Chapter 64
JESSICA'S BOYFRIEND IS A CERTIFIED badass.
The more time I spend around Sky and the company he keeps, the more they're turning out to be an interesting bunch, holistically different to my previous friend group.
I know very little – basically nothing – about Ezra Atkinson. He was a senior when I started at Jasper Falls High and for the most part, I steered clear of trouble. And Ezra Atkinson, as rumors would have it, was trouble.
A bad boy with a bad reputation. Tattoos and piercings, and a penchant for hospitalizing people who breathed the wrong way around him.
So when he shows up to the rendezvous point in the parking lot of the hiking trail at Berkel County driving a polished black '67 Chevy Camaro – on mark for what I know of him – and proceeds to open the trunk, distributing rifles to Sky and his friends, leaving one with Jessica,
and putting a Staccato pistol in my relatively capable hands, I'm both awed and worried.
"You know how to use that?" he asks, checking his ammunition inventory. When I don't respond right away, he pauses loading rounds into a shotgun and glances over.
Beside him, Jessica leans against the side of the Camaro, decked in black leggings that end at her ankle, a gray, white, and black camouflage sweater that hugs her body and boasts her curves and muscles, and her hair is pulled into a ponytail beneath a cap.
Standing side by side, Ezra and Jessica look good together. They look like those couples that seem to fit well.
"I'm relearning it but yeah. I can use it."
Ezra slides in one more round. He grabs a black duffle bag from the trunk. It clangs with the weight of other weaponry he has in it. "Good," he says, shutting the trunk shut and hiking the duffle strap over his shoulder. "You might need it. Try not to miss."
"Is this really necessary, though?" I ask Ezra's back as he strides forward. I turn over the pistol in my hands, rubbing a thumb along the barrel.
Sky falls into step beside me, taking the pistol from my hands. He slides it into the leather holster it comes with. "That's the basics of camping in the wilderness, baby," he replies, unzipping a pocket of my hiking sack and tucking the pistol inside. "Never go in unarmed."
His warm breath fans my neck and ear and he leans in to brush his lips against my skin.
I playfully swat him away as the others fall in with us.
Ezra and Jessica have taken up the group's front.
Then it's me and Sky, Asher and Carter on either side of the group, and behind us is Laken, and then Dale takes up the rear.
It's almost tactical in nature.
"I know that. But I'm talking about all the ammo. Is that necessary?"
To emphasize my point, I sweep my gaze over our eight-man group. Everyone bears a weapon – be it a pistol or shotgun or rifle. Even Laken walks with a Staccato holstered to his hip while he leisurely fashions a stake out of a stick using a switchblade.
Laken catches my eye and smiles. He waves at me with the hand gripping the knife, paying no mind to the fact that Dale is tucking wildflowers into the crown of his blonde hair.
"It's the wilderness," comes Ezra's retort from way up front. "You never know what manner of crazy you'll encounter."
"How do you mean?"
"Wild animals," Carter supplies from next to me.
He veers closer, a shotgun gripped in his right hand.
He throws his free arm around my shoulders.
"Maybe one or two crazies who either left behind humanity or want to scare people for shits and giggles."
He raises an eyebrow, tilting his head toward me, a cocky kind of grin on his lips that's somehow not smug. "Are you worried?"
I shake my head and sigh heavily. "With all this ammo, it feels pointless to worry."
Carter tilts his head back and laughs. The sound is loud and boisterous, echoing through the trees surrounding the trail.
It's not yet midday so the sun isn't as scorching, though I doubt it will make a difference since the overhead canopy is quite thick. Birds chirp and flutter from tree to tree, small critters and animals scurry up and around tree trunks, disappearing into the thicket flanking the sides of the trail.
We pass other hikers on the way. Some do a double take, catching the ammo we're stocked with because it looks like we're preparing for a warzone.
We pay them no mind, pushing forward, trekking over flat, winding paths cordoned with rope barriers in some areas where the path cuts too closely on the edge of treacherous hills and cliffs.
We climb over steep inclines, pausing at the top of one hill that overlooks the expanse of forest from the highest accessible perch on the trail.
It's after midday when we reach the highest lookout.
Stone benches dot the wide path. A steel barrier stands between the path and edge of the downward descent into thicket, trees, and bramble.
The hill lords over a breath-taking view of a pristine, blue lake surrounded by tall trees with wide trunks.
Across the lake, points of wooden cabins dot between the trees, scattered at suitable distances from each other. I can't tell how many are out there, but they're mostly shaded by trees and the overhead canopy.
Our time at the lookout is spent over a light lunch which consists of sandwiches, energy drinks, and water.
By the time we're ready to leave, the other hikers begin to turn back, heading the way we came.
Tucking the saran wrappers from the sandwiches into the front pocket of my backpack, I stand up from the bench, stretch my legs, preparing for the return trek.
"Ready to go?" Ezra calls out to the group. The shotgun he carries comes with a strap he uses to fasten it over his shoulder, the barrel pointing upward. He casts a cursory glance as if counting that we're all accounted for. "Good. Let's move. It's not too far until those cabins."
Sky falls into step beside me. We're the last set of hikers to leave the lookout and the group moves at a slightly slower pace.
Carter and Asher resume their previous spots, flanking the group on either side. But unlike before, Dale and Laken have taken up the front while Ezra and Jessica occupy the rear.
"I didn't know you guys rented cabins," I say to Sky. "They're the ones across the lake?"
"Yeah," he replies distractedly. "We thought about camping out in the open at first but decided against it. Might be too dangerous, you know." As he says this, a hand slips around mine, and he pulls me to him. "Stay close, all right."
He says it flirtatiously, but I catch the undertone of something else. I can't quite place what it is, but it raises alarm bells.
I'm not in danger. At least, I don't think so since everyone else seems calm. But he's hiding something. Chills sweep over my skin, goosebumps rising for a different reason and for one which I feel I'm being kept in the dark.
We come to a junction where the path breaks, separating into two. Rope barriers mark the path that veers left of the main trail, a sign at the intersection of the two paths pointing the way to the cabins.
"Is there something I should know?" I ask, breaking the peaceful march left off the main trail.
Sky tucks a hand into his pants pocket, the other reaching out to rip a leaf off the tree we pass by.
Behind us, Ezra and Jessica speak in hushed tones.
In front of us, Laken and Dale are walking closely to each other, Dale with his arm around Laken's shoulders as he says something into his ear.
Carter and Asher flank either side of the group, the latter using a length of bramble to swat at the ground as he walks.
The trek to the cabins is tranquil, disturbed only by the murmured conversations of our friends.
Sky raises an eyebrow, a boyish grin pulling the corner of his mouth upward. On any other day, I might have let it slide but I can't shake the feeling that something is amiss and there's more to Dale's birthday weekend excursion than they're letting on.
Never go into the wilderness – even in mapped out, secured sections – unarmed is survival basics of going camping or hiking in the forest. But to walk that this much ammunition raises a couple of warning flags.
Maybe it's nothing and I'm working myself up for no reason.
Or maybe, the stress of the last two weeks is finally catching up.
Between my diagnosis and the break-in attempts, plus Sky's admission that the burglary ring story is absolute bullshit, I'd like it if I get solid affirmation that my worries aren't warranted.
"You won't let it go, will you?"
I shoot him a disgruntled side-eye. "Given the two weeks I've had, cut me some slack, Daniels."
"Okay, I'll let you in on a little secret." His words carry on a playful note. He steps closer and leans in. "We're planning to hunt."
"That's an awful lot of guns for hunting. Besides, what are you planning to hunt? Fish? There aren't large prey in this area."
"Ooh, fish for dinner sounds good, actually," Asher muses aloud from beside me. His smile falters when he catches me looking at him and he clears his throat. "Sorry. I might still be a little hungry." As if on cue to back his claim, his stomach rumbles softly making me laugh.
I lean closer to Sky and poke his side. "You're not telling me everything. Something's up."
"Do you really want to know the truth?" he offers and I nod.
"I wouldn't have asked otherwise."
He sighs heavily, almost weary. Scratches his eyebrow and tosses the bits of leaf he's shredded. "All right. I'll tell y –"
"Oh cool, the lake!" Asher exclaims suddenly. The gentle sound of water lapping on the banks of the lake reach my ears and as I follow the sound, the lake comes into view, broken up by trees that line the shore.
I don't get the chance to hear the rest of Sky's sentence when Asher comes forward and steals me away, pushing me closer to the lake's banks.
We break into a clearing and he drops his belongings on the grassy bank, already pulling off his shoes and socks.
Next goes his pants and shirt until he's only in his boxers.
"For real, Ash?" Carter chides, highly unimpressed by the scrunch of his nose and eyebrows.
The rest of the group files onto the bank, setting down shotguns and backpacks. Ezra and Jessica pop a squat on a fallen tree log.
Dale and Laken go picking up rocks to skip along the water's surface.
Asher smirks, grabs the waistband of his boxers and pulls them off. Most of us look away. Laken's face is scrunched in delayed shock. In my periphery, Asher's strutting around and posing in all his nudity by the water's edge.
"Is this better?" he fires, grinning sheepishly – proudly.
"Why did I say anything?" Carter whines. He looks skyward in exasperation.
"Ash, put your clothes back on!" Dale shoots from where he's at the water's edge with Laken.
"Nope," he tosses back, defiantly. "I'm going in."
And just like that, he sprints into the water.
For the next few hours, with the cabins in view and a short distance away from the water's edge, we're split between the lake and the shore.
I join Asher in the water and soon enough, Carter and Sky come waddling in.
Dale and Laken remain ashore, sitting on the bank next to each other. Jessica and Ezra remain where they are.
By the time we leave the lake and make for the cabins, the sun is beginning to dip low on the horizon, casting the skies in shades of deep red and orange, the trees becoming looming, sentinel silhouettes.
And I've forgotten all about Sky's unrevealed truth.