Demon: Book 1

Chapter 4: The Wonders of Mother Nature

I was going to be sick.

"It's not too bad once we get past these potholes!" yelled my dad over the rattling of the truck. "Probably should get someone to come fix them."

I didn't dare reply because more than words would come out of my mouth. My hand was pressed to the ceiling, while the other gripped the door handle.

"I guess we should've remembered your medicine," my father chuckled. "I forgot the road was in this bad of condition."

The truck dropped into a large divot, and I was thrown into the dashboard. My hand went straight to my mouth. My dad slammed on the brakes, giving me barely enough time to kick open the door and dive out of the vehicle. I was gasping for air as I squatted above a pile of vomit.

"You lasted longer than I expected." My dad appeared at my side with a bottle of water.

I snatched it from him and twisted off the lid. I washed out my mouth and slowly stood. My stomach was still turning.

"Well, at least, you feel better now." He slapped me on the back.

I wiped my mouth with my jacket sleeve. "And you wonder why I hate camping." I took a drink of water. "I get sick every time because of these stupid roads."

"I'll call your mom and tell her to meet me at the junction with your meds."

"You couldn't have thought of that before? I thought we were going to a campground. Not the backwoods on some beaten up old road."

My dad smiled. "It's not that bad. I know quite a few worse actually. We just need someone to come and dump some dirt on it. The runoff roughed it up a bit." He walked around to the other side of the truck. "Come on, let's go."

"I'm not getting back in there. That thing is a death trap." I took another drink of water.

"We're building character. One day you're going to look back at this and laugh."

"That's not today," I stated. "I'll walk. There's less chance of me puking again."

My dad stood on the foot railing and looked over the truck. "You sure? It's still a ways off."

"I'm not getting back in there."

"Alright, stay on the road. Watch out for cars and ATVs." He pointed up the road. "You're going to walk around the bend and see the lake. There are a couple of paths that cut down by the shoreline to the campground. Got it?"

I nodded. "I'll hurry."

"Don't wander off and get yourself lost, Aden."

"I'm not five, Dad. I think I can handle it."

"Still," he breathed. "Be careful."

"I'm fine. Just go."

"Alright." He climbed into the truck and started down the road.

I watched his head bounced around and felt my stomach turn. There was no doubt in my mind that I would've thrown up again.

After finishing off the water bottle, I started down the path. It had rained recently and all the potholes were filled with mud, but there wasn't any dust. It was kind of nice outside. It wasn't too hot, but the bugs were starting to swarm. I flipped my hood up and zipped my jacket to my chin.

I heard engines behind me and hurried out of the middle of the road. Two teenagers zipped by on four-wheelers. Shoving my hands in my pocket, I continued on.

Something flashed in the corner of my eye. I froze and scanned the surrounding trees. Another reason why I hated the woods, there were too many places for man-eating creatures to hide. I should've stayed with my dad.