come across a bear?” Kevin asked.
“Don’t run.”
“That’s the best you got, Jack?” Kevin looked appalled. “Don’t run.”
“If we come across a bear, then we walk slowly in each direction…” Jack bowed his head. “…and we let the bear decide.”
Kevin slumped his shoulders.
16 PARADISE
Monday morning
The office landscape was buzzing, as more or less all employees were still busy keeping in touch with the passengers’ families. However, George thought the word cloud that filled the room seemed slightly diminished from the loud furor over the weekend, and he assumed less screaming and crying could be heard on the other side of the lines. He felt thankful that he was a part of the crisis team, and therefore in charge of press relations, relieving him having to call the distraught and angry relatives.
Emergency crisis coordinator Cayla Marsh kept herself busy, constantly keeping in touch with the various agencies involved in the missing plane search and investigation. But the same authorities also communicated directly with the press, so whatever information Cayla received was presented on the news shortly after she had announced it to the crisis team. George’s work seemed pointless, as the information on each of the press releases he’d written only stated the obvious, all the facts already known to the general public.
George wondered if he’d overestimated what part an airline played in a search for a missing airplane, or if he perhaps had overestimated this particular airline’s capability in doing so. The company didn’t comply with his idea of an airline, and he thought the way the company was run showed too many irregularities. However, he didn’t think the mistakes were due to corruption; the errors were more a matter of incompetence.
George noticed how his boss, the CEO, sometimes stared at him through the glass walls of the man’s office, and he also observed that now Williams was actually alone for once. George opened the crisis contingency plan and tried his best to give the impression that he was working. Once again, he couldn’t help but notice how Cayla Marsh had wrongly used the word “personal” for the word “personnel.”
The CEO kept staring at him, and then suddenly Mike gestured with his hand that George should join him in his office.
“What’s the latest?” George asked.
“The ELT isn’t providing a signal. They’ve found some debris in the lake, but it doesn’t necessarily derive from the plane. It could just be garbage.”
Mike Williams hadn’t disclosed anything that George didn’t already know.
“In addition to being the spokesperson for this crisis team, I also fill in for Jeff as human resources manager,” Mike said, sounding a bit annoyed. “And I also have responsibilities as the CEO of this company.”
George felt his boss had just accused him of laziness.
“How can I help?”
“I thought you could visit the captain’s mother tomorrow, and make sure she’s taken care off. Mrs. Daniels lives on the outskirts of Paradise, only a few hours’ drive.”
“What about tomorrow’s press release?”
“I can handle the press release just fine,” Mike responded in a short tone.
George felt that his boss had come to realize what little workload George had at this time of calamity.
“Okay then,” George said. “You want me to visit the co-pilot parents also?”