by Lissa Kasey
Once he stepped out of the shower and tugged his boxer briefs on, he made his way into the bedroom to figure out the clothes situation. Comfortable like jeans and a T-shirt? Warm? Sweaters and coats? Thick socks? He’d been staring at his jeans drawer for a while when AJ meowed and rubbed against his leg.
“Hey, baby girl,” Nate said absently as he pulled out a pair of jeans and held them out. “Camping jeans? Is there a special thing such as camping jeans?”
“Hard core hiker gear, but since you’re not crossing a desert or mountain, I think you’re fine with just jeans and some T-shirts.” Jamie’s voice made Nate jump. “You’ll want to bring a sweater or two as well. The breeze off the ocean is cold. Nights are freezing, but we’ll be in the sleeping bags in the tent. Just fill up the backpack. Don’t forget socks.” Jamie set a bright blue pack at Nate’s feet, then he threw Nate a grin. “Good morning, sunshine. We’ll eat breakfast on the road. Get dressed and packed, meet you downstairs in ten.” Jamie turned and left the room like he was some sort of quick dropping tornado.
Nate stared at the bag. It wasn’t that big. But they were only going to be gone two days. Two days in the middle of nowhere. Were there bathrooms? He was glad he’d taken a shower. He tugged on the jeans, a pair of socks, and a bright red T-shirt with a Coca-Cola logo on it. He hoped it would help Jamie find him if they got separated. It would also clash horribly with the bright blue bag. Like a clown in the forest, Nate thought.
If there was a serial killer hiding out in the park looking for victims, Nate would make an easy target. Did the rangers know to look for those sorts of things? Bodies? A pattern of missing people?
He shoved more clothes than he could possibly need in his bag, struggled to zip it, had to sit on it to get it to close, then realized he needed to put the book binder in it too.
“Shit.” Nate opened the pack and dumped it out. He folded things nicely, picked one pair of jeans, three pair of underwear, four pairs of socks, two shirts, and one set of flannel pajamas. This time there was room for the book and the pens Jamie had given him. He also packed the pill case, already presorted by day, into the front pocket of his bag. Toiletries were another question. He packed a toothbrush and paste, deodorant, hand sanitizer, and a comb. He hoped he didn’t smell too horrible by the time this little adventure ended.
“You ready?” Jamie reappeared in the doorway.
Nate looked at his bag. “I hope so?”
Jamie reached out and picked up the pack. “Don’t forget to put on shoes and grab a sweater.” He pointed at Nate’s sock clad feet. Nate pulled a thick wool sweater out of the closet and slid his feet into a pair of sneakers. Jamie seemed to look him over for a minute, and Nate fidgeted, wondering if he’d chosen wrong.
“Looks good. Let’s go. Jen will be stopping by midday to check on the critters.”
Nate followed Jamie out of the room. “AJ doesn’t like people.”
“AJ loves playing with the twins and sleeping on Leo and Tuck. She’ll be fine. I promise. Charlie said he’d keep an eye on the house. And the whole staff of the clinic will be taking turns cruising through. This is not the first time I’ve been away from home.” Jamie glanced back at Nate. “Nor is it the first time you’ve left them in someone else’s care either.”
Nate suddenly felt bad about his many hospital visits. Poor Leo was old. What if his time with Leo was limited and he was always leaving? His stomach began to hurt.
Jamie sighed. “I know I can’t make you turn it off, but really, it’s going to be okay. Go snuggle them a minute and then we’re leaving.”
Nate rushed off to Jamie’s room to do just that. None of the cats appreciated his kisses, though AJ did like the pets and followed him all the way to the front door. Jamie kept nudging him until somehow Nate found himself in the passenger seat of Jamie’s truck, strapped in and ready to go. His gut was tied in knots of worry.
Jamie put the truck into gear and off they went. Nate felt tears seeping down his cheeks as he stared at the house until it faded into the distance. The anxiety churned in him, telling him that he’d never see any of the critters or the house again. The logical side of his brain reminded him how illogical that thought pattern was. He still couldn’t stop it.
Breakfast was an egg sandwich of some sort. Nate couldn’t identify all the flavors, though he knew the bread wasn’t any sort of wheat bread he’d ever eaten before. Mostly he just tasted egg, salty and slightly sweet, and bacon. He ate it on autopilot, trying not to let his brain think too much, which would only make him nauseous.
“How about you open your binder and look at that? I have to get us to the park and checked in before we can make our way to our spot,” Jamie said.
The pack sat at Nate’s feet. He unzipped the top without much thought and pulled out the binder and a pen, opening it to the first page. Character breakdown. Instead of thinking about inspiration or any past characters he’d ever written, he just filled out the form using Jamie as the template. His description, preferences, history, attitude, everything.
Slowly the tension began to unfurl. Small things made him look up. A bump in the road, the shine of the sun on the dash, the wind howling around the truck. The island sprawled around them with green trees, hills and, in the distance, ocean. They passed a sign with the park name carved in wood and the road lined in tall trees. It looked quiet enough.
Nate closed his book to pay attention as they entered the park. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the wide-open area, sectioned off by large logs, wasn’t it. There was a small building that appeared to be the bathroom, and a parking lot. Picnic benches were scattered around the area and several built-in grills sat near the tables. It looked more like a public park than the deep dark forest haven Nate had been picturing.
Jamie steered the truck farther in, down a small road. There was another parking lot and a bigger building, though still not much more than a medium size square. Jamie pulled into a spot out in front and parked. While they were surrounded by wilderness and thick trees, this was not the sort of middle of nowhere that Nate had expected.
“This is the visitor’s office,” Jamie told him. “I’m going to go check in. It’s late in the year so it looks like the park will be pretty empty this weekend.” He turned the truck off and got out. Nate followed, curious about the office. Would there be maps and survival gear? Notations about rescues? Pictures of artifacts found from lost hikers? Memorials and reconstructions of bodies found who still needed to be identified?
The inside of the building mirrored a roadside rest stop. Bathrooms. A giant map pinned behind glass on one wall and a small desk. And a handsome man with blond hair stood behind the desk. He wore a ranger uniform and a warm smile. He looked familiar and it took a minute for Nate to process who he was. Graham Church, Jamie’s fellow ranger. Nate had seen pictures of him before.
“Desk duty today,” Jamie greeted him.
“Yeah, some paperwork to do. I haven’t been out to check all the sites yet. The park is empty, has been for the last two weeks. We have a couple up on 15 and you guys in 18. That’s it. Too cold for most families to hang out near the beach. I look forward to the winter when we’re spending more time in the park checking on the wildlife than the humans,” Graham replied.
“And Jason likes when you leave him alone with the horses all day?” Jamie asked.
“He loses track of time enough that I have folks stop by regularly to make him take breaks. But I look forward to shorter shifts in the winter too. I might even take Jason out with me.”
“Good luck getting him away from the horses.” Jamie turned and put a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “This is Nate. Nate, this is Graham.”
Graham held out a hand and Nate shook it, only feeling a little awkward. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“You too,” Nate agreed. “Jamie told you I’m a novice at this camping thing, right?” He looked around the little office. “Should I get some rescue flares or something, just in case? Maybe borrow a
satellite phone or portable GPS tracker?”
“Nah,” Graham said. “You couldn’t be with a better guide than Jameson. He’s got you covered. Plus your camp is less than a thirty minute walk from this office. Great views, quiet area, but close enough that you can run back and use the bathroom instead of peeing in the woods if you want.”
Nate felt his face go red. Pee in the woods? Was that a normal thing? Would the animals be harmed if he peed in the woods? What about the plants? He’d always thought of humans as dirty and destructive creatures, but tried to lessen his impact as much as he could. Maybe they should just go home.
Jamie said something that Nate didn’t catch, but he felt himself being tugged out of the office and back into the cool breeze. Then a warm embrace curled around him. Jamie hugged him hard, and ran his hands down Nate’s back. “The panic on your face says it all. Not sure what went through your head just then, but you’re fine. I promise you’ll be fine.”
“What if my pee kills the animals?” Nate wanted to know.
“Do you have toxic pee that I should know about?” Jamie asked sounding amused.
“I don’t know. I’ve had every medical test known to man and no one said anything. But I don’t want to go out there and hurt anything. Kill an ancient tree or a rare species of plant…”
“No wonder you never sleep. Your brain is in overdrive all the time.” Jamie said. But Nate had been sleeping. Ever since he’d gotten here. Jamie let Nate go. “We’re in a state park. This area was crafted for campers. Unless you set fire to something, nothing you can do will damage this area. I promise to keep all the matches away from you.” Jamie led him to the back of the truck and began unpacking things. Nate grabbed his pack and slung it on his back.
“I can carry stuff,” he said, trying to be helpful.
“You can pull the cooler.”
“Okay.” Nate watched as Jamie stacked up the gear, locked the truck, and then became a human pack mule. Jamie had his pack on his back, which was bigger than Nate’s, two rolls strapped to the bottom. He also had a tent and a full-sized duffle bag. The cooler had wheels and a long handle. Nate, by far, had drawn the easy straw.
“Just a little walk. Do you want to use the bathroom before we go?” Jamie asked as he steered Nate around the side of the office.
And suddenly Nate had to pee. “Yes, sorry.” Nate left the cooler and darted inside. He didn’t say anything to Graham, just rushed by the desk to the bathroom and do his business. His anxiety would make him pee a dozen times if he let it get out of hand. He’d go now and hold it until they were settled in camp. Hopefully it wasn’t so far away that he couldn’t just run back if needed.
After doing his business and washing his hands he met Jamie outside. Nate grabbed up the cooler again and Jamie just smiled as they headed up a little dirt path toward the woods. Nate was so not ready for two days with nothing but wilderness, but he would try for Jamie’s sake.
Chapter 11
Nate lost himself in the walk. Having Jamie lead him helped calm his brain enough to stop looking for threats. Birds sang tunes that had him straining to recognize them, like he was some bird aficionado. He heard crickets and saw squirrels and a few rabbits. The trees towered overhead, probably decades, maybe centuries, old. Blue sky peeked through the crown of leaves, occasional puffy clouds dotting the distance. The breeze caressed his skin, and all he really paid any attention to was Jamie’s back in front of him. He watched the pack bob up and down, Jamie’s stride firm. Nate tried to mimic his confidence. He could do this. He could totally do this.
It was Jamie’s curse, surprising, and a fast sailor flow, that caught Nate off guard and brought him back to the present. Jamie didn’t normally curse. Not like that. And Nate’s brain struggled to catch up. The smell hit him first. Like the McDonald’s dumpster his first apartment had been across from. The stink of fast food, beer, and wet paper.
Around the open area, marked with long timbers laid in an open box, trash blew like a cyclone had descended. Piles of smashed beer and soda cans, fast food bags, empty water bottles, even full bags of trash. Plastic scattered everywhere, stuck to the trees from the wind and paper blew trails into the woods.
Nate knew this wasn’t what it should have been. The first part of the park they’d driven through had been clean and empty, as had the area outside of the office. This was like college kids had camped for a week and just thrown everything on the ground.
“Graham,” Jamie was on his phone. “Site 18 is a mess. Who was up here?”
Nate trembled. What if they were still here? If people this disrespectful came at them, Nate wasn’t sure what he’d do. Jamie was a ranger, but not armed as far as Nate could tell. He knew Jamie had guns at home, though he didn’t know where, and because of his mental health thought better than to ask about them. If someone attacked, was Jamie scary enough? Nate knew he wasn’t. He was about as boring white bread as he could get, with little muscle tone and no self-defense skills. Did rangers have to know that stuff? Maybe Jamie just knew stuff from being a police officer. Cops had to know a lot of self-defense, right?
Jamie stopped on the trail just before the clearing and put down all his gear. Nate followed suit, adding the cooler and his pack to the pile. Jamie pulled a roll of garbage bags out of his pack, and a small box of rubber gloves.
“Some of this is fresh,” Jamie said. “Not a week old.” He put on a pair of gloves, and opened a trash bag. Nate did the same. He couldn’t stop shaking, but he wasn’t going to break down into a sobbing mess in front of Jamie again. Jamie dealt with this stuff all the time, didn’t he? He had said something about a rash of slobs lately. And this was a mess like Nate hadn’t seen. He began stuffing things into his trash bag, catching plastic and picking up cans.
“Don’t pick up any of the piles,” Jamie instructed him. “Just the bottles and cans for now. I don’t want to chance you getting pricked by a needle or something.”
That thought made Nate freeze midbend. A needle? Like a drug needle? He scanned the ground with his eyes, searching for signs of anything dangerous, carefully picked up a bottle and moved another aside with his foot. Just more cans. Beer cans. Cigarette butts. Food wrappers. Used condoms. Gross.
Nate picked up one item at a time putting cans and bottles in one bag, other trash in another. One piece at a time helped keep him calm, though he vibrated with anxiety. A thousand scenarios went through his head. Things that could go wrong. From pathogens planted to make everyone sick to sex slaves sold for meth which they had only just missed rescuing. He cleared a small area and began on the next, reminding himself that one foot of clean space was better than none. His panicked brain demanded a singular focus and he did his best to redirect it to cleaning instead of cycling through what-if scenarios while crying and gasping for breath.
“I’m saving the forest,” he said to himself. “Rescuing Groot from evil humanity.” He didn’t realize how focused he was until the sound of a vehicle approaching startled him out of the groove of cleaning.
Were the vandals coming back to make more of a mess?
A truck very similar to Jamie’s parked just off the dirt road. Nate didn’t know it was possible to drive up this far into the woods, though the trail was more than wide enough. In the bed of the truck five men and one woman sat cramped together. They all began to jump out of the back once the truck stopped. Graham got out of the driver’s side of the truck. He looked just as mad as Jamie had sounded on the phone. Charlie was one of the men who got out of the bed of the truck. He wore a crimson polo with an FHFD logo on it and blue jeans. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his expression tense. Were they all from the fire department, maybe? The group tugged on heavy-duty gloves and opened trash bags. Were they here to clean up?
“People suck,” the woman said. She was a stocky redhead with a kind face. She had a stick with a claw on the end of it, to dig into the trash while another person held a bag open for her.
“No one has registered
since last week. It’s been too cold,” Graham said. “It’s my fault. I was on camp duty this week and just haven’t had time to check them. I’ll go through all of them today. And call the other parks with a warning.”
“One of the luxury ones reported something last week,” Charlie said. “Filed a police report and everything. Sounds like one of their boats was damaged.”
“I’ll call around when I get back to work on Monday morning,” Jamie said. “See if there’s a connection.”
“I can’t imagine they’re local,” one of the other firefighters said.
“Probably aren’t, but might be family members to a local. Tourism is down. Winter is coming. We don’t have frat boys on spring break to make messes,” Graham pointed out.
“Wrong time of year for spring break anyway,” Jamie said. “Never seen the parks this bad.”
Nate mimicked everyone else’s actions. Sorting the trash, picking up an area, moving on to the next, and piling full trash bags next to the truck. They worked in a circle. Everyone talking to their neighbor. Nate mostly just moving like a robot and sticking close to Jamie. He could see the tension in Jamie’s shoulders and the tightness of his frown. Should Nate suggest they go? No, that’s what Nate wanted, to go home and hide. He felt responsible somehow, though he knew that was illogical.
Jamie wanted to camp. Nate would make the best of what he could for Jamie’s sake.
“Maybe we can move to one of the closer camps?” Nate suggested to Jamie. The mess seemed daunting, but they were making quick work of it.
“Nah,” Charlie said, patting Nate on the back. “We’ll have this cleaned up in two shakes.” He glanced to Jamie. “Jameson should take you for a walk along the beach since it’s warming up. We’ll get this finished before you get back. Mountains are really pretty from this side of the island. Early like this, the water is nice too. That salty breeze calms me to the core. Bastian always grumbles because I leave the windows open when it’s cool like this, even though I’m a freeze baby. But I love the smell. It’s home, you know?”