by Scott Todd
And with that, Jan and I started scouring the immediate perimeter with one of the buckets, looking for any grills and/or leftover charcoal. I kept looking back to keep an eye on Ben and Terry, but I realized I was going to have to lose sight of them for a while if we were going to cover much ground.
When we found a public grill at the edge of a tree line, it was still standing despite the mayhem. It appeared to be cemented into the ground on a pole. But all we saw were ashes in it, and there wasn't even much ash. Then I got to thinking about it, and proposed to Jan that we check around in case anyone had dumped any leftovers in the surrounding woods.
"You know, the Park Service might be cleaning these too," she suggested. "And if they are, then..."
"Then there might be a place where they are dumping all of it..." I quickly added, as the realization struck me. We continued looking in the woods, but didn't find anything. The tantalizing thought of coming upon a nice big pile of used grill ash, which would surely contain a lot of bits of charcoal, kept hounding at me.
Jan and I continued sweeping the area, checking what grills we could find, but they were all cleaned out pretty well. As our time was nearly up, we came upon one last grill near a tree line. Jan open opened it and was stunned to see it contain a whole pile of fresh charcoal, which hadn't even been lit yet. It was scattered around the grill bottom, as if someone had just made the pile before the mayhem started.
"Bingo," she said, looking up at me with a subdued smile. While she was collecting it, I looked over towards its accompanying picnic table and was shocked to see a huge bag of it laying on the ground, with charcoal strewn all over. I recognized the Kingsford name right away.
But not only that, strewn around the site we also found grilling utensils, two pots with lids, a frying pan, a bag of food that had been partly eaten, and even some big bags of barbequed potato chips.
"This stuff is awfully fresh, even though it's all scattered everywhere," she remarked, as she put the charcoal she collected right back into the 25 pound Kingsford bag.
"Yeah, I know, been thinking the same thing," I replied. "Someone was here very recently, and they may still be around."
But we saw no other trace of them, and it was time to keep our promise to return at 10:30 AM back to the car.
"They probably ran when the big quakes hit," Jan said.
"Yeah, but where is the question," I pondered out loud in response.
I slung the bag of charcoal over my shoulders, while she gathered everything else she could carry, and we headed back to the cars. We realized how weak we were, as we struggled with the weight of it all.
"Wow," Ben said, glad to see us back. "Looks like you got lucky!" He took a very slight sip of a drink and passed it to me. I passed it right to Jan, and then followed her sip.
"And so did we!" he continued, a bit excited. "We found another map, as well as a bunch of other things, too. And this map is a topography map, showing the elevations around Camp Alice.
"I think we have a very good chance of finding that water from the looks of it, between the two maps. See how high that little blue line goes up? That's the highest part of Lower Creek, according to the other map. I am pretty sure the springhead is going to be high enough up to miss the sea water. Not certain, but it looks like the next thing we ought to try. And who knows, maybe a building or two remains standing at Camp Alice. Boy would that be nice," Ben concluded, sounding hopeful.
Terry held up a two liter bottle of root beer, and pointed to several others two liter drinks they had found. And she had already taken an empty one, cut off the bottom, and was starting to assemble a makeshift water filter.
Looking through the transparent bottle, I could see she had carefully started with bigger pebbles first to keep the mouth of the bottle from clogging, and then incrementally reduced their size in layers down to much smaller ones. Above that she had placed a piece of material, and above that a good layer of real fine sand from the edge of the parking lot, then another piece of material on top of that.
"Just waiting on that charcoal," she said with a smirk, and immediately started breaking up some whole squares into smaller bits with the hammer from my toolbox, and creating a nice fine layer of that next. Then another piece of cloth, then another coarser layer of charcoal. Then another piece of cloth on top, and she was done.
"Tada!" she exclaimed. "There we go! Not ideal, but better than nothing. We can use that pot you found to boil the water first, and then strain it with this. Should taste ok, and once we get some salt..."
"You mean like this?" Ben said as he held up a nice size container of Morton's, sporting a sleek smile.
"Yep, a tiny pinch of that will make it taste better. But just a tiny pinch," she added.
"And how are you going to get that contraption down the hill into the woods on a hike without spilling it all?" Ben remarked, like he had her cornered.
"Oh, with these," Terry promptly replied confidently, holding up a box of gallon size, fresh plastic zip-lock bags she had discovered in their digs. "I'll reassemble it once we're down there."
Ben just looked at her, and didn't know whether to be embarrassed, laugh, cry or what. "I'm not an idiot," Terry said coyly, driving the point home not to mess with her.
"That's my girl!" he replied, clearly desperate to get himself out of that one. "Uh huh," Terry retorted dryly, not buying a word of it. I saw Jan wink at her in triumph.
"Now see?! That's just..." I started to comment to Jan, but decided to hold my tongue. "Oh, never mind," I said. "Just forget it."
"No, what. WHAT?" she insisted, pressing me.
"Well it's just that woman vs. man thing," I finally revealed. "I really think we all need to find a way to lose that. It's just not good. Not good for any of us. Especially in THIS situation. We are people... We're of different sexes, yes, but we're still all people! In this together. And if we keep perpetuating that... It just breeds needless separation between us, and a competitiveness that does more harm than good," I concluded matter-of-factly.
There was a long pause, and silence once again. Ben looked at Terry, and Terry looked at Jan, then Jan looked at me, and then we all just looked down at the ground.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I began.
"No, you're probably right," Terry reacted, to my surprise. "Come to think of it, I am sick of that too. I just never sort of thought about it that way before. Sorry Daddy," she lamented, "I'll try from now on not to do that anymore."
"No, it was my fault," he immediately insisted. "Totally my fault for getting on my high horse thinking you... You... I'm so sorry, Sweetie. I will never underestimate you ever again. EVER."
They started to hug, but upon smelling each other, mutually backed away, both embarrassed. "Sorry Daddy. I stink so bad..." Terry said.
"We all do, and yes, we've got to find that water," he concurred.
"Ok... No, it really was me, now that Brain brought that to our attention," Jan confessed. "I've got some issues with men in general that come from... From... My past... But look, Ok? I am just going to have to get over them. It's my problem. The world has changed, my surroundings have changed, the people I know have changed, and now I am going to have to change. It's just that simple. So HELP me change... Can you? A point like Brian just made is a good start."
"I think we ALL are going to have to change and push a big reset button on what's left of the human race," Ben added.
"I agree, Ben," I jumped in, seizing the opportunity. "I'm not perfect either. I can be short-tempered, coarse, and even insensitive sometimes. But I will try my damnedest to push that reset button with all of you. On the other hand, competition between PEOPLE can be good sometimes. I just don't think it should be competition between the SEXES, just because you're a woman, and I'm a man.
"But that's just my opinion..." I continued, realizing I might be getting a bit long-winded. "Anyway, once we're a bit more settled, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk more about things like this. And that's wher
e we can't fall short. We've GOT to open up with each other, and keep things up front and known, with no... No.... Secrets," I finished, realizing suddenly what I was saying in light of the "rain shower."
Terry and Jan both sort of just giggled under their breath at me, and I shut right the hell up, a victim of my own good intentions. But Ben's time was coming. And more than just secrets were awaiting him.
Chapter 29: Rest in Peace
"So how about we plan what things we are going to take with us on this hike," Ben finally said.
But Terry, loosely wandering around the edges of the parking lot listening to us and just looking around, all of a sudden screamed.
"Oh my GOD! Look down there! Oh no! I think that's a... A... Body!" she gasped.
We all went running, trying to see. And sure enough. Down on the hill away from the landslide, she had spotted something that sure did look like a body in the distance. We had all been so intent on recovering supplies from the landslide dig, that no one saw it until then.
We scrambled down the hill, getting closer and closer, and then there was no question. It was a large man with a full beard, dressed to the teeth in hiking gear and warm clothes lying on his stomach, and partly obscured by a tree. The back of his head was nearly blown off, and I looked up at Ben as Jan covered her mouth and she and Terry backed away.
"That's horrible!" Jan squealed.
"Looks like a bullet did that," Ben immediately suggested. "But I can't be sure. Here, help me turn him over."
The man's eyes were still wide open in shock, and it was evident from a discolored hole under his chin what had happened.
"Yup," Ben concluded. "Suicide. The poor fellow probably freaked out and thought the world was ending after all that."
"And he might have been right," I added solemnly. Looking down, I saw a black pistol on the ground, and picked it up recognizing it to be a 9 mm Glock with a ten round clip. Detaching the clip, I saw it loaded with hollow point bullets.
I remembered the grizzly scene on the hill when I had tried to shoot Jan and couldn't with all the shaking. And for a second I was jealous that this fellow had found his final peace, while I was still living a nightmare. But at least it wasn't all bad... Yet...
"Well I guess he won't be needing this anymore," I observed, as I checked the empty chamber, put the clip back in and pulled back one time hard to load it ready to fire.
"Those don't have safeties... Just keep that in mind," Ben said, cautioning me. "And I guess he won't be needing anything else on him either, and we could really use that backpack."
"We could use just about all of it," I added, finding a strapped holster for the Glock under his jacket, as well as a large hunting knife, and several other useful things, like an expensive watch that had a compass built in.
Ben and I proceeded to pillage the body, and stripped him of all his clothes down to his underwear.
"Wow, this guy sure was prepared," I said, but I was sorry I had to do it. I found his wallet, and he was carrying over 500 dollars in cash. "Randy L. Stokely," I said aloud, reading off his Missouri driver's license. "From out of town, too. So sorry, Randy."
"I'm going to haul this stuff back up there and get the shovel," Ben said quietly, and started back up the hill.
"Wait," I said, stopping him. "What about his car? Where is that, and why isn't it in the parking lot... And... What about... I wonder if he had anyone else with him..."
"There are a lot of other places to park around here," Jan said, looking at me from a distance. "It's probably up here somewhere, but it could also be all the way down... Down there," she finished, pointing arbitrarily towards the water, and insinuating that he could have hiked up here. "All those trails, you know?"
"Yeah, you're right... Well ok, then I guess we should be on the lookout for..." I started to say.
But Jan suddenly gasped, looking past me, even further down the hill. She covered her mouth and just pointed with a desperate finger.
Turning around and looking further down the hill, I saw what she had spotted. "Oh no," I muttered, and promptly ran down there- tripping, sliding, and nearly losing it.
I arrived to find a dead woman this time, sprawled out like she had tumbled down from above. Her skull was also blown out, but on one side. When I turned her head, the entrance wound at her temple was obvious. Immediately I had the sinking feeling I knew who this was. She was also fully dressed in hiking gear, with all the trimmings including warm clothes and another backpack.
So sad. After briefly going through her backpack and finding her wallet, I had confirmation: Betty M. Stokely, and also from Missouri.
My mind recreated the awful scene of him probably shooting her first, her falling down the hill, and then him turning the gun on himself. I pulled out the Glock, pulled the 10-round clip, and emptied the bullets. I had seven, and one in the chamber made eight. Two bullets. Two lives.
I bowed my head in a moment of silence, wondering who these poor people were, and so sorry it had to end this way for them.
I turned around and saw Ben arriving at the scene with the shovel.
"Oh NO!" he lamented. Is it?..."
"Yeah, probably his wife," I said somberly. "It's sad. He obviously shot her and then killed himself. The bullets add up precisely, and here's her license- a direct match."
Ben turned around, looking up in a daze at the sky, struggling for comprehension, and letting out a deep sigh. "Ok then, I guess we'll have to bury her too," he said as he began to take her things. "I'm so sorry, Betty."
Passing the items to Terry and Jan, who had also come down to look in horror, we dragged the stripped body a bit further up, and dragged his a bit further down. We then proceeded to dig their graves in the same spot.
"Well at least they'll be together," Terry finally said, holding her mouth, and with tears streaking down her face. "Rest in Peace."
She put an arm around Jan, who had also taken it very hard, and led her away back up to the cars, while Ben and I finished the morbid job.
It was after 1:00 pm when Ben and I made it back to the cars, and the wind had picked up noticeably, shivering us, despite the slightly warmer temperatures. Jan and Terry had consolidated everything we would need to hike the trip towards Camp Alice.
"We're pretty much set to go," Jan said, handing me Randy's backpack, now fully loaded. "And here... Why don't you give me back that shirt and take this jacket... I'll be warm enough. Besides, it's way too big for me anyway."
But what about Ben I thought, looking up at him and seeing Terry already in Betty's coat.
"No, go ahead and put it on," he said, sensing my question, as I was about offer him the coat instead. "I forgot to tell you I had found a jacket in Sandra's bag of clothes... Here, here it is," he said, pulling it out and putting it on. Fits fine. I'll be warm enough too. And you might want to swap your shoes out for those," he said, pointing to Randy's very well made, expensive hiking boots. "They look took big for me."
I looked down and spotted Jan already wearing Betty's boots, which were just as nice. "They fit me better, so Terry got Betty's coat and I got her boots," Jan explained.
"I see... Well ok then. I guess that all worked out," I said tentatively. One last time I turned towards the grave, and repeated my sentiments: "Thank you Randy and Betty. Rest in Peace."
Chapter 30: Quest For A Spring of Life
"So if we do find a fresh water spring, are we going to filter it anyway?" Jan asked.
"If we find it just as it comes out of the ground or from the side of the mountain, it will be safer," Terry interjected. "There will be less contaminants. But even up here, you still have animal feces, microorganisms, and all kinds of things that can get into the water."
"And that's why it will be safest if we boil it and then filter it first, even if we do find it coming fresh out of the ground," Ben added. "We just can't afford anyone getting sick right now. That would be disastrous. So we need to take those extra steps, even though fresh water like that all t
he way up here could be safe to drink as is. Call it extra insurance."
"I'd have to agree with that," I added. "Let's be ultra careful. No one should drink, not even a sip of it, until we've done those things, if and when we do find fresh water. And since we have the pot, the charcoal, and Terry has a filter premade, there is no excuse for getting sick cause of the water."
Jan and Terry nodded, and Ben went back to studying the maps for a minute.
"Ok, so... We don't know how badly highway 128 is damaged," Ben pensively said. "That's the main road leading up here. But from what little we saw, it doesn't look good. That landslide took out a major portion of it, making it impassible. And who knows what it looks like below that. I wish we had a..."
