Leaning against the craggy bark, I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. Twice today I’d faced death. I tried to calm my racing heart and slow my panting. Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. I wasn’t strong or courageous. I was afraid and discouraged. But the strength to get out of the mine, ride that unbroken mule, and get away with fancy trick riding after a five-year hiatus wasn’t coming from me. Thank You, Lord.

The sun had set, and nightfall drew close. For the first time since I woke up in that hospital room with a full-blown case of PTSD, darkness would be my ally.

I planned my next move. I couldn’t crawl diagonally to the next tree—the one nearest my cabin. I’d be exposed the entire way. I needed to keep this ponderosa between the killer’s window and me by crawling straight away until parallel with the next tree. A fast ninety-degree turn and I’d be behind it. From there it was a straight shot to my cabin.

Holly found me and gave me an enthusiastic greeting.

“No, Holly,” I whispered. Holly continued to circle me, tail wagging. “Holly, go away, go.” She became more excited at my whispering. The killer might easily see Holly reacting to something and come out to investigate. He’d find me.

I swatted her.

Holly backed away, tail now still.

My vision blurred. A massive lump formed in my throat. “Go now!” I whispered.

The dog trotted away, turning every so often to see if I’d changed my mind. To see if I still loved her.

An anvil rested on my heart. I wanted to call her back, to love on her. To ask for forgiveness. Instead I pointed away when she looked.

Someday, somehow, if I lived through this, I’d make it up to Holly and Maverick. They’d saved me from a bear, from my nightmares, from death in the mine.

I wiped my eyes and nose with the sleeve of my dirty sweatshirt and started crawling. When I’d gone beyond the next tree, I moved over slightly to see if anyone was watching from the window. I felt naked, exposed, and helpless now that I didn’t have the shield of trees.

No one was at the window. Go now. I scurried over to the next pine. My cabin was tantalizingly close.

My palms were on fire from the rough twine and from crawling on stiff pine needles. My jeans had a hole in one knee. All of my muscles ached. My residual leg ached and pinged. I waited a moment, then moved toward the cabin as fast as I could.