Survive or Die

by Catherine Dilts

  “That would be as stupid as having the combination to the bank vault,” Bender said, “and not opening it to get at the money inside.”

  “It’s cold and wet,” Althea said. “Jack, haven’t you had enough yet?”

  Bender waved his hands as though shooing everyone away. “Go ahead. Leave. Quit.”

  A few people stood, until Bender spoke again.

  “Quit now, and you put yourself on the pink slip list. During the last challenge, everyone still has a shot at finding the treasure chest containing the raise. So quit your pathetic whining.”

  A mutinous grumbling rolled around the campfire. Jeremiah felt the reassuring weight of the .40 S&W in his slicker’s inside pocket.

  “The ranch covers a large territory,” Omari said. “Can we hope to find the treasure chest in one day?”

  “Sure thing,” Rowdy said. “It’s on Gold Hill, like on my TV show. You’ll have no problem finding the treasure chests. The trick will be finding the right one.”

  “There’s more than one?” Frank asked.

  “Each chest contains a prize,” Bender said. “A week of vacation time, a Bender Clips jacket, tickets to a Broncos game. But only one chest contains the raise.”

  “Isn’t this dangerous?” Pastor Olufemi prodded Bender and Hunter with the hard questions everyone else seemed afraid to ask. He waved a hand at the cloud-shrouded hilltop. “Sending greenhorns, as you call us, out on a mountain in this weather?”

  Jeremiah admired his concern, but he had his own reasons for staying.

  “It’s not like climbing a fourteener.” Veronica sniffed. “The top of the hill’s not even above treeline.”

  “Wranglers will be posted along the trail,” Rowdy said. “They’ll make sure no one gets lost. As Mr. Bender has pointed out, you can quit now if you want to.”

  The Buckaroos on the Wild Cats team wore smug expressions, assuming they had the entire week wrapped up and tied with a bow.

  “Who’s going to triumph?” Rowdy asked. “Who will go home in defeat?” The lines were straight from his old television program. Then he added something new. “Who’ll score the big raise, and who’s headed to the unemployment line?”

  A few campers debated tossing their names into Bender’s pink slip drawing, but in the end, everyone stayed. Jeremiah leaned forward on his bench and glanced at Madison. She looked his way at that moment.

  Treasure chest keys aside, Jeremiah knew he’d already found his prize.

  When Grant and Aubrey reached Otter Creek Cabin, Althea Olufemi was shoving clothes into her suitcase. Omari stood in the doorway of their room, beseeching her to stay.

  “Jack seems to like you,” Althea said. “As much as he likes any of his employees. He won’t fire you. Why take chances on becoming the next victim of an accident? Or worse?”

  Grant pulled Aubrey into their room, but they could hear the couple’s conversation through the thin walls.

  “There is bound to be deep disappointment tomorrow,” Omari said. “I believe we were placed here to show that true sustenance can only come from Above.”

  Aubrey admired Omari’s determination to do good in the cesspool that was Bender Clips. Even if it was pointless.

  “I am exhausted.” Althea sounded on the verge of tears. “I can’t face scrambling around a mountain in the rain looking for hidden treasure.”

  “This may be my last chance to reach my coworkers with the message of the Good News. People are more receptive when facing a difficult time.”

  There was a pause. Althea might have been considering her options, or perhaps the couple was praying.

  “I’ll wait for you here,” Althea told him. “Someone needs to be at camp to comfort those who don’t find the treasure they’re seeking.”

  If comfort was what they wanted, and not revenge.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Sotheara huddled under a blanket as she tapped a text message into her phone.

  Since Shirley confirmed someone emptied the toxic waste disposal account, I just need to convince her to talk to the authorities.

  Sage replied instantly.

  Still need to locate the dumpsite

  What if its not on Rowdys ranch? Bender could be shipping it to Mexico for all we know.

  You’ll be on a different part of the ranch tomorrow, Sage texted. Lots of mines.

  Its raining. The trails will be a disaster. I wish you were here. Im not cut out for spying.

  She was glad Sage couldn’t see the tears rolling down her cheeks. He would think she was whining about discomfort, but Sotheara was scared. Maybe even terrified.

  You’re doing a great job. Taking risks like a true ecowarrior. So close now

  Sotheara wanted to respond that her battle to protect the environment might throw her in the path of a killer. She had the sinking feeling that Sage wouldn’t care. When push came to shove, Nature mattered more to him than his girlfriend.

  Only one more day. Aubrey felt content as she prepared for the final challenge of Survive or Die camp. She plugged her nearly dead cell phone into the charger, then emptied her daypack on the bed and sorted through her gear. The fire-starting kit, compass, and pocketknife she placed on the comforter, making room in her pack for her heavier rain jacket. Although the weather sucked, being buddies with Grant would be fun.

  “You’ll need that,” Grant pointed at the growing pile on the turquoise comforter.

  “We don’t need two of everything.”

  “You need your own gear,” Grant said. “Frank and I are teaming up.”

  “Frank? I thought we’d be hiking together.” Aubrey’s throat closed around her words. “I thought we’d be buddies.”

  “Aubrey, this is just a game for you, but my job is at stake.”

  “Whether you win or lose affects me,” she said. “And we’re more than buddies. We’re married.” Just in case he had forgotten. “Who’s more important? Your coworker or your wife?”

  “Honey, this isn’t about our marriage.”

  “But it is.” She swiped a hand across a tear that spilled down her cheek. “All that talk about dreams for a different future. Did you mean any of it?”

  “I meant every word,” Grant said. “Aw, honey. No tears. Please?”

  “Thursday I thought we were rekindling sparks, but then you had to go and douse the flame by picking Frank over me. What difference does it make who you team up with? Bender’s dangling that raise in front of everyone knowing full well there won’t be a factory or jobs or paychecks much longer.”

  Grant held a finger to his lips. “People can hear.”

  “I don’t care.” Aubrey could feel herself spiraling out of control. It felt kinda good. “They need to know.”

  He sat on the bed and pulled off a hiking boot. Aubrey snatched up the dirty boot and threw it at the door. It hit with a loud bang, spraying mud and gravel.

  “Frank’s your buddy. Go sleep in his room.”

  Grant’s shoulders slumped. “Aubrey. Don’t overreact.”

  “It all began with the lie that we were escaping for a week alone, just the two of us. I’ve faced every imaginable humiliation while you sucked up to Frank and Bender. I’ve had it up to here.” Aubrey chopped at the air several inches above her head.

  “I’ll make it up—”

  Aubrey pointed to the door. “Don’t even try. Just get out.”

  Grant remained seated for a moment. The depth of Aubrey’s anger finally seemed to sink in. He grabbed a blanket and his boot and hobbled out the door.

  Aubrey slumped down on the bed, feeling sorry for herself, and not for the first, second or third time that week. She wanted to emulate Althea’s example, but it wasn’t in her to sacrifice her own desires. Not every stinking time.

  Sotheara slipped out of her room and padded barefoot across camp t
o the Hummingbird cabin. She entered without knocking, and found Berdie Placer seated in the common room almost like she’d been anticipating Sotheara’s arrival.

  Sotheara whispered. “We can’t talk here.”

  Berdie nodded. She pulled on a rain slicker and led Sotheara to the door. “The walls have ears. Let’s try the fire circle.”

  That option was out. A surprising number of people braved the weather to sit around the campfire, sheltered by the canopy. Fawn and Tweet shared a joint. Veronica and Sam cuddled on the Stockton’s Revenge log bench.

  The rain had stopped, but Sotheara could see her breath in the chilly evening air. She motioned for Berdie to follow her to the chuck wagon. The door was unlocked. She glanced around, then crept up the three steps. They opened cupboards, examining each with flashlights until they found the stash of granola bars. Sotheara took one, then sat crosslegged on the floor.

  “Why have you called me out in the dead of night?” Berdie asked.

  Sotheara wasn’t positive she could trust the diminutive receptionist, but she refused to continue Operation Clean Sweep alone. Even if Berdie refused to help, Sotheara was certain she wouldn’t rat her out to Bender. She rattled off the details of her quest for the toxic waste dump.

  “One— we know the toxic waste service hasn’t been used for months.” Sotheara held out a fist, uncurling a finger for each point. “Two— waste has been generated during that time.”

  “Waste that exceeds the storage capacity of our facility.” Berdie peeled back her granola bar wrapper.

  “Three— Shirley claims she didn’t steal that money, and Doug was forcing her to repay the account, so it wasn’t either of them.”

  “If they’re both telling the truth.” Berdie took a sip from her canteen.

  “Right. Which brings us to Four.” Sotheara took a bite and chewed for a minute before speaking again. “To prove the waste is being illegally dumped, we need to find the dump site.”

  Berdie leaned against the leg of a stainless steel table. “Not so. We could go through the shipping records. See if a shipment was sent somewhere odd. Like this ranch.”

  “Would Bender be dumb enough to keep records of the transfer? There’s a remote chance we can track the waste through paperwork, or by asking the shipping crew if any undocumented trucks have been making pickups. But some Bender Clips employees have already quit, and who knows how many Jack will really fire Monday.”

  “That had not occurred to me.” Berdie nodded. “Jack could be setting up people who have dirt on him. Getting rid of them.”

  A plan began to gel. Sotheara spoke quickly, before the idea escaped.

  “Berdie, you got what you came for. An apology from Rowdy Hunter. I came to protect the environment. We aren’t on Jack’s pink slip list because we stayed. What are the chances we’ll beat people like Ted and Veronica to the treasure chest with the raise?”

  “We have to divide our keys with our teams,” Berdie said. “Leaving you with two, and me with one. I’m guessing Rowdy rounds fractional keys down, not up. You’re right. Even if we join forces, that only gives us three chances to open the correct chest.”

  “I’m not here for the money. Let’s use tomorrow to hunt for the toxic waste dump, and if we don’t find it, I’ll fall back to Plan B and the shipping records.”

  “You think the dump is near Gold Hill?”

  “I’ve been hiking around Survive or Die camp all week. I haven’t explored every bit of the ranch, but most of what I’ve missed is near Gold Hill.”

  Berdie nodded. “No one will notice if we wander away from the challenge. They’ll be too busy playing the game.” The elderly receptionist frowned. “Stewart died, and Harv, Jessie and Doug ended up hospitalized. We’re not just risking our jobs. This is dangerous.”

  “You think we need more buddies?” Sotheara asked.

  Berdie nodded. “There will be trouble tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Saturday

  Jeremiah was suddenly a popular guy. Irena and Nigel, Ellen, Shirley, and Shawn had all approached him at the campfire last night, hoping to recruit him as their buddy. While having his skills recognized was gratifying, Jeremiah had no interest in the final chapter of the pathetic game. If the conversations he’d overheard were true, the factory was closing. Keeping his job wasn’t possible. Protecting Madison from danger was his priority.

  Jeremiah approached Madison’s bench, carrying a paper plate sloppy with pancakes and syrup. Berdie glanced up, then stood, making room for him next to Rankin.

  “You’re all still in the game.” The elderly receptionist spoke like a general addressing the troops before a decisive battle. “You’ve impressed me more than I can say.”

  Thunder rumbled across the gray skies.

  “Rowdy told us to use the Buddy System,” Berdie continued.

  “Grant and Frank are buddies,” Aubrey said. “I don’t have anyone.”

  The Sommers were in for a long ride home, judging from Aubrey’s sour expression. Jeremiah had noticed tension between the Olufemis, too. The game had become so cutthroat, husbands and wives were at odds.

  “Berdie and I are buddies,” Sotheara told Aubrey. “Three would be even better.”

  Berdie nodded her approval. “It could get ugly out there today. Who’s game for getting Stockton’s Revenge back together?”

  “And Jeremiah, too?” Madison asked.

  “If you want to join us,” Berdie said to Jeremiah, “you’d be an asset to our team.”

  Refreshing. People not relying on him to save them from themselves.

  “I’d be honored.”

  The group bumped fists with Jeremiah.

  “If we get separated on the hill,” Sotheara said, “we can stay in touch with our cell phones. Let’s exchange numbers.”

  Rankin and the women began tapping on their phones. Pings announced the receipt of messages.

  “I don’t have a cell phone,” Jeremiah said.

  “You can share mine,” Madison said.

  Jeremiah didn’t shoot down Madison’s delusion. If she thought a cell phone was of any use as a survival tool, she really needed his protection.

  The bus slashed through the mist rising off the gravel road. Sotheara leaned forward to watch through the windshield. As they crossed the spillway, formerly placid Turquoise Lake raged against the dam and sloshed onto the road.

  Two buses stopped to unload campers in a parking lot. Employees followed Rowdy and the wranglers across a sturdy footbridge and gathered on the far side of a creek. Not everyone carried daypacks, which Sotheara considered foolishly optimistic after a week of instruction about the dangers of the wilderness, and the accidents and injuries that proved the warnings true.

  “Gold Hill is covered with old mines,” Rowdy said. “But when most folks think of mines, they have a picture in their head of a timber-supported shaft going miles into the earth. Most of the ones around here are pits dug in the ground. This rain is gonna make them extra dangerous. Remember how your boss fell into a mine earlier this week, and watch your footing.”

  The wranglers handed out maps. Sotheara cringed as Bud aimed his pistol at the sky and pulled the trigger. People launched themselves at Gold Hill like ants swarming a picnic. She wondered whether there’d been an environmental impact study of the effects of the camp on the mountain. Hardly likely.

  Muddy boots crushed vegetation as campers raced from one abandoned mine to the next. Squeals pierced the air when they discovered treasure chests. Stockton’s Revenge worked their way uphill. The only treasure chest they reached before other Buckaroo Crews pillaged them was filled with Bender Clips baseball caps.

  Five former Wild Cats took the opposite tactic, racing all the way to the top of the hill. Two hours later, Belinda, Gwen, Arianna and Luis sprinted down, whooping and hollering and slapping Te
d on the back. He had obviously found the winning chest.

  First place had been decided, and last place would be pulled from the pool of employees who had left camp early. Still, there were prizes to be found. Two dozen people surged uphill, following Wild Cat tracks in the mud.

  “There’s a pit no one’s been to.” Berdie pointed. “Sotheara and I will check it out. Madison and Jeremiah, there’s one to the left. Rankin and Aubrey, head uphill.”

  Sotheara’s feet barely imprinted in the mud, unlike the horrible gouges made by hiking boots. She trudged up yellow tailings to the lip of a mining pit.

  Even Rowdy couldn’t be stupid enough to risk discovery of a cache of toxic waste by hiding a treasure chest in the same place. He might just be arrogant enough to assume the campers would be so focused on finding treasure chests, they would ignore signs of environmental wrong-doing. Sotheara peeked over the rim and saw Millie. She sat in a canvas camp chair, a small canopy protecting her from the drizzle. Lavelle Johnston hobbled in behind Sotheara and Berdie. She braced one hand against the treasure chest, the other on her knee.

  “Are you okay?” Sotheara asked.

  Lavelle took a couple rasping breaths. “Althea t-tried to talk m-me into staying at camp. I should have listened.” She squinted at the gray sky. A raindrop splatted onto her forehead. “This hill is g-gonna be the d-death of me.”

  “Don’t say that,” Sotheara said.

  “I’ll call Rowdy.” Millie pressed a button on a walkie-talkie. “We’ll get you back to camp.”

  Berdie grabbed a blanket from a pile of gear next to Millie’s camp chair and wrapped it around Lavelle’s quaking shoulders. No one seemed to notice Sotheara poking around.

  “Group hug,” Berdie said. “We’ve got to get Lavelle warmed up.”

  Millie joined them, but Sotheara continued searching for toxic waste.

  Tears rolled down Lavelle’s ashy cheeks. “Can somebody m-make sure my g-grandkids get the souvenirs I b-bought them? And th-those little animals Jeremiah c-carved?”