Backcountry: A Novelization by D.E. McDonald

Author:D.E. McDonald [McDonald, D.E.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781443444910
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2015-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

Saturday Afternoon

The sun was now on the descending part of its arc across the sky, and the shadows had grown longer and longer. The trail was now no more than a goat track, thin and winding its way through the trees. Several times, they had to climb over boulders or push larger branches out of their way. Jenn was still trying her hardest to keep up and refrain from complaining, but her backpack seemed to weigh three times more than when she had started, and the straps were cutting into her shoulders. As the sun dropped lower and lower, it became harder and harder to maintain her stoic resolve. Sweat dripped into her eyes and down onto the raw skin of her shoulders, stinging even more. Her feet ached and the woods seemed to be closing in around her. She watched Alex for a moment. His limp was now pronounced and, for some reason, that was the final straw. She stopped walking.

“Please tell me we’re close.”

Alex’s face was red and sweaty, and he looked as tired as she felt. “Yeah, we’re getting close.”

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice as even and nonconfrontational as possible. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask this. Are you sure you know where we are going?”

She waited for him to flare up, but instead, he simply nodded. It was that, more than anything, that showed her how tired he really was.

“Yeah, I’ve done this plenty of times,” he said. His voice was dull with pain and exhaustion. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s just that we haven’t seen anyone in a while and—”

“And that’s a bad thing?” he cut her off.

“No, but it isn’t much of a trail we’ve been walking on, and you seemed pretty sure we would be there by now.”

“I guess it’s farther than I remember.” He sighed. “We’ll have to look around and find a spot to camp.”

For the next hour they walked in silence. Jenn could tell Alex was brooding, unable to understand how he could have misjudged the distance. She wondered if she should say something and then decided it might make things worse.

“Here!” He stopped and pointed at a small clearing.

Jenn caught up to him, panting with the effort of catching up. She followed him into the clearing and dumped her backpack on the ground, nearly falling as her centre of balance changed. Alex grabbed her arm, steadying her. He pulled out one of their collapsible chairs from his pack, and placed it on a level piece of ground.

“Here, sit down and I’ll get everything set up.”

“No,” she protested, “I can help.”

He took her elbow, guided her to the chair, and sat her down.

“No, honey, you’ve been a real trooper today, and you deserve a rest.” He laughed ruefully. “Anyway, I got us into this mess, so I should be the one fixing things up.”

Jenn was too tired to protest, merely giving him a grateful look as he set about the task of making camp. As she watched, he piled the wood up near the tent and dug a shallow fire pit.

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