Dead Woods

by Raylan Kane

  “How's it looking?” said the deputy.

  “Good, almost topped up.”

  “Now let's just hope she starts.”

  “Moment of truth time.”

  Mason turned the key and the ATV didn't hesitate. The vehicle roared to life once again and Marsh broke into a weary smile once more. Then she went back to spitting every foreign remnant she could from her mouth. Mason looked at the gas gauge on the ATV, pleased to see the needle pinned to the right of the 'F'. “Who's driving?” He said, loud enough that he could be heard.

  “Let me,” Marsh said. “I'm pretty experienced with these.”

  “Alright.”

  “Let's get her,” Marsh said, motioning towards Lindsay.

  “I'm coming,” Lindsay said. She slowly slid herself off the truck's tailgate and as soon as her foot touched the road a giant grizzly bear rumbled over the rounded horizon. Sully jumped down from the bed of the truck and stood in the center of the road barking incessantly at the humongous beast.

  Marsh watched the thing charge forward in horror, recognizing the injuries all around its mouth. Huge hunks of flesh that she'd torn away with grenades and rifle shots that left large parts of the animals teeth exposed on one side. “Get on! Get on!” She screamed.

  The creature shook the earth as it pounded forward up the road towards them. Lindsay leaped onto the padded seat behind Marsh. Mason grabbed Sully and didn't really care that he'd be sitting on the cold steel bars just off the seat padding at the back of the ATV.

  “Go!” Mason said, and he gripped Sully hard. The dog flailed at the panic of the moment. The bear let out a gut-wrenching bellow and as it grew closer it blocked out the sun.

  “Hold on!”

  Marsh jammed the accelerator and the ATV lurched forward in a false start and then she engaged it more smoothly and the thing took off on the bumpy road that had the forest cut back from it fifty feet on each side.

  Lindsay wrapped her arms around the deputy, and Mason had his legs flexed and his knees pressed inward on Lindsay's hips in an effort to stay on the ATV given he couldn't hang on with his hands since he was holding the dog.

  “That thing's gaining!” Mason screamed. As he looked behind him, into the dark shadow he saw the most terrifying thing he'd ever witnessed in his life. The massive bear had its head lowered and it ran with the ferocity of a thoroughbred in the final stretch at the Kentucky Derby. It's front paws nearly came together as they dug craters in the dirt in near perfect unison as they hit, propelling the animal towards them as it snorted great hurricanes from its kiddie pool-sized nostrils.

  Marsh cranked the throttle to max and the ATV flew down the bumpy road. She had no idea how the two behind her and the dog for that matter were able to stay on the vehicle, and honestly she didn't care. She tried to keep the handlebars steady as she could as she made a few micro-adjustments to keep the wheels on as smooth of terrain as possible, edging it more towards the left where the wheel rut seemed to be in better shape.

  The butterflies in Lindsay's stomach seemed to settle down a bit as she could see they'd at least matched speed with the charging grizzly. But, this was short lived. Marsh turned her face slightly to scream something at the other two. Something had caught her eye when she'd glanced down at the speedometer. A steady flow of fuel poured out of the bottom of the gas tank.

  “We're losing gas!” She shouted, the wind blowing her cheek outward, distorting her words. “We're gonna run out fast!” It didn't matter what she said, neither of the other two could hear her and they kept their focus on the enormous and angry monster that seemed determined to capture them in its jaws.

  34

  Up ahead of her, Deputy Marsh could see the cut line on either side of the road narrow, and the trees were no more than ten feet off the road both on the left and right. The closeness of the forest to the thoroughfare gave it the effect of looking like a dark tunnel they were about to enter. Worse than that however, and the thing that caused Marsh's stomach to drop, was the appearance of the road dipping. Not just dipping, but tilting and disappearing into the tunnel. The deputy knew it meant that the road was about to carry them down over a steep decline. Her experience with these back country roads also told her that hills on these things tended to be the bumpiest parts. Racing towards the steep hill at break-neck speed she still had the presence of mind enough to picture what would surely be sharp rock outcroppings that would likely be all over the road and unavoidable, especially at top speed. She had no idea how the others would be able to stay on the ATV.

  “This isn't good!” Marsh shouted, but it didn't matter. The other two couldn't understand a word.

  “Don't slow down!” Lindsay said, “that thing's still coming!”

  The great bear kept sprinting, and Marsh glanced behind her to see it coming within twenty feet of them.

  Sully barked and cried and fought against Mason as he struggled with every muscle in his body to keep the dog in front of him and to keep his legs dug into Lindsay so that he wouldn't fall. Lindsay barely registered the pain from Mason's knees dug into her, and the throbbing from her foot had all but disappeared in the horror of the moment.

  “Keep hold of me!” Marsh screamed at Lindsay.

  But, all Lindsay heard was, “Me!”.

  Then the deputy rose her backside off the seat half a foot, holding herself in more of a squatting position. The ATV approached the de facto tunnel and Lindsay then understood why Marsh had made that move. The front of the vehicle tipped downward as they encountered the steep decline. Marsh swallowed hard and dared herself not to let off the throttle regardless of the fact that she'd been proven right and the road was in fact dangerously bumpy and full of large white rocks jutting out from the brown dirt.

  “Don't let go!” Marsh shouted.

  The bear reached the top of the hill and slowed up for a few seconds as its large paws crunched spruce trees into toothpicks. It watched the little ATV carrying the annoying little animals down and away for three seconds, before deciding to re-engage in the chase.

  Marsh's eyes grew wide and she had little time to react to a bump she saw in the center of the road that left her no opportunity to steer clear. For a split second the thought flashed through her brain that there was no way they'd be able successfully navigate the mound at that speed.

  Sure enough, the ATV hit the large, knobby patch of mud and grass and the entire vehicle lifted five feet off the ground. Almost immediately, Sully came loose from Mason's arms and he tumbled harmlessly to the right side and as soon as he found his footing he fled straight into the trees. Marsh stiffened for a second and she was standing almost straight up with her feet planted on either side of the fuel tank. Lindsay had lost her grip on the deputy and fell to the left of the vehicle, landing hard on a patch of grass just shy of the tree line. Having lost his hold on the dog, Mason grasped the metal bars on either side of him. When the machine came back down and slammed onto the road, he was thrown first. He fell backwards, landing upside-down, his shoulder blades making contact first and then he laid in a heap, conscious, but certain something was broken.

  Marsh tumbled away from the vehicle to the right and she rolled a few times before coming to rest at the base of a tree, banging her back on a rock and realizing as she tried to get up and run into the woods right away that she couldn't move her left arm. Broken, she thought, and she found her footing right away and ran.

  Mason rolled slowly with a grunt and tried to get on his feet. The effort lasted for all of two seconds. The bear had reached him and just as he began screaming the animal bit down, picking up large chunks of dirt and rocks as well and crunching and swallowing all of it, including him. Lindsay witnessed the whole thing and she'd stood up quickly, expecting to be snapped up next, but she tripped over a fallen tree that was behind her and she'd tumbled into a small grass-lined hole. Then she opted not to move.

  The giant bear, seemingly appeased by his tiny meal, grunted and groaned and stood looking around for about ten
seconds before lumbering off back towards the depths of Hiller Canyon. With the animal gone, Lindsay and Marsh laid bewildered in their respective places, each hearing the ATV's engine continue to run while it sat on its side somewhere off the road and well into the trees.

  35

  Marsh didn't want to get up. She rested with her back against a tree trunk and stared off into the green forest that surrounded her. The only thing she could think at first was how happy she was that the forest was there, that she was still alive. Then she began concentrating on the fizziness that accompanied her busted eardrums, which gave way to noticing the ATV was still running somewhere off in the woods. I just want to stay here, she thought, and then the pain from her immobile left arm took hold. Am I delusional? She questioned herself as she noticed she'd begun thinking about how happy she was to have her pistol holstered in such a way that it gave her quick access with her right hand. You're not delusional, she figured. If you can't use your left arm, you can still engage with your weapon. Keep it together, Deputy. Her head snapped to the right when Sully came walking up to her. She hadn't been able to hear him coming.

  “Hey, buddy,” she greeted the dog and patted him softly with her right hand. “Good to see you're alright.”

  Hearing herself speak out loud brought her back into reality. Then she focused again on the ATV. Maybe we can still use it, she thought. Then her mind turned towards the fate of the others.

  “Lindsay?” She called out. “Mason?”

  “I'm here!” Lindsay shouted.

  Marsh rolled right and found her feet. When she wandered back towards the road, she found Lindsay standing on the opposite side leaned up against a tree.

  “Where's Mason?” The deputy said.

  “No,” Lindsay said, and her face contorted as she fought back tears and immediately Marsh knew what she'd meant. Lindsay regained her composure. “You think we can get out of here?”

  Marsh tried to lift her left arm on its own, but could not. She reached over with her right and pulled the other arm in to her chest, the fingers on her left hand resting against her collarbone. “I'm going to check on the machine,” she said.

  “What happened to your arm?”

  “Broken, I think.”

  “Add it to the list.”

  “You alright?”

  “Peachy.”

  Marsh found the ATV forty yards away and the closer she got to it, the more she realized the thing was un-usable. The front tires had been driven upward into the frame enough that they'd scrape the entire time they'd try to drive, plus the fuel had leaked everywhere. The smell of gas was strong. Marsh walked around the vehicle and turned off the ignition. “The thing's wrecked,” she said, calling back to Lindsay.

  “Hold on,” Lindsay said. “Hear that?”

  As soon as Marsh had cut the ATV's engine, another welcoming sound had come into focus. Rushing water.

  “I don't hear anything,” Marsh said, “though I guess that's not a surprise.”

  “That's the river,” Lindsay said, minor excitement in her voice. “The Ryback.”

  Marsh let out a sigh. “I hope you're right.”

  “You don't hear that?”

  “Everything sounds like a river to me.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot. Well, we've gotta check it out.”

  “I really hope you're right.” Marsh looked at Lindsay holding her injured foot off the ground. “How you gonna get around without that branch?”

  “Hate to say it, but I'm gonna have to lean on you again.”

  The two of them slowly made their way over the uneven ground through the forest. Sully meandered with them, stopping to sniff bits of foliage and various tree trunks. Lindsay insisted they were moving in the right direction. Marsh was frustrated as she tried to keep her left arm tucked and yet also bear most of the other woman's weight. Twenty minutes later, the river finally came into view and Marsh was hit with a wave of relief, though she recognized they'd still need to hike quite a distance to find their way out of the woods.

  “Yep,” Marsh said, “that's the Ryback. You weren't lying.”

  “I would love it if we had our tent.”

  “I know. We're going to be out under the stars tonight.”

  “Let's hope there are stars,” Lindsay said.

  They wandered through the trees until they'd made it to terrain that changed from soft boreal ground to the Ryback's rocky, muddy shore. Marsh pointed out a fifteen foot long patch of brown grass and she helped Lindsay sit there. “This is where we'll sleep,” she said.

  “You don't wanna keep going?”

  “Not right now, no. I'm exhausted.”

  “Fair enough,” Lindsay said, “I'm just worried about that thing coming back.”

  “At this point, I don't think it matters.”

  “I don't like hearing that defeat in your voice, Deputy.”

  “I'm sorry, right now I feel like defeat's all I've got.”

  “You're tired. So am I.”

  “We're gonna be cold tonight, just so you know.”

  “I know,” Lindsay said. “We'll have to huddle together.”

  “Yeah, I don't relish the idea of death by exposure.”

  “I could really go for a pizza right now,” Lindsay said, opting to change the subject to something less maudlin.

  “You had to bring up food?”

  “You've still got your pistol, right?”

  “Hunting with this thing is not high on my list of priorities right this second.” No sooner had Marsh said it then the realization sunk it that it likely was going to come to that at a certain point. That is, if they were farther up the Ryback than she'd hoped.

  Lindsay shrugged at Marsh's statement, and the two of them stopped talking entirely, instead they both looked out to the wide river and tried to relax themselves with the soothing sound of rushing water. The sound was much crisper in Lindsay's ears, and she laid back on the grass with the dog next to her trying to relax her frayed nerves. She closed her eyes to block out the white brightness of the mostly overcast sky.

  “You going to sleep?”

  “I'm going to try.”

  Marsh thought it was a good idea. She reclined on the grass as well, and she shoved herself over so that she and Lindsay were up against one another. “I hope it doesn't get too cold tonight,” she said.

  “I guess we'll see.”

  “This guy's gonna help keep us warm,” Marsh said, petting Sully as he laid down with them. “Aren't ya, buddy?”

  Several hours later, though Marsh had no idea how many, and no means of telling the time in the moonless night – at least, no means that she knew of – the deputy awoke to Lindsay murmuring seemingly non-sensical phrases that she kept repeating.

  “But then you put the shaker down, and when you put it down you always put it down this way,” Lindsay said. “You always do. You always put it down this way. When you put the shaker down. No, but when you put it down, you put it down this way.”

  “Lindsay,” Marsh said. “Can you please stop?” She shivered in the night's cold air and rolled onto her side and moved herself back into Lindsay's back, coming closer. Sully remained asleep nuzzled in behind her, and she could feel his warmth against her on that side.

  “You always put it down this way.”

  “Lindsay, please.”

  “The shaker. I said the shaker. This way. You put it down this way.”

  “Lindsay? Can you hear me?”

  “You always do it the way I do it. You put the shaker down. The shaker's down. You put it down this way.”

  Marsh then realized what was happening. “Oh no,” she mumbled. She pulled her right hand from her pocket that she'd been keeping there for warmth and she reached to Lindsay's forehead and was greeted by a coat of sweat. The infection, she thought. It's really taken hold. Marsh could feel the dampness of the sweat soaking through Lindsay's clothes. A fever, she thought. The older woman had become delirious. She really might not make it through the night. But, i
n Marsh's exhaustion, she felt the strong pull to go back to sleep. Her eyes felt raw and heavy. As concerned as she was, she began to drift off again. She pulled herself in towards Lindsay again and shoved her right hand back into her pocket and she was gone.

  36

  Startled, Marsh popped up from the brown grass, alarmed to see it was daylight and Lindsay was gone. Sully stood barking, standing on the rocks next to the river. Marsh looked over at him and then her jaw dropped. Lindsay stood waist deep in the Ryback and she appeared to be walking forward towards the stronger current and deeper waters at the center.

  “Lindsay!” Marsh shouted to her. “Stop!”

  She jumped to her feet and ran to the river.

  “Lindsay!”

  But the woman didn't even acknowledge anyone else was there. She kept mumbling incoherent words and stepping slowly forward. She'd made it to where the water had reached mid-chest level when Marsh grabbed her shoulder with her right hand and spun her around. Lindsay's face was grossly pale. Her skin was gray and clammy. Her lips quivered and she kept repeating the same words over and over.

  “I'm getting clean,” she said. “Getting clean.”

  “Lindsay,” Marsh said, “you have to come with me.”

  She took Lindsay under her arm and led her slowly out of the rushing water. Marsh noticed the woman was walking on her bad foot as though it wasn't injured at all. She knew it wasn't the best thing for the wound, but she didn't stop her given it was clear Lindsay wasn't registering any of the pain and it made things easier on her when leading her back to land. I don't know if we should hike like this though, Marsh thought.

  “I have to get clean,” Lindsay said.

  “Not right now,” Marsh said, trying to appease her, though she realized it was likely no use saying anything. “Maybe later.”

  “Later we get clean.”

  Marsh looked at the woman's eyes and her visage was as vacant as she'd ever seen, and that included some truly dissociative sorts who'd passed through the Branson Sheriff's Department jail cells. Sully followed the two of them away from the river, and once they were back at the patch of brown grass, Marsh laid Lindsay back down. In the first instance of laying there once again, Marsh felt completely lonely and wasn't certain how she was going to fight through this and rescue them both. She clung onto Lindsay, whose body began to shake as the mild breeze bit through her wet clothes.