Chapter Seven

Remains

Dusk was beginning to settle in by the time Richard navigated the SUV out of the foliage and into a clearing that rested at the end of Bear Mountain Road. The dirt road had been cluttered with branches, shrubs and leafy plants that no one could rightly identify, the low hanging branches of the drooping trees scraping every so often against the roof of the car. By the time the road tapered into a clearing, everyone was more then ready to put the thick of the forest behind them.

"Please, can we just find a place to camp so that I can lay in my sleeping bag and...sleep." Ramsey whimpered, looking quite exhausted as she leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder.

"You know we actually have to put up the tents, don't you?" Sadie asked, turning in her seat to regard the weary girl, who didn't look too pleased at her words. "Otherwise you'll have no where to sleep."

Ramsey frowned. "Yes I will, I'll sleep in the car." She informed the younger girl, who simply turned back around, in no mood to even talk to the blonde, let alone get into another 'discussion' with her.

As soon as Sadie turned around, a rhythmic ringing filled the SUV, causing the teenager to jump slightly, not expecting the jungle of her cell phone. "I didn't know that we'd have service out here." She mumbled, pulling her phone from her pocket and clicking it on.

Ramsey frowned as well. "I didn't either, I would have brought my phone." She mumbled, sounding very mournful for someone who had simply forgotten their phone for two days.

"Hello?" Sadie answered, wondering who would be phoning her. Her parents had promised to lay off calling her and let her have two days of complete teenage freedom and independence. Her face paled slightly when the person on the other side of the spoke.

"Hey Sadie, it's your favorite sister." Jessie said from her apartment many miles away from where her favorite sister now sat.

"Hi, Jess." The teenager mumbled, shooting her boyfriend a glare that rivaled the one she had given him when they had first started off on the trip. "What's up?"

"Nothing, really, just wondering if you wanted to do something with Chris and I tonight since you're not camping with your friends." Jessie asked, her words nearly breaking her sister's heart without her even realizing it. Surely, Jessie wouldn't be so kind if she knew where Sadie really was.

Sadie frowned, pausing so that she could collect herself and try not to sound so guilty; everyone in the car would hate her if she made them turn around and go back into the city and would, most likely, dump her off in the woods. "Um, I think I'll have to pass tonight, Jess, I'm...not feeling very well." She said, feeling even worse for lying once again. "Thanks for the offer."

"Poor little butterfly." Jessie cooed, much as she had done when her sister was little and had a cold, using her sister's favorite nickname. "It's a good thing you didn't go camping then."

"Right." Sadie choked out, gazing out the window at a place that certainly wasn't her bedroom, where she should be. "I'll call you later, Jessie, okay? Love you." She said before hanging up the phone, not wanting to hear anymore sympathy from her sister.

Richard gave his girlfriend a soft smile saying, "Sorry about your sister, but you don't have to tell her where you really are." He didn't like the hang-dog look he saw upon her face, unsure of how one could be so close to their siblings; he and Ginny were twins that they usually couldn't stand each other.

Sadie sighed and leaned back against her seat, still gazing out the window and the sinking sun, dropping her cell phone in her lap. "Let's just get this weekend over with." She mumbled, frowning.

Ramsey looked over at the mournful teenager and noticed her cell resting upon her lap. "Cute cover." She remarked, speaking of the many colored butterfly that adorned the younger girl's cell phone. "Think I can use it later to call some of my friends?"

Sadie frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so, I only have a few minutes left and I don't want to run them out. Just in case there's an emergency." She muttered, tucking her phone back in her pocket.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Not that hillbilly crap again." He scoffed, frowning at the teenager who simply ignored him. "When are you guys gonna get off this kick?"

"Enough." Ginny intervened before Sadie had a chance to do so. "I am sick and tired of hearing about killer hillbillies and crap, just shut up. Damn, can't we just go camping in peace?" She snapped, looking at Kyle, Sadie and Richard, none of who said anything to contradict her words.

The occupants of the SUV were silent until Richard piloted the car down an adjacent dirt road and Sadie saw something that captured her attention. "Look at that." She instructed, leaning forward and gesturing out the windshield.

The thing that the teenager was pointing at was nothing incredibly interesting, but it was enough to get everyone looking in that direction. Toward the left of the SUV was a large, open field type area that had cleared been ravaged by fire; many of the trees were wilted or burned, leaving nothing but stumps or twisted branches. Ashes were mixed in with the dirt and debris of charred timber and a gaping chimney raising from the assorted pile.

The most eye-catching thing about the whole scene was the row of charred, broken vehicles that rested to the left of the sight like a bizarre automobile graveyard. The ones closet to where the house had once been were slightly melted, tipping like the branches of the trees around them.

"Weird." Sadie remarked, unable to take her eyes off the strange scene that was laid out before her. "I wonder what happened here."

Richard slowed the car so they could get a better look at the remains of something that had once been. "A fire, or something, I'm guessing."

"I know one thing for sure," Ramsey remarked. "I definitely don't want to camp here. Keep going." No one seemed ready to camp anywhere near the accident site so no one raised any objects to her words.

Sadie let her gaze linger on the burned remains, until she could no longer see it through the dense barrier of sleeping bags and suitcases. Just as she had wondered what had happened to the map at the gas station, she wondered what had caused the scene that she now saw. One thing Sadie was sure about was that ever since they had entered the woods, she was becoming less and less enthusiastic about camping and she was certain that it wasn't just because of lying to Jessie. It felt like something more.

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So, this is a short chapter but I haven't gotten any reviews lately so, unless I get some reviews I'm doubting continuing. I like to know what everything thinks about the chapters, and reviews are great ways to see what I'm doing wrong or right. So, please, review and let me know how you're liking this story.