Jess leaned in close. Her front was so toasty warm and her back was so cold. After her initial panic at finding Chris missing, it had taken a long while to swallow the fear back down. Even after knowing he was safe, what he saw nearly convinced her force them to pack up that night and leave. She said as much to Chris.
“We don’t need to leave. Nothing is going to happen. We have each other,” he said rubbing her back hard enough to generate a warm friction. “Besides, we have the rest of this week all to ourselves now,” he added. The humor fell flat and they both sullenly watched the flames considering how they’d come to the situation.
As the night continued to count down to dawn, they climbed back into the tent to try and get some rest. Snuggling in side by side, Jess nuzzled in tight to his neck. He stroked her hair and together they fell asleep wrapped around each other.
Chapter 3
In the morning, it was like the horrors of the previous night had vanished into the daylight. There was a smattering of clouds in the sky, but the sun shone bright. The golden glow of the early hour was revitalizing and Jess felt worlds better than she expected she would.
Some scrambled eggs and juice revived them even further. Jess was eager to get back into her energetic state of mind. She wanted a walk in the woods. To experience nature without care or concern. The tweeting birds told her it was the right thing to do and with hiking boots that fit like a glove, she practically dragged Chris off toward the semi-tamed wilderness.
The walk down the lakeshore was radiant in the honey light. The day was starting off lazy and hot. Cicadas buzzed their sweet songs of summer. Squirrels scuttled along the boardwalk. A short detour through the sand made a mess of their shoes and they spent time dumping them out and laughing as the lake caressed the shore in rhythmic motions.
At last they stood at the trail entrance. A decrepit sign nearby asked hikers to avoid raccoons which were known to sometimes attack people and then listed all of the wildflowers and birds that could potentially be spotted along the trail. In big bold yellow letters it declared this to be the Lancer Trail. A map detailed the dominant walk and encouraged people to stay on it to see some of the notable landmarks. It was suggested not to leave the trail or there was the risk of getting lost or disturbing wildlife.
Without a glance at the sign, the couple entered hand in hand under the canopy of emerald. It was like a storybook scene the way the branches interlaced overtop of them and welcomed them like a tunnel to another land. Jess was certain the forest was significantly more welcoming than the day when Mark and Steph had followed them in, although she hadn’t found anything that could ruin her day the same way that they did. Immediately she felt a pang of guilt for thinking like that.
It was difficult to remain holding hands. Jess kept wanting to stop and look at things and Chris kept getting jerked to a standstill every time she did.
The farther along the pathway they walked, the more adventurous Jess felt. “Let’s go into the woods,” she suggested.
“I don’t have a signal on my phone. Do you? We might need the compass to get back.”
Jess spared at glance at her screen. Three bars. Plenty. Plus, she had already installed a compass app before they had arrived.
Heading south, they followed a separation in the trees. The forest was welcoming and there were no branches to block their way and barely any roots crossed their path. They were able to walk side by side with each other with comfortable space for exuberant storytelling.
As the got deeper into the forest, the path narrowed a little, then quite significantly. It became only enough room for one person to fit through without scrubbing against bark and grasping twigs. The sun was high overhead, but the trees were gathering in close enough that barely any light came directly through to the ground.
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