Sniffing, she wiped the tears that had fallen with the backof her sleeve. She needed to keep going, she needed to go get the rest of herthings. Just by looking at her bag, Alessia knew her tent wasn't in the bag.Her laptop, clothes, and most everything else was inside but the familiar greenplastic of her tent was gone. If she was going to survive, she was going toneed it. Every now and then, her heart and body would freeze when she heard anylittle noise behind her. Picking up her pace, Alessia walked faster. She justneeded to get her stuff and get out of these woods and far away from that man.
Though, he didn’t hurt her. The stray thought floatedthrough her mind.
She couldn’t help but think of his gruff attendance to herlast night as he shoved tea and a sandwich at her. Despite his terribleattitude and his forceful abduction, he wasn’t completely bad. Alessia feltherself smile at that.
Seeing the bright green material up ahead, Alessia felt asurge of relief as she walked quicker towards it. Getting closer, she stoppedat the sight of the mangled wreckage in front of her.
Crushed underneath the weight of a large, gnarled deadbranch, her green tent was completely destroyed. Thin metal spokes bent invarious wrong directions, jutted from the snagged and torn material fromunderneath the branch.
A widow-maker. One of the first things all the camping andsurvivalist guides warned her about. Looking up, Alessia followed the narrowtree’s form to the top and stared at the other heavy dead branches thatpromised to give way and come crashing down soon. Alessia could feel the painin the back of her throat as she suppressed the urge to cry. How could she makesuch a simple mistake? A simple mistake that could have cost her life if shehad slept there last night as she intended.
Reaching out to the wet branch, she dragged it partly offher mangled tent. Grabbing her sleeping bag and tarp she had laid down insideof it, she folded it up and stuffed it in her bag. Sparing her camp one lastlook, she wiped her tears and headed for the road.
~*~
Sitting on a weathered beached log, Alessia took anotherbite of her folded waffle. The wax paper crinkled loudly as she peeled itfurther down to access more of the syrupy pastry. Hot and crispy, the waffletasted so good. For a brief moment, she temporarily forgot about her troublesas she ate and stared at the waves.
The beach was long and deserted. Initially, she only walkedback to the town with the intention of eating a cheap hot breakfast andaccessing the diner’s Wifi signal. She just needed to sit down and figure outwhat was going to be her next step. As soon as the bell to the diner’s entrancejingled at her entrance and the curious stares boldly met hers, Alessia knewimmediately that sitting down for a peaceful breakfast wasn’t going to be anoption. The same waitress was there from her initial visit a couple of daysago. It was probably too much to hope a small town like this would have avaried wait staff. Alessia could easily see the woman's overwhelming curiosityas she recognized her from last time. If she sat down, it was only going to bea matter of minutes before the prying questions began, and she certainly wasn’tin the mood for that. The trace of disappointment in the woman’s eyes when sherequested her waffle to be wrapped to-go wasn’t lost on Alessia. Smilingpolitely, she took her thermos of coffee and waffle and walked quickly out ofthe diner.
Gaulding’s beach was at the west end of town, all the waydown the main street. Boarded and shuttered seasonal shops lined the road oneither side. The pastel sea weathered buildings were worn and tired, but stillheld a note of promise for the bright sunny summer season. Crêperies,bookshops, kite stores, and other nautical theme souvenir shops made her wonderwhat the city looked like during the tourist season. Following the wooded trailto the beach, thick trees and steep inclines eventually evened out into gentle sanddunes littered with sun-bleached driftwood and tangles of invasive succulents.The windy beach was absolutely barren. As far as she could see in eitherdirection, up and down the coast, there wasn’t a single sign of life. Alessiacouldn’t understand it. Why would anyone not want to put their house closer tothe beach? Especially if they could wake up each morning and look at a view ofthis.
For whatever terrible reason, that thought made her think ofthat man. Eating the last of her waffle, she crumpled the wax paper into herjacket pocket. Why was he living out in the woods anyway, she thought with ahuff. From what she could tell, despite his thick clothes and equally thickbeard, he looked reasonably young and fit. Oh, he was certainly fit enough, shethought with a snort of derision. The crazy man took no effort at all, throwingher over his shoulder and hiking her back to his place like a sack of beans.
Glaring at the repetitious movements of the waves, Alessiawas lost in her thoughts when she heard the movement to her left. Startled, shelooked up to see the very man in question standing next to the log she wassitting on. Admittedly, he didn't look so wild today as he did yesterday.Though the fierce edge in his cold dark eyes still remained, the bushy beardthat had covered most of his face and neck was now trimmed close, allowing herto see the hard lines of his jaw through the light brown scruff. He wasactually rather handsome, she realized.
Sitting down at the end of the log, he looked out to thechoppy sea. “I saw your tent.”
Alessia stiffened. “Look, if you just came out here tocontinue telling me how stupid I am, you can save it.”
"No— I didn't come for that," turning his headaway from the water, he looked at her directly.
With his hair pulled back from his face into another bun atthe nape of his neck, Alessia could clearly see what made this man sointimidating besides his terrible personality. It was his eyebrows. They werethick with a natural wicked arch that gave even his most relaxed expressions asinister feel.
Catching herself staring, Alessia averted her eyes from his.“Then what?”
“I told you last night that I would take you to the nexttown over.” His tone was so dry and matter-of-fact, Alessia couldn’t be sure ofhis mood.
Shifting uncomfortably on the log, she tried to ignore thepressure of his gaze. It was undoubtedly filled with silent ridicule forleaving without telling him.
"No," she said a little too quickly. Taking a deepbreath, she sat up straighter as she pinned her eyes on a far-off target."Thank you for your help last night." The words tasted bitter on hertongue. She didn't want to thank such a surly man, but she couldn't deny hesaved her life. "But going there won't work either," this time shedid turn to look at him. She hoped he would see a competent young woman who wasjust facing a minor setback. She didn't want him to see the anxiety that gnawedat her stomach.
One severe eyebrow arched deeper in silent question.
Subconsciously, Alessia began to toy with the zipper of herjacket as she licked her lips nervously, trying to best word her thoughts."I… I made another dumb decision when I left…" Taking a heavy breathin pause, she felt the anxiety intensify, just admitting it. "I stole hisprized car and ditched it on the way here."
The surprise on his face only made her feel even worse abouther decision.
“You have to understand,” she shook her head, feeling andinevitable chink in the armor of confidence she was desperately trying toconvey. “Gary is a part of some motorcycle gang with dangerous and resourcefulfriends… I know he is angry at me now… And I didn’t want him to find me…” Evensaying it aloud sounded stupid. Closing her eyes, Alessia took a deep breath asthe anxiety in her stomach churned to nausea as she imagined Gary’s angry facecoming towards her.
"… I shouldn't have taken it, I know," she triedagain, her voice was smaller than she wanted it to be. "I should've justleft and spent the money for a bus ticket." Tilting her head back, shestared up at the gray, dismal sky. "It just felt good to do it, youknow?"
“Oh, I bet,” the man replied with a grin. “The sorry fuckdeserves a whole helluva lot more than a stolen car, but yeah, I canunderstand.”
It felt good hearing his coal-black voice agree with her foronce. Turning back to face the ocean, they both stared at it as silence hungbetween them for a moment while the strong surf tumbled in with a mighty roar.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
The question she had been dreading was finally here, laiddown at her feet like a challenge to battle. She had no clue, that was theanswer. She had no idea what to do next. Before, she thought she had it allfigured out, but now— now she was utterly lost. But there was no way she couldtell him that, not if she didn’t want to find herself hogtied and driven to thepolice station.
