Into the Wild "TO" Wander part 3

They sat silent, waiting for the phone to ring again. None of them knew if they were prepared fr what Trevor might say this time.

"We need to agree on something before that phone rings. You nor mark can say anything when he speaks. We don't know what his reaction will be if he knows you are here right now."

"I agree with Joel. If he hears us in the background he may kill more of the kids. We will listen and then decide what to do when he is finished."

The ladies agreed with Joel and Mark as they settled back to await the call. They did not have to wait long. The phone ringing made them all jump and sit straight in their chairs. Joel reached out and switched the phone to speaker and then picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hello Joel, so nice to talk to you. How is the family doing? Oh wait, you can't fully answer that now, can you? It seems I have half of your little family here with me."

"You bastard, I am going to..."

"You are going to what, Joel? Are you there, Karla?" Karla found it hard to speak at first. "Karla, are you going to answer me are do I need to get nasty?"

"No, no, please don't do anything to the kids! I am right here listening."

"Well, you need to calm that man of yours down a bit before he ends up saving you a lot of money." The calm in Trevor's voice was more unsettling than if he had sounded like the lunatic they saw him as.

"What is it you want us to do, Trevor!?"

"I wonder, Joel, not that I am smart or as rich as you are, but I wonder... how are Karen and Mark doing? Is it alright if I say hi to them? I just can not help thinking that they are their playing Bridge or what ever it is you people do with your little gatherings. It really is best not to lie to me."

"We are here, Trevor. Just tell us what you need us to do to get our kids back!"

"Ah yes, that is the Mark I have grown to know an hate! Your daughter is a feisty little thing, Mark. She may just be money in your pocket."

"If you touch her, you freak, I swear I am..."

"Karen, such naughty threats coming from a church lady. Shame on you for that. You will do exactly what the rest are going to do and that is shut up and listen! I have a lot of kids to watch and I do not have time to waste on your emotions. This is what I want from you! It's really quite simple. I want you four to come to Yellowstone. You will bring yourselves and only yourselves. You will have four days to find the drop off for the money. I will tell you where to drop it once you get here. You will rent a car after you are here and will not go anywhere else once you enter the park."

"How do we know you won't harm the kids?!"

"You don't, Karla. That is why I highly recommend that you do what I say! Do not interrupt me again! Drive to Caribou Crossing and call me. I will give you more information at that point. Now you better be going since you have half a days driving to go before you get here. I Will be watching your every minute of the day."

"After we drop the money to you, how do we find the kids? How will we get the money to you? we can not draw that kind of money if the banks are closed."

"Enough with the questions, Karen!!! I will have an account that you will transfer the money to. It is time you got on your way. I should hear from you within 3 hours. Joel, don't disappoint me or your kids. We can do this and never look back or we can do this minus one kid at a time. Personally. I would just as soon be done with it all. That is all for now Mark, and I will let you all know how you are progressing later. I need your cell phone number, Joel. I want to be able to reach you should a kid piss me off!"

After passing on Joel's number, the call was ended. The four rushed to get things packed and met back at Joel and Karla's house. They packed things in to the vehicle and were on the road in less than a half of an hour. The drive was quiet save the occasional small talk. The drive would take about five hours. Arrival at the park would bring with it morning's light. Joel's phone lit up and he flipped it open.

"Hello to you, everyone in the vehicle. I am afraid there has been a little change of finances owed to me. It seems that another of the kids decided he wanted to go home. I sent him to heaven instead. It looks as if this trip will be like a stop at McDonald's for you. You get the kids AND some change back."

"Why are you doing this, Trevor? I do not understand!"

"I already told you why, Joel. Just keep driving and we will finish this as quick as we can. I do hope there are some kids left when you get here. I would hate for you to have wasted the trip."

Joel gripped the steering wheel tight, wanting to scream. He could hear the ladies crying softly, trying to not let Trevor hear their sobs. No one was certain what might trigger anger in Trevor and cause him to start shooting.

They reached the outskirts of the park at dawn. they sat waiting for Trevor to call them with further instructions. Just after six a.m. it rang.

"I am glad that you made it, Joel. Now we can proceed with the task at hand. Walk North until you can see a huge rock formation. There will be a marker on it telling you which way to go."

There was a scream in the background. Joel held the phone to try and hear more. "Shut up and sit down! It may look to you as if I can not handle all of you but I can. If you become too much for me, I will simply eliminate you. One by one or all at once makes no difference to me. The next wrong move and I will kill two of you."

"We are here, Trevor. There is no reason to hurt any more, please. We are doing exactly what you asked us to do."

As they walked along the jagged path towards the rock, they heard a scream. Each looked up towards the sound in time to see a body being lifted in to the air by a man. They could barely see his face but were certain it was Trevor. Karen screamed the loudest as she watched the girl's body plummet towards the rushing water below. Her screams only ceased when she went under the water. The mountain tops blocked their view of anything down stream. Whether she lived or not was unknown.

The true horror was that the girl tossed in to the water had the same color hair and build as Amanda. Karla cried out and pounded her fist on a rock until it was bloody. She screamed across the valley that was in front of them.

"Damn you, Trevor. We are going to kill you!! Do you hear me, we are going to kill you!" Her voice echoed across the valley.

"No need to worry," came the voice on the other side. "It wasn't one of yours but it might be soon!!! Keep walking and doing exactly what I said and we can avoid this."

They continued their trek across the Park's fields. Anger now replaced fear and they talked of what they might do should Trevor not make good on his end. They made a plan that would assure them their children's safe passage home. Clouds suddenly closed in all around them. They were nasty, dark clouds that threaten to open with rain anytime. Their mark on the rock would be washed away, along with the chance to get their children to safety.