Page 10 of Captured on Film
Tightening his grip, Caleb held his breath and waited forJosheb to say something. Anything.
“Are you kidding me?” Josheb swore softly and stepped closerto him. “They’re like … creepy little comets. The afterimages are killer. Howlong’ve you been putting up with this?”
“All my life.” Through gritted teeth, he begged, “Get themoff.”
“Aw, geez. You never did like bugs. Hang on.” And Josheb,who’d never minded anything, started picking figments like fleas. “On secondthought, I think they’re amphibians. But you don’t really likeanyofthe creepy-crawlies, so moot point.”
“Very moot.” As his brother casually tossed aside figmentslike it was nothing, Caleb began to relax.
“Don’t let go.” Josheb sheepishly added, “Please.”
“Because you want to see.”
“Hell, yeah. But also because we’re better together. Don’tyou think?”
Caleb muttered, “I hate this.”
“Yeah, I know. Man, I hate you.” His tone held no rancor. Infact, his eyes were as bright as his smile. “Want me to pitch the tent?”
“Yeah. Away from them.”
Josheb scanned the area with a critical eye. With a littletwist, he adjusted his hand so he could grip Caleb’s wrist. Locked together,they scrambled uphill, away from the worst of the silver springers. Within tenminutes of Josheb choosing a campsite, Caleb was inside their tent, burroweddown in his sleeping bag.
“Hang out in here while I look for dinner.”
“Don’t you meanhide outin here?”
Reaching inside to touch Caleb’s forehead, Josheb peeredaround their campsite, which was arranged beside a narrow stream. Polecat Creek,if memory served. “Nothing to hide from, yeah? So rest up, warm up, and work upan appetite.”
Zipped inside, Caleb curled on his side and listened to raindropsping off the top of their tent. It was a different color than the one they’dused as kids, but it still brought back memories. The sounds, the smells. Thefeel of the ground under his body—uneven and unyielding.
Somewhere along the way, he’d lost his taste for roughingit. Sure, he liked his creature comforts, but away from home, there were actualcreatures to consider. At first, he hadn’t realized he was seeing things. Howwas he supposed to know? It wasn’t as if any of the stuff he saw wasscary.But “imaginative” descriptions of strange animals were only cute when you werelittle. After that, you earned strange looks, a reputation for lying, andappointments with therapists.
Caleb was dozing when Josheb next checked on him. “Hungry?”
“Depends. What’s on the menu?” He could smell smoke andsomething savory.
“Fresh fish. Come on. Rain’s stopped.”
The fire was tiny, but it did the job. They ate standing up,and Caleb offered to fish for seconds. Josheb produced a couple of beers, whichhe’d chilled in the creek. Caleb wanted to call him out for packingnon-essentials, but he was too grateful to be petty. By the time they’d eatentheir fill, the day was dimming.
“Early bedtime,” decreed Josheb. “We’ll try to make up forlost miles tomorrow.”
They sprawled in the tent, Nessie between them, and Joshebpoking his nose out the partially unzipped flap. Caleb grumbled when hisbrother touched his arm.
“Don’t be stingy,” Josheb whispered, his eyes fixed on somethingoutside. “You live in a beautiful world.”
Beautiful? Caleb snorted. “I don’t want to look.”
“I do.” His brother spared him a wink. “I’ll keep watch.”
A surprisingly comforting sentiment. Maybe—just maybe—theDare brotherswerebetter together.
Credibility Issues
“I’ve been wondering,” Caleb said over breakfast thenext morning. “What are we supposed to do if we find this thing?”
“Take pictures.”
