Kickass Anthology (40 page)

“T-Thanks,” Rob mumbled as his face flushed bright red.

“You’re welcome. Just keep the noise level down if you decide to have some fun,” she said with a wink then walked off towards her own tent.

“What did your sister say to you?” Justin asked as Ron crawled into the tent. “I hope she wasn’t harassing you again.”

“No. She wasn’t harassing me even yesterday. Um… Well OK she was, but it was on purpose to see how you’d react to it. She… She’s been playing matchmaker.”

“What?” Justin asked wide-eyed.

“Well like I said the first day we met…”

“Matchmaker? You mean…”

“She really did set us up literally. She wanted us to get better acquainted. Apparently she thinks you and I will be ‘perfect together.’ I'm not mad at her, though. I’m happy that we met. I really like you.”

Justin’s face lit up as he grinned back at Ron. “I’m glad, ’cause I like you too.” Justin leaned over and gently kissed Ron, then rolled him on his back. As Justin ran his hands down Ron’s body, Ron started to pull away.

“Um… I’m sorry, but… Oh God this is stupid, but…

“But what?”

“Well Darcy said something else, and I’m...” Ron took a deep breath and then added in a rush “You have the lantern on and they can see and hear us.”

Justin’s chuckled “Oh? What exactly did Darcy say?”

Ron buried his face in his pillow and mumbled “She said not to make too much noise.” He lifted his head off the pillow and looked over at Justin. “It’s embarrassing, but I’m not comfortable with having sex out in the wilds in a tent.”

Justin caressed his cheek gently. “It’s OK Ron. We don’t have to do anything if you are uncomfortable. Maybe later on when we get to a town that has a hotel. We can get a room for the night. It doesn’t have to happen all at once.”

“Really! You’re fine with this? I hope so ’cause I wanted our first time together to be special.” Ron was babbling now like he usually did when he was flustered.

“I’d like that too, Ron. Really it’s fine.” Justin reached over and turned off the lantern. “We can just cuddle if you want.”

The weeks progressed and Justin and Ron grew closer. Every evening at dinner, the group shared a little about themselves. At another campfire session, Ron also learned that Justin’s unusual hair color was the result of genetics—premature graying—he’d inherited from his father. In a few years’ time, his hair would be completely white like his fathers if he decided not to dye it.

JUSTIN was pleased that his mapping of the route had been a great help in avoiding the areas were road access was limited. They were able to follow the roads mostly or drive from one section of the trail to the next. They’d made great progress and were now ready to start out on the Chain of Craters section near the El Malpais lava flows. Justin was especially interested in this portion of the trail as it contained may unusual natural formations such as cinder cones and lava tube caves.

They were only going to hike the eleven miles from the junction of Hwy 117 along County Road 42 to the start of the developed off road portion at a place called Cerro Brillante. They would take a break there and rest up, because the next portion through the Chain of Craters was a nineteen-mile stretch they would hike straight through.

The group hiked along the road for almost nine miles before they started seeing any trees. The area was mainly open grasslands with occasional outcroppings of lava. Even though this was shorter than their usual hike, Justin noticed that Darcy was getting tired and occasionally tripping. Although the last two miles provided some shade relief, the searing heat of the high desert was starting to take its toll and they all were beginning to feel the effects.

As they neared the planned stopping point, Luke pointed out a figure in the distance. “Hey, Justin, what’s that dude doing?” The two of them watched the man look down at something underneath a tree. The stranger looked up and noticed their group, then he quickly turned and continued down the trail in the same direction as they were headed.

As they approached the tree the man had been looking at, Darcy stumbled again and fell. She screamed as the lava rock cut her hand and knees on impact. Luke rushed to her side and helped her move to sit on a nearby log while Justin sifted through his backpack until he found the first aid kit.

“Its okay, honey.” Luke helped her take off her backpack as Justin cleaned and dressed the wounds on her hands and legs “We can take a break and drive for a few days.”

“Ron said he wanted to hike part of the trail anyway, but didn’t think he should ask anyone else to drive for him.” Justin said. “I’m sure he won’t mind giving up the van for a couple days.”

Justin checked his cell phone in hopes they had service, but there was no coverage. Then he tried calling Ron on their short-range two-way radio, but there was no answer. Ron and Josie must not have arrived at the campsite yet and were still out of range.

“It looks like we will have to keep going towards the meeting point. Can you walk?” Justin asked as he and Luke helped Darcy to her feet.

“We can manage,” Luke said as he put his arm around Darcy’s waist and pulled her close to his side.

Cameron picked up Darcy’s pack. “I’ll carry this.”

Cameron started down the trail first, followed by Darcy and Luke holding each other.

Justin watched enviously as he followed behind. He wanted a relationship like that. He wanted to be open and free to hold the hand of the man he loved.
Love? Did he love Ron?
They’d slept in the same tent for the past month, but they hadn’t really done anything except make out. He had to admit though that he did like Ron. A lot. They got along well and had common interests. As he thought about it, he realized that if he wasn’t in love, he was certainly falling fast. 

When they got to their campsite for the night, Justin realized that he’d forgotten to check the ground under the tree where the stranger had been looking. It wasn’t that far back; maybe after dinner he and Ron could take a little walk and see what was so interesting.

“Hey, how come you’re late?” Darcy asked when Ron and Josie finally pulled up in the vans with all their extra gear.

“We got a flat on the way into town and the spares from both vans were also flat. We had to take all three tires into town to get fixed and then come back and put the regular one back on,” Josie said.

After dinner, Justin and Ron went for that walk. They went back to the tree the stranger had been looking at. Justin looked around, but couldn’t see anything of interest. Maybe there had been a snake or other creature when the stranger was there. Away from the camp, he held Ron’s hand as they walked.

"Are you ready for the hike tomorrow?’ Justin asked Ron. "It’s nineteen miles to the next campsite."

"Yes, I'm good," Ron replied. "I've been hiking parts of the trail every day after we've moved the camp. I think it will be fine."

“That’s good. I’m really happy that we can see this part of the trail together,” Justin replied as he stood on his tippy-toes and pulled Ron down for a kiss.

JUSTIN felt the happiness of being able to walk alongside Ron, and share his passion for the geology of the area. He and Ron were the first two to start down the trail the next morning. Sounding more like a tour guide, he talked to Ron about the multiple volcanoes they passed by. “The Chain of Craters area volcanoes erupted about three point seven million years ago, the Bandera flow was about ten thousand years ago and the last flow was only one to three thousand years ago. So this area has a long history of volcanic activity.”

As Justin rambled on about the volcanoes, Ron enjoyed the scenery, amazed that anything could grow in the rocky ground, but he saw stands of Ponderosa, Piñon, and Juniper trees that shaded the trail.

Luke and Darcy decided to stay behind to drive the other van. Cameron had been going slowly, so when Ron and Justin reached their halfway point around Cerro Lobo and stopped to have lunch, he hadn't caught up.

“How do you like the hike so far?” He asked as they set down their packs.

“It's great! I love watching you in your element.” Ron smiled and walked over to him. “Looks like we are alone for a few minutes.” Ron pulled him close and gently kissed him. They held onto each other until Ron’s stomach growled with hunger.

“Guess we better get something to take care of that.” Justin teased. He pulled away and sat down’ on a fallen log near the trail.

Cameron arrived just as they were pulling food out of their backpacks.

“Hey, Cameron how are you feeling?” Justin asked. He was starting to get worried that Cameron was feeling the effects of the heat.

“I’m good. Just a little tired,” Cameron replied.

Suddenly they heard a scream. Being in such a heavily wooded area, they weren’t sure at first what direction the scream came from. Ron jumped to his feet and looked back the way they’d come. He looked ready to bolt back down the trail when the scream came again.

“Damn! I think it’s coming from in front of us,” Justin said.

“Yes I think so too,” Ron replied as he turned to face the direction of the scream. “But we shouldn’t go running off that way without knowing what to expect.

Justin put his hand on Cameron’s shoulder. “You two follow behind and watch our back. I will go on ahead and see what’s going on. We’ll keep in touch on the two-way.”

I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Ron protested. “You don’t know what’s going on up there.” Sneaking a glance over at Cameron, Ron then leaned down and whispered in Justin’s ear “Besides, what if you get hurt? Who will take care of you?”

“I’ll be fine. You just rest up and drink some more water, then follow us”

A few hundred feet up the trail, Justin found a piece of bloody, torn fabric and footprints of what looked like two different people. He followed the footprints, but it was almost a mile farther up the trail before Justin found a badly battered woman unconscious along the side of the trail. Justin pulled out his first-aid kit and started tending to her wounds. Ron and Cameron arrived and Ron watched in amazement as Justin took charge of the situation and called Luke on the two-way.

“Luke, we located an injured person on the trail and don’t have a cell signal. Can you call out and get 9-1-1 please?”

“Sure will Justin, but I’ll have to drive until I find a signal. I don’t have any bars either. What do I need to know for the operator?”

“Injured woman hiker, late twenties, or early thirties. Has cuts and abrasions on head, hands, and arms. Unconscious and probably has a concussion or other head injury. Pulse and breathing are good, but I’ll start dressing her wounds.”

“Got it. I’ll radio back as soon as I get in contact with them.”

Cameron arrived a short while later and Justin noticed him limping as he walked up. After taking care of the stranger, Justin came up to Cameron. “Have you been drinking enough water? You don’t look very well.”

Cameron said, “I’ve picked up some blisters that are killing me. You wouldn’t happen to have any moleskin in that kit of yours would you?”

“Sure, let me get it out.”

Justin treated Cameron’s blisters and watched over everyone as they waited for Luke. Once Luke came back into radio range, He radioed, “Hey Justin, The paramedics don’t drive down this county road that parallels the CDT trail. We have to get her out to the nearest place is that was safe for a helicopter to land. That’s back at that paved road we turned off when we started this part of the hike. Give me directions to your location and I’ll come pick her up.”

Luckily, they were near an old logging road and Justin gave Luke the GPS coordinates. Luke drove one of the vans in to pick up their unconscious hiker, and Cameron decided to go along.

Ron and Justin hiked the last few miles of the day’s trail discussing the events of the day. They were worried about the group back at the camp, but they arrived at the campsite without further incident.