by Kelvin Teo
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
A Novel
Kelvin Teo
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, events, organizations and incidents are either part of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2020 Kelvin Teo
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without express written permission by the author.
Also by Kelvin Teo
After Sunset: Six Scary Short Stories
Dark Web
JANICE IS GONE
The Visitors Series
First Encounter
Humanity’s Bane
New Dawn
1
The stuffiness inside the van was beginning to take its toll. Four young travelers and every one of them beginning to feel their nerves being clawed at by some unseen force. The unseen force was Mother Nature teaming up with Blind Chance.
One hundred miles into the road trip, the air conditioner had stopped working and three of the travelers were looking squarely at the driver of the van.
Danny could feel the dagger stares of his passengers in the back of his head, but he knew they were too tired from the heat to actually kill him. That and the fact he was the driver and killing him might invite unwanted death on themselves.
The one saving grace was they were driving through the mountains and the temperature was in the low nineties. Better than the plains where they had come from.
The road was lined with trees on both sides, causing the sunlight to splash down on the road in spatters here and there.
"You know, my mom said this was a bad idea."
Danny looked in the rear view mirror and into the eyes of Lizzie. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open because of the sweat dripping down her face and the tissues had run out a long time ago..
"C’mon, Lizzie," said Danny, "this is an adventure. We all looked forward to this for months."
"Yes, it’s an adventure," said Clark, sitting in the front, passenger seat. "Just like crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the days of typhoid and storms that would send a ship to the bottom of the ocean."
"Or like the Donner party crossing the Sierras," said Ali with a grin.
Lizzie spoke up and said, "Well, the Donner party got trapped by snow, something I would welcome right about now.
‘Yes," said Clark, "and some of them didn’t go hungry."
"Ewww!" squealed Ali as she laughed and leaned on Lizzie.
"Oooo, don’t lean on me right now," cried Lizzie. "I’m all hot and sweaty!"
"Roll down the windows," said Danny. "Get that window conditioning going."
"I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, driver," said Clark, "but we have all the windows down right now."
"Oh hey!" squealed Ali, "There’s a convenience store. Let’s stop and get some cold drinks."
"I’ll bet the air conditioning is working in there," said Lizzie.
Danny checked the gas gauge and saw it was just under the half mark. He decided now was as good as any to fill up for the last leg of the journey.
Pulling into the pumps, he saw the place wasn’t too busy. Just one other vehicle at the pumps and it was a beat up pickup truck that looked at least forty years old. There was a young guy pumping the gas and another sitting in the truck, watching them as they pulled in.
Danny pulled to the last pump on the island and killed the engine.
"Okay, let’s not take too long, but ladies, go enjoy the cool air inside for a little bit."
Everyone piled out of the van and Lizzie and Ali snaked their arms through each other’s and headed for the front door of the store.
The guy pumping gas in the truck took a look at them as they walked away and gave a whistle. Ali turned and looked at him and did her best not to show her disdain for his hillbilly looks. Lizzie just jerked her arm and kept her on the path to the doors.
Clark climbed out of the van and was stretching his legs and making sure the guy saw him. Clark still had his football body, the kind of body that came in handy when he was protecting Danny in the pocket. It even came in handy when the ball was handed to him and he had to crash the line.
Danny wasn’t a little guy either. You didn’t get to be the quarterback of a state winning football team by being small or weak. As he looked for the credit card slot to pay for gas, he realized he was going to have to go into the store to pay.
"I’ll be right back," he said to Clark. "Hey, want something to drink?"
"Sure, I’ll take a couple of Cokes."
"Got it," said Danny as he headed for the store.
Picking up a hand basket, he found the girls near the soda refrigerators and standing in front of them with the doors open. Lizzie was waving the cool air from the units over her face and Danny could see she was flushed red.
"Don’t soak up all the cool air," he said. "I picked up a couple of boxes of tissues for you ladies."
"Our hero," said Ali with a giggle.
After pulling six cans of soda from the refrigerator, he turned and headed to the snacks aisle. Stocking up on some cookies and crackers, he headed for the register. As he walked to the front, he saw Clark come in.
"Hey, let me carry that," said Clark, taking the basket from him.
Danny looked out the window toward the van. The truck was still sitting on the other side of the island and he could see the guy sitting in the passenger seat, but he couldn’t see the one pumping the gas.
"Can I help you?"
Danny snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the old guy behind the counter, as Clark set the basket down.
"Yes, these things and I need to fill up on one."
"That’s a pretty sweet bow you have up there," said Clark.
Danny looked up to what he was looking at and saw a compound bow hanging on the wall behind the counter. There was a quiver with a couple dozen arrows hung on the wall with the bow.
"Yeah, it is," said the guy behind the counter. "Do you shoot?"
"I do. I have a nice Bear at home."
"Good bow. A little big for me. I prefer my Hoyt, though."
The girls had come to the front with their goodies and we heard Ali say, "Boys and their toys."
Danny laughed as the guy began ringing up the stuff in the basket and then said, "I need to keep the credit card here until the gas is pumped."
"Sure thing," said Danny as he looked at Clark. His fullback shrugged and leaned up against the counter, letting Danny know he wasn’t going to leave the counter until they had the credit card back in their possession. Of course, it would give him more time to talk bows and arrows with the guy.
Danny picked up the bag and headed for the door as the girls came to the front with their own purchases. As he was walking to the van, he heard the guy in the truck whistle and he saw the other guy come out from behind the van and step over the island.
"Can I help you guys?" asked Danny as he set the bag in on the passenger seat.
"Naw," said the guy in the truck. "We’re just admirin’ your wheels. That’s a pretty slick rig you got there."
His mountain drawl was as thick as the humidity in the air.
"Thanks, but not slick enough. Air went out about a hundred miles ago," he said as he pulled the nozzle from the pump and set it to filling the tank.
"Not nearly as slick as them hotties you got, though," said the other guy as he climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck.
Danny looked through the open window at him and saw a grin he couldn’t begin to find friendly.
"Yepper," said the driver, "you might wan
t to keep a close eye on them around these parts."
"And why’s that?" asked Danny.
The passenger said, "Around here, girls like that go missing all the time."
The driver laughed as he fired up the engine and it made one hell of a loud sound as he slipped it into gear and they rolled out. Danny just watched them go, wondering if he had any reason to be concerned.
"Whatcha lookin’ at?" asked Lizzie as she and Ali walked up behind him.
"Oh, nothing," he said as the pump clicked off.
After he put the nozzle back in the holder, he looked at the receding truck and felt a gnawing at the back of his brain, but couldn’t put it into words.
"You two stay close to each other and watch out," he said as he started back toward the store.
"Oooo, mysterious," he heard Ali giggle.
When he stepped into the cool air of the store, his concerns evaporated as he felt the refreshing breeze on his face.
"What was that about?" asked Clark, as he motioned toward the truck that was now about a mile down the road.
"Nothing. Just a couple of guys with very few manners."
"Them’s the Morgan boys," said the guy behind the counter. "Best to stay the hell away from them." Then he rang up the gas and handed the card back to Danny and he and Clark headed out of the store.
After getting situated back in their seats, Danny turned the van around and headed down the road.
In the same direction the Morgan boys had gone.
"You think they were being a bit scary, huh?"
Danny looked at Clark and just gave a small nod.
"Well, that’s okay," said Clark. "Me and Delilah got this."
"You didn’t!"
"Damn right I did," said Clark as he lifted his left leg and pulled up the leg of his jeans, revealing a large hunting knife strapped to his lower leg.
"You do realize that’s quite illegal to be carrying that thing," said Danny.
"What’s he carrying?" asked Lizzie. "A gun?"
"Relax, Liz" said Ali, "it’s just a macho, testosterone trip playing out in his head. He has a knife."
"If we get attacked by a grizzly, you’ll be happy I brought it."
"There ain’t no grizzlies in this part of the country," said Danny.
"Well, there’s black bears and brown bears."
"The only bears I’m worried about are the smokies that wear funny hats and have badges and guns."
"Been watching too many Rambo movies again, Clark?" asked Lizzie.
"Hey, I’ll have you know those are fine movies about survival in the wilderness."
Lizzie and Ali giggled and began popping the tops on some sodas.
"Just please, keep that thing hidden," said Danny. "I don’t want to have to call your mama to come bail you out of jail."
"Don’t bother. She’d let me sit there. Her idiot boyfriend would, too."
Silence took over as everyone knew a subject had been breached that caused a bit of pain for him. It was well known Clark’s mom had taken up with an abusive alcoholic. She ended up getting the short end of his temper and every now and then, it got turned on Clark. Though Clark was a big boy, he still came up short when dealing with him.
The silence lasted for another five minutes before it was broken by the sound of the engine beginning to cough and sputter. Danny looked down at the gauges and saw the temperature was pegged to the right.
"What the hell?"
The van began to lurch and buck as Danny pulled it to the side of the road.
"Now what?" asked Lizzie.
"Don’t know, Liz. We’ve overheated, but this shouldn’t be happening. The van is in good condition and should be running fine."
"Yeah, like the air conditioner?" asked Ali.
"Hey, air conditioners are one thing. The engine is another," said Danny as he unbuckled and opened the door.
Stepping around the front of the van, he lifted the hood and was met with a cloud of steam. He had to step back to keep from getting it in his eyes.
Clark stepped up and looked under the hood.
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"What?" asked Danny as he leaned over to see what Clark was looking at.
About halfway down the front of the radiator, there was a jagged piece of metal sticking out. Water was dripping out from around it and steam boiled out like an angry snake.
"Aw shit!"
Clark looked at it and said, "Must have been kicked up from the road or something."
"I don’t know, Clark. It’s in front of the wheels and we haven’t passed anyone that would have kicked it up."
"Well, what do we do?"
"We call the insurance company. I have a tow package in case of road emergencies."
Danny walked around to the passenger side of the van and looked at the girls.
"You two might want to get out. We’re going to be awhile. It’s probably cooler under the trees."
They slid the back door open and climbed out. They walked around to the front and saw Clark reaching down in front of the engine. When he pulled his hand out, he held a piece of metal about three inches long and just about rusted all the way through.
"Ladies, meet the POS that just put a stop to our trip."
"Charming," said Ali, as she turned and headed across the small swale to the trees. Lizzie followed her and they took up seats on a fallen log.
"So, what do you think?" asked Clark.
"There’s not much to think. I’m going to call my insurance company and have them send a tow truck."
"How far are we from the cabin?"
"Oh hell, we’re at least a hundred miles from there. I hate to say it, but we ain’t sleeping there tonight."
They looked over at the two girls, sitting on the log and fanning themselves. A light breeze started to filter through the trees, giving them some welcome relief from the heat.
Danny climbed back into the van and pulled the phone from its holder. When he pressed the button and it lit up, he was relieved to see he had a full battery. What he wasn’t so relieved to see was the lack of bars. He had almost no signal at all.
He fished around in the glove box for the insurance papers and climbed back out and walked over to the log. Sitting down next to Lizzie, he started reading through the papers, looking for the roadside service number. After finding it, he tried to call, but all he got was a message there was no service in the area.
"I’ve got no signal here. How about any of you?"
The other three checked their phones and said the same thing.
"I have one bar," said Lizzie.
"Well, that’s one more bar than I have," said Danny holding out his hand for her phone.
He tried dialing the number, but the call still wouldn’t go through.
"This isn’t going to work," he said, handing the phone back to Lizzie.
He stood up and looked down the road in both directions. There were no cars in sight and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen another car.
"How far back was that gas station?" he asked.
Clark said, "Not sure, maybe five miles."
"Alright, I hate to say it, but I’m going to start heading back there. Should take me less than an hour to get there and make a call."
He turned and looked at the three of them. He didn’t want to ask it, but he was hoping one of them would volunteer to walk with him.
Lizzie did not disappoint.
"I’ll go with you," she said. "I don’t really care to just sit here and wait."
"Okay," said Danny, as he walked over to the van and pulled the ice chest out. He hauled it over and set it down behind the log, in the shade.
"Can’t leave that in the van or the ice will melt in an hour or so. You two will have something cold to drink while we’re gone."
He and Lizzie pulled a couple of cold waters out of the chest and looked up the road.
"Shall we?"
"Yes, we shall," said Lizzie.
As they
turned and started walking, Lizzie looked over her shoulder and said, "Don’t you two get into any trouble now."
"Oh, you’re hilarious," said Clark.
Within five minutes, the two of them had disappeared up the road.
As Lizzie took another long drink of water, Danny cautioned her against drinking it all at once. They had a ways to go and she didn’t want to run out of water before they got even halfway there.
"So, not exactly the road trip you were promised, is it?" asked Danny.
Lizzie giggled and said, "Hey, if nothing else, we’ll be able to laugh about this by this time next week."
"You always seem to find the good in situations."
"Well, Danny, it is what it is. We’re having car troubles. Something many others have had before and many others will have in the future. I’m sure it won’t be the only time you or I will be faced with something like this. We might as well use it as a learning experience."
"And what should we be taking from this experience, oh great, wise one?"
Lizzie laughed again and Danny realized how much he liked hearing her laugh.
"We should learn that no matter how bad it seems right now, at this moment, it’s not the end of the world. We will get this problem taken care of and we will go on with our lives."
"It might put an end to our little road trip."
"Doesn’t matter," she said. "As long as we’re safe and able to carry on after this, we’ll be fine."
The conversation lagged after that. Danny was racking his brain, trying to figure out something to say to her, but he was drawing a blank. It was no secret he was looking to get to know her better, but he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. He might have been the star quarterback that led his team to state last year, but when it came to women, he was a complete rookie.
It took just an hour before the convenience store came into sight and immediately they could see there was going to be a problem.
There was a closed sign in the window and the doors were locked. Danny knocked on the doors, trying to see if there was anyone inside, but the lights were out and it looked like the place was closed for the rest of the day.
"It’s only two in the afternoon," said Lizzie. "I wonder why they would be closed so early?"
