5. Camping Out

Chrissy and Emily spend the night in the woods as they hide out from their mysterious assailants. Chrissy's responsibilities as a mother weigh heavily on her.

Chrissy listened intently as Emily carefully related everything that the two men had said. When she was done, Chrissy asked, “He said he was looking for motorcycle tracks?”

Emily nodded.

Chrissy furrowed her brow with concern. “They were definitely looking for us then. What's unsettling is that they weren't the same guys from the green SUV. It makes me wonder how many of them there are. I sure wish I knew who they were and why they're after us.” Then she gave Emily a reassuring look. “That sure was a close call. I want you to know that I wouldn't have let them take you without a fight! I was all set to come flying out of those woods if they had found you.”

Emily grabbed Chrissy and hugged her tight. “I was so scared!”

“I'll bet you were,” Chrissy responded, “But, you faced your fear, and that's what courage is all about.”

“What are we going to do?” Emily asked with a worried voice.

“Well... we need to get to a phone somehow.”

“I saw a farm over that way when we crossed the road,” she pointed, “Maybe they'd let us use their phone.”

Chrissy looked doubtful. “I don't know... these country folks can be suspicious of strangers sometimes. They might just sic their dog after us instead. Besides, one of the goons that are chasing us might live there. I think our best bet is to try to get to a store or gas station. But it's getting late and we're both exhausted. We'll spend the night here and get a fresh start in the morning.”

Emily's eyes grew wide as saucers. “You mean here in the woods?!”

“Sure,” replied Chrissy, “Those guys haven't shown any desire to come into the woods after us. It's probably the safest place for us right now.”

Emily looked around at their surroundings. “Do... do you think there's any... wild animals around?”

“Of course there are. It's the woods. That's where wild animals live.” She saw the look of fear on Emily's face and gave her a faint smile. “But if you're worried about bears or wolves or things like that, I'm pretty sure there's none of those around here. The biggest predators around here are probably coyotes, and they're afraid of people.” Emily didn't look very reassured. “Ow!” said Chrissy as she slapped her neck. “But the worst wildlife around here right now are these damned mosquitoes!”

She got up and went to their overnight bag on the back of the motorcycle and unstrapped it. She set it down on the ground and started rummaging through it. She found a small bottle of mosquito repellant and sprayed them both with it. Then she started digging through the bag again.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Emily whispered. Chrissy pulled a travel pack of tissues out of the bag and handed them to her. Emily scrunched up her face and asked, “But... where?”

Chrissy waved her arm around at the trees. “Ya got the whole woods, Kid. Wherever you want.”

Emily wandered off toward some bushes. “Ew,” she muttered under her breath.

Chrissy took stock of their possessions. Besides their clothes and their toiletries they had one-and-a-half bottles of water, two energy bars, a tiny flashlight and a lighter. She took the clothing out and handed a long sleeved t-shirt to Emily when she returned. “Here, put this on. It's going to get chilly tonight.”

“But, it's dirty,” Emily replied.

“I don't think the raccoons are going to care if you stink a little. Put it on.” She stuffed the rest of their clothes into another shirt and gave it to Emily. “Use this for a pillow. I'll use the bag.” She unwrapped one of the energy bars and broke it in half. “I'm afraid that's going to be our supper,” she said as she handed half to Emily. They shared what was left of one of the bottles of water. They were both still hungry and thirsty afterward, but Chrissy didn't know when they might get more water again so she didn't open the second bottle.

After they cleared a spot for them to lie down they went about a dozen yards to the edge of the woods and sat down. Chrissy wanted to watch the road for awhile before turning in. The sun had set and it was getting dark. The meadow was filled with fireflies and the crickets were singing. “There's the evening star,” Chrissy pointed to the sky.

“Yes,” replied Emily, “But it's not really a star. It's the planet Venus. We learned about it in school.”

“Imagine that,” Chrissy said with a smirk, “Me learning something from you for a change.”

Emily smiled back. They made small talk for awhile and even occasionally laughed. It was so peaceful that they had almost forgotten all their troubles when they suddenly saw the white pick-up truck drive slowly by along the road. They both ducked into the leaves for cover. After it passed they were silent for a long time. A feeling of dread had returned. Finally, Chrissy got up.

“Come on,” she said, “Let's turn in.”

They went back to their little campsite, such as it was, and bedded down. Chrissy pulled out the rag doll that they had gotten at the general store and handed it to Emily.

“Here, you better sleep with this. You know... so the raccoons don't get at it and chew it up.”

“Oh... yeah, good idea,” responded Emily. She hugged it to her chest. “Thanks.”

The were both exhausted from the running and hiding they had done all day and it wasn't long before Emily was fast asleep. But as tired as Chrissy was, her mind was too wound up. Sleep eluded her. She laid there restlessly and worried for a couple of sleepless hours before she finally got up.

Emily stirred. “Mmph?... somethin' wrong?” she mumbled sleepily.

“No,” Chrissy answered, “Uh... I just have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back.”

She started walking toward the meadow. She was surprised at how pitch black the woods were at night. As accustomed to the darkness as her eyes were, she still had a difficult time seeing where she was going and stumbled a couple of times. She reached the meadow and stepped out into it a few paces. She looked up at the sky and was astounded at how many stars there were and how brilliantly they sparkled. She could clearly see the Milky Way wending its way across the sky. You sure didn't see a sky like that in the city. The air was cool and smelled of grass and wildflowers. There was a waning crescent moon rising that bathed everything in a dim, grey light. She tensed when she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

She turned and saw a doe crossing the road in the darkness. It was quickly followed by a fawn. They entered the meadow and the doe kept a watchful eye while the fawn ate some wildflowers. Chrissy stood stock still and watched as the doe then slowly made her way to the edge of the woods, stopping every few feet to listen and sniff the air for danger... ever watchful, ever alert. The fawn pranced up to her and she gently nudged it into the trees with her muzzle. She took one last look around the meadow to check for predators, then followed after the fawn.

Chrissy watched her disappear and sighed. “I know how you feel, Mama,” she whispered. She turned and started back to where she had left Emily sleeping in the woods.

“I know just how you feel.”

Author's Note

Not much action in this chapter. It's main purpose is to show that people still have to deal with the more mundane parts of life, like eating, drinking, sleeping and going to the bathroom even when on the run. And if they're hiding out in the woods... mosquitoes!

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[Tina Kline]

Good chapter. Yes, its good to remember that they are people and need to rest and take care of other business instead of some how managing to keep going on and on and on like it some book until it gets to the point where its had to believe anymore. Also, it was nice to see the beauty around them despite their fears and confusion about who is going after them and why.

[Craig2591]

Thank you. Even as a kid I used to wonder about that stuff on TV shows.

[Nienor Niniel]

Even if there is little action, that's okay. It's important to stretch out and chill, even in a work of fiction! We get to bond with the characters.