The Camping Trip

A couple go on a hike. Contest entry.

The campfire warmed Susan’s face as she munched on her flame cooked hot dog. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and saw a racoon peering at her from the base of a tree. She tore off a piece of bun and tossed it over. The racoon grabbed it and scampered away.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Her husband Mark said in his know-it-all tone that set her teeth on edge.

“Why is that?” she barely managed to not snap at him.

“It’s not a good idea to feed wild animals.”

“Oh, come on, it’s just one piece of bread. How can it hurt?” She instantly regretted asking the question, since she knew that just invited a lecture.

“It risks making wild animals acclimated to humans. It can make them more aggressive to humans that have food. That’s not good for the animals, or us.”

“Thank you, professor, I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, trying and failing to keep the acid out of her tone.

“There’s no need to get snippy.”

“There’s no need to get pedantic either, but you always seem to manage it.”

“Look,” he started to say, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to fight. That’s not why we’re on this trip.”

“No, it’s not,” she said in a quieter tone. “We’re here because Dr. Martins thinks it’s a good idea. How did she phrase it? Refocus and reconnect?”

“Something like that. Typical marriage counselor speak. Still, I think we both enjoyed hiking today.”

“Yes, it was fun.” She carefully did not point out that for most of the hike they were too out of breath to actually talk to each other.

“We could have even more fun tonight,” he said with a grin and a nod towards their tent.

“More fun than you had with Tiffany?” Susan regretted the words the moment they left her mouth, but there was no way to un-say them. Mark stiffened and looked away.

“I thought we were over that.”

“So did I, but I guess I was wrong. Just one more thing for me to be wrong about.”

“Susan…”

“No, no, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’re right, I need to get past it.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, why not? We’ll give it a shot.”

“Gee, you say the most romantic things,” he said grinning. She grinned back. He could be funny at times.

They did give it a shot. The results were barely adequate and entirely unsatisfying. Neither slept well.

They barely spoke as they packed up their camp the next morning and made sure the fire was out. Mark led the way up into the hills. It was a beautiful crisp September day, but even the weather could not improve Susan’s mood. They came out of the woods onto a rugged hilltop next to a stream. It offered a breathtaking view of the valley stretching out below them, and the stream tumbled down in a waterfall. Mark turned to her.

“I want a divorce.”

There, it was said. She couldn’t say she was surprised, but it still hurt.

“So, that’s it then? Six years of marriage and we’re done?”

“Susan, it’s just not working. Really, what do we have that keeps us together?”

“You mean, no kids, right? It comes down to that, doesn’t it?” Tears came despite her best efforts.

“I’m not blaming you.”

“I never said you were, but yet you felt the need to mention it.”

She turned away. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she spun back to brush it off. Her foot slipped and she reeled backwards. Mark grabbed her and she grabbed him, but the tent on his back overbalanced him. They both went over the side.

They went tumbling down the slope, rocks tearing at them. Susan slammed into a boulder and heard bones break. She screamed. Mark went past her and over the precipice. It seemed an eternity before she heard him hit. He made no sound.

Susan could barely move. She looked down at herself and realized her hip was broken. She could also see her lower legs were cut and bleeding, the sharp rocks having torn through her jeans. Her cell phone was in her backpack. She tried to reach back for it, and her hips grated on the stone. The pain made her pass out.

She awoke sometime later, her head spinning, possibly from a concussion. She was just steeling herself to try for the phone again, when she heard scrabbling sounds. Twisting her head to look back up the slope, she was amazed to see a raccoon, possibly the same one she fed, coming down the hill towards her.

“Hey little guy. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you could do the Lassie thing and go get Ranger Rick?”

The raccoon paused, looking at her. Then it went down to her bloody legs. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see it bite into her leg. She screamed and waved, but it kept eating.

Susan realized Mark was right. It did hurt to feed the animals. It hurt a lot.