Back of Beyond

“Like I said. You don’t understand love. I hope someday you will,” Danielle said, studying her nails. “But you’ll need to lose the attitude.”

Gracie flopped back on her sleeping bag and kept one hand over her face.

The silence went on for a while, Danielle working on her nails and Gracie sweltering and miserable. Finally, Gracie said, “What about Dad?”

“I thought you said you didn’t care about him, the way he treated you.”

“I said that,” Gracie said, “but I was mad at him. We can’t just leave him here.”

“Why not?” She sounded half miffed and half bored. Danielle seemed more than amenable to let Gracie make all the profound decisions, and didn’t seem to like the idea of her waffling because that required her to once again become involved in the discussion.

Gracie said, “Because he paid for this trip and everything’s gone wrong. I feel sorry for him, you know? I’m not sure Rachel even likes him anymore, and that was the whole point. I mean, besides us bonding with him in the wilderness and all of that. He’s going with us.”

“I like Rachel,” Danielle said. “She’s cool. She treats us like adults. Like we matter.”

“Yeah.

“Unlike Dad, I mean.”

“Yeah.”

“I think he doesn’t know whether we’re little girls or young adults, so he goes with what’s most comfortable to him-meaning we’re his little girls. He can’t think of us as real people. That’s why he doesn’t believe me when I say someone is spying on us or believe you when you say you heard something happen in the dark outside the tents.”

Gracie spread her fingers apart on her face so she could look at her sister with wonder. Rarely did Danielle say something that made her think.

“What?” Danielle asked, defensive.

“Nothing.”

“Anyway, wouldn’t it be weird if Rachel turned out to be our friend even after she dumps Dad?”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

Danielle said, “That’s the kind of thing I think about all the time. You know how so many of our friends say they wish their parents could get back together? Well, I never think that. I think Mom is better off without him. I think he’s kind of embarrassing, to be honest. He’d rather make that idiot Jed like him than show respect for his own daughters.”

Gracie sat up and shook her head at her sister. “You’re talking about our dad.”

Danielle shrugged. “Really, basically, he’s just another dude. He’s got to show me something to get me to think otherwise, and I haven’t seen it.”

“Danielle!”

“Hey,” she said, sliding her nail file back into its plastic holder like a sword into a sheath, “that’s what I feel. So why shouldn’t I say it?”

“Maybe you should think rather than just feel,” Gracie said. “It’s possible, you know.”

Danielle shrugged. “Yeah, if you’re a pathetic loser, I guess.”

Gracie flopped back down on her back. “This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on.”

Danielle said, “Welcome to Hell-o-stone Park, sister. Maybe we’ll see some wolves and bears and birdies and other stupid animals on the way out.”

Gracie moaned.

Danielle leaned over on her and put her lips to Gracie’s ear. “Now let’s go find Dakota and Rachel and my boy and Dad and get the friggin’ hell out of here.”

* * *

They avoided the camp and skirted along the edge of the trees toward where the horses were picketed.

“We’ll ask Dakota to get our horses ready,” Gracie said. “I can help her. Then we’ll find Rachel.”

Danielle nodded.

Shadows lengthened across the open ground as the sun sank beneath the tops of the trees. The temperature dropped a quick ten degrees in the shade.

“Leaving in the dark might be a problem for us,” Gracie said.

“I don’t care when we leave as long as we leave,” Danielle said.

“There’s Rachel,” Gracie said, seeing her coming up from where the horses were. Their dad wasn’t with her. And something was off about the way she walked; arms crossed around her like she was hugging herself, head down. She appeared deep in thought.

“Rachel,” Gracie called.

Rachel’s head snapped up. Her face was drawn and white.

“What’s wrong?”

Rachel took a deep breath, as if trying to gain control of herself. She said, “Oh, girls, it’s horrible. I just found Dakota down there. Somebody slit her throat and killed her. It just happened. Her body…”

Gracie gasped and Danielle froze beside her.

“This isn’t a joke, is it?” Danielle asked.

Rachel shook her head and gestured behind her. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she looked like she could collapse. “There’s so much blood,” she said, and opened her arms so they could see it on the front of her shirt. Rachel said, “I turned her over to see if she was still alive, but…” She couldn’t finish again. She was trembling.

Gracie gasped. “Could it possibly have been an accident?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“No.”

“Did you see anyone?”

Rachel turned away, deflecting the question.

“Rachel,” Gracie said, “who did you see down there?”

“She saw Jed,” Danielle said. “Jed did it.”

Rachel nodded her head and tears streamed down her cheeks, making them glisten in a shaft of sunlight.

“Oh my God,” Gracie said, reaching out for Danielle so her legs wouldn’t collapse. “She saw Jed kill Dakota.”

Rachel nodded, apparently unable to speak.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Danielle said. “Now.”

Gracie watched as Rachel’s horror transformed into anger. She reached out and grasped both sisters and leaned into them.

“Your dad and I were down by the horses. We heard them arguing and we hid. That’s when Jed did it. And he just left her there and took his horse. He just left her there in the grass.”

Danielle covered her mouth with her hand.

“Your dad asked me to get you out of here. He said he’d stay in the camp with the others and try to keep Jed under control until we’re gone. Get your horses,” she said. “I’m going to lead us out of here.”

Gracie felt a flood of relief. Then: “What about everyone else?”

Rachel’s eyes flashed. “I don’t care about them and I don’t know if we can trust anyone but each other anymore. It’s time to take care of ourselves now. The rest can be on their own.”

Gracie swallowed, “Even Dad?”

“I know,” Rachel said, gripping her arm harder, “but it’s what he asked me. He’s going to quietly tell the others what we saw and get them to help him jump Jed and tie him up until we can get help. He doesn’t want you two in the camp in case things go bad.”

“Justin’s coming with us,” Danielle said, pulling away from Rachel and folding her arms over her breasts. “I won’t leave him behind.”

Rachel grimaced, but she seemed to realize she’d come up against an immovable object.

“Get him,” she said. “We leave in five minutes.”