Chapter 2
Adrian blinked awake. His eyes traveled slowly around the tent, examining the tightness of the nylon as it bent around aluminum poles. He swallowed dryly. He missed his bed, he missed his room, he missed….. being indoors. He wriggled slightly on his airbed. He hated the thing, he felt as though he were sliding off. He was sliding off. The slick outside of his sleeping bag moved languidly down the side of the bed, depositing him on the ground in a gentle 'shump'. Adrian found himself on his side, his shoulders and torso on the ground, with his legs and feet angled up on the bed. Worse, his arms were pinned to his sides by the tightly zipped sleeping bag. Carefully, trying not to be loud, Adrian shifted his shoulders, trying to loosen the bag. No good. He jerked again, a little harder this time. He was still trapped. Fighting down panic, he twisted back and forth, feeling sweat bead his forehead as the cloth refused to give. He barely registered the feel of the tent shaking. Something alighted on his face.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Sharona jerked awake, suppressing a scream with iron will. "Mom!"
"Benjy, what?" She squinted in the darkness. A click sounded, and the inside of the tent was suddenly bathed in light and jumping shadows. The light turned, and focused on the figure on the floor. Adrian was lying in a twisted pile on the floor. His face was dead pale, and his eyes had that glazed look of panic. Sharona pulled herself out of her bed, shivering as her bare feet encountered the floor of the tent. While Benjy kept the light focused, Sharona knelt by Adrian's side. "Hey, hey, you ok?" She grabbed the zipper of the sleeping bag and loosened it from his neck. Adrian, still breathing heavily, rolled his gaze to her face. "Is it, is it gone?" Sharona's brow furrowed. "What?" Adrian moved his freed hands in a fluttering motion. "The, the bug, is the bug, gone?" Sharona breathed out. "Adrian, all this because of a bug?"
"No not all this because of a bug! My zipper was stuck, and I was on the floor." Benjy glanced at his mom. She just shook her head as she helped Adrian back onto his airbed. "I think that retailers should be obligated to post warnings about the dangers of sleeping bags and airbeds."
"Adrian, most people don't buff their airbeds before using them." She really didn't expect him to answer. He didn't. Once Adrian was situated, Sharona shifted all the beds a little closer together in hopes of preventing another accident. Then, yawning largely, she slipped back into her own bed. Just as her eyes were closing, a small voice rose in the cold air. "Sharona, could I bother you for a glass of water?"
Dawn brought mosquitoes, lots of them. Sharona pulled the rim of her sleeping bag tightly over her head in an effort to hide from the hungry beasts. The sudden roar of noise caused her to jerk free of her bed. "Adrian, Adrian what are you doing?" She yelled over the noise. The sound switched off, and a fully dressed Adrian turned to face her. In his hand was a small, personal vacuum cleaner. He opened his mouth to speak, and Sharona held up her hand. "I don't wanna know. Just let me get dressed and get out of the way before you start waxing the ground."
After breakfast, and at Adrian's insistence, Sharona drove the three of them into town to get a paper and a few more 'necessities'. The only place to purchase supplies turned out to be run down little shop at the corner of an intersection. Only one other car was in the dirt parking lot; a faded green sedan with a couple of rust spots and a bumper sticker proclaiming "Keep honking, I'm reloading". Sharona only glanced at the vehicle before going inside. "Benjy, choose some candy bars while I get the milk." Benjy eagerly went to the dilapidated candy aisle while Sharona walked to the back of the store where the cold cases were. She wasn't entirely surprised to see a slimmer case near the dairy products labeled simply 'bait'. Its shelves were better stocked than most of the rest of the store. Behind her, Adrian poked among the shelves in search of cleaning products. He was having very little success. "Wow! Hey mom, check out the gas station across the street!" Sharona turned, a half-gallon of milk in her hand. "Benjy, stay here. Adrian, I don't think they sell disinfectant here." Benjy pulled at her sleeve. "Mom, you gotta see what they have across the street!" Sharona grabbed a loaf of bread. "Uh huh. You find some candy bars?" Adrian kept looking around the store while she paid for their purchases. "I wonder where the other shopper is?" Sharona looked at him. "What makes you think there's another shopper?"
"The car out front. Someone had to have driven it here." Sharona shrugged. "Maybe he's in the bathroom, or maybe the car belongs to the owner." Adrian shook his head. "No, it has out of state license plates." Benjy grabbed her arm for attention again. "Mom!"
"What Benjy, what do you need." He gave her a look. "The gas station, come on, it's really cool!" Sighing, Sharona grabbed her bag. "Alright, fine, before you blow a gasket." She and Adrian followed him across the street to the run-down station. Several faded signs in the windows advertised cigarettes, beer, and windshield wiper fluid. At the side of the building were several rusty cages. Inside the cages were an assortment of animals. Two foxes yipped nervously from one of the smaller cages, while, in another cage, a large horned owl blinked slowly. Further back, slightly in the shade of a large pine, sat the biggest cage. Inside it was a bear, a very big bear. As they approached, it rolled on its side and regarded them through its small eyes. "That'll be three bucks." They jumped at the harsh voice behind them. Sharona turned to see a thin, sallow faced man behind them. He was wiping his filthy hands on the sides of his equally filthy jeans. Flicking aside his butt, he spoke again. "I said, that'll be three bucks." Sharona crossed her arms. "Three bucks for what." He grinned, and Sharona noted with distaste his yellowed teeth. "Three bucks for visiting my zoo. It's a buck a customer, and I count three o' ya'll checkin out my wares, so it's three bucks." Sharona's eyes narrowed, and Adrian shifted uncomfortably. "You want us to pay you three bucks to look at these miserable animals? How about I call animal control instead?" The man's grin remained, but his eyes grew dark. "Wouldn't do any good, all my permits are in place, and the animals are all healthy. So I suggest you pay me my money before I have the three of you arrested for trespassing." Adrian twitched his shoulders. "If you want people to pay for your zoo, you might consider building a better enclosure for your animals. You know, so that people can choose to pay in order to see the animals, rather than be coerced into paying for the visit after the fact." The man grinned again. "Damn, you sound like my ex-wife's lawyer." His grin vanished. "I hated that son of a bitch." Sighing heavily, Sharona dug in her purse. "Fine, here's your money. Adrian, Benjy, let's get out of here before my groceries go bad." The man smiled and nodded at them as they went by. "Nice doing business with you folks."
Back at the campsite, Sharona put away their few purchases, then dropped into a camp chair. Benjy immediately darted to the lake. Adrian remained at the camp. He began removing the small sticks from the packed dirt surrounding the fire pit. "Adrian, hey, just relax will ya? This is a vacation, just sit. Put up your feet ok?" Seeming almost unwilling, Adrian laid the sticks aside, neatly, and cautiously folded himself into the other camp chair. He sat stiffly for a few moments, then, as the minutes passed, he slowly started to loosen up. His expression began to slack as the calmness around him took over. Smiling, he turned to Sharona. "You know, this isn't so bad." Sharona smiled back, folding her arms. "See, I told ya you'd have fun."
That's when they heard the scream.
Chapter 3 on its way, don't panic!
Adrian blinked awake. His eyes traveled slowly around the tent, examining the tightness of the nylon as it bent around aluminum poles. He swallowed dryly. He missed his bed, he missed his room, he missed….. being indoors. He wriggled slightly on his airbed. He hated the thing, he felt as though he were sliding off. He was sliding off. The slick outside of his sleeping bag moved languidly down the side of the bed, depositing him on the ground in a gentle 'shump'. Adrian found himself on his side, his shoulders and torso on the ground, with his legs and feet angled up on the bed. Worse, his arms were pinned to his sides by the tightly zipped sleeping bag. Carefully, trying not to be loud, Adrian shifted his shoulders, trying to loosen the bag. No good. He jerked again, a little harder this time. He was still trapped. Fighting down panic, he twisted back and forth, feeling sweat bead his forehead as the cloth refused to give. He barely registered the feel of the tent shaking. Something alighted on his face.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Sharona jerked awake, suppressing a scream with iron will. "Mom!"
"Benjy, what?" She squinted in the darkness. A click sounded, and the inside of the tent was suddenly bathed in light and jumping shadows. The light turned, and focused on the figure on the floor. Adrian was lying in a twisted pile on the floor. His face was dead pale, and his eyes had that glazed look of panic. Sharona pulled herself out of her bed, shivering as her bare feet encountered the floor of the tent. While Benjy kept the light focused, Sharona knelt by Adrian's side. "Hey, hey, you ok?" She grabbed the zipper of the sleeping bag and loosened it from his neck. Adrian, still breathing heavily, rolled his gaze to her face. "Is it, is it gone?" Sharona's brow furrowed. "What?" Adrian moved his freed hands in a fluttering motion. "The, the bug, is the bug, gone?" Sharona breathed out. "Adrian, all this because of a bug?"
"No not all this because of a bug! My zipper was stuck, and I was on the floor." Benjy glanced at his mom. She just shook her head as she helped Adrian back onto his airbed. "I think that retailers should be obligated to post warnings about the dangers of sleeping bags and airbeds."
"Adrian, most people don't buff their airbeds before using them." She really didn't expect him to answer. He didn't. Once Adrian was situated, Sharona shifted all the beds a little closer together in hopes of preventing another accident. Then, yawning largely, she slipped back into her own bed. Just as her eyes were closing, a small voice rose in the cold air. "Sharona, could I bother you for a glass of water?"
Dawn brought mosquitoes, lots of them. Sharona pulled the rim of her sleeping bag tightly over her head in an effort to hide from the hungry beasts. The sudden roar of noise caused her to jerk free of her bed. "Adrian, Adrian what are you doing?" She yelled over the noise. The sound switched off, and a fully dressed Adrian turned to face her. In his hand was a small, personal vacuum cleaner. He opened his mouth to speak, and Sharona held up her hand. "I don't wanna know. Just let me get dressed and get out of the way before you start waxing the ground."
After breakfast, and at Adrian's insistence, Sharona drove the three of them into town to get a paper and a few more 'necessities'. The only place to purchase supplies turned out to be run down little shop at the corner of an intersection. Only one other car was in the dirt parking lot; a faded green sedan with a couple of rust spots and a bumper sticker proclaiming "Keep honking, I'm reloading". Sharona only glanced at the vehicle before going inside. "Benjy, choose some candy bars while I get the milk." Benjy eagerly went to the dilapidated candy aisle while Sharona walked to the back of the store where the cold cases were. She wasn't entirely surprised to see a slimmer case near the dairy products labeled simply 'bait'. Its shelves were better stocked than most of the rest of the store. Behind her, Adrian poked among the shelves in search of cleaning products. He was having very little success. "Wow! Hey mom, check out the gas station across the street!" Sharona turned, a half-gallon of milk in her hand. "Benjy, stay here. Adrian, I don't think they sell disinfectant here." Benjy pulled at her sleeve. "Mom, you gotta see what they have across the street!" Sharona grabbed a loaf of bread. "Uh huh. You find some candy bars?" Adrian kept looking around the store while she paid for their purchases. "I wonder where the other shopper is?" Sharona looked at him. "What makes you think there's another shopper?"
"The car out front. Someone had to have driven it here." Sharona shrugged. "Maybe he's in the bathroom, or maybe the car belongs to the owner." Adrian shook his head. "No, it has out of state license plates." Benjy grabbed her arm for attention again. "Mom!"
"What Benjy, what do you need." He gave her a look. "The gas station, come on, it's really cool!" Sighing, Sharona grabbed her bag. "Alright, fine, before you blow a gasket." She and Adrian followed him across the street to the run-down station. Several faded signs in the windows advertised cigarettes, beer, and windshield wiper fluid. At the side of the building were several rusty cages. Inside the cages were an assortment of animals. Two foxes yipped nervously from one of the smaller cages, while, in another cage, a large horned owl blinked slowly. Further back, slightly in the shade of a large pine, sat the biggest cage. Inside it was a bear, a very big bear. As they approached, it rolled on its side and regarded them through its small eyes. "That'll be three bucks." They jumped at the harsh voice behind them. Sharona turned to see a thin, sallow faced man behind them. He was wiping his filthy hands on the sides of his equally filthy jeans. Flicking aside his butt, he spoke again. "I said, that'll be three bucks." Sharona crossed her arms. "Three bucks for what." He grinned, and Sharona noted with distaste his yellowed teeth. "Three bucks for visiting my zoo. It's a buck a customer, and I count three o' ya'll checkin out my wares, so it's three bucks." Sharona's eyes narrowed, and Adrian shifted uncomfortably. "You want us to pay you three bucks to look at these miserable animals? How about I call animal control instead?" The man's grin remained, but his eyes grew dark. "Wouldn't do any good, all my permits are in place, and the animals are all healthy. So I suggest you pay me my money before I have the three of you arrested for trespassing." Adrian twitched his shoulders. "If you want people to pay for your zoo, you might consider building a better enclosure for your animals. You know, so that people can choose to pay in order to see the animals, rather than be coerced into paying for the visit after the fact." The man grinned again. "Damn, you sound like my ex-wife's lawyer." His grin vanished. "I hated that son of a bitch." Sighing heavily, Sharona dug in her purse. "Fine, here's your money. Adrian, Benjy, let's get out of here before my groceries go bad." The man smiled and nodded at them as they went by. "Nice doing business with you folks."
Back at the campsite, Sharona put away their few purchases, then dropped into a camp chair. Benjy immediately darted to the lake. Adrian remained at the camp. He began removing the small sticks from the packed dirt surrounding the fire pit. "Adrian, hey, just relax will ya? This is a vacation, just sit. Put up your feet ok?" Seeming almost unwilling, Adrian laid the sticks aside, neatly, and cautiously folded himself into the other camp chair. He sat stiffly for a few moments, then, as the minutes passed, he slowly started to loosen up. His expression began to slack as the calmness around him took over. Smiling, he turned to Sharona. "You know, this isn't so bad." Sharona smiled back, folding her arms. "See, I told ya you'd have fun."
That's when they heard the scream.
Chapter 3 on its way, don't panic!