Just Intuition

by Fisk, Makenzi

  Erin was glad she had taken a moment to zip into her rain gear while they were onshore and she was sure Allie felt the same when the first couple of soft raindrops pattered onto their hoods. It was still a long ways to the Ranger Station at Blue Water campground and, judging from the darkening storm clouds, they could waste no more time here.

  Scarcely back into their paddling rhythm, they spotted a smear of red around the next bend. This time Erin saw it too and was alarmed when they came upon her dad's aluminum fishing boat. Abandoned in the weeds at the river's edge, the motor's propellor was pivoted up on its mount revealing severely twisted blades. She immediately knew what had happened. She had seen damage like this before, and it signaled the kiss of death for the motor.

  "This looks like your dad's boat," Allie said. She pointed to the double set of footprints exiting up the muddy bank. "Why did they leave it here?"

  Erin nodded at the misshapen propeller. "They must have hit a dead head."

  "A dead head?" She lifted her paddle abruptly from the water.

  "It's what they call a partially submerged log that is hard to see. You want to be careful not to hit it with your motor prop, or this happens. You are dead in the water." Erin thrust her paddle into the river bottom to hold their position steady in the current, and leaned over the stern. She retrieved a piece of paper weighted onto the seat by a sizable rock. At least eight inches of river water sloshed in the bottom from a cracked hull. Zimmerman must have been bailing water like a madman before Striker was able to maneuver the boat safely to shore. She grinned when she read the note, obviously intended for her, and handed it up to Allie.

  Z DID IT.

  This was crossed out and underneath was scribbled in pen.

  NO IT WAS THE MUPPET.

  Allie looked at her quizzically, so Erin explained. "The guy driving the boat is supposed to be careful not to hit anything. The guy in the front is supposed to be keeping lookout and yell when he spots something. If the guy driving is going too fast, or if the guy in front is not watching carefully, bad things can happen."

  "Okay. I get why they are blaming each other, but who is Muppet?"

  Erin laughed. "You haven't met Striker yet but, if you've ever watched Sesame Street, you'll get it."

  "Sounds like they are both behaving like juveniles with your dad's boat."

  "Believe me, my dad will probably be ecstatic to hear that they not only destroyed the motor, but the boat too. He's been trying to convince my mom that he needs a new one for ages. She always says, Oh Tom, yer boat's bin workin' just fine now. You don't need ta waste yer money on a new boughten one. Now come here once and help me peel dem pah-day-duhs while I go checksie the roast in the oven."

  "Your mom does not sound like that!" Allie stifled her laugh.

  "Dern-tootin, she does when she's had too much blueberry wine, don't ya know that then?" Erin was having fun with this. "My pappy does too!"

  "Maybe your dad does, a little." Allie had to admit that she had heard a few unusual colloquialisms here and there.

  "Ya, fer sure. You betcha he does. Pret'near every time the inners come over!"

  "Well, I wouldn't want to be the one to tell your dad, in any language, that I broke his boat!"

  "Oh-fer-geez, right now Z-man and The Muppet are paying their dues. They are feeding the skeeters out in the swamp and they'll be lucky if they make it to the forestry road 'fore dark. Then they have to pray someone comes along to give them a ride." There was a sudden chill in the air and Erin zipped her rain jacket right to the top. When the thunderheads arrived, the mosquitoes would be intolerable here on the river too.

  "I wish you would stop calling him Muppet. When I finally do meet Striker, I am afraid I will slip and insult him! Aren't you worried about them?"

  "They're big boys. They have food, they have rain gear, and they have their guilt. They'll be fine." Erin had her doubts about Zimmerman, whose woodsman skills were questionable, but Striker should be able to find the road. "Those storm clouds are getting closer. We'd better hurry." She pushed her paddle in deep and leaned on it until the canoe was back out into the current.

  Allie peered into the rippling river water. "What if we hit a dead head?" She kept her paddle balanced on both thighs and explored the bottom of her pack.

  "Don't worry, babe. This sneaky little canoe doesn't ride as low and we will skin right over it with a little bump. Besides, your eagle eyes will spot it long before we get close."

  "Are you trying to say I might be helpful?" Allie produced a bottle of insect repellant and applied it liberally. She pretended to put it back into her pack and then neatly tossed it back to Erin, who caught it mid-air.

  "Best girlfriend ever," Erin said. "What other goodies do you have in there?"

  "All kinds of junk I threw in." Allie shrugged. "I don't really remember." She opened the bag wide. "Apparently I have a hatchet and some rope and treats for Fuzzy Fiona, best dog ever." She cooed, flipping a Milk Bone into Fiona's waiting mouth. The dog chomped her biscuit loudly.

  Stomach suddenly rumbling, Erin took the cue and unzipped her mom's truck driver lunch. She let the canoe drift downstream, occasionally correcting their trajectory with a well angled paddle stroke. There was a surprising variety of food in the cooler bag, enough to last two people a couple of days. Apparently, her mom was still intent on feeding the entire neighborhood. Fiona nosed her knee and Erin covertly snuck a piece of ham into her drooling mouth. They quickly munched on sandwiches, yogurt and strawberries before digging in their paddles once again in a much more satisfied state.

  Thunder sounded in the distance, angry black clouds blotted out the sunset, but despite uncomfortable blisters, Erin and Allie kept paddling. They needed to reach Blue Water campground before the sky fell.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Erin looked at the clouds. "Tell me how it feels when you get one of your premonitions." Talking seemed more productive than worrying about the approaching storm.

  "You want to talk about feelings?" Allie laughed while she paddled. "That's what, twice in one week? What's happened to my ever-practical lover?"

  "I'm only making conversation."

  "I don't know what to tell you. I'm new at this. All my life I have worked so hard to suppress all the weird feelings I get. Now I try to relax when I sense thoughts coming and let it happen," she said thoughtfully. "I guess I need to find a way to pay attention to what I'm doing too because I have no idea what I packed in my bag, and I didn't intend to destroy my car."

  "I don't mean to sound like a shrink but you're telling me what you do, not how you feel. How does it feel?"

  Allie thought for a moment. "I'm not sure how to describe it. When stuff like that happens, I'm not aware that I'm actually using my brain. It's purely sensory. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a draft in the room, the hair on the back of my scalp prickling, or an aversion to a certain person. I often get persistent thoughts and I know that if I don't go do whatever is bothering me, it will never leave me alone. I can't ignore it or they will get stronger until it gets so uncomfortable that I can't concentrate on anything else."

  "Kind of like the night you felt we needed to go to Gunther's place to look for Lily? She was there, you know. We just couldn't find her."

  "I know. She was hiding and I couldn't help because I let myself get too upset."

  "It's not your fault," Erin said. "What do you feel when you think about finding Derek?"

  "It's funny, but when I try to imagine where Derek took the girl, I get confused. It's like there is a whole other part of him that is a separate entity. We need to find Derek, but not Derek. It makes no sense. Like he is not himself, more like a part of his essence. Wow, that sounds strange."

  "And confusing."

  "What's also confusing is that I sometimes see a dark animal prowling. Like a cat. A dangerous wild one."

  "All that confusion must have been hard for you, especially in your teens when everything is so dramatic to begin with," Erin said.
Allie breathed more deeply talking about it and Erin recognized it as a relaxation technique she often used. She was reluctant to push Allie to talk about this if it made her so uncomfortable, but could not resist the one burning question she had left. "Is it scary for you?"

  "Most of the time it's an ethereal sensation, like hmmm, would you look at that? That's interesting. If I do this, then that will happen, or I must do this right now. It's like I'm a spectator in a drama movie and it doesn't involve me, but there have been a few times when I've been terrified."

  "You don't have to—"

  "Who else can I tell about this stuff? At least I can't see your face so I can pretend you're not laughing—"

  "I would never laugh at you," Erin answered before Allie finished her sentence. "Trust me that I love and care about you."

  "I do trust you," Allie said. "Yes, there have been some disturbing times, and I'll tell you about one really bad experience. I was at the airport with my foster mom one time. I was around twenty-three, and we were on our way to Vancouver for a little holiday because I had recently graduated from U of T. We hadn't gone through to the gate for our flight yet and it was quite busy in the main terminal. It was a regular day and I was looking forward to the trip when my world suddenly tilted sideways."

  "My entire field of vision narrowed to a single person, a man who was walking through the airport with a suitcase. Everything else distorted until all I saw was him. He was such a strong figure, like a black mark on white paper, and I could not tear my eyes away." Allie stopped paddling when the memories came rushing out. Simultaneously, Fiona began to whine. The dog stood up and tried to circle but the canoe rocked so she quickly sat down again. She nosed forward until her muzzle touched the back of Allie's shirt.

  "I knew, I just knew, that at that moment he was doing something bad, so unbelievably evil that I could not imagine the depths. I was terrified. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. All the air was virtually sucked from my lungs when he passed by me. I remember sheer horror and the overwhelming feeling that someone needed to do something to stop him. I was utterly repulsed. I felt like passing out and running away and following him all at once but, in the midst of all my panic, there was an overwhelming knowledge that it was not safe for me to follow him. I knew I needed to get as far away as possible. I rushed out the furthest doors and gulped air for at least ten minutes before I was able to tell my foster mom what was going on."

  "That must have been awful." She almost regretted making Allie dredge up this memory. The dog's whine intensified and she tried to stand up again. Erin reached out to stroke her fur until she laid down.

  "What was more terrifying was what else I saw." Allie forced herself to fill her lungs before she spoke again. "I'm aware that this sounds totally insane but he was not alone. He was a strong malevolent force making his way through the airport, but there were others, like wispy half-formed non-corporeal creatures, traveling with him. They surrounded and followed in his dark oily slipstream. They were very excited by what he was doing and were goading him on with more power." Fiona's high-pitched whine became a pathetic whimper.

  "Omigod!" Erin exclaimed. If this story had come from anyone else, she would have walked away in disbelief. Instead, she wanted to wrap her arms around Allie and give her comfort. "What a horrible memory! I'm sorry I asked you this. It was truly insensitive of me."

  Allie's words rushed out. "When he was near me, every particle in my body vibrated so wildly that I feared flesh would separate from my bones. I needed to get away before I would suffer mortal damage." She heaved a deep sigh and finished. "I did not go after him because I knew I was powerless to stop him."

  My foster mom helped me to calm down. She was always so warm and accepting of my quirks, but it ruined our trip because it took me days to overcome the awful experience. I never did figure out what the man did but I'm convinced my feeling about him was right. It still practically gives me chest pain to remember."

  "Are you okay?"

  "I have only told that story once before. It was easier this time. It's messed up, isn't it?"

  "I can't disagree," Erin said gently. "Is this stuff in your head all the time?"

  "No," A hint of uncharacteristic sarcasm crept into Allie's voice. "Usually it's all sunshine, rainbows and puppy dogs." She paused until the sarcasm evaporated. "I think I've learned to block it out so well that, unless it's really serious, I have to make a deliberate effort to let that stuff in. Having a dog helps. My sweet Fiona is like an emotional barometer." The dog's tail whipped back and forth at the mention of her name. "Somehow she senses how I feel and lets me know when I should calm down. She's telling me to relax right now. It's okay, sweetie." The dog whined softly, and she scratched her under the chin. "I haven't had any trouble controlling it until recently. I'm not sure what changed."

  "Maybe it's because you're more open," Erin offered, "because of me."

  "You do make me crazy, honey."

  "I believe you. I believe you feel things, you see things others can't. I hope you understand that this does not mean anything is wrong with you."

  "I'm okay," Allie said. She sliced the paddle roughly through the water and Erin scrambled to keep up in the stern. "We need to paddle harder because the storm is coming!"

  The long anticipated thunder grumbled above and accompanying rain spattered from the sky. In the distance, lightning zigzagged down from blackened clouds unleashing their fury.

  "We need to get off the river now!" Erin called out.

  "No!" Allie insisted. "This is not a good place. We have to go further." The heavens lit up and a flash blinded them, followed by an ear splitting crack of thunder that shook them to their spines. Panicked, Fiona was on her feet in an instant, ready to leap into the water.

  "The lightning is close!" Erin yelled. "It's too dangerous to be on the water. We need to get shelter now!"

  Despite Allie's continuing resistance, Erin steered the boat to the closest reasonable landing spot on the river and Fiona fled over the side, swimming like a muskrat to shore and disappearing into the trees before they'd landed. Allie slung her pack over her shoulder and leapt out after the dog, leaving Erin alone.

  Erin secured the canoe upside down under the trees and was on hands and knees clearing out prickly ground cover when Allie returned with the dog. She flattened an area under an overhang in the rock face and positioned the canoe as a partial windbreak.

  "Fiona wouldn't listen to me," Allie's brows pinched together. "I don't know what's wrong with her." The dog strained at her leash, nose to the ground, and Allie tugged at one end.

  "This is the first time I've ever seen you chase after her." Erin crouched and held the dog's head in her hands. "What's the big deal, Fuzzy Fiona? Are you sick of being in the boat? Or is it the thunder?" She stroked the soft hair between Fiona's ears. "Lots of dogs are really afraid of thunderstorms." Fiona growled, a low sound deep in her throat.

  "I've never seen her like this." Allie pulled Fiona closer and put her arms around the dog. "You're not a tough girl, pumpkin. You're more of a lover, not a fighter, aren't you girl?" Fiona growled again, hair rising sharply along her spine. This time her nose pointed directly toward the forest. "I think the dog might be reacting to me."

  "Maybe. You really did not want to stop here," Erin reluctantly agreed. "But we had to get off the river fast. It was too dangerous."

  "It felt wrong. I don't know why. Perhaps I am being weird after telling you all that stuff that scared me. I must have short-circuited my brain." She twisted her mouth in a wry grin.

  "I'm prepared to cut you some slack because you've had a rough day," Erin quipped and Allie gave her a pained smile.

  "I smell smoke," Allie faced upriver, "from that direction."

  Erin crashed through the undergrowth to the river's edge and climbed onto a rock with the best view of the river. "They had to get off the river too!" she exclaimed. "I smell it now. Derek, that bastard, has a fire somewhere close, no more than a mile or tw
o!"

  "I don't see smoke, but I smell it. Fiona must too."

  "If we go at first light, we might be able to catch him before he leaves his camp!"

  "And we can still save the girl," Erin said.

  Allie followed her back to the clearing by the rock. "Are you going to make a shelter? Can I help?" Without waiting for a response, she looped the dog's leash around a stump and foraged for wood.

  Erin stomped down the rest of the weeds and collected branches under the trees. By the time she returned with an armful, Allie had used her yellow polypropylene rope to lash a beam and two support poles between tree trunks. A thick stack of coniferous branches was already piled beside her. Erin quietly added her meager armful to the stack and stood open-mouthed.

  Allie arranged more branches to complete the support for the structure, all without using the hatchet she'd brought. Rain pelted down and they stacked layer upon layer against the support poles until it was capable of keeping out the worst of the weather. They shook water out of their gear and crawled into the shelter. Allie kept her bag close and pulled the watchful dog in after her. She unfolded her red Swiss Army knife and whittled a notch into the end of a stick.

  "You bring marshmallows or something in that bottomless mystery pack of yours?" Erin's humor was half-hearted. She was decidedly feeling outdone by her city-raised girlfriend. She rubbed both palms on her thighs in an attempt to scrape off tree sap, but it tore open her blisters. Maybe Allie had Band-Aids in her magic pack.

  "I'm going to make a little rack so we can dry out these soaking wet shoes."

  "Where did you—?" Erin caught the words in her throat. It would be rude to imply that she had believed her girlfriend incapable when it came to the outdoors.

  "I read about it on the internet." She winked, amusement flickering in her dark eyes. "WikiHow."

  "Ohhhh. Okay." As implausible as it seemed, Erin was not willing to argue the point.