Free Fire in the Woods by Jennifer M. Eaton

down the street, Mrs. Nicholson scooted her six-year-old, what’s-his-face, into the house. She furrowed her brow as I passed.
    “Jessica, does Major Martinez know you’re out?” she asked, holding the screen door ajar.
    “Yeah. It’s all good. I’m going to the playground.” Sounded plausible. The playground was in that general direction. Sort of, anyway.
    “Today?” She tilted her head to the side.
    Army housewives…they listened to their husbands, they panicked, and then worried about everybody else’s business. This wasn’t the first time the Army scrambled over nothing at all. I learned that by the time I was ten. Why adults took so long to catch up, I didn’t know. I smiled, waved, and continued on. I just hoped she didn’t call my dad.
    Movement at the gates ended my cadence. An MP stood at the guard shack, looking over papers on a clipboard.
    Crap. Why were they still monitoring the gate?
    I kept walking. He looked up and held his hand out.
    “Just a minute, miss,” he said. “Would you mind opening the bag?”
    Sweat crept over my brow. “Why?”
    “We’ve been asked to check all baggage.”
    No use fighting it. “What are you supposed to be looking for?”
    “Classified.”
    Classified my rear-end. His security clearance probably wasn’t much higher than mine.
    I opened my camera case and showed him the contents. I wouldn’t even let Dad fiddle with my camera. I wasn’t about to let this guy’s pudgy fingers grease up the lens. I snuggled it safely back in its compartment as the MP unzipped my bag and removed the blanket. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
    It’s none of your business, jerk. I looked away, hoping to avoid questions.
    I had to stop fidgeting though. I probably looked as guilty as sin.
    The MP handed the duffle back to me. I started squishing the blanket back in.
    “So, is that it?”
    He made a note on this clipboard, glancing at me. “You’re Jessica Martinez, right?”
    I straightened. “Yeah, why?”
    “We met at Bobby Baker’s graduation party.”
    Ouch. The night Bobby and I broke up. Not a good time.
    I threw my bag over my shoulder. “Sorry, I don’t really remember. Can I go now?”
    He nodded. “Sorry for the inconvenience, Miss.”
    I marched past the gates, my hands frozen into fists until I stepped onto the sidewalks near the civilian housing. I didn’t stop until I stood before the open grassy area where I’d first seen the deer.
    “Okay, David,” I whispered. “Where are you?”
    I treaded over yesterday’s muddy footprints, and pushed aside the broken bramble I’d dragged him through last night. Instant cool embraced me the second I passed under the forest’s welcoming limbs. I searched for him for hours. Well, I was lost for a few of those hours, but I was looking while trying to find my way out.
    The air grew cooler, and I fingered the blanket in my bag. David was going to be cold. I couldn’t leave him out there alone. Then again, maybe he decided to go home, or maybe he got caught by whoever he was hiding from. I could very well have been looking for someone who wasn’t even out there anymore.
    Evening’s coolness seeped into the forest. I glanced over my shoulder, unease stabbing me. He could be anywhere. Staying out there was stupid, and the sun was going down. If I didn’t get home before Dad…Well, let’s just say dad getting home before me was just not an option. I’d end up in reform school or something.
    Still—turning down the trail that led out of the woods was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

7
     
    Score! No dad to be seen. I skipped into the kitchen, plucked some chop meat out of the fridge and threw it onto a frying pan. While it sizzled, I grabbed a box of taco shells from the cabinet. I could manage a little Mexican food, and it would look like I’d been cooking for a least an hour.
    I chopped up some lettuce and tomatoes and stirred the seasoning package into the meat. I’d made a typical ‘Jess is cooking’