But you have to admit, he thought, your imagination’s been throwing some real curves lately. Some wild stuff. Dreaming up that slaughter on the trail, turning Bert into Andrea, which was bad enough but understandable; turning her into Julie, which was sick.
Need to get home. All this will stop when I’m home.
God, we almost turned back this morning before the girls came along. We’d be home tonight, or at least out of the damned mountains, maybe in a hotel at Tahoe, but I had to open my big mouth and talk Bert into staying. To watch out for the girls. To
What did I think, I’d get in their pants? Fat chance of that, unless I bashed in Bert’s head ...
“Oh my God!” Bert gasped. She stopped abruptly and grabbed his arm.
Rick felt a surge of dread that she’d somehow read his mind. His face burned. She’s not psychic anymore than I am, he told himself. And I’m not. That trail massacre was mind garbage, paranoia, not a premonition.
But it came roaring back through his head—the sprawled naked bodies, the mutilations, the death—when he saw what Bert was pointing at.
Jase, Wally and Luke.
The three were crouched side by side among the rocks of an outcropping that jutted into the lake.
They had their backs to Rick and Bert.
The way they peered over the top reminded Rick of old westerns, of outlaws waiting to ambush a stagecoach.
“Those bastards,” Bert muttered.
Rick pulled her off the path and into the trees, where they couldn’t be seen if the boys should turn around.
“Those assholes are spying on the girls,” she said. Her eyes looked fierce and unafraid.
“Close up, this time.”
“Can you imagine? If that was them with the binoculars, they actually came all the way back down.”
“Obviously liked what they saw.”
“The nerve of those ...” A red hue washed over her face. “You don’t think they watched us, do you?”
Rick shook his head. “No. They don’t know where we are.”
“They would’ve, though. If they’d known.”
“Yep.”
“I’d like to rip out their eyes.” -
“It could come to that,” Rick said. “They might not be happy, just looking.”
“We’d better do something. Maybe we can sneak up and take them by surprise.”
“And then what? I forgot to bring my black belt.” And my
“Screw what they’d like.”
“If they feel cornered, they might decide to go for broke and have at us. I seriously doubt that we’d come out on top. Let’s just stay out of their way. If we circle the lake, we can come around from the front and join up with the girls, and those three scums won’t know that we’re onto them.”
“That makes sense,” Bert said. “Yeah. That’s what we’ll do.”
“Guess we can write this place off,” Bert said when they came to the stream. “Now we’ve gotta stick with the girls.”
“Maybe we can all come over here.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered. “It’s no good now, anyway.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged and looked at him. “It was nice, though, wasn’t it?” .
“Fantastic.”
“At least we had that.”
They hiked through the trees, staying away from the shoreline path, until they heard faint splashing sounds. Then Rick led the way to the edge of the lake. They ducked behind a deadfall and peered out through the rotted limbs.
“Oh great,” Bert said. “Just great.”
Andrea and Bonnie were directly across the lake from them, knee-deep in the water near the shore. Bonnie, in her yellow bikini, was bent over and splashing herself. Andrea, in a black bikini, stood closer to the shore, rigid and hugging her chest as if she were freezing.
Rick turned his eyes to the jut of rocks where the boys had been. He couldn’t see them.
“So where are the guys?” Bert asked.
“Still there, probably. Enjoying the view.”
“Nice of the girls to be so obliging.”
“They don’t know they’re being watched,” Rick said.
Bonnie waded farther out. The water climbed her stout legs. Her lips peeled back in a grimace when the cold lapped her groin. She turned to face Andrea. She spoke, but Rick couldn’t quite make out her words. When Andrea replied, her voice carried clearly across the water. “Yeah, sure it’s not so bad. Tell me that when you’re pissing icicles.”
“Come on,” Bert said. “Let’s get going.”
Rick glanced toward the rocks. This time he did see a shadow. Small. Fleeting. Even imagined a low, cackling laugh. He exhaled slowly and shook his head in disbelief. What was the matter with him? The place was giving him the creeps, that was the matter. At least The Three Thugateers were flesh and blood. He could handle them okay. But skinny shadows? No way.
Bert was moving forward. Had she seen him staring at the rocks like some crazy lunatic? In case she had, Rick said, “I wish the guys would show themselves.”
Andrea turned around and waded toward shore. Her hips swayed. Her small, firm rump flexed with each step. Her bikini pants were low enough for Rick to see the shadow of cleavage between her buttocks.
“Quit stalling,” Bert said. “You’re no better than those peeping Toms.”
“I just hope they don’t do anything but look,” he said. “We’d better get over there fast.”
“Before the girls get dressed,” Bert added.
She is psychic.
With Bert in the lead, they stayed away from the shore, and only pale bits of the lake were visible through the dense trees to the right. A few times, Rick heard the girls’ faint voices. There were occasional splashing sounds.
Finally, Rick saw bright orange in the distance. “Looks like a tent,” he said.
Bert nodded.
They made their way into the clearing. Their own packs were on the ground near the side of the tent. The girls’ packs were propped up against rocks, and open. Rick saw no one, not even when he turned toward the lake. He felt himself knot up.
Oh my God, he thought.
We would’ve heard shouts, he told himself.
Not necessarily. If the guys took them by surprise ...
He headed for his pack.
“Going for your camera?” Bert asked. The smile fell off her face when she saw Rick’s expression. “What’s wrong? You don’t think... ?” Her head snapped toward the lake. “Bonnie?” she called. “Andrea?”
“Over here,” Bonnie called from the direction of the lake.
