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“First, you should be ashamed, and second, I have a friend who’ll get you a decent one. Just toss that abomination to the curb before someone sees it. In the meantime, I’ve got a spare one with me you can use.”
I rolled my eyes but knew Frank had a valid point. Most of the average sleeping bags barely breathed at all and were either too hot or too cold.
“Are we doing this or not?” Zack tossed me the keys, and we headed outside where I zipped up my jacket against the crisp mountain air. I reached out my arms and gave a good stretch. When I exhaled, I could see my breath.
It was perfect camping weather.
We tossed our stuff in the back of my truck and secured everything.
Zack whistled for Watcher, his German shepherd. He hopped happily in the back seat with a whine of excitement, and his tongue hung over his lower jaw. I could totally relate. This was just what I needed. I looked around the property out of habit. I wondered if and when the need to watch my back would ever leave my subconscious.
“Go ahead.” Frank waved me off. “You have my word I won’t tell your little secret.”
“Huh?”
“They’re waiting for you, you know.”
“Who is?”
“The goats. You know you want to.” He pointed, and sure as anything the little buggers were waiting for their head pat. Frank knew they were my weakness.
“You think you’re funny?” I raced after Frank as he took off at a run then circled back to the truck. Zack beeped the horn a few times to add to the fun. “I dare you to close your eyes at night.” I laughed as I jumped behind the wheel, and Frank ducked to avoid my swat as he hopped in the other door.
“The only one you’re hurting here is them, Daniel.”
“Remember, Frank,” I shifted the truck into first gear, “I know all about Woobie.”
His face flinched, and he shut up real quick while Zack and I laughed all the way down the driveway.
Our destination was on the other side of the lake from Shadows. The terrain was rough, and when we turned off the main road, it got positively ruthless. Like Shadows, you had to knew the area and what route you had to be on, and even then, it was easy to get completely turned around. There were holes that could take your tires off and rocks big enough to break an axle. You could never get through with a regular vehicle. Our trucks were set up high and designed for this kind of terrain. Grandpa and his buddy had done an amazing job of breaking a track through the mountainside. It was a huge job, and it constantly awed me that we could drive through here at all. You just had to hope you wouldn’t meet anyone else because there was only room for one vehicle on this trail. Thank God, this was private property.
Finally, after a backbreaking drive up then down around the mountain, we came to the clearing. It was just big enough and flat enough for a tent, a fire pit, and three long logs to sit on. The lake was a stone’s throw away and gently lapped at the shoreline.
“Listen.” I closed my eyes and listened to the crickets and frogs that chatted with each other.
“If this is what nights at Shadows are going to be like,” Frank stood shoulder to shoulder with me and took it all in, “you wouldn’t have had to say much more.”
“Looks like a full moon.” Zack stepped into view, and we all admired the moon’s glow over the ripples of the water. “I think this is the sound of our new freedom.”
“Just took us a war to get us here,” I muttered.
We stood there for a few more minutes in silence. Watcher came to sit next to Zack. His intelligent face scanned the lake, and I was happy Zack had brought him along. A good dog was invaluable in so many ways. Their sixth sense had saved more than one of our buddies over the years. Their companionship and loyalty could never be questioned either. Once Shadows was up and running, I planned to make sure we had a K9 unit. The guys who guarded the house would appreciate their help. Shadows was deep in the woods, after all, and there were a lot of different animals around. A dog would alert us to anything nearby.
“Well, we should get our stuff out.” Frank headed back to the truck, and he and I set up the tent and prepared a fire, while Zack unpacked the food and got things squared away.
Once the fire was hot, Zack put the meat on the grate, and lay the foil-wrapped potatoes on top of the coals. We popped a beer and settled back to enjoy the night.
“Feels kind of strange,” I whispered as we all stared into the fire, “being here.”
“Yeah.” Zack poked the fire with a stick, careful not to jostle the potatoes.
“I still can’t believe all three of us made it back alive, let alone got a chance to sit here like this.” I shifted on the log as the guys murmured their agreement.
“Endless nights of sitting in that hell. And that damn rain that never seemed to stop,” Zack added.
“I thought I’d never get home again, sure not in one piece, anyway. Figured a part of me would be left over there to rot.” I shivered as I spoke and felt like I should knock wood and reached for a stick.
“That blast,” Frank spoke up, “the one when we were in the gully, I still can’t get that memory out of my head. I thought that was it for me. My body was going to be blown to bits, and every inch of me would rot there forever.”
