Blood Games

    They trudged along in single file, traversing the hillside, Finley leading them around brambles, boulders and massive trunks that loomed in their way. Nobody spoke. Abilene stayed close to the gray smudge of Helen’s back.

    There was no breeze. The heavy, sweet air felt nearly as hot

    as the water in the pool. It had to be much cooler, but it sure didn’t feel that way. She was sweating. Dribbles tickled her face and neck, her chest and sides. The back of her blouse and the seat of her panties were wet and clinging.

    In spite of the heat, she trembled.

    She supposed she ought to feel safe, surrounded by the woods. After all, the chances of being found in here were remote.

    Unless the guy had somehow followed them.

    Awfully unlikely.

    But if he had followed them, he could be close enough to reach out of the darkness and grab her.

    Would’ve heard him coming, she told herself. No one could possibly tromp through all this without making noise.

    The thought didn’t reassure her. She was scared. She supposed the others were scared, too.

    It’s my fault we’re here, she thought. God, how stupid, picking up the shorts like that. The damn keys were probably right inside the pocket till I did that.

    If only I’d taken my time. If only I’d been more careful.

    It’s little mistakes like that…

    We’d be safe in the car right now, tooling along the road, a nice wind coming in through the open windows. Out of here. Gone.

    Never should’ve come here in the first place.

    Helen must be nuts, bringing us to an abandoned lodge in the middle of nowhere.

    We were just as nuts, going along with it.

    I could’ve been home right now with Harris. Watching some TV, having some popcorn and a Pepsi.

    It wouldn’t be this damn hot, either. And if it was, we’d have the fan going, a nice breeze blowing against us.

    Nobody put a gun to my head, she reminded herself.

    They’d always had great times with their adventures. They’d done stuff that was a lot more crazy than coming to an old lodge. Though Abilene regretted some of the things they’d done, nobody had ever gotten hurt and they’d always gotten away with their stunts, no matter how wild and dangerous.

    We’ll get away with this, too, she thought.

    This time tomorrow, we’ll be in a nice motel.

    If we find the damn keys.

    If we don’t, we’ll hike out.

    Either way, we’ll be gone from this place.

    Abilene suddenly realized that she was walking uphill. ‘Hey! ’ she called in a loud whisper. ‘What’re we doing?’

    Finley halted. The others continued toward her. As Abilene approached, she noticed that neither flashlight was on.

    ‘We’re going uphill,’ she whispered.

    ‘Yeah,’ Finley said. ‘I know. Have you ever tried sleeping on a slope?’

    ‘But we’re heading back toward the lodge.’

    ‘Where the ground is level. Don’t worry, we’ll stay in the trees. As long as we keep quiet and don’t use our lights, nobody’ll be the wiser.’

    ‘I don’t want to get any closer to the lodge.’

    ‘We’re almost to the top of the hill. Just a little bit farther, then we’ll find a good place to sack out.’ Without waiting for approval or more objections, Finley resumed her trek up the slope.

    Cora followed. Vivian shook her head and Helen shrugged.

    ‘We should be going the other way,’ Abilene muttered.

    ‘I knew this’d turn into a Goddamn campout,’ Vivian said, and started after Cora.

    ‘At least we won’t have so far to walk in the morning,’ Helen said.

    ‘We keep this up, we might as well sleep on the front lawn.’

    ‘The whole thing was a big mistake. I wish we hadn’t come here.’ With that, Helen turned around and hurried to catch up with Vivian.

    Abilene stayed close behind her.

    This is what we get, she thought, for letting Finley take the lead.

    Before she could get too annoyed, however, she found that the group had come to a halt.

    ‘Are we close enough for you?’ she asked.

    ‘It’s nice right here, don’t you think?’

    Abilene looked around. They were in a small clearing surrounded by a wall of trees and low bushes. There appeared to be barely enough room for the sleeping bags. Peering into the darkness, she could see no trace of the lodge. ‘I guess it’s okay,’ she whispered.

    ‘Okay? It’s perfect. Perfecto.’

    In silence, they set down their things. They opened the sleeping bags and spent a while arranging them. Three could fit side by side. Two fit crosswise.