Holiday in Green Hollow - 4. In the Wild

With their spirits dampened Sam and Fred went back to the car. They tried not to show it but each was disappointed. A cool breeze blew down the street and suddenly Green Hollow seemed less inviting. Without saying anything Fred pulled a map out of the glove compartment. After a short examination he put down the map and started the car.

Farther down the street they noticed that the town's one hotel had reopened. Neither of them said anything. At that moment both of them wanted to get out of Green Hollow. Fred steered the car onto the narrow dirt road that would eventually lead them to the campground. Outside the wind was picking up.

By the time they got to the spot there was a noticeable chill in the air and the sun was low in the sky. They had to hurry to set up camp. Sam pitched the tent while Fred started the fire. By sunset they had a big fire and were warming up some canned beans. The physical activity had improved their mood slightly. As they ate by the fire Fred smiled.

"Not bad for a couple of computer geeks," he smiled as he opened a bottle of beer to go with the baked beans.

"Yeah, this trip's turning out alright," agreed Sam.

They ate quietly for a while.

"Those beans were pretty good," said Fred putting the empty can aside.

"Yeah. Hey, you remember that thing the kids used to say? 'Beans, beans, good for your heart,'"

Fred started laughing. "I think you need another drink," he said handing his friend a beer.

"What? I liked that. 'The more you eat the more you fart. The more you fart...'" Sam's voice was drowned out by Fred's laughter.

"Did you ever light them on fire?" asked Fred once he caught his breath.

"What? Beans?" asked Sam.

Fred responded with more laughter, "No dumb ass, farts," he explained.

"Oh," Sam laughed.

After a short lecture on the chemistry of natural gas form Fred, Sam suggested that they roast some marshmallows.

"I didn't bring any," answered Fred a little disappointed in himself.

"I did," said Sam going to the car.

Away from the fire he noticed that it had gotten much cooler. He was glad that the tent was quite close to the fire. Returning with the marshmallows he set the bag down and opened it. After eating three marshmallows Fred brought up the subject that had been bothering them all afternoon.

"What do you think of that Mark character?"

"Freak must be on something. His neck is bigger than his head," answered Sam sounding more disgusted than he wanted to.

"You said it."

They toasted their agreement with another drink. Then they burned Mark in marshmallow-and-stick effigy for good measure.

Half an hour later they were sound asleep. Around their tent the weather was getting colder. The sky clouded over and snow began to fall. Luckily their sleeping bags were designed for cold weather and they never noticed the drop in temperature. By morning their tent was surrounded by heaps of snow. The clouds outside made it easy for them to sleep in. At nine it still felt like six in the morning.

Sam awoke to the sound of footsteps. They were extremely loud and close. They made a distinct crunching sound as they interrupted a happy dream about Tom and him on a tropical island. Sam looked around trying to remember where he was. When he recognized the tent he tried to imagine what might be outside it. His imagination quickly shifted gears from romance to horror. He was suddenly certain that only a bear could make that much noise. He was paralyzed with fear as the animal proceeded to open the zipped-up front flap of the tent. Sam reached over to wake Fred as the intruder poked his head into the tent.

It was Mark. "Sorry guys," he said, "Sally and Tom were kind of worried about you. We figured you'd be out here since you mentioned this campground."

"Thanks, but we can take care of ourselves," answered Fred irritated at being woken up.

"They sent you to find us?" asked Sam now recovering from the shock.

"Yeah. It's a small town. We look out for people," answered Mark.

He left to tend to his business shortly after waking them up. The snow was not letting up and the shallow fire pit was filled in.

"I guess that's it for our camping trip," mumbled Fred kicking at the snow.