Chapter Eighteen Mary
Chapter Eighteen
Mary
Four and a half years ago
The first ten days were a whirlwind of basic training—from navigation and wilderness first aid, to campcraft and outdoor cooking.
By the time we hit the two-week mark, we were experts in choosing, setting up, bear proofing, and breaking down a camp.
We knew our way around a compass, could make a serviceable fire, and even knew the ins and outs of human-waste disposal. Yuck.
Through it all, my twin sister flourished—totally in her element.
When it was her turn to serve as team navigator, she led our little band of merry campers on a hike through rough terrain with ease.
It didn’t come quite as naturally for the rest of us, but we managed to hold our own with the help of our guide, Leo.
The mental and physical concentration required daily was exactly what I needed to get out of my own head.
After hiking for miles on end—oftentimes through snow—we barely had the energy to pitch our tents, build the fire, and help fashion together some semblance of a meal.
By the time I crawled into my sleeping bag, I couldn’t have cared less about my parents or my life back home, leaving it to my subconscious to work through the chopped salad of emotions at war within me.
It also seemed to have a therapeutic effect on Sam and me—both individually and as a pair.
We saw the best in each other. And we saw the worst.
“This is the river we’ll be rafting on tomorrow,” Naomi said as she held her camera up high enough to catch the bubbling rush of water in the background. “It’ll be the eight of us against the sheer raw power of Mother Nature,” she told her invisible minions dramatically.
Sam and I just rolled our eyes as we worked over the camp stove, boiling water for our vegan mac and cheese—with a side of sausages for our meat eaters. Our teammate made videos at all our campsites, recapping our excursions and laying out the plan for the next day.
“I’ll bet she gets, like, a million likes and little floating heart thingies when she posts this shit,” my sister muttered.
“She’s not nearly as annoying as I thought she’d be,” I admitted.
Sam nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. At least she’ll jump right in and help clean up, unlike that asshat over there,” she said with a nod to where our teammate Richard was plundering our stash of trail mix.
He was a real piece of work—always disappearing whenever there was any work to be done and making all kinds of vulgar comments when Leo was out of earshot.
I was also fairly certain he was the reason little “mishaps” kept occurring with our gear—like a tent that somehow got unzipped just enough to let a thousand mosquitos in, or a rain flap that mysteriously became unattached, so someone woke up in a puddle of dew.
And then there were the disappearing supplies.
“Hey, Richard,” I called over to him, “if you’re not busy, we could use a little help chopping up veggies to go with dinner.”
He snorted. “Yeah, that shit’s for the girls.”
Naomi seemed to think he was required to be there. Like by court order. Which might have been fine if he hadn’t been such a tool all the time.
Sam nudged me.
“Watch this,” she murmured with a wink just before responding to him loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Dude, stop being a lazy piece of shit and start pulling your weight. Or aren’t you allowed to handle a knife while you’re on probation?”
Everyone stopped where they were and stared, including Leo, who’d been on the other side of the camp, helping Izzy sort out a tent problem.
Richard stomped up to her in a matter of seconds, standing close enough that the toes of their hikers were touching. This was not the first time they’d had words, but he’d never gotten this close to her before. It made me all kinds of nervous, but my twin didn’t so much as blink.
“Wanna say that again, bitch?” he growled.
She frowned, as if confused. “Which part? That you’re a lazy piece of shit or that you’re on parole?”
“If I were you, I’d watch my mouth, little girl,” he said low enough that only Sam and I could hear him.
“Or what?” she taunted.
His face was growing progressively darker.
“Sam,” I murmured softly as a warning.
Not that she listened. Not that she ever listened.
“Go ahead, Dick,” she spat back, using his name as a weapon against him. “You think I’m afraid of a lowlife poser like you? C’mon, we all know you’re just pretending to be a tough guy. I’ll bet at home you’re just a weak-ass little—”
I don’t know how she was going to finish that sentence because she never made it that far.
When Richard’s closed fist connected with Sam’s face, she flew backward, taking me to the ground with her.
Someone screamed, and suddenly Naomi and Nan—of Nantucket fame—were peering down at us with concern while something loud and venomous was taking place nearby between the men on our team.
It took a minute to get us back on our feet, mainly because my twin was bleeding profusely from her nose, and it was covering both of us by the time we were upright.
“Jeez, Sam! What the hell were you thinking?” I demanded, even as the other women were fluttering around us, holding a bandana to her tipped-back face.
“You’ll see,” she said, reaching over to pat my arm.
I couldn’t believe her. She was smiling—actually grinning through bloody teeth.
Before I could comment, Leo was there, looking very concerned. “Sam? You okay?”
Her smile evaporated, and she blinked up at our guide dazedly.
“What-what happened?” she asked in a shaking voice.
I gaped at her, too stunned to say anything.
“Richard hit you,” Leo told her grimly.
“He . . . he did?”
Holy hell, she was good at this. It made me wonder how many times she’d manipulated me into believing something. I hoped I was less gullible—and hotheaded—than this guy, but still . . .
“Sam, I’ve called headquarters. They’re sending a couple of rangers to arrest him for assault, and they’re asking if we need to medivac you out to the hospital.”
“What?” she gasped convincingly, shaking her head, even as she pressed the bloody bandana to her nose.
“Oh, no, no . . . I’m fine, really. I don’t want to leave.
If they could maybe get me an ice pack, though, that’d be great.
Arresting him—that’s really serious.” My sister lowered her voice.
“I think I might have provoked him. You know, unwittingly. I mean, I thought it was just some good-natured ribbing, but . . .”
Leo’s face was stony as he took in Sam’s rapidly swelling mouth.
“I don’t care what you said to him—putting hands on another person is strictly prohibited.
It’s NAWA policy to file a police report and, if warranted, press charges.
This is warranted. Besides, no way he can stay here.
No one will feel safe with him. No, he’s out of here. ”
I watched him walk away, returning to the spot where Richard sat on the ground, glowering in our direction as Izzy and Martin stood scowling down at him. He’d be gone before nightfall.
So evil! So brilliant!
I had never been prouder to have Sam for a sister than I was at that moment.