There was something very Rebel Without a Cause about him, with his shoulder length brown hair, backward baseball cap and white shirt under a flannel, like he didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him but was still so effortlessly attractive. Any other person with that look would have seemed a bit hickish, but he gave off more of a 90’s grunge rock look than hillbilly. He looked like a guy, if that made any sense.
He snapped his fingers at me impatiently. “I asked you a question,” he said.
I raised my camera. “I was taking some shots.”
“Yeah, well, you almost got another shot a second ago.”
“Pardon?”
He lifted a rifle briefly and then dropped it to his side. The way he flung it around without a care let me know he had obviously used it quite a bit and was very comfortable with the mechanics. That or he didn’t care if he accidentally shot me.
“I didn’t realize,” I apologized. “You hunting or something?”
“That’s what guns are usually used for.”
“Not always,” I said under my breath. The vegan in me hated that I was even discussing hunting.
“Yeah, well, for a second, I thought you were a deer.”
“A deer? Since when do people look like deer?”
“I don’t have time to make sure it’s not a person.”
“Kind of a reckless thought for a guy holding a gun, don’t you think?” I could already tell he found me troublesome.
“People aren’t usually meandering around the woods like it’s a playground. Most people know better than that.”
“I just don’t see how the woods are a dangerous place. Especially in the middle of the day.”
“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked in a low voice with squinted blue eyes. It was a question, but somehow it felt more like a judgment.
“What, do I reek of city?”
“A little, yeah.”
“Would it help if I rolled in the dirt a bit?”
He was stoic, his eyes still squinted, like he was trying to read a sentence on my forehead. “Do yourself a favor and stay the hell out of the woods.”
“There’s a lot of forest here. I don’t see why you can’t hunt innocent animals on the other end. This portion is my grandma’s, after all.” I didn’t mean to throw the innocent animal dig in, but knowing the gun he was holding had murdered probably dozens of animals made my stomach feel uneasy.
“Your grandma?”
“Wendy Nash.”
He bit his bottom lip to hide a growing smile that seemed to be at my expense. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.”
“What makes perfect sense?”
“You two being related.” I swear he almost laughed when he said it.
“That better be a compliment.”
“It’s an observation.”
I couldn’t get over the feeling that this guy was judging me. His short, clipped answers gave me no insight, and the only conclusion I came to was that he was making a joke at my expense. “I happen to think my grandma is awesome. There’s not many women her age who are still mobile enough to go to bingo every weekend.”
“No need to get defensive,” he responded with a chuckle. Again, not laughing with me, but instead, at me. At first, I thought he was kind of hot, but now he was getting on my nerves. He was reminding me of those kids who dared me to eat a pipe, and I had to remind myself it wasn’t him when I remembered that two of them ended up in jail, and another moved to Wisconsin and sells cheese for a living.
I heard a twig snap in the distance and I jerked my body around to look. “What was that?” I asked. I was convinced this guy and a giant grizzly bear were in cahoots and that’s why he was laughing at me.
“Probably an animal. You do realize this is a forest, right?”
Another twig snapped, followed by what seemed to be a person moaning. “Don’t tell me that was an animal as well,” I said. His light eyes narrowed as he looked beyond me. I was surprised he looked so intrigued. “Maybe I should go look.” Traipsing through the woods when I had no idea where I was going didn’t seem like the best idea, but I didn’t want to come off like a wuss. I didn’t expect that the second I went walking that this guy would follow me.
I didn’t have to travel far before I found the culprit of the noise, and boy was I taken back. There was this brown haired guy in dirty clothing tied up to one of the trees, moaning and groaning.
“Oh, my God,” I said and went rushing to his aid. My hands were on the ropes tugging to get him free when the man opened his eyes and peeked at me. He looked half awake. “I’ll get you out,” I promised.
“No, don’t,” he commanded to me.
I stopped, but was confused. “What?”
“I did this myself.”
“Huh?”
The rifle toting man approached, and as soon as the two men’s eyes met, the hunter laughed. “Oh, shit, it’s Hippie Joe.”
“Hippie Joe?” I asked. I felt completely out of the loop.
“It’s a stupid nickname,” the man tied to the tree said. “But I mostly go by Joe.”
“That’s nice that you want to get the introduction out of the way and everything, but what the heck are you doing tied up like this?” I asked.
“I can’t wait to hear this,” the hunter laughed.
Joe leered at him. “I did this to myself as a sign of protest.”
“I’m a little lost,” I admitted.
“Look around,” Joe began. “All these tree choppers are destroying the forest. This used to be a beautiful, thick forest, but now there are gaping holes in it. For what? None of it will be put to good use. On top of that, they’re destroying the homes of several animals. Just last week, I found an orphaned raccoon living under my porch. It looked too young to take care of itself.”
“Oh, man, don’t tell me that,” I pouted. Always hated stories like that.
“I tried to get a petition going so they couldn’t cut down trees here, but I couldn’t get enough signatures. Not enough people care.”
“That’s because it’s stupid,” the hunter said.
I sneered at him. “How is it stupid?”
“If they don’t cut down trees here, they’ll just do it somewhere else. It’s not saving anything. If people didn’t do this, we wouldn’t have homes to live in.”
“He doesn’t understand,” Joe stated to me calmly. “No one does.”
“I get where you’re coming from, Joe, I really do,” I said as I patted him on his tied up shoulder. “Not enough to glue myself to a tree, but enough to understand. Which reminds me... why are you tied up to a tree?”
“I’m rebelling. If I can’t save them all, I can at least save this tree.”
“They could just cut above you,” the hunter casually remarked.
“It’s symbolic, okay?”
“Does anyone know you’re out here?” I asked.
He shrugged slowly. “I’m not really sure. I tried to tell a couple people, but for the most part, they thought I wouldn’t go through with it. They said I’d have to be crazy.”
The man with the gun chortled.
Joe ignored him. “I left a message on my mother’s answering machine. But uh, I don’t know if she got it or not. We don’t, uh, talk much these days. She says I’m too eccentric.”
“Your own mom doesn’t pick up the phone?”
“She doesn’t approve of my lifestyle.”
“So, she just refuses to pick up the phone?”
“Last time she was at my house, she said it reeked because I don’t bathe enough. That my house smelled of sweat and Doritos. I’m just trying to save water.”
“Well, maybe you should call her up again. Your new sleeping arrangement seems very breezy. I’m sure the smell won’t bother her anymore,” I replied with a smile.
Joe grinned a weak smile. He looked pretty tired.
“If you’d like, I could spread the word for you,” I said optimistically.
Joe l
it up. “Could you? Oh, that’d be great.”
“No problem. It’s the least I could do.”
“I bet I can do less,” the hunter rudely joked.
I ignored him the same way Joe had been. “How long have you been out here?”
“A few days.”
That surprised me. “A few days? How have you been eating?”
“I packed a basket. The ropes are loose, so I can usually maneuver my hand around to grab one.”
“What about... you know, bathroom things?”
He looked down where I was standing. “I aim where I can.”
Repulsed, I said, “Oh...” and took a backward step out of the soft soil. I had figured the squishy nature of it was just the mixture of dew and mud. Oh, how wrong I had been.
Even he looked a bit disgusted. “Yeah...”
“Well, hey, you make do with what you got, right?”
“This is so stupid,” the hunter said with a loud cackle. He had his arm leaned against one of the trees like he had been watching our conversation like it were a comedy.
“Why is it stupid?” I asked, but didn’t really want an answer. “He’s standing up for what he believes in. The world could use more Hippie Joes, if you ask me.”
“Thanks,” Joe responded and then scratched an itch on his cheek with the surface of the rope.
“I’ll pass if you don’t mind,” the man said.
“Why are you even here then? Just to laugh?”
“Well, yeah.”
I put my hands on both hips, and at this point I was completely aware that I looked like my mother. “You know what? You’re... you’re rude.”
His mouth dropped open, and yes, it was obvious he was mocking me. “I don’t think anyone has ever cut so deep.” He grinned from ear to ear, and I kind of wanted to smack him.
“Do Joe and I a favor and leave, all right? I wouldn’t want to keep you from orphaning a family of bunnies or anything like that.” He smiled like he actually thought it was funny. Too bad I didn’t care.
“As you wish,” he said and tipped his hat. “Have fun wasting your time, Joe. I’m sure the nights out here are really pleasant.” And then he left.
“Wow, that guy is such an ass,” I said to Joe as I watched the man leave.
“It’s all right. I’m used to people thinking I’m crazy. Maybe I am a little.”
“He does have a point, though. How do you deal with nights out here? Isn’t that a little freaky?”
“It can be. Lots of noise. Half of which could be in my head. Then there is the whole sleeping standing up thing.”
“Oh, man, I never even thought about that. I’ve only fallen asleep once standing and that was in elementary school. We were waiting in line to drink from the fountain, and I passed out, and we kind of turned into a human version of dominoes. It wasn’t comfortable at all.”
“I’m getting used to it. I’m more worried about my rations, though. I’m running out of food.”
“If you want, I could bring you some tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re not far from where I’m staying, and honestly, you’re speaking to the vegetarian inside of me.”
Joe smiled. “Thanks.”
Joe was a bit of a weird character, and while I didn’t want to swap positions with him, I could at least appreciate his passion. We talked a little bit, but I insisted I had to get going and work on my grandma’s house. It was, after all, the reason I was here.
But I promised Joe I’d be back in the morning.
When I got home, there was a raven-haired man standing in Grandma’s driveway, pacing with his hands in his pockets and looking around the house like he were inspecting something. At first, I was going to call out and ask what exactly it was he was doing, but then I remembered; Owen. It must have been him waiting for me. God, how long had he been standing there?
As soon as I got close enough to the house for him to see me, he stopped pacing back and forth and stood very still, staring at me with his lips curled in politely. “Cora?” he asked, and used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. The sun was so bright, it made his blue eyes sparkle ridiculously. They almost didn’t even look real. I always envied people with eyes like that. Mine were just a normal shade of blue.
“You must be Owen,” I said as I approached.
“I knocked, but no one answered. Figured I’d wait for you out here.”
“Well, you do have dark hair. My grandma got that right at least.”
“Come again?”
“She’s a little dodgy on details these days. I half expected you to be a woman.”
Owen chuckled. “Well, all right then.”
“Wonder why Grandma didn’t answer the door.”
“Sounded like the TV was blaring pretty good.”
“That’s typical Grandma.”
“So, Wendy’s roof needs a few new tiles?”
“Among other things, yes. You any good at it? I used to help my dad growing up, but really, it was more me handing him the tools while he did all the work.”
“I do it all the time at my place. It gets moist living so deep in the woods, so things are always needing to be updated.”
We talked as we made our way to the yard and set everything up. He brought a big red toolbox and I told him where to find Grandma’s ladder, which was inside her barn that looked to be on the brink of expiration.
“So, where do you live?” I asked him.
“Not far. I have a little place with my sister, Molly.”
“Brother and sister roommates—you never hear that.”
He chuckled. “It’s not always easy, but we’re all each other has, you know? You have any siblings?”
“Nopers. No brothers, no sisters. Had a lot of cats and turtles, though. They make for better roommates, I’d imagine. Maybe not the turtle, though. He always left a weird smell.”
“Interesting,” he said, and I could tell he was humoring me and trying not to laugh. I forget how stupid I can come off to people who aren’t used to it. I tend to ramble.
We both climbed up the ladder and sat down on the roof. It was so hot out that the black tiles felt like lava against my bare legs. “Dang mustang, it’s hot out here.”
“Probably should have worn jeans like me.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m just not used to so much heat, so I get hot easily.”
“You’re from here, though, right?”
“The state, just not the area. All the bugs and sun is kind of daunting. I’m usually cooped up inside an office with the air conditioning going.”
“Oh, yeah? What do you do?”
“I’m a photographer.” I stopped myself. “Scratch that, I’m an aspiring photographer. Right now I’m just an assistant.”
“Do you take pictures?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re a photographer,” he said with a chuckle.
My heart swelled with joy. “Ah, see, that’s how I think, too. It’s just usually if I say I’m a photographer, people look at me like I should have my own exhibit opened or something.”
“Yeah, because that’s so easy, right?” he coyly teased.
“Exactly,” I responded with a huge smirk. “Keep reading my mind like this and I may not ever want to get off this roof.”
“We keep talking and not getting the roof fixed, you may get your wish.”
I clamped my teeth down on my lip. “Sorry. I can get chatty.”
“No, no, I was just teasing. It’s nice having someone to talk to. Someone new, that is. We’ve had the same people living here for the past decade. A few people will move here and then abruptly leave before you can convince them to stay. It gets boring.”
“People tear out of here pretty quick?”
“Yeah. This area can be a hard place to live with all the mosquitoes and animals.”
“That’s what Joe was saying.”
“Joe who?”
Every fiber of my being had to fight telling a
Joe Mama joke. “I didn’t catch his last name. Some guy out in the woods, real pro animal, tied to a tree and everything.”
“Seriously?”
“You know who I’m talking about?”
“I think I do. I didn’t know he was out tied to a tree.”
“He says it’s a statement about nature and the animals, since I guess they’ve been doing a lot of chopping down trees around here.”
“Yeah, they have. It’s obnoxious. I’m woken up way earlier than I’d like with saws running and guys shouting at each other.”
“They do it by your place?”
“It’s close enough to hear.”
“That sucks.”
“The Joe thing is still kind of crazy,” he said, refraining from a laugh.
“It is a little weird, yes, but I got his message. I liked it. Too many people stand by and let things they hate happen. At least he’s passionate.”
“It bothers me, too, believe it or not—what it’s doing to the animals. All the noise going on in the woods has really messed with them. I’ve been seeing more of them in my yard than usual.”
“It’d explain my trash this morning.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Some animal got into it. Must have been a big sucker, too, because it chomped down into a can and left these huge teeth marks. I keep thinking it’s a bear or something, but either way, I’m officially terrified to go out in the yard at night.”
“I think they’re more afraid of us than we are them.”
“You sure about that?”
“So, how much do I need to train you on fixing a roof?” he asked, abruptly changing the topic. He probably wanted to get working before sunset.
“Too much, unfortunately.”
“It’s no problem. Not like I had much to do anyways.”
“Not a lot of parties in these parts?”
He chuckled like I told the biggest joke ever. “I don’t even know the last time there’s been a party. Carnivals and benefits, sure, but no keggers.”
Lunar Rampage (Lunar Rampage Series Book 1) Page 3
