by Kristie Cook
Skylar looked over her shoulder to see Kayla give her a big smile. Skylar knew that look. She wanted details. There was so much to tell her, but she couldn’t.
NINETEEN
After driving along the highway for a while, the road became unfamiliar. Skylar didn’t know where they were headed, but she knew they were going higher into the mountains. After a couple of hours, they finally arrived at their destination.
“This is our stop.” Mason pulled off to an unpaved road.
“There is nothing here.” Skylar gazed at the surroundings.
“We need to hike the rest of the way,” Amanda informed, opening her side of the car.
When Skylar got out of the car, she saw Kayla stretching her long arms and legs. She rolled her eyes to Skylar, indicating she didn’t like it there. Then she turned to link her arm with Nick’s. When Everett got out of the car, Skylar looked away. She hated him, hated him for what he had tried to do.
After the boys put their camping gear on their backs, Nick led the way. Twigs snapped underneath their feet, and the sound of shuffling footsteps was all that could be heard as they headed down the path in silence. Though it was summer, the weather was perfect.
“Where are we going?” Kayla asked, looking down at her feet.
“Camping. Don’t worry, babe. You’ll have fun,” Nick answered.
“This isn’t my idea of fun. Whose idea was it, anyway?”
“Amanda’s,” Mason and Nick blurted in accord.
Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t be wimps, guys. Embrace Mother Nature.”
After what seemed like a couple of miles, they finally stopped to take a rest.
“Is it time for lunch yet?” Kayla whined. “I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Amanda agreed, seeing Everett roll his eyes. “What, tough guy? Don’t tell me you’re not hungry?”
Everett dropped his huge backpack and so did the others. “Here.” He handed out sandwiches. Instead of handing one to Skylar directly, he gave two to Mason. Nick passed out water bottles, and Mason passed out bags of chips. They had it all planned, as if they had done this many times before. After lunch, they were on the move again.
Skylar jumped from her phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans. The text was from Kayla.
I want to go home. I don’t like this.
Skylar felt horrible. She didn’t mean to drag her cousin with her. Skylar regretted not saying anything on Kayla’s behalf, but they couldn’t leave her behind at the cabin all by herself. Being with the children of gods was safer, she guessed.
Sorry! Did you call your mom?
Yes. I felt bad lying to her again.
I called my mom, too, just before we left. Everything will be okay.
I know. I just hate camping.
But, you’ve never been.
I’m here. I don’t like it.
What are you doing?” Nick asked Kayla.
Kayla giggled. “Texting Skylar.”
“Wow, she can do two things at once,” Everett commented.
“Shut up,” Nick snapped.
“You gonna make me?” Everett challenged.
“Come on,” Nick challenged, jumping from side to side with his fists up like a boxer.
“Are you serious?” Amanda stood between them. “Guys, we need to get going to safer ground before it gets dark. Stop acting like kids, and keep your testosterone in check. Grow up.” Amanda scolded, rolled her eyes, and took the lead.
After about another mile, they stopped. It was dusk, and as the sun was setting, the air became cooler. While the guys pitched the tents, the girls got dinner ready. Amanda set the fire and placed a flat, small pan on top of several overlapping thick twigs. The way she arranged the wood and got everything ready, Skylar knew she was an expert camper.
“Do you guys camp often?” Skylar asked, sitting on the ground next to Amanda, watching her poke the twigs with a long thin branch, trying to get the fire bigger.
“We used to go more often, especially when we needed to get away,” Amanda replied.
Skylar understood the meaning behind needing to get away. Mason had mentioned they would move from town to town to get away from the vultures. They must have gone to the woods to hide as well.
Amanda reached inside her bags and pulled out several cans.
“Beans,” Kayla frowned.
“Beans and bread.” Amanda shuffled her hand inside her bag again.
“The joy of camping.” Nick was now standing behind Kayla. “Don’t judge me if I fart all night.”
“Gross,” Kayla teased, and pushed Nick away.
Then Mason and Everett showed up, holding flashlights. “It’ll get dark soon,” Mason muttered, handing one to Amanda.
When the beans were ready, Amanda passed out the paper plates. With a wooden spoon she had used to stir the beans, she placed a lump on everyone’s plate. Nick broke bread and handed a piece to everyone. Dinner was tasty since hunger pained Skylar. She had never walked this much before, and had worked up an appetite.
While she ate, she looked up to the sky, mesmerized by the glistening lights. It was a moonless night and a multitude of stars captured her eyes. Complete darkness engulfed them, and the only light was from the campfire burning, providing warmth. Under normal circumstances, camping wouldn’t be such a bad experience, but they weren’t there for pleasure. Their lives were at stake, or so Skylar kept hearing, but why and how? Conversation was minimal, especially since Kayla was around.
“Are we going to tell scary stories and roast marshmallows?” Kayla giggled. “Isn’t that what people do when they go camping?”
“We’re not people,” Amanda said flatly.
That would’ve been a funny statement, but knowing what Skylar knew, she realized Amanda meant her words. It was awkward for a second, until Nick spoke, glaring at Amanda. “What she meant was that we’re not doing the scary story thing, but you and I can roast our own marshmallows privately.” He winked.
Everett rolled his eyes, most likely grossed out by them flirting. He stood up and dusted his pants. “We need to wake up before the sun rises, so I suggest we all go to bed. See you early in the morning.” He headed for his tent.
“Who’s going into whose tent?” Mason asked, twirling a stick in his hand.
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not sleeping with you,” Nick joked. He got up and tugged Kayla to him. “Come on … let’s go fire up those marshmallows.”
“Good night,” Kayla said, walking backward, smiling at Skylar.
“I’m going to Everett’s tent. See you in the morning. Don’t forget to set your watch.” Amanda disappeared into the darkness, but light shone from the direction she’d walked, growing dimmer by every step.
Mason raked his hair. “I guess it’s you and me.” He got up and led the way, beaming the flashlight on the ground.
“This? This is our tent?” Skylar stammered. The tent was small, smaller then she’d imagined. She didn’t pay much attention when they were assembling it. Mason unzipped it and crawled inside.
“We only have one sleeping bag, but it’s big enough for us both.” Mason unrolled the sleeping bag that was tightly bundled, laying it out.
“We only have one sleeping bag?” Skylar repeated.
“Echo, that is exactly what I said.”
Skylar heaved a heavy sigh. “Don’t call me that.”
Mason ignored her request. Unzipping it, he tucked himself in first and lay sideways. He patted the empty space next to him. “Come. I won’t bite. Or if you prefer, you can sleep out there with the bugs.” Then he turned off his flashlight.
Jerk! Having no choice, she slid in. Without the heat from the fire, it was cold. Shivering, Skylar snuggled and graciously took the warmth from Mason’s body, or was it the heat brewing inside her from his touch? Though her back was to him, his chest rising and falling made her stomach flutter, and she was weak all over.
“Why do we have to wake up so early?” Skylar asked.
“We need to pass the swamp. We’ll be crossing over to another dimension, and when we get there, time is reversed. Though the sun will be rising here, the sun will be setting there.”
“Oh.” Skylar tried to grasp that such things could happen.
“I forgot to change your bandages. The medical kit is in my bag.” Mason turned on his flashlight. Skylar moved at the same time Mason did. In the tight space, her body tangled around him and she ended up on top of him. The light shone between them, allowing her to see Mason’s piercing eyes. She lay there, lost, as his lips were inches away. The deep breath from Mason traveled to her. She could see his lips leaning toward hers. Hot sensations coursed through her body like an untamed flame, wondering if he was feeling the same.
With a heavy, deep sigh, he looked away. “My bag is there. You think you could get off me so I can get it?”
What was wrong with her? She was falling for this jerk. Snapping out of his lure, she unzipped and grabbed the bag. “Here,” Skylar huffed, practically throwing it at him.
With limited space, they sat face to face with their legs crossed. Skylar was glad it was dark so she wouldn’t show her blushing and irritated face.
“Hold out your hands,” Mason commanded.
Placing them out in front of her, Skylar rooted her eyes on the ground. She didn’t want to look at him, afraid that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to turn away, and he would know she had feelings for him.
Mason held her forearm and carefully unwrapped one of the swathes. “Impossible. Have you always healed like this?”
When Skylar looked up, Mason’s eyes were wide, looking astounded. Then she gazed at the palm of her hand. She recalled the pain disappearing quickly, but she would never have imagined it to be like this. Recalling the last time she was wounded, her lips healed faster than she had ever seen any cut in her body heal before. “What did you do?” Her tone was soft, but accusing.
“What do you mean, ‘what did I do?’ I didn’t do anything.”
“This is impossible. I had a long gash. It’s like I never had the cut.”
“Remus healed like this.” Mason traced where the wound should have been with the tip of his finger. Shuddering from his sensual touch, Skylar gasped lightly. Then he unwrapped the bandage from the other hand and traced every inch of it. The smooth glide of his touch tickled her, tingling every inch of her body. Then his hand slid up her arm, examining it. Blood rushed to her face, making her hot. She wanted more of this, more of him. Afraid of what he would do next and afraid of what she wanted to do at this very moment, she yanked her arm away.
“I don’t understand,” she stammered.
“I’m just as amazed as you. I don’t want my family to know. I’m going to place new swathes on your hands.”
After Mason wrapped them, Skylar settled back into the sleeping bag. This time she realized how hard the ground was. Why on Earth do people like camping? So far, there was nothing pleasant about it. Well, except maybe sharing the same tent with Mr. Rude. Though she was exhausted beyond words, it was nearly impossible to think of sleep, especially when inhabiting the same space with Mason and being very much aware of his body touching hers.
TWENTY
Skylar stretched her arms up to yawn and lazily opened her eyes. She jerked back when Mason appeared in her line of vision, staring at her. “Were you … like … watching me sleep?” she spluttered.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I was just about to wake you up.”
Why did she use such a poor choice of words? She should’ve known Mason would say something insensitive like that. She was almost sure he was lying, but then again, she didn’t care.
Embarrassed, she crawled out of the tent first. The sun was rising, lighting the world with golden hues, revealing a splendid view. She had never seen a sunrise before. She’d never woken up early enough to see one. Just the sight of it warmed her. Though there wasn’t much of the land to look at, besides the trees and the mountains, somehow the glowing sun gave beauty to it.
Skylar looked away from the campsite and saw Kayla was ready to go, and waved her hand. Kayla shook her head to reply, but Skylar was more interested in looking at Kayla’s mangled hair. Since she couldn’t tell from this distance, she wondered how Kayla looked after not washing her makeup off. Without changing clothes or refreshing her makeup, she wondered how she looked, too. As these thoughts surged through her mind, she turned to see Mason packing.
Skylar was staring, but she couldn’t help it. The sunlight kissed the tip of his hair, radiating his body as he stood, and creating the illusion he was heaven sent. His muscles flexed when he stretched and yawned, showing a glimpse of his sexy abs.
Afterward, he folded the tent to a precise size to fit into his backpack, and the way he tossed it around his shoulders, sliding his arms through it, made her lose herself into him.
“I know Mason is attractive, but don’t make it so obvious,” Amanda whispered, as she continued to follow Everett’s steps.
Skylar blushed. Was it that obvious? After thinking, she knew it was. Darn! Why does he have that effect on me?
After a short distance, they came upon a long bridge. Swaying slightly from side to side, it looked steady enough. Made from wood, each narrow plank was tied to the next with rope-like material. There was even a safety grip on each side, looking like a fisherman’s net. It didn’t look too bad from where Skylar stood, but when she approached, her courage faltered.
“Leave your bags here,” Amanda ordered. “You won’t need them where we’re headed, but don’t forget to take your flashlight.”
After the backpacks were dropped, they stood closer to the bridge.
“I’m not crossing that bridge,” Kayla said, shaking her head.
“It’ll be fine, Kayla. I’ve crossed it before.” Nick’s tone was not convincing.
“Uh … is there another way, Everett?” Amanda looked terrified.
“Does it look like there’s another way across to the other side? You’ll be fine. We’ve crossed it before. I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”
“Who told you to come?” Amanda fired back.
Everett eyed Skylar. “We need answers.” Then he nudged Amanda out of the way. “Might as well get this over with.” He took a step onto the bridge.
“Hold onto me and close your eyes.” Nick draped his arms around Kayla.
“Don’t let go,” Kayla said, dragging her feet.
Mason extended his hand, gesturing for Skylar to go first. “I’d rather go last. I’m going to take my time.” Terrified and not wanting to show it, she wanted to stall as long as she could.
Crossing the bridge didn’t seem all that bad when Skylar stood on stable ground, but as soon as she took her first step, the bridge rocked. It was already swaying, but it was a whole different story when she felt it. With her hands on the rope to steady herself, she looked straight ahead.
Curiosity got the best of her and she made the mistake of looking down. She couldn’t see the bottom since she only looked down for a second, but that was enough to scare the living day lights out of her. Mountains started closing in, and so did the clouds. Winded, she took a moment to compose herself.
After telling herself to calm down, she proceeded ahead. Though her heart pounded out of her chest and her stomach felt like it would drop, she had to be brave. The gang was almost to the other side, but she was only half way there. Occasionally, Mason would turn toward her without a word. Either he was telling her to hurry or he cared enough to look back. She hoped it was the latter.
Suddenly, the bridge rocked harder. The wind wasn’t blowing a second ago, but now it seemed to come out of nowhere.
“It started!” Nick yelled. “Run!”
“Run, Skylar!” Mason yelled over his shoulder.
What started and why did she have to run? She knew now. The wind blew stronger. It howled with rage. Shaking violently, the bridge had a life of its own. She ran as fast as she could, but she
fell flat on her face. Her feet slipped into a gap and she started sliding off the bridge. She would have fallen off if Mason hadn’t grabbed her wrist, pulling her up in the nick of time.
Skylar heard Kayla calling out for her, but she couldn’t hear the words. Adrenaline zapped through her as the will to survive kicked in. Unable to breathe from the force of the gust, she took short breaths, trudging through the wind. They were almost there.
Suddenly, the bridge started collapsing, starting where they had taken their first step. Plank by plank, with a rippling effect, it plunged. It happened so fast, the section of the bridge underneath her feet plummeted. “Hold on tight to the rope!” Mason bellowed, forced to let go of his hold on her.
Skylar screamed. Holding tightly onto the rope, she was soaring straight ahead. Her body thumped hard against the face of the mountain, sending piercing pain through every nerve, bone, and muscle. Bouncing from the impact, her body slammed against the ridged rocks again. Looking up, she could see that Mason held on to the same rope she did.
“Hold on, Skylar,” Mason yelled. “Whatever you do, don’t let go. Do you hear me?”
“Okay, Mason,” Skylar mumbled, but her voice wouldn’t carry, too afraid to move even her lips. Tears streamed down her face. She had never been so scared in her life. Sure, running away from the vultures and almost drowning was pretty scary, but falling to her death was even worse.
“Hold on, Mason!” Nick said out loud. “Everett and I are pulling you guys up. This would’ve been a piece of cake if our powers weren’t limited here.”
“Hurry up. Get Skylar up. She won’t be able to hold on much longer.” Mason looked down at her.
Skylar was more than elated that the wind had died down, and the rope sliding upward gave her hope, knowing they were being pulled up. Not having much upper body strength, her arms burned as they trembled. Her palms were moist, making them slippery, and sweat trickled along her forehead.
Luckily, Mason had made Skylar keep the swathes on her hands. They helped her keep her grip somewhat, but it wasn’t going to stop her from slipping. With shooting pains all over her body, she held as tightly as she could. Though she knew she shouldn’t, she had a strong urge to look down again.