Chapter Six

Bear Mountain Road

Sadie shut the door of her father's SUV after she had tossed her last bag into the cargo hold. The back of the car was packed with camping equipment and duffel bags, filled with clothes and other necessities for the five teenagers that were going camping. She turned away from the green SUV and faced the other four people that were accompanying her into the deep, dark woods. Standing beside Richard was his twin sister, Virginia Corman, who was arguing about something with a seventeen year old girl whom Sadie had been introduced to as Ramsey Jenkins. Standing beside Ramsey was her boyfriend, Kyle Green, who was Richard's best friend. Out of the group, Sadie was the youngest by a year and the only another member of the camping group that she had met had been Virginia.

"All right, we're all packed up." Sadie told them, bringing the attention to her and ending the right between Ginny and Ramsey, who had been arguing over who would pick the radio stations.

Richard smiled and said, "All right, let's get this show on the road," motioning for his girlfriend to hand over the keys, which she did. Sadie headed to the passenger side of the SUV while her boyfriend climbed into the driver's side, leaving the other three to pile in the back.

Ramsey rolled her eyes as she followed her boyfriend into the car. "I don't even like the woods, too many bugs." She grumbled, sliding it next to Kyle, who draped his arm across her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"Come on babe, it'll be fun...the two of us...alone in the woods." Kyle murmured, lowering his voice with every word. Ramsey just rolled her eyes and gestured around her as to say, We're definitely not alone.

Richard inserted the keys in the SUV and backed the vehicle out of the Burlingame driveway, squinting his eyes in an attempt to see past the luggage behind him. "It will be fun, killer rednecks or no." He said, with a side glance at Sadie, who just shot him the evil look.

Ginny narrowed her eyes as she stared at her brother. "Killer rednecks? What about killer rednecks?" She questioned, looking as though she had suddenly gotten onto the wrong school bus during her first day of kindergarten.

"You know, a group of rednecks, sitting along side of the road, waiting to shot anyone that passes by." Richard answered, enjoying the way that his sister seemed to be growing paler and paler with every word. What he didn't really care for was how Sadie's look was getting less and less friendly.

Ramsey shot Ginny a nervous look before turning to glance at Richard, who was studying them in the rearview mirror. "Tell me you're just kidding. I did not sign on for killer hillbillies." She snapped.

Richard was about to answer when Kyle interjected. "It's just bullshit baby, there are no killer rednecks in the woods. Richie-Rich is just trying to scare you." He said, causing Sadie to turn around and face them.

"It's not bullshit, it's a true story. My sister and her friends went camping five months ago and some hillbillies killed all of her friends." Sadie told them, punching Richard none too gently in the arm for bringing the story up in the first place and taking it so lightly. Richard gave her a puppy-dog look which she easily ignored.

At her words, even Kyle looked unsure, not quite sure of what to say. When Ramsey snuggled closer against him, he decided that he very much liked the idea of a couple of harmless camp fire stories. "Right...and did you hear the one about the escaped convict with a hook for a hand?" He retorted, raising an eyebrow at Sadie, who simply narrowed her eyes and turned back around in her seat.

Richard reached over and squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "I'm sorry, Sadie, I was just making a joke." He mumbled, not quite sure if he was choosing the right words.

Sadie pulled her hand away and glared at him. "It's not funny and it's not a joke. I knew those people, I really did and now they're dead." She snapped, turning her gaze out the windshield.

"C'mon Sadie, this is no way to start off a romantic camping trip." Richard said, trying to sound apologetic and irresistible. Sadie, however, cared for neither of those attempts and turned her head to her right, looking out the window. Richard sighed and returned his gaze to the highway.

* * *

Luckily for Richard, Sadie forgot about his mockery as they neared the woods, speaking to him once more. After listening to Kyle tell some recycled urban legends, Ginny asked her brother, "Where are we camping anyway? These are very big woods." She was more interested in how close they would be to society, incase there really were killer rednecks on the lose.

Richard shrugged, glancing back at his sister. "I was thinking that we'd just stop at a gas station and ask the locals where a good place to camp is." He suggested, checking the road signs for the nearest gas station and seeing that there was one a mile up.

"Right, so they can come kill us in our sleep." Ramsey snapped, glancing out the window and frowning when all she saw was trees and bushes.

Kyle raised an eyebrow as he looked at his girlfriend. "Don't tell me a little campfire tales have gotten under your skin."

Ramsey rolled her eyes. "Please, not you're lame-ass stories. What is Sadie's right?" She questioned, wondering if she really was telling the truth. She'd only known the girl for two hours so she wasn't quite sure if she really believed what she said.

Kyle decided against anything, not wishing to incur the further wrath of Sadie Burlingame, who he was sure was PMSing, judging by her reaction to Richard's story. "We'll get there and you'll see, the scariest thing in those woods with be the poison ivy." He told his girlfriend low enough so that no one else could hear.

Ramsey frowned. "There's poison ivy?"

* * *

The gas station advertised on the hand-made cardboard signs was empty aside from a few assorted, rusted gas pumps and a rotting whicker chair. Eager to stretch their legs, the five teens hopped out of the chair and began to prowl around the small outside area. Ramsey and Ginny wandered close to the windows, peering at the chair and attempting to see through the grim on the glass, while Sadie studied the rusting signs tacked onto the wall advertising gasoline that had gone out of sale fifty years ago. She pursed her lips when she saw a cardboard bulletin board, which looked like it had once contained a state map, though there was only a few inches remaining on the left.

Richard and Kyle entered the gas station, looking for the attendant or anyone that would prove that this place was still up in running. They found a man sitting behind the counter, clothed in overalls, leaning back in a chair. Noticing that Kyle was hanging back, Richard approached the man.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where a good place to go camping is?" Richard questioned, trying to ignore the fact that it appeared that the man only had one tooth.

The middle-aged man studied him for a moment before sighing. "Off Bear Mountain Road's good." He answered, taking a deep breath and shifting his gaze to Kyle, who didn't even try to offer a smile.

Richard smiled and nodded. "Thanks a lot." He muttered and turned, following Kyle out of the building.

The man watched them disappear before sighing once more, watching the group through the grimy windows. "When are they gonna learn?" He questioned the empty gas station.

When the boys emerged from the station, Ramsey and Ginny turned in their direction, seeming eager to get on with their little trip. "Hey, do you think there's a bathroom here? I've gotta pee." Ramsey questioned, glancing around for a sign of one.

"Sure, babe, I saw some bushes along side of the road and some leaves beside the car." Kyle said with a sly smile, causing his girlfriend and frown and swat at him before climbing into the car.

Richard rolled his eyes and turned to face Sadie, who was lingering along the building, studying the knickknacks. "Come on, Sadie." He called, causing her to turn and head toward the car.

"There's a bulletin board where someone ripped down a country map." Sadie told her boyfriend as she buckled her seatbelt. "Who would take a map?"

Richard shrugged. "Someone who didn't want to get lost I guess." He answered, smiling slightly at his girlfriend.

Sadie nodded once, deciding that her boyfriend did have a point. "That remains me, do you know where we're going?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"The man in the gas station told me a good place to go camping." Richard answered. "Just off Bear Mountain Road."