by Asher Ellis
“I guess I’ll try a little piece.”
Sam’s gaze sprung from the floor and met hers, sending another surge of electricity down her spine and into every limb.
“Check out Leigh going for it!” Marshall teased. “Most adventurous thing we’ve seen you do this whole trip.”
Leigh rolled her eyes and accepted the dried chunk of meat from Sam. The strip appeared harmless enough, a rich brown color that gave off a distinctively smoky, gamey fragrance. While the rest of the gang watched, Leigh took a timid nibble off the tip of the piece.
It took only three chews for her to decide the jerky was absolutely delicious.
“Wow!” she remarked. “Sam, you weren’t kidding. This is really delicious.”
Sam chuckled, most likely surprised by such a strong reaction. In any other case, Leigh would’ve worried her comments were coming off as blatant flattery, but she just couldn’t help it now. It really was that good.
“You guys should really try this,” Leigh urged. “It’s probably the best jerky you’ll ever taste.”
“We said we’re good,” Rob shot back, speaking for everyone.
“Whatever.” Leigh reached into the bag for another, larger piece. “Your loss.”
A pothole sent a violent tremor through the van, jostling the jerky strip from Leigh’s fingers. The jerky landed on the sliver of vinyl seat between her and Sam, and they both reached for the meat at the same time.
Their fingers connected for a moment. Leigh froze.
She looked up to find Sam doing the same, and their eyes locked in a shared moment of stillness. His touch was delightfully warm, several degrees above her own chilled, air conditioning-exposed digits. She tried to say “sorry,” or “excuse me,” but found herself taking a deep breath and swallowing her words.
Sam removed his fingers from Leigh’s and offered the “excuse me” that Leigh hadn’t been able to. She could only shrug as if to say, “Don’t worry about it,” and brought the piece of jerky to her mouth. Mercifully, it seemed no one else in the van had witnessed their moment, and for that, Leigh was grateful.
The van continued along the winding dirt road that gradually straightened the farther along they traveled. Once the turns had ceased altogether and the road became a long, flat lane, Rob pushed his foot down on the pedal hard enough for their speed to reach sixty-five miles per hour.
“Slow down,” Eliza ordered her boyfriend. “Just because it’s straight doesn’t mean you have to turn this into a drag race.”
“We’re making good time. I want to get to that trail already.”
“But we’ve already almost mowed down one person today. Are you going for two? Slow down!”
Leigh tuned out and concentrated on the scenery whipping by her window. It offered little variety: just trees, rocks, and bushes. She would’ve much rather been chatting with Sam and getting to know him better, but damn her incompetent brain, she just couldn’t think of a topic that didn’t seem forced or trite.
What about this weather? No way.
So, how do you like college? Yuck. It was a generic question she herself was sick of getting from about every member in her family tree.
It also didn’t help that every other passenger in the van could eavesdrop to their heart’s desire. At a loss, Leigh kept her eyes trained on the window.
Just as the monotony of the identical trunks and shrubs began to put her to sleep, a large square object emerged from the greenery. Leigh leaned closer to her window, squinting to make out the words on the faded billboard coming into view.
Its paint was washed out almost to the point of transparency. Unlike the modern advertisements Leigh had seen looming over the roads just outside of Montreal, this sign had obviously been standing here for many years. But even against its weather-ravaged wood, the billboard’s cracked lettering was still legible.
Eat at the Spruce Moose Diner! Just two miles past the sawmill in Embry, VT!
The text was accompanied by a painting of a waitress who strongly resembled Lucille Ball. She stood in front of the illustration of the mill with a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast held above her head. Three burly men in flannel shirts and suspenders gathered around her. Though she was sure the men were supposed to be attracted to the tantalizing breakfast, Leigh couldn’t ignore an unfamiliar cold feeling that crept into her gut as she watched the billboard fly by.
Three men approaching a lone woman from behind. Surrounding her.
Hungry men.
“Hey!”
Lost in this strange reverie, Leigh jumped when Sam shouted over Marshall’s mix CD blasting on the van’s stereo.
“You better slow down a little,” he called up to Rob. “The trail’s right up here.”
Rob leaned forward in his seat, squinting through the windshield. “I don’t see anything.”
“Just do what he says,” Eliza said with a sigh, not bothering to open her eyes as she leaned her head against her window.
“See that white birch tree coming up on your right?” Sam pointed, though there was no way Rob could see the gesture. “That marks the opening.”
Leigh leaned to look out past the dashboard and saw the landmark that Sam was pointing out. In the midst of a thick group of grayish-brown tree trunks, there was no way anyone could miss the white, papery bark of the birch.
“Yeah, okay,” Rob muttered, pulling the van to the side of the road. “I see it now.”
To Rob’s credit, the van stopped perfectly in line with the tree. Alex pulled the sliding door open and there it was: an unmarked but clearly identifiable path.
“Last stop,” Rob said, mimicking a public bus driver. “Everybody out.” He then turned around to Marshall and added, “Except for you, buddy. Your shift’s just beginning.”
“And mine.” Alex swung a slender arm around Marshall’s neck. “I wouldn’t abandon my man.”
Eliza opened her door and lifted up the bag of pot, shaking it tauntingly. “Not even for this?”
“On second thought…” Alex giggled. “But seriously, you guys better go before I change my mind.”
Among the discarded Jimmy Dean wrappers that had been that morning’s gas station breakfast, Leigh found a couple bottles of water and a few choice snacks. She loaded all the supplies into her backpack, but Sam insisted he carry the load. Rob, too, carried a pack, but his willingness to heft some weight was not a chivalrous gesture: his pack only contained the precious weed, a prize he demanded be kept securely on his own person.
Marshall climbed in behind the wheel and slammed the door. Leigh couldn’t help but notice the aggression behind the action.
“So I just keep going straight on this?” he asked Sam.
“Yup. Just look for Miller’s Road. That’ll take you right to the border patrol. Once you get past them, just keep goin’ till you see an old collapsed farmhouse. The trail comes out just past that.”
Alex, who had moved into the front seat, playfully jabbed an elbow into her boyfriend’s side. “Think you can handle that?”
“I think I got it,” he said flatly.
Sam continued, “You’ll most likely beat us there, so you’ll probably have to wait a little while.”
“Yeah,” Rob said, jiggling his backpack, “we might take a little break.”
Marshall grimaced. “You better not smoke any more than your share.”
“Of course I won’t.”
Leigh knew Marshall had every reason to be concerned, and judging by his furrowed brow, she was pretty sure he didn’t believe Rob, either.
Eliza walked over and leaned on the driver’s side mirror. “I thought you were supposed to get paranoid after you smoke, not before.”
“I’m serious.” Marshall’s eyes matched his words, which had taken on an uncharacteristically edgy tone. “If half that bag is gone by the time we meet up, I’ll be fuckin’ pissed. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, dude,” said Rob. “We’re just going to have a tiny toke to make the hike a littl
e more tolerable, that’s all. I promise.”
Marshall turned his attention to Eliza. “Do me a favor? Make sure he keeps his word.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I will. We’ll save the real party for when we get home. But for now, we’ll have just a little sample to pass the time.” Eliza blew the couple in the van a kiss. “Bye, kiddies! Enjoy your air conditioning. I know I’ll be missing it in like two minutes. This bag is the only reason I’m not going with you guys.”
“How about you, Leigh?”
Her name snapped Leigh’s attention away from her nervous examination of the looming forest. She turned to see Rob shooting her a malicious grin.
“Is that your reason, too?”
Leigh decided to ignore the question, refusing to give Rob the satisfaction. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Leigh had no interest in marijuana or any other drug. Still, she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks at Rob’s comment. Leigh couldn’t deny that she chose to accompany the trio through the woods just to spend some more time with Sam.
“Okay, guys,” Alex said, buckling her seatbelt. “We’re gonna get moving. See you in a bit.”
Marshall leaned his head out and gave his best patronizing grin. “Enjoy your scenic nature walk!”
With that, the van was gone, tires spinning up pebbles as it disappeared into a cloud of dust.
Sam spun from the entrance of the trail to address the group. “Everyone ready?”
Leigh shrugged. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”
“All right, then. Let’s do it.”
They had just entered the trees, taking no more than three steps down the dirt path, when Eliza asked timidly, “There’s nothing in these woods we should be concerned about, right?”
Rob slapped his forearm, grumbling, “Besides these mosquitoes?”
“I meant is there anything dangerous.”
Sam, who led the line of four marching through the trees, stopped to look back at Eliza. “These woods? Heck, no. It’s as safe as your own backyard.”
The answer seemed good enough for Eliza, who nodded and continued on her way. Sam gave Leigh a reassuring smile before returning his attention to the uneven trail.
Leigh stared at the Major League Baseball emblem sewn into the back of Sam’s cap as they trudged along. The part of her that had been hesitant about choosing not to go with Alex and Marshall in the van—the part that couldn’t ignore the luxuries of a comfortable Rob-less ride—had completely dissipated. And all it took was one smile from a handsome guy.
Is that how easy you are? asked Leigh’s critical inner voice. Is that all it takes for you to lose your head and make a poor decision? Maybe you’re not as different from Alex as you thought.
But then, instead of feeling yet another pang of regret, Leigh brightened.
Well then, maybe I’m not. Maybe I know how to relax and have a good time after all.
Just as she was starting to enjoy the self-assured feeling of empowerment, a flash of movement to Leigh’s left ruined the moment. She stopped, examining the endless weave of branches and tree trunks that obscured her vision. Besides the greenery, there was nothing to be seen. Perhaps it had been a deer, now perfectly still and camouflaged by the undergrowth.
Eliza, who’d been paying attention to her own feet, bumped into Leigh’s back.
“Why’d you stop? Is something wrong?”
Instead of causing alarm and making herself look just as much of a fish out of water as her friend, Leigh waved her hand and kept moving. “It was nothing, just thought I saw a squirrel or something.”
But as she picked up her pace to catch up to Sam, Leigh’s eyes kept darting to the surrounding evergreens, surprised at how shaken she was. Even if something was indeed watching them, it probably wasn’t anything to be concerned about. It was just a frightened deer or another startled animal. It had to be.
Chapter 5
Dark clouds stretched across the afternoon sky. Had Marshall been back in San Diego, driving out to the beach for a full day of surfing, the blackening sky would’ve certainly turned his mood. But as it was, the worsening conditions were turning his previous scowl into a self-satisfied smile. By the time his friends reached the meeting point, they’d be drenched from the sudden downpour that was sure to be unleashed at any moment. Meanwhile, he’d be relaxing comfortably in the dry van, listening to the soothing sound of raindrops tapping the roof and the mellow rhythms of his Bob Marley album.
That was, of course, if they would ever find the turn they were looking for. If Sam’s directions were correct, it seemed like he and Alex had been driving for far too long.
Alex craned her neck to peer up through the windshield. “It looks like it’s going to rain. Are you sure you didn’t miss the turn?”
Marshall couldn’t help but notice her choice to say “you” instead of “we,” but he took a deep breath before replying.
“I’m sure, babe. Have you seen a Miller’s Road yet?”
“No, but it feels like we’ve been driving for way longer than we should’ve been, and I don’t want those guys to have to wait in the rain.”
Marshall turned his head away to hide his sneer.
I guess that’s where we disagree.
“I totally agree,” he said, looking at his girlfriend. “But I guess this is what we get for taking directions from some backwoods hillbilly.”
Though he was staring straight ahead to pay strict attention to the uneven dirt road, Marshall could feel Alex’s menacing glare in response to his comment.
“Don’t call Sam a hillbilly. It makes you sound like Rob.”
Marshall nodded. She had him there.
“Just call him a…a local,” Alex said, finishing her thought.
Marshall gritted his teeth. Yeah, just a local. As if that’s what you’d call him if he had buckteeth and a beer belly. The thought suddenly spurred another. As if you’d still call me your boyfriend if I had the same.
“Well, for a local he sucks at giving directions. He made it sound so simple. But where the fuck is it?”
Alex shrugged. “You probably weren’t paying attention and missed it. I think you should turn around.”
His grip on the wheel tightened. Damn, she was pretty to look at—and incredible in bed—but it was times like these that made Marshall question if perhaps they weren’t too different after all. There was no arguing that Alex was perpetually caught up on the outer appearance of people, but was he any better? If he was, why wasn’t he chasing after girls with a little more going on upstairs? Someone who wasn’t always so quick to deny all responsibility and pass blame to anyone she could within an arm’s reach. Someone like Leigh.
Whoa. Where did that come from?
Marshall shook his shaggy head, sending the surprising thought to the back of his mind where he could ignore it for the moment. In the meantime, he had an argument to engage in.
“You want me to backtrack so we can waste time looking for a sign we both somehow missed?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I don’t think so.”
“Then maybe we should call them.”
Marshall didn’t care for the increasingly self-righteous tone of her voice. This was their first moment alone during the trip outside of a bedroom, and look at the result: his impatience versus her haughtiness. Not exactly indicative of a healthy relationship.
He sighed. “Do I really have to tell you there’s no cell service out here?”
“So then what the fuck are we supposed to do?”
“I don’t know!” Marshall shouted back, surprised at the volume of his own voice. He took a breath. Moments such as this made him thankful for having been brought up by a Buddhist stepfather. He’d picked up a few techniques that came in handy when attempting to conquer a massive wave—or preventing his emotions from getting the best of him in a heated conversation such as this one.
“We’ll just keep driving, okay?” he said, as calmly as he could. And then he couldn’t help but add, “And hope that redneck wa
s right.”
Alex fell back into her seat, arms folded across her busty chest. “What a brilliant plan.”
No mantras or breathing techniques could help him this time. Marshall exploded.
“Why, thank you! And let me just say your genius ideas are invaluable. Thank God I have you here to—”
“Shut up and stop the car!”
Alex’s shriek caught him completely off guard. He’d just been getting into a satisfying rant, but her sudden outburst stopped him dead.
“What?”
Craning her neck to look behind them, she hollered: “Stop the fucking car! I saw something!”
“Okay, okay.” Marshall stomped on the break, lurching both of their bodies forward. Fortunately, their seatbelts saved them from slamming into the dashboard. Marshall braced himself against the tirade that was sure to come from bringing the van to such an abrupt halt, but instead Alex ripped off her belt and bolted from the van.
“Hey!” he called after her. “Hold up! What did you see?”
When she failed to respond, Marshall reached down and unbuckled his own belt. And to think if I hadn’t left the West Coast I could be hanging ten right now instead of wanting to hang myself.
His door opened with a loud rusty creak, a telltale noise of Rob’s neglect for his car. Despite the darkening sky, the temperature remained high, and a wave of humid heat enveloped Marshall as he stepped out. By the time he reached where Alex was wading through the tall grass at the side of the road, tiny beads of perspiration were already rolling down the back of his neck.
He watched as his girlfriend ducked down into the sea of swaying thistles. “What the hell are you doing?”
A second later, Alex emerged hefting a long, wooden post. At the top of the pole, a makeshift sign spelled out MILLER’S ROAD in crude, faded handwritten letters. Marshall stared in awe as Alex proudly held up her trophy. With a hand on her hip and another wrapped around the post as if it were a strip club pole, she resembled a model for the kind of calendar you might find in the office of a seedy garage. Marshall could see it now: Twelve Months of Back Road Girls.
