The Calling (Darkness Rising 2)

"It's official," Sam said as we walked out. "We're screwed. The universe is conspiring to destroy us."

"If it was, I think it could have managed that a few times by now."

"Ah, but that's the trick. You cheat death, it keeps trying. Didn't you see that movie?"

"All of them, actually. Serena loved--" A brief pause. "She loved horror movies."

"Did she? I'd have thought her more the romance type."

"Girls?"

I glanced back to see the man from the restaurant. I slowed to let him catch up.

He was a little older than I'd first thought. Maybe forty. Sandy brown hair. Short beard. Golf shirt. Trousers. Loafers. He looked like a schoolteacher.

"I'm sorry about what happened in there," he said. "I don't know anything about that helicopter crash--I'm on vacation with my family, and haven't been reading the papers. But I've got a girl about your age, and I can't imagine her going to all this trouble to pull a prank. Even if she did..." He shrugged. "Kids do silly things sometimes. No excuse to strand them in the middle of a forest."

I noticed Daniel and Corey circling around by the trees and subtly motioned for them to wait.

"Thanks," I said. "We really just need to call our parents. If I could borrow your cell phone, that would be great." I pulled out the twenty. "I know it might be an expensive call, but this should cover it."

"No, no." He waved the money away. "You make that call and you take as long as you like." He reached into his pocket and came out empty. "Huh. My phone must have fallen out in the truck. Just a sec."

He walked to the pickup. We waited. A couple of minutes later, he came back shaking his head.

"Phone not there?" I called.

"No. It's the damnedest thing because my wife made sure I brought it. I hope it didn't fall out when I was getting gas."

"Can you do us a favor then?" I said. "Talk to the server and get her to let us use hers? I can pay, like I said."

He shook his head. "I already tried putting in a good word for you. She's having none of it. I'll have to give you girls a lift into town."

On Vancouver Island, hitchhiking is considered a perfectly feasible way to travel, prohibited only on the highway, where you could get hit. In Salmon Creek, though, we got stranger-danger classes from kindergarten. Ours were probably a little different from most--we were taught that anyone in Salmon Creek could be trusted; it was the rest of the world we needed to watch out for.

Some kids did start hitching rides into town when they hit that awkward "old enough to hang out in Nanaimo but not old enough to drive there" stage. If I'd tried it, I'm not sure who would have killed me first--my parents or Daniel.

I didn't trust this guy. I didn't like his story about the cell phone. I didn't like his excuse for not helping us with the server. Even if I totally believed him, I wouldn't have gotten in the truck. So why was I considering it?

Because he had a truck. And we needed it, and if he did turn out to be a creep, even Daniel wouldn't argue about abandoning him by the roadside.

"I'm ... not sure. Can we...?" I glanced at Sam. "Can I talk to you?"

I pulled Sam aside and told her what I had in mind. As I did, I motioned for Daniel and Corey to move through the woods, closer to us. Then we went back to the man.

"Okay," I said. "We'd really appreciate a lift. My friend here has to, uh, go to the bathroom before we leave. She's been holding it a long time. I know they won't let her use the one inside, so she's going to use the woods."

Sam had already taken off, loping toward where Daniel and Corey were hiding with Kenjii. There, she'd tell them the plan--we'd get into the truck, and make sure the guy paused at the exit, so they could jump into the back.

While Sam was gone, I asked the man about his vacation, to keep him occupied. Sam talked to the guys, then gave them time to make their way over near the exit.

When she came back, we climbed into the truck. I sat between the guy and Sam. As I settled in, I reached for the radio, then said, "Is this okay?"

He smiled. "Sure. You might not like my station, but you can change it."

I left it on his--country music--and cranked it up loud enough to hide any noise the guys and Kenjii were about to make.