The Campout

read Chapter 1: Desperation and Chapter 2: Officer Jackson before reading this or you will be confused :)

He told the cop about how Heath had called him up and suggested going camping tonight. When he asked who Heath was, Jesse had to explain that in football they go by their last names and he had simply gotten used to it. "His full name is Randy Heath, sir." He then pressed on, racking his brain for details, telling of how Heath and their friend York, who'd graduated a year ago, had picked him up in Heath's 2009 Dodge Ram. Heath never let the subject die that his truck was better than Jesse's. Jesse didn't care; it was a free ride, right?

As soon as they got to the city park, York started complaining. He had left his sleeping bag at his house and was not looking forward to sleeping on the hard ground. Of course, Jesse and Heath made fun of him, called him a wuss and to just "tough it out like a man". Well this really set off York and he walked off into the trees to gather firewood and blow off steam. It was all good-natured fun, and York didn't want to start a fight for a stupid reason. The other two guys had waited awhile to give him some time to blow it off. After fifteen minutes went by, the guys thought he'd been gone long enough, so they slipped on camo jackets and trousers snuck out into the woods to try and scare him. They hadn't taken two steps into the forest when they heard voices...

"What in blue blazes do we do with him?" shouted a hick, irritated voice. "We cain't jest leave him here. He's sure to be finded by them there rangers that patrol these 'ere campin' grounds." A wave of fear blasted Jesse in the face. Were they talking about York? Surely not, what was going on? That's when they saw three men perched up on the back of a pickup truck gazing down on the still, unmoving figure of their friend. By the glint of the moonlight, Jesse was able to observe two things: that York's chest was moving, so he was alive; and three shotguns sitting in the bed behind the men. Jesse felt his heart move into fifth gear and thought that if it beat any faster or louder, they would be discovered for sure. Heath tapped Jesse on the shoulder and motioned for him to crouch down. He then pointed in the direction of a camper sitting on the other side of the truck. Jesse followed his finger to a point where four black Dobermans, on alert, were perched by the front door...guarding it?

They headed back to their campsite and tried to come up with a plan. These guys looked like they meant business. Their first decision was to call the police. So they retreated to Heath's truck and to their dismay found that Jesse's phone was dead. Heath searched and searched for his but eventually came to the conclusion that he had left it at home. Heath then suggested driving off for help, but they both agreed that they couldn't just leave York there by himself to possibly die... So the decision was made that Heath would drive to the park ranger's office about 5 miles down the rock road to get help. Jesse would remain behind and keep an eye on York. Heath had wanted to be the one to stay, but Jesse had insisted that he remain. He had no idea how much he would regret his persistence...

Jesse looked on as Heath peeled off in the direction of the ranger's station. Now completely alone, he had no idea what to do. If he went back down to survey the happenings down the ridge he would not only be taking a huge risk, he would also be endangering his own life. Knowing that he had already made his decision, Jesse forced himself to swallow his anxiety and return to the site. He tried to make as little noise as possible and winced every time he stepped on a branch. When he got about 15 yards away from them, he froze.

The men that had stooped over York's body were now headed in his direction and, worst of all, Jesse had nowhere to hide! He searched and searched and finally stooped behind a bush and laid flat on his face. He silently thanked God that he still had on the camo. As the man drew closer, Jesse, terrified, forced himself to breathe as little and as softly as possible. The men came so close Jesse could have reached out and grabbed their legs, and stopped.

Jesse forced his body to remain still and prayed they would continue. "What in tar nation you s'pose that noise was Terrell?" Oh no, Jesse thought...they had heard Heath peel out. Jesse had told him over and over again to stop ruining his tires like that, but it had become a habit for Heath and he had unthinkingly done so when he was supposed to be quiet. "Sounded like a eff one fiddy to me. Maybe one o' them new Dodge Rams. Ya don't s'pose this kid had friends up here do ya?" During their dialogue, a spider began making its way towards Jesse's face. Didn't matter if it was poisonous or not. Spiders were scary! It took all his willpower to remain calm as the spider crept onto his nose.

After what seemed like an eternity, the one called Terrell put out his cigarette on the ground inches from Jesse's face, and the men resumed walking. Slowly but surely, Jesse pulled himself up and away from the ground. He stomped on the spider 4 or 5 times to ensure its death and then crouched down. With two of the men gone to check out their campsite, only one would be left at their RV. He army crawled the remaining 15 yards and nearly cried when he rustled a collection of leaves. The leaves sounded like bowling pins falling all over each other in the cool, quiet night. Once at the campsite, he was surprised to see that there was no one to be found. It would have looked deserted were it not for the embers of an old fire burning its last in the pit. He crept up towards the RV before he knew what he was doing.

Nearly at the door, he stopped short. Laying on the ground, invisible from his far-off view, were the 4 Dobermans, sound asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking around the RV. He walked around to the back and peered in through the adjacent window. Relief washed over him to see York sitting in a chair, tied up, but seemingly unhurt. York looked in his direction and his eyes grew to the size of watermelons. He motioned with his eyes towards the front of the RV. Right by the kitchen sink sat heaps of thousands and thousands of dollar bills. Momentarily in awe, Jesse had never seen quite that amount of cash before in person.

A gunshot snapped him back to reality. It came from in the distance...the opposite direction from where Jesse had came and the other men had gone. Could it be? Would they really leave a tied up man by himself? He decided to chance it and returned to the front of the RV. Without thinking, he burst into the door and ran to York's side. Quickly untying him, Jesse failed to see the urgent warning in York's eyes. As soon as Jesse turned around he came face to face with...

Ch 4: The Escape