Tread Softly

down, Nick, at the bottom, suddenly lurched backward and swung an arm against Julie. With a yelp, Rose whirled around and began to scurry up the rocks. 'It's them!' she cried out. 'Doreen and Audrey!'

Heather twisted around. Benny saw terror on her moon-washed face. She lunged up and he grabbed her outstretched arm and yanked her to the top.

Julie pressed a hand to her thumping heart. 'Christ, you scared the crap out of us.'

'We were. uh. getting a trifle nervous ourselves,' said the buxom girl in the sweatshirt.

'We heard you coming,' said the one in the cowboy hat. She had a husky, confident voice. Her face glowed as she sucked on a cigarette. 'You from the campfire?'

'Yeah,' Nick said. Turning away, he called to the twins and Benny. 'It's all right! Come on down.'

'We didn't know anyone was around,' Julie said. 'Are you camped here?'

'Just off in the trees,' said the one in the hat.

'Don't you have a fire?' Nick asked.

'I wanted one,' said the other.

'A fire just makes you colder. And it kills your night vision. And it lets everyone for ten miles know you're there. Not real healthy when you're three girls camping alone.'

'Three of you?' Nick asked.

'Barb's back at camp.'

'You're not Doreen and Audrey, I take it,' Julie said.

'Who?'

'I didn't think so.' At the sound of footsteps behind her, Julie turned around. Benny and the twins were coming slowly forward. 'They're not Doreen and Audrey,' she said.

The girl in the cowboy hat tapped ash off her cigarette. 'This Doreen and Audrey, you looking for them or something?'

Julie explained, telling briefly of Karen's story and how they'd used it as an excuse, tonight, to explore the lake's shoreline.

'Something like a snipe hunt,' said the girl in the hat.

'More like a ghost hunt,' said the other.

'If we'd known, we could've screamed it up for you.'

'I almost did anyway. Still jumpy from that nut case.'

'What's that?' Nick asked.

The girl folded her arms across her sweatshirt and looked at her friend. 'We'd better warn 'em.'

'Which way are you guys heading?'

'Over to the Triangle Lakes area,' Nick said.

'Then you'll be heading over Carver Pass, tomorrow. You know the area?'

'Just from maps.'

'Well, there's a couple of lakes just the other side of the pass. The Mesquites. We stopped at one of them for lunch today, and ran into some crazy old bag.'

'A real weirdo.' 'We went in swimming, and she popped up out of nowhere and started raving about water snakes.'

'Scared the hell out of us.'

'Speak for yourself. Anyway, I didn't see any snakes. I think she was just some kind of lunatic trying to get rid of us. I wouldn't worry much about her, if I were you guys. She might even be gone, by now.'

'Might not,' her friend countered.

'If you stop there, just don't be too surprised if you run into her, that's all.'

'Sounds like a good place to avoid,' Julie said. The ranger, she remembered, had already advised them to pass up the Mesquites. Did he know about the crazy woman? That didn't seem likely.

'I mean, we don't want to scare you,' said the girl in the sweatshirt. 'She didn't do anything. Just yelled at us. But she was definitely creepy. She had this look in her eyes. And she wasn't even dressed like a camper. I mean — do you believe it? — she was actually wearing a dress!'

'Sort of a housedress,' added the other girl, mashing her cigarette stub on the sole of her boot. 'A faded old thing.'

'And hiking boots.'

'Did you see her knife?'

'Knife?'

'On her belt. Looked like a bowie knife. A huge sucker.'

'Lovely,' Julie muttered. 'A crazy woman with a bowie knife. I think we'll stay away from that lake for sure.'

Chapter Thirteen

Karen hung upside down in the overturned car, clawing for the seat-belt buckle, unable to find it. 'Buckle up for safety, buckle up,' the old jingle taunted her. 'I'll warm you up,' said a voice from the window.

She knew what she would see if she turned her head, and the thought of it terrified her. She didn't want to see. But she couldn't stop herself. Her head turned slowly toward the open window. Go away! she thought. I'll shut my eyes and he'll go away. She shut them, but her eyelids were transparent and she gazed at the charred face. Wisps of smoke curled out of its empty sockets, the hole where its nose should have been, its mouth.

'Turnabout's fair play,' it said, blowing smoke into her eyes. The mouth twitched in a blistered grin, cracking the black flesh of its cheeks.

'No!' she cried. 'It wasn't my fault!'

He thrust a gasoline spout at her face. The foul liquid gushed out, stinging her eyes, filling her nostrils. She opened her mouth for a breath and gasoline filled it, choking her.

He grabbed her shoulder. She tried to pry the fingers loose. They were dry and brittle, and she knew they would break off if she pulled hard enough.

'Karen!'

She woke up, gasping. Scott was kneeling beside her, a hand on her shoulder. 'Are you okay?' he whispered.

'Thank God you woke me.'

'Must've been a hell of a nightmare.' 'It was.' With trembling fingers, she found the zipper tab inside her sleeping bag and slid it down. She rolled onto her side to make room for Scott. He climbed in, pulled the zipper shut, and took her into his arms. Like last night, he wore only jockey shorts. His back was smooth and cold under her hands.

'You're shaking,' he said.

'So are you.'

'I'm frozen.'

'I'm just scared out of my wits.' She hugged him tightly.

'Chased by boogeymen?'

'Something like that.' She let out a deep sigh. 'I haven't had one like that in a long time.'

'Sleeping on the hard ground'll do that to you. I've been having some pretty wild dreams myself. Mostly about you.'

'Not nightmares, I hope.'

'No indeedy.' He pulled her sweatshirt up so she was bare against his belly and chest. Gently, he stroked her back. 'I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.'

'You don't want to hear mine.'

'Might help to talk about it. Maybe we can figure out what it means.'