Tread Softly

'Let's just get back to our packs,' Nick said. 'There's aspirin in my first-aid kit. Maybe that'll help Benny's pain.'

'Build a nice, warm fire,' Julie added.

'And eat,' Benny said. 'I'm starving.'

They were near the south end of the lake. Karen, with one of the flashlights, took the lead. Nick followed, supporting Benny. The boy could walk all right, though he winced with each limping step. Julie, carrying the hatchet and the other working flashlight, brought up the rear.

Karen tried to pick out the easiest route. Her beam probed the darkness ahead, swept the slope to her left. She felt very vulnerable without the gun.

By losing it, she'd put everyone in terrible danger. Nobody had criticized her and she tried not to blame herself, but damn it, she'd thrown away their main defense, the only weapon they had that could reach out and knock someone down at a safe distance. The pocketknife in her jeans was little comfort. The two big knives were belted around Benny's arm. Nick still had a sheath knife at his side, and Julie had the hatchet. A pitiful collection of weapons. Christ, why didn't I hang onto the gun!

Rounding the end of the lake, she came upon the feeder stream from Upper Mesquite. Her light shimmered on its rushing surface, followed the water upward to the low ridge, swept back and forth over both rocky shores. She saw rocks and lurching shadows and flowing water. Nothing more. She crouched. She cupped some cold, fresh water to her mouth. Then she jumped to the other side, and held her light on the stream.

Nick and Benny waded across, the water swirling over their boots, soaking their pants legs almost to the knees.

Julie leaped over the stream. 'Now you two'll come down with pneumonia.'

Nick made a sound resembling a laugh. 'Better than old- monia.'

Karen crossed the slope, heading downward, closer to the lake. And then her boot pressed springy earth, not rock. It felt like a cushion. It felt wonderful. The layer of pine needles made soft crunching sounds as she walked.

She took a twisting route to avoid trees and clumps of rock. Then she saw the clearing just ahead. She spotted the fireplace, the stumps and rocks surrounding it like stools, the pile of wood. She was swept by a feeling of pleasure and relief, as if returning home after a long trip.

She staggered forward. She lowered herself onto the flat surface of a stump, stretched out her pulsing legs, and sighed.

'What the shit!' Nick blurted. 'Where'd our packs go?'

Karen shined her flashlight into the darkness. The packs were gone.

Chapter Thirty-nine

Benny felt useless. He sat on a rock shivering, his arm throbbing with pain, while Nick and Julie searched for the backpacks. Karen sat on a stump close to him. She held an open pocketknife. 'You can help them look if you want,' he said.

'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 goosebump.'

'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