“I don’t get it,” Fiona said.
Sarah nodded. “Exactly. It doesn’t make any sense.”
After a long pause, Roz spoke again. “And even if we knew why they left, that would solve only part of the puzzle.”
“What do you mean?” Fiona asked.
“None of us heard anything.”
“No shit,” Jill said. “I can’t imagine how that’s even possible.”
The five of them were quiet and, like Fiona, probably hoping someone would offer an explanation. None would be coming, but she hoped for it anyway. A light sleeper even in the best of circumstances, she couldn’t even imagine how she’d slept through all the noise they would have made. Ten huge animals and three men packing up camp would never have been a quiet affair. Even if they’d done everything in their power to move quietly, they could never have kept the horses silent. Yet they had.
“It’s just not possible,” Roz said.
“But it is,” Jill said, her voice low and angry again. “They did it, so it’s possible.”
Roz barked out a bitter laugh. “But how? Explain to me how the five of us slept through a three-ring circus out here without hearing a damn thing. Explain to me how I managed to sleep three hours later than I have for most of my adult life.”
Fiona glanced up at the sky, suddenly recognizing that it was long past dawn, well into mid-morning. She’d never once slept this late camping, let alone the first night.
“What time is it now?” she asked.
Roz stared up at the sky for a long time. “At least eight or nine—maybe closer to ten.”
“You don’t know?” Jill asked.
Roz shrugged. “No watches, remember?”
“Jesus,” Jill said, suddenly speaking in a quiet voice. Although Fiona hadn’t liked her anger earlier, she liked her fear even less.
“Do you guys think…” Carol shook her head.
“What?” Sarah asked. “What were you going to say?”
Carol hesitated again, staring at her wife, her lips twisted in a kind of grimace. “Do you think we were drugged?”
“Oh, come on,” Jill said, letting out a false laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is! How would we have been drugged without noticing it?”
“The water?” Fiona suggested.
Jill shook her head. “The guys were drinking it, too.”
“Maybe they had some kind of antidote.”
Jill laughed again. “Do you hear yourselves? This isn’t a spy novel, for Christ’s sake.”
“Anyway,” Roz said, “I don’t feel like I was drugged. I feel good. Rested, alert—no hangover.”
“So we’re back to square one,” Sarah said. “No one knows anything, and no one heard anything.”
“Exactly,” Jill said. “Maybe we need to let it go for now and move on to the next thing: what to do about it.”
Everyone seemed to relax. Even Roz, who had been bunched up like a fist, unwound a little, her posture now more natural and less threatening. It was true, after all—they had a problem to solve that involved them, first and foremost. The other mysteries could wait.
Roz spoke first. “Okay. Let’s check the supplies. Jill, Fiona, make sure the food is still hung in the trees and bring it back here. Carol, Sarah, check the rest of the gear while I get the maps and scout out the trail a little, too, see if I can find anything.”
No one argued, each of them setting off at once. Fiona was relieved to have a task—anything to take her mind off what had happened. The men had hung the food about a hundred yards from camp, hidden by the trees around it. As she and Jill walked together, neither spoke. Jill was visibly upset, chewing her lip, her brows knit, and Fiona didn’t prompt further discussion. One thing at a time, she told herself.
Four bear canisters hung in the trees, and she and Jill shared a long, relieved glance before they moved to grab the tall, hooked pole someone had propped up on a nearby tree. The canisters had served as counterweights to each other to avoid a trailing line to the ground. Three of the containers held only food, and the fourth had a little food, their lotions, sunscreen, soap, and toothpaste, and the rest of the cooking utensils—anything with an attractive smell for bears.
Jill, a couple of inches taller, managed to snag one canister with the hook. She dragged it down, pulling its counterweight over the branch it hung on. She did the same with the others, and each of them grabbed two to carry back to camp.
In camp, Carol and Sarah had made a small pile of the other gear in the middle of the clearing near the fire pit. Jill and Fiona set the food next to it, and Roz walked over a few minutes later, holding an open map. She reviewed the pile and nodded, clearly relieved.
“Okay—so that’s something. They didn’t take any food, at least. Things aren’t quite so dire if we have the food and the rest of the supplies. Everyone still have their backpacks?”
Fiona had noticed her backpack in the vestibule when getting out of her tent, and she and the others nodded.
Roz let out a long, whistling sigh, closing her eyes. “Okay. So that’s something. Things aren’t quite as fucked as I thought.”
Jill let out a little huff, and Fiona threw her a warning glance.
Roz continued as if she hadn’t heard. “I checked out the trail going back toward home a little and found some fresh horse manure—warm, not hot. It was pretty cold overnight, or at least it was getting that way before I turned in, so they must have left sometime in the last three or four hours, or it would be colder. Some of the horse tracks lead that way too, so I think we can safely assume they used the trail to leave, probably right after dawn. With three of them, especially with all the horses, they’ll beat us back to the trucks no matter what we do.”
She paused and set the map down on top of the pile of supplies, then motioned for them to gather around her to look at it. “We’re going to have to get back and find some help. I’m assuming the trucks will be gone, so that means hiking back to the main road and flagging someone down. There should be plenty of traffic on the weekend, even late in the day, so it shouldn’t take long to get someone’s attention.” Fiona leaned down closer to the map as Roz traced her finger along the route.
“How long will that take?” Sarah asked.
Roz considered. “Longer than it took to get here, anyway. We might make it by six, seven tonight if we really book it. I don’t like to leave anything here, but we could lighten our loads a little for speed—leave most of the food, maybe. That could cut it down to maybe five or six o’clock.”
Fiona and her friends shared a silent exchange. Faced with the obvious choice, Fiona could tell that none of them were happy about it. Beyond the fact that they would be cutting their trip short, the idea that they would probably end up spending the night talking to the police or some other officials was entirely unappealing. Still, what choice did they have?
“There has to be another option,” Carol said, clearly frustrated. “Couldn’t we just keep going?”
“Yeah,” Jill said, nodding vigorously. “Fuck them. We’ve got our gear. I’m with you, Carol. Let’s move forward, not back.”
“What?” Fiona said. “That’s crazy. What about—”
“Those guys abandoned us!” Sarah said. “It’s not like they’ll be waiting for us at the end of the trail like nothing happened, ready to take us home. We’d be in the same situation we are now, but two weeks from now and with fewer supplies.”
“Anyway, someone needs to tell the police, or whoever, what happened,” Fiona said. “They left us here. Someone should do something about it.”
“Fiona’s right,” Roz said. “I’m sorry, guys, but we have to go back. Something’s seriously screwed up here.”
Jill waved a hand at her as if dismissing this point, turning to face them. “Think of it this way: why let them ruin our vacation?”
“Exactly,” Carol said, nodding.
Sarah stared at her, clearly shocked. �
�Are you kidding me?”
Carol shook her head. “Nope. I want to keep going. Fuck those horse-thieving bastards.”
Everyone laughed, though it took Sarah a few seconds to join in. She relaxed a little, Fiona saw, but she was shaking her head.
“What about the marks on the trees? Isn’t Fred supposed to come back here by tomorrow?”
Like her, Fiona guessed from their expressions that her friends had forgotten all about the marks on the trees in the turmoil of the morning.
“We have to assume the guys are all in it together,” Jill said. “Hell, maybe they even made those marks themselves, had a partner or something yesterday to throw us off.”
“How can you possibly assume that?” Sarah was almost shouting.
“Sarah’s right,” Roz said. “That doesn’t sound like them. I know these guys—I trust them.” Fiona could hear the dark anger in her voice again.
Jill shrugged, either ignoring or dismissing her tone. “Just a hunch. Anyway, even if they didn’t make those marks, we don’t know whether Fred was part of this other plan to leave us out here for whatever reason.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Roz said, raising her voice.
“None of this matters, Jill,” Sarah said. “Even if what you’re saying was true, are you seriously saying you’re going to let them leave us here? You must be crazy!” She turned to her wife. “How on earth could you be on her side? Back me up here.”
“It’s not about sides, hon. It’s about dealing with the situation. Those guys tried to screw us, but we don’t have to let them. We have food, supplies. We can move on.”
Sarah was visibly stunned. “I can’t believe you. Can you hear yourselves?
“Look,” Jill said, holding up her hands. “Maybe this isn’t a big deal. Maybe I was too drunk last night to remember what they said. They probably just decided to roll out a little early—no biggie.”
“They wouldn’t do that,” Roz said again.
“What are you even saying?” Fiona asked. “Five seconds ago you were claiming it was some kind of big conspiracy—now you want to pretend it’s all some big misunderstanding. And you weren’t drunk.”
“How would you know?” Jill asked.
“It sounds to me like you’ll say anything to get what you want,” Sarah said.
“It’s not happening, Jill,” Roz said, still clearly struggling to contain her anger. “We’re heading back. Now. Get packed so we can beat the dark.”
She turned as if to do that, but Jill grabbed her arm, clenching it with her fingers. Fiona was sure Roz would swing around and hit her, rage flashing in her eyes so black and hot Jill immediately let go and backed up a step, holding up her hands.
“Jeez, chill. We’re not done discussing this, Roz.”
“Like hell we’re not!” Roz said, finally shouting. She jabbed a finger into Jill’s chest, pushing her back slightly. “You don’t get to make the decisions here. I do. That’s why you hired me.”
“Exactly,” Jill almost screamed. “We hired you. That means you work for us .”
“What the hell are you saying?”
“Ladies, ladies,” Carol said, stepping forward and forcing them apart. “Let’s keep our cool here. Calm down.”
“She pushed me!” Jill said.
“Walk away, Jill. Take five, would you, Roz? We need to talk, just the four of us.”
Roz stared at Jill, still breathing heavily, and Fiona was certain she’d go after her again. She finally stormed off, pounding the ground as she walked away, her posture so rigid she was almost hunched over. Fiona had to fight not to chase her, wanting desperately to explain away Jill’s stupidity. But there was nothing to say.
“She can’t stop us,” Jill said.
“What the hell does that mean?” Sarah asked.
“Exactly what I said. We can go on without her.”
Sarah laughed. “And get lost in like a day.”
“Sarah’s right, Jill,” Carol said. “We need her.”
“It’s impossible without her,” Fiona said, feeling desperate now.
“Not if we get the map.”
“Can you hear yourself, Jill? Honestly.” Sarah shook her head. “And you,” she turned to her wife, “what on earth are you thinking? We have to go back.”
“But do we? I mean, really, what’s the harm? This is supposed to be the chance of a lifetime. We’ve been excited about this for years now, hon. We have to keep going.”
Sarah stared at her for a long, quiet pause. She and Carol were facing each other, almost squared off, like two gunslingers in a shootout. Carol’s eyes were open, almost pleading, and Fiona recognized the second Sarah’s resolve slipped away.
Sarah sighed. “Fine. But just so you know, I’m still not excited about it. I’ll do it only if Roz agrees to come with us.”
“What?” Fiona said, incredulous. “You’re on their side now?”
Sarah lifted her shoulders. “Not really. But I’m not leaving my wife. Let’s all agree, now, guys. I’m sick of fighting. If we can get Roz to agree, yes. If not, then we go home.”
Jill opened her mouth as if to argue, but Carol held up a warning hand. “No, Jill. Sarah’s right. It’s the only way. Roz has to be with us.”
Jill finally nodded. “Okay. But who’s going to convince her?”
The three of them turned to Fiona, like she’d expected them to, and once again, she was reminded of the afternoon at the brewery four months ago when she’d been bulldozed into all of this. After a while, no one had even asked her if she wanted to go, least of all Jill. They all assumed that, decision made, she’d go along with everyone else. Then, like now, no one cared what she thought.
“So will you?” Carol finally asked. “Go talk to her?”
Fiona had a wild image of herself finally putting her foot down, of telling them all to go to hell. Forcing them, somehow, to listen to her for once in her life. As if that was something she could ever, would ever do.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“Try hard!” Jill called after her. Fiona didn’t respond.
After a few minutes of searching for Roz, she finally found her. She’d wandered a good distance away from the main camp into the meadow, but Fiona caught a glimpse of her black hair against the rolling green grass. It took her a few minutes to walk over to her, not masking her footsteps so the other woman would hear her coming.
“Hey,” she said when she was finally close to her.
Roz was sitting on a log, her back to Fiona. “Hey.”
“Look, I’m sorry about Jill earlier. She can be a real—”
“Pain in the ass.”
“I was going to say bitch, but you’re right, too.”
Roz turned around, eyes narrowed. “And let me guess. You’re here to do her bidding.”
“Everyone’s, actually. They all want to keep going now.”
Roz sighed and broke eye contact. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”
“How would you stop them?”
Roz jerked around again and stared at her, clearly incredulous. “How can you say that?”
Fiona held up her hands. “I’m not trying to argue with you. I’m asking you, honestly. I should have asked how we could stop them. I mean, if they start walking, what are we going to do? Tie them down?”
“It would be a start,” Roz said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Especially your friend Jill.”
Fiona laughed. “She might enjoy it too much.”
Roz grinned then, getting to her feet. She walked closer, hands on her hips. “So what do you suggest? What can I say to convince them how stupid they’re being?”
Fiona had no response. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t thought much beyond coming over here to fill Roz in. She tried to come up with something to say, her mouth opening almost of its own accord, and she blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“Isn’t there some kind of compromise?”
Roz huffed. “Like what?”
Roz stared at her in silence for a long beat. Some of the anger in her eyes died away. She looked tired, beaten. Finally, she shook her head.
“Why do you let her do this to you?”
“What? Who?”
Roz sighed and grabbed Fiona’s shoulders, squeezing them gently. Their eyes met, and Fiona couldn’t ignore the flush of heat that swept through her. When Roz finally spoke, her words were quiet, almost a whisper.
“Why do you let her bully you like this?”
She didn’t have to ask who she meant. It was Jill. It was always Jill.
“She’s my friend. She’s my best friend.”
“Is she, though? Would a good friend treat you like this? Make you do something you don’t want to?” Her tone was still gentle, not accusatory, her eyes deep pools of concern. “You deserve better than her, Fiona. You really do.”
Fiona said nothing, unable to meet her eyes anymore. She stared at her shoulder, her emotions suddenly choking her. Roz stepped a little closer and tilted Fiona’s chin up to meet her eyes again.
“Do you really want to keep going? Even for a few days?”
Fiona shook her head, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. Now, finally honest with herself, she realized that what she wanted more than anything in the world was to follow this woman anywhere she wanted to go. They were close enough to kiss, and for a wild, hysterical second Fiona almost expected it to happen.
But Roz dropped her hands, stepping back. “That’s what I thought. But you still want me to offer it? A compromise?”
Fiona sniffed and nodded. She would never be able to explain why, but Roz seemed to understand. Roz closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a minute before letting her breath out in a long sigh. When she opened her eyes again, she shook her head slightly as if disappointed—whether in Fiona or not, it didn’t matter. Fiona’s stomach twisted with shame and self-loathing.
From the Woods Page 6