Rise and Walk (9 page)

“I bet you kids are hungry,” he said in his jolly voice.

They were hungry indeed. When the screaming was over there wasn’t enough of Ranger Watkins left to get back up.

FORTEEN

Veronica reached down behind the sales counter and touched her toes. She remained bent over for a moment letting her back get a good stretch. Her emotional crisis earlier had left knots of tension in her muscles. It felt good to try and loosen up. She had a touch of a headache. While she stretched, she removed the rubber band that secured her hair. A brown curtain cascaded over her view. She exhaled while bouncing her body down low and almost made it to the floor with her palms flat. The sound of the door opening broke her moment of peace. Springing back upright her hair fell down upon her shoulders with attractive fullness. Nikki looked at her from the door.

“Hey, you should wear your hair like that,” said Nikki, her green eyes seeming to smile. Veronica thought for a moment and looked at the rubber band in her hand.

“Does it look all right?” she asked unsure.

Nikki reached over the counter by the register and retrieved a large brush from her purse. She approached Veronica with a critical look in her eye.

“Yeah, it looks great,” said Nikki with a touch of excitement. She saw Veronica as a quick little project;
good material to work with
. Swinging around the counter, Nikki stood on two cases of over stocked sodas to get a better view.

“Come here,” Nikki said smiling while brandishing her brush. She drew the large grooming instrument over Veronica’s hair. Moving from underneath, fluffing a bit here and pushing other parts down. Veronica wasn’t sure about this activity but she was curious. She never had a mother to show her the girlie stuff. She was Daddy’s little tomboy and she never regretted it. But for some reason she was open to letting Nikki play with her hair.

“You know a trim and some highlights would be really cool,” Nikki said finishing. She stepped off the sodas and glided with giddy feet back to her purse. Exchanging her brush for a small folding mirror she returned and presented the mirror to Veronica.

“Whadda ya think?” she asked with words so fast they seemed to string together.

Veronica couldn’t help but smile. Her hair fell smoothly on the sides with a slight curl at the bottom accentuating the shape of her face. Nikki’s mirror was perfect and clear; a sharp contrast from the dirty old mirror in the bathroom. What Veronica now saw was somehow encouraging. She was very modest and serious most of the time having little concern for her appearance, but her reflection at this moment made her smile.

“Nikki,” she said.

“You like it?”

“Thank you very much,” Veronica handed back the mirror. “I love it.”

“I knew you would,” said the little blonde as she seemed to skip back to her purse excited. She put the mirror away and retrieved another piece of gum. “If you want I’ll take you to a place in Baxter City sometime that has a good salon.”

Veronica placed her hands on the counter.
Why not
, she thought. She had never been to a real salon with stand up hair dryers and all that fussy foo-foo. She always had her hair cut on the military bases at the barbershop, until her father passed away. She looked at the excited Nikki for a brief moment and placed her rubber band in her pocket.

“I think that’d be wonderful.”

“Yeah,” Nikki said grinning.

“Yes,” Veronica nodded thoughtfully.

The moment of growing friendship was interrupted by Andy entering the sales area with a sour expression.

“Break time, who wants to go first?” he announced.

“Veronica, she wants to take her new look for a walk,” replied Nikki.

“Okay, take thirty, when she gets back …” Andy froze as he noticed Veronica.
Oh
, he thought then quickly recovered and reverted back to his boss voice.

“..Nikki can take hers, uh, once you get back.” Embarrassed, Andy nodded and quickly went back outside.

“Let me know how many guys hit on you,” Nikki said as Veronica made her way out the door.

Nikki sat on her stool at the register and smiled.
I did good
, she thought self assured. Moments later Andy entered once again.

“What’s up with Veronica?” he said, his usually deep voice pitched high.

“Just a little magic from yours truly,” Nikki said with smiling pride.

“Yeah, not bad.”

Andy was impressed. He took a deep breath and decided to get back to business. Consulting a chart on his clipboard he then looked at the large map of the campground. Double checking the clipboard, he pulled two envelopes from his papers.

“I need you to do me a favor. Take these checks to the guys at overflow fifteen,” he said handing Nikki the envelopes. “Do you know where that is?”

“Way out there, but they have numbers on the campground, right?” she asked.

“No, not the overflows, Fifteen is the one with the pier over the lake.”

Nikki turned and looked at the map on the wall. She had never walked out that far and wasn’t sure where it was.

“Over the lake?” she dragged on appearing to think.

“Yeah, look I would do it, but I don’t think those guys want to see me right now. Tell them I’m sorry. I know that something went on today and that I intend to check it out.”

Nikki moved around the counter like a child who has been sent to their room without supper. Andy retrieved the bag of knives from under the counter.

“Take these too, then take your break after, okay?” he said offering her the knives.

“Okay,” she nodded unsure and pushed the door open.

FIFTEEN

Lance Richardson sat in his lawn chair dressed in a white tank top and khaki shorts. He was seated just to the right of his large tent on the shore near the camp office. Behind him were his favorite four wheel drive truck and his 1994 Porsche that he had received for graduation. The vehicles were parked bumper to bumper, forming a wall to separate his camp area from the others at the grounds. Before him bobbing gently in the water was his speedboat. Lance chewed on his thin gold necklace as he thought to himself;
I have a lot of cool stuff
. A beautiful redheaded woman exited the tent dressed in a blue two piece bathing suit. Lance watched Wanda lay out her towel. She got on her knees to smooth out its surface. Bent over on all fours he studied her chest.
Those are mine too
, he thought, having spent five grand on her breast augmentation surgery just last year. As Wanda stretched out for a tan, he studied her bottom. Wanda had a toned physique from all her daily toils in the gym but the bathing suit bottoms she wore didn’t meet with his approval.

“Why don’t you wear a G string?” his question sounding more like an accusation.

“I don’t like strangers staring at me,” she said turning her cat’s eye sunglasses towards Lance.

“Well, I don’t like looking at big tan lines on your ass.”

Wanda turned her head away and relaxed without a reply.

Lance was in a bad mood most of the time. He was one of those unfortunate souls who had everything and discovered that it wasn’t enough. He had a good career as the quarterback for his high school team and played second string in college. He bought his position on the team. He had traded the original second string quarterback a Harley Davidson motorcycle in exchange for the man’s cooperation that led to Lance’s elevation to second string. He always had the best looking girlfriend around yet was never faithful. Lance owned many things and many people and still found time to be angry at the world.

Two men approached the secluded camp. Josh, a young man with a brand new black eye, was the first to enter. Zeke, an awkward man with a red line across his throat, followed. They took a seat facing Lance on the built in picnic table. The two men, as usual, waited for Lance to speak.

“Don’t you two look like shit?” Lance asked laughing.

“He marked us boss,” said Josh, the other man was silent with embarrassment.

“He marked you, not me,” replied Lance dismissively.

“He stole my gun,” said Zeke meekly feeling at the ink line on his neck.

“Their buddies left, it’s just the two of them,” suggested Josh.

Lance glared curiously at his employees. He turned and looked to his truck. His shotgun sat in the window rack. He had no intention of using it but he wasn’t above scaring someone.

“Just two huh?” asked Lance while looking Josh directly in the eye.

“Yep.”

“Okay, let’s do some business,” Lance said as he stood. He looked at Wanda and decided against speaking. She didn’t deserve a goodbye. Wanda ignored the men as they got into the truck. Without moving her head she lifted up a small remote control. Pointing the remote at the Porsche, she pushed a button. The automobile’s sound system erupted into a cacophony of loud music. Lance looked at her again as he drove off. He really didn’t like that bathing suit.

“I hope they kick your arrogant ass,” she said aloud.

Wanda didn’t love Lance. Sometimes she wondered why she was with him. Life with him was fine as long as he left her alone. They didn’t share a relationship, they shared an arrangement. Wanda was his girlfriend and that could be fun at times. She wasn’t stupid, she knew he was unfaithful. However, every time he messed up, she would get some sort of restitution. She had received a necklace, a laptop, and a trip to Europe over their three year relationship. Every time he cheated, she reaped the benefits. Lying in the warm sun, Wanda was thankful that he hadn’t yet proposed. Her life with Lance was fine for now, but she wouldn’t actually want to marry the bastard.

Wanda felt her bottom grow cold. The sun was very warm yet something blocked the heat from her butt. Turning to look, she was surprised to see a male child standing over her.
Little pervert
, she thought, suddenly feeling very exposed. The child’s shirt was torn at the neck and hung in shreds from one shoulder. A sliver of thick drool fell like syrup from his mouth. He sprang on her posterior. The boy sank his teeth just underneath her right butt cheek. He was small and fast but not very strong. Wanda rolled over, pulling away from the boy causing her wound to open further. His teeth punctured her skin but didn’t manage to tear away her tanned flesh. She launched a well practiced Tae-Bo kick and struck the small boy, sending him down the shore.

“You little bastard!” she screamed, holding her stinging leg. The boy lurched back to his feet and rushed at her. Wanda flew into the Porsche and locked the door while rolling the electric window up. The boy threw himself on the driver’s side with an unholy guttural growl. His bloody torso left dark smears on the glass. Chunks of his little chest were missing and parts of his ribcage were visible. He pressed himself against the window face first and appeared to be trying to bite the glass.

In a panic, Wanda started the car. As she worked the clutch in to engage the motor her bleeding leg slid about on the leather seat. She looked at the boy one last time and let out the clutch. The little savage fell to the ground as her wheels spun on the dirt pulling away.

Wanda was in pain and extreme worry. She had worked hard on her body,
now some little freak takes a bite out of my ass
. She prayed that there wouldn’t be a scar. The warmth of her blood pooling in her seat felt like she had peed herself. She considered telling someone at the office that there was an insane little maniac on the loose but she was too afraid to get out of the car. She remembered the story of Martin Boone and how he almost died from tetanus when he stepped on a rusty nail at the plant. Infections could be deadly. No, she would go to the hospital first and make a police report. Her cell phone wouldn’t work until she hit town. She might as well call from the hospital. There were plenty of strong men at the campground. Wanda resolved that someone would grab the little bastard. Swinging the Porsche around at forty miles an hour, the wheels caught the pavement with a shriek and she rocketed out the narrow passage of the camp gate.

SIXTEEN

Veronica walked with a small portion of newly discovered pride. She wasn’t ready to go strutting down the beach in search of men but her new hairstyle had given her a much needed boost. Lost in thought, she walked along the quiet main road of the campground. As she strolled she looked out over the vast recreation area. It was around noon and there were still plenty of campers down the long lake shore to her right. The sun shimmered in the water. People were having fun going about the business of doing nothing particularly important. She breathed in the fresh air. Her soul once again found the peace that was broken just a couple of hours ago by her feelings of loneliness. It was time for her to let go of her past pain and try to find something special for herself. For some reason she felt that she could now move on. Medical school was still a priority but there was no reason that she couldn’t have a life and relationship along with her goals. This place was so much better for her than San Francisco. The shining sun, the sound of birds along with the clean air helped her forget the noise and constant claustrophobia of her former home. A small smile showed on her face as she walked.

Rounding a corner she realized that she had walked farther than she had ever explored. The sounds of boom boxes and personal water craft had diminished with her distance from the camps. She turned and saw that the general store was quite far away now. She thought that she should head back but the quiet was soothing. The peaceful view encouraged her that despite her issues, she was going to be all right. Just like every horrible hurdle that she strove with in her life, she would find a way to be happy. Veronica knew that it would take a lot of work and perhaps a very special man, but she would try to be open to new possibilities. She would try to let someone in and build something, somehow.

The stillness of her thoughts was broken by a gasp emanating from her right. Cold fear descended upon her heart as she heard the tortured wheeze once again. She knew that sound from Oakland during the earthquake. It was the kind of sound one can never forget; the labored breathing of a person in mortal danger. She froze and listened. She heard a high pitched bubbling sound, a churning of gas through bodily fluids. She pulled her hair from over her ears and listened carefully, hoping to get a bearing on the sound. To her right, deep in the brush, she heard it again; a squeaky gurgle followed by a gasp. She walked into the forest with only her ears as a compass.