Chapter 6: Johnathan

What the fuck was that all about? I thought to myself, shaking my head as I stomped away from the cabin. She thinks I think she deserves it. Just like a woman.

Even though I was angry and slightly hurt by the accusation, I was more upset by the fact that she had done something that was undoubtedly proven to be stupid. She seemed to be an intelligent person, which made me wonder why she would even contemplate something like that, much less go through with it.

Why do I give a shit? I wondered after brooding for a few more paces. The thought caught me short, but it was at that moment I realized that Jake wasn’t with me.

Usually, the dog was a fixture at my side, but now, about a hundred yards away from the cabin, I was all alone.

Normally, he loved to go for a walk, so I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t right there by my side. He usually wasn’t the least bit affected by my outbursts, since he had seen me through the worst of my depression, so I was sure he wasn’t afraid of me.

So, curious, I stomped back over to the cabin and looked in the window.

Before I reached it, I heard Jake’s paws hitting the floor, before his playful bark erupted from inside the cabin.

When I looked through the window, I saw Carrie and Jake playing together. She was throwing a stick he had brought her, and he made a big deal about getting the stick in the small space.

After a few turns of her throwing the stick to him, he jumped up on the side of her and started to lick her face.

Carrie erupted in laughter, petting the dog, while trying to free her face from his playful kisses.

“Damn traitor,” I mumbled, though I couldn’t help but wonder if the dog was trying to tell me something.

He was usually a good judge of character, which made me feel even more guilty for what I had said to the woman.

Huffing, more out of frustration and confusion, still unsure of why I cared so much, I turned and started to walk by myself, before either of them noticed my leering.

I walked the familiar mountainside, hastily finding the place where Carrie was attacked. Taking a walk around the perimeter, I tried to piece together everything I had missed the night before. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss anything again and if there was something that I thought I might need, I wanted to know what it was.

On the ground, I found shattered pieces of glass and a needle. I figured that the asshole had used this against Carrie and the idea made my blood boil.

Stomping through the woods, now seething I walked beyond the small clearing, in the direction that the man had taken off in.

Along the way, I noticed signs of where the guide had run.

Not too far away, I found another clearing. In it, I found the remnants of a fire and two tents that looked to have been left behind.

I thought it was strange that one of the tents looked like it had gotten into a fight with something and inside, I found clothing and other belongings that looked to belong to a woman.

As soon as I opened the bag, a strangely familiar scent hit me. I scoffed at it and closed the bag.

Slinging it over my shoulder, I searched the abandoned campsite for anything else that might be of use to me.

In the other tent, which still looked to be intact, but equally abandoned, I found another bag. It wasn’t a hiking pack. It looked more like a medical bag that one might carry in a hiking pack.

The rest of the pack was gone, so I cautiously, approached the bag. Picking it up, I heard glass clanking against something that I couldn’t quite pick out. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to decide whether I really wanted to know what was in the bag.

By now, I had pieced together who had abandoned the camp, so the chance that I was going to find something in the bag was going to make me angry was high.

However, I knew I was curious and that I probably wouldn’t stop thinking about it until I figured out what was inside.

So, I unzipped the bag and peered inside. Immediately, my eyes searched for the glass and found a medical bottle, with over three quarters of Diazepam. Apparently, this was the tranquilizer he used.

I ground my teeth, but continued my search, trying to think about this far more objectively than I how I was feeling.

The next thing I pulled out was the reason the bottle made the clanging sound; an unsheathed chef’s knife was also positioned carefully in the bag.

There was also a spool of rope, duct tape and a garbage bag.

The horrifying implications of what the guide planned to do with this bag were almost too hard to readily comprehend.

I drew in a deep breath, replaced the contents in the bag and left it where it was.

I sure as hell didn’t want to be caught with this murderous bag of shit.

When I walked out of the tent, I pressed forward, away from the cabin.

I made it about a hundred yards away from the tents when I realized that I was tracking the man. Without even being fully aware of my rash decision, I had continued following the man’s trail, seriously contemplating ending the bastard for good.

However, when I became conscious of what I was doing, I stopped myself, since I didn’t want to complicate anything.

After all, Carrie was safe, so there was no need to find the man. I huffed with rage, glowering into the woods, looking for some sign of the man, to give me a reason to hunt him down.

Although, I was sure he was already gone.

I hoped, for my sanity and for the guy’s lifespan that I never saw him or had a reason to find him again. For now, I was far more concerned with ensuring Carrie wasn’t alone for too long, especially after everything I had found. With or without Jake, I didn’t completely trust that danger wouldn’t find them both if I was out for too long.

Why is that? I thought, slightly distracted by the idea. I had no real reason for feeling such intense emotion when it came to Carrie.

Sure, I didn’t want her to get killed by the psycho guide, but the feelings I had acquired, in such a short span of time were far deeper than simply the preservation of human life.

After all, I didn’t care much about humans to begin with and yet, I cared about this woman.

Between getting so angry at her decision to go into the mountains alone with the guide and the urge I had to make the man pay for what he did to Carrie, I was getting far too involved. I knew that there was a difference between saving her and doing what was necessary to get her home and falling into the trap of making her situation personal.

On more than one occasion, I had not only thought about, but also acted upon the presumption that this was personal; that I had something to protect in Carrie.

I knew I shouldn’t have said anything to her, but that wouldn’t have changed how I felt. I would’ve still had unsubstantiated anger against the situation and if I hadn’t at least told her how I felt, I might have done something I regretted.

Yet, I still wanted a purpose for feeling anything toward this woman. I didn’t owe her anything and she certainly didn’t owe me anything. What was the connection, that I apparently deemed important?

I wasn’t sure and if I couldn’t figure out a good enough reason, I knew that I was going to have to lose these thoughts and urges as soon as possible, or I was doomed.

This was another reason, an active defiance against my feelings.

“I hope the bastard fell into a trap and got eaten alive by a mountain lion,” I thought aloud and turned back toward the cabin.

Even though I had settled on not going after the man, I still found myself focusing on certain aspects along the area surrounding the cabin. I was painfully alert and found distracting potential of an intruder every couple of yards.

Thankfully, I was good at deciphering between animal and human, but I didn’t stop before ensuring that the sound Jake heard the night before really wasn’t anything to worry about.