As they neared the winding back roads, Rosemarie's car began to slow.
“What the hell,” Randy hissed.
“She must be out of gas,” she sighed.
Randy slowed and pulled over. He jumped out with his hand on the gun, like he was ready for high noon. “What is the problem,” he demanded.
“Out of fu….” Rosemarie’s eyes darted to Alex. “Out of gas, finally.”
Randy glared at Rosemarie; the patch of red on his neck darkening the angrier he got.
“Come on, Alex, we’d better go help,” Georgi said.
The girl sighed, put down her game, and climbed out.
Rosemarie walked over to help them while Randy paced around chewing on the inside of his cheek.
Georgi pulled anything out that she thought they wouldn’t need right away. Alex brought things from the back seat and piled them on the ground next to her mother. Rosemarie ferried things back and forth between the cars.
“No, Alex, all the food stays. Rosemarie, bring your tent and the couch cushions...and lights if you've got any,” Georgi said while digging through the piles.
“And a fire stuff,” said Alex handing her mother her piston fire starter.
And here I thought Randy's birthday gifts were never gonna get used, Georgi thought as she stuffed it to the side, where she could find it later. Sometimes being married to an ex military doomsday prepper wasn't all bad.
“Copper tubing and Plexiglas? Why?” Randy said sharply, peering over her shoulder.
Georgi sighed, “I don’t remember. I am sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Many things seemed like a good idea at the time, she thought.
“Leave it,” Randy ordered.
Georgi glared back at him. “Rosemarie,” she turned back to her, “bring what you've got there. We don’t have much room for anything else.”
When they were done the trunk was so packed it hardly closed, but they managed to get it shut.
They were attaching the bike rack so they could take her bike, when Randy stalked over.
“We need to go. We don’t have time for this shit.”
Georgi ignored him. “Don’t worry. We aren’t far from the cabin. Maybe a few miles more. We can always hike back for the rest of the stuff,” she smiled.
She was sure that they were leaving some necessary stuff behind, but they didn’t have room for everything.
They rolled Rosemarie’s car off the road, camouflaging it. Squeezing into Georgi’s crowded car, they continued on their way.
***
The land whizzed by, littered with horse-head pumps and logged areas. Unmistakable signs of “progress”.
“My great grandfather was once the preacher of that church,” Georgi said as they passed a little white building.
“I remember coming here,” said Alex, “Think they’ll have a party again?”
Georgi swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled, “Anything’s possible.”
It would be wonderful if the family showed up for the annual reunion with food and laughter, but this sinking feeling in the pit of Georgi’s stomach told her that it wasn’t going to happen this year.
Across the street from the old church was the family cemetery. Some of the headstones were so old that the weather had scrubbed away any trace of the inhabitants names. For the first time since she was a kid, she shivered at the sight of it.
“Damn—I mean dang it." Rosemarie blurted out. "I still can’t get through to my mom. I keep getting a weird beeping noise.”
“Did you try texting?” Georgi asked. “I sent a message to my to brother telling him we're at treehouse. I didn’t get a reply, but maybe it got through."
Rosemarie frowned and turned back to her phone. "I'll try."
The tires thunked over a high bridge above a shallow creek. She pointed at the meandering water. “That’s Blue Creek. It’s fed by a spring.”
“Is this where we came with Uncle Matt?” said Alex.
Georgi nodded. She remembered jumping with her brother from boulders to boulder, trying to stay dry. She remembered making little castles with sand and rocks on the shore until dark and the the race back.
Randy's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel and he sped up.
"Slow down. You're going to miss the drive," she warned. “Nevermind, you just passed it.” she sighed.
He swore under his breath as he turned around and led the car onto the overgrown drive and across a small stream.
The car slowed to a crawl before parking out of sight of the road.
“Here we are,” Georgi said as brightly as she could muster.
Bags and supplies tumbled out onto the leaf littered ground as they got out.
“Where’s the cabin?” Rosemarie asked.
Georgi pointed. “Down that path.”
“Path? What path?” Rosemarie scanned the trees.
“Help me with the ice chest. I'll get you there,” Georgi smirked.
If she hadn’t spent every summer there since she was a kid, she wouldn’t have seen it either.
They walked down the almost invisible path to an old log cabin with a treehouse behind it.
“We’ve got to clear this out so we can drive the car closer,” Randy said as they walked.
The cabin itself was a remnant of the 1800’s. There was nothing fancy about it. It had two windows in the front, one in the loft, and a front door that was a sheet of wood on hinges. It once had a dirt floor, but it had an upgrade to raised wooden flooring. Cracks lead to the soil between the floorboards. It was now home to raccoons, rats, and other creepy crawlies.
The prospect of catching one of the inhabiting vermin excited Murphy. He pulled at his leash.
“Whoa ,” Rosemarie pulled back on the lead. “When was the last time anyone came here?”
“Uncle Levi comes by to cut stuff back every once in awhile,” Georgi said while setting down her side of the ice chest.
“It doesn't look that secure.” Rosemarie dropped Murphy’s leash and he bounded off.
“Better than just a tent,” Georgi replied.
“Yeah, but...the spiders.” Rosemarie shivered a little at the prospect of creepy crawlies running over her in the middle of the night.
Georgi rolled her eyes, “They'll keep the bugs out of the food.”
She smiled at the sight of the treehouse.
She and her brother had permission to build it when they were teenagers. They had this grand idea of living in it one day. It was never finished completely, but they did get the first floor done. They’d even included a folding attic type stair that they’d salvaged from an old house.
“Better clean out some of this stuff," Randy said as he opened the door to the cabin. The hinges groaned from the lack of use.
Randy stepped back and lit a cigarette. "I’m going to patrol the perimeter.” He didn't look back as he wandered off.
“Why do you up put up with him?” Rosemarie grumbled as the girls walked back to the car.
“Who?” Georgi asked.
“Your idiot husband!” Rosemarie hissed, careful not to be so loud Alex could hear.
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