Backcountry Read online

Page 12


  “It didn’t feel this far down,” she said doubtfully.

  “It just seems longer on the way back,” he said. “We’re both tired and sore, and that makes time drag.”

  She nodded and followed him as he walked on. As they progressed, the trail thinned out. Eventually it was barely wide enough for them to walk on without stepping on the covering of the forest floor. They trudged on, neither one wanting to be the first to voice the doubts that were rising and hardening into the certainty that they were on the wrong path. It was Jenn who finally said what they both were thinking.

  She stopped in the middle of the trail. “Wait.” Alex stopped, too. “Is this the trail?” By this point, it wasn’t really a question.

  Alex looked around, but didn’t answer.

  “Alex?”

  “Shit!” His voice was weary.

  Jenn’s shoulders slumped. “Should we go back?”

  He was turning in a circle, trying to sight a landmark of any kind. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

  She looked down the path they were on, trying to gauge where it might be heading.

  “What do you think the chances of are of this trail leading to something, anything, that we can get a bearing from?” she asked.

  “Pretty good,” he said. “It’s a provincial park; if we keep going it’s got to go somewhere.”

  Jenn considered for moment. “Let’s keep going, then.”

  She walked past Alex and set out down the trail, taking the lead for the first time on the trip.

  Monday Afternoon

  The trail twisted and turned, but Alex explained to Jenn that he was keeping his eye on the sun and, as best as he could tell, it was heading generally in the same direction. They were both exhausted and had found their own ways to keep going, Alex with his attempts to gauge their direction, Jenn by the simple expedient of keeping her eyes fixed on a point in the distance that she visualized as her own comfortable apartment. They were so absorbed in their own worlds that it took them a while to realize that that the path had disappeared, reverting to untouched forest, and that they were no longer walking on a trail at all, but on the forest undergrowth itself. It was Jenn who noticed, and she stopped short. Looking around was disorienting; every angle gave the same perspective of trees stretching into more trees.

  “We were on it a second ago,” she said plaintively.

  “We’ve got to turn back and find it,” Alex said.

  “Which way?”

  Alex shrugged, looking as confused as she was. He picked a direction at random and, hoping that luck might finally go their way, they started walking.

  By the time the sun started fading, it was clear they were completely lost. They had been walking for hours and still had not come across the path they’d left, or any path at all. No matter which way they looked, it all looked the same, and Jenn could tell that Alex had completely lost his bearings. They were both at the ragged edge, exhausted and sore and more than a little bit scared. Alex’s limp had become more pronounced as the day wore on, and he had long since given up any pretense of hiding it. Jenn had taken the lead more and more often, helping Alex when he struggled to keep up. He might have been a far more experienced hiker, but his injury and Jenn’s fitness were starting to tell. As they pushed farther and farther along the trail, Alex began to lean on her more and more, Jenn accepting the extra burden without complaint.

  Soon Jenn found herself making more and more of the decisions, about which direction to go when something blocked their path or when to stop for a break. If Alex noticed the change, he didn’t seem to care, following her lead without comment. Jenn found the role reversal slightly concerning, but only because of the change that had come over Alex. She herself felt more in control than she had since they’d entered the park, though, and she was surprised to discover that many of her doubts and uncertainties faded away. Whenever she had to make a decision, she did so without hesitation, trusting her instincts.

  After a particularly difficult stretch of ground that had seen them climbing over fallen tree trunks, Jenn stopped and threw her bag on the ground. Alex halted beside her, the look of relief on his face obvious. As he stretched out his legs, she went through her bag and pulled out her canteen, swirling it around as she tried to gauge how much water was left. There wasn’t very much at all, and she tried to not to think about where they might be able to find more. She remembered Alex saying he had tablets to clean water, but they hadn’t passed any streams for a while now. She told herself that they would be out of the park before it became a real problem, and decided that a drink would make her feel much better about things. Jenn unscrewed the cap and brought it to her mouth, tilting her head back in attempt to get the last few drops, but there was not enough left to take the edge off her thirst. Before she could say a word, Alex pulled his out and handed it to her.

  “Here.”

  Jenn smiled gratefully and went to take a sip, but as the opening reached her mouth, something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She lowered the bottle and took a few steps toward whatever it was, curious. She stood there for a few seconds, puzzled, looking at a large indentation in the ground, bowl-shaped, the dirt pushed down as if something had rested there for a while. Alex stood at her elbow, looking down at it with her.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  He had a grim look on his face, and at the sight of his expression, Jenn felt her stomach fill with dread.

  “Bear bed.”

  Jenn gasped and took an involuntary step back, nearly stepping in one of the many piles of bear scat that she now saw were piled about the area. She started taking deep, slow breaths, trying to calm herself while Alex walked around the bed, checking the trees, grunting as he found what he was looking for. Fresh claw marks were gouged into the trunks of several of the larger trees, fresh enough for sap to still be oozing from the deep wounds. He looked back at Jenn and she was shocked to see naked fear in his eyes.

  “Honey, we need to go as far as we can before it gets dark,” she said.

  Monday Night

  They stopped before it was completely dark and made camp. Jenn helped Alex pitch the tent, watching him with concern as he worked. It seemed like something indefinable had abandoned him—whether it was his joy at being in the park or his confidence in his knowledge of the woods, she didn’t know. Whatever it was, she missed it and hoped that a good night’s sleep might see its return. It was becoming increasingly clear to her, though, that if they were going to get themselves out of this situation, then she was going to have to be the strong one. Alex might have the woodscraft to get them home, but she was going to have to provide the strength of will to keep him from just giving up—she would not accept that alternative. She walked over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

  “We are going to be fine,” she said. “Okay? Before you know it, we’ll be home.”

  “I hope so,” he said.

  “I know so,” she replied, trying to smile. “I have too much to get done to stay here much longer.”

  Alex sat down in one of the portable chairs and slowly pulled off his shoe. Gritting his teeth, he slid off his sock, gasping as the clotted blood ripped away with the material. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The flesh around the nail was red and inflamed and there was an unhealthy smell. He paused for a moment as if working up his courage, then poked the nail gently. Jenn was shocked to see it move, yellow pus welling up from underneath.

  “Jesus.”

  The nail was coming loose, and Jenn wondered how long it would last, given all the walking still to be done. Alex must have had the same thought and, as Jenn watched in horror, he gripped the end of his n
ail and slowly, agonizingly, pulled it out completely, tears welling in his eyes from the pain. He looked at the nail in disgust and then flicked it into the bushes. Underneath, infection raged, pus and blood dribbling from the tender flesh.

  “My God, that hurt,” he gasped.

  “Let me look at it,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Your foot.”

  He took his hand away.

  “Ah, Alex, this is really going to hurt.”

  She reached into her bag, pulled out the canister the ranger had given them, and unscrewed the lid, taking out the first aid kit.

  “It’s infected,” she said. “We have to clean it up.”

  Alex nodded, and as Jenn moved closer to him with a bottle of peroxide in hand, he flinched despite himself. He braced himself as she leaned over his foot and poured the liquid over the place where the nail had been. It hissed and foamed, and Alex moaned in pain. Trying to be gentle, Jenn carefully wrapped his toe in a bandage before helping him pull on a fresh pair of socks.

  “Wow, that actually feels a bit better,” he said. “Maybe you should have been a nurse instead of a lawyer.”

  She laughed. “Do you know what they pay nurses?”

  He pulled on his shoe and stood up. “Thank you,” he said softly.

  “We’ll have to change it regularly.”

  He nodded. “Look, I better collect some firewood. That way at least we’ll have a campfire.”

  “Sounds lovely. But hurry back, okay?”

  “I will.”

  He gave her a smile and walked into the trees, his limp looking better already.

  Night had fallen, and they sat by the campfire.

  “I’m so sorry,” Alex said.

  Jenn looked at him. She could sense his sincerity and the depth of feeling in his apology, and she was touched. She reached out and squeezed his hand, and they sat in silence, watching the flames dance in their intricate patterns.

  “Can I show it to you anyway?” he asked.

  “The ring?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If you want to, sure,” she said gently.

  He leaned back and grabbed his backpack and reached right into the bottom. Jenn’s eyes were fixed on him and he grinned, teasing her by making a show of slowly pulling out a small black box. He held it up in front of her and slowly started to pry it open. Something glimmered in the firelight and Jenn leaned forward before suddenly rocking back with a hand over her eyes.

  “Wait!”

  “Don’t you want to see it?” There was disappointment and a little bit of hurt in his voice.

  “I do, but . . .” She trailed off, lost for words.

  “You’d rather wait?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Did you mean what you said before?” he asked.

  “No!” she said. “No, I was mad.”

  She could see him struggling to find the right words to communicate what he was feeling, as if he were trying not to make things worse.

  “You really think that way of me? Because I can’t—”

  She grabbed his hand.

  “No. I don’t. At all.” She looked into his eyes, trying to communicate how sincere she was.

  “I just lost it. I’m so sorry, Alex. I love you.” She took his face in her hands. “I love you.”

  Alex held the box in his hands, twirling it between his fingers. He looked into the fire, not meeting her eyes.

  “What would you have said?”

  Jenn winked. “You’ll just have to ask me. That’s when I want to see the ring.”

  He smiled and put the box back in the bag. They sat in companionable silence for a while. Much of the tension that had hung over them dissipated.

  “I’m so hungry,” Jenn sighed.

  Alex dug into his pocket and pulled out a protein bar.

  “I was saving it. Here.”

  He handed it over as if it were a bar of gold, and Jenn took it gratefully, finishing it in a few bites. Her eyes went wide.

  “This is all we had?”

  “Well, except for . . .” He paused mysteriously.

  He reached into his bag again and pulled out a small bottle of champagne. She knew why he had brought it, and the thought almost brought her to tears.

  “Want some?” he asked.

  “Shit, yeah!” she exclaimed.

  Alex pulled off the foil and exposed the cork.

  “Not exactly how I planned it, but . . .”

  There was a loud pop and the cork flew off.

  “Here, you first.”

  He handed her the bottle and she raised it in his direction.

  “To us.”

  She took a sip and handed the bottle back.

  “Oh, God, that’s good,” she said as Alex drank. “How’s your foot?”

  He didn’t answer, but only stared at the fire for a few minutes. Just as she was about to ask again, he spoke. “The alarm wasn’t on.”

  Jenn looked at him, confused.

  “When we left, you asked me if I turned on the alarm. You were right, I forgot.” He was looking into the fire. “I don’t know why I didn’t say anything.”

  Jenn didn’t reply. It hardly seemed important now.

  He passed back the bottle.

  “I know this sucks,” he said quietly.

  “Hey, it’s all right.” She tried to sound positive. “It could be a lot worse.”

  “How? How exactly could it be worse?”

  “At least we’re together.”

  He met her gaze and, without words, she moved her chair closer to him. He slowly brought his hand to her face, caressing her cheek as they looked into each other’s eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him softly before they gave in to desire. Their kiss built in passion, her lips yielding beneath his as he wrapped his fingers in her hair. She stopped him for a moment and reached down, pulling her shirt off. She moaned as he slid his hand under her sports bra and cupped her breast. Alex was just reaching for his own shirt when there was a crashing noise in the darkness; branches were breaking as something heavy moved in the night. Alex jumped, dropping the bottle. Champagne fizzed into the forest floor. Whatever was out there, it was big, and they could hear its heavy footfalls moving closer. There was a moment of silence as it stopped, and then the noises started again. Another branch broke and twigs snapped.

  “Is it a—”

  “Shh,” Alex said.

  The sounds grew closer and closer, almost at the edge of the firelight. The noise stopped again before whatever was out there was revealed. A heavy silence fell upon the forest. Nothing stirred; it was like the world was holding its breath. They stared into the darkness, trying to see whatever it was and scared that they might succeed.

  “There’s something right there.” Alex pointed into the darkness where the firelight just fell short of a patch of deeper shadows.

  “Oh, my God, Alex.”

  “Stay calm,” he said softly. “It will move on. It wants nothing to do with us.”

  He stood up and clapped his hands loudly, the noise like a rifle shot after the silence.

  “Hey!” he yelled at the top of his voice. “Go on, get!”

  There was an explosion of sound as whatever it was moved quickly to the right of them—scared by Alex’s shout—twigs snapping and branches cracking before it came to a halt. As it did, the campfire flared and threw light out into the darkness, catching the eyes of whatever lurked in the shadows. The eyes trapped the firelight and then threw it back, flaring with a lambent glow. They were spread far enough apart and sitting far enough above the ground to give an impression of unsettling size. The fi
re died and, with it, the light. The eyes disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Alex and Jenn sat absolutely motionless, barely daring to breathe, waiting to see what would happen next. The tension built, their nerves stretching tighter and tighter until they thought they would scream if forced to endure one more second, and then there was a rustle of movement as, in the darkness, the creature moved off into the forest. The noise of its progress gradually faded as it receded into the trees, and soon they there was silence once more as the other inhabitants of the woods seemed to wait along with the two hikers, no living thing wanting to draw any attention to itself. Time passed and, gradually, the normal sounds of the night began to start up again.

  Jenn shook off the spell that fear had cast to render her silent.

  “Oh, my God,” she said, looking at Alex. “Do you think it will come back?”

  “I don’t know.”

  They sat shivering, completely on edge. Their eyes darted around, trying to make out what was in the darkness around them, every flicker of the fire making them jump as it sent the shadows moving.

  Finally Alex broke the silence. “We’ll be safer in the tent.”

  “Really?” Jenn wanted to believe him, but the tent seemed so fragile and insubstantial.

  “Yes. Let’s get inside.”

  Alex went to the woodpile and selected a large log that looked like it would burn all night. He threw it into the fire and then climbed into the tent. Jenn stood a moment, taking another look around, then followed him in, closing the zipper behind her. The tent seemed darker than usual and she shivered. She crawled into the sleeping bag with Alex and they both sat up, minds racing. Alex was clearly rattled and Jenn put her arm around him.

  “As soon as it’s light out, we’re going to move on,” she said. “Okay?”

  His lack of reply concerned her. She needed him to stay strong if they were going to get out of there, and she could see that he was struggling to cope with what was happening. She couldn’t afford for him to withdraw into himself, not now.