Hunted Past Reason Page 3

  To hell with it, he told himself. He'd keep on as long as he could. What am I, a wimp? he challenged himself. Undoubtedly, he thought, but I'm going to fight it.

  He concentrated on the forest again. Patches of sunlight dappled the trail ahead. As the trail curved to the right, he saw, again, the mountain that was their first landmark, Doug had said. There was a little snow on its peak, glistening in the sunlight. If it stays like this, he thought, I won't need to see my poncho blowing out like a boat sail. He chuckled softly to himself, imagining that sight.

  So far, except for the pack, the walk had been nothing but pleasant. They'd passed a fast-moving stream, its crystal-clear water splashing off rocks, sometimes forming momentary rainbows with the sunlight. He'd seen a mule deer grazing on a small meadow, looking over at them, apparently unconcerned because it returned to grazing a few moments later.

  These are the things I want to remember for my novel, he kept thinking. All of them.

  "Sure you don't need to stop and rest?" Doug asked, looking back.

  Bob didn't answer at first. Why doesn't Doug ask me if I want to stop and rest, not if I need to. These were the little digs that annoyed him. He was going to say no, he was fine. Then common sense prevailed. Don't be a macho idiot, he told himself.

  "Yeah, I guess I would," he said, "I have to pee anyway. All that water you made me drink."

  "Need plenty of water," Doug said, moving off the trail to another spot with a fallen oak lying across it. "At least a gallon a day."

  Bob joined him on the open ground and, moving around the fallen tree, opened his pants and emptied his bladder. "Oh, that feels good," he said.

  "Pause that refreshes," Doug responded.

  Bob walked back around the tree and slumped to the ground, groaning.

  "You dying?" Doug asked, half smiling.

  Bob snickered. "Not yet," he answered.

  "Put your pack on that little boulder," Doug told him. "Take all the weight off your back."

  Bob shifted over to the boulder and laid his backpack on it. "Oh, you're right," he said, sounding pleased.

  "Usually am," Doug said, "about backpacking anyway."

  He took the compass out of his jacket pocket and looked at it.

  "We still going in the right direction?" Bob asked.

  "Yup." Doug put the compass back into his pocket. "If this was unfamiliar country, we'd use a topographic map but here we don't need to."

  "How many miles to your cabin?" Bob asked.

  "Hard to say," Doug answered. "Never figured it out. A good three days though. Four if you get real bushed and we have to slow down."

  Jesus, Doug, do you have to keep harping on this? Bob thought.

  "You're gasping for breath a little bit," Doug told him. "That's to be expected. Be sure you exhale all the way, get the carbon dioxide out of your system, make lots of room for oxygen. Concentrate on your exhaling."

  "All right." Bob nodded. Good advice, he thought.

  "I'll probably lose some weight by Wednesday, don't you think?" he asked.

  "Don't plan on it," Doug said warningly. "You're going to need all the energy you can muster. Don't worry about gaining weight on a high calorie diet. You won't."

  "I understand," Bob nodded.

  "What do you do for exercise, Bob?" Doug asked.

  Bob felt inclined to exaggerate, then decided against it. "Walk," he said.

  "That's all?"

  "And swim in the summer," Bob added.

  "Oh, that's right, you have a swimming pool."

  Bob felt himself bristle a little. Doug knew very well that he had a pool; he and Nicole had gone swimming in it.

  "No weight lifting?" Doug asked.

  "I used to," Bob answered. "I stopped."

  "Why?"

  Bob exhaled wearily. "I got bored with it," he said.

  "Bicycle ride?"

  "I used to," Bob said, wishing the line of questions would end.

  "Tennis? Handball?"

  "No, Doug, no," he answered.

  "Well—" Doug gestured with his hands. "I'm only asking because it applies to hiking. Ever take the twelve-minute test?"

  "What's that?"

  "You see how far you can walk or run in twelve minutes," Doug said. "If you can cover a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half in twelve minutes you're in fair condition."

  "And good?" Bob asked, wondering why he was asking; he knew that the answer would only aggravate him.

  "Good is what I do," Doug said. "A mile and a half to a mile and three-quarters in twelve minutes. You do that, you're ready for anything."

  Well, bully for you, Bob thought.

  "Have to keep that cardiovascular system humming," Doug said. "Strengthen the muscles."

  "Mmm." Bob nodded. "Well, I'm . . . obviously not ready for the Olympics. But I'm not ready for the undertaker either. I don't smoke. I drink sparingly. Watch my diet, take vitamins."

  "Uh-huh." Doug's nod was dismissive.

  "What are we gonna see on this hike?" Bob asked to change the subject.

  "Oh . . ." Doug gestured vaguely. "Forest. Meadows. Cliffs. Streams. Rivers. Finally, the old Wiley place."

  "What's that?" Bob asked.

  "Deserted lodge. Built back in the twenties. When we reach it, we're almost to the cabin."

  Bob nodded. Doug fell silent again and he racked his mind for another question. Otherwise, Doug might start lecturing again.

  "What kind of trees are those?" he asked, pointing.

  "Douglas fir," Doug answered.

  "Got a tree named after you, very impressive," Bob said.

  Doug showed no sign of amusement but became silent again, closing his eyes.

  "Wow," Bob said, "look at that big bird up there."

  Doug opened his eyes and looked up. "Red-tailed hawk," he muttered.

  "It's beautiful," Bob said.

  Doug grunted. "I suppose." He yawned. "You'll see all kinds of birds out here. Hawks. Owls. Jays. Chickadees—"

  He broke off and Bob caught his breath at a strange, clattering noise overhead. Looking up, he saw two animals running through the trees. One of them soared between two branches.

  "They're not squirrels," he said.

  "Pine martens," Doug told him. "They like to chase each other."

  Bob chuckled as the two thick-legged martens disappeared in the overhead branches, making bark dust and twigs rain down.

  He started to speak when Doug said, "I'm going to take a ten-minute nap." Laying his head back, he closed his eyes again. Ten minutes? Bob thought. Could he do that?

  He stared at Doug for almost a minute. Doug was handsome enough: well-proportioned features, full head of black hair, athletic build. But he sure could be a pain in the ass.

  He lay his head back and closed his eyes.

  Was this a mistake after all? he wondered. His past relationship with Doug had never been a close one. He and Marian had gone once to the cabin when Doug and Nicole were still married. Doug had been doing reasonably well then: a small, running part in a detective series; it was on that set that he'd become acquainted with Doug.

  The weekend had been a tense one. Doug and Nicole were obviously getting close to a divorce, their behavior during the weekend not easy to experience, filled with arguments— about their son Artie, about Doug's limited career, hints (from Nicole) about Doug's womanizing.

  Doug tried to cover it all with laughter and charm; he could be charming when he wanted to. At least he was on that weekend.

  Bob had made the mistake— he felt now that it was a mistake— of mentioning the backpacking novel he was planning to write. When he spoke about the research he'd done, Doug had insisted that the only proper research he could do would be to actually take a backpacking trip— and he was the one to take Bob on it. Bob had expressed interest and gratitude at the offer. Now he wasn't sure it was a good idea after all. Since things had been going poorly for Doug's career (he was back working with a building contractor again) his disposition
had darkened somewhat.

  And I have three whole days ahead to be with him, he thought, maybe four.

  Yippee.

  He twitched as something landed on his lap. Jerking open his eyes, he looked down and saw an energy bar lying on his right leg.

  "Time for a snack," Doug told him. "Eating while you hike should be one long, endless snack— a piece of candy or fruit, a sip of juice, an energy bar. Something to raise the blood sugar level."

  "Thanks," Bob said. "Can't say I'm crazy about these things. Marian loves them but I don't."

  "Eat it anyway," Doug told him. "You should take in three ounces of carbohydrate every two hours. Don't want to let your glycogen level get too low."

  And so the lectures begin again, Bob thought; Professor Crowley on the podium.

  "If we were home, I'd kill you if you spent a lot of time eating candy and flour products, sugar, big-time carbohydrates. Out here though, go for it. You need the energy."

  "Okay." Bob tore off the wrapping, looked at it for a few moments, then put it in his pocket.

  "That's a good boy," Doug said. "Never litter."

  Bob started to chew on the energy bar. Yuk, he thought. Dates.

  "Fat is good too," Doug told him. "Nuts. Cheese. Meat." Bob looked at his watch. Ten minutes, sure enough. He was impressed.

  "Here, swallow this," Doug told him, tossing over a white tablet. "Salt tablet," he said as Bob picked it up off the ground. "Better than fake sweat."

  "Fake sweat?"

  "Gatorade, that kind of thing. Supposed to supply you with sodium chloride." He made a scornful noise. "Salt tablets are better."

  "It's really beautiful up here, don't you think?" Bob asked after he'd washed down the salt tablet with a sip of water.

  "Sure," Doug answered. "Why do you think I come here?"

  "The blue sky, the clouds," Bob said. "The air. The stream. The incredible colors of the leaves. Those yellow trees aren't maples, what are they?"

  "Dogwood," Doug told him.

  "They certainly are beautiful," Bob said.

  "Chlorophyll draining," Doug said. "They're dying."

  Bob chuckled. "Well, that's one way of looking at it," he said. "Not too aesthetic, but—"

  "—true," Doug broke in. "I'm not a sentimentalist, Bob. To me, nature is a challenge. Something to conquer."

  "You really feel that way," Bob said.

  "You bet." Doug nodded. He looked at his wristwatch. "We'd better get on our way. We want to set up our campsite before dark."

  "Right." Bob took off his green corduroy cap and scratched his head. "Move on, Macduff."

  He groaned as he stood, the pack still feeling like an anvil fastened to his back.

  Doug made a sound of amusement. "Good thing we're on government land," he said. "Don't have to be prepared to make a dash from the hunters."

  "Hunters?" Bob looked surprised.

  "It is hunting season," Doug told him. "If this wasn't government land, we'd be wearing bright red jackets and track shoes."

  "Well, I hope the hunters know it's government land," Bob said uneasily.

  "Sometimes they don't give a damn whose land it is," Doug replied.

  4:21 PM

  As they started on, Doug picked up a twig and after rubbing it off, started to move one end of it inside his mouth.

  "What are you doing?" Bob asked.

  "Brushing my teeth, nature style," Doug answered.

  Bob grunted, smiling slightly. "I'll use my toothbrush," he said.

  "Well, so will I, dummy," Doug told him. "This is temporary."

  "Ah." Bob tried not to take offense but barely managed it.

  "Just remember it in case you lose your toothbrush," Doug said.

  "Yes, sir. I'll remember." He was sure that Doug could hear the edginess in his voice.

  They were approaching a meadow now. As they started to cross it, Bob said, "Odd-looking grass."

  "Not grass, Bobby, sedge." Doug's tone was friendly now. Is he sorry he called me "dummy"? Bob wondered. It would be the way Doug would indicate an apology: not in so many words but in attitude. "All kinds of sedge," he went on. "Short-hair sedge, black sedge, brewer's sedge, alpine sedge, beaked sedge."

  "Whoa," Bob said, accepting Doug's tone of voice as apology. "A lot of sedge."

  "They look like grass," Doug explained, "but they have triangular stems and leaves in groups of three."

  "Uh-huh."

  "If this was spring, you'd be seeing lots of flowers too. Purple owl's clover. Larkspur. Paintbrush poppy. Lupine. Meadowfoam. Popcorn flower. Baby blue eyes."

  "Jesus, how do you know all these things?" Bob asked, too impressed by Doug's knowledge to hold a grudge against him.

  "You forget, I've been coming up here for years," Doug said. "And I can read, you know."

  Oh, God, here we go again, Bob thought.

  The thought vanished as something big buzzed past his head. "My God," he said, "that bumblebee's enormous."

  "Not a bumblebee, a rufus hummingbird."

  "Ah-ha." No point in fretting about Doug's manner, he thought. He was here to learn and Doug was teaching him. What more could he ask?

  He started to say something, then broke off at a noise in the distance— what sounded like someone blowing across the top of an enormous pop bottle. "What the hell is that?" he asked, fully expecting that Doug would know.

  Which he did. "Blue grouse," Doug said, "I've never seen one but I've heard them many times."

  As they started back into the forest, Bob asked about the trees up ahead. They hadn't run across their like before.

  "Live oak, blue oak," Doug told him. "Deciduous, of course."

  Bob repressed a smile. Of course, he thought. "What about those trees?" he asked, pointing. "They look black."

  "They're called black oak," Doug said. "They grow really fast after a fire."

  Bob nodded. "What kind of trees are mostly found up here?"

  "Oh, pine, of course," Doug said. He does enjoy letting me know what he knows, Bob thought. "Ponderosa, sugar, Jeffrey, white, Douglas, and white fir. Ponderosa knows how to protect itself from fires too, its bark is real thick."

  Bob was about to speak when Doug stopped and raised his right hand. Bob stopped abruptly, looking at him. Trouble? he thought.

  "What is—?" He broke off as Doug whispered "Shh" and pointed upward with his right index finger.

  Bob looked up and caught his breath.

  Lying on an outcrop of rock on the hill to their right was a mountain lion. It was lying on its left side, stretched out in the sunlight.

  For a few moments, Bob felt a tremor of uneasiness. He'd seen mountain lions before but in cages or confined environments. To see one so relatively close— at least it seemed close to him— and in the open . . . it was something that made him feel uncomfortable, even menaced.

  But as moments passed and the large, tawny-furred cat lay motionless, obviously sound asleep, the discomfort faded.

  "What a gorgeous animal," he whispered.

  "Lots of good steaks in there," Doug whispered back.

  Bob gave him a look. "Come on," he whispered. "You don't mean that."

  Doug punched him lightly on the arm. "Just teasing the animal activist," he said.

  Their conversation continued in whispers as they gazed up at the sprawling mountain lion. Its flanks rose and fell slowly as it slept, a faint breeze stirring the light-colored fur on its right flank.

  "I'm not an animal activist," Bob said, "I just think it would be criminal to harm a beautiful creature like that."

  "It is beautiful," Doug agreed. "Sleek. Quick. Powerful. Deadly." He made a clicking sound of admiration. "The perfect predator."

  Oh, Jesus, Doug, you're hopeless, Bob thought. He decided to keep it to himself.

  "Well, let's keep going," Doug whispered, turning onto the path again.

  Bob looked across his shoulder at the sleeping mountain lion as they moved away from it. Briefly, he imagined the cat waking up,
spotting him, and with a frightening roar, leaping to its feet and off the rocky ledge, bounding toward him, muscles rippling, eyes intent on his.

  Oh, shut up, he told himself. It wants to be left alone, no more. He looked ahead again. Doug had increased the length between them.

  "Doug?" he called as softly as he could; no point in waking up the mountain lion unnecessarily.

  Doug stopped and looked around.

  "I've got to pee again."

  "All right," Doug said. He stopped and waited while Bob stepped behind a tree.

  "Drink more," Doug told him. "You've been pissing out a lot of liquid."

  "All right," Bob answered. "My bottle's getting kind o' low though."

  "There'll be plenty of water in the lake," Doug told him. "Drink."

  "Yessir." Bob emptied his bladder on the trunk of the tree. "Hate to pee my way across the entire countryside," he said.

  "Don't worry, it's biodegradable," Doug's voice reached him.

  He finished and walked back to the path, drinking water. "Warm," he said, frowning.

  "I forgot to tell you," Doug said. "Carry the bottle inside your pack wrapped in a piece of clothing. It'll keep your water cooler."

  "Oh." Bob nodded.

  "I've noticed, you're not walking erectly enough," Doug told him. "Don't slump. And don't lean forward. All of that's bad for your back. And keep a steady stride. Not too fast, but steady."

  Yes, Professor, Bob thought. He almost said it aloud, then changed his mind. Doug was telling him these things to benefit him, not harass him. Just listen, nod, and fermez la bouche, he instructed himself.

  "Try not to lift your feet any higher than you have to," Doug went on. "Swing your arms; good for circulation. And keep a steady, rhythmic pace. You'll get less tired that way. Slow and steady wins the race."

  What race? Bob thought. Are we in a race? He put the thought from his mind. Just listen, ordered his brain.