Chapter 3
1720 Words
3
There was absolutely something wrong with her.
It snuck up on her about three hours into her part of the drive. They’d stopped a few times for lunch and stretch breaks, so it was mid afternoon. It started out as an itching sensation along the marks on her arm, and crept up from there. She wasn’t even aware she was scratching her skin until Chuck grabbed her hand.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. The car swerved a little as she yanked her hand out of his grip.
“Look at your arm,” he gently commanded.
Stephanie, half distracted by the road, gave a quick glance down at her arm and then did a double take. Her arm was covered in marks from her fingernails. The skin was red and the scabs that had partially formed over the thin wounds had broken off.
“What the hell have I been doing?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” Chuck added.
He glanced around the road they were on. They were driving along one of the more mountainous passes in the area, and all around them there were tall trees and thick brush. In a few more hours it would be dark, too. He looked at his partner. She didn’t look like she was up for another few hours in that small car. Her face was pale, though more out of a growing fear than illness. Her hands trembled a little on the steering wheel and she looked exhausted.
“How about I take over from here?” he suggested. “It’s only taking two hours off your turn, and I want to stop up ahead at that lodge at the peak.” That was a good two hour’s drive away, but it was the closest thing they had to civilization around here.
“Why there?” Stephanie suspiciously asked. Her hands tightened their grip on the wheel. Good thing there wasn’t any oncoming traffic, or they might have been in trouble.
“I’ve heard it’s got some great food,” he vaguely explained.
“And?” she demanded to know.
“And some nice beds,” he unwillingly added.
“I thought you were getting to that,” she mused. She didn’t want to be treated like a wimp. That just wasn’t her cup of tea. “You’re thinking of us stopping there for the night because you think I’m sick, don’t you?”
“Pretty much,” Chuck admitted with a nod. He sighed when her lip turned up in a brooding pout. “Just look at yourself in the mirror,” he pointed out. She did, and even she had to wince. “You’re not looking too hot, and maybe all you need is a nap or something. We’ll just rent a room for the night just in case.”
“You sure we can afford it?” she teased.
“You’re worth it, Boss,” he countered.
“And what if I say no?” she challenged. She had the wheel, so she had the power. “What if I just say we drive non-stop home?”
“Then I’d call your bluff,” he argued.
“Oh? Why?” she wondered.
“Because you’re a girl, and you’ve had about three cups of coffee to keep yourself awake,” Chuck counted off. “You’re going to have to go to the bathroom sometime.”
“Fine…” Stephanie grumbled. She couldn’t deny he was right, but she could inwardly curse herself for buying so many cups of coffee at that last truck stop.
She pulled over at the next truck turnout, and they both welcomed a moment to stretch. Stephanie stepped over to the edge of wilderness and glanced up at the tall trees around them. The turnout looked out onto a sheer drop into a narrow ravine. A rough stream with large boulders carved its way through the ravine of its own making. In some spots were miniature flood plains, and on those grew wild grass and berry bushes. She could just imagine laying down on those beds of green for a quick nap.
“Sure is nice here, isn’t it?” Chuck asked her.
“Yeah, if you want to live like a wild man,” she joked.
A soft wind came up and blew right passed them. The heavy pine limbs swayed against the breeze and she froze. She thought she heard something, and it sounded like a voice. She couldn’t hear what it said, but the tone was haunting enough to remind her of the horrors of last night. She looked down at her arm and the raw wounds that were emblazoned red from her scratching. It was probably too late to tell Chuck now. He would probably think she was playing a trick on him, and he’d just be more worried about her mental state in addition to her physical one.
Maybe it was all just her imagination, but she couldn’t help shivering. Chuck noticed.
“Let’s get going or we’ll be stuck on this road in the dark,” he noted.
They piled back into the car, though in changed seats, and off they were again. The road did indeed get darker as the sun slowly set below the high mountains all around them. At around dinner time they finally spotted the resort building.
The structure had been hewn from the local logs well over a century ago. Those massive trees made up the exterior of the lodge, but inside was pure elegance. There was an elegant lobby filled with overstuffed furniture and every room was drawn out in hewn log furniture finely carved and finished. Every modern amenity was offered, too, including an indoor swimming pool and a jacuzzi. The only thing they couldn’t offer this high up in the mountains was internet and cable. The high rocks blocked most reception except for phones, and even those were spotty.
“Let’s get ourselves a comfortable room,” Chuck invited.
He led the way up to the front desk.
“Good evening,” the gentleman at the desk greeted them. He was smartly dressed in a three piece suit with a dark red tie. “How can I help you?”
“We were looking for a room, something with two beds,” Chuck explained.
“I’m afraid we only have one bed in each room,” the employee informed them. Chuck’s face dropped and Stephanie couldn’t help but smirk. “But if you would like to have two rooms, we charge three hundred dollars a night.”
“Um, I think we’ll take one,” Chuck squeaked out. His partner could see his face tightened as he did the math. That would be a lot of money for one night. “Do you have anything cheaper?”
“Well, we have an economy room at the back of the lodge for two hundred,” the man informed them. He glanced at the records to see which rooms were occupied. “There’s one open there right now. Would you like to see it?”
“No, we’ll just take it,” he agreed. “But is there any way we can get an extra set of blankets?”
“Our rooms are not drafty, sir,” the employee assured him.
“Well, I got some arthritis coming on, so I just need an extra helping of blankets,” Chuck countered. The desk manager raised a brow as he looked the man up and down. He didn’t look a day passed thirty. “So just in case, I’d like to have some more. As many as you can spare.”
“We can get you a couple,” the manager grudgingly agreed. He slid the guest book over to them. “If you’ll just sign here and pay for your rooms, I can give you the key.”
“What time is dinner around here?” Chuck added as he signed the name of their company. The company credit card would be the one paying the bill, after all.
“It’s being served right now and will close in about two hours,” the employee informed them.
The transactions were made and the two partners found themselves walking into the far reaches of the lodge. They reached the back and found their room nestled near the corner, but not quite there. Having that extra outside wall would have cost them fifty dollars more. The pair found the room small but comfortable, and Chuck plopped his bag down beside the bed. He tested the cushioned mattress as Stephanie pulled out her phone. She needed to call her husband Bob to tell him of the delay. The phone rang at the house a couple of times, but no one answered. Stephanie rolled her eyes and wondered if he was out playing cards with the boys. She was forced to leave a message on the answering machine and hope he got it.
“This should work for you,” Chuck mused after she’d hung up.
“If I’m sleeping on the bed, where are you going to sleep?” Stephanie asked.
That’s when they heard a knock on the door. Chuck grinned at her and walked over. He opened the entrance to find a bellhop standing in the hall holding a tower of blankets.
“You ordered some blankets, sir?” the lad politely asked.
“Yep, and you got exactly the amount I need,” Chuck joked as he took the whole pile. He handed the boy a five for his trouble.
“Thank you!” the lad graciously replied.
Chuck shut the door and walked over to the foot of the bed. He unceremoniously dropped the whole neat pile onto the floor.
“What in the world are you doing?” Stephanie asked him. She watched him get down on all fours and start to unfold them.
“Making my bed,” he told her. “This is the wilderness, isn’t it?” he mused. “Somebody’s gotta rough it or we can’t say we stayed in a lodge.”
“I don’t think this is that kind of lodge,” she pointed out.
“Well, it’s either that or we share a bed,” he countered. He grinned up at her. “You want to keep my arthritis company?”
“On second thought, keep down on the floor,” she ordered as she playfully kicked at him.
“Ooph!” he yelped a little.
“Did I hurt you?” Stephanie exclaimed. She bent down and tested his ribs, but he brushed her off.
“You’ve got a hell of a kick,” he commented as he rubbed his side.
“I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized. She didn’t know what was coming over either of them. They were acting like flirting teenagers out on their first night alone together.
“Nah, I guess I deserved that,” he pointed out. He leaned against the bed and glanced over at the bathroom door. It lay against the back half of the room, assuredly to give some cheap ventilation by having a window inside the room. Old architecture was certainly strange. “I was gonna take a shower before dinner?” he informed her. “You wanting to take one, too?”
“Me first,” Stephanie pleaded. She felt dirty from not having taken one earlier.
- Writer
