Page 6 of Squatch Out!
“Liv, do you want to call off this trip?” Tony asks as soon as we’re closed inside the small space.
I stop for a second to think…Do I?My stomach is roiling with concern for the sudden uncertainty Darren has brought to our group.
“No…” I say slowly. Then, more firmly, “No. I don’t want to do that.” I wrinkle my nose, thinking of all the work I’ve put into this trip to just call it off. I look up at him. “Do you?”
“No,” he sounds relieved, but then turns serious, “but after what he said at dinner… if he does anything that makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me and Brian.”
I nod because that seems reasonable, although I really hope nothing like that will happen. Maybe this was just a one-off thing. Maybe he didn’t really mean it the way it sounded.Although he looked pretty damn serious when he said it.
The elevator bounces to a stop, and the doors slide open on my floor. “I promise,” I say as I step out into the hallway. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Tony nods and then lifts his hand to wave as the doors slide closed between us. Shaking off the dour turn that dinner took, I turn down the quiet hall toward my room.
I hope I’m making the right choice by not canceling this trip. I’m still angry Brian took it upon himself to just invite someone without asking Tony or me, but I know Brian well enough that I can understand his reasoning for replacing Ashley when she had to cancel at the last moment. And I trust him and Tony—they’d never let anything happen to me.
After letting myself into my room, I change right back into the t-shirt and sleep pants I was wearing earlier. My mind is stilltumbling over what Darren said at dinner as I wash my face and brush my teeth.
One of them killed my brother right in front of me.
Jesus, I will never unhear that. I don’t know what was more chilling, his words or the absolutely deadpan way he said them. It’s got me looking at this trip in a whole new light. Instead of being excited, now there is an apprehensive undercurrent. A few hours earlier, I couldn’t wait to get up into the mountains. I was giddy at the prospect of seeing the creature that saved me when I was little. After Darren’s story, I’m looking at it a lot differently now.
I'm reminded that all wild creatures have the potential to be extremely dangerous. Dangerous enough to kill someone, which isn’t something I’ve considered before. Now I’m wondering what our plan would be in the event that we actually did run into one?
I turn off the lights and click on the TV to chase away the heavy transformation my thoughts have taken, scrolling until I find a rerun ofFriends. Sliding between the cool sheets, I remind myself how excited I am to be here and to be heading up into the mountains in just a few hours. I hope I’ll be able to sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
OLIVIA
The rising sun is still burning off the early morning mist as we get ready to hit the road.
With my ventiquad shot oat milk latte in one hand, I press my back against the plastic trunk hanging out of the hatchback. Using all my strength, I push with my feet to get it to slidejust a little farther. But it’s not budging, and I’m regretting pulling it out so I could double-check my gear.How the hell did I get it to slide into the car without any trouble yesterday?
I can’t help the way my eyes narrow with jealousy at the full-sized SUV the guys were able to rent from the same place, mere hours after I was told they didn’t have the oneIreserved.
“We’ve got plenty of room if you want to put that in our rig,” Brian offers when he sees me struggling.
Muttering under my breath aboutstupid misogynistic car rental companies,I dig my heels in and give the trunk another push. This time it slides all the way in.
“Nope, I got it. Thank you, though.” I turn around and slam the hatch shut with more force than necessary.
Tony joins Brian, followed by Darren a moment later, and now all three of them are watching me with matching looks of confusion. Stifling the urge to flip them off, I remind myself they have no idea why I’m so irritated because I never mentioned the mix-up at the rental place. Instead, I go full passive aggressive and give them the most saccharine-sweet smile I can manage before stomping over to the driver side and slamming myself inside.
While I wait for them to finish loading up their stupidly roomy SUV, I sync my cell phone to the Bluetooth and queue up my playlist as I drink my caffeine overdose.
An eternity later, Brian backs out of his parking spot, and off we go. It’s a two-hour drive to the remote campground I’ve reserved for the next five days, and now that we’re on our way, my eagerness to get up into the mountains has returned.
The moment we turn off the highway and onto the two-lane twisty road that will take us to our destination, I realize that none of the pictures I saw online do this place any justice at all. With the sultry tones of Sleep Token blasting through the wimpy speakers, I stare in wonder at the unimaginably beautiful scenery. Rolling hills are broken up by dense patches of evergreens. Off in the distance, a large herd of elk graze, paying us no mind. Even farther off are the white-capped peaks of the Cascades, including one of the distinctive volcanos that dot the range.
Most of the trip is up a steep and winding road, and I end up taking back every bad thing I ever said about my nimble little hatchback, since the larger SUV seems to be having much more trouble.
I bet it’s using up twice as much gas too.
By the time we get to the small parking lot at the end of the road, the coffee has hit and I’m scrambling to get my seatbelt off and out of my car. I run right past the guys who have gatheredaround billboards with maps—and probably the rules of the park—heading straight into the rough-looking outhouse.
A few minutes later, feeling considerably lighter now that my eyeballs aren’t floating, I join the guys at the maps.
Brian offers me a sympathetic smile before breaking some disappointing news. “The road that leads up to our campsite is more of a trail, and the site itself isn’t going to allow two vehicles. So, you’ll have to leave your car here and ride with us.”
