Backcountry

by Pamela Beason

  Sam had read about Muslims issuing death threats to those who left the religion, but she didn’t know if those threats were ever actually carried out. She’d read about escapees from other fundamental religions who feared for their lives, too. If the threat was real, Olivia’s bravery was nothing less than astounding. Whether Olivia wanted to quit being Muslim because it was just too hard in the United States or because she had become a nonbeliever, it took guts to announce that decision. It would take even more courage to carry it out.

  The poor girl was still quaking despite the warmth of the afternoon sun, but she was also standing her ground. Sam wanted to go to her and wrap her in a hug, but that would interrupt this battle of wills.

  Mr. Bari’s gaze bounced around the clusters of parents seated in a semicircle around him. Most of the other adults in attendance focused their attention elsewhere, probably praying that their kids wouldn’t ever act out in public like this. By the time his focus landed on his daughter again, his face was mottled with purple. Sam expected steam to emerge from his ears and nostrils at any second. “Olivia, do you respect your parents? This is dangerous for us, too.”

  Raising her head again, Olivia looked him in the eye. “I know that, Papi. And that’s why, until I go away, I agree to act and dress Muslim, as long as you agree to let me go after I graduate from high school.”

  After a silent tense staring match that seemed to go on for an hour, Mr. Bari dipped his chin, and then held out his hand toward his daughter. Olivia didn’t take the hand, but sat down beside him, wilting now after her bold request. Had the Baris agreed to Olivia’s contract? Sam couldn’t tell.

  Ashley Brown leapt up from her chair, then turned and embraced Justin, the last teen remaining in the crew section.

  Justin hugged her back. “Go, Sparky. Give ‘em hell.”

  Ashley strode over to her mother. Sam’s expectations had been thrown off-kilter when Olivia provided the shocker of the day, but Ashley quickly tossed her own emotional hand grenade into the mix. “Mom, you know that I was molested when I was six.”

  Mrs. Brown’s hand flew to her mouth, and she glanced right and left. Then she pulled her hand away and sat up straight, gripping the sides of her seat. “Your father was such a sleazebag. I should never have let you visit him at all.”

  Ashley pointed at her mother, stabbing her finger in the air. “You know it wasn’t him. It was his friend Henry. Dad got rid of him as soon as he found out.”

  Mrs. Brown argued, “But he let it happen. And he never said anything.”

  “You let it happen, too,” Ashley confronted her. “And you never said anything. And you never let me talk about it!”

  Mrs. Brown covered her face with her hands and exhaled loudly into them, then lowered them to her lap. “What good would that do? You were just a little girl; you didn’t understand what it would mean.”

  Ashley crossed her arms and shifted her right foot sideways, widening her stance. “That’s where my college fund came from, didn’t it? Henry. I know Grandpa didn’t have the money to leave me a huge amount like that.”

  Her mother huffed out a breath. “Do we have to talk about this now?”

  “Yes!” Ashley insisted, thrusting her chin forward for emphasis. “Here’s the deal, mom. You’re going to let me see Dad whenever I want to; I’m grown up now and I can protect myself. And you’re going to stop saying all those horrible things about him in front of me. I’ll stay home and I’ll finish high school or at least get my GED. And then I want to join the military.”

  “The military? Where is this coming from?” Mrs. Brown glared at Troy, and then her angry glance fell on Sam.

  So did everyone else’s.

  Sam was glad she’d washed her face, tied a kerchief around her battle-scarred throat, and slapped some makeup over the bruise on her cheek. She could have told Ashley’s mother that her daughter’s field guide was just as surprised as she was. There had been no discussion of military service on her watch. Counselor Berg was so right when he’d said that all these kids kept secrets.

  Ashley continued, “Probably the Navy or the Air Force. But maybe I want to be a Marine. And you’ll save that money for me until I want to use it. For whatever I want to use it for.”

  Mrs. Brown leaned against the chair back and folded her arms. “Oh, Ashley—”

  Ashley wasn’t giving her mother an inch. “Do you agree, Mom?”

  Mrs. Brown’s cheeks puffed as she blew out a long breath, considering.

  “Do you agree, Mom?”

  Finally Mrs. Brown said, “As long as you stay home and stop the drugs, and finish high school or get your GED.”

  Ashley concluded the bargain. “Then we have a contract.” Stepping forward, she held out her hand.

  Her mother shook it, and then Ashley told her, “And by the way, I love you, Mom.” She bent forward to give her mother a quick hug, and then slid into the chair by her side.

  Sam could finally breathe again.

  “Okay.” Justin stood up, rubbing his hands together.

  “Good luck, Justice.” Sam patted the boy’s forearm.

  He approached his grandparents, and then shook his hands out, flexed his fingers, and squared his shoulders. Emulating Ashley, he positioned himself straddle-legged in front of his guardians. “Here goes.”

  He took a breath. “I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time about coming to this thing, Gran and Pop, because I really loved it out there. I made Navigator.”

  He pulled the necklace away from his chest and bent close to show them. “Turns out I’m a natural leader.”

  His grandparents beamed. Mrs. Orlov put a hand on her husband’s arm. “We’re proud of you,” she said. “But what happened to your head?”

  “It’s not important. I’m fine. Don’t distract me.” Justin straightened. “Like I was saying, for the next year, I’m going to focus on leading instead of fighting. There’s this anti-bullying group at school; it’s called STOP. I’m going to join it. As a matter of fact, I’m going to lead it because I have better ideas than they do.”

  Sam stifled a laugh at the incongruity of Justin bullying his way into the anti-bullying group. But she knew he was sincere and as he’d said, he’d learned to be strong with others, not against them.

  His grandfather could not have been more pleased. “Wow. I’m impressed, Son.”

  Justin wasn’t done. “But to be honest, I think I’m going to miss fighting.”

  The joy on his grandparents’ faces melted a little.

  Justin turned to glance at David Berg. The counselor dipped his chin, and some sort of signal passed between him and the boy.

  Justin faced his grandparents again. “So I want to do karate or boxing or something competitive like that.”

  Mrs. Orlov’s expression lifted again. “Karate sounds good. I bet you’ll be good at that.”

  “And maybe if I have time, I could get a part-time job doing construction or landscaping or something like that, because, as you know, I’m super strong. And you know how they’re going to make a community garden on that lot down the street? I think it would be sweet to work on that. I’d like to grow things. Could you help me with that?”

  Mr. Orlov leapt up and wrapped his arms around the big kid, ducking his balding head beneath his grandson’s chin. “That sounds fantastic, Justin.”

  Sam couldn’t listen to the concluding remarks from Troy. She was too busy trying to keep tears from welling up. Although she was glad to be relieved of the responsibility, she was going to miss these kids.

  Now she understood how much Wilderness Quest had meant to Kim and Kyla. She hadn’t helped find their murderer, but she had at least helped keep their dream afloat for a little while.

  She was collecting her car keys, ready to go home and sop up a few glasses of wine to recover from the day’s emotional roller coaster, when Troy informed her that her duties weren’t quite over yet.

  “We always let the kids say goodbye,” he told her. “Wait in t
he break room.”

  Sam drew a cup of water from the tap dispenser, trying to relax her face back into a neutral expression. When she turned to grab a paper towel, she was confronted with the photo of Kim and Kyla on the wall. Today, a bouquet of sunflowers was positioned beneath it. Phrases like Miss you! and We’ll never forget were scrawled in a variety of ink colors across a sheet of paper taped to the countertop.

  She gulped.

  Aidan came in first to shake her hand. “You’re a natural field guide, Sam. I’m honored to work with you.”

  “You were really good with the kids, Aidan.”

  He pulled back and ducked his whisker-stubbled chin to meet her eyes. “But you weren’t too sure of me, were you?”

  She took a sip of water before answering. She still wasn’t convinced he’d told the truth about his relationship with Kyla or Eric Heigler, but she’d leave the final decision on that up to law enforcement. “To be honest, I didn’t know what to think, with the drugs and all.”

  “To be honest,” he mimicked her words, “the thought of keeping them for myself did cross my mind.”

  She stared into his blue eyes.

  “But only briefly,” he quickly added. “I knew they were worth thousands. But then I tried to think about how I could sell them, and I couldn’t come up with any strategy that wouldn’t land me in prison or get me killed.” He grinned. “Thank God I came to my senses.”

  “Thank God,” she echoed. She suspected he would have made a different decision if she hadn’t discovered the drugs in his pack.

  “I’m going back up with the rangers now to show them where the rest of the stash is hidden.”

  “That’s good.” Troy must have arranged this while the company van was driving her group back to town.

  “The crew kids will come in now, to say goodbye before their final counseling sessions.” Aidan turned on his heel to leave, then stopped as he caught sight of the memorial. Turning back, he stared at the photo for a long moment, then raised his right hand and gave Kim and Kyla a final salute before heading out the door.

  Sam expected the kids to enter en masse, but instead each came in individually, closing the door to say a private goodbye.

  Taylor hunched over to give her a hug, making her feel like a dwarf. “Thanks, Cap’n,” the girl said to the top of Sam’s head.

  As they separated, Sam held Taylor’s hand long enough to say, “Don’t ever forget that you’re beautiful, no matter what you choose to do.”

  Taylor’s eyes shone. “You too, Sam.”

  Olivia entered next. Since the teen was only a couple of inches taller than Sam, their hug felt more natural. “Thanks for taking me out there, making me into a wild Martini. Who knew I could fly over ropes and rappel down mountains?”

  Sam laughed. “The Martini bit was all Justin. And the wild part, well, you always had that in you.”

  “I camped with a bear.”

  “Yes, you did, Olivia.”

  “And thanks for...you know...” Olivia sucked in a breath. “For giving me a second chance yesterday. I didn’t deserve it.”

  “We all believed you did, Olivia. Stay strong.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Justin grabbed Sam in a bear hug that threatened to crack her ribs. “Gex! I don’t want this to end! Gex, lurik! What was the other one?”

  “Meekam. And don’t forget the rampaging onu.”

  “Never. Or the goats, or the bear, or the whiskey jacks eating out of my hand. The lion looking in the window—nobody’s ever gonna believe that! And that termigen.”

  “Ptarmigan. Justin, all those things are still out there for you. California has a lot of wild places.”

  His expression was doubtful. “I don’t think my regular friends are gonna go for that.”

  “Then ditch them. Look at all the new friends you made in the last three weeks.”

  “Yeah.” His tone was questioning, as if the idea had not occurred to him before.

  “How’s your head, Justin?”

  “Hard,” he answered. And then his lips spread in a grin.

  “Your probation officer will get a complimentary report from me,” she told him. “And I think David Berg will put in a good word for you, too.”

  “Sweet,” he said. “Thanks.”

  “Everyone deserves a second chance. But the future depends on you, Justin.”

  His face clouded over again.

  “Find an outdoor club to join, Dragon Man,” she suggested. “You could start with the Sierra Club; they have branches almost everywhere. They can always use extra muscle to help maintain trails.”

  He brightened. “Sierra Club. Sweet, I’ll do that.” He held up a fist. “Wish me luck.”

  She bumped his fist with her own. “You’ll make your own good luck from now on, Justice.”

  Gabriel’s face was tanned and weathered instead of doughy now. And when she hugged the boy, she felt muscles and even a rib or two.

  “You’ve turned into a he-man, Gabe,” she told him.

  “I stepped on the scale in the changing room. I lost twenty-six pounds out there!” he whispered in her ear. She guessed he didn’t consider it masculine to talk about weight. “Thanks for all that lurik food.”

  She snorted. “It was pretty bad most of the time, wasn’t it?”

  “No, seriously, thanks for the adventure, Cap’n Sam. I’ve never been on a real one before.”

  “You can have all the real adventures you want to, Gabriel,” she reminded him. “But you can’t have a single one at home in your room.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I get that. I’m still going to level thirteen on Vebulaze, but I’m not going to play games so much anymore. I’m going to invent them.”

  “A worthwhile goal, Mister Lizard.” She hugged him again. “You have the smarts and the creative talent, and with some more education, I know you’ll do it.”

  He turned to go out, tossing “Just watch me!” over his shoulder before he left the room.

  Nick was dressed in the clothes he arrived in, the too-big green plaid shirt. As he raised his arms to hug her, she noticed again the piece of red thread dangling from the spot where a button should be. That missing button seemed so sad. Not only did Tom Lewis never bother to learn his son’s true size, apparently nobody in the family knew how to replace a button, either. But the remaining buttons looked like mother-of-pearl instead of the usual plastic imitations, so maybe they were hard to match.

  The boy’s face was dark with emotion as well as bruises, and he seemed speechless, his gaze shifting from her face to the tile floor and then back again.

  “I really enjoyed having you in my crew, Nick.” She held out her arms, and he stepped in for a hug. “You contributed so much, and we all loved your art. No matter what your dad says, you don’t need to ‘man up.’ You’re perfect just as you are.”

  “Thanks.” He mumbled so softly she barely heard the word. As Nick stepped back, his eyes were shiny with tears. While he tried to compose himself, his gaze darted around the room, stopping on the photo of Kim and Kyla.

  His whole body went rigid. He leveled his index finger at the photo. His voice was little more than a whisper when he asked, “Did you know them?”

  Nick lived in the same county where her friends had been murdered. He had no doubt heard the story of the murders and probably seen photos of Kim and Kyla in the paper and on television.

  “They were my friends,” she said. “They both used to work here.”

  “Really?” His Adam’s apple slid up and down his skinny throat. “I didn’t know...”

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We didn’t want to remind anyone.”

  He pressed his lips together, nodded, swallowed again, then quickly trotted out of the room.

  Poor kid. The world was not kind to sensitive boys. Sam closed her eyes and took several deep slow breaths, trying to compose herself.

  When Ashley appeared, tears streaking her newly applied mascara down
her cheeks, Sam clamped her jaws together to keep from bursting into tears herself. How had Kyla done this over and over again?

  “I learned so much from you,” Ashley said into Sam’s neck, her arms clasped tightly around her. “You just kept going, no matter what. You kept pointing out all the good things, you just kept teaching us. And that human chain! We totally rescued Nick and Olivia.”

  “We did. All of us, working together.” Sam still had a sore shoulder and bruises at her waistline to remind her.

  “Like Nike says, just do it. And you do. You just do it.”

  Sam hugged the girl back. She didn’t know exactly what Ashley was trying to say, but it sounded like high praise.

  “Ash.” She peered into the girl’s tear-filled eyes. “You are one of the strongest women I’ve ever met. I mean that. Just figure out where you really want to go. Set your sights on that, and you will get there.”

  “I think maybe I can now.” With a final quick hug, Ashley sniffled her way out the door.

  Sam grabbed a tissue from a box on the desk to wipe her eyes. She was blowing her nose on it when Maya stepped in, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

  “Oh God, not you, too.” Sam groaned.

  Maya gave her an exasperated look. “You and Kyla.” Her gaze slid to the photo on the wall and then back to Sam’s face. “Peas in the soup.”

  Sam nearly choked, making a strangling noise halfway between a sob and a chuckle. After clearing her throat, she said, “Peas in a pod, you mean.”

  “What’s the diff? What do you mean, ‘not me too’?”

  “Coming to say goodbye. I don’t think I can take any more.”

  “Good thing.” Maya cocked out her hip and put her hand on it. “Because I just wanted a ride home.”

  Oh, yeah. The staff house would be closed now after the last expedition of the year, and Maya’s tent was still in Sam’s back yard. Sam picked up her own duffel. “C’mon.”

  As they left the break room, Sam spotted Troy in his office, talking to a woman seated with her back to the door. Dark hair was knotted at the nape of her neck. Detective Greene?

  Troy spotted Sam through the open doorway, and he and Greene both paused to turn and nod in her direction. Sam changed course, eager to unload on the detective all the details from last night. Troy rose from his chair to shut the door between them, ending any possibility of her joining the conversation.