Jessica gets spooked

Jessica was starting to worry about Wes. She had assumed he would come back in an hour or so after he marched off in a huff. She was feeling bad about the position he was put in. This sort of thing was well outside his comfort zone and she didn’t help matters by doing everything for him. She could see why he would get upset. Maybe if she had got him to help set up the tent or to pick a suitable campground, he might have felt a little more involved and included. Instead he must have felt like dead weight. It’s no wonder he wanted to prove himself. Still, it was getting dark and it was dangerous for a novice to be out on their own at night.

Jessica looked at her radio. She had given one to Wes in case he ran into trouble, but he hasn’t radioed in. That meant he was fine… or couldn’t use it for some reason. Jessica frowned and picked up the radio. She pushed the button and spoke. “Wes? You there? It’s Jessica.”

…

Jessica stood nervously as the silence stretched on. She radioed again. “Wes? Talk to me…”

…

“Jess! I’m here. I’m alright.”

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. She replied, “That’s good to hear. Listen, you don’t have to keep doing this. You’ve proven your point and it’s getting dark. You should come back.”

“...Alright…” Wes responded after a brief pause. “I know it’s not safe to be out here on my own. Let me track you from your phone and I’ll find my way over.”

Jessica smiled and exhaled, “Good, get back here soon, it’s gets cold out here at night.” She turned on her phone tracker and found Wes’s beacon not too far away. She estimated he would be back at camp in ten minutes or so if he walked. With the relief of her boyfriend soon to be safely back with her, she felt a tension leave her body. She had originally been mad at him for storming off, but the time away made her feel more and more responsible for him if anything happened to him while he was gone. She continued to watch the blipping dot as it slowly made its way to her location.

There was a rustling in the bushes nearby that caught Jessica’s attention. She looked over but with the waning sun, it was hard to make out. It could have been a rabbit or something. Another rustling was heard in the opposite direction. Jessica tensed up, but decided to investigate. She cautiously headed towards the disturbance. There was nothing around. Suddenly another rustling was heard in the distance. Jess could sense that she was surrounded. She slowly backed her way toward the tent. Whatever was out there did not follow. She grabbed her flashlight from her bag and aimed it for the darkening shadows. One of the shadows moved! She darted the light to follow, but it was too quick. Jessica’s body went cold. While her eyes searched for whatever was stalking her, she listened. There was nothing but the crickets and distant birds.

“Who’s out there?” she called out, breaking the silence.

No answer. She grabbed a pot and banged it loudly so that it might scare whatever creature was out there. When she stopped, she listened in again. There was a snap of a twig that turned her toward the tent. Something had gone inside! She cautiously approached it. “Wes, if this is you, this is NOT funny!” she said aloud. Even though she was saying it, deep down she was hoping it was him and not some wild animal that she’d have to rustle out.

Slowly, she creeped toward the tent. She checked her phone to see that Wes was still maybe five minutes out. It couldn’t be him. She bit her lip and sighed. She would have to take care of this before Wesley got back. It would look bad if he found her not being able to handle the wild after their tiff. She gripped her pot tightly and pulled the vinyl tent flap aside to look in.