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Frank smiled and I could see that through it all, I could still make him happy. It was just going to be like a weird vacation. That was how I was going to see it.
* * *
The first stopon our vacation was a beach. It was still cold. We were too high north to enjoy a beach the way it should be enjoyed, but we did take a stroll down one anyway. We saw pelicans that were huge and hungry, as well as boats that put mine to shame. The air was crisp and anytime I started to shiver even a little, Frank was there to offer me something warm off of his body. He was like a furnace and for a time I just clung to him.
“Is this our great escape?” I asked when we had walked for a time. We were going in one direction, and I wasn’t sure where our destination was, but I thought that it would be good to turn back. We had a ways to go back and I didn’t want to be out here all night.
“It’s part of it. Are you already ready to go back?”
I wasn’t cold, but I couldn’t feel my face anymore. I would imagine that my nose was red, and I looked frightful. I said as much, and Frank always had something to say to make me feel better and this was no different. He said that I was beautiful no matter what, and he had me smiling in a way that I was embarrassed about. I didn’t know why I was so smitten with Frank, but ever since he came back, I didn’t want to let him go.
“We are going to this cabin not too far in the woods. I have been here before and it’s been a while, but I have supplies in my backpack.”
“A cabin?” That didn’t sound like a vacation that I wanted to go on. I didn’t like camping or anything like it, so I wasn’t sure how rugged I could live. I told Frank as much and he clicked his tongue, saying that he was going to make a soldier out of me yet. I knew that it wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to all of a sudden like the great outdoors like that. I loved walks and hikes, but when it came time to go to sleep, I needed a bed and electricity. I tried not to work myself up too much, but when we got to our destination, I wanted to turn back, even though it was almost an hour back to where we parked.
“Are you serious?”
Frank chuckled and he looked unsure. It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t quite sure. The cabin was small and run-down. It looked like it had been around for a hundred years and my hope for electricity was quickly going out the window. The broken window was so dusty we couldn’t even see into it. There were animal tracks going in and out, and I just looked over at Frank. I knew that he was in the military and had to go to crazy places and live in wild ways, but I wasn’t that type of person. I had no idea what I was supposed to do in this situation, but I felt off. This didn’t seem right, and Frank assured me that he didn’t think it would be that bad.
“It’s already late, let’s just stick it out here.”
I agreed, though I did mention that it wouldn’t be too bad to walk back, even if it was dark. I really didn’t want to stay here, but he wanted to get some food started. This cabin was the place of nightmares, but Frank was with me. It was all going to be okay.
He kissed me, wrapping his arms around me and didn’t let me go until I wasn’t ready to leave right then. I knew that I should have fought him and the feelings coursing through me just a little bit longer, but I didn’t. I couldn’t help myself. Frank had a way of making everything around me drift away. I didn’t know if it was a talent of his or some kind of voodoo. At the moment, it felt like a little bit of both.
The charm that he had put on me didn’t last that long when we got inside of the cabin though. I couldn’t believe that he had thought of this place, and I asked him how he knew about it.
Frank went about covering the windows and sweeping up the spiders from the counters. I found a broom and started to clean up a little more, even though I would have rather done about anything else. Frank told me how this place was a safehouse that he had used when he was stranded and away from his crew. I couldn’t imagine the military sending their soldiers to such a place, but then it made me wonder how many of those sorts of places were scattered around. I would have never thought that the Marines owned such a cabin like the one I was in.
It wasn’t at all what I would have wanted for our first night, but it was doable, and Frank had a knapsack that had everything that we needed in it. It was easy to see that he had done this all before and his level of competence was sexy to me. I knew that not only would I be safe, but all of my needs would be taken care of. I could see why my mom had always said that military men were the best. I watched Frank make a fire, make dinner and some kind of hammock contraption for two. He just knew how to do everything, and I was humbled and turned on by his knowledge. I didn’t know how to feel about any of it. I was just glad that he was in my life, no matter what complications came with it.
Later that evening, Frank held me close to him and it was like we were making up for lost time. We’d been apart for a while, so now all we wanted to do was get reacquainted. We did that all night and only when the dawn was approaching and we were both too tired to worry about anything else, did we sleep.
I laid in his arms, Frank asleep before me and I couldn’t imagine what would happen tomorrow. Frank had been honest and said that he didn’t have a real plan, and that made me worry just a little bit. A lot could happen and if we didn’t have a plan, it could go horribly wrong. I knew I was safe, but what about Frank? I needed him to be safe as well.
Since I couldn’t sleep, I went out of the cabin with my phone. I had a plan to make a phone call and though I was weirded out in the cabin, it was so far from anything else that I wanted to believe that we were safe. I needed to call my parents because they would know if I didn’t go to work and if I wasn’t home. Then, they would be worried, and nothing would be scarier than my dad trying to find me. I had experienced that before, and I didn’t want to do that again.
I had just gotten the connection to go through when I heard a snap of some twig or something behind me and I immediately looked around. Dad was on the line, asking me what was going on and it took a minute where I felt safe enough to say anything.
“Sorry, Dad, I think I’m going to have to call you back,” I started in a whisper. I didn’t know who was out there, but it felt like I wasn’t alone.
“What is going on, Amber. Why are you whispering?”
His tone changed and it was the tone that knew something was wrong. I had to tell him what was going on or he was going to go headfirst into this, something that I didn’t want.
“Sorry, Dad, I wanted to let you know that I am going to be gone for a while. Frank and I…” I stopped talking. There was another sound of movement to the side of me and I couldn’t help but turn to the sound. I didn’t know what was going on, but all I could hear was Frank telling me about all of the dead people in his unit. Was that going to be me?
“Amber, Amber!!!” I couldn’t answer him. There was a man with paint on his face, and a gun trained at my head. He put his finger to his lips and then gestured for me to drop the phone. I did what he asked. What else was I going to do?
I was pulled away from the cabin and two other men were going past as I was being led away. I tried to scream and warn Frank, but a hand was clamped firmly over my mouth, until no sound at all would come out.
16
Frank
Iwoke up with a start and I didn’t know why. It took me a few minutes to orient myself and I couldn’t believe where I was. I was in the cabin. This old cabin hadn’t been the place I woke up in a long time, thank goodness. I tried my best to figure out why I was here, and it took a moment.
Then, I remembered, and it all came back to me in a wave that made me sick to my stomach. That worry that overtook me was higher than ever, especially when I realized that Amber was no longer next to me. She was supposed to be here. I had left her right there in the bed. I was about to get up and go look for her, she couldn’t be far, but then I realized that I wasn’t alone here in the cabin. There was someone on the outside, several someones, and it didn’t take much imagination to think about what was going to happen next.
