Page 34 of The Retreat
Talia wanted to believe she would. But trusting Imogen did not come naturally. How could it? She was glad she’d had a reminder of just who Imogen was.
She picked up her laminated schedule to check the details for the walk this afternoon. And she saw it had another word in front of the word ‘walk’ that she hadn’t spotted before. What the hell was a ‘trust walk?’
Twenty-Two
Imogen was tying a blindfold around Talia’s head. Talia stood ramrod straight, arms folded, her body a clenched fist.
Behind her, Daniel was making lascivious jokes to Lara as she tied his blindfold. She responded by tightening until he yelped. Celeste was adjusting her husband Mitchell’s walking boots and jokily telling him he’d better keep up while Jade was already loudly speculating about bears to her partner, June. Someone laughed nervously.
Rebecca loitered with a stopwatch and clipboard, springing about with excitement. ‘We’ve tried to pair our nature lovers with our more city-bound people. So some people are with colleagues, some people are with partners.’
Imogen was about to ask why she and Talia were paired off if that was the case when she remembered that ‘Alex’ was supposed to be a hiker—a fun detail she’d nearly forgotten and the reason she was now about to lead a blindfolded Talia into the woods.
Imogen thought this was a very silly idea, but was in no position to say so. She was supposed to love nature shit. She was supposed to be jazzed for this. She wasn’t supposed to whine that she was pretty sure she was going to die on a one-hour walk.
‘You’re first off. Two-minute intervals after that,’ Rebecca said to Imogen.
She heard Rhona asking whether two minutes would be enough of a gap or if they’d end up all bunched together.
‘Trust the system!’ Rebecca said a bit too loudly. ‘Now, Alex, take your partner and follow the ribbons! Three, two, one, go!’
Talia immediately started marching with startling confidence for someone who couldn’t see. ‘Are you with me, Alex?’ she said over her shoulder.
Imogen didn’t get a chance to reply. Talia was off, heading into the woods. Imogen actually had to jog to keep up with her.
‘Wait—’
‘Trust me, I clocked the direction when we were briefed,’ Talia said. ‘The path turns slightly left at the start. I’ve got the bearing in my head.’
Imogen blinked. ‘You do realiseyou’rethe one who can’t see?’
‘Just keep up,’ Talia told her.
Imogen, who’d always tended to defer to the confident, said nothing and let herself be steered.
Minutes later, the path narrowed quickly. Then started to slope. Imogen was too busy dodging brambles to realise they’d gone wrong until there was no more path. Imogen looked behind her. She couldn’t see where it had been.
‘Talia… I don’t think this is right.’
‘I’ve been counting steps,’ Talia said briskly. ‘Rebecca mentioned it was three hundred feet in a straight line and then—’
Imogen stopped. ‘You weren’t walking in a straight line.’
‘I was. Iam.’
A bramble caught Imogen’s ankle. She swore and pulled it free. ‘We’re lost, Talia. OK? If you don’t accept it, we’ll get even more lost.’
Talia paused. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Yes,’ Imogen said sharply. ‘You can either take off the blindfold, or you can trust me to get us back.’
Imogen could see Talia’s forehead creasing, even behind the blindfold. ‘But if I take off the blindfold… What if I’m spotted breaking the rules? We’ll be disqualified,’ Talia said.
Imogen shrugged. Then she realised Talia couldn’t see the gesture. ‘I just shrugged, FYI.’
‘I can’t let you lead. You don’t know the way either,’ she said.
‘I might not be a real hiker,’ Imogen admitted, ‘but I’ve goteyes. And right now, that gives me the edge. So pick. Are you breaking the rules or are you letting me lead?’
