Scouts who had cornered a family of six overweights with boxes in hand.
Fox and Jeff were so ready to get out of the rental after Karen found a satellite radio station that played nothing but Joan Jett all the time and that’s all that was played all the way from the restaurant to the Visitor Center.
That was too much even for a big Jett fan like which Fox is.
Jeff also.
Inside the Visitor Center Fox was looking at a display on the history of music in the Smokey Mountains; while Karen and Jeff were walking through the gift store.
Jeff collects patches from the different places he goes and he has found himself a pretty cool Smokey Mountains National Park patch to add to his collection.
‘How many do you have now?’ Karen
‘Enough were I really need to start organizing them better than a stack on a bookshelf.’ Jeff
Karen smiled at her best friend and how everything he is forms his manic responses to other people. From his picked out dress sense that for the most part makes no sense to how many things he enjoys and loves which are so different and that twists him from anyone getting a handle on who he really is.
That chaotic frenzied dress style had not changed much for this trip as Jeff stood in desert Army long shorts, a faded VA Tech t-shirt, and a Pulpy trucker hat to piss Karen off.
She’s not a Pulpy fan.
‘Is Mountain City nearby?’ Karen
‘A couple hours drive from here. Why?’ Jeff
‘Just wondering. I haven’t heard the best things about the city but Gail tells me it’s suppose to have a great underground art scene. Fox would probably love checking that out also.’
Jeff thinks a little with one eye closed, ‘Maybe we can make a side trip there if we have time heading back this way on our last day.’
‘Cool, cool.’
‘Doesn’t really fit the plan of you getting more in touch with nature and less in touch with modern madness.’
‘Right, right. Ok, I shall put my madness in your hands.’ Karen puts out her hands and gives an innocent smile to Jeff. He rolls his eyes and walks away from her.
Karen wasn’t a city girl but she sure wasn’t country either. But she does really enjoy National and State parks and historical locations. They have been weekend destinations for her and Jeff for a long time first with her mom driving them.
Then Karen when she got her license and they have been gone almost every weekend off someone to explore. Living in Florida didn’t give them much to celebrate but the state is full of some great parks and historical places to visit.
Plus going to these places is usually not expensive except for the travel costs and Karen’s pretty cheap.
Back to talking about dress styles Karen actually barrowed some cloths from Jeff for this trip to get totally away from her life including her normal style choices. Today sees her in jeans, a Doctor Who shirt, and a small “a” Braves baseball cap.
Karen came back from a quick jump into the Park Rangers office with a smile, ‘More adds to my passport book.’ The smile turns to a fake frown. Well, maybe not fake but put on, ‘Though I could be adding shitloads if I was in Boston.’ A sad face draws a smirky grin from Jeff.
Karen’s National Park Passport book is an ink stamp book you can get stamped when you visit National Parks. Florida also has a passport book for State Parks. That’s her thing she does like Jeff collects patches.
Though her passport book doesn’t cost anything beyond the first initial purchase of the book itself, Jeff’s patches are three dollars a pop.
I think their official name is National/State Park Cancelation Passport Books.
Look it up, I need to move on.
Fox joined Jeff and Karen in the gift store not in her normal style. Usually she’s dressed in high level Goth Beauty clothes but today her fashion is simplistic in black jeans and a white wifebeater.
‘I want to pick up some CDs while here.’ Fox
Everyone wasn’t barefooted. I just forgot to mention tennis shoes, hiking boots, and old used Army boots.
And that’s the last of my character physical descriptions of how people are dressed for a while. To be honest my fashion knowledge stops with knowing who the costume designer of The Carol Burnett Show was.
‘If we ever go to New York I want to mass text, “I just landed in New Amsterdam.”’ Jeff
Fox taps Jeff on the shoulder, ‘Random?’
‘Karen was whining again about not going to Boston.’
‘See, One- I wasn’t whining. Two- how does that connect to New York?’
‘Yankees and RedSox.’
Karen walks away from them shaking her head, moving in the direction of a display for a National Parks Monopoly game leaving Fox to continue needling Jeff.
‘Have you heard form Gail since they landed in Boston?’
‘A couple minutes ago I got a text about them eating at Quincy Market. She’s already spotted a comic shop there.’
‘Maybe you should have gone with them?’
‘I like where I’m standing.’ They smile at each other. ‘Plus contrary to popular belief Karen doesn’t drag me to places. I also like doing stuff like this.’
‘Just not done with the fever she has?’
‘Her fever for things tends to rise pretty high. And get violent.’
‘High spirited she is.’
Karen appears suddenly behind them making them jump, ‘I’m a bitch. How about we take this threesome trail walking?’
Fox and Jeff shrugged with smiles in a “guess that sounds cool” sort of way.
Karen exited to head outside the Visitor Center and was followed by Jeff and Fox.
‘I just want to hit some trails before the rain starts.’ Karen
Fox turns to Jeff, ‘Rain?’
‘It’s supposed to rain later. She has National Park weather reports sent to her phone.’
‘What? It’s practical.’ Karen
‘I can play Farmville on my phone.’ Fox
Jeff starts unfolding a map, ‘Having that app on your phone is way more geeky than anything me and Gail do.’
‘Before either of you say anything else must I remind you that you both are levels above me.’ Fox
Jeff gives her a look to say I’m ignoring you, then he does so, ‘We can do the Fighting Creek Trail up to Cataract Falls today and tomorrow we hit the big locations. Does that sound ok?’
Karen claps her hands together, ‘Great times, stress being exercised, let’s go before something ruins my day.’
A little rain must fall.
After a quick bathroom break for Fox and Karen to change into more comfortable underwear, it made Jeff do a shrug also, this left Jeff with enough time to text Gail a few times with messages over character limits.
Post underwear change they headed out behind the Visitor Center building for some deep trail walking. On past trips Karen has walked Jeff ragged. The only ONLY reason Jeff has been trying to get into better shape is because he has never been able to keep up with Karen. He has actually felt guilty at times thinking he’s shortened their trips not being in good shape.
Walking along the trail they stopped from time to time to take photos with their phones and admire the small display markers that listed the different variations of plant life on the trail.
‘Did you see the solar panels behind the Visitor Center? I bet the whole place is solar powered.’ Karen
‘Cool.’ Jeff
Karen noticed and remarked to Jeff about a noisy, loud, pain in the bad nerve kind of family walking a few paces behind them on the trail as they travelled the path to Cataract Falls.
‘It’s ok Karen, I don’t think we ‘re going to have to kill anyone today.’ Jeff
‘Fuck you, smart ass.’
When they got to Cataract Falls all three of them took turns taking each other’s pictures in front of the falls, joking, and trying to push each other in the water, but that fun ended suddenly when Fox turned around looking over the landscape. Jeff notic
ed even the way she stood had changed.
‘What’s wrong?’ Jeff
‘Where’s the mouthy family?’ Fox
Jeff and Karen were a little spooked by Fox’s sudden change of tone. With some of the strange stuff that has happen to them of late, mostly involving Gail, they had learned to trust Fox’s instincts.
‘They must have turned back. Good riddance.’ Was all Karen had for an answer.
‘But we can see most of the trail from up here?’ Jeff is now wondering himself.
‘I switched places with them to come here.’ A spooky voice.
They quickly turned around to see a short preteen boy leaning against a tree. The sight of him made them temporally forget about the disappearing family and force feed a huge feeling of despair into their souls.
The boy was dressed in a potato sack, covered in dried mud, smelled of baby shit, and had a swarm of flies dancing around him and every so often a bug of some kind would make its way across his face and into his mouth.
‘Where’d you..?’ Karen
‘Too complicated and I really don’t have the time. If I stay here too long that family will wonder into The Baseball Field of Death. He doesn’t like that.’
‘Did you slip us something Fox?’ Karen
‘I’m pain killers, not into seeing delusions.’
The boy started walking around them getting close enough for each of them to get a real good smell of him. On his second time around he stops in front of Karen, ‘Things are building to more than school dances. Your sister who has been within The Dream Trail will have visitors soon to ask her to make either a choice or a pledge. The Triumvirate must support her during these times.’
‘God is everything about…’ but before Karen could finish her thought a lighting strike hit the falls sending
Tin Universe Monthly #10 Page 3
