Nick Hayes dropped his teaching materials into a plastic bin at the Brookhill Fall's Visitor Center. A few stragglers remained after his presentation to study the various displays and exhibits. He approached them to see if they had any questions about park conservation. They didn't, so he busied himself dusting the displays.

Normally, he'd kill time talking with Epi, the only other college student working at the State Park this summer, but it was her day off. She'd gone into town to buy groceries and do some laundry. Epi had volunteered to do Nick's laundry too; he lied and told her he didn't have any. They were good friends, but he didn't want her folding his boxers.

As he returned the duster to the supply closet, the heavy front door slammed open, and a woman burst into the Center. Nick was easily identifiable as a staff member in his brown cargo pants and green polo. She ran across the small space and skidded to stop in front of him. 

"Ma'am, is there a problem?" Nick asked.

"Yes. I need help. My daughter is missing."

"Where did she go missing?"

"She was on the trail down to the river with her brothers. And now we can't find her anywhere. Please help me." She grabbed onto his arm like it was a life preserver.

The woman hadn't told Nick anything useful, but she was obviously distraught. Not a surprise. In her situation, he'd be a basket case. "All right." He said, "Let me take you to a ranger who'll get all your information, and then we can start our search."

"Thanks. Umm ... "

"Call me Nick."

She released her grip on his elbow. "Ok, Nick."

He led her to the office of the Senior ranger on staff. Rex would still be here. He usually worked until dark, and with an on-site cabin, his commute took only minutes. As expected, he was at his desk, filling out one of the endless forms required of management. Nick knocked on the doorframe. "Ranger Cross?"

Rex sat up in his chair, his balding head shining under the fluorescent lights. "Yes?"

"This woman's daughter went missing. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Amber. Amber Norris."

The ranger spit a chewed on toothpick into his garbage can, came from behind his desk, and politely shook Amber's hand. "When did she go missing?"

"Less than an hour ago."

"Not long. Good. Please sit down."

"No. We need to get back to the campsite and find her."

"I understand your concern." Rex put a hand on her elbow and guided her to the chair in front of his desk. "But I promise you, we stand a better chance of finding her if we get the most accurate information out to our teams to start the search."

"Fine." Amber sat but only perched on the edge of the padded seat.

Rex pulled a form from a file cabinet and returned to his desk. "Only your daughter went missing, correct?"

"Yes."

"Your daughter's full name?"

"Faith Jillian Norris."

"Age?"

"Ten."

"Height?"

Looking to the ceiling, Amber scrunched up her face. "Fifty-four inches at her last checkup, and she weighs seventy pounds. She has long light-brown hair and brown eyes. She doesn't wear glasses or have braces or has any other distinguishing features. She's your average little girl who is probably scared to death right now and wants her mother."

"Don't worry, Ma'am. We'll find her," Nick interjected.

Rex frowned at him as Amber brushed away a tear. Nick lowered his chin to his chest, and Rex returned to the form. "Just a few more questions and I will call in the Search team."

"Ok." Amber bit her lip.

"Allergies?"

"None."

"Is she on any medication?"

"No."

"Any other health concerns such as depression?"

Amber gripped the edge of Rex's desk. "She's ten-years old for Christ's sake."

"I'm sorry," Rex exhaled. "But I have to ask because if your daughter was suicidal, it would affect the way we perform our search."

"Well, she's not."

"Good."

Amber crossed her arms over her chest. "And if you must know, she's on the spectrum."

"She's autistic?"

"Yes, but she's high functioning. You'd never know it if you saw her."

"I understand. Do you recall what she was wearing?"

"A yellow dress with shorts underneath, and white tennis shoes."

"Are you sure? I know it's hard to remember under these circumstances."

"Positive. We got in an argument about it this morning, but she's very headstrong."

Rex nodded his head. "And where did she go missing?"

"As I told the other guy, it was on the trail down to the river, right near our campsite."

"Which campsite?" Rex asked.

"Dingmann."

Nick smiled but held his remarks to himself. He didn't want to disappoint Rex again by making empty promises, but it was hopeful. Dingmann was the closest campground to the Brookhill Fall's Visitor's Center, and its neighboring river was called Little Flat Creek, which was an appropriate description of the river. It wasn't very deep, and the current wasn't very strong. Furthermore, the area was well-traveled. A hiker or fisherman could've already found the girl— while other regions of the park were more remote and not as populated. In fact, the park consisted of over 700,000 acres of woods and hiking trails, which included rivers with treacherous rapids and mountains with sheer cliff faces. It was so large, it had five different resource centers and a chapel that could be reserved for rustic weddings.

"Was anyone with her?" Rex continued.

"Yes. Her older brothers. They'd gone down to the river to look for crayfish. Jonah and Logan made it back. Faith didn't. They said she was right behind them, but when we went looking for her, she was gone. It was like she'd disappeared into thin air."

"And this happened sixty minutes ago?"

Amber checked her phone. "More like seventy."

Rex noted the time on the form. "And where are your sons now?"

"They stayed with my husband to search for Faith while I came here."

Sucking air past his clenched teeth, Rex asked, "Their ages?"

Nick knew the reason for Rex's bated breath. The last thing they wanted was more children to go missing while stumbling around the park.

"Jonah is twelve, and Logan is ten."

"Are they experienced in the woods?"

Amber nodded. "We go camping every year. They've been taught to stay put the second they think they're lost. Faith too."

"GPS or phone?"

"My husband has a GPS unit."

"Good. Had you seen anyone suspicious in the area prior?"

"I don't think so."

"Ok. Last question. Do you have a recent picture of Faith?"

Amber brushed away a tear. "Yes. I took one of the kids as we set up camp today."

"Do you mind sending it to my phone?" Rex recited his number.

From over her shoulder, Nick could see her description of the girl's clothing had been accurate. He hoped the rest of her account was correct as well. Especially the timing— or their search radius wouldn't be wide enough. Seconds later, Rex's phone beeped with the message. He reviewed the attachment before standing up.

"Nick, can you follow Ms. Norris to the site? I'll assemble the team, and we'll be down to the site as soon as possible."

"No problem." He escorted Amber from the office and asked a nervous question to fill the silence. "Did you drive here, Ms. Norris?"

"I did."

"Great. Then I'll follow you down to the campsite in my car."

It wasn't Nick's personal vehicle but one of the many reconditioned Jeep Cherokees the staff used to navigate the park. Fortunately, the keys were already in his pocket since he'd planned to gather research data for a local college after his conservation class. Nick pushed open the door to the Visitor's Center, and Amber followed him outside. Still not able to help himself, he hoped to comfort her by saying, "With any luck, your husband already found her."

"I doubt it. He would've called me if he had."

"You never know— reception can be spotty."

"Hopefully, you're right." Amber jogged to her car, a new model red SUV, and pulled out from the lot.

Nick was impressed with her restraint; she stayed within the posted speed limits on the five-mile trip to the Dingmann campground. He doubted he could've done the same in her position. They parked next to one another and ran the short distance to the campsite. To their disappointment, the family wasn't waiting at the tent. Nick prayed the girl had just left the path to chase a butterfly, got turned around, and shown up later, embarrassed but unharmed. The park's staff was always happy with that result; it was much better than the alternative.

"It's down here." Amber pointed to an opening in the tree line.

Nick was familiar with the trail but let her lead the way. He'd only been a guide for a few months, but in addition to his regular duties, Nick spent most of his free time in the woods. The quiet of the outdoors helped to clear his mind after what he went through earlier this year. Not ten feet down the path, Amber and Nick were met by a large man and two young boys.

Amber ran to them. "Did you find her?"

"No," her husband sighed.

"Nothing?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not a thing."

"Damn it!" She clenched her jaw before stepping back and gestured towards Nick. "Honey, this is, umm ... "

"Nick. Nick Hayes. I'm a Park Guide on staff for the summer." He held out his hand, and they shook. The man was strong. His grip ground Nick's knuckles together.

"John Norris. Where's everybody else?"

"Our Senior ranger, Rex Cross is gathering the SAR's team. They should be here in less than twenty minutes."

"SAR's?" Amber asked.

"Search And Rescue. The best of the best. All of them are experienced trackers. They could find a black cat in a coal cellar at night." Nick had picked up that little saying from Rex. He hoped to pick up their spirits with it, but failed miserably.

John frowned. "Well, we couldn't find a thing. It's like she vanished."

"Can you take me to the LKP?" Nick asked.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "LKP?"

"Oops. Sorry for all the Search jargon. I just finished my Basic training, so all the terms are fresh in my head. LKP stands for the Last Known Position."

"Sure." John squeezed his older son's shoulder. "Jonah, show him the spot that you last saw your sister."

"It's right down here." Jonah motioned down the trail with a shaking hand. He looked more anxious than Nick felt. The boy led the group to a spot sixty yards down the path. "We were running back, so we wouldn't be late for dinner. The last time I checked over my shoulder was right about here, and she was fine."

Nick studied the area. He didn't see obvious indentations in the ground or any tree breaks. Before he could move farther down the trail, Mrs. Norris screamed. Everyone rushed to her. She held up a wet leaf on a low-hanging branch a few feet off the path.

"Oh, my god. Is this what I think it this?" Amber shouted.

The color was hard to makeout in the underbrush, but Nick thought it was red. Dark red. He bent down andinhaled deeply. His nostrils filled with the distinct smell of iron. Yep. Therewas no doubt in Nick's mind what it was.