“Regan!” Jack yelled as he raced toward them.

“Watch out! The brand!”

In an instant, Jack, Melanie, and Billy were just feet away.

“Train your flashlights on them!” Jack ordered.

“Ahhhh,” Regan yelled as a corner of the brand grazed her left arm. With all her might, her arms around Georgina’s waist, Regan rolled their bodies to the right.

Georgina extended her right arm outward as they rolled, keeping the brand a safe distance from herself. With lightning speed, Jack lunged forward and forcefully brought his foot down on Georgina’s right forearm, pinning it to the ground. He reached out and grabbed her left wrist, holding it tight.

“Let go of the brand!” he commanded.

“You’re hurting me!” she wailed, her fingers grasping the brand.

“I said let go.”

Jack’s foot pressed down harder on her arm. She cried out in pain and released her grip. Jack reached down, picked the brand up, and quickly handed it over to Billy. “Regan, are you okay?” he asked as he pulled Georgina to her feet and snapped a pair of handcuffs around her wrists. “Did you get burned?”

“Just barely,” Regan answered as she scrambled over to Chip’s body, tried to shake him awake, then grabbed his wrist. “His pulse is low,” she cried. “He won’t wake up. Call an ambulance.”

“I already did,” Kit shouted as she crutched down the hill. “They’re on their way. I think it’s coming now.”

As the sound of the approaching ambulance grew louder, Jack growled to Georgina, “You’d better pray that this guy makes it. What did you slip him?”

“I didn’t give him anything!” she protested. “We had a couple of drinks, that’s all.”

Regan held Chip’s hand and tapped his face. “Come on, Chip. There are a lot of people who love you and are so worried. Your parents and your sister and your friend Phil…there were search parties of people you don’t even know out looking for you tonight…they can’t wait to see you and talk to you…”

The ambulance screeched to a halt on Riverside Drive, followed by several patrol cars. Paramedics hurried into the park with a stretcher. As Regan explained what happened, they quickly placed an oxygen mask on Chip’s face, took his vital signs, and gave him a shot of flumazenil. “We’ll get him to the hospital.”

“Is he going to be all right?” Regan asked anxiously. Jack was standing next to her, his arm draped protectively around her shoulder. Kit and Billy were standing a few feet away.

One of the emergency medical workers nodded. “I think so. His vital signs are okay. If she did slip him chloral hydrate and he was drinking alcohol, he’ll be out of it for a while. But he’s young and looks strong.”

Regan sighed with relief. “I’ll contact his family. We’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Yes, ma’am. St. Luke’s,” he said as the paramedics started wheeling the stretcher out of the park.

Jack pulled Regan close. “Are you sure you’re okay? You yelped in pain. Let me see where she got you.” He shone his flashlight on her left arm. An angry red mark stood in stark contrast to Regan’s pale skin. “Regan! Look at that!”