July 3rd, 2024
3:52 PM
It’s been about 20 minutes since we left the camp. Penny brought us to a high hill some ways north-west of the lake. She said this would help us find a better way of getting around, but I was skeptical. There were a lot of tall trees all over the place blocking much of the surrounding area. I thought to myself that climbing a tree all the way to the top would work better, but I wasn’t about to suggest such a thing with Ms. Happy-go-lucky over here.
“Hmm… I think we should make our way down this way.” she said after a few minutes of surveying, her own compass in hand. Despite how unprepared I was, at least I thought to bring my own map and compass. Back before we took off, she made a point to tell me no matter what I managed to lose out here, those two things could mean life or death.
Following the bright red jacket on her back, I was having a hard time keeping up with her, but she didn’t seem to mind going slower to accommodate me. We took our time traversing through the forest like that, weaving through branches and rough patches of ground that made me stumble more than a few times. At one point, she looked back and smiled, trying to encourage me.
I would have found it aggravating normally, but I didn’t feel as though she was mocking me. The trees were no longer as dense when we came upon a creek with a little bit of water running down the slope. Penny took out her map then and tried to see where we likely were.
“Okay… Let’s see.” she muttered.
As she was doing her thing, I figured I might as well take a look around our vicinity and stumbled upon some rocks. It was slippery and there was moss along where the water was going, making it easy to have accidents if one wasn’t careful… which was pretty much just me.
Penny looked over at me to make sure I was okay, and her eyes went wide. Turning to look down where her eyes were, I saw it too.
A boot.
Barely noticeable due to the discoloration and general wear and tear. Penny put her map back in her jacket pocket and immediately came to inspect it. She turned it this way and that, looking inside.
“This is a woman’s boot. Size 7 and a half. It must have been out here for a while… months if I had to guess.”
I didn’t know what to say with my mouth hanging open looking dumbfounded. She took out her cellphone, looked into the photos, and showed me something before elaborating. “Look at the boots of the girl on the middle. They match.”
I nodded, surprised at the resemblance. The shape was very similar, but the color was somewhat different to the one in her hand. If this thing was just sitting here for months, then that made sense.
“This boot belonged to Ashley Fletcher. I’m sure of it.” Penny declared.
Holy shit. We actually found a clue. The photo itself was also interesting. There she was, in the middle of what looked like her father to her right, to her left perhaps a brother. She had an infectious smile despite a few missing teeth. It made her look cute more than anything, and her auburn hair complimented her plain but pretty face.
Suddenly I felt a pang of grief. This woman was likely dead. Her radiance gone, and none knew what had happened to her… This boot was the only thing left of her now.
Penny continued to share with me what she learned. “When I spoke with Ashley’s folks, they told me she was a very experienced camper and hiker. She often did videos outdoors for her followers online, and the abruptness of her disappearance was one of the most concerning throughout the community.”
“When did she go missing?” I asked.
Penny showed me another photo, this one of an old-fashioned yellow slug bug car. It was shiny and looked to be very well maintained despite being abandoned along the road that led to the Lake. She explained it was found by a private investigator two months back somewhere along the road to the lake. It was eventually towed, but the police never even bothered to look into it despite having the ability to easily check it out.
“The funny thing is, when Ashley’s family looked into what remained inside her car it was almost as if she had never even begun to put her camp together. The tent and everything was all still inside the trunk, so I don’t think she even made it to the lake. Her case was one of the most suspicious.”
I mulled that over for a few moments, not sure where we were supposed to go with that information. I’m no detective, but Penny seems to have clearly given this a lot of thought. I started wondering how I could possibly help her in all this, but only came up blank.
She must have seen the expression on my face because she put a hand on my shoulder and told me, “Look. I get this might be scary, but I really appreciate your company. This kind of stuff will get to anyone. I’m scared, too.”
She got the wrong idea, but it made me feel better anyway. I nodded and dared to give her a wry smile. She returned it with a proper smile of her own. We spent a few more minutes looking for more, but eventually Penny realized we’d have to settle for the boot. She said it was more than what she was hoping for, and that we were lucky to come upon it like we did.
“C’mon Bishop. I’ll put this in a plastic bag and we can keep looking somewhere else. There’s still a lot of ground to cover.”
Following behind her It occurred to me that people didn’t just take off their boots in the middle of the forest for no reason. Was Ashley running? From who? …from what?
***
July 3rd, 2024
6:35 PM
Penny was snacking on some jerky while working on something. At first I wanted to bring up the boot and talk about it a little more, but she seemed busy setting it up. I ended up just sitting on one of the logs and watched her working while I munched on my peanuts. I figured she would tell me when she was done. There were little boxes with screens on them sitting on the log opposite me. It slowly clicked in my head what she was up to.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Trail cams.
Did she want to get videos of the wildlife? That conflicted with what I thought she was up to. I thought she just wanted to find the missing people and give their folks the closure they were never going to get from the police. Was this necessary?
After a while she finished putting everything together and I see she’s checking the video feed on a laptop after taking a memory card from one of the cams. Sitting on a log she nods as though she’s satisfied and I finally ask one of my many questions.
“Are any of the families paying you to do this?”
Penny practically freezes at my rather typical question. I’m not sure why that would bother her, but if it isn't that, then what else? Looking over at me, Penny shakes her head. “No, I didn’t come here for any money. Everything has been out of my own pocket.”
“Then why? I mean, really. You seem to have enough stuff to last you more than a month, not just a week or two.” I press, and Penny looks at me as if she’s considering it.
“… Why are you here, Bishop?” she asks me instead, probably trying to side-step the question. I roll my eyes. “Come on… I asked you first.”
“If you want me to tell you that, then you have to be willing to tell me, too.”
Bleh… I really don’t want to get into it, but I guess that’s fair.
“Uh… Sorry I asked,” I start, having to look away from her attention. I didn’t mean to step on her toes, but It feels like I did just that. I should probably be more considerate, but it’s difficult talking about stuff sometimes…
Penny doesn’t seem to mind, however. Looking up over the horizon, the sun is slowly leaving us and she ponders for a moment, putting a finger to her chin. I just stare, wondering what is going through her head, but I don’t read minds, and I feel as though I’ve asked enough stupid questions for one day. One more couldn’t hurt, though.
“What’s up?”
She looks back at me, and her expression seems to fall for a moment before she suggests, “I think one of us should stay awake tonight. Just in case.”
“What? Why?”
I don’t understand why she would suggest that. She already set up the trail cams. The whole point is to sleep through the night and see what happens in the morning while we sleep. There’s no reason to go through the trouble, is there?
“I just have a feeling it would… be the smart thing to do. Call it a woman’s intuition.”
“Look, I’m sorry I asked you a clearly personal question, but does this have anything to do with that?” I ask, and Penny chuckles at that.
“Not at all! Look, I’ll tell you everything, I promise. I just want you to open up to me first before I do. I don’t mean to poke you, but I can tell you have a hard time with other people when it comes to personal stuff. I get it, Bishop. Don’t worry about how I feel. I get it, so just trust me on this… okay?”
My face scrunches up as though I just tasted a lemon, but maybe she’s got a point… What gives, though? Now I want to talk about stuff even less… Although maybe she’s right. Maybe I do need to talk about some stuff, but it’s not going to be today.
“Fine. Whatever…”
I look back at her as I make my way towards the tent, and she gives me an apologetic look. God damn it… There’s nothing I trust less than someone trying to help me. What does she even get out of it…
… And why do I have to be such an asshole about it?
***
July 4th, 2024
1:23 AM
The sounds of the night forest and the gentle breathing of the little guy sleeping inside his tent were all my ears could focus on. Ever since I met him at the café I had a feeling it would end up like this. Too many people had come to this forsaken lake only to never be found again. I won't let Bishop become the latest victim.
As soul crushingly painful as it was to think about, the realization that I would have worn a white dress earlier today, hands entwined with my fiancé’s before we both made our vows and promised to love each other until death do us part, makes my face grow hot with rage. I don’t know what happened to Nathan, but he knew what he was doing. There’s no chance he would have gotten lost in the wilderness by any sort of foolish accident.
Not my Nathan.
For close to six months now, starting with a family of five, people have been disappearing. When I saw Montey Webber on the news, I nearly fell on my knees crying in hopelessness. But that didn’t change my course. Merely my goal.
The day they told me Nathan was missing, that was the day my heart sank. He told me he wanted to go for a final trip before we started a new chapter of our lives and I had foolishly let him go on his own. I didn’t want to come off as the overbearing sort, the kind of wife that doesn’t let her husband so much as breathe without her consent. So I had merely seen him off to go on his own that day. Instead of joining him, I went to visit family, something I could do at any time.
It never once occurred in my mind that would be the last time I ever saw him. And now he was likely dead. The man who claimed my heart, taken from me. I squeezed the wood on the rifle’s stock, my eyes red with grief and anger, and then I heard it.
Crack
I knew it was some animal. To me, that’s what made the most sense, given the history of the people who were missing. When a hiker or camper thinks of wolves, they don’t feel as afraid as they might when a bear comes by. A pack of wolves can be made to flee with a mere gunshot. A bear is another story. Washington is home to black bears, and there have been reports of some who are more aggressive and ravenous, actively killing humans.
If I had to guess, that was it. It was unfortunate but those who didn’t come prepared to defend themselves or went to sleep in a vulnerable position were merely asking to be killed by such a creature.
Before I left this place to go drink and smoke myself to death, I would kill as many god damn bears as I could. But first I had to try and help the missing people’s families. I did promise I would reach out to them and provide any solace I could. To at least let the memory of their loved ones rest in peace. To help them reach the closure I myself was torn with grief over. I knew that in coming here, I very well might find Nathan… I knew there was a chance of that.
So when Bishop found Ashley’s boot, my heart panged with sudden grief and terror at the possibility of finding his body. I didn’t give a shit if I hunted enough black bears to make them an endangered species at this point.
I had to do this. I had to kill them. I knew it was wrong. These things happened, but clearly they were happening too often. My revenge wasn’t entirely selfish. There was a real reason to be made at culling the fucking things.
Crack… Crack… Pshhh…
Turning off the center ceiling light abruptly, I took my stance. Darkness enveloped us.
Crack
Suddenly… silence.
I had simultaneously brought up my rifle to aim. The latest sound my target. For a moment I entertained the idea of just shooting at eye-level. Maybe I got the mother fucker between the eyes, but I held off.
Moments passed… and nothing. I remained still to focus on a huff, or another movement, anything. Yet that was it. Even the wind seemed to halt as only Bishop’s gentle breathing was present. It served to calm my nerves, yet also to remind me of what was at stake. If I had been alone, yesterday would have been the day I chose to start hunting them down, but I couldn’t do that yet. Before any of that, I had to check off the places on my map with Bishop and drive him back to Seattle.
I was yearning for the hunt, to pull my trigger and end them all, but…
Crack…
I had to bide my time and wait. I would get my chance. It would show itself. It already had, really. Once morning came, I would finally see it. At least one of my night vision trail cams must have caught sight of it. There was no fucking way they hadn’t.