Adirondack Audacity Read Online Free PDF

and he wears a hooded sweatshirt loosely knotted
around his waist. Unlike the rest of us, clad in sneakers or
hiking boots, he wears sandals. His presence unnerves
me, yanking back my hand; I mumble a greeting, my
voice husky with a slight tremor. Jeez, who is this kid?
Chapter 3
Mountain Silence
    The van turns off Route 28 onto an unmarked dirt
road. Almost instantly the left front tire hits a pothole
with a jarring lurch. Outside, it’s total darkness except for
the twin tunnels of light coming from the high beams.
    “Mr. Morris
?” asks Emi Jo, hands braced to prevent
involuntary ejection from her seat. “What kind of road is
this, I mean, is it even a road?”
    “Of course it’s a road
, little lady.” Morris replies. His
hands clutch the steering wheel as he swerves back and
forth in a vain attempt to avoid the crater like potholes.
“We’re just a few miles from camp.”
    “
Sir, exactly how many miles is a “few” miles?” Ben
asks; not appearing too upset over the rough ride. Emi Jo
now has a death grip on his arm and each jarring bounce
crushes her ample breasts against him. The smile on his
face confirms he’s enjoying the trip. And Emi Jo is
clueless to the source of his happiness.
    “Well,” Morris chuckles a
mused by our discomfort.
“Last time I checked the mileage from Inlet to Camp
High Point, it was about twenty-three miles on the main
highway. I know y’all are in a hurry to get camp, being
tired from your travels, so I took the short cut. This is
one of the old corduroy roads, made from railroad ties
years ago so travelers wouldn’t get bogged down in the
spring mud. This route cuts ten miles off the trip.”
    And just when I think the lurching and bouncing
can’t get any worse, a moan comes from the back of the
van. Kat calls out in a panic stricken voice, “Hey, Up
front! Morris, pull over, quick! I’m going to throw up!”
    There
’s nothing like a sick camper on board to shut
Morris up. A quick twist of his wrist and the van comes
to a screeching halt at the side of the road. Mac opens the
door for Kat to make a quick exit. As she vanishes into
the night, the rest of us step out to stretch our legs. As
Vic climbs from the back of the van I hear him complain,
“What the hell, nothing between my ass and a grizzly
bear…” his voice fades away.
    I look back at him in astonishment. What in the
world is he doing here? He obviously doesn’t want to be
here, he acts like a condemned prisoner on death row.
And he’s an idiot;; grizzlies don’t live in the Adirondacks,
only black bears, the chances of a grizzly bear coming
along and eating his sorry ass are far and few between.
We should be so lucky….probably give the poor thing
indigestion. Jerk
    Standing in the shadows of the high beams, Ben has a
sad expression on his face for Emi Jo’s breasts are no
longer imprinted on his arm. A collective gasp goes up
from the group as Morris turns off the head lights.
    I don’t think anything
has prepared me for night in
the North Country. Far removed from city lights, we’re
wrapped in total darkness. The stars overhead are hidden
by a canopy of trees and the new moon sheds a meager
sliver of light. The air is soft and quiet; it is so quiet.
Silence like a cloak of night velvet surrounds us. The
stillness is deafening to ears grown accustomed to city
noise.
    I
’m enchanted by the darkness and silence. As a child
I hid under my blankets, afraid of the dark, sleeping only
if the door was open or a nightlight left on. But this was
different, so calm, so peaceful, so serene.
    And from out of the shadows comes an eerie
tremulous howl wavering through the woods…what the
hell?
    “
Oh, my God, what was that sound?” Kat hollers
from the down the road. Apparently not everyone is
enchanted by the darkness. “Where are you? Holy shit!
It’s too dark, I can’t see anything! Where did everyone
go?! Heeelp!”
    “Over here
.” Morris calls. The van