night. I don’t think anybody
did.”
“ Why not?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I
think there was some kind of accident a long time ago, back before
I was born.”
“ So nobody’s stayed here since ...
when?”
Again, she shook her head. “I don’t
know. At least twenty years, maybe longer.”
Ken opened his mouth to grouse some
more, but a honking horn caught their attention and they turned to
face the gravel road they had just driven up.
Bouncing along the road and
approaching them was an old, rusted Jeep. Several figures could be
seen crouched behind the windshield, but another blowing of the
horn showed the driver and passengers were friendly.
“ They’re here,” Ken said, again not
looking pleased.
Mary laughed and rushed forward as the
Jeep came to a halt next to the Explorer.
“ You guys made it!” she
shouted.
The Jeep died and doors popped open,
spewing forth four more people in their early twenties.
“ Idiot here almost got us lost,” said
a girl with short, dark hair and a darker demeanor. She jabbed a
thumb towards a tall, skinny guy with a mop of brown, curly hair
atop his head.
“ Hey, I knew where we were all along,”
he said with a chuckle.
“ Sure you did, Lance,” the dark-haired
girl said. “Sure you did.”
From around the other side of the Jeep
lumbered a portly youth sporting freckles, curly red hair and a
Superman T-shirt.
He laughed as he came up to Lance.
“Abby can be a real bitch sometimes, can’t she?”
“ Screw you, fat boy,” the dark-haired
girl said, flipping both of them the finger.
Mary didn’t look pleased with the
conversation, but Lance couldn’t help but laugh.
Another young woman climbed out of the
back of the Jeep, cursing as her hiking boots hit the
ground.
“ What’s up with you, beautiful?” Ken
asked.
Again, Mary did not look happy,
especially with her boyfriend so boldly complimenting another
woman. Yet there was little doubt the last one of out the vehicle
was the most attractive of the girls.
Gloria stood straight and stretched
her arms over her head as if she had just woke, shaking her long,
blonde hair out. Then she looked around and cursed
again.
“ Not much to look at, is?” Ken
asked.
Gloria turned on him. “No phones, not
even a gas station for miles. I bet the nearest Starbuck’s is at
least an hour away.”
“ Hell, I bet the nearest house is an
hour away,” Lance joked.
“ It’s just a few miles to the nearest
farm,” Mary said, coming to stand in the middle of the pack while
defending what she felt was her home region.
Gloria looked stricken. “Farm? Oh, my
God. I bet there’s not even Wifi here.”
“ I don’t even see any old TV
antennas,” Russ said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he glanced
at their surroundings, “not that they’d do us any good.”
“ Hey!” Mary stamped a tennis shoe on
the gravel. “We didn’t come up here for fun and games, you guys.
We’re supposed to be helping the church.”
“ Church, shmurch,” Abby said, yawning
beneath black eyeliner as if bored. “I came up here to get away for
a few days, nothing more. Brought a good book with me. That’s all
I’ll need.”
Russ lightened up, his jaws dancing.
“And I brought some comic books!”
A moan rolled through the rest of the
group, other than Abby, who gave a glance to the big
guy.
“ What do you have?” she
asked.
Once more Russ’s face light up. “I’ve
got the Hulk and the Fantastic Four and Spawn and --”
“ Okay, that’s enough.” Ken waved off
the list of comic book heroes with a look of distaste. “Like Mary
said, we’ve got work to do. The sooner we get to it, the sooner we
can have some playtime.”
“ I’m telling you, I’m not doing any
work,” Abby said, reaching through an open window into the Jeep to
withdraw a hefty paperback. “It’s just me and Stephen King this
weekend.”
“ But we’re all supposed to help,” Mary
said.
Abby ignored the words and
did.”
“ Why not?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I
think there was some kind of accident a long time ago, back before
I was born.”
“ So nobody’s stayed here since ...
when?”
Again, she shook her head. “I don’t
know. At least twenty years, maybe longer.”
Ken opened his mouth to grouse some
more, but a honking horn caught their attention and they turned to
face the gravel road they had just driven up.
Bouncing along the road and
approaching them was an old, rusted Jeep. Several figures could be
seen crouched behind the windshield, but another blowing of the
horn showed the driver and passengers were friendly.
“ They’re here,” Ken said, again not
looking pleased.
Mary laughed and rushed forward as the
Jeep came to a halt next to the Explorer.
“ You guys made it!” she
shouted.
The Jeep died and doors popped open,
spewing forth four more people in their early twenties.
“ Idiot here almost got us lost,” said
a girl with short, dark hair and a darker demeanor. She jabbed a
thumb towards a tall, skinny guy with a mop of brown, curly hair
atop his head.
“ Hey, I knew where we were all along,”
he said with a chuckle.
“ Sure you did, Lance,” the dark-haired
girl said. “Sure you did.”
From around the other side of the Jeep
lumbered a portly youth sporting freckles, curly red hair and a
Superman T-shirt.
He laughed as he came up to Lance.
“Abby can be a real bitch sometimes, can’t she?”
“ Screw you, fat boy,” the dark-haired
girl said, flipping both of them the finger.
Mary didn’t look pleased with the
conversation, but Lance couldn’t help but laugh.
Another young woman climbed out of the
back of the Jeep, cursing as her hiking boots hit the
ground.
“ What’s up with you, beautiful?” Ken
asked.
Again, Mary did not look happy,
especially with her boyfriend so boldly complimenting another
woman. Yet there was little doubt the last one of out the vehicle
was the most attractive of the girls.
Gloria stood straight and stretched
her arms over her head as if she had just woke, shaking her long,
blonde hair out. Then she looked around and cursed
again.
“ Not much to look at, is?” Ken
asked.
Gloria turned on him. “No phones, not
even a gas station for miles. I bet the nearest Starbuck’s is at
least an hour away.”
“ Hell, I bet the nearest house is an
hour away,” Lance joked.
“ It’s just a few miles to the nearest
farm,” Mary said, coming to stand in the middle of the pack while
defending what she felt was her home region.
Gloria looked stricken. “Farm? Oh, my
God. I bet there’s not even Wifi here.”
“ I don’t even see any old TV
antennas,” Russ said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he glanced
at their surroundings, “not that they’d do us any good.”
“ Hey!” Mary stamped a tennis shoe on
the gravel. “We didn’t come up here for fun and games, you guys.
We’re supposed to be helping the church.”
“ Church, shmurch,” Abby said, yawning
beneath black eyeliner as if bored. “I came up here to get away for
a few days, nothing more. Brought a good book with me. That’s all
I’ll need.”
Russ lightened up, his jaws dancing.
“And I brought some comic books!”
A moan rolled through the rest of the
group, other than Abby, who gave a glance to the big
guy.
“ What do you have?” she
asked.
Once more Russ’s face light up. “I’ve
got the Hulk and the Fantastic Four and Spawn and --”
“ Okay, that’s enough.” Ken waved off
the list of comic book heroes with a look of distaste. “Like Mary
said, we’ve got work to do. The sooner we get to it, the sooner we
can have some playtime.”
“ I’m telling you, I’m not doing any
work,” Abby said, reaching through an open window into the Jeep to
withdraw a hefty paperback. “It’s just me and Stephen King this
weekend.”
“ But we’re all supposed to help,” Mary
said.
Abby ignored the words and
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