Page 64 of Play With Me

As soon as Brook disappeared, I let go of the air I was holding in my lungs. He was intense. Very intense. To get my mind off that rock, I began setting up the tent. With one flick of my wrist the round piece of fabric popped open and filled with air.

Okay, that was easy.

I removed the mattress from its bag and, pressing my foot on the pump, began filling it with air. Once in a while, I saw Brook in my peripheral vision as he brought heaps of wood in his arms, one after another, except each time he took longer, bringing in more branches of different sizes from further away. I thought it was more than enough for our needs, but then he began building a protective barrier around the perimeter of our campsite.

He would have made a great scout leader. I didn’t know much about them, but every summer there was a camp near my foster home. Every day I walked to the park and sat on the swings, listening to the scoutmasters on the other side of the chain-link fence talk about camping hacks and skills, like how to build a fire. I didn’t get a chance to practice with the scouts, but when I got home, I’d build the largest fire in the backyard I’d ever seen. Needless to say I had to find a new foster home after that incident.

“I think I got most of the trees.” Tired, he looked down at the five-foot gap in the barrier that was waiting to be filled. I’d already rolled out our sleeping bags and, using some of the wood he’d brought, prepped for the fire.

“It looks like you got most of the forest.”

“You’ll be grateful when you’re on the inside and mamma bear will be on the outside. We’re still in her territory.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’ve got construction skills, Madman.”

“What are we eating?” he asked, pointing to the cans I had removed from the backpack.

“We have a choice of gourmet chicken noodle” – I pointed to one can – “and another fine choice of gourmet chicken noodle.”

“That’s not a choice.”

“I’m a minimalist.”

“That’s not what a minimalist means.”

“Well, then if you want me to be honest, I don’t really care because it will fill the stomach the same way.”

“Lola, did you only bring the chicken noodle soup?”

“Hey, next time don’t make me responsible for the food.”

“You’ll get sick of it before we find Xavier. You know that, don’t you?”

“This is not my first rodeo, Madman.”

He shook his head, bemused. “I’m going to get more wood. We have to fill that gap before we cook.”

“I’ll get some water from the river.” I grabbed the inflatable jugs, and we set off in opposite directions.

I was jumping down the rocks towards the river bank fifty yards or so away, when I felt a presence and stopped. My first thought was that it was a bear. I set the plastic jugs on the shore and removed my whistle from underneath my shirt as something moved beyond the bushes. Then I heard a cough, and I knew that it couldn’t have been a bear.

A sasquatch?

Another cough.

“Come out with your hands up or I’m going to shoot,” I called out.

Though I didn’t have my gun on me, the warning could have scared anyone without a weapon to come out, and they did.

“Okay, okay. Don’t shoot. I’m coming out,” the familiar voice called out. When I saw the woman appear from behind the bushes, I almost lost my footing. Not only was she wearing all sorts of camouflage wear, including what appeared to be a World War I helmet topped with a pair of goggles, but there was also a gas mask attached to her tool belt. Anna looked like the pigeon lady fromHome Alone, but instead of pigeons, she’d accessorized with tools and trinkets. It looked so funny on her that if it weren’t for the sudden shock I felt, I would have laughed.

“Anna? What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

“You didn’t think I’d let you go find Xavier on your own, did you?”

Judging by the look of her green-toned outfit, she appeared serious.

“Anna, you can’t be here.”

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