Vacation In The Woods

It’s vacation time, a trip to the woods, and I can see why I don’t want to go; it’s the packing, it’s the travelling - all the things which make life hard. I want to leave my suitcase alone as soon as I open it. “Getting ready for camp?” asks George as he pokes his head around my door. “Sure;” I reply as my heart hammers. For some reason George has been spooking me out by showing up when I think I will be alone. It annoys me; it creeps me; I want to scream! George laughs at me, and I know he has gained some amusement from spooking me. I grow moody, and with a frown on my face I throw an assorted array of clothes into the suitcase and then slam it down shut. “There! All packed!” declare. The sun peaks at twelve and in hot sweltering conditions we drive. The car trip is long and stressful, and brother Pete cannot stop himself from flatulating while we’re crammed in the back seat together. “Oh gross!” declares Ashley. “Get lost sis!” tells Pete. “Don’t tell Ashley what to do!” I declare. “Thanks Bev!” tells Ashley with a smile. Eve who is sitting at the front opens the back window with the central control button, and she scolds. “No more farting!” she tells us. “It was Pete!” tells Ashley. “It was Bev!” tells Pete. “It was Pete!” says I. “I don’t care who it was, stop it!” tells Eve. The wind blowing through the window clears out the smell, and we can breathe again. The car turns quiet, and no talking is heard when George turns on the radio as the car races for the mountains. It is dark when we stop outside the cabin. We get out of the car, take our luggage inside, and inside were choose our beds. Finally, we share our first meal - cold meat pies brought from the petrol station; and after having had consumed the pies we go to bed. In the morning Ashley and I decide to go for a morning walk - the air is cool, the sun is warm, and the walk is pleasant, as Ashley and I chatter about the world’s most normal subject – boys. “You with a guy yet?” asks Ashley. “No;” says I. “Are you?” I inquire. “No;” tells Ashley. “I just thought I saw you hanging with Chad Dunken the other day;” she nudges. I shake my head. “No, he was just asking if I knew where to buy stickers;” I confess. “Oh, so he was hitting on you!” smiles Ashley as she taps a notice board inside of her mind. One more step and Ashley drops into a pit! It is a booby trap set for animals, and it has captured her. “Are you hurt?” I ask. “No!” whines Ashley. “But I need a rope to get me out! Go find one!” she tells. “Okay!” I agree before I race away. At the cabin George meets me at the front door. He is sipping on coffee enjoying the morning view. “Morning;” he smiles. “Morning;” I gasp as I approach. “I need a rope!” I tell him. “What for?” asks George. “Ashley fell into a pit, and I need to pull her out!” I gasp. George straightens his spine and he pushes his coffee away. “I’d better help!” he says before he collects some rope. I lead George to the pit and I show him where Ashley fell; but she is not in the pit anymore - she is gone! “Where is she?” asks George as he rubs his neck. “I don’t know!” I tell him. George looks at me and he smiles. “Is this a hoax?” he asks as his mind throws a range of accusations. “No! She fell! I swear!” I tell him with a gasp. “I just don’t know where she is!” George looks around and finds nothing but a few shards of broken leaf litter. He thinks it’s a sign, and he scans the ground looking for more evidence of broken leaf-litter. He finds a trail, he follows it, and it leads him to another cabin. “I’m going to check out the windows, you stay here;” he whispers. I nod and I watch as he approaches the cabin. George peers through the windows - he finds empty cabin. A sound alerts him and he dives behind a garbage bin as a male emerges from the back of a truck. “Better collect the keys!” the stranger mutters as he walks by. George narrows his eyes at the truck and he races for it. There he opens the back to discover Ashley tied up inside. George fast grabs her and runs away before the stranger returns. George whispers to me as he finds me knelt amongst bushes. “Come on Bev, we’re going!” he gasps. I run with George who carries Ashley inside of his arms, and in twenty minutes we arrive back at our cabin. “What’s happened?” asks Eve as George bursts through the front door. “Lock the door and close the windows!” tells George. “Someone tried to abduct Ashley, they may be on our trail;” Pete helps Eve lock all the windows and doors, and together we pant sweat as we sit on the lounge trying to grow distracted by the television. At nightfall George declares it safe. “Let’s have dinner!” gasps Eve. “I’ll warm up the left-over pies!” she tells. George grows distracted by the window. He moves to it, and he looks outside - in the distance he sees a car lingering with its head-lights switched on. George grows tense, and he waits for the car to drive towards the cabin; but after a while it just drives away. “Tomorrow we’ll move on to a hotel;” he tells us. “I don’t want to spend my vacation feeling tense;” he adds. We agree; and the next day we throw our luggage into the back of our car and move on.