“That’s okay.”
“You don’t have to stay and guard me.”
She smiled slightly. “Sure I do.”
“Boy, I really messed things up.”
“No you didn’t. It could’ve happened to any of us.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Are you cold?” Benny asked.
“I’m one giant goose bump.”
“Do you want my parka?”
“No, thanks. It wouldn’t fit anyway.”
“You could put it over your back.”
“No. You keep it. Really. You need it more than me. Didn’t you know that women have an extra layer of fat?”
“Not you.”
She laughed. “It’s gonna be a rough night if they don’t find the packs. We’ll freeze our buns.”
“And starve. Like the Donner party.”
“Hardly like the Donner party. We can hike out of here in a day if we have to. We’ve done it before.”
“We can’t leave without…We’ve gotta kill the witch first.”
“At least we know she’s here,” Karen said. “She has to be the one who took our packs. That’s something anyway.”
“I knew she would be. She brought us here.”
“What?”
“She brought us here. With her magic.”
“That’s a pleasant thought. What makes you think so?”
“We’re here, aren’t we?”
“We chose to come.”
“Why didn’t we have a wreck on the way up? We didn’t even have a close call.”
“Nick was driving. As your dad said, he’s the Great Uncursed One.”
“Nothing’s happened to any of us since Thursday. Nothing happened till we got here. She wanted us here.”
“So she could get Nick?”
“And us. When we’re out of the way, she’ll go ahead and finish off Dad and Heather and Rose and Mrs. Gordon. She can finish them with the curse.”
“We won’t let her. Unless we freeze to death.”
“Maybe we should make a fire.”
“With what?”
“I’ve got matches,” Benny told her.
“You do?”
“Sure.” With his left hand, he fumbled open the button of a shirt-pocket flap.
“Oh, you’re a life saver. I wish you’d mentioned that five minutes ago.”
“It’ll mess up our night vision,” he said, taking out a book of matches.
“Who cares?” She stood and held out a shaky hand. Benny gave her the matches. She rushed toward the trees. Crouching, she gathered pine needles. As she returned, Benny swiveled around to face the fireplace. He remembered building it, collecting the rocks by himself and stacking them to form a low, circular wall, the afternoon they arrived at the lake and everyone was mad at him because it was his fault they had to stay here.
Karen, on her knees, tore off the matchbook cover. She tucked it into a small pile of pine needles, and carefully stacked kindling on top.
“It’s all my fault,” he said.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “What is?”
“Everything. If I hadn’t tripped on Heather and hurt her foot, we would’ve gone to Wilson Lake and none of this stuff would’ve happened.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true.”
“You sound just like your dad, you know that? Blaming yourselves. It must run in the family.”
“But it’s true.”
“Save the blame for that bitch and her son. We’re just victims, Benny. We happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. A million things could’ve changed that. And we would’ve been just fine, camping here, if that sick maniac hadn’t decided to rape me.”
“He…he raped you?”
Karen hesitated. Then she said, “Yes.”
Benny felt as if he’d been punched hard in the stomach. He hunched over. The movement sent pain pounding through his arm. He started to cry.
Karen stood up. She stepped close to him and pressed his head gently against her. The sweatshirt was soft. It smelled good. He rubbed his face against it, feeling her belly through the material. It was the sweatshirt she’d worn last night in her sleeping bag when she held him and she was so warm and he could feel her breasts against him and worried so badly that she might notice his hard-on. Then she’d whispered, “Don’t worry about it,” and he’d wanted to die with shame. But just for a minute. After that, it had been fine and peaceful. “Are you gonna marry Dad?” he’d asked.
“Maybe.”
“I hope so.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
“I love you, too, Benny.”
He’d snuggled against her. He’d never felt so good before in all his life. Thinking about it eased the hurt.
“You okay?” she asked, stroking his hair.
“I…I feel so bad he did that to you.”
“He’s dead.”
“I wish I’d killed him.”
“No you don’t.”
“Oh yes I do.”
She backed away. Crouching, she kissed him lightly on the mouth. “Let’s get this fire going before we freeze.” Turning around, she struck a match and lit the piece of cardboard. Flames curled up. The pine needles smoked and crackled and caught fire, igniting the twigs. Karen added bigger sticks from the nearby pile. The blaze grew high, dancing and throwing out heat. “Now we’re cooking,” she said.
Nick and Julie came up from behind. They huddled close to the fire.
“No luck?” Karen asked.
“We think she might’ve thrown them in the lake,” Julie said.
“If she did,” Nick said, “they’d have to be close to shore. We shouldn’t have much trouble finding them.”
“We’re gonna take a look,” Julie added. She was bent over the fire, the flashlight clamped between her knees, rubbing her hands together as if washing them in the flames.
“Where’d you find the matches?” Nick asked.
“They’re Benny’s,” Karen said.
“Good going, Ben.”
“Yeah.” Julie smiled at him. “You’re not a complete waste.”
He smiled back at her. “No kidding.”
Nick stepped away from the fire. “Okay, we’ll take a look at the lake.”
“Want to go with them?” Karen asked Benny.
“Yeah.”
“It’s better that way,” she told the other two. “It’s better if we stay together.”
Benny stood up, wincing as the movement hurt his arm. The rest of his body felt stiff and sore, but he was glad to be included. Karen stayed close to his side as they headed for the lake.
Nick and Julie had the only working flashlights. They walked slowly along the shoreline, sweeping their beams over the water. The lights bent off to new angles where they penetrated. Through shallow water murky with swirling specks, Benny could see the bottom. The rocks down there were mossy. Patches of seaweed swayed with the currents. Farther out, the beams couldn’t reach the bottom. They stopped a couple of feet below the surface, as if too weak to drive deeper into the gloom.
“Well,” Nick said, “I still think they’re out there. I’m going in.”
“No, that’s crazy,” Julie said.
“Let’s wait till morning,” Karen suggested. “Even if you find them, the sleeping bags’ll be soaking.”
“Most of the food should be okay,” Nick said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starved.”
“Nick, you’ll freeze.”
“We’ve got a good fire.” They followed him to the place where they’d left the packs. “If she threw them in, she probably took them straight over from here.” He sat on the ground, put down the hatchet, and started to untie his boots.
Julie sat down beside him. “If you’re going in, so am I.”
“There’s no point in both of us getting wet.”
“I don’t care.”
“Julie.” His voice was firm. “I mean it. Y
ou wait here.”
She looked at him. Her mouth opened. Then it shut. Her shoulders slumped a bit. “Okay,” she muttered. “If you don’t want me to.”
With his boots and socks off, he stood up and took off his flannel shirt. He lowered his jeans and stepped out of them. He left his jockey shorts on, and walked stiffly to the edge of the lake. He rubbed his arms. “Well,” he said, “here goes.”
He charged forward, feet slapping into the water, splashing it high until he was knee-deep. Then he dived, hitting the surface flat out. Karen and Julie kept flashlights on him as he slid along silently below the waves. After a few seconds, he came up. He swung around, and wiped water off his face.
“You standing up?” Julie asked.
“Yeah.” The waves reached his chest.
“How is it?”
He answered with a groan of pain. Then he started walking.
Julie’s light stayed on him. Karen aimed hers at the water just ahead of him. They walked slowly along the shore, keeping to his pace.
He stopped. His shoulders wobbled slightly. “What do you know!” he said. Then he ducked below the surface. His back was visible for a moment, pale in the flashlight beams, rippling and quivering. Then it sank out of sight. Benny stared at the murky water. He counted silently to ten, and then Nick burst to the surface holding a gray bundle in front of him. He raised it from the water. It was Karen’s pack. “They’re all right here,” he said.
“Fantastic,” Julie called.
He lifted the pack overhead, and took a step forward, and just behind him the water seemed to explode. His eyes bulged. His mouth sprang open. The pack fell from his hands. It pounded down on his head, driving him under the surface.
The flashlights clattered to the rocks. Karen and Julie, side by side, dashed into the lake. One flashlight was out. Benny snatched up the other. He saw Karen dive. She swam out fast, vanished under the surface, and came up pulling Nick by his arm. Julie splashed to his other side, grabbed his other arm. Nick’s head came out of the water. They pulled him along between them. He was conscious. He was choking. When they reached shallow water, Benny saw that his legs were working.
“What happened?” Benny asked.
Nobody answered. Supporting Nick, the two women walked him onto dry land and lowered him to his knees. They eased him down flat.
The shiny red handle of a pocketknife jutted from his back.
CHAPTER FORTY
“Oh, my God,” Julie muttered. “Oh, my God.” She tugged the knife. Nick went rigid and cried out, but the blade, embedded a few inches below his right shoulder, wouldn’t come out. She pulled harder. The handle slipped from her wet grip.
“I’ll try,” Karen said.
“It must be in the bone,” Julie said. “It’s awfully deep.”
“Keep an eye on the lake, Benny.” Karen rubbed her right hand on her sweatshirt and clutched the knife. She pressed her left hand against Nick’s bloody back.
“Aaaah!” He shuddered and dug his fingers into the earth as she yanked on the knife. She worked it back and forth and jerked it free. Nick’s muscles unclenched. He lowered his face to the ground. He was gasping and sobbing.
“Let’s get over to the fire,” Karen said.
He pushed himself to his hands and knees. Julie and Karen, gripping his arms, lifted him. He staggered between them as if his legs were too weak to support his weight.
When they reached the fire, they sat him down on a stump with his back to the blaze. Julie plucked at the knot of the wet bandanna around her neck. She loosened it, took off the kerchief, and squeezed out the water. Gently, she patted the wound. The gash was less than an inch in length. It bled freely, but the blood wasn’t pumping out.
Karen said, “It doesn’t look too bad.”
“It doesn’t feel too good,” Nick said. His voice sounded tight and shaky.
Julie folded the bandanna into a thick pad and pressed it firmly against the wound. Nick flinched.
“I’ll get his clothes,” Karen said. She hurried away. Benny went with her.
Holding the pad in place, Julie leaned close to him. She pressed her face against his wet hair, kissed the top of his head. Her free hand reached down and rubbed his chest. He was trembling badly.
“I guess I lucked out,” he said.
“Real luck,” Julie muttered.
“She couldn’t get the knife out. She blew it.”
“Sure.”
“This time,” he added.
Karen returned, holding Nick’s clothes bundled in her arms. Benny had the hatchet.
“You did luck out,” Julie said. “You’ve got dry clothes.”
“We’ve gotta rig something to keep the bandage tight,” Karen said. “Won’t be easy. It’s in a bad place.” She tugged Nick’s belt from its loops. “You’ll have to keep your arm down.” She wrapped the belt around his upper back. Julie pressed it to the bandanna while Karen slipped one end under his left armpit. She pulled the other end over his right arm just below his shoulder, and buckled it tightly at his chest. “How’s that?”
“It’s okay if I don’t lift my arm.”
“Don’t lift your arm.”
“Okay. Unless I have to.”
“I’ll get him dressed,” Julie said.
“Fine.” Karen and Benny stepped away.
Karen sat on a rock so close to the fire that steam curled off the wet legs of her jeans. The heat felt very good, but it only warmed her front. The back of her sweatshirt and pants were frigid against her skin.
Benny, on the other side of the fire, stared at her through the flashing lenses of his glasses.
“Keep a sharp eye out,” she told him. “We don’t want anyone sneaking up.”
Nodding, he swung his legs sideways and stared toward the lake.
Karen stood up. She turned away from the fire, and peeled off her sweatshirt. She sighed as the warmth soothed her back. Scanning the darkness beyond the fire’s glow, she wrung water from her sweatshirt. When she finished, she glanced over her shoulder at Benny. He was watching her. He quickly looked away, and she turned around. She held her sweatshirt over the flames. Steam rolled off it like smoke and was whipped away by the breeze.
Nick, to her left, had his flannel shirt draped over his back. One arm was in its sleeve. He stood up. Julie, crouching in front of him, pulled down his jockey shorts. He held onto her shoulder to steady himself while she pulled the shorts off his feet and helped him into his jeans.
Karen turned her eyes to Benny. He was staring at her. “No fair peeking,” she warned, and he looked away.
The sweatshirt was still damp when she put it on, but at least it felt warm. For the moment. Sitting on the rock, she took off her boots and socks. She opened her jeans, and drew them down along with her panties.
Julie was putting socks on Nick.
The rock felt cold and gritty under Karen’s buttocks, but she stayed seated as she wrung out her panties. She held them close to the fire while Benny continued to scan the shoreline and Julie finished with Nick’s socks and boots. Then Karen stood, brushed some grit off her rump, and stepped into her panties. They felt warm and dry.
She turned around to heat up her back, and did her best to twist the water out of her jeans. The stiff material was difficult to work with. Finally, she gave up. She faced the fire and held them over the flames.
Nick swung around toward the fire. With his right arm inside the shirt, Julie hadn’t been able to button it.
“How you doing?” Karen asked him.
“A little better. Kind of sick.”
Benny looked over his shoulder. Karen nodded to him, and he brought his legs around. He leaned close to the fire.
“Guess she’s trying to whittle us down,” Nick said.
“Apt phrase, that,” Karen told him.
“I think she’s planning to freeze us to death,” Julie said. She stepped to the fire. Karen could see her shaking. “What the hell,” she said. “Since I’m freezing anyway
, I might as well go ahead and get the packs.”
Nick gaped at her.
“Why not? I’m already soaked.”
“Let’s just leave them till morning,” Karen said.
“We don’t even know for sure our sleeping bags are wet. They’re in stuff bags. They might be fairly dry. Besides, there’s the food, the first-aid kit. Especially the first-aid kit. It’s got disinfectant. We can put a real bandage on you, Nick. It’d sure be better than keeping you all strapped up.”
“You can’t do it,” he said.
“We know right where the packs are.”
“What if she’s there?” Benny said.
“You think she’s gonna stay in the lake all night, just hoping we’ll go back in?”
“Maybe she knows. Maybe she’s willing you.”
“Don’t be a dork.”
Karen sighed. “It’s not a smart idea, Julie. She could be waiting.”
“If she is, she hasn’t got a knife.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Nick said.
“If she had another one, she would’ve used it on you.”
“You don’t need a knife to kill someone,” Karen said.
“Killing can go both ways,” Julie said. She stepped over to Nick and lifted the sheath knife from his lap. He clutched her wrist.
“You can’t,” he said.
“We need those packs. Don’t tell me no, or I’d just have to go against you.”
“Julie.”
She leaned closer and kissed his mouth. Then she whispered to him. He whispered back, and released her wrist. “Keep the fire hot for me,” she said. “I’ll need it.”
She moved closer to the flames. She pulled off her belt and slid the sheath onto it. Sitting on a rock beside Benny, she took off her boots and socks. She stripped down to her bra and panties. “You want to heat these up for me?” she asked, offering the wet clothes to Karen.
“I’m going with you.”
“You don’t have to.”
Karen smiled. “Sure I do.”
“We’ll all go,” Nick said.
“You and Benny aren’t wet.”
“We can stay on shore. At least we’ll be close by in case something happens.”