I toss my bag into North's jeep and head back inside to grab my sketchbook. This was a pretty great camping trip. The only thing missing was Trouble. I can't believe she had to fucking stay behind with Doc. I know she needs to get her CPR certification, but shit, couldn't it have waited another damn week? I flip through the pages of new drawings and find the heart-shaped tree.
I took a picture with my phone yesterday, but I wanted to capture the depth of it in oils for Sang. We'll have to bring her up here one weekend and search for more hidden hearts.
Hmm...something is a little off on the perspective. I glance at my watch, and seeing that I have time, I run out back to take a last look at the unique tree. As I near the area where Luke and I found it the other day, I hear the cars start pulling out. I reach for my phone, but remember that I plugged it into the car charger. I run as fast as I can, to see the back of the last car disappear in the distance.
Shit.
No way.
They fucking left me here?
***
I laugh at my brother as he pouts in the back seat. "Mr. B must have known that you two would cause problems if he let you ride together, Luke. Suck it up and deal."
He pulls his phone out and I'm sure he's texting Gabe, because it comes through to the phone plugged into my charger. I grin into the rear view. It's karma. Those two fuckers have been pranking us all weekend. Now they have to deal with the next four hours without road trip games or singing that shitty pop techno crap at the top of their lungs. I reach over and unplug the orange phone. He doesn't need it right now, and mine is running low.
***
What do I fucking do now? I stalk back into the cabin and grab a glass of water. Damn it! I'm hungry and all the food is now happily on it's way back to Charleston with those assholes. I plop down on the couch and try to think. They've got to notice that I'm not there, right?
Unless you're as invisible as you fear.
Shut up. No. It's not like that.
Unless it is.
Shit. Okay, worst case scenario. It takes four hours to get home from here, so they drive all the way to Charleston, see that I'm gone, and come back for me. Eight or nine hours, max.
I look at my watch. Fuck, that's a lot of driving. Maybe they'll sleep first? Yeah, North would make them sleep, god-damn-it. So tomorrow morning. But they'll notice before then and come back for me. I'm sure of it.
My stomach lets out a snarl and I really wish I had eaten more at breakfast. I stalk over to the storage closet and see that there are still a few of the old fishing rods up on the shelf. I pull one down and examine it. I fucking suck at this hunter-gatherer shit, but I'm too hungry to fucking care. I head out to the lake with the rod and sit back and try to catch something.
***
I'm startled awake by the sound of a powerboat drawing near. I check, and I'm fully hidden from view. I secure the line and creep over to see who's around.
They pull up to the dock that's halfway around the lake from here. A man gets off and I can't be sure, but he looks familiar. I squint and realize that he looks like that Superintendent fucker, what's his name? Crowley? Shit. He's got a briefcase of some sort and keeps pulling at his collar. What's the shit head doing out here in the middle of nowhere, and why does he look so fucking nervous?
I dart back into the cabin and try to figure out what I need to do. This could be huge. Whatever he's doing out here, its not good, and maybe it will get us the hell out of fucking Ashley Waters sooner if I can find out what.
