Bridger awakened Summer and Phil the next morning much earlier than was needed, with the sun barely giving enough light to see outside. Summer had a feeling it was his way of getting back at her for leaving yesterday. She led the way back to the cabin and soon the overwhelming stench of moldy carpet made Summer’s nostrils flare as she waited for the two men to scavenge from the cabin. They loaded onto the sled a pile of windbreakers, the case of alcohol, and some cans of green beans stacked on top of it. There was also a flare gun that Summer had found in a drawer, but she kept that in her coat pocket to give to Tania when they returned. She also secretly slipped the box of Oreos that she and Julian had the last time they were there, into her backpack right before they left.
“Never leave the same way you came.” Bridger announced, gesturing for the group to fall in line with him as he headed towards the rocky area to the west of the cabin.
Begrudgingly, Summer turned from where she had been heading originally and moved in front of Bridger as Phil had done, so that the track of the sled would smooth over their footprints. They tredged up the hill with the heavy load and Summer breathed hard as she helped Bridger pull, the weight of the sled and inclination putting pressure on her lungs. Finally, they made it to the top and Summer turned back to cast a withering look at Phil, who had not helped at all with the sled, when suddenly she gasped and dropped to the ground.
Down in the gully, where the cabin sat, she had seen a man in a dark green uniform walk onto the front porch and bring something up to his mouth.
A shrill whistle sounded in the air and both Bridger and Phil quickly joined Summer on the ground, trying to remain as still and invisible as possible. After a few minutes, there was the sound of engines and more people appearing on scene. Summer bit down hard on her lip as the sound of Chinese commands echoing off the wooded hillside brought flashbacks of the labor camp to the forefront of her mind. She waited to hear if the soldiers were making their way up to where they were hiding. She nearly jumped when a load crash vibrated through the air. Her instincts told her to run, but the crash was too far away for it to be directed towards them. More muffled crashes were heard from what Summer assumed was a search being conducted in the cabin. She heard the sound of breaking glass and she winced as her imagination showed her the large, beautiful windows that she had looked through the night before. There were other sounds of smashing and breaking, but Summer assumed that was due to the frustration of not finding anything of value, since they had just taken the last of the usable goods. She would have felt pride in depriving them of what they had already taken if she wasn’t completely encompassed by the fear of being discovered by the soldiers. After minutes which felt like hours, it grew quiet below them and Bridger peeked out from their vantage point to see what was happening.
He ducked down quickly and there was worry in his expression.
“They’re going to burn it down.” He revealed through a whisper. “They found some of our footprints too. We need to get back to camp and get as far away from here as possible.”
Summer’s chest tightened as she thought of the Invader patrol finding her family unaware and once they had snuck down the other side of the hill, they rushed to return to the others. A plume of smoke appeared in the distance as Bridger’s prediction came true, but this only further incited them to reach the camp faster.
“We need to leave. Now!” Bridger shouted, as soon as the campsite came into view.
Mccarthy and Michael looked confused by the panicked quality in the usually stoic Bridger, but their inaction only made him more agitated.
“There was a patrol at the cabin with over ten soldiers. They’re no more than two miles away. We need to get out of here.”
Now, everyone was in motion as the camp was furiously taken down. Julian appeared and he and Summer exchanged apprehensive looks in the midst of the chaos around them. Once everything was packed and ready to go, Summer stopped near a pine tree and broke off two low hanging branches of needles. She handed one to Julian and kept one for herself..
“We’ll need these to cover our tracks.” She told him.
He nodded in agreement and soon the group was off.
For a week, everyone was on edge. There were times in the night when Summer would suddenly jolt up from her sleeping bag as a strange sound came from outside the tent. Michael and Tania would watch her in fear and she realized that they were losing as much sleep as her, considering that her sudden movement hadn’t disturbed them because they were already awake. Setting up traps became an impossibility due to the fact that there was nothing worse that Summer could imagine than to be seperated from her family when the soldiers found them. This did not come without sacrifice and Summer longed for the times when Julian and her could be alone together again, but they didn’t dare go off now with the threat of running into the patrol combined with Bridger’s paranoia. However, as the time passed and there were no further signs of the soldiers or of them being followed, the tension slowly dissipated and things returned to normal, with the exception of their changing environment.
The further they got down the mountain, the more sounds they heard. Birds began to chirp and the sound of running water came down from the frozen tips above, making Nature sound like a musician who was just beginning to tune her instruments for a symphony. The snow became unpleasantly dirty as it mixed with the wet soil beneath it, but eventually, even the snow gave way to spring grass. There was a new excitement in Summer’s life as she waited for each day to tick by, so that evening could finally come. It was in the evening when she would get to see Julian. One of her favorite parts was when she would first wait for him outside of the camp. She found herself memorizing the lines of his body and the easy posture that he held. It made him look both tall, but also relaxed as if his natural state was born from innate charisma. Sometimes, she wouldn’t call out to him at first and simply enjoy looking at him until he found her. When he did finally see her, she was met with another reward of hearing his voice as he greeted her. Even in camp, when she didn’t know he was around, her stomach fluttered involuntarily whenever the rich tones of his voice surprised her. It was strange to feel the comfort of familiarity with the excitement of this new development that was growing inside of her. Because of this, it was difficult to hide her impatience as she watched Bridger prepare each night to go in search of food. Luckily, he had been having more success as animals were abundant in the springtime forests, which made him eager to leave without much attention to anything else.
Inevitably, Tania insisted on going with Bridger, but Summer quickly vetoed that idea. Tania argued with her sister, who was always preventing her from joining in the hunts, but Summer was relentless. Tania sulked around the campfire for the rest of the night, despite Michael’s entreaties for her to explore the fallen down trees near them that had apparently born the weight of a past avalanche. She looked morosely at Julian and Summer who were coming back into camp from different directions for the fourth time that week. She noted the stupid grin on Summer’s face and rolled her eyes before turning her back on Summer who was approaching her.
Suddenly, a small bean bag plopped on the ground in front of Tania, and she looked up in confusion. Julian winked at her and Tania tossed it back to him, aiming at his feet. He kicked it behind his back and then brought his other foot up to propel it high up into the air. Michael pushed Julian out of the way and caught it with his knee bouncing it a few times to show off the work of his practice.
“Pass it!” Tania called, standing up and dusting off her pant legs in anticipation.
Soon, a full-scale game had ensued with Julian and Michael playing keep away from Tania and Summer. Michael was almost a foot taller than Tania, but her legs were faster than his, and she seemed best suited to play defensively as she maneuvered the hacky sack away from her brother. In exasperation, both from Tania’s skill and her technically illegal roughhousing, Michael finally grabbed the hacky sack
that Julian had thrown at him with his hand well above Tania’s reach.
“Cheater!” Tania yelled, jumping up to try to get the bag.
Michael scoffed at her being the one to call foul play and threw the hacky sack back to Julian. Summer was right in front of him, but Julian jumped up and stretched to grab the hacky sack that was flying towards him. He barely caught it with the tips of his fingers and brought it down triumphantly away from Summer. She swiped for it, but he quickly threw it once more into the air back towards Michael. While practically stepping on his feet, Tania tried blocking Michael and this time the throw was slightly short, making the projectile land perfectly in Tania’s direction. She caught it and waved it in front of her brother’s face before hurling it to Summer who cheered at the sudden turn of events. However, Tania’s pitch was overshot, and Summer ran backward trying to estimate where it would land. Julian was behind her, but Summer snatched it from the air and pulled it close to her body before he could get in front of her. This caused Michael to cry out in dismay while Tania hollered loudly at the tricky catch. Julian grabbed Summer’s waist and lifted her in the air as she squealed and tried to curl up into a ball. Covertly, Julian set her down behind the back of a tent and swiftly stole a kiss on her mouth before reaching for the bag Summer was stretching to keep away from him, despite the momentary distraction of his lips.
She ran back out from the cover of the tent and desperately chucked the bag back to Tania before Julian had time to catch up with her. The game commenced as night loomed closer and it became increasingly difficult to see against the dark background of the sky. Someone had already started the fire, and the group moved closer to its light, while shortening the distance between each other to make it easier to play.
Summer flinched when she turned her head and saw Bridger sitting across the fire almost enveloped by the shadows. Apparently, he had already returned and had been moodily watching them for she didn’t know how long. Some type of bird was cooking over the fire, and everyone else was waiting at the edges, talking amongst themselves.
“Focus!” Tania reprimanded Summer as the bag hit her shoe and was snatched from the ground by Julian.
Summer mumbled an apology and shook her head to bring her back into the game. Julian was blocking her as he waited for Michael’s return throw. She tried to sidestep past him, but Julian moved his foot underneath her, causing her knee to buckle. She started to fall, but he caught her in anticipation and held her for a moment, smiling at the view of her surprised face. The bean bag came down to the side of them and landed in a lone pile of snow covered in bits of dirt.
Unexpectedly, it was picked up by Bridger who appeared from behind them. Julian immediately placed Summer back on top of her feet and picked up the empty case of tuna near them to try to pull Bridger’s attention away from them. Bridger tossed the bag up and down in his hand, eyeing the two teams.
“Give it back,” Michael demanded, upset at the interruption.
“It looks like a lot of fun that everyone seems to be having.” Bridger continued to throw the bag up and down as his other hand was stuck in his pocket. “I wish I had been invited to play, but then again, this isn’t the only game some of us have been playing.”
“What are you talking about?” Summer had little patience for Bridger’s indirectness tonight.
The hacky sack came down once more, but this time Bridger gripped it in his fist, making the veins in his arm bulge.
“I thought I told you that I didn’t like you and Julian leaving camp together.”
“I didn’t—” Summer began, but Bridger violently threw the bean bag into the fire silencing her with his explosion.
“Don’t lie to me!” He yelled.
Tania shouted in protest and ran to retrieve the hacky sack while Summer subconsciously grabbed onto Julian’s arm in response to Bridger’s outburst. He was breathing heavily, but when he saw Summer’s reaction, he suddenly latched onto her wrist and tore her away from where she was standing next to Julian.
“Hey!” Summer cried.
Jullian threw the box to the ground and went at Bridger. Bridger stepped back a couple of feet and wrapped Summer’s arm around his back.
“Not so fast!” He shouted, holding his hand out in warning to Julian’s affront.
“I don’t think you fully understand what you’re dealing with. One can only imagine what the two of you have been off doing, but there’s something you should know about Summer.”
Summer’s face dropped, and she darted a scared look at Julian before pushing back against Bridger.
“No, we don’t need to talk about this.” She told him.
Bridger sent her a look of superiority and wrapped both of his arms around her, bringing her in front of him.
“Oh, I think we do. Did Summer tell you that she and I are getting married?”
Julian’s face filled with disbelief.
“It’s true.” Bridger insisted. “You see before you came around Summer was doing everything in her power to convince me that love still existed in this mad world that we’ve come to live in. I bet that she didn’t tell you we were together.”
Bridger snuggled his face into Summer’s neck, but she sharply turned her head away.
“Stop talking, Bridger.” She demanded with her eyes shut tightly.
“No, I think Julian deserves to hear the truth.” Bridger was relishing the anger he saw building up inside of the man facing him. “You see, Summer is a creature who knows how to survive. She adapts to her environment and is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure her safety. Back then, her safety depended on me, since I broke her and her family out of their concentration camp and have taken care of them ever since. Now it looks like she has decided that maybe you would be a better person to leech onto until she bleeds you dry as well.”
“You’re lying!” Julian seethed. “Summer despises you. She would never agree to that.”
“Wrong again.” Bridger turned Summer’s face back to face Julian. “It wasn’t even my suggestion to get married. Who suggested it, Summer?”
There was water in her eyes as she watched Julian’s reaction change from disbelief to dread.
“Mine.” She choked out the word like the confession of guilt in a death sentence.
Julian looked around wildly to find some escape to the words that had just stunned him. He looked back at Summer, and the pain in his eyes seared the front of her brain like a hot branding iron. He took off towards the darkened woods and Bridger released Summer from his hold.
“Wait!” She called after him, falling out of Bridger’s arms.
“It’s not like that.” She started running after him, but Bridger caught onto her sleeve and pulled her back.
“Let go of me!” She screamed, flailing her arms angrily.
“He doesn’t want you.” Bridger’s tone was loathsomely soothing. “You have to realize that. He’s done, and I didn’t even tell him the full story.”
Summer’s body stiffened as the threatening meaning of Bridger’s words came ringing through.
“You wouldn’t.” Now her voice sounded like a threat.
“Oh, I would.” Bridger’s confidence made it clear that he knew he held all of the cards in his hand. “And if you continue to act this way, I will have to be forced to tell him exactly what kind of person you really are. And what you’ve done.”
He let the impact of that statement sink in before he continued.
“From now on, I don’t want you going out of camp with Julian. You will set up your traps alone or not at all.”
Summer shook her arm free from his grasp and ran in the direction of Julian’s retreat.
She found him in a small patch of trees next to a clearing that was downhill and away from the camp. The moon was still bright in its fullness, and she spied Julian leaning against a tree with his hands on his knees.
>
“It’s not like how Bridger made it sound.”
Julian whipped his head around, surprised at the sudden intrusion. When he saw Summer’s silhouette, he sunk down further so that he was sitting with his back against the tree.
“I couldn’t care less about what Bridger wants me to think, but why didn’t you tell me?”
Julian’s voice was devoid of the anger that Summer was expecting to find. His question seemed to be in earnest and Summer grappled for the right words as she sat down next to him.
“Did you ever say something funny, but the person who you were talking to misheard it. Except the thing they heard was actually funnier than what you really said so you just went with it and pretended that you said what they thought you said?”
Julian hesitated for a moment. “I can’t really say that I have.” He seemed confused by such an unrelated question.
“Well, I used to do that.” Summer breathed in deeply before continuing. “And you know what, it feels the same now. I guess I didn’t tell you because I wanted you to think that I was better than I actually am. I wanted you to see me as someone who was strong and didn’t need help from other people. Someone who didn’t break.”
Summer’s hand was aggressively pulling blades of grass out of the ground by her side as if her body needed some kind of distraction to continue to allow her words to freefall. Julian looked at the pile that had been pulled out by their roots and listened.
“But I’m not that way.” Summer continued. “I needed Bridger, and there was a time when I thought that we could possibly work something out that could look like happiness in some demented sort of way. But I was wrong.”
A chunk of dirt broke out with the clump of grass and landed on top of the pile.
“I didn’t use him, though, and I never intentionally meant to hide anything from you. It was all so disorienting how everything happened, and I honestly tried to bury it myself.”
“Did you love him?”
He articulated the words slowly.
Sin: A Survival Romance Fiction (Her Story Trilogy Book 1) Page 15