A/N: Happy new year, lovely people. May 2022 be better to us than the last two years. Disclaimer: I claim full responsibility for any inaccuracies in the Norwegian landscape and other details. I've never been there, and this is fiction after all.
Chapter Six: A Place to Clear Our Heads
The drive to Nesoddtangen lasted just under four hours, and Greg and Sara were able to make it with only one stop halfway through to stretch their legs, get some lunch, and use a restroom. At last, the journey landed them on a long dirt driveway that wound through an immense forest. Large rocks and roots jutting upward made the way uneven, and although grateful for the four-wheel drive, the pair wished for thicker seat padding in their rental.
"They live so far from the nearest town. What would they do in an emergency?" Sara wondered when she first glimpsed the house ahead through the branches.
"Cross their fingers?" Greg returned, only partly joking. "They're really prepared. They have months of food stored, along with medical and other survival supplies. You know that my cousin's family hunts, right?"
"I do. The only time I've ever seen Jerker was on a YouTube video—"
"It's U-Tube," Greg corrected lightly.
"—in which he was separating the skin from the muscle of a deer using an air hose."
"Well I told them that you're vegetarian, and asked that they try to be sensitive to that."
"That's very thoughtful, but I am staying at their home. I wouldn't expect that at all."
"I know. I just didn't want you to have to see carcasses lying around."
Sara chuckled ironically. "That would be different from everyday life how?"
After they arrived and introductions were made, everyone sat in the kitchen talking. Greg's uncle spoke fluent English and seemed excited to have guests.
"So, where are you going to camp?" he asked them.
"Finnemarka. Have you been?"
"Yes, it's very beautiful. Smaller than most preserves, but it feels remote. If you wander you might find places people have never been."
Greg raised his eyebrows, impressed, and looked to Sara. She didn't seem nearly as impressed.
"This time of year it will get cool at night," Jerker pointed out. "I hope you brought warm clothing. You have guns?"
Sara and Greg exchanged another look; this one, startled.
"For the…cold?" Sara asked. They all chuckled, some uneasily.
"Sara and I generally try to minimize the number of things that could go wrong, and traveling abroad with weapons is complicated," Greg explained following an awkward silence. "I also didn't exactly see any reason to bring one."
Sara nodded.
Jerker's father shrugged. "You can borrow one of ours. Jerker, show them the extra bedroom, then take Greg to the shed and find him a gun."
Still looking to each other confusedly, Greg and Sara picked up their bags and followed Jerker to the spare bedroom. Immediately upon entering they were greeting by a massive buck head mounted on the wall opposite the bed.
Sara's mouth dropped open and Greg raised his eyebrows, unable to stop the smile creeping onto his face.
The bags were set onto the floor and all three stood in front of the buck, staring up at it.
"He fed us all winter," Jerker said, admiration in his voice.
Greg looked to Sara helplessly and she sighed. At least they were only staying here one night.
Sara stayed inside with Greg's aunt and uncle while Greg and Jerker went outside. They entered a small shed filled with various guns; mostly rifles and shotguns but there were some smaller pistols.
"So, Sara. How long?"
The question caught Greg off-guard. Despite trusting his cousin, the presence of numerous weapons made him uncomfortable.
"How—Oh, uh, about a year. But we've known each other a lot longer than that."
"She's older?"
"Not much."
"You love her?"
"Infinitely."
Jerker grinned. "Marry her before she gets away. You're a great man, Greg, but Sara is…what do Americans say? 'Out of your league?'"
Greg scoffed. "Thanks."
"What about this one?" Jerker thrust a large shotgun into Greg's hands, but he quickly handed it back.
"No. I'm not carrying that. What about this?" Greg picked up a small pistol from a nearby shelf. Its shape and weight were similar to his service weapon.
His cousin frowned. "You need good aim with that."
"I have good aim."
"It's less likely to kill—"
"I'm not looking to kill."
Sighing, Jerker gave in and retrieved bullets for the pistol. "Good thing you have such cheap food in America. You would starve."
"Oh, really?" Greg responded in an exaggerated, mocking tone.
Jerker hit his arm. "I'll send a couple of radios with you, too. You might not have service on your cellphones in the preserve."
"So, we'd be able to get through to you or someone else with the radios?"
"Hopefully."
That night when they retired to bed, Greg noticed Sara staring into the deer's blank, marble eyes. He left the bed and tossed a sheet over its antlers.
"Fed them for the whole winter," he reminded her, climbing back into bed.
Once the deer was covered, Sara's gaze shifted to the ceiling. She looked thoughtful. He watched her for a while, then looked at the ceiling as well. Cast by moonlight through thin curtains, the shadows of tree branches danced in the wind. His mind began to trace monsters in those shadows and he quickly looked back at Sara.
"You alright?" he whispered.
"Remote?" she returned anxiously after a small pause. Sara had never been a huge fan of camping in the first place, and now Greg's family was talking about secluded their destination was. What if something bad happened?
It took a moment to connect the word to the earlier conversation with his uncle, but finally Greg shrugged. "Peaceful."
"Cold?"
"Blankets," he countered, wrapping his arms around her. "Plus, if we get too cold, we'll just—"
"Let me guess: 'get naked and share body heat?'"
"If you insist."
Sara laughed, but her smile quickly faded into worry. "Will it be dangerous?"
"Stick to the paths, and the terrain should be easy enough to navigate. And if you're talking wildlife, nothing out there will be less scared of us than we are of it."
"Bears?" she pried, unconvinced. "Big cats?"
"Nobody's seen either in that area for decades. As the human population increased…well, you know how it goes."
"Finnemarka is a preserve."
"Still, you can't preserve what's no longer there."
"But why did Jerker lend you a gun if it's not dangerous?"
Greg shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to be safe. Besides, he hunts for his food and protects his land. He thinks a person should always carry a gun."
She sighed, pondering his words. "That makes sense."
"Good! Now, get some sleep."
"If we go to sleep in a half hour and wake up at seven, we'll get eight hours. When was the last time you got eight hours?"
He gasped in disbelief and snuggled closer to her. "That means we have a half hour to do whatever we want."
Sara met his eyes, narrowing her own. He grinned innocently and she felt herself melt.
"The possibilities are endless."
The next morning, they drove closer to the preserve and parked the rental car. From there, they embarked further into the forest to find a camping area. The weather was perfect; it was on the warm side around noon but the towering trees kept the pair shaded.
"This is amazing," Sara remarked as they hiked. Even as she spoke, she knew 'amazing' wasn't an adequate word to describe their surroundings. The beauty of the Norwegian landscape was indescribable. They both paused often to take pictures or point things out to each other.
After nearly three hours of hiking, they found a clearing, erected the tent, and built a small fire. Greg returned from finding firewood and after adding a few large sticks to the flames he lowered himself to sit on the blanket next to her. Sara glanced at him momentarily, smiled contentedly, then turned back to the flickering oranges, yellows, and reds. His eyes remained on her for longer, because he couldn't get over how beautiful she looked in the dancing light from the fire.
It was now dusk. Making a show of it even though it wasn't chilly, Sara shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around herself. Greg seized the opportunity to move in and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, that faint smile still lingering on her lips.
"Thank you for talking me into this."
He grinned. "It didn't take that much talking."
"I don't think I could feel any more relaxed right now."
"I beg to differ." He dug some things from his pocket and presented them to her.
She squinted to make out the items in the dim light. She gasped and pulled back to eye him in surprise. "Greg!"
"What? Don't act like we've never done it before."
"Sure, but—"
"It'll be out of our systems by the time we're back in Nevada."
Sara narrowed her eyes.
"What better time than now?"
That, she couldn't argue with. Sara wasn't against smoking marijuana; as Greg pointed out they had done it together before.
An hour later, they lay sprawled across a large blanket with a thin sheet over them. Both were on their backs but perpendicular to each other; Sara's head rested on Greg's stomach, and her hand grasped his arm which lay across her chest. They were both feeling quite good from the potent herb, and were currently silent as they stared skyward at the stars between the tree branches.
Suddenly, Sara giggled.
"Are the stars moving for you, too?" he asked.
"What? No. Did Jerker give you the pot when you two went to the shed?"
Greg chuckled. "Yep."
"I'll have to thank him. What else did you two do? You seemed quiet after that."
"He mostly just talked. Words of advice."
Sara raised her eyebrows. "Wisdom, even?"
"Even."
They sat in silence for a while longer. Sara was genuinely curious what Greg and his cousin talked about but didn't want to push the subject. For now, she was content observing the sky and being in his company.
"He thinks we should marry."
Having accepted the subject had passed, Sara thought for a moment. "That's…"
"Crazy, I know. He basically said you're too good for me and that I should marry you before you come to your senses."
She laughed, shifting onto her side to peer up at him. "That's absurd."
"Which part?"
"I'm definitely not too good for you, Greg. In fact, I think it might be the opposite."
"That's not true."
"Well," Sara pondered, her fingers ghosting across his chest, "can't we just say that we're both good enough?"
He smiled down at her and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Deal."
Sara's eyes were tired but there was a shimmer in them; a slightly mischievous sparkle that she often acquired while high. She closed them, and a moment later heard Greg shift then felt an upward tug on her hand. She looked up and saw him standing, trying to pull her to her feet.
"What?" she asked, drawing out the word with mock-irritation even as she accepted his help. Once upright she got a small headrush and swayed. Greg gripped her arms tightly, concerned for only a moment until she started laughing.
"Is pot stronger in Sweden?"
He joined her. "I think it is. You're alright?"
Nodding, Sara turned to him. "Why did you make me get up? I was comfortable."
"I want to show you what I found earlier."
"Uhm…"
"On our way here."
"Towards the end of the hike? When you wandered off to piss?"
"Maybe." He paused, then pulled on her hand again.
"I thought you were gone a long time," she acknowledged, starting to follow him.
"It's not far. Just trust me."
They wandered into the woods beyond the clearing. Despite Greg carrying a flashlight, they stumbled often due to the roots jutting up from the ground.
"Why aren't we using the path? We're going to get lost," she pointed out breathlessly between laughter.
"This is faster. Trust me, I know where I'm going," Greg repeated, also winded.
Part of her wanted to point out that he might not; he had never been here before today. They'd taken the path in and whatever he wanted to show her, he'd only ever seen once.
"Whoa!" he suddenly shouted. Sara was mid-stride when his hand shot out, gripping her upper arm and jerking her back a step.
"Ow!" she said, more out of surprise than pain. "What was that for?"
"Maybe the terrain is a little rough out here," he admitted with a nod to the ground in front of them.
Sara looked down, confused until she saw the steep drop. It was nine or ten feet high, and she had almost stepped right over it.
"Thanks," she nodded to him. They made their way around the side of the drop where the slope was navigable and continued on their way.
Finally he stopped, turning to catch Sara in his arms when her own stop was delayed.
"What are you—" Her voice and laughter faded out when she looked up from the ground at her feet to the scene before them. "Oh, wow."
Greg smiled, again distracted with her beauty as she looked out at the expanse of water. It was either a small lake or a huge pond, but it was large enough to present an opening in the canopy of trees through which the moon shone impressively. The subtle ripples on the surface reflected the moonlight; danced and sparkled with a bluish-yellow glow. Surrounding trees were dark in contrast with the deep purple sky and white stars.
The water lapped gently twenty feet below. She was still gazing at the view when a slight movement caught Sara's attention and she turned to see Greg removing his shoes.
"Um, what are you doing?"
He glanced up, unfastening his jeans. "What's it look like?"
"You're not going to jump."
"I'm not?" he asked, kicking off his last pantleg.
"What if it's too shallow and you break something?"
He chuckled. "It's deep. I had a good look earlier."
"Did you urinate over this ledge?"
Greg gasped incredulously at her accusation, then pulled off his shirt without answering. Sara lost herself briefly, taking in his lean form. He smiled and approached her.
"It's going to be cold," she pointed out half-heartedly.
"It shouldn't be. It was over eighty degrees today."
"What if there are parasites? Leeches? Or tiny fish that swim up your—"
"Whoa," Greg cleared his throat. "I don't know about you, but I'm keeping my underwear on."
She narrowed her eyes at him. When had this turned into her also jumping? "I'm not jumping. You're insane."
A glimpse of genuine hurt crossed his face before he hid it away and placed his hands on her arms. "You're insane if you don't accept this opportunity. When else are you going to have a chance like this?"
With his words he swept his arm in the direction of the lake, and she found herself admiring its beauty once again.
"It's deep?"
"Deep enough."
"Fine," she conceded, stepping out of her shoes. "You owe me."
Sara was pulling her shirt over her head when she felt Greg's hands at her belt. He worked on unstrapping it, and once her shirt was on the ground he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers, fingers on the button and zipper of her jeans.
"Anything," he murmured.
She trembled but it had nothing to do with being cold. Much of the heat from the afternoon remained; she'd even worked up a light sweat on their way to this spot. He tugged her pants down and she stepped out of them. Greg rose again, hand and eyes lingering on every inch of her. Before she knew it, her hands were on his chest, his on her hips, and their lips met in the middle of the air between them.
Breathing heavily, they pulled apart and eyed each other appreciatively.
With a wink, Greg began to back toward the edge. "Want me to go first?"
She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. "Why not together?"
He grinned as they both turned to face the edge. "Even better."
'I can't believe I'm doing this,' Sara thought distantly, but the next thing she knew they were running the rest of the way to the edge and leaping from it. She shrieked louder than she'd like to admit on the way down.
She hit the water feet first and her head dipped under before she swam upward. She gasped when she reached the surface. The water was cool but refreshing. She treaded water and laughed, clearing her soaked hair from her eyes.
"Okay, this isn't so bad," she admitted, but received no response. She glanced around.
Greg was nowhere in sight.