Backcountry Read online

  They kept talking as they ate. Alex refilled their cups with the last of the grape juice. Jenn was mid-story when Alex placed a hand on her forearm. She looked up, and he made a shushing gesture and rolled his eyes to her left.

  “Slowly,” he whispered.

  Slowly, trying not to panic, she turned her head to the left and covered her mouth to stifle her gasp of surprise. At the edge of the clearing were a doe and a fawn. The doe was just starting to develop her winter coat against the coming snow, while the fawn had a dappled coat, her faint spots rippling in the light. They were eating the grass growing just outside the trees, and they seemed completely oblivious to the presence of the campers sitting at the table farthest away from them. Every so often, the fawn nuzzled up to the doe as if seeking reassurance, but the doe kept grazing. As Jenn watched, another pair of deer joined them and the animals continued to feed. The scene was like something out of a movie, like nothing she had ever seen before, and she felt some of the sense of wonder that she imagined Alex had for this place.

  “They’re beautiful,” Jenn whispered. “Oh, Alex, this is incredible.”

  The deer didn’t seem to have heard her, and there was no noticeable change in their behaviour as she spoke. She risked another question.

  “So why are the babies a different colour?” she asked.

  Alex slowly leaned in so he could speak softly into her ear. “The dappled coat blends in with the leaves on the floor of the forest,” he said. “It’s like camouflage. They’re surprisingly hard to see.”

  “And are they boys or girls?” she asked. “Can you tell? Boys have antlers, right?”

  “Not at this age,” he said. “I’d say they’re female. It’s around now that the young bucks are left to fend for themselves. They look after the does longer. But it’s early yet, so I’m just guessing.”

  The wind shifted around behind Alex and Jenn, blowing their scent toward the deer. As one, the does straightened up, ears erect and twitching as if trying to listen in every direction at once, and their haunches quivered as the muscles tensed in readiness to flee. The fawns took longer to react, but once they saw what their mothers were doing, they attempted to copy them, looking exceedingly earnest and cute in the process. Jenn held her breath, scared that any noise might scare the deer away. Just then, the breeze must have brought a fresh human scent, and with a few graceful leaps and bounds, the deer were gone, lost in the trees.

  Jenn let herself breathe again, “It was like a Disney movie. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Well, that’s just the beginning, Jenn,” Alex said. “This is why I love coming up here. You’d never see that that in the city.”

  “Just the beginning?” she asked. “I can’t imagine anything else beating that in a hurry.”

  “Wait until you see the lake, honey,” he said. “It’s stunning, and even at five hundred dollars, it’s well worth the price of admission. But I do have to admit, that was pretty up close and personal with those deer. We got lucky there. Lots of people would give anything to get that close.”

  “Well, it has certainly set a high standard for the rest of the trip,” Jenn said. “I can see why you love it so much up here. I thought you were exaggerating a little, but I was wrong.”

  She was still smiling as they tidied up their picnic, placing the leftovers in the correct bins and getting rid of the containers. The encounter with the deer had left her feeling so good and had brought her such a feeling of peace that not even the sign with its threatening bear icon could put in a dent in her happiness.

  As they moved deeper and deeper into the park, signs of other humans faded away. The trail narrowed. It had been at least an hour since they’d passed any hikers coming the other way. Jenn was torn between enjoying the quiet and the serenity and a being faintly concerned about feeling so alone.

  “Jenn,” Alex said, stopping just ahead of her.

  She hurried over to him. “Yes, honey?”

  “Look over there.” He pointed through a break in the trees.

  She looked over to where water glinted as it caught the sunlight. Nestled amongst tumbled piles of rocks was a swimming hole fed by a spring that trickled down through the boulders.

  “Let’s make our camp somewhere around here,” he said. Jenn started to tell him that they should keep hiking a little longer, but then she remembered his foot.

  “Sounds good.”

  A little further up the trail, a path wound through the trees into a large clearing. Nailed to one of the trunks was a red sign with a black triangle that looked like a stylized tent. The label underneath read, “Designated Campsite.” Alex dumped his bag on the ground and stretched, his shoulders popping. Jenn joined him and unburdened herself with her own sigh of relief.

  Alex handed her his canteen. “Grab a quick drink and let’s get this tent up while there’s plenty of light and time for me to fetch some wood.”

  She nodded. Alex pulled the tent from his backpack.

  “Okay, this shouldn’t be too bad,” he said. “Not too many parts.”

  “Did you read the instructions?” she asked playfully. “Remember what happened with the bookcase from IKEA?”

  He smacked his chest with a fist. “Me man. Me no need instructions.”

  Laughing, they set about putting up the tent. Alex was right: there was little to do. The poles were joined by cords and snapped together quickly, then simply slid through loops in the tent’s fabric, holding it in shape. It was a far cry from the old canvas days, and even Alex had to admit the light, space-age fabric was a vast improvement. There were—surprisingly—no arguments as he talked Jenn through the process, and she learned quickly. Finally, he pulled his hatchet from the side of his backpack and used the flat end to hammer in the pegs.

  “Voilà!” he said proudly as they stood back and admired their effort.

  Alex had chosen a place close enough to the centre of the clearing that there was no need to worry about falling branches, but he had left enough room to set up a campfire. That was the next job, and they got to work on preparing it. There was enough dead wood around the clearing to get them started. Alex made a decent-sized pile in the middle of the ground, then scraped away leaves and dirt in a two-yard radius. Grabbing some twigs and leaves, he created a pyramid right in the centre of the cleared area and packed it loosely with dry moss.

  “Now, watch this.”

  Jenn watched, intrigued despite herself, as Alex pulled out a small cylinder from one of his pockets, unscrewed it, and upending it over his palm, tapping until a flint fell out. He knelt by the pyramid and, holding the flint over the moss, struck it against the hatchet blade. Sparks flew off, some falling into the moss. Leaning forward, he blew gently on the moss until smoke started to rise. Then flames began to lick at the leaves and twigs. Looking up at Jenn, he winked.

  “Are you trying to impress me?” she asked.

  “Did it work?”

  She smiled at him. “Yeah, it’s hot.” He groaned. “Pun intended.”

  He gave her a sly look and started unbuttoning his jacket. “Speaking of hot . . .”

  Jenn’s blank look changed to one of understanding.

  “I dunno . . .”

  “You said you would,” he said playfully.

  “I said maybe.”

  By now he was peeling off his shirt. “I’ll feel really stupid by myself.”

  He bent down and unlaced his shoes, kicking them off before pulling off his pants. Jenn giggled at the sight of him in his socks and underwear. She stopped giggling at the sight of the blood staining his left sock, but before she could say anything, Alex slid off his socks and posed in h
is underwear, ignoring Jenn rolling her eyes as he made a show of flexing his muscles.

  “I need you, babe.” His underwear came off, and he stood there naked. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

  Birds scattered as the sound of running feet echoed through the trees. Alex and Jenn chased each other around the trunks, their white skin gleaming in the shadows. Their laughter rang out through the woods, and there was the occasional slap of a hand on flesh as one caught the other. They came to stop at the bank of the swimming hole.

  “I can’t believe you talked me into to this,” Jenn said. “Can we even swim in that?”

  “Only one way to find out!” Alex took three quick steps and launched himself into the water, doing a cannonball and sending water splashing everywhere. “Whoa! Wow! The water is amazing!”

  She hung back for a moment, then took a deep breath and jumped in.

  “Yeah!” he yelled. “That’s it!”

  “That is so cold!” she screamed.

  “I never said it wasn’t,” he said. “I just said it was amazing.”

  Jenn lay back, floating. “Okay, it is amazing. Very invigorating.”

  It was. The contrast between the warm sun and the cool water was relaxing, and she felt all the kinks and aches from the hike slowly being drawn from her muscles. She sat up suddenly.

  “Alex.”

  He looked over.

  “What was that?”

  “What was what?”

  She looked around the trees and rocks that surrounded the pool. “I thought I heard something rustling in the trees.”

  Alex paddled over to her. “It’s okay, honey, there’s always noise in the woods.”

  “But, what if someone is watching?”

  Alex laughed. “Lucky them. I’d be watching you, too.”

  She splashed him. “You’re such a perv!”

  “Guilty as charged. Now come on, try to enjoy yourself.” He looked at her. “Please?”

  Jenn took one more look around. “Okay.” As they paddled around, splashing and playing in the water, she tried to ignore the crawling sensation between her shoulder blades that she knew came from a feeling of being watched.

  Dusk was starting to fall by the time they returned to their camp. It was still warm enough that they were soon dry, and Jenn slipped into a comfortable top and her UGGs.

  “Fashionable,” Alex commented as he came up beside her. He’d been busy setting up the rest of the camp, unfolding the portable chairs that he’d somehow managed to squeeze into their packs, and bringing out a seemingly endless array of cooking utensils. Jenn had been amazed, wondering where it was all coming from.

  “You know me, every day is a runway during fashion week.”

  Alex looked over to the fire. “I’m going to go get some more wood before it gets too dark.”

  Jenn shivered. “Can I come?”

  “I’ll be back in a sec.”

  He grabbed the hatchet, clipped it to his belt, and disappeared into the trees, leaving Jenn by the fire. She pulled up one of the chairs and sat quietly, looking into the flames, half hypnotized by their wavering dance. The wind blew gently through the trees, birds sang, and once more she started to relax completely as she lost herself in the moment. The sounds around her were so different from those of the city, not least because they were far more peaceful. There was none of the unrelenting urgency of city life, the constant sense that everyone was in an incredible hurry to get where they were going without enjoying the journey. Sure, there was a sense of vitality and purpose in many of the noises—but it was still different, as if there were a rhythm to everything that refused be rushed or bypassed. Jenn had always struggled to take time out and simply be; one of the things that had made her so successful was that she was always doing. Once she had completed one task, she moved on to the next, and if she hadn’t been given anything to do, she would go and find something herself. But she also believed in doing things properly, and if she was meant to be out here on a relaxing holiday, she was going to do her best to relax.

  She closed her eyes and leaned back, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the caress of the gentle breeze on her skin. She was completely lost in the moment, so when it came, the bird’s shriek made her jump. Her heart hammered as she stood up. Out of the corner of her eye she sensed movement, and she turned, already starting to explain to Alex what had scared her. She froze.

  “Hello there,” the stranger said as he stepped out of the trees.

  “Hey, honey,” Jenn said, trying to hide the relief in her voice as Alex came out of the trees with a load of wood.

  Alex slowly put the wood down, not taking his eyes off the stranger standing in front of Jenn.

  “Brad, this is Alex. Alex, this is Brad.”

  Brad looked to be in his early twenties, with sharp, thin features and a goatee. His shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and he was dressed in camouflage. He was thin, but fit, like the endurance athletes she had known in high school.

  “It is Brad, right?” Jenn said again.

  “Yeah, that’s right.” Brad’s smile seemed to show more teeth than strictly necessary, giving it a slightly insincere, mocking air. “How are you, Alex?”

  “I’m good, thanks.” Alex kept his distance. “Were you just hiking by, or . . . ?” He trailed off.

  “Yeah. I said hello to your friend here and she invited me up for a chat.” Alex gave Jenn a look.

  “He’s like you, Alex, he grew up in the park, in the woods,” Jenn said in a rush. “And look, he has a bunch of fish he caught. So I said we should all have dinner by the fire tonight.”

  Brad held up a bundle of fish. Jenn counted at least a dozen of what she thought might be trout, all the perfect size for eating.

  “Don’t think I could eat these all myself. I could try, but . . .” He giggled, the high laugh sounding odd coming from a man dressed like that.

  “Tonight? Yeah, sounds good,” Alex said. “Sorry, I just need a shirt.”

  “Right,” Brad said.

  Alex smiled awkwardly and made his way to the tent.

  “So, you were saying?” Brad asked Jenn.

  “Oh, I can’t remember,” Jenn said. She had been keeping an ear out for Alex’s return while making small talk. The guy seemed harmless enough, but being out in the middle of nowhere alone with someone she had just met had made her nervous. “Oh, that’s right. I was saying this is our first trip up here together.”

  “And you were lucky enough to meet me on your first try,” Brad said. “You should buy a lottery ticket when you get back.”

  “Jenn, can you help me out for sec?” Alex called.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said.

  “I’ll be looking forward to it,” Brad said.

  She walked over to the tent and clambered in next to Alex, noticing that he zipped the door closed behind her.

  “Are you comfortable with this?” he asked, trying to keep his voice down.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “We don’t know this guy, he could be—”

  “It’s fine, Alex,” Jenn cut him off. “I spoke to him for a while. He’s nice enough. Just a bit weird. Probably doesn’t get out much.”

  “Did you invite him, or did he invite himself?”

  She thought back, trying to remember. “I did.”

  She could see that Alex was trying to hide his disappointment. Jenn wondered why it was a big deal.

  “You okay?” Jenn asked.

  Alex ignored her and pulled on his shirt with rough, jerky movements.

  “What did you need my help for, anyway?” Jenn asked.


  “I don’t need your help.”

  He pulled hard to open the zip and pushed his way out of the tent. Jenn stared after him, confused. Alex was normally pretty social and she would have thought he would love to talk about the outdoors with someone who shared his passion. She reluctantly followed him out of the tent.

  They walked back toward the campfire where Brad was waiting with his fish. It was almost fully dark now, and he was nothing but an ominous silhouette against the firelight. When he saw them coming, he shifted on his feet.

  “Hey, look, I don’t want to bother you two,” he said. “I’ll just go on my way. Enjoy your trip.”

  He turned and started walking back into the forest, but before he could, Alex called out to him.

  “No, sorry . . . please stay and have some dinner with us.”

  Brad turned back. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, of course,” Alex said.

  Brad looked over at Jenn, and then back at Alex, as if weighing something up.

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure. It was just a misunderstanding,” Alex said.

  There was an uncomfortable pause, and then Brad broke the silence.

  “All right then, let’s do it,” he said gleefully.

  Faster than Alex and Jenn could follow, he slammed the fish down on the ground and drew a hunting knife from the sheath at his side. Jenn gasped involuntarily and Alex twitched as if he were on the verge taking a step back. The knife was huge, its blade at least a foot long, serrated along the inner edge and gleaming, wickedly sharp, along the curved outer edge. The fire reflected off its polished steel, giving the illusion that it was dripping with blood. Out of the corner of her eye, Jenn saw Alex place his hand on the holster at his side where his hatchet should have been but wasn’t, and she realized he must have left out in the woods. She was surprised at just how much she wished he hadn’t. She watched Brad very carefully as he began to clean the fish. It was obvious that he had done it many times before; each movement was instinctual, from slicing off the heads to pulling out the guts, without any wasted effort or motion. Brad looked up at them and winked, and Jenn shot Alex a disgusted look.