Chapter 3 Chapter 3
After an hour, her nerves were settled or possibly just lulled as the peaceful scenery rolled by. She glanced at the clock, something that seemed to be happening too frequently. How far now? It had been four in the morning when she’d crossed the border—which left her possibly six hours before Aiden arrived to pick her up and discover she wasn’t there. During the drive, she had second-guessed her decision to not leave a note, but each time she had the same answer. No.
The scenery was visible in daylight, even with the overcast sky, it was far better than driving through the constant darkness. While it was dark, she worried about missing things to look at, but now she knew there wasn’t much to see. If the map was accurate, she had selected an area that was so remote that if she wanted to drive further North, she would have to fly. Beyond her destination there weren’t many roads. Part of her hoped the maps were in need of updating, but the other part— a very small part, was quite pleased. She needed to get her life together, or find a new life now, she supposed. Doing that would require some time alone to come up with a plan of action. Hopefully this plan would not involve any more driving, her backside was numb, again.
Her eyes wandered over to her camera that was sitting on the seat. The camera and Rayne had been sharing moments of silent communication since driving away from the border crossing. In a moment of panic, when the guard had asked what brought her to Canada, she said the first thing she could think of, that she was doing a photo journal of Northern Canada. His comment had been appreciative and wished her luck with the bears. She prayed it was just some sort of Canadian humor and she wouldn’t need luck with bears. Saying she was a photographer, or hinting at it had just been a way to distract from the truth of her flight. But the longer she sat in the car with her camera beside her, the more she was beginning to think it may be possible for photography to be a part of her future. She wasn’t a brilliant photographer or anything like that, yet, but she did have a good eye and could manage to capture things properly. She’d taken a course to learn how to use her rather pricey camera once she realized the days of point-and-shoot were long gone.
Catching herself looking at the clock again, Rayne groaned. Am I far enough away that I could stop more often and relax a bit? The searches she’d done after her nap at the motel had shown that she still had roughly ten more hours of driving before reaching the furthest point she was willing to go. The furthest point she was brave enough to go. Of course, the fact that she didn’t even know how to pronounce where she was going still seemed a little ridiculous.
I have to stop. Her legs were cramping and mind was wandering again. After the long drive last night, she just wanted to get out of the car. While the scenery was beautiful in the daylight it was becoming repetitive. There were trees, rocks, swampy lakes and more trees— repeat and that was it.
Pulling into the restaurant, which had boasted on a sign miles before that it had the best all day breakfast around, not that food was her only reason for stopping. What they didn’t mention was it was the only restaurant around for many miles… or was that kilometers now that she was in Canada?
Not realizing how stiff her legs were, Rayne almost fell out of the car. If there had been other cars in the parking lot she would have been embarrassed. Reaching in, she put her camera on the floor and tossed her jacket over it and then grabbed her laptop bag and turned to head towards the door. Roughly three steps later she turned back to get the atlas. Intuition suggested that this establishment probably didn’t have free Wi-Fi.
Rayne went to the furthest table in a corner and sat down, facing a window. What am I going to do once this trip ends? That was the million-dollar question that she really needed to answer while here. What was it my mother used to say? Things are never as bad as they seem? Well they are this time. I am in the middle of nowhere, with my whole world packed into a compact car that doesn’t belong to me, with no real destination or a plan once I find it. I plan on living on the money I have, including the amount I’d borrowed without asking. Yep, things were pretty bad.
She realized a few hours later that it would be best if she didn’t stay in a motel when she reached her destination. If she registered, then she could be traced and found. The problem with that was she wasn’t sure what other options that left.
Spotting a store called the Trading Post, she pulled into the parking lot. Maybe getting out for a few minutes would help her come up with a solution.
Walking through the store, Rayne was in awe. The amount of merchandise stuffed into the tiny building was unreal. It was a grocery store, fishing and hunting supply and a drug store all stacked and packed into one small space.
“Can I help you find something?”
Turning, she came face to face with a blue-haired boy, at least she was fairly certain he was just a boy, judging by the piercings and pimples. “I’m not sure what I need.” Which was the truth, she had no clue.
He gave her a lopsided grin, causing the lip piercing to pop out further. “Are you looking for camping gear?”
Was I? She tried not to focus on his blue spiked hair. “I’ve never been camping, so I don’t know what I need, exactly.”
“You’re not from around here, are you? The way you talk, your accent, it’s kind of cool.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that? Will my Chicago accent make me stand out to everyone? Offering what she hoped looked like a real smile. “Uh, thank you.”
He motioned to the far wall of the store. “Everything you need is over here. We’ll get you all set up.”
He may just be a boy, but he probably had more camping experience than she did shopping experience, so she’d have to trust his judgement. Rayne didn’t know who he meant by we, but she followed him despite doubting if she really wanted to go camping with each step. It would be a solution. By carrying everything she’d need with her, she could move when necessary. How hard could camping be?
“So where are you going camping?” He pulled a box down from the shelf.
“Somewhere quiet.” She watched as he piled a few more things on the box.
“Quiet is all we have here.” He picked up another small box. “I can give you a few suggestions if you want.” He smirked at her, “but unless you’re interested in fishing and hunting, your choices are limited.”
“Oh, I see.” Did I want to drive further? “Is there anywhere past Timmins?” She couldn’t even guess at pronouncing most of the locations on the map, so playing ignorant probably was the best choice at this point.
Clearing his throat, he shrugged. “I know a deserted campground, it would definitely be quiet. It’s about three hours away though.”
Biting her lip, Rayne tried to decide. What’s three more hours of driving after the last seventeen? “You’ll have to write down the directions for me.”
He nodded as he tapped his fingers on a box on the shelf. “No problem. What kind of car are you driving?” The confusion must have shown on my face because I received another lopsided grin. “So, I know what supplies will fit.”
She cringed. Fitting anything else into the car was going to take a skill she didn’t possess. “It’s very small.”
He nodded again and turned back to the shelf. “We can take things out of the boxes if it’s a tight squeeze.”
Nodding like she understood, Rayne waited until he turned away again before frowning. Boxes of what?
It was over an hour later before she was back on the road. It had taken that long to buy everything anyone could possibly need or want, and fit it into the car. Rayne hadn’t even known the back seat of the car folded down. It made the trunk much larger and, she’d like to say easier, to pack everything in, but easy hadn’t been any part of it. The passenger seat slid forward and the floor in front was packed with her purse, laptop and camera and anything she’d need to access on the rest of the trip. A coffee maker and a miniature stove were belted into the seat, for safety. Although when suggested it, he had mentioned bears or other animals, like moose running across the road. Unfortunately, from the way he said it, she didn’t think he was joking. Having gone her whole life without seeing a bear, she really hoped it would remain that way. She just wasn’t that brave.
Glancing in the mirror, the expression on her face said it all. “You are in way over your head, Rayne,” she said out loud. Thinking of everything that was now in the car, it was surprising it moved with the extra weight. Six hundred dollars later and she was now carrying her own portable home. The boy at the store had lost her when explaining what everything was for, but she could figure that out later. She knew absolutely nothing about camping. The closest she’d ever been to camping was when Aiden and she had gone to a cabin at an elite resort. Come to think of it, the ‘cabin’ was bigger than the store she had just been in. Overall, that trip had been a disaster. Fish flies, which Rayne had never heard of before in her life, had invaded the resort, and most of the guests were complaining or leaving. It was laughable that the guests blamed the resort manager for this incident. How was it his fault that the insects had selected that location to hang out?
If blue boys’ directions were accurate, she still had quite a way to go. There had been nothing but trees for the last half hour. She had wanted quiet, and it appeared it couldn’t get any quieter than this. Surely she was safe enough to stop more often, far enough away from Aiden that getting out to stretch her legs and wander around a bit was doable. Then again, it would only be for a bit if the possibility of bears was more fact than fiction. A close encounter with a small bird or squirrel she could handle, a bear, not so much.
Trying to keep her mind busy to stop boredom setting in again, she thought about everything she’d bought, and wondered how long it would take to set it up. Hopefully, if she arrived before dark, it shouldn’t take too long to figure it out. Right?