Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Another tremble of the earth shakes its way up my legs and makes my entire body quiver.
Definitely not a date.
I can daydream later. Now is certainly not the time.
Kellen
We’re three hours into our hike and one thing’s for certain.
People are assholes.
The few houses and stores we passed at the beginning of our trek around the town revealed heavily armed people who were less than friendly. We got the message loud and clear. Keep moving…or else.
So we kept moving.
Now, it’s dark and we’re hiking up a steep incline through the thick forest. Not exactly the safest option, but if we want to hit Tioga Road, we have to take this path. From Tioga Road, which should be an easier journey for a bit since it’ll be on asphalt, it’ll take another three hours or so to reach Tenaya Lake where we hope to find cabins or some sort of lodging. At the very least, we’ll find a campground.
An animal brays up ahead, making everyone slow to a stop. Under the cover of trees, it’s dark aside from the beams of our mini flashlights.
“What was that?” Gerry hisses, eyes wide as he glances back at me.
The animal makes the sound again. Pained. Dying. Horrible and haunting.
“Coyote?” someone asks.
“Bear,” Kyle answers.
I don’t think it’s either.
“These parts are known for their bighorn sheep,” Dan offers. “Could be one of them.”
The sounds quiet, so we continue forward. Up ahead, there seems to be a clearing and it’s lighter than the deep thicket of the forest. Elise cries out happily.
“It’s a road!” she shrieks.
I want to shush her, especially if an injured and possibly angry animal is nearby, but Kyle beats me to it.
“For fuck’s sake, Elise, are you trying to get us killed?”
Tyler shoots me an exasperated look. Everyone is crabby, stressed, cold, and tired. There’s bound to be arguments, especially where Kyle’s concerned.
Pretzel begins yapping as we near the road and Jesse attempts to make him stop. Over the high-pitched barking, I hear Aaron curse.
He stops on the edge of the road, Hope close to him, while Elise stands a bit away, hands covering her mouth.
“What happened?” Judy asks, tugging her exhausted children with her, one holding on to each hand.
Dan stops her with his arm and shakes his head. “The kids shouldn’t see this.”
I grab hold of Tyler’s bicep, hauling him after me so we can see what the cause for alarm is. As soon as the pale moonlight reveals the source, I wish I could have been spared like Dan’s family.
What the fuck?
A mule deer lies in the road, its front legs nothing but bone from hooves to its knees. It’s as if the flesh has been eaten away.
What could do this?
A coyote?
Upon a closer look, the deer has the same deterioration around its mouth. It continues to make pitiful, pained sounds, its entire body convulsing.
Aaron points one of the shotguns we pilfered from the kidnappers at the poor animal. “We need to put it out of its misery.”
I release Tyler and let out a grunt. “Save the ammo. We don’t know what we’ll encounter. I’ll take care of it.”
Unsheathing a hunting knife from my belt, compliments of the general store, I approach the deer. The more I inspect the deer, the more I determine this wasn’t done by some animal. Could this be a flesh-eating disease of some sort?
I kneel beside it and then swiftly shove the blade under its neck, into the chest cavity, and piercing the heart. The shaking and braying sounds eventually cease completely. With a heavy sigh, I clean my knife blade on the leg of my pants before rising to my feet to address the group.
“Don’t drink the water even if it looks fresh and is glacier fed,” I advise. “We have our bottles that’ll hopefully last us until Lee Vining, but just in case, we’ll need to make sure we boil and filter any water we consume.”
“What are you thinking?” Dan asks, frowning. “Flesh-eating bacteria?”
“It’s possible,” I state, remembering a documentary I once watched. The effects on the humans were disturbing. “Better to be safe than sorry.”
Elise, now sniffling, rubs her hands together. “It just keeps getting from bad to worse, doesn’t it? God, it’s so cold. We’ll probably all lose our fingers from frostbite next. I knew I should have grabbed some gloves.”
Kyle sneers at her and shakes his head like her very presence disgusts him. I usher her onto the road and in the eastward direction we’re headed. Soon, everyone is back on track, our boots making soft thudding sounds on the asphalt. Thankfully, we don’t encounter any more animals.
“It’s getting colder,” Tyler says, voice low so it doesn’t carry. “This has been the longest fucking day.”
It’s been the longest week.
I keep expecting to wake up from this nightmarish reality.
Wishful thinking.
Clouds, scattered at first, dance their way over the moon, making our trek impossibly dark. We’re forced to use our flashlights again. The road curves and winds, completely surrounded by trees. There’s nothing to see. No rest stops or gas stations or stores.