That Night

Counting Game

After an 18-hour drive from Paradise, Nevada, the large, white RV finally pulled into the camping spot. Eighteen long hours of yelling, loud laughter, whining, barking, a couple of arguments, and snoring finally came to an end.

Dean Salisbury, the husband of Mara and father of Elise and Miles, stepped out of the vehicle and did the standard loud yawn while stretching his arms out above his head.

"Smell that fresh air?" He exclaimed. "You don't get that type of air in Nevada. Not with all of the gassing of the cars, or the smoking of the cigarettes, and the lack of trees, and the... Nope. This must be heaven on earth!"

Mara joined her husband and took in the fresh air as well. Miles set his iPad down, opened the door to see what the commotion was about, while accidentally letting out their dog.

"Oops! Russell! Come back!" He yelled out with a lisp.

Typical 6-year old behavior. They always do stupid things like that, Elise thought as she awoke from her nap and took off her eye mask. Being 12 really got to her head. She always felt like she was better than him because she was older.

But little did she know, she did the same thing years ago with their first dog on another family trip.

Russell ran out as fast as he could out of sight and into the forest, chasing a squirrel or small animal of some sort.

"It's ok. He knows where we are," his mother said gently patting the small boy on the head, who just felt really guilty.

~~~~~~

The Salisburys, then, spent the rest of the day enjoying themselves in the forest.

Hiking, playing in the nearby stream, barbecuing. They even found a rope swing under a bridge not far from the stream.

It was like a wholesome Disney channel story for them.

Some comedic mishaps happened, like Dean splitting his pants while trying to get down a drop.

A couple of dramatic 'owies' followed, such as Elise scrapping her knee on the rocks while trying to get into the rope swing.

Not forgetting the few jaw-dropping, once-in-a-lifetime views of the forest, where 3 deer were stopping for a drink at the stream before frolicking right back on their path. Or where the sun's beams hit the trees just right, giving the forest a heavenly glow.

Russell however, was not heard from for hours. It worried Miles. He loved that dog. But, as soon as they put the first steak onto the portable RV grill, he came back to them, begging for the smallest sliver of meat.

Even as night slowly fell, the Salisburys were still awake. They made their own fire and circled around it, roasting marshmallows, playing and singing songs on Dean's acoustic and telling stories.

Everyone had fun on their first day, and were anticipating the next few days.

That's at least what they all thought as they laid down on their fold-out mattresses and beds, drifting off to their peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~

Dean awoke sitting up on his knees, with a cover on his eyes, a gross, mildewy cloth in his mouth, and his hands bound to his wrists. This was quite unusual considering he fell asleep on an air mattress.

The room smelled mold and dirty water. He heard muffled whines all around him, and loud, raspy breaths not that far off, somewhat echoing of the walls.

A thin hand eventually took his blindfold off, revealing a dim, disgusting room with pipes. They were all in the same position he was in, crying and shaking in fear. They all say across from each other in a circle.