Page 18 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 1
And if he lied about that, what else has he not told the truth about?
And why did he take my communication devices?
For most of the daytime, I could hear them running around the camp, but at sunset, it became quiet. I paced back and forth inside my tent, wondering what I was going to do. Then I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed my pocketknife, tucked it into my pants pocket, unzipped my tent, and then peeked out.
The campsite was empty. They had built up a large fire, and the huge flames reached nearly ten feet into the air.
What are they trying to do? Burn down the tents?
I rushed toward it and threw handfuls of dirt onto the logs to tamp down the hungry flames before they ignited the forest.
“Fucking idiots. Where did they go?” I mumbled, glaring around the empty site.So help me God, if they get lost out here, I’m not sticking around to find their sorry asses.
I couldn’t hear them, and I didn’t see a trail leading into the woods. There was no sign of them. It was as though they’d just up and disappeared.
Since the campsite was empty, I wasn’t about to lose this chance to search for the radios and satellite phone. Josh had refused to do it, so he’d left me with no other option but to take care of it myself. I had no issues with going through people’s things. Growing up in foster homes, I’d learned there was no such thing as privacy, especially when it came to having anything of my own.
I started with Boyle and Owen’s tent, but I found nothing, so I moved on to Ian and Brian’s tent nearby, and it was the same deal. I took a long glance around the campsite again before I unzipped Maggie and Brenda’s tent and slipped inside. There was nothing in their tent either, but it smelled funny, musky.
“God, what is that wicked smell?” I wrinkled my nose. After taking a quick peek around, I left and went inside Josh’s tent.
In the middle of it was a pile of blankets, almost like a nest.Does he sleep curled up like that?
I stepped closer, the musky smell almost overpowering me in there, and gazed down at the covers that were caked in black hair. The longer I stared at it, the more I realized it looked like dog fur. Halle had a large black dog, and her couch always looked like this. But Josh didn’t have a dog with him.
I shook my head and kept up my hunt. I didn’t have time for more questions. All I wanted was the damn satellite phone so I could call for the helicopter to come get me.
Josh’s duffel was in the corner, and I rapidly poked through it. It didn’t take long before I found the satellite phone and the radios buried underneath his clothes.
“What the hell? You bastard!” I yelled, pulling out the satellite phone.
I immediately dialed the local park ranger station. It took a few rings before someone finally answered.
“Yes, this is Trinity Holiday. I’m the guide with Josh Price’s group. I need you to—”
The phone was ripped out of my hand.
“What the fuck?” I yelled.
Multiple hands reached into the tent and yanked me out by my shoulders and hair. My scalp erupted in pain, and the fingers on my shoulders dug in deep, nearly smashing the bone.
“Oh hell no. Get the hell off me.”
They dropped me to the earth. When I glanced up, I found Josh and the rest of them glaring down at me. Josh held the satellite phone in his hands, and I watched as he crushed it to pieces, sprinkling them onto the ground in front of me.
I sat up and stared at the pieces and then back to Josh. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Were you trying to leave us, Trinity?” he asked darkly, a growl under his words.
I tried to get to my feet, but Boyle shoved me back down.
“What are you doing? What is this shit? You can’t keep me here!” I screamed, one step away from passing out.
“Oh, Trinity,” Josh crooned as he crouched down, running his fingers over my forehead.
I was too stunned to move away.
“You are the chosen one,” he told me. “So special in so many ways, and you have no idea.”
