“Fine,” I say. “Michelle, do you need to go?”
“No, thanks,” she says.
Of course she doesn’t need to go. The woman is a robot.
I squeeze my hands together. “Okay then…”
“Try to stand facing downhill,” Jack says. “I’ve heard it reduces the chances of getting urine on your clothing.”
Noah snorts at the look on my face. He thinks it’s hilarious I have to do this. Well, to hell with him. I’ll squat if I have to.
At least I’ve got a pack of tissues in my purse.
Lindsay and I go find a private area to do our business. I pick a tree that looks thick enough to conceal me, and Lindsay does the same. I pull my shorts down and go as carefully as I can manage. Considering I’ve never done this before, I think I do a fair job.
After I zip my shorts up, I grab onto the tree for balance, the wood biting into my palm. As I pull my hand away, I notice five deep grooves in the splintered bark.
Claw marks.
Except these marks weren’t made by a little bunny. The marks are long and deep. The claws that broke the bark were obviously extremely sharp. And there’s a second set of claw marks above the first. Was something climbing the tree?
I raise my eyes. I see nothing but leaves above me. But behind me, I hear a rustling sound.
“Claire?”
I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of Lindsay’s voice. Her brows are scrunched together and she looks at me. “Is everything okay? Were you able to pee?”
I run my fingers over the deep grooves in the bark. “Look at this.”
Lindsay’s eyes widen as she stares at the distinctive marks. “Oh my God. What animal do you think did it?”
I have no idea. All I know is I don’t want to come across the animal that made that.
I have this overpowering urge to keep moving, but Lindsay insists on going back to the others to show them the claw marks. I follow her, but I don’t really want to keep looking at those marks. I want to get as far away as possible from the animal that made them.
Jack is rolling his eyes until he sees the marks on the tree. For a moment, he looks rattled. He runs his hand over the deep grooves. “Wow,” he says.
“Do you think it’s a bear?” Lindsay asks.
“Maybe.” Jack frowns at the claw marks as he runs his hand over them. “Black bears are known for marking trees. But…”
I raise my eyebrows. “What?”
“I would think claw marks from a bear would be a lot higher up on the tree,” he says. “It could have been a small bear. Or… something else.”
I don’t know whether to feel better or worse about it. Bears are scary. But at the same time, their behavior is predictable. We know what bears are capable of. We don’t know what some mystery animal with long, sharp claws is capable of.
“Anyway…” Jack takes a step back from the tree. “Most animals that mark trees do it to mark their territory. So if this is the territory of some large animal, we should move on.”
That sounds like a very good idea to me.
Chapter 11
CLAIRE
Three hours later, we are not at the inn. We are not anywhere near the inn. In spite of Warner’s map and Jack’s compass, we are utterly lost.
And it’s going to get dark soon.
Lindsay begs until we stop for a quick rest. Noah’s water is long gone, and we all take sips from Jack’s water bottle. I feel slightly ill at the knowledge that when this water bottle is empty, we won’t have anything to drink. Even though the sun has fallen in the sky, it’s still hot out. My shirt is soaked with sweat. I could easily polish off the entire bottle by myself. My mouth feels like the Sahara.
Jack takes this opportunity to reassure us. He looks tired and sweaty, but not nearly as frazzled as Lindsay and I look. His shaggy dark hair is slightly damp, and it’s sexy. I can’t wait to get this guy alone at the inn.
If we ever get there.
“It’s going to be fine,” Jack says to us. “We made a wrong turn so we have to backtrack. But we’re on target. We’ll be there before dark.”
“It really feels like we’re lost,” I say.
“We’re not lost.” Jack’s voice is warm and reassuring. He starts to reach for my hand, but then catches himself. “Look, we’re going to hit civilization at some point soon, like it or not. These days, it’s very hard to get lost in the woods. And it’s even harder to stay lost.”
I reach into my purse and pull out my cell phone. I’m hoping to see a bar of reception, or maybe a missed call from Penny. But there’s still no service.