CHAPTER FIVE
Tess
Tess woke a little groggy but no worse for wear. She’d slept a solid six and a half hours, and that was as good as could be expected.
She dressed and crawled out of her tent. Joseph and Carter had started a fire. Logan had collected water from the lake and put it on to boil.
“Nice going on the fire, guys,” she said.
“A-hem.” Logan coughed.
“And the water.” She chuckled. “Great job hauling water, Logan.”
“Can’t start the day without coffee.”
“Agreed.” Tess set up her camp chair and rubbed her hands near the fire. “I expect some sore muscles and achy feet today, so we’ll take it easy. This morning, we’ll go over emergency stuff and plan the week. After lunch, we can do some fishing.”
“What if we don’t catch anything?” Carter asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Then it’s jerky and protein bars for dinner again,” Tess said. “A couple of us can hike to a place I know and see if the berries are ripe yet. Maybe find some mushrooms.”
“I’m going to die up here, aren’t I?” Ashton said.
“If you do, dibs on a leg,” Carter said.
“Nobody’s dying,” Tess said. “And no one’s eating anyone either.”
“I’m a big man, Tess,” Carter said. “I need sustenance.”
“Your body can take more than you think. You’ll probably lose a few pounds, but that’s part of the challenge.”
She’d recommended, but made it optional, that they pack a lightweight camp chair or stool to sit on. But with all the other supplies they’d been saddled with, only Logan had taken the advice.
So, while he and Tess sat comfortably on small, three-legged seats, the others shifted awkwardly on the ground.
“Let’s drag some big logs over to the fire pit later,” she said. “Then everyone can sit.”
The four mumbled their appreciation.
“Grayson,” Joseph said. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all.”
“I may have stayed up a little later than y’all.”
“Waiting for Bigfoot?” Carter asked.
Grayson shrugged. “Better chance of seeing him at night.”
“I’m sorry.” Tess cupped a hand behind her ear. “What’s that now?”
“Grayson’s a Bigfoot hunter,” Joseph said. The death stare Grayson shot him told Tess that was supposed to remain a secret.
“Please tell me that’s not the only reason you came up here,” Tess said.
“’Course not,” Grayson said.
“Uh-huh.” She let it go.
Instant coffee was the worst, but Tess choked it down without comment. She found that if she complained, it gave the men permission to do the same, and she had to keep it positive.
Joseph gave up on finding a comfortable position on the ground and stood. “We paid two grand for this and don’t even get a decent place to sit?” he grumbled.
Logan’s head snapped up. He’d just taken a gulp of water and spewed the mouthful into the fire. “Two grand?” he coughed out.
Tess raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know how much you paid to be here?” How rich was this guy?
“My brother signed me up,” Logan said, wiping water from his chin with the back of his hand, not meeting her stare.
“Either he’s very generous, got money to burn, or wants you dead and thought the mountains would kill you.”
“He said I needed some fresh air,” Logan mumbled.
“Well, our air is fresh,” Tess agreed. “But I wouldn’t pay 2K just to breathe it. Especially since it’s free. Must be money to burn.”
“He does all right,” Logan said, shrugging. “Still, it’s outrageous.”
Tess didn’t know if he meant the campout fee or the fact that his brother paid so much for him to attend. Was Logan not rich then? That would be a first. Maybe she’d lumped him in with all these other wealthy guys prematurely.
Over weak, watery coffee and a protein bar, she went over the rules and instructions for the day.
“We use the buddy system. Everything in pairs. Unless you’re within eyesight of base camp or in the woods taking care of business, you stay with your buddy.” She reached into a bright red backpack and pulled out a gun.
Half the men jumped, half cast a doubtful eye in her direction.
“Is this a stick-up?” Grayson asked, raising both hands in the air.
Tess smirked. “Before we do anything today, I’m gonna show and tell you what to do in an emergency.
If I’m around, I’ll take care of whatever it is.
But if something happens to me, or if you’re away from camp, everyone needs to know what to do.
You all have your flare guns. Take them with you any time you leave camp.
How many of you are familiar with real guns? ”
Logan and Carter raised their hands.
“Okay.” Tess nodded. “Then you two are Plan B if I’m incapacitated.
It’s your basic handgun—a Glock. Nothing in the chamber, but of course, always treat it as though there were.
Shooting anything is a last resort. Bears can usually be shooed off with a horn or bear spray.
Coyotes might be our biggest danger, but since we’ll be together at night, we should be fine. ”
Ashton and Joseph cast furtive glances over their shoulders to the treeline, probably rethinking their decision to set up tents there.
“Next, the radio.” She pulled out the SAT phone. “Anyone ever used one of these?” No one raised their hand.
She gave instructions on how to call for help and made them memorize the coordinates of their location. She taught them how to use the bear spray and what to do if they encountered a snake. She took questions, and once everyone seemed to understand, she moved on to the how-tos of fishing.
As they were cleaning up breakfast—putting protein bar wrappers in ziplock bags—she overheard Joseph whisper to Logan. “Tess is pretty bossy, don’t you think?”
“No,” Logan responded. “I’d say…competent and straightforward.”
“More like overbearing and controlling.”
“Probably acts the same way you do training interns.” Logan shrugged. “Isn’t it tough—trying to teach ’em stuff while also making sure they don’t kill anyone? Don’t you have to be firm with them?”
Joseph harrumphed.
“Ever seen the movie City Slickers?” Logan said. “She’s Curly, and we’re the dummies who don’t know poison ivy from arugula.”
Tess’s bark of laughter caused them all to look her way. Joseph’s face reddened, having been caught bad-mouthing her—again. Logan smiled. And winked. Apparently aware she’d been eavesdropping.
Tess spent the rest of the morning teaching compass skills, and after a trail mix lunch, they started chores.
“We’re splitting up for the afternoon,” Tess announced. She pulled a piece of paper from her back pocket. “Ashton and Carter, you’re fishing. Grayson and Joseph, you’re collecting firewood. Logan, you’re with me. We’re gonna hunt for berries.”
“I’d rather go with you,” Carter said. There was flirtation in his voice, and she was tempted to rearrange the pairs. He was cute, talented, and funny, but she didn’t get involved with campers. Especially not during the campout!
“I picked the teams at random,” she said. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a chance to pick berries later.”
“Focus on the fish, brah,” Grayson said. “We’re counting on you for food tonight.”
“All right,” Tess said. “Grayson and Joseph, kindling and wood. Take the ax. There should be plenty of felled trees to chop up. We need enough for several hours. Pro tip, rather than carrying the logs back, use one of the tarps to drag ’em.”
Joseph’s mildly pissed off look showed he really didn’t like being told what to do or how to do it. But Grayson saluted and slapped Joseph’s arm. “We got this. Come on.”
“Don’t forget about the drop-off,” Tess called after them, then turned to Logan. “You ready?”
“I’ll grab a couple of buckets,” he said.
“Good luck, fishermen,” she said with a wave. Logan fell in behind her as she marched off into the woods.
It was a warm day, and within a few minutes, they’d both shed their sweatshirts.
“So, how many of these have you done?” he asked as they walked.
“The regular weekend ones, a ton. But this weeklong thing is new. This is only the second one actually. First of this season.”
“Was I right about you feeling like Curly?”
This was the third time they’d shared a reference to an old movie. She laughed. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
“The eighties had the best movies, didn’t it?”
“And songs,” she agreed. “It was an awesome era.”
They found the berry bushes and began picking. “So, what do you do, Logan?”
“I thought business talk was optional?”
“It is,” she said. “You don’t have to answer.”
“Well, I’m not a professional basketball player, heart surgeon, or tech titan.”
“I sense bitterness. You got somethin’ against rich people?”
“No.” He huffed. “Although, money and power do turn some guys into assholes.”
“I’m sure you’re not talking about Joseph.” It was unprofessional to talk crap about another camper, but Logan seemed cool, and old Joe was getting on her nerves.
“Of course not.” He smiled.
Just as she got a little lost in those bright green eyes, they heard a boom from off in the distance.
“Already?” she said, looking skyward. “This better not be Grayson thinking he’s seen Bigfoot.”
“What was that?” Logan asked.
“Someone’s flare.” She pointed up to the remnants of what was essentially a huge firework. “Can you run and carry berries at the same time?”
“I’ll try. How do you know where it came from?”
“I don’t for sure, but I can get us close. Let’s go.”
She slipped on her backpack and set off at a fast clip. From the general location of the flare, she had a bad feeling about what had happened. Logan’s steady breathing behind her let her know he was keeping up.
They arrived at the drop-off within five minutes. Grayson stood alone, a terrified expression on his face, the gun dangling from his fingertips.
“Where’s Joseph?” Tess asked, even though she had a pretty good idea.
Grayson pointed over the cliff.
“Damn it,” she muttered, walking to the edge and looking down. “Joseph? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
“No! Compound fracture of my right leg,” the doctor cried. “I’ve tried to stop the bleeding with my sweatshirt, but I’m going to need a hospital ASAP.” At least he sounded reasonably calm. Probably used to pressure situations.