Beth Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "fiction"
Angels
What do you think angels do?
We know that they are not what we become when we die--they are another of God's creations. We know many things that they do: some help minister to us when we are in need, some are messengers, and some are warriors. These amazing creatures are found throughout the Bible and many people have claimed experiences directly with them even in today's world.
I want to invite you to experience them in my novel A Rose For Jonathan. The book was written to give you a visual of how important prayer is in our lives. Take a moment to sample it and see if it's for you.
I've spoken to women's groups and churches about the book as well as appeared on TV and on several radio shows. The book has received the New Apple Independent Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing in the Religion/Spirituality category and it has also been given the Reader's Favorite Five Star Seal.
Hang on tight...the sequel is moving through the editing process.
Quiver will be available this summer: date TBA.
Beth Green
The Green Author
We know that they are not what we become when we die--they are another of God's creations. We know many things that they do: some help minister to us when we are in need, some are messengers, and some are warriors. These amazing creatures are found throughout the Bible and many people have claimed experiences directly with them even in today's world.
I want to invite you to experience them in my novel A Rose For Jonathan. The book was written to give you a visual of how important prayer is in our lives. Take a moment to sample it and see if it's for you.
I've spoken to women's groups and churches about the book as well as appeared on TV and on several radio shows. The book has received the New Apple Independent Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing in the Religion/Spirituality category and it has also been given the Reader's Favorite Five Star Seal.
Hang on tight...the sequel is moving through the editing process.
Quiver will be available this summer: date TBA.
Beth Green
The Green Author
Goodreads Giveaway!
Congratulations to Judy, Angela, Nancy, Christina, and Thomas!
They are the lucky winners of the autographed copy of A Rose For Jonathan!
There is another chance to win an autographed copy of The Club still ongoing on Goodreads.
Enter for a chance to win!
They are the lucky winners of the autographed copy of A Rose For Jonathan!
There is another chance to win an autographed copy of The Club still ongoing on Goodreads.
Enter for a chance to win!
A BIG secret!
Welcome to my secret book!
Spread the word and enter into my world as I construct a book for you ... chapter by chapter.
Comment to let me know you are reading and want to continue!
One Last Stand
Chapter 1
The rocks were the worst. Tree roots were next but I definitely hated the rocks more. It was the sharp edges and the way my feet slipped in the old shoes, reminding me with every step that I shouldn’t be here. My legs ached but the muscles began to relax as I eased back onto a crumbling log. Balancing against the rotting wood, I massaged my feet, one at a time, admiring a large blister that had materialized between two toes on my right foot. Was it better to pop it or leave it alone? Somewhere in my distant memory was the understanding that it was better to leave it alone and that was fine with me.
One bandage remained in my pack and I gently wrapped it around the white bubble of skin that had become so bothersome during the last few miles. As I stretched out my legs again, my body reprimanded me for climbing up and down the rocks and roots that characterized the trails in this part of the Smoky Mountains. Several times today, my thighs and a good portion of my backside cried out for mercy but I just bit my lip and kept moving. Up and down and then up again. The trails twisted through the woods with seemingly no end and I was counting the minutes for this day to end. Nothing could have been worse than admitting my pain to my two friends. Besides, Jake was the resident whiner in our little group and I didn’t want to be connected to his title in any way. Several times today I thought Sam might push Jake off a ledge in frustration during the frequent stops he needed to catch his breath. I really thought that after several days of hiking we would all be getting our ‘hiking legs’ as I had always been told would happen on longer trips; but I soon found that idea was a big fat lie, as my body only seemed to get worse.
Maybe we were supposed to rest at some point or jump in some magic pool of water; but all we seemed to find were more rocks…and more roots. As if the uphill climbs weren’t brutal enough, the descents had been even worse. On the second day, I stepped sideways and my foot slid between a large rock and a tree, leaving me with an aching reminder on each step that my ankle needed rest. I’m pretty sure that’s why I developed the blister: I was forced to walk in a strange sideways hop down all the trails for several hours the rest of that day. At least today I was able to find a way to step on the heel of my shoe without as much pain. Even so, the soreness and the pain and even Jake’s whining weren’t the worst of it all. There was much more to face at the end of this journey than what was happening now; but none of us knew it at the time.
The evening sun dipped low over the horizon, sending a few last ripples of color through thick green leaves over our heads before it eventually surrendered to the moon’s glow through the dense canopy. Our campfire continued to crackle and pop while I contemplated whether to be angry or sad. Thoughts ebbed and flowed through my brain and I tried to shove the chaos aside to enjoy the last night of my only vacation for many more months. The aching in my body subsided somewhat and I began to believe that I was actually feeling good. It really was satisfying to conquer several of the trails; but I was getting tired. Even though I didn’t have much to return to, home sounded pretty good — at least in terms of a hot shower. After that, I wasn’t sure what would be next.
Sam had tried to scare Jake with stories about huge bears and campers missing in these woods. Ignoring his stupid stories was getting harder now, as they grew more ridiculous with each swig from the small bottles one of them had decided to pack in for our trip. The flames consumed the last of the dry sticks and the insects were beginning their nightly chorus, almost drowning out the sound of water rushing over the rocks nearby. Trees swayed gently above us, where the moon did it’s best to provide a small bit of light despite the dense leaves that permeated the woods surrounding our campsite. So much serenity to enjoy if not for the two boneheads that I had agreed to spend four days with in the woods. After another half hour of Sam’s stories and a few jabs at Jake about the difficult hike, the fire began to burn low.
Sam usually targeted Jake and left me alone. It wasn’t hard to see why. Sam and I were almost the same height; but Jake was much smaller. My size had helped me several times on athletic fields in my younger years; but now it was just a part of who I was and seemed to be of no advantage now that I was older. When you’re poor and from a broken home, once high school ends, there is little discussion about anything more; and there are no more coaches eyeing you in the hallways and discussing your potential on their teams. Up until about a year ago, someone like me would have been expected to begin working at the local electronics factory; but it had been forced to close, spewing out it’s final television during the spring of last year and leaving behind financial devastation to an already depressed area. As the jobs disappeared, suicide rates tripled and drug abuse became rampant. My only salvation was a bitter old grandmother who allowed me to stay with her if I allowed her to verbally abuse me and force me to keep the house and yard tidy. It was a pernicious arrangement that had motivated me to work harder than ever to find a way out of that life for good.
Since I was the first in my entire family to even finish high school, college seemed ridiculous to contemplate. Because my grandmother had a long list of prescribed chores each week, my time was limited; but I had somehow been able to find a way to work a job as well as go to school, even though most semesters I only covered about half of a normal course load. It didn’t bother me that I had to go slow. At least I was moving ahead with something and farther away from everything else. After six years of this pace and adding courses in the summer, I was only one semester away from finishing my undergraduate degree in business. Maybe that would be something to look forward to if my money hadn’t been confiscated for the never-ending sea of bills for my grandmother and the hike in tuition yet again this upcoming year. From my calculations, I needed at least a year to save again in order to return for my last and final semester. Every day that I seemed closer to my goal, something would set me back. I knew I would finish, though, and I felt my determination swell as the end drew near.
The last few months had been long and difficult and I was glad to head out on a trail to clear my head. Hiking had always been something that I enjoyed, although my school and work schedule rarely allowed it anymore. Somewhere in my younger years, I remember being out here with my dad — long before he and mom decided that living within the law was just too boring. It was too many years ago now to count. Part of me longed to stay out here where life was simple; but I needed to go back and I needed to finish. My inner fire had burned so low when we started this trip that I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to do it; but instead of zapping my remaining stores, I found the woods invigorating at first, even with two idiots in tow. Then again, anything was better than home. Now that this was the last day, I was ready and I needed a break from Sam and Jake, even if it meant returning to my grandmother again.
Fatigue began to settle over my body so I stood and stretched. When Jake and Sam didn’t flinch, I thought that they had fallen asleep, so I nudged Jake with my foot.
“Hey, I’m heading to bed. You guys need to pitch your tents before that fire burns out.”
Sam opened his eyes and sat up as one of the bottles rolled out of his hand. Part of me wanted to pick it up and throw it at him. How stupid do you have to be to try to hike and drink at the same time?
“Gonna sleep out here.” Sam slurred as he walked over to his pack to get his sleeping bag. I watched him dig through his Arc’teryx backpack and wondered what it would be like to be able own something that nice. My hiking shoes and pack came from a local thrift store and cost a total of twelve dollars. Even though the shoes were a little worn, they were surprisingly comfortable, just not very supportive anymore.
Sam had been born into a family that gave him more money than time and he feared almost nothing. I had met him in an accounting class last year; and even though he was boisterous and loud, he had a strange sort of charm that made everything sound fun and exciting. When he had suggested this trip, I was looking for a short escape and didn’t think about the full effect of trusting him as the leader out here.
“I’m in,” Jake said and stood too quickly, almost collapsing back to the ground.
He weaved and stumbled over to his pack and began to pull out his sleeping bag. Jake was an enigma to me. He followed Sam blindly and seemed almost indebted to him for some reason. It wasn’t just a typical bromance, there was more; but I never did know what it was. Some secret existed between them and it was obvious that neither wanted to tell what it was. Jake’s family was also well endowed and Jake knew nothing of the struggles that someone like me faced every day. I had watched both of them squander more money in a few hours than I would make in three months. In a normal world, we probably wouldn’t have been friends; but they often took me out to eat or to a movie and paid my way most of the time. Several times, I even found a $20 bill in my pocket that I knew I hadn’t put there. Sam was not the sentimental type, so I always suspected Jake was my secret benefactor. Some day I planned to ask him about it; but for now, I just needed the money so badly that I kept quiet.
They set up their sleeping bags by the fire and Sam stumbled over to douse the fire with some water.
“Grab you stuff, Ben. This is our last night.” Sam waved his hand around as he spoke and I thought he looked like a cryer from a carnival.
“I’m sleeping in there,” I said pointing to my tent, “I don’t want to be covered by mosquito bites tomorrow; and you two aren’t welcome in my tent in the middle of the night, so make you choice now.”
“There’s no bug that can take me down!” Sam said as he stepped up on a log and flexed. He barely made it down without falling.
“I’ll bet you’ll change your mind by morning,” I muttered as I went inside my tent and zipped it closed.
“You’re such a girl!” Sam sneered and Jake quickly laughed as well and then turned and belched, sending them both into a fit of laughter.
Their stupidity amazed me and I rolled my eyes as I laid down on top of my sleeping bag, waiting to cool off as the night continued to settle over the forest. Sam and Jake continued to hurl harmless insults at each other and at me; but it didn’t last long. We had hiked over twelve miles up and down steep trails and we were all exhausted. My mind replayed some of the incredible scenery of the last few days. The mountain tops had been exhilarating; and as I stood on one of the plateaus today, something stirred deep within me that I never knew existed. Only a few more miles separated us from completing our journey tomorrow and again I felt a strange hint of sadness that it would soon be over and I would have to return. I didn’t want to stay with these two…I just wanted to stay here alone.
I wonder what would happened if I just decided to stay out here and never go back?
A smile curled on the edge of my lips as I envisioned the look on my grandmother’s face when she discovered that I was gone for good. One thing was sure: I didn’t want to stay with these two much longer either. Jake’s constant whining and Sam’s overbearing personality were more than a little annoying after several days and the solitude of my tent each night had been my only escape. Even without the insects, I would never give up the only reprieve that I had from the other two. For now, my muscles were aching and begging for a break. Four days of high mileage up and down mountain terrain were beginning to take their toll. I laid in the darkness and listened to the sounds of the forest around me. I just didn’t care anymore if Sam and Jake made fun of me for sleeping in here. Why would anyone carry a tent and not use it? In the back of my mind I knew why. Sam didn’t want to pitch his tent tonight because he was too buzzed.
I’m not helping them. They deserve what they get for being so stupid!
This was supposed to be an easy trip but somewhere along the planning phase, Sam and Jake had decided to make it a drinking binge as well, making our progress difficult and I now know that I will never to go with them again, although it made me smile as I turned onto my side to go to sleep that night, thinking about them clawing at their bumps the next day. I knew the value of a tent’s protection from those horrible insects.
In what seemed like only a few minutes, light danced along the side of my tent, startling me awake. I rolled over and grabbed my watch while my eyes adjusted to the light. It was already 8:10 AM, way past our scheduled start time of 7:00 AM.
“Crap!” I half yelled as I kicked off my sleeping bag and stuck my head outside the tent to see if the others were up. Sun beams had pushed through the foliage and the air was already thick with heat. I was not surprised that Sam and Jake had both slept in so late with the drinking they had been doing lately; but I was usually up early most days so why had I slept so much longer? Sleeping late now fouled up our plans to hit the trail early this morning in order to finish the last fifteen miles. Jake was balled up in his sleeping bag and snoring; but Sam was nowhere in sight. His sleeping bag was gone as well, so I sat back down inside my tent and began to roll up my gear to get ready to leave. I half expected to hear Sam’s stern voice any minute urging us to hurry, since this was supposed to be the last day. I picked up my watch again and noticed something strange. It said 8:10 AM but it had stopped. Now I wasn’t sure what time it was. My phone charger pack and my phone were both dead. They should have both had a little juice left; but there was no need to worry about it now and I stuffed them both in an outer pouch.
I hurried to pack the rest of my things knowing that Sam would start in on me again about not sleeping outside and I just didn’t want to listen to any more ribbing than necessary. My bag was almost finished and I couldn’t hear Jake stirring so I stuck my head back outside the tent and nudged him.
“Jake! You need to get up! Looks like Sam’s already packed. You know how he likes to get on the trail early.”
Jake groaned and pulled the end of the sleeping bag over his head. “Not yet. Give me half an hour.”
“Hey man, what time does your phone say?”
Jake groaned and I could hear him rustling around inside his bag. “Nothing. It’s dead.”
Sweat beads rolled down my face and my stomach growled as I tugged my gear out of the tent. Jake was balled up in his bag and my frustration began to boil.
“I’m not kidding, man! Get up! We need to go!” I kicked Jake with my foot — harder than I meant to but the hunger pains were crumbling my patience.
“Ouch!” Jake sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up and buy a little time. “Okay! I’m up!”
Jake stared at nothing as his brain tried to connect what he felt with with what he had to accomplish. I knew the hangover was probably mild; but inside I wanted to scream just to make his head hurt more. I noticed him scratching the side of his neck where several bug bites were visible and part of me was glad.
“My watch has stopped too. I have no idea what time it is; but it’s definitely later than we need it to be.”
“Do we have any more of those granola bars?” Jake was trying to stand but his legs seemed unable to connect to the ground. He reminded me of a baby giraffe at the zoo trying to stand for the first time. In between the wobbling, he continued to claw at his neck and now an arm, where the bug bites were even more numerous.
“Sam has them in his bag. Let’s get this junk up and hit the trail. We can eat all we want of the rest of the bars since it’s the last day.”
“Man I’m heading straight for the nearest pizza place. I’m gonna eat a whole large pizza by myself.”
“Sounds good.”
“Crap! Do you have any hydrocorty cream?”
“You mean hydrocortisone?”
Jake nodded and danced around as he slapped and scratched. I reached in my pack and threw him some cream and then began to disassemble my tent. As I pulled up the stakes, I spotted a trail of granola bars and clothes behind my tent and followed them into the edge of the woods, where Sam’s backpack laid open with the contents were strewn all over the ground.
“What the...” I went over and picked up the pack, which was covered in a wet, slimy substance. “Yuck! What’s this crap?”
Jake stumbled over, shoes on but not tied, still trying to will himself awake. His face, neck, and arms were covered in the white cream with small red bumps protruding through. He had finally stopped clawing at the bumps as the cream began to work. Peering at the slime he recoiled, “Oh, man, that’s gross. What is that?”
“Looks like something spilled all over it. It’s really sick.” I said as I tossed the bag down.
“I’m not touching it. Sam can clean that up himself.” Jake yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Hand me one of those bars.”
“Get it yourself. Where the heck is Sam, anyway?”
Jake picked through the slime to grab a bar. “I would guess down by the creek.”
“Looks like some animal dug through his pack. He was supposed to hang it on the tree.”
Jake was munching on a bar and seemed oblivious to anything else.
“Where’s his sleeping bag? Why would he take that down there without his pack?” Nothing seemed to make sense to me. I just wanted to get on the trail.
“I don’t know, maybe he slept down there.”
“That’s stupid. Weren’t you with him?”
Jake grabbed his head. “Not so loud, man, you know we were a little out of it.”
The hangover was worse than I thought and I just shook my head, “You stay here and keep packing your stuff, I’ll go check on him.”
“Whatever.” Jake walked back and laid down on his sleeping bag, crunching on the rest of the bar.
“Get up, we need to be ready!” Part of me was ready to leave them both.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be ready,” but Jake continued to lay across the bag, while I walked down to the creek wishing this day would go fast. At least at home I wouldn’t be dependent on these two anymore.
The path from the campsite to the creek wasn’t long but it curved to the left after about fifteen feet. There were strange marks on the ground at the start of the path and I couldn’t figure out what they were at first and then I finally found the source. As I turned the corner I found Sam’s sleeping bag, or what was left of it, in the middle of the path. The marks had been made by the bag being pulled down the trail. The bag was zipped closed but the middle was completely torn open with down and stuffing all over the ground and no sign of Sam.
“Jake! Come here!” I said as I ran back up the path. Part of me was aware that whatever had done this might still be nearby. My eyes scanned the area but saw nothing but dense green woods.
Jake jumped up, “I’m awake!” he said with crumbs dripping down his chin and getting stuck in his beard. He wiped off the crumbs and followed me to the place where the sleeping bag laid torn open and destroyed. “Where’s Sam?”
“Good question.” For a few seconds, thoughts of a practical joke played through my mind; but even Sam wouldn’t do this. He was too drunk last night and from the looks of Jake, he was probably too hungover this morning.
“What happened to his sleeping bag?”
“Another good question.”
“Do you think it’s a bear?”
My mind replayed some of the dumb stories Sam had told last night. “I don’t know; I guess it’s possible. You were right next to him all night. Did you hear anything?”
Thoughts of the stupid bear stories continued to churn until I dismissed them. Surely we would have heard a bear dragging Sam off in the middle of the night.
“No, man. I was out. I barely remember going to bed.”
“Idiots! Why did you guys drink again?”
“It was just a little. Sam had a couple of bottles left. They were tiny.” Jake held his fingers up to show the size.
“So you guys got drunk and now you have no idea what happened because you were passed out! How did you plan on hiking today? I cannot believe Sam--”
“We were just having a little fun.” Jake’s voice sounded hollow.
“You mean you cannot even stay away for just a few days? You’re both alcoholics, man.”
“Sorry! Sam just threw them in at the last minute. It’s not like we planned it or anything.”
“Well--”
A low growl echoed through the air followed by the sound of a stick snapping. The sounds seemed to be coming from around the corner of the trail and we both dropped to the ground. Any feelings of being annoyed with each other were quickly replaced with fear, as Jake quietly slid a stick over and looked around, pinning himself close to me. We sat perfectly still and waited; but nothing happened. After a few minutes, we both slowly stood up and looked around. The only sound was the nearby water rushing over the rocks. Jake took the stick and began to poke around at the shredded bag; but I held up my hand to signal Jake to stop and then cautiously continued on the trail down to the creek with Jake following closely behind me, holding the stick up high and ready to strike.
Neither of us said a word as we crept along the trail. The sight of the shredded bag made us both fear the worst; but neither of us wanted to say it out loud. Nearing the water, we heard the low growl again and another stick break. Instinctively, we both dropped low to the ground again and it seemed like an eternity as we sat and listened. Jake started to tremble and I signaled for him to stay put, while I slithered forward to try to see what was making the strange noise. Suddenly, I stopped and turned to look at Jake and signaled for him to move up beside me. I leaned in close to Jake and whispered,
“It’s right around this corner, I can see it’s shadow moving.”
Jake nodded and tightened the grip on his stick.
“Stay close to me.” I said as I picked up a rock the size of a baseball and moved forward again. Without warning, the growling stopped. Jake and I looked at each other and remained motionless again, trying to control the urge to panic. Carefully, I eased around the corner and disappeared out of Jake’s sight. When Jake finally came up behind me, I was squatting over what appeared to be the a wad of the same sticky substance on the ground that we had found on Sam’s backpack.
“What--" I held up my hand to keep Jake quiet and then motioned for him to come closer. Drops of the substance continued down the worn path ahead of us; but before either of us could say a word, everything went black.
Spread the word and enter into my world as I construct a book for you ... chapter by chapter.
Comment to let me know you are reading and want to continue!
One Last Stand
Chapter 1
The rocks were the worst. Tree roots were next but I definitely hated the rocks more. It was the sharp edges and the way my feet slipped in the old shoes, reminding me with every step that I shouldn’t be here. My legs ached but the muscles began to relax as I eased back onto a crumbling log. Balancing against the rotting wood, I massaged my feet, one at a time, admiring a large blister that had materialized between two toes on my right foot. Was it better to pop it or leave it alone? Somewhere in my distant memory was the understanding that it was better to leave it alone and that was fine with me.
One bandage remained in my pack and I gently wrapped it around the white bubble of skin that had become so bothersome during the last few miles. As I stretched out my legs again, my body reprimanded me for climbing up and down the rocks and roots that characterized the trails in this part of the Smoky Mountains. Several times today, my thighs and a good portion of my backside cried out for mercy but I just bit my lip and kept moving. Up and down and then up again. The trails twisted through the woods with seemingly no end and I was counting the minutes for this day to end. Nothing could have been worse than admitting my pain to my two friends. Besides, Jake was the resident whiner in our little group and I didn’t want to be connected to his title in any way. Several times today I thought Sam might push Jake off a ledge in frustration during the frequent stops he needed to catch his breath. I really thought that after several days of hiking we would all be getting our ‘hiking legs’ as I had always been told would happen on longer trips; but I soon found that idea was a big fat lie, as my body only seemed to get worse.
Maybe we were supposed to rest at some point or jump in some magic pool of water; but all we seemed to find were more rocks…and more roots. As if the uphill climbs weren’t brutal enough, the descents had been even worse. On the second day, I stepped sideways and my foot slid between a large rock and a tree, leaving me with an aching reminder on each step that my ankle needed rest. I’m pretty sure that’s why I developed the blister: I was forced to walk in a strange sideways hop down all the trails for several hours the rest of that day. At least today I was able to find a way to step on the heel of my shoe without as much pain. Even so, the soreness and the pain and even Jake’s whining weren’t the worst of it all. There was much more to face at the end of this journey than what was happening now; but none of us knew it at the time.
The evening sun dipped low over the horizon, sending a few last ripples of color through thick green leaves over our heads before it eventually surrendered to the moon’s glow through the dense canopy. Our campfire continued to crackle and pop while I contemplated whether to be angry or sad. Thoughts ebbed and flowed through my brain and I tried to shove the chaos aside to enjoy the last night of my only vacation for many more months. The aching in my body subsided somewhat and I began to believe that I was actually feeling good. It really was satisfying to conquer several of the trails; but I was getting tired. Even though I didn’t have much to return to, home sounded pretty good — at least in terms of a hot shower. After that, I wasn’t sure what would be next.
Sam had tried to scare Jake with stories about huge bears and campers missing in these woods. Ignoring his stupid stories was getting harder now, as they grew more ridiculous with each swig from the small bottles one of them had decided to pack in for our trip. The flames consumed the last of the dry sticks and the insects were beginning their nightly chorus, almost drowning out the sound of water rushing over the rocks nearby. Trees swayed gently above us, where the moon did it’s best to provide a small bit of light despite the dense leaves that permeated the woods surrounding our campsite. So much serenity to enjoy if not for the two boneheads that I had agreed to spend four days with in the woods. After another half hour of Sam’s stories and a few jabs at Jake about the difficult hike, the fire began to burn low.
Sam usually targeted Jake and left me alone. It wasn’t hard to see why. Sam and I were almost the same height; but Jake was much smaller. My size had helped me several times on athletic fields in my younger years; but now it was just a part of who I was and seemed to be of no advantage now that I was older. When you’re poor and from a broken home, once high school ends, there is little discussion about anything more; and there are no more coaches eyeing you in the hallways and discussing your potential on their teams. Up until about a year ago, someone like me would have been expected to begin working at the local electronics factory; but it had been forced to close, spewing out it’s final television during the spring of last year and leaving behind financial devastation to an already depressed area. As the jobs disappeared, suicide rates tripled and drug abuse became rampant. My only salvation was a bitter old grandmother who allowed me to stay with her if I allowed her to verbally abuse me and force me to keep the house and yard tidy. It was a pernicious arrangement that had motivated me to work harder than ever to find a way out of that life for good.
Since I was the first in my entire family to even finish high school, college seemed ridiculous to contemplate. Because my grandmother had a long list of prescribed chores each week, my time was limited; but I had somehow been able to find a way to work a job as well as go to school, even though most semesters I only covered about half of a normal course load. It didn’t bother me that I had to go slow. At least I was moving ahead with something and farther away from everything else. After six years of this pace and adding courses in the summer, I was only one semester away from finishing my undergraduate degree in business. Maybe that would be something to look forward to if my money hadn’t been confiscated for the never-ending sea of bills for my grandmother and the hike in tuition yet again this upcoming year. From my calculations, I needed at least a year to save again in order to return for my last and final semester. Every day that I seemed closer to my goal, something would set me back. I knew I would finish, though, and I felt my determination swell as the end drew near.
The last few months had been long and difficult and I was glad to head out on a trail to clear my head. Hiking had always been something that I enjoyed, although my school and work schedule rarely allowed it anymore. Somewhere in my younger years, I remember being out here with my dad — long before he and mom decided that living within the law was just too boring. It was too many years ago now to count. Part of me longed to stay out here where life was simple; but I needed to go back and I needed to finish. My inner fire had burned so low when we started this trip that I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to do it; but instead of zapping my remaining stores, I found the woods invigorating at first, even with two idiots in tow. Then again, anything was better than home. Now that this was the last day, I was ready and I needed a break from Sam and Jake, even if it meant returning to my grandmother again.
Fatigue began to settle over my body so I stood and stretched. When Jake and Sam didn’t flinch, I thought that they had fallen asleep, so I nudged Jake with my foot.
“Hey, I’m heading to bed. You guys need to pitch your tents before that fire burns out.”
Sam opened his eyes and sat up as one of the bottles rolled out of his hand. Part of me wanted to pick it up and throw it at him. How stupid do you have to be to try to hike and drink at the same time?
“Gonna sleep out here.” Sam slurred as he walked over to his pack to get his sleeping bag. I watched him dig through his Arc’teryx backpack and wondered what it would be like to be able own something that nice. My hiking shoes and pack came from a local thrift store and cost a total of twelve dollars. Even though the shoes were a little worn, they were surprisingly comfortable, just not very supportive anymore.
Sam had been born into a family that gave him more money than time and he feared almost nothing. I had met him in an accounting class last year; and even though he was boisterous and loud, he had a strange sort of charm that made everything sound fun and exciting. When he had suggested this trip, I was looking for a short escape and didn’t think about the full effect of trusting him as the leader out here.
“I’m in,” Jake said and stood too quickly, almost collapsing back to the ground.
He weaved and stumbled over to his pack and began to pull out his sleeping bag. Jake was an enigma to me. He followed Sam blindly and seemed almost indebted to him for some reason. It wasn’t just a typical bromance, there was more; but I never did know what it was. Some secret existed between them and it was obvious that neither wanted to tell what it was. Jake’s family was also well endowed and Jake knew nothing of the struggles that someone like me faced every day. I had watched both of them squander more money in a few hours than I would make in three months. In a normal world, we probably wouldn’t have been friends; but they often took me out to eat or to a movie and paid my way most of the time. Several times, I even found a $20 bill in my pocket that I knew I hadn’t put there. Sam was not the sentimental type, so I always suspected Jake was my secret benefactor. Some day I planned to ask him about it; but for now, I just needed the money so badly that I kept quiet.
They set up their sleeping bags by the fire and Sam stumbled over to douse the fire with some water.
“Grab you stuff, Ben. This is our last night.” Sam waved his hand around as he spoke and I thought he looked like a cryer from a carnival.
“I’m sleeping in there,” I said pointing to my tent, “I don’t want to be covered by mosquito bites tomorrow; and you two aren’t welcome in my tent in the middle of the night, so make you choice now.”
“There’s no bug that can take me down!” Sam said as he stepped up on a log and flexed. He barely made it down without falling.
“I’ll bet you’ll change your mind by morning,” I muttered as I went inside my tent and zipped it closed.
“You’re such a girl!” Sam sneered and Jake quickly laughed as well and then turned and belched, sending them both into a fit of laughter.
Their stupidity amazed me and I rolled my eyes as I laid down on top of my sleeping bag, waiting to cool off as the night continued to settle over the forest. Sam and Jake continued to hurl harmless insults at each other and at me; but it didn’t last long. We had hiked over twelve miles up and down steep trails and we were all exhausted. My mind replayed some of the incredible scenery of the last few days. The mountain tops had been exhilarating; and as I stood on one of the plateaus today, something stirred deep within me that I never knew existed. Only a few more miles separated us from completing our journey tomorrow and again I felt a strange hint of sadness that it would soon be over and I would have to return. I didn’t want to stay with these two…I just wanted to stay here alone.
I wonder what would happened if I just decided to stay out here and never go back?
A smile curled on the edge of my lips as I envisioned the look on my grandmother’s face when she discovered that I was gone for good. One thing was sure: I didn’t want to stay with these two much longer either. Jake’s constant whining and Sam’s overbearing personality were more than a little annoying after several days and the solitude of my tent each night had been my only escape. Even without the insects, I would never give up the only reprieve that I had from the other two. For now, my muscles were aching and begging for a break. Four days of high mileage up and down mountain terrain were beginning to take their toll. I laid in the darkness and listened to the sounds of the forest around me. I just didn’t care anymore if Sam and Jake made fun of me for sleeping in here. Why would anyone carry a tent and not use it? In the back of my mind I knew why. Sam didn’t want to pitch his tent tonight because he was too buzzed.
I’m not helping them. They deserve what they get for being so stupid!
This was supposed to be an easy trip but somewhere along the planning phase, Sam and Jake had decided to make it a drinking binge as well, making our progress difficult and I now know that I will never to go with them again, although it made me smile as I turned onto my side to go to sleep that night, thinking about them clawing at their bumps the next day. I knew the value of a tent’s protection from those horrible insects.
In what seemed like only a few minutes, light danced along the side of my tent, startling me awake. I rolled over and grabbed my watch while my eyes adjusted to the light. It was already 8:10 AM, way past our scheduled start time of 7:00 AM.
“Crap!” I half yelled as I kicked off my sleeping bag and stuck my head outside the tent to see if the others were up. Sun beams had pushed through the foliage and the air was already thick with heat. I was not surprised that Sam and Jake had both slept in so late with the drinking they had been doing lately; but I was usually up early most days so why had I slept so much longer? Sleeping late now fouled up our plans to hit the trail early this morning in order to finish the last fifteen miles. Jake was balled up in his sleeping bag and snoring; but Sam was nowhere in sight. His sleeping bag was gone as well, so I sat back down inside my tent and began to roll up my gear to get ready to leave. I half expected to hear Sam’s stern voice any minute urging us to hurry, since this was supposed to be the last day. I picked up my watch again and noticed something strange. It said 8:10 AM but it had stopped. Now I wasn’t sure what time it was. My phone charger pack and my phone were both dead. They should have both had a little juice left; but there was no need to worry about it now and I stuffed them both in an outer pouch.
I hurried to pack the rest of my things knowing that Sam would start in on me again about not sleeping outside and I just didn’t want to listen to any more ribbing than necessary. My bag was almost finished and I couldn’t hear Jake stirring so I stuck my head back outside the tent and nudged him.
“Jake! You need to get up! Looks like Sam’s already packed. You know how he likes to get on the trail early.”
Jake groaned and pulled the end of the sleeping bag over his head. “Not yet. Give me half an hour.”
“Hey man, what time does your phone say?”
Jake groaned and I could hear him rustling around inside his bag. “Nothing. It’s dead.”
Sweat beads rolled down my face and my stomach growled as I tugged my gear out of the tent. Jake was balled up in his bag and my frustration began to boil.
“I’m not kidding, man! Get up! We need to go!” I kicked Jake with my foot — harder than I meant to but the hunger pains were crumbling my patience.
“Ouch!” Jake sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up and buy a little time. “Okay! I’m up!”
Jake stared at nothing as his brain tried to connect what he felt with with what he had to accomplish. I knew the hangover was probably mild; but inside I wanted to scream just to make his head hurt more. I noticed him scratching the side of his neck where several bug bites were visible and part of me was glad.
“My watch has stopped too. I have no idea what time it is; but it’s definitely later than we need it to be.”
“Do we have any more of those granola bars?” Jake was trying to stand but his legs seemed unable to connect to the ground. He reminded me of a baby giraffe at the zoo trying to stand for the first time. In between the wobbling, he continued to claw at his neck and now an arm, where the bug bites were even more numerous.
“Sam has them in his bag. Let’s get this junk up and hit the trail. We can eat all we want of the rest of the bars since it’s the last day.”
“Man I’m heading straight for the nearest pizza place. I’m gonna eat a whole large pizza by myself.”
“Sounds good.”
“Crap! Do you have any hydrocorty cream?”
“You mean hydrocortisone?”
Jake nodded and danced around as he slapped and scratched. I reached in my pack and threw him some cream and then began to disassemble my tent. As I pulled up the stakes, I spotted a trail of granola bars and clothes behind my tent and followed them into the edge of the woods, where Sam’s backpack laid open with the contents were strewn all over the ground.
“What the...” I went over and picked up the pack, which was covered in a wet, slimy substance. “Yuck! What’s this crap?”
Jake stumbled over, shoes on but not tied, still trying to will himself awake. His face, neck, and arms were covered in the white cream with small red bumps protruding through. He had finally stopped clawing at the bumps as the cream began to work. Peering at the slime he recoiled, “Oh, man, that’s gross. What is that?”
“Looks like something spilled all over it. It’s really sick.” I said as I tossed the bag down.
“I’m not touching it. Sam can clean that up himself.” Jake yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Hand me one of those bars.”
“Get it yourself. Where the heck is Sam, anyway?”
Jake picked through the slime to grab a bar. “I would guess down by the creek.”
“Looks like some animal dug through his pack. He was supposed to hang it on the tree.”
Jake was munching on a bar and seemed oblivious to anything else.
“Where’s his sleeping bag? Why would he take that down there without his pack?” Nothing seemed to make sense to me. I just wanted to get on the trail.
“I don’t know, maybe he slept down there.”
“That’s stupid. Weren’t you with him?”
Jake grabbed his head. “Not so loud, man, you know we were a little out of it.”
The hangover was worse than I thought and I just shook my head, “You stay here and keep packing your stuff, I’ll go check on him.”
“Whatever.” Jake walked back and laid down on his sleeping bag, crunching on the rest of the bar.
“Get up, we need to be ready!” Part of me was ready to leave them both.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be ready,” but Jake continued to lay across the bag, while I walked down to the creek wishing this day would go fast. At least at home I wouldn’t be dependent on these two anymore.
The path from the campsite to the creek wasn’t long but it curved to the left after about fifteen feet. There were strange marks on the ground at the start of the path and I couldn’t figure out what they were at first and then I finally found the source. As I turned the corner I found Sam’s sleeping bag, or what was left of it, in the middle of the path. The marks had been made by the bag being pulled down the trail. The bag was zipped closed but the middle was completely torn open with down and stuffing all over the ground and no sign of Sam.
“Jake! Come here!” I said as I ran back up the path. Part of me was aware that whatever had done this might still be nearby. My eyes scanned the area but saw nothing but dense green woods.
Jake jumped up, “I’m awake!” he said with crumbs dripping down his chin and getting stuck in his beard. He wiped off the crumbs and followed me to the place where the sleeping bag laid torn open and destroyed. “Where’s Sam?”
“Good question.” For a few seconds, thoughts of a practical joke played through my mind; but even Sam wouldn’t do this. He was too drunk last night and from the looks of Jake, he was probably too hungover this morning.
“What happened to his sleeping bag?”
“Another good question.”
“Do you think it’s a bear?”
My mind replayed some of the dumb stories Sam had told last night. “I don’t know; I guess it’s possible. You were right next to him all night. Did you hear anything?”
Thoughts of the stupid bear stories continued to churn until I dismissed them. Surely we would have heard a bear dragging Sam off in the middle of the night.
“No, man. I was out. I barely remember going to bed.”
“Idiots! Why did you guys drink again?”
“It was just a little. Sam had a couple of bottles left. They were tiny.” Jake held his fingers up to show the size.
“So you guys got drunk and now you have no idea what happened because you were passed out! How did you plan on hiking today? I cannot believe Sam--”
“We were just having a little fun.” Jake’s voice sounded hollow.
“You mean you cannot even stay away for just a few days? You’re both alcoholics, man.”
“Sorry! Sam just threw them in at the last minute. It’s not like we planned it or anything.”
“Well--”
A low growl echoed through the air followed by the sound of a stick snapping. The sounds seemed to be coming from around the corner of the trail and we both dropped to the ground. Any feelings of being annoyed with each other were quickly replaced with fear, as Jake quietly slid a stick over and looked around, pinning himself close to me. We sat perfectly still and waited; but nothing happened. After a few minutes, we both slowly stood up and looked around. The only sound was the nearby water rushing over the rocks. Jake took the stick and began to poke around at the shredded bag; but I held up my hand to signal Jake to stop and then cautiously continued on the trail down to the creek with Jake following closely behind me, holding the stick up high and ready to strike.
Neither of us said a word as we crept along the trail. The sight of the shredded bag made us both fear the worst; but neither of us wanted to say it out loud. Nearing the water, we heard the low growl again and another stick break. Instinctively, we both dropped low to the ground again and it seemed like an eternity as we sat and listened. Jake started to tremble and I signaled for him to stay put, while I slithered forward to try to see what was making the strange noise. Suddenly, I stopped and turned to look at Jake and signaled for him to move up beside me. I leaned in close to Jake and whispered,
“It’s right around this corner, I can see it’s shadow moving.”
Jake nodded and tightened the grip on his stick.
“Stay close to me.” I said as I picked up a rock the size of a baseball and moved forward again. Without warning, the growling stopped. Jake and I looked at each other and remained motionless again, trying to control the urge to panic. Carefully, I eased around the corner and disappeared out of Jake’s sight. When Jake finally came up behind me, I was squatting over what appeared to be the a wad of the same sticky substance on the ground that we had found on Sam’s backpack.
“What--" I held up my hand to keep Jake quiet and then motioned for him to come closer. Drops of the substance continued down the worn path ahead of us; but before either of us could say a word, everything went black.
Secret book ... next chapter
Chapter 2: Starting the Adventure
We started our hike four days ago in Tennessee and decided to do a variety of trails, camping each night and planning to complete them all in four days. Sam had picked the route and we approved them only by his descriptions; but I was more than a little excited about leaving. My boss had been generous with the schedule and allowed me work seven straight days and then make up some more hours by taking extra shifts when I returned. My grandmother had been terrible. I didn’t tell her I was leaving until the day before and she was ticked. There was nothing she could really do anyway, so I just let her yell for a little bit until she had a coughing fit and had to settle down. She’d be alright and I really didn’t care anymore. I still needed her for a place to stay until I could leave for good. If she kicked me out over this, I didn’t really have anywhere to go and I should’ve been more sensitive to her threats; but I really wanted to go on this trip.
My mind drifted through a variety of subjects as we drove over the mountains to Pigeon Forge. We tanked up on pancakes and bacon before meeting an old friend of Sam’s named Dana that lived in the area and who took us to the first trail head, promising to return to the end of our last trail in four days to pick us up and take us back into town. I noticed Dana staring at Sam several times but he never showed any sign of interest in her and I couldn’t grasp what underlying emotional current was flowing between them; but I was fairly certain that they had a somewhat complicated history. She was pretty and fit and someone that I would definitely have wanted to see more of if I were in town. Knowing Sam, he had probably made use of her when it was convenient and tossed her aside as easily as an old pair of shoes. I’d seen him do that more than once.
“So what trails are you guys hiking?” Dana pretended not to care that Sam was aloof but I could sense she was struggling with her composure.
Jake piped up to try to answer the question, failing miserably. “I think we’re going to do Newfound Brush or something like that.”
“You mean Newfound Gap?” Dana’s eyes sparkled as she stifled a laugh.
“Yeah yeah. That’s it. Newfound Gap.”
“Are you heading up to LeConte?”
Mt. LeConte is the third highest mountain peak in the Smokies at 6593 ft high and is the sixth highest peak on the entire Appalachian Trail.
“We are taking the Boulevard over to there and maybe doing Rainbow and Brushy Mountain and as much other stuff as we can fit in.”
I tried to sound as if I knew what it all meant; but I had only glanced at the map, something I would regret later.
“Well, that’s a lot of ground to cover and some beautiful scenery. I hope you have good weather. Brushy Mountain is one of my favorites.” She glanced at Sam and then continued, “Looks like maybe some rain a couple of days from now but only scattered showers.” Dana watched Sam again, but he just continued to work on his pack as if it needed his undying attention.
“Cool,” I answered and immediately regretted it.
Stupid. What a stupid thing to say. Who says ‘cool’ anymore?
Dana looked at me and flashed a smile. Her dark brown eyes seemed to draw me in and I tried unsuccessfully to keep myself together, as I stumbled over my pack and barely kept my footing. She seemed amused at my demeanor while I struggled to seem nonchalant.
“Well, I’ll see you boys in four days at 5:00 PM sharp at the Rainbow Falls trailhead entrance.”
Sam finally turned toward her and gave her a sideways hug as if she were contagious. “Thanks, Dana. See you soon.” He gave his half-hearted fake smile and rolled his eyes at us as he turned away.
Watching her drive away was both exciting and weirdly sad. I still had high hopes and a long list of thoughts to sort out on the trail. There was no way to know at that time that I’d spend most of the next few days thinking how stupid these other two guys could be and the days after that just trying to survive.
My old backpack was not as sleek as theirs and was somewhat bulky in comparison; but I had worked hard to organize the items I’d deemed necessary to take. After tugging on some straps, I was able to get it to sit well and stay put. Jake and Sam were arguing over something and I stood and walked around with my pack, continuing to adjust it until I was satisfied. The parking lot had a few scattered cars and I wondered about the people on the trails and where they were all from. There were several different states represented and it reminded me of a game we used to play when we came here in the good years — the ones before my parents changed. I remember my mom carrying a notepad and she would keep track of all the license plates from all the different states we saw while we were here. On the last trip I remember, we had 38 states, including one car from Alaska. That was 10 years ago now and so much had changed, including my mom and dad.
An old man moved out of the woods and headed right toward where we stood at the trail head. Jake and Sam were busy finishing their last preparations as the old man drew closer. His gait was steady as he glided down the trail with the expertise of one who had been hiking his whole life. In each hand, he carried a pole and I smiled as I thought about how stupid I used to think poles were until I began to carry one myself. My pole was nothing more than a collapsable stick I’d purchased back home before the trip and was my only new purchase. In my younger days when my family used to come here, I had learned the importance of a pole during one of our longer hikes.
“Did you hear about those hikers that’re missing?” The old man said as he drew closer. He wore long pants and a long sleeve shirt and spoke with authority as if he was permanently stationed on the trail.
Sam took the lead and answered, “No, where were they hiking?”
The man eyed each one of us carefully as he spoke, “Right out there,” he said and pointed a crooked finger toward the mountains as he swept his arm across to indicate the entire area. A thin smile crossed his lips as he continued, “They said it was a group of four teenagers that came out here to hike and camp for a few days. No one’s seen or heard from them in days.” His eyes moved from me to the other two.
“Strange.” Sam looked back at us and widened his eyes to indicate he thought the man was off his rocker.
“Does that happen a lot around here,” Jake asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.
The man’s eyes bore into Jake as he answered, “Only if people don’t stay where they belong. There’re things out there you don’t wanna ever run into if you wanna live.”
Jake looked away, visibly uncomfortable and I finally spoke, “Like what? Bears?”
I wasn’t scared of a bear but I knew not to confront one either. My mind quickly reviewed some old stories of visitors coming here and trying to pet or feed them and receiving a swat across the face or head, which translates into a serious injury or death in most cases. My grandmother used to scoff every time one of those stories aired on the news. She would say something like “stupid tourists”. I didn’t often agree with her; but on this point, she was dead on right. Someone who approaches a wild animal should almost expect an injury.
This time, the old man’s face changed. He looked like he’d seen a ghost and I wasn’t really sure what that meant. When he spoke, his voice was soft and low, “I wish it was only that simple…” His voice trailed off but he quickly cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway, where are you boys headed?”
Sam rattled off the names of the trails we hoped to hit and a few of the campsites. The old man nodded and listened intently like he understood our route but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about his persona. Something about him wasn’t exactly right. He looked like a mountaineer at first glance but my gut told me there was something wrong. His accent was different than the hard southern slant of most locals. It was more than the accent, though, it was his eyes … something in them was entirely wrong.
The old man spoke again, “Well, be careful out there. Those mountains are as dangerous as they are beautiful.”
We all nodded and he turned and moved away from us down a small walkway to the restrooms by the parking lot. I wanted to stay and see where he went when he came out of the bathroom; but Sam was already walking up the trail. Jake scurried behind him like a lost puppy and I turned on my heel to follow.
By the time we were huffing up the first trail, the sun was already burning off the morning clouds and I was glad we were at an elevation where the temperatures should stay pleasant and not too hot.
“That old guy was creepy.” Jake puffed as he tried to keep pace with Sam.
“He’s harmless. I’ll bet he goes into town every day and laughs with his buddies about how he scares the hikers up here.”
I wasn’t so sure. “Maybe he’s telling the truth.”
Sam stopped and turned to face us. “Seriously? We haven’t even walked a quarter of a mile and you guys are already scared?”
“No, not scared. Just trying to be smart.” My voice sounded strong but my mind was less convinced.
Sam laughed and started walking again. “Geez, Ben, you sound like an old man yourself.”
Jake laughed and stayed close to Sam. I stayed back a few steps and took my time, knowing we had a long day ahead of us.
We made it up a long trail that had a stopping point at one of the shelters along the Appalachian Trail. The structure was made of stones walls on three sides with an open front. A large tarp had been strung across the opening to give some protection from the elements. The floors were wooden and there was a built in bunk area. Inside we found a notebook with entries from hikers that had passed through here. I sat and read a few while Sam and Jake ate a snack and laid back on the bunks to rest.
“We should just stay here. This would be awesome,” Jake said, obviously still thinking about what the old man had told us.
Sam kept his eyes closed as he spoke, “We have a long way to go before we stop for the day.” Without warning he sat up and said, “We need to get going.”
“Just a second,” I grabbed the small pencil that was attached by string to the notebook. “What should we call ourselves?”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
“Every hiker in here has a nickname. It’s kind of a tradition on the trail.”
“Sam paused a minute and simply said, “The Survivors.”
Jake nodded and smiled.
“Sounds good to me.” I wrote a simple note inside on the last open page: ‘The Survivors were here.’
Sam grabbed the notebook and pencil and quickly sketched a fist beside the entry.
“I didn’t know you could draw! That’s awesome.” I looked at his drawing, which had seemed effortless.”
Sam seemed uncomfortable and brushed past me to the outside. “Well, it doesn’t matter.”
I followed outside and decided to let it rest. We hiked for a few more hours, stopping to eat and take in the scenery along the way. A few places were worth some extra time for pictures as well and we each took our time loading our phones with them. Within a few stops, though, our picture taking waned a bit and we settled into a more rhythmic pace.
That first night was quiet, as we camped alongside the trail. Several times, I thought I heard animals moving around us; but I didn’t say anything. Our packs were hung securely in the trees to discourage the bears and we were all snug in our tents. The words of the old man rumbled through my thoughts until I drifted off to sleep. Thirty yards away, something was watching; but we had no idea we weren’t alone.
We started our hike four days ago in Tennessee and decided to do a variety of trails, camping each night and planning to complete them all in four days. Sam had picked the route and we approved them only by his descriptions; but I was more than a little excited about leaving. My boss had been generous with the schedule and allowed me work seven straight days and then make up some more hours by taking extra shifts when I returned. My grandmother had been terrible. I didn’t tell her I was leaving until the day before and she was ticked. There was nothing she could really do anyway, so I just let her yell for a little bit until she had a coughing fit and had to settle down. She’d be alright and I really didn’t care anymore. I still needed her for a place to stay until I could leave for good. If she kicked me out over this, I didn’t really have anywhere to go and I should’ve been more sensitive to her threats; but I really wanted to go on this trip.
My mind drifted through a variety of subjects as we drove over the mountains to Pigeon Forge. We tanked up on pancakes and bacon before meeting an old friend of Sam’s named Dana that lived in the area and who took us to the first trail head, promising to return to the end of our last trail in four days to pick us up and take us back into town. I noticed Dana staring at Sam several times but he never showed any sign of interest in her and I couldn’t grasp what underlying emotional current was flowing between them; but I was fairly certain that they had a somewhat complicated history. She was pretty and fit and someone that I would definitely have wanted to see more of if I were in town. Knowing Sam, he had probably made use of her when it was convenient and tossed her aside as easily as an old pair of shoes. I’d seen him do that more than once.
“So what trails are you guys hiking?” Dana pretended not to care that Sam was aloof but I could sense she was struggling with her composure.
Jake piped up to try to answer the question, failing miserably. “I think we’re going to do Newfound Brush or something like that.”
“You mean Newfound Gap?” Dana’s eyes sparkled as she stifled a laugh.
“Yeah yeah. That’s it. Newfound Gap.”
“Are you heading up to LeConte?”
Mt. LeConte is the third highest mountain peak in the Smokies at 6593 ft high and is the sixth highest peak on the entire Appalachian Trail.
“We are taking the Boulevard over to there and maybe doing Rainbow and Brushy Mountain and as much other stuff as we can fit in.”
I tried to sound as if I knew what it all meant; but I had only glanced at the map, something I would regret later.
“Well, that’s a lot of ground to cover and some beautiful scenery. I hope you have good weather. Brushy Mountain is one of my favorites.” She glanced at Sam and then continued, “Looks like maybe some rain a couple of days from now but only scattered showers.” Dana watched Sam again, but he just continued to work on his pack as if it needed his undying attention.
“Cool,” I answered and immediately regretted it.
Stupid. What a stupid thing to say. Who says ‘cool’ anymore?
Dana looked at me and flashed a smile. Her dark brown eyes seemed to draw me in and I tried unsuccessfully to keep myself together, as I stumbled over my pack and barely kept my footing. She seemed amused at my demeanor while I struggled to seem nonchalant.
“Well, I’ll see you boys in four days at 5:00 PM sharp at the Rainbow Falls trailhead entrance.”
Sam finally turned toward her and gave her a sideways hug as if she were contagious. “Thanks, Dana. See you soon.” He gave his half-hearted fake smile and rolled his eyes at us as he turned away.
Watching her drive away was both exciting and weirdly sad. I still had high hopes and a long list of thoughts to sort out on the trail. There was no way to know at that time that I’d spend most of the next few days thinking how stupid these other two guys could be and the days after that just trying to survive.
My old backpack was not as sleek as theirs and was somewhat bulky in comparison; but I had worked hard to organize the items I’d deemed necessary to take. After tugging on some straps, I was able to get it to sit well and stay put. Jake and Sam were arguing over something and I stood and walked around with my pack, continuing to adjust it until I was satisfied. The parking lot had a few scattered cars and I wondered about the people on the trails and where they were all from. There were several different states represented and it reminded me of a game we used to play when we came here in the good years — the ones before my parents changed. I remember my mom carrying a notepad and she would keep track of all the license plates from all the different states we saw while we were here. On the last trip I remember, we had 38 states, including one car from Alaska. That was 10 years ago now and so much had changed, including my mom and dad.
An old man moved out of the woods and headed right toward where we stood at the trail head. Jake and Sam were busy finishing their last preparations as the old man drew closer. His gait was steady as he glided down the trail with the expertise of one who had been hiking his whole life. In each hand, he carried a pole and I smiled as I thought about how stupid I used to think poles were until I began to carry one myself. My pole was nothing more than a collapsable stick I’d purchased back home before the trip and was my only new purchase. In my younger days when my family used to come here, I had learned the importance of a pole during one of our longer hikes.
“Did you hear about those hikers that’re missing?” The old man said as he drew closer. He wore long pants and a long sleeve shirt and spoke with authority as if he was permanently stationed on the trail.
Sam took the lead and answered, “No, where were they hiking?”
The man eyed each one of us carefully as he spoke, “Right out there,” he said and pointed a crooked finger toward the mountains as he swept his arm across to indicate the entire area. A thin smile crossed his lips as he continued, “They said it was a group of four teenagers that came out here to hike and camp for a few days. No one’s seen or heard from them in days.” His eyes moved from me to the other two.
“Strange.” Sam looked back at us and widened his eyes to indicate he thought the man was off his rocker.
“Does that happen a lot around here,” Jake asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.
The man’s eyes bore into Jake as he answered, “Only if people don’t stay where they belong. There’re things out there you don’t wanna ever run into if you wanna live.”
Jake looked away, visibly uncomfortable and I finally spoke, “Like what? Bears?”
I wasn’t scared of a bear but I knew not to confront one either. My mind quickly reviewed some old stories of visitors coming here and trying to pet or feed them and receiving a swat across the face or head, which translates into a serious injury or death in most cases. My grandmother used to scoff every time one of those stories aired on the news. She would say something like “stupid tourists”. I didn’t often agree with her; but on this point, she was dead on right. Someone who approaches a wild animal should almost expect an injury.
This time, the old man’s face changed. He looked like he’d seen a ghost and I wasn’t really sure what that meant. When he spoke, his voice was soft and low, “I wish it was only that simple…” His voice trailed off but he quickly cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway, where are you boys headed?”
Sam rattled off the names of the trails we hoped to hit and a few of the campsites. The old man nodded and listened intently like he understood our route but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy about his persona. Something about him wasn’t exactly right. He looked like a mountaineer at first glance but my gut told me there was something wrong. His accent was different than the hard southern slant of most locals. It was more than the accent, though, it was his eyes … something in them was entirely wrong.
The old man spoke again, “Well, be careful out there. Those mountains are as dangerous as they are beautiful.”
We all nodded and he turned and moved away from us down a small walkway to the restrooms by the parking lot. I wanted to stay and see where he went when he came out of the bathroom; but Sam was already walking up the trail. Jake scurried behind him like a lost puppy and I turned on my heel to follow.
By the time we were huffing up the first trail, the sun was already burning off the morning clouds and I was glad we were at an elevation where the temperatures should stay pleasant and not too hot.
“That old guy was creepy.” Jake puffed as he tried to keep pace with Sam.
“He’s harmless. I’ll bet he goes into town every day and laughs with his buddies about how he scares the hikers up here.”
I wasn’t so sure. “Maybe he’s telling the truth.”
Sam stopped and turned to face us. “Seriously? We haven’t even walked a quarter of a mile and you guys are already scared?”
“No, not scared. Just trying to be smart.” My voice sounded strong but my mind was less convinced.
Sam laughed and started walking again. “Geez, Ben, you sound like an old man yourself.”
Jake laughed and stayed close to Sam. I stayed back a few steps and took my time, knowing we had a long day ahead of us.
We made it up a long trail that had a stopping point at one of the shelters along the Appalachian Trail. The structure was made of stones walls on three sides with an open front. A large tarp had been strung across the opening to give some protection from the elements. The floors were wooden and there was a built in bunk area. Inside we found a notebook with entries from hikers that had passed through here. I sat and read a few while Sam and Jake ate a snack and laid back on the bunks to rest.
“We should just stay here. This would be awesome,” Jake said, obviously still thinking about what the old man had told us.
Sam kept his eyes closed as he spoke, “We have a long way to go before we stop for the day.” Without warning he sat up and said, “We need to get going.”
“Just a second,” I grabbed the small pencil that was attached by string to the notebook. “What should we call ourselves?”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
“Every hiker in here has a nickname. It’s kind of a tradition on the trail.”
“Sam paused a minute and simply said, “The Survivors.”
Jake nodded and smiled.
“Sounds good to me.” I wrote a simple note inside on the last open page: ‘The Survivors were here.’
Sam grabbed the notebook and pencil and quickly sketched a fist beside the entry.
“I didn’t know you could draw! That’s awesome.” I looked at his drawing, which had seemed effortless.”
Sam seemed uncomfortable and brushed past me to the outside. “Well, it doesn’t matter.”
I followed outside and decided to let it rest. We hiked for a few more hours, stopping to eat and take in the scenery along the way. A few places were worth some extra time for pictures as well and we each took our time loading our phones with them. Within a few stops, though, our picture taking waned a bit and we settled into a more rhythmic pace.
That first night was quiet, as we camped alongside the trail. Several times, I thought I heard animals moving around us; but I didn’t say anything. Our packs were hung securely in the trees to discourage the bears and we were all snug in our tents. The words of the old man rumbled through my thoughts until I drifted off to sleep. Thirty yards away, something was watching; but we had no idea we weren’t alone.
More secrets...
Chapter 3: Now What?
Darkness was everywhere and my head hurt. When I tried to move, I could feel ropes digging into my wrists and ankles. My instinct was to struggle and scream; but instead, I laid still and listened to get as much information as I could. The last thing that I remember was following the trail to the creek and finding the battered sleeping bag. Jake and I were looking for Sam and then we heard something weird. Now I’m tied down on a bed in a dark room.
What’s going on? Where are Sam and Jake?
As if on cue, Jake began yelling. “Ben! Sam!”
“Shhh.” I whispered, “I’m here. Just stay quiet.”
“Is that you, Ben? What’s going on, man?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know, but stay quiet. Try to work your arms and legs loose, if you can.”
“Where’s Sam?”
“I have no idea. I almost have one hand loose. Keep quiet.”
After a few minutes of tugging, my right arm was finally free. Quickly, I untied my left arm and sat up to look around as I worked on my ankles. We were in some type of room and it was pitch black except for the small light that bled under a door about thirty yards to my left.
I fumbled in the darkness to my right where I had heard Jake’s voice and worked to untie him. We both looked around but couldn’t see anything except the lighted area near the door. As we reached the edge of the light, I held up my hand and grabbed Jake to stop him from going any further.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered and Jake nodded. It sounded almost like a growl and my heartbeat rapidly increased. I reached over and felt along the wall toward the door for a handle and noted that the wall was rough and slightly damp — like it was made of dirt. My mind raced and then the musty odor around us finally made sense. We were in some kind of cave. Before I could respond to my thoughts, something lashed out and both Jake and I were yanked backwards further into the darkness.
My head struck the ground after I flew through the air and Jake started screaming my name; but there was no way to help him. The floor of the room was hard packed dirt and bits of rock, which furthered my realization that the room was inside a cave. I scrambled along the floor and moved toward the light again and found a rock about the size of my fist. At this point, I wasn’t even sure what we were fighting; and I had no idea which way to strike or if I would hit Jake, but I just flung the rock as hard as I could toward the sounds on the other side of the room. There was a large thud followed by a horrible sound that was a mixture of some type of growl and a scream. There was no way to know what had happened so I clawed along the floor toward the light again and prayed I could get outside and find some help.
Something grabbed my leg and I pulled away as hard as I could and flung myself into the darkness of one corner to hide.
“Ben!” Jake whispered but I was afraid to answer, so I moved cautiously toward where the voice had come from and ran right into Jake, who was trembling and speechless.
Without saying a word, I tugged Jake’s arm and pulled him toward the door, while expecting to be attacked again at any moment. Something in the room was moving around and screeching and I knew that we might not have long before it attacked again. The door was easy to find again and I quietly turned the handle and was surprised that it opened easily. I half dragged and half yanked Jake until we were both out of the room and then shut the door behind us. The outer room had more light and I found a chair to tuck under the doorknob, hoping that would be enough to at least slow down whatever was in that room.
Jake was whimpering but stayed close as we eased through the next door into a large open area. I looked back as the door behind us closed and realized the rooms were all separated by doors had been built into the rock. I didn’t have time to really contemplate it all as we stood trying to determine which way to go. Three openings led from where we stood and I chose the one with more light, hoping it wouldn’t lead us to our captors but to the outside. Fortunately, I chose wisely and within twenty yards we encountered the opening to the outside, although it was covered in thick hedges.
I peaked through the thick brush and saw only the forrest and no signs of people or anything else, so we both quickly squeezed through without a word. The sudden light half-blinded us but I knew we needed to keep moving and get away from this place to be safe. There was a trail leading away in both directions and I just decided to go right for no reason in particular. My body ached slightly as I jogged down the trail with Jake following closely behind, both of us hoping to outrun whatever was in that cave. We ran for a long time until we reached a small creek along the edge of the path.
“That might be a feeder creek to the large one we camped near.” I walked across the rocks to the other side, leaving the path.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we stay on the path?” Jake looked around nervously.
“I don’t think so. That’s definitely not the trail we were on and I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever that was back in the cave. We need to walk in the creek bed for awhile and lose our scent in the water. Maybe this small creek will dump into our creek and we can find the trail we were on and get out of here.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” Jake had no idea what to do and I knew it.
“Stay close.” I said as I headed downstream. Inside I was furious that I hadn’t looked at the maps more closely.
I kept a close eye on the surrounding woods and moved quickly over the stones and through the shallow water. Thankfully, we were both wearing waterproof shoes and had little worry of the water rushing over our feet. I wanted to put as much distance between us and that cave as possible. After moving down the creek for about a half hour, Jake tripped and fell. I grabbed his hand and for the first time really looked at him. Across Jake’s forehead was a scratch and he was bleeding down the side of his cheek.
“What was that thing in the cave?” Jake said and he began to tremble as he spoke as tears sprouted under his eyes.
“I don’t know but we’ve got to keep moving!” I was getting annoyed. Didn’t he know how much danger we were still in? If there was one thing I did know it was to get far away from whatever was going on around here. The strange old man and his comments rolled through my mind and I had to brush them aside. Surviving was the only thought process that I could afford to have.
“Where are we? And where’s Sam?”
I kept moving. If Jake wanted to figure it all out now, he could do it alone. I wanted to get out of here and nothing more.
“I have no idea; but it’s late in the day. The sun is going to set soon and we have to get somewhere safe so it won’t find us again. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“It. What was that thing, man?”
I refused to speak and kept moving.
“Do you think it got Sam?”
My frustration was overtaking my fear. “Look, I don’t know, okay? I just know that I don’t wanna be next.”
“Okay.” Jake managed to say.
“Here, let me clean that wound.” Using the creek water, I washed the scratch on Jake’s face and then took off upstream again, this time at a more manageable pace. “We need to drink. I’m not sure when we can get water again.”
Both boys drank from cupped hands. Nearby was a ridge and that seemed like the obvious place to go at this point.
“We can try to get up there before dark to see if we can see the trail or something to head toward.” I pointed up and Jake’s eyes followed. The mountain was steep and rocky but not impassable. My other thought was that we could hopefully see anything coming to look for us as well. Higher ground was always an advantage.
“Okay, I can do that.” Jake nodded over and over and began to mumble.
“Get ahold of yourself, Jake! We don’t have time for crazy. Whatever that thing was might come to hunt us, do you understand?”
Jake nodded and let out a sigh. “I can do this.”
We started the climb to the top of the mountain with darkness following close behind and I silently wondered how we could survive a night out here with no supplies and with that creature looking for us. Neither of us said a word as we moved quickly toward the top of the ridge before us. Within in an hour, we reached the summit and moved along the edge and found a small flat area with an overhang that could serve as some cover for the night.
“What do we do now?” Jake asked in a small voice.
“We survive.” I answered with conviction. In the distance, we could hear something growling and moving through the forest. I closed my eyes and prayed for protection.
Darkness was everywhere and my head hurt. When I tried to move, I could feel ropes digging into my wrists and ankles. My instinct was to struggle and scream; but instead, I laid still and listened to get as much information as I could. The last thing that I remember was following the trail to the creek and finding the battered sleeping bag. Jake and I were looking for Sam and then we heard something weird. Now I’m tied down on a bed in a dark room.
What’s going on? Where are Sam and Jake?
As if on cue, Jake began yelling. “Ben! Sam!”
“Shhh.” I whispered, “I’m here. Just stay quiet.”
“Is that you, Ben? What’s going on, man?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know, but stay quiet. Try to work your arms and legs loose, if you can.”
“Where’s Sam?”
“I have no idea. I almost have one hand loose. Keep quiet.”
After a few minutes of tugging, my right arm was finally free. Quickly, I untied my left arm and sat up to look around as I worked on my ankles. We were in some type of room and it was pitch black except for the small light that bled under a door about thirty yards to my left.
I fumbled in the darkness to my right where I had heard Jake’s voice and worked to untie him. We both looked around but couldn’t see anything except the lighted area near the door. As we reached the edge of the light, I held up my hand and grabbed Jake to stop him from going any further.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered and Jake nodded. It sounded almost like a growl and my heartbeat rapidly increased. I reached over and felt along the wall toward the door for a handle and noted that the wall was rough and slightly damp — like it was made of dirt. My mind raced and then the musty odor around us finally made sense. We were in some kind of cave. Before I could respond to my thoughts, something lashed out and both Jake and I were yanked backwards further into the darkness.
My head struck the ground after I flew through the air and Jake started screaming my name; but there was no way to help him. The floor of the room was hard packed dirt and bits of rock, which furthered my realization that the room was inside a cave. I scrambled along the floor and moved toward the light again and found a rock about the size of my fist. At this point, I wasn’t even sure what we were fighting; and I had no idea which way to strike or if I would hit Jake, but I just flung the rock as hard as I could toward the sounds on the other side of the room. There was a large thud followed by a horrible sound that was a mixture of some type of growl and a scream. There was no way to know what had happened so I clawed along the floor toward the light again and prayed I could get outside and find some help.
Something grabbed my leg and I pulled away as hard as I could and flung myself into the darkness of one corner to hide.
“Ben!” Jake whispered but I was afraid to answer, so I moved cautiously toward where the voice had come from and ran right into Jake, who was trembling and speechless.
Without saying a word, I tugged Jake’s arm and pulled him toward the door, while expecting to be attacked again at any moment. Something in the room was moving around and screeching and I knew that we might not have long before it attacked again. The door was easy to find again and I quietly turned the handle and was surprised that it opened easily. I half dragged and half yanked Jake until we were both out of the room and then shut the door behind us. The outer room had more light and I found a chair to tuck under the doorknob, hoping that would be enough to at least slow down whatever was in that room.
Jake was whimpering but stayed close as we eased through the next door into a large open area. I looked back as the door behind us closed and realized the rooms were all separated by doors had been built into the rock. I didn’t have time to really contemplate it all as we stood trying to determine which way to go. Three openings led from where we stood and I chose the one with more light, hoping it wouldn’t lead us to our captors but to the outside. Fortunately, I chose wisely and within twenty yards we encountered the opening to the outside, although it was covered in thick hedges.
I peaked through the thick brush and saw only the forrest and no signs of people or anything else, so we both quickly squeezed through without a word. The sudden light half-blinded us but I knew we needed to keep moving and get away from this place to be safe. There was a trail leading away in both directions and I just decided to go right for no reason in particular. My body ached slightly as I jogged down the trail with Jake following closely behind, both of us hoping to outrun whatever was in that cave. We ran for a long time until we reached a small creek along the edge of the path.
“That might be a feeder creek to the large one we camped near.” I walked across the rocks to the other side, leaving the path.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we stay on the path?” Jake looked around nervously.
“I don’t think so. That’s definitely not the trail we were on and I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever that was back in the cave. We need to walk in the creek bed for awhile and lose our scent in the water. Maybe this small creek will dump into our creek and we can find the trail we were on and get out of here.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” Jake had no idea what to do and I knew it.
“Stay close.” I said as I headed downstream. Inside I was furious that I hadn’t looked at the maps more closely.
I kept a close eye on the surrounding woods and moved quickly over the stones and through the shallow water. Thankfully, we were both wearing waterproof shoes and had little worry of the water rushing over our feet. I wanted to put as much distance between us and that cave as possible. After moving down the creek for about a half hour, Jake tripped and fell. I grabbed his hand and for the first time really looked at him. Across Jake’s forehead was a scratch and he was bleeding down the side of his cheek.
“What was that thing in the cave?” Jake said and he began to tremble as he spoke as tears sprouted under his eyes.
“I don’t know but we’ve got to keep moving!” I was getting annoyed. Didn’t he know how much danger we were still in? If there was one thing I did know it was to get far away from whatever was going on around here. The strange old man and his comments rolled through my mind and I had to brush them aside. Surviving was the only thought process that I could afford to have.
“Where are we? And where’s Sam?”
I kept moving. If Jake wanted to figure it all out now, he could do it alone. I wanted to get out of here and nothing more.
“I have no idea; but it’s late in the day. The sun is going to set soon and we have to get somewhere safe so it won’t find us again. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“It. What was that thing, man?”
I refused to speak and kept moving.
“Do you think it got Sam?”
My frustration was overtaking my fear. “Look, I don’t know, okay? I just know that I don’t wanna be next.”
“Okay.” Jake managed to say.
“Here, let me clean that wound.” Using the creek water, I washed the scratch on Jake’s face and then took off upstream again, this time at a more manageable pace. “We need to drink. I’m not sure when we can get water again.”
Both boys drank from cupped hands. Nearby was a ridge and that seemed like the obvious place to go at this point.
“We can try to get up there before dark to see if we can see the trail or something to head toward.” I pointed up and Jake’s eyes followed. The mountain was steep and rocky but not impassable. My other thought was that we could hopefully see anything coming to look for us as well. Higher ground was always an advantage.
“Okay, I can do that.” Jake nodded over and over and began to mumble.
“Get ahold of yourself, Jake! We don’t have time for crazy. Whatever that thing was might come to hunt us, do you understand?”
Jake nodded and let out a sigh. “I can do this.”
We started the climb to the top of the mountain with darkness following close behind and I silently wondered how we could survive a night out here with no supplies and with that creature looking for us. Neither of us said a word as we moved quickly toward the top of the ridge before us. Within in an hour, we reached the summit and moved along the edge and found a small flat area with an overhang that could serve as some cover for the night.
“What do we do now?” Jake asked in a small voice.
“We survive.” I answered with conviction. In the distance, we could hear something growling and moving through the forest. I closed my eyes and prayed for protection.
Chapter 4
A Tight Spot
The overhang wasn’t much and both of us had trouble keeping our bodies back inside the shadows and out of sight. The sun was sinking quickly and we tried to stay still and listen to the sounds of the forest, particularly the sound of something continuing to move methodically below us.
“What is it, Ben?” Jake whispered.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty far below us and doesn't seem to be getting closer.”
“What’re we gonna do?”
I held up my hand to signal for Jake to be quiet.
“Stay here,” I whispered and I eased forward to try to catch a glimpse of the creature. The last rays of the sun were bleeding through the leaves, casting long shadows over the already dense foliage below. As I inched carefully to the edge of the ridge and slowly peered below, the darkness was already overtaking the woods making it difficult to see. Squinting, my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. The woods was eerily still and I scanned the trees and the ground below for any sign of movement. Now that the sound had stopped, I was even more nervous. Hearing the movements of the creature had been frightening but at least we knew where it was. I quickly decided that the silence was much worse.
A strange low growl began to rumble through the air and I could see some leaves begin to move in the brush directly to the right and below where I was. My heart thumped so loudly that at first, I thought it was a drumbeat. The light was fading fast and I froze in place, listening to the sounds of the creature. Leaning further forward the dirt beneath me began to slide, sending a few rocks cascading down the side of the mountain. The creature stopped moving again and I pulled back and plastered my body on the ground and waited. After several seconds, I lifted my head and strained to see what was below once again, praying that we would be okay. The woods was completely still and several minutes passed as I laid there on the ridge without flinching. Finally, I could hear the creature began to move again, this time heading away from where we were hiding. I slid back beside Jake, who was curled in a ball and trembling.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I said as the full effect of our predicament began to bathe me in fear. I didn’t want to admit it to Jake, but I was more than a little bit scared.
“Well, what did you see?”
“Not much. But there was something moving through the brush — probably a bear.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Jake was too easily upset as it was. He didn’t need to see me exhibit any fear.
“That was no bear making all that noise! We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. It moved back down the mountain so we should be okay. There’s no way we can find our way out of here tonight. We just need to stay here and keep quiet.”
Jake shook his head and began to rock back and forth. “I don’t wanna die out here, man.”
“We’re not gonna die! Keep it together. Let’s just get some rest and we’ll start moving again at first light.”
Jake nodded. I was only able to see Jake’s outline in the growing darkness. “I’ll stay up for a few hours and you rest, and then we can switch.”
“Like in the movies.” Jake sighed and curled up on his side.
Moving toward the opening of the overhang, I silently prayed that that thing was tired and headed home. “Yeah, I guess.”
Leaning back against the rock, I stared out into the darkness. My mind wandered back to a few days earlier when we had started on this hike. Why had this trip been so important to Sam, who wouldn’t take no for an answer? I loved hiking; but I had had to trade days off in order to get here, causing a lot of trouble for me there and at home. Sam had made it sound urgent — like the trip was something we had to do as if it were life or death. And now it really was.
What happened to Sam? Was he back in that cave too?
There was nothing we could do for him until we could find some help. For now, we were still in danger as well.
Two hours passed and I was starting to get tired. Jake had rolled to his back and had begun to snore and make strange noises, so I pushed him back onto his side. The night was clear and cool with no signs or sounds that the creature was back. The tops of the trees swayed gently as I thought through the last 24 hours. Last night we were just friends heading to bed after a great day of hiking and anticipating being in the next and final town by today. Eating a large meal and getting a clean shower had dominated our thoughts all day on their last hike. Now, I was stuck on a ridge with Jake and our friend Sam was missing. My mind rummaged through anything I had learned about survival in the woods from the short years with my father.
How long has it been since I’ve eaten anything?
I wasn’t even sure. All of our supplies were gone, including cell phones, which were dead anyway and had only sketchy service out here when they did work. Water was the main problem. I knew that we needed water by tomorrow or we would be in trouble.
I need to make it another hour and then I can wake Jake for his turn.
My stomach growled again and I tried to remember any of the plants my father had mentioned that were edible in the woods but nothing came to mind.
Why didn’t I pay more attention to my dad back then?
Deep down, I knew why. My father had been hard on me and I had deeply resented it. The hiking was fun and it was really the only time that we agreed on anything, but taking my father’s advice was too hard back then.
Stupid! I should’ve listened.
Even so, my dad and mom had made their choices and now it was all over. For now, I knew we needed to get to the creek in the morning and get some water. Even though we’d be risking getting sick, without the water we wouldn’t live much longer anyway — creature or no creature. The creek bed would be an easy way to find the trail since it ran close to the creek most of the last few miles. My thinking was that we could backtrack to the last town and call for help.
I woke Jake for his turn to keep watch and then moved to the back of the overhang to get some sleep.
“Make sure you stay awake. I just need a couple of hours — three if you can make it that long.”
“I got it,” Jake said and he moved to where I had been sitting and leaned back on the rock.
I watched Jake for a few minutes to make sure he was fully awake and then drifted off to sleep. In what seemed like only a few minutes, Jake was shaking me violently.
“There’s something out there! It’s moving up the mountain!”
The sounds of something moving were clear even inside the makeshift shelter so I slid forward and turned back to Jake, “Follow me and stay as quiet as you can,”
We moved quickly out onto the ridge and along the edge. The sun was just coming up but there wasn’t enough light to see anything clearly. The strange sounds of the creature moving through the woods echoed up to us, indicating it was getting closer. When we reached the edge of the ridge, I could easily see that it dropped off at least 100 feet. As the creature came up the mountain, I looked around for somewhere for us to hide. A thick cluster of wild azaleas stood against one side of the ridge and we both ran and crouched behind them, each of us grabbing a few loose rocks on the way. Within seconds, we could hear the creature move onto the ridge. It seemed to be tracking where we had been and we could hear it move into the overhang. Jake was trembling but I was beyond fear and had entered some kind of warrior stage where it was either us or the creature. For some reason, this gave me peace. I kept my eyes glued on the edge of the rock where not long ago we had taken turns keeping watch during the night. There was nowhere to go now. If the creature came around to the ledge, we would have to fight for their lives or jump to our deaths. I had already decided what I would choose and hoped Jake had done the same.
The overhang wasn’t much and both of us had trouble keeping our bodies back inside the shadows and out of sight. The sun was sinking quickly and we tried to stay still and listen to the sounds of the forest, particularly the sound of something continuing to move methodically below us.
“What is it, Ben?” Jake whispered.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty far below us and doesn't seem to be getting closer.”
“What’re we gonna do?”
I held up my hand to signal for Jake to be quiet.
“Stay here,” I whispered and I eased forward to try to catch a glimpse of the creature. The last rays of the sun were bleeding through the leaves, casting long shadows over the already dense foliage below. As I inched carefully to the edge of the ridge and slowly peered below, the darkness was already overtaking the woods making it difficult to see. Squinting, my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. The woods was eerily still and I scanned the trees and the ground below for any sign of movement. Now that the sound had stopped, I was even more nervous. Hearing the movements of the creature had been frightening but at least we knew where it was. I quickly decided that the silence was much worse.
A strange low growl began to rumble through the air and I could see some leaves begin to move in the brush directly to the right and below where I was. My heart thumped so loudly that at first, I thought it was a drumbeat. The light was fading fast and I froze in place, listening to the sounds of the creature. Leaning further forward the dirt beneath me began to slide, sending a few rocks cascading down the side of the mountain. The creature stopped moving again and I pulled back and plastered my body on the ground and waited. After several seconds, I lifted my head and strained to see what was below once again, praying that we would be okay. The woods was completely still and several minutes passed as I laid there on the ridge without flinching. Finally, I could hear the creature began to move again, this time heading away from where we were hiding. I slid back beside Jake, who was curled in a ball and trembling.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I said as the full effect of our predicament began to bathe me in fear. I didn’t want to admit it to Jake, but I was more than a little bit scared.
“Well, what did you see?”
“Not much. But there was something moving through the brush — probably a bear.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Jake was too easily upset as it was. He didn’t need to see me exhibit any fear.
“That was no bear making all that noise! We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. It moved back down the mountain so we should be okay. There’s no way we can find our way out of here tonight. We just need to stay here and keep quiet.”
Jake shook his head and began to rock back and forth. “I don’t wanna die out here, man.”
“We’re not gonna die! Keep it together. Let’s just get some rest and we’ll start moving again at first light.”
Jake nodded. I was only able to see Jake’s outline in the growing darkness. “I’ll stay up for a few hours and you rest, and then we can switch.”
“Like in the movies.” Jake sighed and curled up on his side.
Moving toward the opening of the overhang, I silently prayed that that thing was tired and headed home. “Yeah, I guess.”
Leaning back against the rock, I stared out into the darkness. My mind wandered back to a few days earlier when we had started on this hike. Why had this trip been so important to Sam, who wouldn’t take no for an answer? I loved hiking; but I had had to trade days off in order to get here, causing a lot of trouble for me there and at home. Sam had made it sound urgent — like the trip was something we had to do as if it were life or death. And now it really was.
What happened to Sam? Was he back in that cave too?
There was nothing we could do for him until we could find some help. For now, we were still in danger as well.
Two hours passed and I was starting to get tired. Jake had rolled to his back and had begun to snore and make strange noises, so I pushed him back onto his side. The night was clear and cool with no signs or sounds that the creature was back. The tops of the trees swayed gently as I thought through the last 24 hours. Last night we were just friends heading to bed after a great day of hiking and anticipating being in the next and final town by today. Eating a large meal and getting a clean shower had dominated our thoughts all day on their last hike. Now, I was stuck on a ridge with Jake and our friend Sam was missing. My mind rummaged through anything I had learned about survival in the woods from the short years with my father.
How long has it been since I’ve eaten anything?
I wasn’t even sure. All of our supplies were gone, including cell phones, which were dead anyway and had only sketchy service out here when they did work. Water was the main problem. I knew that we needed water by tomorrow or we would be in trouble.
I need to make it another hour and then I can wake Jake for his turn.
My stomach growled again and I tried to remember any of the plants my father had mentioned that were edible in the woods but nothing came to mind.
Why didn’t I pay more attention to my dad back then?
Deep down, I knew why. My father had been hard on me and I had deeply resented it. The hiking was fun and it was really the only time that we agreed on anything, but taking my father’s advice was too hard back then.
Stupid! I should’ve listened.
Even so, my dad and mom had made their choices and now it was all over. For now, I knew we needed to get to the creek in the morning and get some water. Even though we’d be risking getting sick, without the water we wouldn’t live much longer anyway — creature or no creature. The creek bed would be an easy way to find the trail since it ran close to the creek most of the last few miles. My thinking was that we could backtrack to the last town and call for help.
I woke Jake for his turn to keep watch and then moved to the back of the overhang to get some sleep.
“Make sure you stay awake. I just need a couple of hours — three if you can make it that long.”
“I got it,” Jake said and he moved to where I had been sitting and leaned back on the rock.
I watched Jake for a few minutes to make sure he was fully awake and then drifted off to sleep. In what seemed like only a few minutes, Jake was shaking me violently.
“There’s something out there! It’s moving up the mountain!”
The sounds of something moving were clear even inside the makeshift shelter so I slid forward and turned back to Jake, “Follow me and stay as quiet as you can,”
We moved quickly out onto the ridge and along the edge. The sun was just coming up but there wasn’t enough light to see anything clearly. The strange sounds of the creature moving through the woods echoed up to us, indicating it was getting closer. When we reached the edge of the ridge, I could easily see that it dropped off at least 100 feet. As the creature came up the mountain, I looked around for somewhere for us to hide. A thick cluster of wild azaleas stood against one side of the ridge and we both ran and crouched behind them, each of us grabbing a few loose rocks on the way. Within seconds, we could hear the creature move onto the ridge. It seemed to be tracking where we had been and we could hear it move into the overhang. Jake was trembling but I was beyond fear and had entered some kind of warrior stage where it was either us or the creature. For some reason, this gave me peace. I kept my eyes glued on the edge of the rock where not long ago we had taken turns keeping watch during the night. There was nowhere to go now. If the creature came around to the ledge, we would have to fight for their lives or jump to our deaths. I had already decided what I would choose and hoped Jake had done the same.
