by BJ Bourg
“When the phone rang, I told her it was you,” Susan said. “She loves her Daddy and misses him when he’s gone—and so do I.”
I smiled warmly, my eyes smarting a little. I already knew Susan loved me, but one can never be sure what’s going on in the mind of a two-year-old. I had never stopped to consider how she felt about me. While I knew I loved her, it definitely made my heart swell with joyous emotion to think that the mere mention of my name would make my daughter so happy.
At that moment, I silently thanked God for Susan, Grace, and everything good in my life. I also said a silent prayer for the parents of Frank Jones and Chrissy Graves. While I knew it was impossible to save all of my victims, I sure wished I could.
Book Eighteen:
BUT NOT FORESEEN
CHAPTER 1
Saturday, November 7
Waxtuygi (wash-too-gee) Wildlife Nature Park
Alice Pierce poked her head out of the open tent flap and glanced around. “Dad,” she called, “where’s the flashlight?”
“There’s one in the side pocket of your rucksack and one in my bag,” he said from somewhere in the trees. “My bag’s on my hammock if you can’t find yours.”
Alice couldn’t see her dad, but she could tell he wasn’t too far away, and that made her feel better. She dipped back into the tent and fought the zipper open on the side pocket of her rucksack. Inside, she found a pack of batteries, a knife, a bottle of Benadryl, a can of bug spray, and, finally, the flashlight. She clicked the switch and it lit up the interior of the dark tent. It was a small light, but extremely bright. She smiled and clicked it off.
“Found it!” She gathered up the light, bug spray, and a pack of disinfectant wipes and crawled out of the tent. Once she was standing outside, she grounded everything except the bug spray and turned the nozzle of the repellent toward her. She squeezed her eyes shut and worked the trigger. A wave of coolness swept over her as the liquid coated her face. Some of it got in her nose. Coughing, she shook her head and stomped away from the cloud of repellent that floated on the air.
“You okay?” Her dad was laughing.
“Ugh, some of the spray got in my nose. It burns!”
He laughed even harder. When she opened her eyes, she saw him approaching from the forest, both arms loaded with firewood. He dropped his load near the fire ring. Putting his hands on his hips, he studied her.
“Don’t get any of that spray on your lips.”
“Why not?”
“They’ll get numb.”
“How do I avoid it?” she asked.
“Fold them inside like this…”
She watched and laughed as her dad sucked in his upper and lower lips and clamped his mouth shut. “It looks like you don’t have any teeth,” she said.
“I don’t,” he mumbled, keeping his lips curled inward. “It’s from eating too much Halloween candy. My dad told me not to, but I didn’t listen.”
“I didn’t eat too much,” she said, still laughing.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “That container at home was looking pretty light. Last year you ate every bit of it within a couple of weeks and you ended up getting sick.”
“I didn’t know what I was doing back then. I was a young kid. I’m going to ration it this year.”
“Oh, you’re so much older now.” He grinned and his face lit up. “I guess being a teenager makes you wiser now, eh?”
She smiled and nodded smugly. “Yes, it does!”
He waved a hand. “Okay, pick up the spray and grab your flashlight. I’ll walk you to the bathroom and then we’ll fry up some burgers for dinner.”
She turned and tossed the bug spray into the tent. After throwing the flashlight and pack of wipes into a backpack, she shrugged into the straps. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Her dad led the way along the trail that would take them back to the parking area. She wasn’t sure how far it was, but it had taken a while for them to reach the campsite yesterday afternoon when they’d first arrived. It hadn’t seemed any shorter when she’d make the trek to the bathroom this morning. While it was called a bathroom, it lacked running water, so the toilet—if it could be described as such—didn’t flush and there was no sink. Her dad had called the place an outhouse.
“Why’s it called an outhouse?” she had asked on the walk back to the campsite this morning.
“Before there were indoor bathrooms, people would build these little outbuildings with holes in the ground for storing waste,” he explained. “They would call them outhouses because they were located outside. Out here”—he had waved a hand into the air—“there’s no electricity or running water, so outhouses are built to keep people from going in the woods.”
Alice had scrunched up her face. “It’s gross.”
This was only the second time she’d ever been camping and today marked the first time she’d ever used an outhouse. She didn’t like it one bit.
Now, as they trudged along the trail, the sun was going down and it was getting darker in the shadows of the trees. She sped up her pace to come up beside her dad.
“You okay?” he asked, glancing down at her.
Alice was tall for a girl, having already reached five feet, seven inches tall, but her dad was a little over six feet and she had to look up at him.
“I’m just nervous. What if an alligator attacks me in the tent?”
“That won’t happen, Ali-Bear.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Well, that kind of thing just doesn’t happen. Alligators don’t crawl up on land and start tearing down tents looking for little girls.”
“But how can you know for sure? I read a story once about an alligator that grabbed a little boy and dragged him in the water. I think it was at Disney.”
“Well, your own story proves I’m right. Alligators might attack little boys, but they never go after little girls.”
“Dad! I’m serious.”
He laughed. “We can trade places. You take the hammock and I’ll take the tent.”
“That’s worse!” She shook her head, eyes wide. “There might be snakes up in the trees.”
Her dad put a strong hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “If you cook the burgers when we get back, I’ll barricade your tent with logs.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’ll make a wall of logs around your tent and the alligators won’t be able to get to you.”
She smiled. “That sounds good.”
The outhouse was located near the parking area, and was at least a mile from their tent. The trail underfoot was hard-packed dirt covered with loose rocks that made for easy walking. For the next ten minutes, the only sounds that could be heard were their feet crushing the dried oak leaves that littered the trail. She didn’t know for sure what was going on in her dad’s mind, but she could probably guess. Things weren’t going so well for him and she knew he was under a lot of stress, but he was doing a good job of hiding it. He had given her his undivided attention and, so far, the trip had been a lot of fun.
“We’re almost there,” he finally said, pointing to a bend in the trail up ahead. “Maybe another quarter mile.”
She remembered there being a wooden bridge over the bayou right after the bend in the trail, and it was a short walk to the parking lot from there. Having to pee really bad, she skipped ahead. The trees were thinner near the bridge and it was brighter now. She could actually see the sun in the distance and it made her feel safer.
When the bridge came into view, she saw a familiar log leaning across a small gulley beside the bayou. She stepped onto the log and stretched her arms out to her sides for balance. She was halfway across the log when it suddenly snapped under her weight. She lost her balance and dumped headlong into a stand of palmettos.
“Ali!” her dad cried, rushing forward while simultaneously trying to stifle a giggle. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
More embarrassed than anything, she dusted off her hands and mumbled,
“That’s why I have trust issues.”
He helped her to her feet. She could see him frowning and knew it was because of her comment.
“Thanks, Dad,” she said cheerfully, showing that she was okay. “I thought that branch was stronger.”
He only nodded as their shoes echoed on the walk across the covered wooden bridge. Wondering how high the roof was, Alice jumped into the air and was able to slap the bottom of the beam.
“Yes!” she said triumphantly.
“Good job,” her dad commented. “I bet you can’t hit it with two hands.”
Accepting the challenge, she bent low and exploded upward. The skin on her stomach stretched as she extended out as far as she could. The fingertips of both hands made a gratifying smack across the weathered planks. “I did it!”
Always one to gleefully express his support for her, he lifted his hand and gave her a high-five. “That was great!”
“Thanks, Dad!” Still beaming, Alice sprinted forward, the backpack bouncing on her shoulders as she ran. When she reached the outhouse, she headed for the door to the right, which had a sign depicting an image of a woman in a dress. Before entering, she shoved the flashlight in her back pocket, took a deep breath, and tucked her nose into the front of her shirt.
“Ugh, it’s so dirty in here!” Her voice echoed in the small building and she was forced to take a breath because of her outburst. “And it stinks worse than it did this morning!”
Alice worked feverishly, trying to clean the lid on the toilet before she would need to take another breath. She had heard the crunching of her dad’s boots fading away and she knew he was heading for the SUV. After disinfecting the seat, she hesitated and stared at the white oval-shaped seat like it was a spider about to jump on her.
The thought of spiders caused her to shudder and she looked overhead. There were cobwebs in the corner, but they seemed to have been abandoned some time ago. What if there were spiders inside the toilet? She inched forward and glanced into the belly of the outhouse. A strong odor of human waste rose up to terrorize her nostrils. She could see nothing in the dark hole, so she turned on her flashlight. She immediately regretted it.
“Oh, God, that was a bad idea!”
“Ali-Bear, are you okay?” her dad called from outside.
“I’m fine.” She tucked her nose into her shirt and took a deep, life-saving breath, and then hurriedly unsnapped the button on her shorts. She used the bathroom as fast as she could—careful not to touch anything but the now-sanitized seat—while holding her breath the entire time.
Once she was done, she pulled up her jean shorts and was just buttoning up when she heard a man’s voice from somewhere in the distance. She froze in place. While she did remember seeing a car in the parking lot when they first arrived, she hadn’t seen or heard anyone the entire time they had been here. Who could it be? Was it her dad playing a joke on her? He liked to do that from time to time—as did she—but now was not the time for jokes.
“Dad?” she called quietly, almost breathlessly. No response.
The strange voice came again. It was a rough voice and it seemed to be asking a question. Her dad responded, but he wasn’t standing directly outside the outhouse anymore. He had moved away and it sounded like he was standing closer to the parking area again. She couldn’t understand what the man had asked or what her dad had answered, but it seemed cordial enough. Still, the thought of some strange man lurking out here in the wilderness served to increase her apprehension. She stood there in fear, waiting, not knowing what to do.
After what seemed like forever, she heard boots crunching just outside the door. She cowered against the far wall, just knowing the doorknob would start jiggling like in the horror movies.
“Dad?” Her voice was a whimper. “Is that you?”
CHAPTER 2
“It’s me, Ali-Bear.”
Relieved, Alice slipped through the door of the outhouse and found her dad standing at the edge of the concrete upon which the outhouse was constructed, and he was glancing over his shoulder toward the parking area. He was alone now.
“Who was that?” she asked in a hushed whisper
“Just some man.” He smiled, but there were worry lines at the corners of his eyes. “He was hanging around the other car. It looks like he’s been hiking for a while.”
“What did he want?”
“He asked if I had any food, but I told him I didn’t have anything on me.”
She must’ve been visibly shaken, because her dad leaned forward and squeezed one of her shoulders. “It’s okay—it looks like he’s leaving anyway. He finished his hike and now he’s going home. We’ll be alone out here.”
“Oh, good.” She clutched the flashlight to her chest and followed her dad away from the outhouse.
They started back up the trail and Alice made sure to stay near her dad. She was forced to use the flashlight when they hit the thicker trees and she found herself looking from left to right with every noise she heard.
“Hey, Dad,” she said when they were about halfway to the campsite, “what kinds of animals are out here?”
She had asked the same question last night and received the same answer.
“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”
She laughed. “No, seriously.”
“Birds and squirrels. A few alligators. Muskrats and nutria, some bald eagles.”
“What about bears?”
He hesitated for a moment, and that scared her.
“Are there really bears out here?” She stopped dead in her tracks. “And you’re sleeping in a hammock?”
“Look, even if there are bears in this area, they’re black bears and not a danger to humans. They eat mostly nuts and berries.” He beckoned with his hand for her to continue their walk. “Now, if there were grizzly bears out here, I’d only sleep in a sturdy log cabin. Their diet consists mostly of raw meat and I wouldn’t want to be reduced to dinner.”
Alice shivered. She wasn’t sure if it was from fear or from the steady drop in temperature that had begun with the waning sunlight. She moved even closer to her dad. “So, the only dangerous animals out here are alligators?”
“They’re not dangerous, Ali-Bear,” he said, laughing and putting an arm around her shoulder. “I promise you this—it’s much safer out here with all of these wild animals than it would be in a city full of humans.”
She didn’t comment and was glad when the trail curved slightly to the left and the dim glow of the dying campfire came into view.
“Oh, good, the camp!” She rushed forward and busied herself by throwing logs on the fire. Tiny red sparks exploded into the air as the logs landed. Within minutes, the fire was roaring again and the warmth washed over her like a security blanket. She suddenly felt safe and confident again. “So, I’m cooking dinner and you’re barricading my tent?”
Her dad, who had already begun scouting the edges of the campsite for large timber, said, “Yep! I’ll make you a fortress that no alligator will be able to penetrate—not that they would, because, like I said, they only eat little boys.”
She laughed and moved toward the picnic table in the neighboring campsite. It was only about thirty feet away, but, as she had told her dad last night, it was close enough for easy access and far enough to keep the alligators out of their tent. Her dad had argued that they could use their own picnic table, but he’d relented when he realized it made her feel safer.
Alice fired up the green Coleman camping stove that was positioned at one end of the picnic table. Her dad had shown her how to use it while preparing breakfast, and she was surprised by how easy it had been. It was as simple as using the stove at home. She removed the hamburger patties from the ice chest and plopped them onto the grill. Before long, the tantalizing scent of fried ground beef was floating on the air.
“It smells good,” her dad said as he dragged a large log into place near one side of the tent. He stopped and wiped his sweaty brow. The orange glow from the fire played acr
oss his facial features and she thought he looked tired.
“You okay, Dad?”
“Oh yeah.” He flexed his right bicep. “I might be forty-five, but I still feel twenty-two.”
She smiled and turned back toward the stove. She flipped the burger patties—one for her and two for her dad—and then stirred the barbecue beans. While the food continued to cook, she laid out two plates, sliced a tomato, chopped an onion, and retrieved the condiments from a sealed box under the picnic table.
“It’s ready,” she called over her shoulder ten minutes later. “Pickles on the side, right?”
“Yeah,” her dad said breathlessly, plopping onto the metal bench opposite her. He peeled open a bag of chips and dumped the contents onto his plate. He took a bite of his burger. After he swallowed, he indicated the tent. “What do you think?”
Alice twisted around and studied the wall of logs he had constructed around the tent. It was about three feet high and surrounded the entire tent. She smiled. “Thank you, Dad. I’ll sleep better tonight.”
He smiled proudly and they made idle conversation as they ate. Once they finished, they cleaned up, brushed their teeth, and then locked the food in an airtight ice chest to keep the animals away.
“Goodnight, Daddy,” she said when he strode toward his hammock. “I love you.”
“Goodnight, Ali-Bear. I love you, too.” He seemed tired as he threw himself up and over into the hammock. She heard him sigh loudly and he was snoring within a minute.
After crawling into her sleeping bag, she scooted closer to the side of the tent—where she was sure the wall of logs would keep her safe from marauding alligators—and checked her cell phone. No service. She scowled and rested her head on the pillow.
She hadn’t been able to text her mom or any of her friends since they first arrived out here yesterday, and she wondered what was happening out in the world. It had been her dad’s idea to head out here to the Waxtuygi Wildlife Nature Park and do some primitive camping. On a normal day, she would’ve opposed it, but she had recently read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed and was intrigued. Some parts of the book had been gross, but she loved the idea of hiking through the wilderness. She wanted to tackle a long trail someday and had said so to her dad. He told her this would be a good start.
