The Wild, Part Nine

Looking up at the sun now getting low in the sky to the west, Michelle wondered how much distance they had managed to cover. Sighing, she thought it wasn’t as much as she would have liked. They had set out shortly after the sun came up, but the broken landscape around the river made for slow going. Managing only a couple of miles an hour, they might have covered twenty miles. Her leg muscles were burning like they had walked a hundred. Her whole body ached, really. Climbing over deadfall trees and jagged rock formations was a brutal workout. The shoulder straps of their increasingly heavy packs digging into their shoulders only made it worse.

With the day beginning to wane, she thought it was time to start looking for a spot to camp. She steered them away from the rocky river bank and into the wooded area that flanked it. When she started picking up sticks for a fire, Samantha began doing the same without her needed to say a word. Michelle smiled, thinking they were on the same page about today’s trek being over.

Finding a small clearing among the dense forest, they set up their tent and got a fire going. The last of the day slipped away as they put some of the bear meat on to cook and a thermos full of water to boil. Both girls ate with gusto, having burned through a lot of calories as they navigated the river bank.

“That was a long day,” Samantha said, snuggling against Michelle next to the fire.

“Brutal,” Michelle agreed, putting her arm around her girlfriend.

“I was thinking,” Samantha said, looking around, “maybe it would be easier if we stayed a little ways away from the river.”

“Walk through the woods?” Michelle said, thinking about it. The terrain did seem much tamer just a little ways away from the river. As long as they didn’t stray too far away from their source of fresh water, it would be a good idea.

“What do you think, Blue? Up for a walk in the woods tomorrow?” Michelle asked.

Blue lifted her head for a second, then yawned and rested her head on her paws again. The wolf looked as tired as Michelle felt. Blue’s eyes closed and Michelle thought the wolf had slipped off to sleep. One of the logs on the fire popped, and her eyes sprang open, again. Michelle smiled, amused by the battle between the wolf’s distrust of the fire and her sense of loyalty. Michelle was pretty sure if not for her and Samantha, Blue wouldn’t be anywhere near the flickering flames.

“We’ll give it a try,” Michelle said, smiling at Samantha, “can’t be any worse than the river bank.”

“Why did you say that?” Samantha said, groaning, “you just jinxed us.”

“Sorry,” Michelle said, laughing and giving Samantha a kiss.

“Don’t apologize to me,” Samantha said, shaking her head, “apologize to Mother Nature before she decides to show us how much worse it can be.”

“I’m sorry Mother Nature. You are the baddest bitch of them all,” Michelle said, amused.

“That’s better,” Samantha said, kissing her.

There was a little heat behind the kiss, and Michelle wondered if the girl might be interested in turning in early and fooling around in the tent. As tired and sore as she was, Michelle still wanted the girl. As long as she was still breathing, she thought she would.

Pulling back, she met Samantha’s eyes and saw desire in them. Standing up, she put a couple of logs on the fire, then offered her hand to Samantha. The girl was smiling as she came to her feet and she moved against Michelle. This time, when their lips met, there was some real heat behind the kiss. Not even the arduous trek could dampen the passion between them, and it burned even hotter than the fire beside them.

When Samantha started to take her shirt off, Michelle glanced at Blue. Her eyes were still closed, but it felt weird doing this in front of the wolf. Giving Samantha a sheepish smile, she said, “Let’s move this to the tent.”

Laughing, Samantha said, “I have a better idea. Take a walk, Blue.”

Blue looked up at her, tilting her head to one side.

“You are relieved of guard duty,” Samantha said, smiling at the wolf, “we need some privacy.”

Getting to her feet, Blue came over to them. Michelle sank to her knees and scratched the wolf behind her ears, said, “You have the night off. Go do whatever it is wolves do. Howl at the moon, or something. We’ll be okay here by ourselves for a while.”

Blue nuzzled Michelle’s neck, then glanced up at Samantha. When Samantha smiled and nodded, Blue turned and ran into the dark woods. Watching her go, Michelle shook her head. The peculiar wolf made her do that a lot.

Standing up, Michelle moved back into Samantha’s arms. Alone now, Michelle didn’t stop Samantha from removing her shirt. With the heat of the fire on one flank and the cool night air on the other, Michelle shivered. Then Samantha was kissing her again, and she stopped noticing the cold. Michelle pulled Samantha’s shirt up and off, and it joined hers on the ground beside them. Their lips met, again, as Michelle fumbled with the button of Samantha’s jeans. Managing to work it loose, she slipped her hand into Samantha’s panties. The girl moaned into her kiss, her fingers tightening on her shoulder.

Michelle sank to her knees, again. Kissing Samantha’s taut stomach, she hooked her fingers in Samantha’s jeans and panties. Samantha helped her wriggle them off her hips, then down her long legs. Michelle helped her out of her shoes, then the pants.

Smiling up at Samantha, she ran her hands up the outsides of her thighs and onto her hips, then around to grab her buttocks. Pressing her mouth to Samantha’s girlhood, she tasted the salty sweat on her bud. The flick of her tongue drew a moan from the girl, one that was almost lost to the sounds of the forest. The second one was louder, her body pushing against Michelle’s mouth eagerly. Soon, her little noises of excitement were drowning out the chirping of crickets and the crackling of the fire.

When Michelle thought Samantha was ready, she eased her fingers inside of her. Samantha’s hot, slick core took them deep, and the girl moaned thickly as Michelle found the sweet spot. Teasing it with her fingertips, Michelle had Samantha swaying unsteadily on her feet. Michelle smiled when Samantha widened her stance for better balance and put her hands on Michelle’s shoulders for support as her knees grew weak. Her fingers dug in painfully as her cries became louder and Michelle knew just how excited she was making the girl. She pressed her mouth to Samantha’s bud, again. The caress of her tongue and the thrust of her fingers had Samantha in danger of drawing blood.

“You are going to make me come,” Samantha said, a new urgency creeping into her voice, “Oh God, don’t stop!”

Michelle didn’t stop, kept pushing Samantha towards a climax. She could feel it building up inside of the girl like helium filling a balloon. Her pleasure swelled until she reached her limit and Michelle took her just a little further. Samantha cried out as that ecstasy exploded through her trembling body. Her orgasm took her legs out from under her and Samantha went to her knees in front of Michelle. Suddenly eye to eye, Samantha favored Michelle with a dazed smile, her gaze a little unfocused in her post-climax haze.

Smiling, Michelle kissed her. She laughed as the girl leaned into her and tumbled her onto her back. Samantha ended up on top of her, grinning down at her. The look in the girl’s eyes made her breath catch in her throat and her heart race in her breast. That look promised great returns on the pleasure she had given the girl. Michelle knew Samantha had the skill to make good on that promise.

Samantha gave her a toe-curling kiss, then moved lower. Michelle sighed every time Samantha’s lips touch her skin. When Samantha’s fingers were fumbling with the button on her jeans, Michelle lifted her backside off the ground so she could wriggle them off her hips. Her heart was racing as Samantha kissed the inside of her thigh, just above her knee. She was holding her breath as Samantha moved higher, her lips just brushing Michelle’s skin. It sent little shivers up Michelle’s spine.

When Samantha’s mouth found her bud, she was more than ready for the caress of her tongue. Her pent up breath rushed out of her in a moan as pleasure coursed through her. After the struggle of navigating the river bank, she needed this. Her nerve endings were screaming at her for a whole new reason. The pain of the day faded under the flood of pleasure, washed away by the lovely things Samantha was doing to her.

Samantha suddenly sat back on her haunches. Michelle propped up on her elbows, wondering why the girl had stopped. She was a little frustrated until she saw her reaching for her backpack, Michelle thought she knew what the girl was looking for. Her heart started beating faster when Samantha pulled her improvised strap-on out of the pack.

I knew we were going to need this, again, Michelle thought, watching Samantha set the backpack aside.

She thought the girl was going to slip into the bikini bottom, but she just balled the garment up in the palm of her hand. Samantha smiled down at her as she ran the tip of the handle up the inside of Michelle’s thigh. She moaned as the firm rubber grip slipped deep inside of her. The second thrust forced another moan from her. Samantha kept it nice and slow, pushing the homemade dildo in and out. It felt good, but Michelle wanted more. Samantha must have sensed it because the thrusts started coming faster, deeper. It from feeling good to holy shit in a hurry. It only got better when Samantha’s mouth found her bud, again. The dildo and Samantha’s talented tongue had her writhing in pleasure, her young body pushing against both of them eagerly.

Her orgasm wasn’t long in the making with so many wonderful things happening to her at once. Her body just couldn’t handle it all, and she cried out as she climaxed. It left her breathless and trembling, but wanting more.

When Samantha crawled up to give her a kiss, Michelle pulled her down atop her. Without so much as a word, Samantha moved between Michelle’s spread legs. As their bodies came together, Michelle wrapped her legs around Samantha’s waist and her arms around her neck. Samantha never broke the kiss as she began to slowly grind against Michelle. Still sensitive from her orgasm, the pressure on her bud was delicious, the tantalizing roll of Samantha’s hips just what she needed.

They took their time, kissing and exploring each other’s body as they tribbed. It was only when their excitement got away from them that their pace grew frantic. Michelle’s fingers were digging into Samantha’s shoulders as the girl really ground against her. They were taking each other higher and higher, the pleasure building up inside of them. When the ecstasy came, they surrendered themselves to it, their cries of excitement startling the birds resting in the trees to flight.

Gasping for air, Samantha smiled down at Michelle, said, “We are scaring the wildlife.”

“I don’t care,” Michelle said, kissing her. It was a tender kiss, the desire temporarily burned out of her. Right now, she just wanted the closeness of Samantha’s body. When Samantha moved from between her legs and stretched out beside her, Michelle snuggled against her. She smiled contentedly.

It took her a minute, but eventually, Michelle realized she was lying naked on the cold ground. She glanced at the tent, said, “Do you want to move this to the tent?”

“Not really,” Samantha said, then went on when Michelle looked at her, “the stars are so beautiful.”

Michelle gave her a kiss, then got up. She grabbed the sleeping bag out of the tent, spreading it out next to the fire. It wouldn’t do anything for the creepy crawlies, but at least it was insulation from the cold ground. She stretched out, and Samantha joined her. On their backs, they stared up at the starry sky. Samantha’s hand found hers and their fingers intertwined.

———————————————

Shivering herself awake, Michelle sat up. She glanced at the dying fire, then down at her naked body. Rubbing her arms to generate some warmth, she grabbed a stick and poked the fire. When she saw some red coals still glowing, she threw a few logs on top. As the fire came back to life, Michelle looked down at Samantha. They had fallen asleep without getting dressed last night, and Samantha looked lovely in the early morning light, naked and tempting.

Being naked in the wild had a primal draw to it, a freedom she had never experienced before. Society had certain expectations and restrictions, rules to keep order in a chaotic world. Those didn’t apply out here in the middle of nowhere. Away from her parents and those who enforced those rigid laws, Michelle felt those binds loosening their grip on her. With no one to see and no one to judge, the inhibitions instilled in her by societal norms were beginning to lift.

Michelle really didn’t want to put her clothes back on, again. Shaking her head, she thought, we need to get back to society, soon.

Still looking down at her girlfriend, Michelle smiled. Even after the punishing trek south along the river bank, they had found the energy to make love for hours last night. Their coupling had been almost as strenuous as the twenty-mile walk and Michelle expected to wake up sore, but it had left her feeling buoyed. Her smile widening, she thought she was ready for whatever Mother Nature could throw at her today.

Leaving Samantha to sleep off yesterday, Michelle got to her feet and walked a little ways away from the fire to answer the call of nature. She grabbed her spear on the way, having learned her lesson. She didn’t leave the fire’s side without it.

Without bothering to get dressed, she scooped up the thermos and walked carefully to the river. The early morning air was crisp, but she was getting used to the chill. She hardly noticed as she filled the thermos.

With fresh water to boil, she paused to look out at the river. This place was so beautiful, peaceful. Back in the real world, life was so hectic that the beauty of a moment was often missed in the constant blur of motion. Out here, the tick of the second hand seemed to slow down, and she had time to take it all in, to appreciate every nuance.

Her spirits lifted even more, she made her way back to camp. Putting the thermos on the coals, she saw Blue had returned. She went to the wolf, hunching down to scratch her head. Smiling, she asked, “Did you have a good night off from guard duty?”

Blue favored her with a tongue lulled out grin, which Michelle took as a yes. Michelle wondered what the wolf had gotten up to in her free time.

Straightening up, she went to the tree where they had hoisted Michelle’s backpack ladened with bear and boar meat. Up in the air, it was out of the reach of bears and other scavengers. She untied the knot, then lowered the pack to the ground. Taking out enough meat for a hearty breakfast, she ran the backpack back up into the tree.

With the metal pan they had pilfered from the cabin, Michelle got the meat on the fire. Feeling eyes on her, she turned and saw Samantha favoring her with an amused smile.

“Morning,” Michelle said, going to her for a quick kiss.

“Morning,” Samantha said, still smiling at her, “have you been walking around naked all morning?”

A little sheepishly, Michelle said, “Yeah.”

“Still working on your ‘we’ll get rescued if we are naked’ theory?” Samantha asked.

“Not exactly,” Michelle said, laughing, “I… I just didn’t feel like getting dressed.”

Samantha nodded, looking at the pile of discard clothing from last night, “It kind of feels like clothing is optional out here, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, giving Samantha a curious look.

Seeing it, Samantha said, “It’s just… With no one to see us, it’s easier to be… Free. Do you know what I mean?”

Michelle nodded, sitting down beside her. Samantha had pretty much summed up her own feelings on this place. She was still getting used to how in tuned hers and Samantha’s thoughts were. Back in school, she had thought they were polar opposites, but she had been wrong. The more she got to know Samantha, the more she understood why they fit together so well.

Samantha took Michelle’s hand and smiled at her, said, “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Michelle said, those words coming so natural to her now, “how are you feeling this morning?”

“Surprisingly good,” Samantha said, laughing, “all things considered.”

“Do think we can cover more ground today?” Michelle asked.

“I hope so,” Samantha said, looking around, “I think it’ll be a little easier walking through the woods than along the river.”

“Me, too,” Michelle said, then got up to stir their breakfast, “let’s get some breakfast in us, then we’ll break camp.”

“Okay,” Samantha said.

—————————————–

“This is a lot better.”

Smiling at Samantha, Michelle said, “Yeah. You were right.”

After packing up their camp, they had set out walking parallel to the river. The going was much easier, as different as night and day from yesterday. So much so that this stroll through the woods was almost pleasant. They were nearly doubling their pace, chewing up almost four miles an hour and barely breaking a sweat. If their luck held, they would have passed the distance they covered yesterday by six o’clock, leaving a couple of hours of daylight to either make camp and look for supplies or push on a little further.

They walked hand in hand, talking. Michelle learned a good bit about Samantha’s family and thought she was going to like her dad. She wasn’t too sure about Samantha’s mother, though. The woman sounded a bit like the snobbish cheerleader Samantha had only pretended to be. Michelle had been wrong about a LaRose woman- or whatever her mother’s maiden name was- before, so she would wait to meet the woman before forming an opinion of her.

Michelle told Samantha about summers with her dad, tagging along on his survival training excursions. She had Samantha in stitches, laughing at the crazy things rich people were willing to pay to eat. Her father was very thorough in his list of things that wouldn’t kill you to eat but might make you wish you had a toothbrush and a whole bottle of mouthwash.

“Your dad sounds like a trip,” Samantha said, smiling at her.

“He is,” Michelle said, feeling a stab in her heart. Talking about her family made her miss them more, and her spirits sank. When Samantha sensed the change in her mood and put an around her waist to pull her close, it helped, but Michelle still couldn’t wait to give her dad a huge hug.

“We’ll be home soon,” Samantha said.

“I know,” Michelle said, kissing her, “it’s just… talking about them… It kind of sneaked up on me.”

“It’s okay,” Samantha said, squeezing her tighter, “we’ve been busy just staying alive. It’s only when you have a little time to think that it hurts.”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, favoring her with a sad smile.

They walked in silence for awhile, lost in thoughts of home. Michelle eventually found herself wondering what it was going to be like introducing her girlfriend to her parents. At least they knew she was interested in girls, so it wouldn’t be too much of a shock. Samantha’s parents, on the other hand, would in for a surprise. Michelle’s mom and dad had taken it in stride, which proved they really were the coolest parents ever, but she knew she had gotten lucky. Would Samantha’s parents be as accepting and supportive of her sexuality and by extension Michelle, or was there drama heading their way?

Michelle didn’t think either set of parents could keep them apart- even if they had to sneak around to be together. She hoped it didn’t come to that, but she found herself thinking of places they could meet if they needed to.

She was brought back from her thoughts, when Samantha asked, “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Michelle asked, then she heard it, too. It was at a distance, but it sounded like a motorcycle or an ATV. The trees made it hard to pinpoint the source of the sound, but she thought it was coming from the east.

“Is that… That’s an engine, right?” Samantha asked, meeting Michelle’s eyes.

“I think so,” Michelle said, holding her breath and listening. The sound was definitely coming from the east but was fading fast like the bike or four-wheeler was moving away from them. Her lungs were burning by the time she finally let out her pent-up breath. Sucking in another, she said, “Sounded like an ATV… Heading away from us in that direction.”

“Are you sure?” Samantha asked.

“Pretty sure,” Michelle said, looking in the direction she thought the sound had come from.

“Should we try to follow them?” Samantha asked.

“I don’t know,” Michelle said, glancing back at her girlfriend, “they are moving faster than we can walk. If they turn somewhere, we’d never find them.”

“I guess you are right,” Samantha said.

“The good news is,” Michelle said, smiling at her, “we should cross their path if we keep walking south. If they are leaving good tracks, I might reconsider trying to follow them.”

“Do think that’s possible?” Samantha asked.

“They sounded like they were moving fast,” Michelle said, shrugging, “I don’t know if that makes a difference or not in tire tracks.”

“Okay,” Samantha said, laughing.

With a sheepish grin, Michelle said, “I never claimed to know everything.”

Samantha gave her a kiss, said, “Let’s find those tracks.”

——————————————————-

“We should have crossed them by now, right?”

Michelle glanced at Samantha, nodded. They had been walking for two hours since hearing the engine noises, and they hadn’t seen anything that looked like tire tracks. The sound couldn’t have traveled more than the seven or so miles they had covered. Somehow they had missed them, Michelle was almost certain.

“Shit,” Samantha said, sighing.

“I don’t get it,” Michelle said, looking around, “not seeing tire tracks, okay… But there wasn’t even a trail they could have been following.”

“What are you talking about?” Samantha asked, giving her a curious look.

“Did you see any trails since we heard the noise?” Michelle asked.

“Well, no. I really wasn’t paying attention though,” Samantha said, still giving her that look, “is that important?”

“I don’t know,” Michelle said, frowning, “just strikes me as odd, is all.”

“Okay,” Samantha said, looking around, “are we giving up on finding tracks?”

“Yeah,” Michelle said.

“Shit,” Samantha said, again, “I was really hoping to catch a ride out of here.”

“Sorry, Babe,” Michelle said, putting her arm around her waist, “we are still hoofing it.”

“Let’s keep walking then,” Samantha said, moving closer, “at least for a little while longer before we make camp.”

Both girls chest fallen from not finding any sign of the ATV they had heard, they walked in silence. The engine noises had been a tease, nothing more. Michelle had known it would be a long shot to actually find the rider, but it still stung a little.

They crested a small hill, then started down it when Michelle thought she heard voices. Coming to an abrupt halt, she grabbed Samantha’s arm to get her to stop moving. Samantha began to ask a question, but Michelle shook her head and put her finger to her lips. Michelle listened intently, but she couldn’t hear anything other than the usual forest noises. When the pause threatened to stretch on indefinitely, Michelle sighed and said, “I thought I heard something.”

“What?”

“Voices,” Michelle said.

“Voices? Really?” Samantha said, looking around.

“They were faint… I don’t know, I guess I just imag-” she said, cutting herself off when she thought she heard it, again. When she saw Samantha’s eyes get big, she realized she wasn’t going crazy, after all. She held her breath and strained her ears to follow the sound. She thought it was coming from somewhere to her left. Pointing, she said, “That way.”

Samantha nodded.

Walking as quietly as they could, they moved toward where Michelle thought the voices were coming from. As the voices started to get louder, she was pretty sure they were walking in the right direction. Michelle’s pace slowed as she realized the voices she was hearing were raised in anger. She thought there were at least three of them, all shouting over each other. The wind and distance still garbled the dialog, but she was sure they were fighting about something, even if she didn’t know what.

Her pace slowed even more. Something about the half-heard argument had the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She glanced at Blue, and she seemed tense, too. Michelle didn’t know if it was just a wolf’s distrust of humans or if the wolf sensed the same thing that had her nerves on edge. Either way, it didn’t do anything for Michelle unease.

“Why are you slowing down?” Samantha asked.

Moving closer so she could whisper, Michelle said, “I think they are having an argument.”

“I think so, too,” Samantha whispered, meeting her eyes, “why are we whispering?”

“I don’t know,” Michelle said, looking around, “maybe… maybe we shouldn’t just approach them outright.”

Samantha held her eyes for a long moment, then said, “Okay.”

“Just okay?” Michelle asked, giving the girl a curious look.

“Babe, I trust your instincts,” Samantha said, kissing her, “if you think we need to be careful, we’ll be careful.”

They started walking again, moving as quietly as they could. As they got closer, they began to pick up bits of the argument:

“…Why did you buy this…”

“…You said to get lighter fluid…”

“…Is this the brand we use…”

“…Lighter fluid is lighter fluid. It’s the same…”

“…It’s not the same. We’ve been making the same recipe for three years! Three fucking years! They keep coming back for our shit because it’s always the same…”

The girls were so intent on being quiet that they almost missed the tree line and the clearing just beyond it. At the last second, Samantha grabbed Michelle’s arm and pulled her down behind a stump before she could walk out in the open. Michelle gave her an appreciative nod.

Samantha pointed at something and Michelle followed her finger with her eyes. At first, she didn’t see anything, then her eyes picked up on an oddly geometric shape among the trees on the other side of the clearing. It took her a second to realized she was looking at a half dozen camouflaged tents tucked in among the trees. Someone had gone to great lengths to be hard to find. She was surprised Samantha had seen them, but Michelle was glad she had.

“…They won’t know the difference…”

“…I’ll know the difference! Show some fucking pride in your work…”

“…You know what, fuck you. If you want your stupid fucking special lighter fluid, you can make the five-hour trip back to town to get it yourself…”

Michelle and Samantha came to a stop, glanced at each other. When Samantha mouthed ‘lighter fluid’, Michelle could only shrug. She didn’t know what the two men were arguing over, either. The word ‘recipe’ stuck out though. Why would having the wrong brand of lighter fluid make a difference to a recipe? Something told her they weren’t talking about bar-b-que.

A third voice spoke up, said, “…It’s late. No one is going anywhere tonight. I’ll make a supply run in the morning, get what we need…”

“…You are taking his side? Jesus, it’s the same thing…”

“…You know that stuffing Mom makes at Thanksgiving? The one you love? Do you know why it is always delicious? She uses the same chicken stock every year…”

“…Oh God, don’t give me the stuffing speech, again…”

“…Fine. Are you a chemist, then…”

“…What? No, I’m not a fucking chemist…”

“…Well, neither am I. I don’t know why this recipe works, but it does. We cook it the way Uncle Jim taught us because we want to keep our customers happy and don’t want to blow ourselves up. So, in the morning, I’m going to run this last batch into town, then I’m going to fix your fuck up so we can get back to business. Now, I don’t want to hear any more horseshit from either of you about this…”

Michelle saw movement near the furthest tent, then someone stepped into view. He was muttering to himself as he moved behind the tent to relieve himself. Michelle gasped when she saw the AR-15 on his back. She recognized the civilian version of the M16 because her father had let her fire one a couple of times. Her father’s was the semi-automatic variety, legal to own and use. Michelle doubted the man behind the tent could say the same.

“Jesus, who are these people?” Samantha whispered, her eyes on the assault rifle.

“No one who’d be happy to see us. We need to get out of here,” Michelle said, waiting for the man to leave. When he finished watering the grass behind the tent, he disappeared between them, again. Grabbing Samantha’s hand, she said, “Let’s go. Come on, Blue.”

They backtracked the way they had come, slow at first to keep quiet, then breaking out in a run when they thought it was safe to do so. Only when they put a little distance between them and the men at the hidden camp, did they pause to catch their breath.

“Glad I trusted your instincts,” Samantha said, with a breathless little laugh.

“I’m glad you saw the tents,” Michelle said, holding her side, “I would have walked right up on them.”

“What do you think they were doing back there?” Samantha said, shrugging out of her pack.

“Something illegal,” Michelle said, without a doubt she was right.

“Yeah,” Samantha agreed.

In the distance, they heard a four-wheeler grumble to life. Michelle looked at Samantha, said, “I thought they weren’t going anywhere tonight.”

“That’s what he said,” Samantha said, looking back toward the camp.

The pitch of the engine changed as it was put in gear and revved up. Michelle’s heart skipped a beat as the noise grew louder and she said, “Shit! He’s coming this way!”

“Did they see us?” Samantha said, picking up her backpack. She shrugged into it in a hurry.

“I don’t know,” Michelle said, grabbing her hand, “come on. Head toward the river… More places to hide.”

They took off and running toward the river, adrenaline helping them coax a little more out of their tired muscles. Even if the guy from the camp wasn’t looking for them, was coming this way by pure coincidence, he would still react badly to seeing them so close to his secret spot. Michelle thought about the AR-15 on the pisser’s back, and she found a little more speed in her burning calves.

They had to be losing ground to the ATV, so they needed a hiding place in a hurry. There was a clock ticking in Michelle’s head, and she knew they were running out of time. Any second now, they would in the line of sight of the ATV rider.

Spotting the root ball of a fallen tree, Michelle pulled Samantha in that direction. It was big enough for them to crouch behind but not an ideal hiding place. She didn’t think they had time to find a better one.

She squeezed Samantha’s hand as the engine noise swelled louder. Time had flown by as they were sprinting for cover but slowed to a crawl as she waited to see if they had been discovered. She had to fight the urge to peek over the log, had to force herself to stay in her hiding spot and hope for the best.

When the four-wheeler blew by them without slowing, she almost jumped up and celebrated. It felt like a victory, not being seen.

With her nerves jangling, she looked after the ATV. It was traveling faster than they could walk, but not moving flat out. The rider’s head was on a swivel, turning left and right as he rode. Michelle’s heart sank when she realized he was looking for something.

“Shit,” Samantha said, drawing her attention, “they saw us!”

“How did they see us?” Michelle asked, frowning. If someone had seen them at the camp, the alarm would have gone up immediately, but a good fifteen-twenty minutes had passed before the four-wheeler had started up. It didn’t make any sense. Her frown deepening, she said, “I don’t think they saw us. They would have come right after us, not wait twenty minutes first.”

“Then why is he looking for us?” Samantha asked.

“I don’t know,” Michelle said, looking around, “he is looking for us, though. We need a better hiding spot.”

Michelle figured the river was still their best bet at finding a suitable place to hole up for a while, so they headed that way. Coming out on the rocky bank, she looked downstream and had to laugh. The bank was flat, no dead trees or jutting rock formations in sight. When she glanced back upstream, she saw the bank had been clear for a good stretch of the way. They had walked through the woods for nothing. Worse than that, if they had stuck to the riverside, they would have walked right by the men in the woods.

“Seriously?” Samantha said, shaking her head.

“We had no way of knowing,” Michelle said, laughing.

“There is nowhere to hide here,” Samantha said, looking around.

“Let’s head downstream,” Michelle said, offering her hand, “maybe we’ll get lucky.”

They stuck close to the tree line as they followed the river south. The trees didn’t make very good cover, but it was all they had. The river bank was utterly flat, the biggest rocks the size of bowling balls. Samantha was right- there was nowhere to hide.

The light began to fade as the day drew closer to its end. There hadn’t been a lot of daylight left by the time they stumbled upon the men in the woods, and they had spent most of the rest of it running and hiding. As Michelle looked at the lengthening shadows, she knew they were in for a rough night. They hadn’t put enough distance between themselves and their pursuers to risk a fire, which meant no food or water or warmth to hold off the cold of night.

Michelle started looking for somewhere they could tuck in, her eyes scanning just beyond the tree line. She was so absorbed with the task, that she jumped in surprise when she heard the pop of static from a radio maybe thirty feet away. Freezing, Michelle looked around for the source of the noise. She spotted one of the men kneeling by the river, filling up jugs of water. She quickly pushed Samantha into the woods, and they hid behind a tree.

The pop of static was followed by a tinny voice saying, “There’s nothing out here.”

The kneeling man pulled a radio off his hip, said, “Are you sure?”

“I rode out further than anyone could have run, then did a bunch of zigzags looking for tracks.”

“This ground is lousy for tracking,” the kneeling man said, putting a cap on his water jug, “it’s getting dark, so come back.”

“Got it.”

“And Bobby,” the kneeling man said, standing up, “collect the game cameras on your way back. It was probably just a deer or something, but we better make sure.”

“Just the ones on the north side, right?”

“Yeah,” the kneeling man said, putting his radio back on his hip. Turning back toward the woods, he said, “Bobby didn’t see anything.”

“Who knows how long the motion sensors were going off before we saw them, thanks to you two fucking yelling at each other. If someone had been there, they had time to get away,” A voice said, from twenty feet away.

Michelle’s eyes snapped in that direction, and she hunkered down even more. The failing light helped, but she and Samantha were still painfully exposed.

“It’s probably just a deer,” the kneeling man said, walking toward him, “if it was the Feds, we’d already be in zip ties.”

“Let’s hope you are right.”

With their water, the two men retreated into the woods, again. Michelle watched them go for a while, then whispered to Samantha, “That was too close.”

“What did they mean by game cameras?” Samantha asked.

“Hunters use them to spy on animals. Dad says it’s cheating,” Michelle said, then had a sinking feeling in her stomach, “if they check their cameras, they’ll know we were at their camp. They’ll be looking for us.”

“Shit,” Samantha said.

“We can’t stay here,” Michelle said, not liking the idea of walking around in the dark. They didn’t have a choice, though. They needed to put some distance between them and the camp before the men started searching.

The moon was three-quarters full, casting just enough silver light on the landscape for them to follow the river south. Even with the light from the heavens, it was slow going. They had barely gone a quarter of a mile before engines turned over at the camp. Michelle counted three separate ATVs starting up. They were going to empty the camp, looking for them.

Searchlights blinked to life, stabbing through the dark. Michelle ducked even though they weren’t pointed their way. She watched as the ATVs headed north in a search pattern, the beams of their lights overlapping.

With a sigh of relief, Michelle thought the game cameras hadn’t caught her and Samantha doubling back on their tracks. The men appeared to be concentrating their search efforts to the north, while they were south of the camp. At night and with the ground conditions underfoot, it would be extremely hard for the search party to spot their tracks.

Turning to Samantha, she said, “They don’t know we doubled back.”

“Good,” Samantha said, starting to walk south, again. She stopped when she realized Michelle wasn’t following her. Turning back, she asked, “What?”

“I want to look around their camp,” Michelle said.

“What? Are you serious?” Samantha asked, laughing, “don’t you watch scary movies? That’s a horrible idea.”

“With the four-wheelers, they have a huge advantage over us,” Michelle said, looking in the general direction of the camp.

“I know,” Samantha said, coming back to Michelle, “that’s why we need to get as far ahead of them as we can.”

“Tomorrow morning- or maybe even tonight- they are going to realize they are looking in the wrong place and start looking in other directions. If they find our tracks, they’ll know we headed south. It won’t matter how much distance we put between us. They’ll run us down with the four-wheelers,” Michelle said.

“So, what are you thinking?” Samantha asked.

“The guy said it was a five-hour trip back into town,” Michelle said, thinking.

“Right,” Samantha said, looking at her. She suddenly straightened up, said, “You want to take their gasoline.”

Smiling, Michelle said, “If they have to search on foot…”

“It’ll slow them down,” Samantha said, then snorted, “I still think it’s a bad idea. Let’s go.”

Michelle laughed and took Samantha’s hand. They made their way toward where Michelle had placed the camp. Finding the tents in daylight had been a challenge- at night, she fully expected to run into them before she saw them. They lucked out, though. When they got close to the camp, they saw light under one of the tents.

She tried the tent with the light in it first. Inside were three folding cots and a small battery powered space heater. The source of light was an open laptop sitting on one of the beds. One of the game cameras was still plugged into it, and Michelle’s stomach sank when she saw her and Samantha’s face on the screen. She didn’t like the fact these guys knew what she looked like. Glancing at Samantha, she saw the girl looked a little sick, too.

“We have to take these,” Michelle said. The men had already seen their faces, so she could only hope they had a bad memory. She grabbed the pillow off the cot, pulled it out of its case. The laptop and game cameras went into the pillowcase. She glanced at Samantha, said, “Let’s hope they don’t remember what we look like.”

Michelle was turning to leave when she saw a flashlight on the ground next to the cot. Stooping, she picked it up. Turning it on, she blinked in the sudden glare. Covering the lens with her fingers, she managed to cut the light down to a narrow shaft, which would be hard to see at a distance. Not impossible to see, just harder. She thought it was worth the risk. They’d be able to find the gasoline a lot easier if they weren’t feeling around the camp like a bunch of blind girls. They could do what they came to do and get out a whole lot faster.

Sweeping the light around the tent, she saw a box of food. There were cans of soup, beef jerky, bags of chips and boxes of snack cakes. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized she hadn’t eaten since they took a lunch about one.

Next to the boxes of food were gallon jugs of water, presumably the ones they had gathered from the river. Michelle hoped they intended to boil them before they drank any of the water. She reconsidered, hoped they got the shits from drinking it.

That would slow them down, Michelle thought, smiling.

That thought led to another that maybe they could do more to slow down the men down than just dump out their fuel supply. She jabbed the point of her spear into the water jugs, gashing a hole in each one. When she felt Samantha looking at her, she said, “They can’t store water anymore.”

“We could have taken the jugs,” Samantha said.

A little sheepish, Michelle said, “True. I didn’t think it through.”

“We are taking the food though, right?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, thinking the processed food would last a lot longer than their cured meat. That and the bag of Doritos had her almost drooling on herself.

Handing Michelle her spear, Samantha grabbed the box of food, tossing the pillowcase with the electronics in it. Leaving the tent, they went in search of the gasoline. Spotting a plastic twenty-gallon barrel, Michelle turned the flashlight on it. It had a tap in the top, one with a hand pump and a short hose. Picking up the tube, she sniffed.

“This is it,” Michelle said, setting the spears and flashlight on the ground. She tried twisting the tap off, but it was too tight. With Samantha’s help, they managed to loosen it enough that Michelle could spin it off. The smell of gasoline filled the night, and Blue sneezed four or five times before backing away. It took both of them pushing to topple the barrel on its side. There was the glug-glug sound of the fuel soaking the ground.

“That’s a lot of gas,” Samantha said.

“They could have spent days looking for us,” Michelle said.

“Do you think they have any spare gasoline on them?” Samantha asked.

Michelle thought about it, then said, “Maybe one of the ATVs. The one that they use to make trips into town with. They’d need more than one tank of gas to make it, I’d think. Or maybe all of them, since they had to get them out here somehow.”

“I wanted you to say no,” Samantha said.

“With this barrel, they might not have separate cans of gas,” Michelle said, meeting her eyes, “we might get lucky.”

“Fingers crossed,” Samantha said, looking around the camp, “are we done here?”

Michelle tried to think of anything else they could do to slow down their pursuers. They had trashed their water containers and stole their food, which meant they would have to hunt or scavenge for food. Just trying to survive would divide their attention and slow them down. Hopefully, an empty fuel barrel will put them on foot before long.

Setting a fire popped into her head, but she didn’t think starting a forest fire was a very good idea. Besides, it would draw the men back to the camp too quickly. Michelle wanted them riding around in circles up north as long as possible, burning gasoline.

“I think so,” Michelle said, picking up hers and Samantha’s spears, “let’s go.”

They headed south, again. Michelle had the flashlight on, all but a little sliver of the lens covered with her fingers. It wasn’t much light, but she felt a lot better than if she had to navigate the forest with just moonlight. They were walking as fast as they dared.

“How long do you think they’ll search for us tonight?” Samantha asked.

“Whatever they are up to, they have to think we know something… Where their camp is, if nothing else,” Michelle said, thinking about it, “I’d say they won’t return to camp until they are low on fuel.”

“Is that your real answer or just wishful thinking?” Samantha asked.

“Mostly ‘a’ with a little of ‘b’ mixed in,” Michelle said, smiling.

“Do you think they’ll find our tracks?”

“Tonight… Probably not. Tomorrow, when the sun comes up…” Michelle said, meeting Samantha’s eyes, “we’ll just have wait and see if luck is on our side.”

Continue to Part Ten

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