Chapter 22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Before choosing Blackwater River State Forest, I saw there were plenty of things to do. One of those is being able to take Ryan’s two-seater highway vehicle, also known as a side-by-side, through some trails. It’s on a small trailer beside our truck; we detached it in order to set up our tent.
Honestly, I forgot about it sitting there until I walked around the car holding my cellphone up—still no service. Profanities fly from my mouth as I stalk over to the two-seater highway vehicle where Ryan is already revving it up.
Ryan suggested doing this today, so we bundled up and put on our helmets. You can never be too safe. This isn’t my first time on it; we’ve taken it on trails close to our home.
The adrenaline rush is something we crave.
Ryan put these huge tires on it, which let us go through any type of terrain, so we use it quite frequently back home, especially after it rains.
But with it being colder and since it hasn’t rained, I doubt there will be any puddles.
But it will still be fun twisting and turning around the trails.
“You ready for this?” Ryan asks me giddily.
“Hell yeah,” I respond, bubbling over with excitement. “This will be my favorite part of the trip!”
I jump in, and we put our seat belts on and shut the doors, double-checking they are secure. Ryan picked up a map at the community center when we first got here. I’m so glad he did; everything seems to be down. We aren’t even able to connect to the Wi-Fi in the truck.
“We should bring one phone in case we get some bars out there,” I suggest.
Ryan agrees, and I bounce out, speedily walking to the truck and rummaging around my bag.
“Got it!” I hold it up so he can see.
“Let’s roll!” he shouts, shutting the visor on his helmet. I’m half tempted to convince him to stay here, seeing how hot he looks in his gear.
We take off in the opposite direction from the hike we took the other day.
Ryan starts off at a decent speed, getting the lay of the land and how the vehicle handles the terrain.
Typical Ryan behavior. I know he has studied the map and even has it in his pocket in case we get lost. The park is over two hundred thousand miles.
Without notice, Ryan takes a turn, spinning out, and I scream. I am startled at first, but excitement begins humming through my veins.
Ryan speeds up, and I hold onto one of the handlebars as we hit one of the small hills, the vehicle bouncing in the air, our bodies going with it, and my stomach bottoms out.
The wind encompasses us. I’m glad we decided to dress warmer.
Taking another sharp turn, the vehicle goes sideways on two wheels.
I yell in excitement, and Ryan shouts over at me, “Doing okay, babe?”
“Better than okay,” I squeal as my body jostles all over my seat, enjoying every second of it. “Go faster!”
“Hold on tight!” Ryan yells again, gripping the steering wheel tighter as he presses down more on the pedal.
A fork in the trail approaches, and at the last minute, he chooses the left trail.
The vehicle swerves, but Ryan is an excellent driver, and I trust him immensely to keep us safe. We continue our ride, exploring many trails and having the best time.
Unexpectedly, a woman steps out onto the trail about fifty yards in front of us and stops directly in the middle of it.
“Holy shit!” Ryan shouts at the top of his lungs.
I rear back, my feet pushing me against the chair in fear of crashing into her. Ryan swerves the vehicle and loses control of the wheel for a split second, and dread washes over me.
Inches from hitting a tree, Ryan gains control, and the vehicle teeters back and forth, coming close to flipping over until it finally stops.
Pulling up on the emergency brake, Ryan flings open the door and throws off his helmet.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” he shouts, storming toward the woman.
As he approaches her, he stops, and recognition appears on his face.
“Georgia? What the hell are you doing out here?” he asks her, confused as to why she would be out here.
“I felt like taking a walk.” She shrugs one of her shoulders, her mouth downcast.
“You do understand this is miles from your campsite?” he asks incredulously.
“When you’re with the same people all the time, you get a little stir crazy. I needed a break and got lost in my thoughts. My feet just kind of led the way,” she explains, like it’s no big deal to be on a trail specifically for side-by-sides.
My adrenaline is crashing from almost flipping the vehicle and hitting her. I can’t even move my lips to form a coherent sentence.
“Anyway, what are you guys up to tonight?” she asks with a beaming smile.
After what just happened, she’s wondering what we are up to tonight? Anger and disbelief surge through me.
Ryan paces back and forth, trying to calm down, and with a hint of aggravation, he responds, “We don’t have any concrete plans.”
“Well, why don’t you stop by for a bit?” she suggests, noticing I’m being standoffish.
“Yeah, we’ll think about it,” Ryan snaps, still trying to catch his breath.
Georgia’s face lights up, ignoring Ryan’s attitude. “We’ve got steaks,” she says, trying to entice him.
Who doesn’t like red meat? My mouth salivates at the thought of it.
“That sounds great,” he says, sounding kinder now. “We’ll see you later.” Ryan waves and moves back to the vehicle.
I give her a small wave as well, not wanting to stick around for long. I haven’t voiced my concern to Ryan, but I think she has some screws loose.
She waves over her head with a huge smile across her face. Odd, considering, you know, she was just almost run over.
Ryan starts the vehicle, and we turn around to head back the way we came.
The high energy is extinguished, so he drives at a normal pace. After about an hour, I see our campsite ahead. Once the vehicle is parked, we exit it in silence.
Looking over at Ryan, I say, “You can’t tell me that wasn’t weird as hell!”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t feel a speck of empathy for her situation?” Ryan says defensively.
“It’s her choice, and they all seem really close and get along from what I’ve seen,” I argue back.
“Everyone needs space at times.” He shakes his head at me, frowning.
“Something seems off with them. I’ve seen too many red flags.”
“You didn’t feel that way the first night when they were groping you, and you came all over one of their hands.”
“That was different! It was the first night. We barely knew them.”
“We barely know them now, but what else is there to do? There’s no cell service, and even if we did bring a TV or an iPad, we still couldn’t use it! You have your books, but what exactly am I supposed to do? At least getting together with them is some sort of entertainment.”
I flinch at his outburst, feeling defeated. He makes a valid point, and I don’t have anything to argue back with.
“Alright, you win. We'll go over there tonight.”
“We don’t have to stay long. Tomorrow is our last full day, and then the following day we head out first thing, back to reality.”
“Sounds like a plan.”