“Dad, Mom—we’re gonna play hide-and-seek down by the sports field. That okay?”
Jack looked at Christie.
“Um, I guess.”
Christie gave it her seal of approval.
“Yes. But stay close. No scouting around.”
Tom made a small laugh. “Don’t worry, Jack. They do a good job of keeping the kids where they’re supposed to be. We let our two just roam around till bedtime. Couldn’t be safer.”
“Okay, Simon. Come back to the lake for the bonfire before dark,” Jack said.
A quick nod, and his son vanished.
He looked back at Kate, who still didn’t seem to have embraced this place.
“Jack—meet you down there?” Tom said.
Jack looked back at Christie talking with Sharon.
The Blairs seemed like nice enough people.
Soon they were back at the cabins.
* * *
Simon did what Sam and Jim told him to. He folded his arms in front of him, and rested his head against a tree, eyes shut, and counted. But not a normal count.
Never did that back home. Never played
The other two kids hiding while he counted.
He reached twenty and lifted his head from the tree.
A bit of stickiness had attached itself to his arms when he put them against the tree.
He looked around for Sam and Jim.
In the time it took him to count, it seemed to have turned darker here. The tall trees blotted out the light from the sky. And though they had led Simon down to this area, telling him how great it was for hiding, now Simon couldn’t see where they had come from.
Where was the lake? The cabins? Which way … was the way back?
He wanted to call out to them.
Say:
But that would be giving up the game. Being a baby. These were big kids. Be fun to play with them even though he was a full year younger.
Instead of shouting
Simon took a step in one direction. The leaves and dry pine needles at his feet made a soft crunching sound. Another step.
Was he going back the way they had come, or to where they were hiding, or some other way?
Step … step … step …
He kept turning his head, looking for signs of movement. But all was still here in the woods.
* * *
Kate walked out of the back bedroom. “Dad, I’m going to walk down to the lake now.”
Jack looked up from a wall map of Paterville and the nearby mountains. A geological map showing elevation, trails risers, the peaks.
“That okay?” he said to Christie.
“Sure. Go on, Kate.”
His daughter smiled. Maybe the ice was melting. A good thing. “Back before dark, ’kay?”
“Will do, Dad.”
When she shut the door behind her, Christie turned to Jack.
“Guess we’re giving them both some room? Feels strange.”
“We want them to enjoy this place, right? Some independence … might be good.”
“My,” Christie said with a smile, “what a little bit of vacation does to turn the police officer around. I’m glad.”
“Just catch me in a few days.”
“Should we head down to the bonfire?”
“You go on. I’ll be right there. I need to move the car. It’s parked out front, but they say they want all the cars in the back parking lot. Let me do that, and I’ll see you there.”
Jack grabbed the car keys off a countertop near the kitchen and followed Christie out the door.
* * *
Simon froze.
Darker still. And now the air chilled his bare arms and legs. The trees, which had very brown trunks before, had turned gray and dark. The branches overhead didn’t look green at all.
More steps—so hard to force his feet to move.
He looked past the shadowy tree trunks and saw … something else.
Something shiny.
Maybe part of the camp.
It made him turn in that direction. As he came closer he saw that it was the giant fence, hidden from the camp by the trees. Simon now knew he was very far away from where he was supposed to be.
He started to turn.
Then a voice—deep, rough—said, “Hey, you!”
* * *
Jack got up to the Great Lodge and, through a side window, saw all the diners gone, only workers cleaning tables.
Where do they stay? he wondered. Must be another part of the camp where they had staff cabins. Maybe came here for the season, then went back to whatever small towns they came from.
The entry hall glowed invitingly. People sitting on the massive leather couches and chairs, talking, reading.
His car was the only one still parked in the check-in area.
Not much light spilled onto the spaces in front of the lodge entrance.
He dug out his keys.
“Everything okay?”
Someone in the darkness. He hadn’t even noticed … standing there … coming close.
The person took a few steps closer and Jack recognized the smell. That hint of perfume.
Shana.
“Just need to move my car. Y’know, to the parking area.”
