Chapter 5

• It was over an hour later before she was back on the road. It had taken that long to buy everything anyone could possibly need or want, and fit it into the car. Rayne hadn’t even known the back seat of the car folded down. It made the trunk much larger and, she’d like to say easier, to pack everything in, but easy hadn’t been any part of it. The passenger seat slid forward and the floor in front was packed with her purse, laptop and camera and anything she’d need to access on the rest of the trip. A coffee maker and a miniature stove were belted into the seat, for safety. Although when suggested it, he had mentioned bears or other animals, like moose running across the road. Unfortunately, from the way he said it, she didn’t think he was joking. Having gone her whole life without seeing a bear, she really hoped it would remain that way. She just wasn’t that brave.
• Glancing in the mirror, the expression on her face said it all. “You are in way over your head, Rayne,” she said out loud. Thinking of everything that was now in the car, it was surprising it moved with the extra weight. Six hundred dollars later and she was now carrying her own portable home. The boy at the store had lost her when explaining what everything was for, but she could figure that out later. She knew absolutely nothing about camping. The closest she’d ever been to camping was when Aiden and she had gone to a cabin at an elite resort. Come to think of it, the ‘cabin’ was bigger than the store she had just been in. Overall, that trip had been a disaster. Fish flies, which Rayne had never heard of before in her life, had invaded the resort, and most of the guests were complaining or leaving. It was laughable that the guests blamed the resort manager for this incident. How was it his fault that the insects had selected that location to hang out?
• If blue boys’ directions were accurate, she still had quite a way to go. There had been nothing but trees for the last half hour. She had wanted quiet, and it appeared it couldn’t get any quieter than this. Surely she was safe enough to stop more often, far enough away from Aiden that getting out to stretch her legs and wander around a bit was doable. Then again, it would only be for a bit if the possibility of bears was more fact than fiction. A close encounter with a small bird or squirrel she could handle, a bear, not so much.
• Trying to keep her mind busy to stop boredom setting in again, she thought about everything she’d bought, and wondered how long it would take to set it up. Hopefully, if she arrived before dark, it shouldn’t take too long to figure it out. Right?
• Miscalculating how often she should stop and for how long, she’d added more than two hours to her drive. She also hadn’t anticipated the sky darkening with a storm—the one and only radio station she could bring in hadn’t mentioned the impending storm either. Frowning, she leaned as far forward as she could to peer closely at the surface she was driving on. He had said a rough road, but rough didn’t even begin to describe this. The holes in the dirt path were bigger than her tires. A few times there was no choice but to creep through the crevices, dragging the bottom of the car. The car empty was only five or so inches off the ground, which meant filled to the top, as it was now, she was close to tearing off bits that probably should remain attached.
• Following the directions, she drove past the main gate, somewhere up here was supposed to be the second entrance to this campsite. It was darker now, making everything harder to see clearly. She may have missed the second entrance all together. Stopping, she looked at what may have been a road at one time. Putting the car into park, she opened the door and got out slowly. Weeds had grown over, making it more of a path than a road. Walking over, she stared at what lay beyond the small opening. If the car survived driving through that she’d be shocked. It was too late to drive all the way back. In the other direction, the so-called road she was traveling on ended no more than thirty feet from where she stood—and beyond that, nothing except trees and more trees. A rumble in the distance drew her attention to the sky, black clouds rolled across it like they were on a conveyor belt. Having no great choices, she needed to find somewhere to stay until morning.
• Before she changed her mind and went to search for the nearest motel, she got back in the car. A motel was probably three hours away, back in the direction she had just come from. Rayne was too tired, she knew she would never make it that far right now. Instead of reaching civilization she’d spend the night in the car on the side of the road hoping the bears, moose and any other creatures were nowhere nearby.