Chapter 3
Saturday, July 12th
8: 13 P. M.
Doc felt his head clear as night crept up upon the forest. His vampire senses went on full alert, taking in every bit of information they could find. He took a deep sniff of all the different scents, then scratched his back against a tree. Ahh, that's much better. This is exactly what I needed, time away from that camp. His eyes roamed over the natural splendor of the trees and undergrowth. But I think I had better head back. Things should have cooled off a little by now. I don't want Mystie worrying about me either.
He turned to go back -- then paused. Very slowly, he turned full circle. Is this the way I entered this location? Or was it this direction? Damn, why didn't I bother to keep track of where I was going? And this thick undergrowth of bushes and the like doesn't help matters.
An idea presented itself to him. Why couldn't he just track his own scent back to the camp? He sniffed his arm to mark his surprising scent -- Dom Pierre wine -- and then smelled the air. He caught his scent weakly on a bush to his left. But it was mixed with something else.
Stream water.
With a jolt Doc recalled the stream he had waded through. The water had obviously diluted his scent trail. Now Doc wasn't sure if he could track it. Great Scott. Maybe I should try flying my way back to camp.
But one look at the canopy above him ruled out that idea. Nearer home, he might have been able to pull off an aerial escape, but here the trees grew thicker and closer, with more small branches. Doc didn't want to risk injuring his wings and attracting wild animals. Great Scott! I'm lost.
For a moment, he was frozen, with no idea what to do. It had never occurred to him that a vampire could get lost. He felt the beginnings of panic touch his mind, but firmly pushed them away. Think through this logically. The first thing to do is to search for any human life that might be able to render their assistance to me. He listened hard for human thoughts and heartbeats. Nothing. Frustrated, Doc sighed. All right, let's try contacting Marty. At least you'll find your way to Jennifer's camp. Then you can take off and lead you both to home.
But that didn't work either. For some reason, Marty was blocking his thoughts. Doc began to get scared. Stay calm, Emmett. Try tracking Marty's scent. Getting to Jennifer's campground might be a good idea. Frankly, I'd prefer going to hers than trying to get back to our own. It's like we got here and everyone decided to revert to the mentality of kids. Ah, well, I guess people do that when they're woken up at daybreak. He sniffed the air around him, searching desperately for Marty's scent. But it was nowhere to be found. Obviously he hadn't come this way. Do I go looking for him and risk getting lost further? Or do I stay here and risk never being found?
After a moment's deliberation, he decided that he had better chances of making it back to camp on his own rather than being found by someone else. Otherwise we all might end up lost, he thought with a chuckle, moving on.
He didn't know how right he was.
Saturday, July 12th
8: 13 P. M.
Linda stomped through the woods, her loud footsteps scaring away anything within a six-foot radius. She hated her older brother with a passion. How dare he tell me what to do! I'm 19 years old! I can take care of myself! He just can't accept that his "baby sister" has grown up and doesn't need him anymore. And frankly, I'm sick of his "all work and no play" attitude! Hell, when it comes right down to it, he's the immature one! I wish somebody would go up to him and tell him that!
She stopped, still trembling with rage. You know what? That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go right back there and give him a piece of my mind! She whipped around, looking like she was on the verge of transforming into the Incredible Hulk.
She very quickly deflated as she realized that all her stomping had been for nought in marking a trail for her. "Uh-oh."
She tried looking around herself for clues, but found none. Her anger had so hampered her perception of her surroundings, she had no idea where she was. She next tried calling out, hoping someone would hear her. "Hello? Anybody?"
There was no answer. Frightened, Linda came to a horrifying conclusion. I'm lost.
Saturday, July 12th
8: 13 P. M.
Just like my teenage days, George thought as he clung to the tree branch. Below, he could see a lazy old brown bear sniffing the roots. Thank God I still remember how to climb these things quickly.
The bear, taking his sweet time, scent-marked the tree, then rubbed up against it. George occupied himself trying to look for familiar landmarks. In his fury, it had taken him all of two minutes to get lost in the forest. It had, however, taken him ten minutes to realize it. By the time he had reached the tree, he was regretting even thinking about taking a vacation. A regret that had been further intensified by the arrival of the bear.
There were no landmarks in sight. George looked back down at the bear. It didn't look like it was going anywhere soon. He thought of calling out for somebody, but he decided against it. What if it aggravated the bear? You and your brilliant ideas, he berated himself, shifting his weight. I should have taken Linda's advice and gone to the beach.
Saturday, July 12th
8: 57 P. M.
Doc stepped over a tree root slowly and carefully, sniffing the air for dangerous scents. Despite his efforts to find the camp, he was becoming more lost by the minute. If there's such a thing as "more lost," he thought. But you can separate "lost" into degrees, I'm certainly in one of the higher degrees.
He paused and took a long sniff. He had seen bears and wild cats in the woods once or twice. The last thing he needed was to get into a fight with one of them. Even if he did heal quickly, it wasn't something you wanted to do. He focused his mind totally on finding dangerous scents, completely ignoring everything else.
Therefore, it was quite a surprise when something bumped into his back. "WAAAAH!" He spun around quickly, his head turning so fast it looked like it was facing the wrong way for a moment.
After that moment, Marty McFly landed on top of him. "Ouch! What the -- Marty!"
"Doc!" The teen grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"
"I'm glad to see you too! Are you all right? You gave me quite a scare."
"Yeah, I'm okay. I had no idea I could jump that high." They both got up and brushed themselves off. "Doc, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. I got lost when I left Jennifer's camp. Can you lead me back to ours?"
Doc's face fell. "I was hoping you could lead me back to Jennifer's."
Marty looked confused. "You're lost too?" Doc nodded. "How can you be lost?! You're a vampire! You've got superior senses! You've got all the advantages!"
"Marty, I'm not a superman," Doc said a little angrily. "My superior senses are actually acting as a hindrance to me now. I'm simply being flooded with information. And since I made the mistake of crossing a stream, I'm unable to put my sense of smell to use and scent-track myself."
"Shit," Marty grumbled. "Can't you fly out? Or would you hurt your wings?"
"The canopy is very thick. I don't want to unnecessarily injure my wings. Could affect any number of aeronautical factors."
"Double shit. I didn't even think about that." Marty suddenly looked extremely guilty. "You were trying to contact me earlier, weren't you? Over the blood-link? Damn, Doc, I didn't realize. I didn't mean to shut you out. It's just that Jennifer and I had found a nice private place near her camp, and we didn't want to be disturbed."
"It's okay, Marty. I knew you'd never shut me out without a reason. Come on, two heads are better than one in these endeavors. Hopefully together we can find our camp."
Saturday, July 12th
8: 57 P. M.
Linda heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. She froze briefly, then scrambled up the nearest tree. Oh my God, what is it? Is it a bear? Don't be a bear. I'm too young to die! Please don't be a bear. . . .
The rustling grew louder, and a dark shape started to emerge. Linda bit down a scream, hoping and praying the animal would not attack her.
The shape finally appeared in full. "Anyone? Hello?"
"Dave!" Linda shrieked. "David McFly, you scared me!"
"Waugh!" Dave spun around wildly, then spotted Linda in the tree. "Linda! You scared me! What are you doing in a tree?!"
"I thought you were a bear!" Linda said, sliding down the tree. "How'd you find me?"
"I didn't. I was trying to find my way back to camp."
"You got lost too, huh?"
"Yeah." The brother and sister looked at each other. Their anger hadn't cooled completely, and being in each other's presence wasn't helping matters. "So," Dave said, "are you coming with me or not?"
"Why should I?" Linda asked, folding her arms petulantly. "I could find my own way back."
"That's what I thought too. Listen, it's either come with me or be lost for the rest of the night."
"We could still be lost for the rest of the night. Besides, maybe someone else will find me."
"I dunno, these woods are pretty thick. I found you by pure luck, I'm sure of it. Heck, the whole family might be lost looking for us."
"So somebody else could find me too."
"Like a bear."
Linda unfolded her arms quickly. "Lead on. A bear will see you're bigger."
"What, and be intimidated?"
"Nope, he'll think you'll be more filling."
"Har har. Let's go."
Saturday, July 12th
8: 57 P. M.
The bear finally lumbered off. George sighed in relief and climbed down the tree. Unfortunately, as he hopped off, he landed in a huge pile of bear poop. "YUCK! Damn it! Oh, shit. . . ."
With an effort, he pulled his feet free. His brand-new sneakers were covered to the tops with excrement. "Christ, I've only had these sneaker for two weeks. Damn damn. . . . I gotta wash them off somehow." Holding his nose tightly, George searched for a body of water in which to rinse off his shoes.
He found a creek nearby, trickling water steadily. Somebody was already there, though, washing their wing. George frowned. "Mysteria."
Mystie looked up, wrinkling her nose. "George," she replied coolly. "What is that smell?"
"I stepped in bear crap," George said simply, carefully pulling his feet free from his sneakers. It didn't make a difference -- some of the poop had already gotten inside. "I had these sneakers for only two weeks, and now they're ruined." He ducked them in the water and began swirling them around.
Then he did a small double-take. The water was tainted brown -- and red. He followed the small red streak up to Mysteria. For the first time, he really noticed the large tear in her wing. "Mystie, you're hurt."
"Brilliant deduction," Mysteria muttered.
"But how'd you do that to yourself?"
"Trying to fly out of this godforsaken forest. I didn't expect the canopy to be so thick." She noted George's worried look. "These things heal up in no time, you know that. I just wanted to rinse any dirt out of it."
George poured the water out of his sneakers and gave them another rinse. "I'm sorry."
"For what? Me hurting myself?"
"The reason you got hurt was our fight. I'm sorry. Especially for punching you." He sighed wearily. "It's just that the moment we got here, things started going wrong. We all started fighting when we should have been bonding together as a family."
Mystie half-smiled. "I'm sorry too, George. I over-reacted to the snoring. But things can only get better from here, as Emmett keeps reminding me." She finished with her wing. "I think the reason everyone was so cranky was that you woke them all up at dawn. You said yourself you had five cups of coffee, so I assume you didn't like getting up then either."
"You're right." He looked at his sneakers in frustration. "Screw it. They're ruined." He dumped the water back out and put them on.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the brush. Mystie and George looked at each other, then at the moving wood. I hope it's not another bear, George thought nervously.
Lorraine emerged, looking hot and miserable. "Lorraine!"
"Where the hell have you been?!" Lorraine demanded, not in the mood for formal greetings. "I've been looking all over for you!"
"I was treed by a bear," George told her, kissing her a few times to make up. "Oh, Lorry, I hate that I had to put you through this. Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
Lorraine's temper cooled. "Yes, I'm fine. Just sick of looking for you. I hated seeing you and Mystie fighting. We're all usually such good friends."
"Don't worry, Lorraine," said Mystie with a smile. "George and I just made up."
Lorraine smiled and gave Mysteria a hug. "That's so good to hear! I'm glad to see you. Do you think you could get us back to camp?"
"I can try. Unfortunately being out here in the woods is sort of overwhelming my senses. But I'll do my best. Come on."
Saturday, July 12th
9: 15 P. M.
"100 bottles of beer on the wall, 100 bottles of beer, you take one down, you pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall. . . ."
"And 99 trees that all look the same in this damn forest." Doc kicked some sticks in frustration. "I'm starting to think I've been leading us in circles."
"You think so, Doc? I mean, do they all smell the same and stuff?"
"I -- hey, that's an idea." Doc took a few deep sniffs of the surrounding trees. "Nope, they have a different olfactory pattern. So we must be making progress. Thanks for reminding me that I can put this nose of mine to good use."
There was no reply. Doc immediately got worried. "Marty?" he asked, turning around. Marty was okay, thankfully, slumped against a tree. His eyes were half-closed, and Doc could tell through their blood-link his perceptions were becoming dreamy.
Doc walked over, on the verge of shaking Marty awake, when he got an idea. He gave Marty a gentle shake, just enough to get his attention. "Marty, look into my eyes." The teen drowsily obeyed. "You're relaxed, and feeling very comfortable. Keep your eyes firmly on mine. . . ."
After a few seconds, Marty was in a fairly deep trance. "Now Marty, I want you to remember leaving our campsite with Jennifer. Remember it as vividly as possible. I will be watching and influencing you over our blood-link. You will not resist me. Now remember leaving our camp, as vividly as possible." He closed his eyes and started reading Marty's mind.
Abruptly, Doc saw the campsite again, this time from Marty's perspective. He watched the surroundings carefully in the memory, using his superior senses to check out the territory. Once he was sure he'd be able to find Marty's path, he awakened his friend.
Marty blinked and shook his head. "Jesus, Doc I'm sorry. I guess I zoned out for a minute. What did you say?"
"We haven't been going around in circles. In fact, I think we're getting closer to the camp. Follow me." He strode off with confidence, a confused but excited Marty behind him. About 15 minutes later, Doc located some trees he remembered from Marty's memory. "Bingo! Now all we have to do is follow this back to the camp!"
"You sure, Doc?" Marty asked, a little nervous this was a dead end.
"Positive, don't worry. After all, we're following the route you took to get out of our campsite." He explained to his friend what he had done. Marty was understandably surprised, but also very glad. "Wow, I didn't even realize you'd hypnotized me. But I'm damn glad you did. Come on, let's get back to our camp!"
Saturday, July 12th
9: 15 P. M.
Linda shivered, holding her arms tightly against her body. "I'm getting cold."
Dave pulled off his coat, which he had worn all day as it had been unusually cool. "Here. Put this on."
Linda made a weak protest, then accepted the jacket. This show of brotherly love banished her angry feelings. "Dave -- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the stuff I said. I'm sorry."
Dave sighed. "I'm sorry too, Linda. I was acting like a real jerk to everybody." He shrugged. "You're still my little sister, no matter how old you get. I feel like I gotta take care of ya."
"Sometimes I like that, but I'm a lot more than just your sister. But I get where you're coming from."
"Me too." Dave stuck out his hand. "Truce?"
"Truce," Linda agreed, shaking it.
"Aww, how sweet," Lorraine said, making the pair of them jump. They spun to see Lorraine, George, and Mystie behind them, smiling. "I'm glad everyone's getting along again."
"Mom! Dad! Mystie!" Linda gasped. "Boy, we're glad to see you!"
"Dad, what happened to your shoes?" Dave asked, noting George's soggy sneakers.
"Don't ask." He gave his son and daughter a hug. "How are you two?"
"Tired and hungry. You?"
"About the same." George looked at the trees vengefully. "Damn, is there no way out of this fricking forest?!"
"I don't think so," Linda moaned. "Dave and I have been looking forever."
"So have we. Maybe we should--"
"Shh!" Mystie took a deep sniff of the air. "I smell smoke!"
"Smoke?! Oh, shit, a forest fire!" George panicked. "Quick everyone, we have to find the creek!"
"Don't lose your head, George," Lorraine cautioned. "But getting to that creek is probably the best idea."
"I don't think it's a forest fire," Mystie said, her brow crinkling in puzzlement.
"Why not?" asked Dave, preparing for a sprint.
"Because I doubt forest fires have the smell of burning marshmallows in them."
"What? Marshmallows?" George said, coming off his adrenaline rush. "Anything else?"
"What smells like chocolate too. And graham crackers."
"S'mores!" Linda exclaimed. "It has to be! That means we're near a camp!"
"Hallelujah!" Dave yelled, grabbing his sister in a bear hug. "Follow that smell, Mystie!"
"Way ahead of you, Dave." They ran to the smell, eventually arriving at a clearing. To their joy, their camper was parked at the edge. Even better, Marty and Doc were sitting beside a roaring fire, roasting marshmallows.
Marty was the first to see them. "Guys! Good to see ya!" He got and gave his family a hug, which they gladly reciprocated. "I guess you were right, Doc."
"I knew that if we got the campfire going, you'd sniff it out," Doc said proudly, kissing Mysteria. "How did you all get lost?"
"Ahh, everyone got pissed at everyone else," Linda sighed, plunking down by the fire.
"I hope everything's all settled." Doc and Marty began passing out sticks and marshmallows.
"Yeah, being lost as hell has a tendency to do that."
Marty noticed George pulling off his sneakers. "What happened to them, Dad?"
Doc sniffed them and wrinkled his nose. "They smell like dog crap."
"Bear crap," George corrected, kicking them away. "I stepped in a big pile of it."
"Ewwww," Linda said, making a face similar to Doc's. "Sour grapes, Dad."
"Don't remind me. Lucky I brought a spare pair, huh?"
They roasted marshmallows and made S'mores, which were quickly devoured. Even Doc and Mystie risked throwing up to have one apiece. "For chocolate, it's worth it," Doc told Marty, making everyone laugh. By the end of the S'mores, everyone was in a very good mood. "Well, it didn't start happily, but it sure ended that way," Lorraine noted, her head on George's shoulder.
"Yeah, this bit was fun," Mystie agreed, a faint shade of green from her S'more. "Let's just not get ourselves lost next time." Everyone heartily agreed, then grabbed their sleeping bags and headed for bed, hoping for better days ahead.