Untraceable

Survival Skill #24

A fire is essential to wilderness survival, but it can also be the key to keeping positive and calm.

~

After a sleepless night, Wyn texts me first thing the next morning to inform me Al and Billy are still in custody and that Carl isn’t returning from his trip until later. Good news for me. But then if Al and Billy are still locked up, who was sneaking around Station 19? My head reels with twisted information, not knowing what is true or real anymore. Maybe Les was right about the woods messing with my brain. But being stuck indoors isn’t helping my mental state either.

No matter where I go, the walls seem to be closing in on me.

All day, I hide in my room until Mom finally heads into work. I try to piddle around the house for a while but eventually I just can’t take the boredom anymore. The woods are safe now that Al and Billy are behind bars, and it’s obvious nothing’s going to happen in Dad’s case until Carl gets back.

I need to escape the shrinking walls of my house and meet Mo at Bear Creek. Even if I’m a little early, I can just fish until Mo gets there.

If he even shows. I wouldn’t blame him for not coming, considering how I acted the other night.

I spend the whole afternoon fishing alone. The woods are alive and singing while the sun is warm and comforting. Once I’m done, I sit cross-legged on the embankment and wait for Mo as I watch the water roll by. The sun starts to droop behind the trees, spraying a yellowish glow across the water. A barred owl announces the day’s retreat, and the river babbles back. In the forest, night comes quicker than anywhere else.

My mind wanders. The popping noises, Al and Billy, the dead bear, the citation, and now, the station. It’s all connected. But how? I pluck a purple hepatica and weave a bracelet along with a matching head wreath. Braiding makes me realize how three equally separate things can easily be interwoven. It’s a matter of putting them together in the right way.

When it’s finished, I place the flower wreath on my head. “I now crown you, Grace, Idiot of the Forest.”

A voice behind me replies, “Every queen needs a king, no?”

I spin around and jerk the flowery crown off my head. No matter my effort, being cool isn’t coming so naturally to me lately.

Mo sits on top of a boulder, chewing a piece of grass. His eyes smile without requiring his face to follow. “Didn’t think you were coming.”

He was thinking about me? I shrug it off. “Why? Were you worried?”

“More disappointed. Figured I scared you off.”

I relish in his smooth accent as it washes over me. “I don’t get frightened off that easily.”

“So you say.” He tilts his head toward the river. “Fancy fishing?”

I pretend my nerves aren’t bouncing around inside like a spaz on a pogo stick. “Actually, I want to show you something. If that’s okay.”

Mo raises his eyebrows. “Sounds mysterious.”

“You’re not the only one who knows cool places around here.”

He throws his bag over one shoulder. “Didn’t know it was a contest.”

I nip at my cuticle. “Do you want to see it or not?”

He beams, causing my stomach to do a pirouette. I gnaw on my bottom lip as he glides toward me. He motions me to walk in front of him. “After you, Blossom.”

The nickname makes me beam like a little girl. I walk past him, fighting the magnet threatening to pull us closer together. As I lead him through the vivid green forest along a rocky path, I can’t help but wonder if he’s looking at it right now. When I walk over a log, Mo presses his hand on the small of my back to steady me. The gesture sends my heart skating. The whole time, I pretend to be cool as an ice cube.