Backcountry Read online

  Backcountry

  A Novelization

  D.E. McDonald

  Based on a screenplay by Adam MacDonald

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Thursday Evening

  Friday Morning

  Friday Afternoon

  Saturday Morning

  Saturday Afternoon

  Sunday Morning

  Sunday Evening

  Monday Morning

  Monday Afternoon

  Monday Night

  Tuesday Morning

  Tuesday Afternoon

  Wednesday Morning

  Wednesday Night

  Thursday Morning

  Thursday Afternoon

  Friday Morning

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Prologue

  The ranger steps out into the clearing, stopping to admire the view around him. He is a big, bluff-looking man with the stamp of the outdoors on him. A mesh of fine lines radiates from the corners of his eyes, testament to a lifetime of squinting in the sun, and his skin is tanned and weathered. From his well-worn hiking boots to his battered, creased hat, he looks like someone who is completely at ease with nature, and as he walks across the soft layer of leaves and twigs that carpets the clearing, he is humming a cheerful tune. At the other side of the clearing, the trees open up onto another path that winds further up the slope, and the ranger walks toward it, pulling a coil of rope from his pack. Quickly and efficiently, he strings the rope between two trees on either side of the path at waist height then takes out a bright-yellow plastic sign and hangs it from the rope. He takes a few steps back to make sure it is visible to anyone approaching and the words “Closed for Repairs” are easily readable. Satisfied, he turns to walk back the way he came, but then he stops.

  His shoulders hunch slightly as a feeling of being observed washes over him. He looks around carefully, trying to catch any movement in the trees. As he does, he notices an eerie silence has fallen over the forest. The sound of birdsong has died away completely. His skin crawls as his eyes dart from tree to tree, searching for the source of his unease. Nothing moves and he gradually relaxes, shaking his head ruefully at himself, embarrassed that he is acting like some green kid straight out of college. With one last look at the sign, he turns and walks back along the path he came from. And if he isn’t humming quite so cheerfully, and if his eyes linger on the shadows between the trees a little longer than they normally would, what of it? Behind him, the bird calls and the sounds of small animals rustling beneath the branches start up again.

  A twig cracks, then a sudden silence descends. Something is moving amongst the trees, its heavy breathing cutting through the hush, the rotting carpet of leaves moving and shifting beneath its every step.

  When the sounds of its passage have died away, the only sound that can be heard is a harsh buzzing. The breeze shifts, and there is a sudden stench of decay. In the middle of a clearing sits a sad pile of jumbled bones and scraps of flesh crawling with flies. The flies have nothing to fear from the presence that lurks in the gloomy shadows beneath the trees; for them it is merely another source of what they need to survive.

  Other things that walk beneath the trees are not so fortunate.

  Thursday Evening

  Jenn ran. Her breath came in heaving gasps that echoed in her ears, almost drowning out the slap of her feet on the pavement. She kept her eyes focused on where she was going, ignoring the people around her, never looking behind her. Refusing to give in to the fatigue burning in her muscles or the stitch slowly creeping up her side, she pushed herself harder as the door of her apartment came into view. She staggered to a halt on the doorstep and pressed a button on her sports watch so that a display of numbers appeared.

  “Yes!” she said exultantly.

  She waited a few minutes until her breathing had returned to normal, then punched in the key code to the front door. She walked past the bank of mirrors that lined the foyer, barely glancing at her tall, slender reflection, except to briefly adjust the few strands of long brown hair that had come free from her ponytail. She stepped into the elevator and hit the button for her floor. After the exertion of her run, the cool air blowing from the vents felt wonderful on her skin, and she leaned back against the wall with a smile on her face.

  When Jenn stepped into the apartment, Alex was still packing. He looked up at her and smiled, running a hand through his short, dark hair.

  “How did you do?” he asked.

  “I did fifteen kilometres and shaved three minutes off my best time,” she said smugly. “I haven’t been this fit since I was in high school.”

  “Well done.” He stood up and stretched. He was slightly taller than Jenn, with a wiry, muscular build that spoke of time spent in physical labour. “Does that mean you’re too worn out to go to the party tonight?”

  She frowned. He sounded a bit too happy with the idea.

  “Of course not. And you promised you were coming, so don’t try to get out of it.”

  “I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy,” Alex said, sighing. “I know I promised, but I have to be honest—I’m really not looking forward to it.”

  “A promise is a promise,” Jenn said. “Look, you might have fun. They aren’t that bad.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. At least you can talk about your work with those people. I’ve got nothing in common with the guys there,” Alex said. “They’ve all got degrees, and you should see the way they look at me when I tell them I work with my hands. And half of them wouldn’t even know what end of a hockey stick to hold, so we can’t even talk sports.”

  “They’re not all like that,” Jenn said. Her voice softened. “Look, I just want you to be there. I know they’re boring, but these events are good for my career. It’s nice to be seen. And I want you to be seen with me. It’s important to me.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said. “It’s just not my sort of thing. But I guess camping’s not really yours either, and look where we’re going tomorrow.”

  “I know that’s important to you.” She laughed. “I mean, how many times have you asked me to go over the years?”

  Ever since they had met, Alex had been trying to get to her come to the park he had spent so much of his childhood visiting, but she had no interest in camping. In fact, the whole idea made her nervous, so she had always managed to find an excuse not to go. But in the last few months, his requests had become much more insistent, and she could sense that there was something deeper behind them. She thought it might have had something to do with Alex being unsatisfied at work, and so, finally, she had agreed. The way his eyes had lit up and his sheer excitement and gratitude had made her feel bad for all the times she had said no.

  “I lost count a while back,” Alex said. “But I’m so glad you agreed. It means a lot to me. And you never know—you might have fun.”

  She poked her tongue out at him. “No fair using my own words against me.”

  “Sorry, I should leave it to you lawyers to do that, right?” he teased. “So, have we got time to go through your gear?”

  Jenn looked at her watch. “Sure, if we’re quick. But then I need a shower and time to get dressed. Are you shaving?”

  “Hardly seems worth it,” Alex said.

  “Okay, that means I’ll have the bathroom to myself.”
>
  She walked into the bedroom and brought out a bag of clothing, then tipped it out in front of him.

  “Wow, what did you do, go into a camping store and hand over your credit card?”

  Jenn went red. That was pretty much exactly what she had done. The store had been huge, filled with more equipment and clothing than she had ever imagined existed. If it had been an electronics store, she would have been in her element, but in that camping store she had felt completely out of her depth. In the end, she had just grabbed a random staff member and told him she wanted everything she would need for four days in a provincial park. She had a niggling feeling that she’d ended up with all the most expensive brands, but that didn’t matter if the gear was what she actually needed.

  “Why?” she asked. “Isn’t it okay?”

  “Oh, no, it’s fine,” Alex said, holding up a fleece vest. “It’s just so new and shiny. Haven’t you seen my stuff?”

  “I know. I wish you’d let me get you some replacements. Half of it looks on the verge of falling apart,” Jenn said.

  “No way!” He actually sounded shocked at the idea. “My stuff is comfortable. It’s seen lots of use. I’d have to break in all that new stuff, and that’s a pain in the ass.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Jenn said.

  “You never know—you might enjoy yourself so much on this trip that you end up with gear that’s just as worn out,” Alex said, smiling.

  Jenn doubted it, but it didn’t seem nice to point that out. Instead, she headed toward the bathroom.

  “I’m going to start getting ready. You can finish packing,” she said over her shoulder.

  “Okay, babe,” Alex said. “We need to try not to have too late a night. We’ve got an early start, and it’s going to be a big day for us.”

  Friday Morning

  Floor numbers flicked overhead as the elevator took them toward the ground. Caught up in her own thoughts, Jenn didn’t even notice them change. A slight crease between her eyebrows was the only thing marring her sculpted features and, even on her day off, her makeup was immaculate and her hair held tied back in a deceptively casual style. She chewed on her lower lip, her fingers drumming on her thigh as she tried to not to think about all the things left undone at work and all the issues that the next few days away from the office might bring.

  Beside her, Alex leaned against the elevator wall, staring up at the falling numbers. He still hadn’t shaved, and a week’s worth of stubble shadowed his cheeks and chin—not quite enough to be called a beard, but enough to give him a slightly scruffy look. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up and smiled at her, dimples creasing his cheeks. Despite all the things on her mind, she smiled back.

  “Did you turn on the alarm?”

  “Yeah,” he answered casually. Too casually.

  She fixed him with the look. “Do you mind just checking again?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “You’ve forgotten before. We’re going to be gone for four days. Look, I know you probably think I’m overreacting, but remember what happened to the Gundersons? They only went away overnight and when they got back, everything was gone. I mean, everything.” She reached out and touched his arm. “Please. It would make me feel better.”

  For a moment, Jenn thought he might say something, but he simply sighed. There was a ding as the elevator came to a halt and opened onto the parking garage. Jenn stepped out, leaving Alex inside. She turned just in time to flash him another smile through the closing door.

  “Thank you, honey.”

  Jenn was waiting by Alex’s car when he came out of the elevator. As he approached, she looked up, smoothing away her worried expression before he could notice it.

  She watched him walk toward her and again marvelled at the difference in the clothes they were each wearing. All of Alex’s gear showed the stains and creases of hard use, and his battered hiking boots had broken laces that had been tied back together more than once. At his side was an old hatchet that he must have had for years. Jenn had offered to get him a new one, but he been shocked at the idea, saying it still did the job, so why replace it? He looked completely comfortable in all his gear, wearing it as un–self-consciously as if it were a second skin. In contrast, all of Jenn’s clothing had clearly never been worn before. Where Alex’s old pack was made from tattered canvas, hers was some space-age polymer. She smiled ruefully. Anyone looking at them would have little trouble picking out the experienced camper.

  “Thanks, hon. So was it on?”

  He walked past her, popping open the trunk and placing his backpack in next to the tent he had packed the night before. He took Jenn’s backpack and slid it into the narrow gap that was left.

  “Yeah.” Jenn noticed the irritation in his voice. “Now it’s on twice.”

  He slammed the trunk shut and walked around to the driver’s door without another word.

  Whatever Alex’s faults, and he had a few, holding a grudge wasn’t one of them­—Jenn had to give him that. She knew that he had been unhappy about her asking him to go back and check the alarm, but she also knew that if she hadn’t asked him to do it, she would have worried about it for the whole trip, and neither of them would have enjoyed themselves. As she settled into the passenger’s seat, Alex was already playing with the driver’s seat adjustments, making robotic noises as he slid it back and forth. She laughed, humouring him despite the fact she had seen this ritual a hundred times before.

  “You ready?”

  This time her smile was full and unforced. The note of eagerness in his voice was hard to resist. Telling him she still wasn’t convinced about this whole camping thing would have been like kicking a puppy, so instead, she put on her most enthusiastic voice. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

  Alex started the car and drove up the winding ramp that led to street level. Jenn blinked as they emerged into the bright sunlight and joined the busy morning traffic. She watched him as he focused on the cars around him, trying to make his way through the bustle of the morning commute.

  “Look at these poor suckers,” he said. “On their way to work to sit behind a desk or sell shoes or something. And here we are, heading out of the city, on our way to heaven on earth. No stress, no problems . . .”

  “No plumbing,” Jenn teased.

  He laughed. “Plumbing is overrated.”

  “You seem more relaxed now that we’re in the car,” Jenn said.

  “Of course! It’s the perfect day for driving: not too sunny, not too cloudy. I’m heading away from the rat race, I have a beautiful woman by my side, and I’m driving toward my favourite place on earth. How could I not be relaxed?”

  “Is it a long drive?” Jenn asked. “I mean, I’ve got the MapQuest directions and I Googled the park—the trip clocks in at about four hours. But you know how inaccurate that can be. What do you think?”

  He laughed. “Of course you’ve already mapped and quested and Googled it to death. We’ll be there in about five or so hours. I don’t really want us rushing to get there. We can take our time, and there’s somewhere I thought we might stop if we get a chance.”

  “Ooh, where?” she asked.

  He winked. “You’ll have to wait and see. It’s a surprise.”

  “I do like surprises. I just hate waiting,” she said, settling back into her seat.

  “We’ll be there before you know it,” he replied.

  She let him concentrate on the road, her eyes moving around the car. They settled on the rear-view mirror, and for a moment she watched as the skyscrapers and buildings of the city slowly receded behind them. She felt a momentary wave of homesickness settle on her, as if she were saying goodbye to th
em forever. She shook her head. They were only going away for four days; she was just letting her nerves about trying something new get to her. They’d be back before she knew it.

  As they drove further and further north, through the outer suburbs and into the city’s surrounds, the traffic began to thin out along with the buildings. At this time of day, most cars were heading into the city—their occupants on their way to work—not out of it.

  Jenn watched Alex out of the corner of her eye. She could almost see the tension drain out of him. His shoulders were relaxed and the seemingly ever-present scowl that had haunted his face for the past few weeks was gone, replaced by an easy smile. It was a relief; she much preferred a cheerful Alex. She flicked through a magazine, looking for the most ridiculous article she could find, and stopped, grinning, when she found the perfect one: a quiz bearing the garish headline, “Rate Your Boyfriend.” She began to tick boxes, waiting for Alex to notice what she was doing.

  “How am I doing?”

  “Huh?” she asked, pretending to be startled. “Oh, well . . .” She gave him a mischievous look. “Let’s see. Does your boyfriend insist on getting his own way?” she read out. “Yes!”

  Alex chuckled, but didn’t say anything.

  “Does he admit when he is wrong?” she went on, and in an exaggerated voice exclaimed, “Never!”

  “Does your boyfriend know how to build and light a fire with no matches?” Alex asked, fighting to keep the laughter out of his voice. “Yes!”

  She looked down at the page with a quizzical look that was about as convincing as the auto-tuned pop singer on the radio. “Oh, sorry, babe—they don’t ask that one!”

  This time he did laugh. “Not much of a magazine, then.”

  Alex went back to driving while Jenn tried to finish the quiz, though in truth she was already bored with it. Looking back at him, she caught his eye and realized that he was watching her with concern. She followed his gaze down to her lap. The magazine was bouncing up and down as she tapped her foot nervously, an unconscious gesture she had been completely unaware of. She looked back up at him to see an expression that she recognized very well: he had something on his mind and was trying to work out how to bring it up. Jenn didn’t say anything; she knew that if she just waited, he would tell her what was on his mind.