#Chapter 52: Camping Trip
Nina
Somehow, I managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours that night. Those few hours of sleep were fraught with nightmares, but at least I slept. When I woke up the next morning, I knew what I needed to do.
I couldn’t mention any of this to Enzo or Luke, because I knew that I wouldn’t get a truthful response. All of the clues were pointing to them; they had done something horrible to that man who drugged me. Even though that man was a terrible person who only wanted to hurt me that night, it didn’t mean that I wanted anyone to be killed!
It was around eight o’clock in the morning when I climbed out of bed and started packing. I would need a change of warm clothes, granola bars, a flashlight, a sleeping bag… Anything that would be useful for camping. I was going to go camping in the forest outside of Newburgh and investigate this murder myself.
But I couldn’t go alone. Not only would it be dangerous, but it would also be too suspicious if I just took off to go camping by myself over the weekend in the exact place that Enzo and Luke had likely killed the businessman from the club. I had to convince Lori and Jessica to go with me.
When I walked out into the living room dressed in a flannel, sweater, jeans, and hiking boots with my backpack slung over my shoulder and my sleeping bag in my hand, Jessica and Lori both gave me a puzzled look.
“Uh… want a waffle, Wilderwoman?”
Lori said, holding up a plate of waffles that actually looked tantalizing “Sure,” 1 said, dropping my stuff on the floor and walking over to the kitchen. I took a waffle and smothered it in butter and syrup while my friends ate in silence, still staring at me.
“You going camping or something?” Jessica asked. “I was planning on it,” I replied, trying my best to sound nonchalant. “You guys should come.” Lori and Jessica looked at each other, then at me.
“Like… right now?” Lori said with a mouthful of waffles. I nodded as I cut into my waffle. “I mean, you guys can take your time getting ready. There’s no major rush. I just wanna get out there today. “What made you wanna go camping all of a sudden?” Jessica asked. “You never struck me as such an outdoorsy type.
“Actually, my parents took me camping all the time growing up,” 1 replied, which was true. Many of my childhood summers had been spent visiting national parks, exploring the wilderness, and getting bitten by mosquitoes. I actually really enjoyed being out in nature, but eventually my dad started having heart problems and couldn’t risk being out in the middle of nowhere for days on end with no hospital in sight, so we stopped going. Then I started college as a premed student and never found the time for it, anyway. I was glad that I kept my camping supplies, though. Jessica and Lori looked at each other again, then shrugged.
“I’ll bring the weed,” Lori said. “I suppose I could use some fresh air,” Jessica added.Knowing that Jessica and Lori would be so willing to come with me made me happy and nervous at the same time. Assuming that Enzo and Luke were the ones to kill the businessman from the club, I knew it would be safe for me and my friends. They wouldn’t hurt me or the people who were close to me. But if it wasn’t Enzo and Luke who killed the man, and just happened to be a different werewolf, then…
I would be putting my friends in grave danger. I thought back to before I met K, when I was doing research on werewolves. It may have just been an old wives’ tale, but the general consensus that I found on cryptozoology forums — even those that were mostly frequented by casual lovers of the genre and not die-hard believers seemed to be that silver bullets were the best option for killing a werewolf.
“Lori, can I borrow your car while you guys get ready?” I asked, shoving the last bite of waffle in my mouth. “I just wanna run out and grab a couple supplies.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Lori said, pointing to the key hook by the door. “My keys are over there.” “Thanks.” I quickly washed my plate in the sink and grabbed Lori’s keys, leaving my friends still somewhat confused.
I took Lori’s car and made a beeline for the gun shop just outside of town. It wasn’t the most reputable place, but that was exactly what I needed; I didn’t have any permits to carry a gun, I didn’t have a lot of money, and I didn’t need someone to question why I wanted a shotgun and silver bullets on a Friday morning.
The bell on the shop door jingled when I entered. It was dark inside, and while my eyes adjusted from the bright sun, I heard the gruff voice of an older woman who sounded like she’d been smoking cigarettes for fifty years call out to me.
“Mornin’, hun,” she said. My eyes adjusted so I could finally make out the woman. She was short and stocky, with gray hair pulled up into a neat bun on the top of her head, and was wearing a beat-up flannel tucked into jeans with a quilted vest on top.
“Morning,” I said, sheepishly approaching the counter. “I’m here to buy a gun.” “Yeah, I kinda gathered that, this bein’ a gun shop and all,” she said with a gravelly chuckle.
I felt a bit embarrassed, realizing now that I had no clue what I was doing. It seemed that the woman noticed, too. “Self defense, huntin’, or both?” she asked, leaning on the counter as I approached.
“Um… Both, I guess,” I replied, looking around at the gun displays that lined the walls. “Hm… Tiny girl like you, clearly inexperienced…”
I gritted my teeth, expecting her to tell me that she wasn’t going to sell me a gun and to get the hell out of her store.
“…You’re gonna want somethin’ that don’t got a lotta recoil and that’s easy to reload,” she said, turning and walking over to the display behind the counter. I relaxed my shoulders and let out a quiet sigh of relief as she scratched her chin and walked back and forth, searching for something. Finally, the old woman grabbed a box off of a shelf and carried it over to the counter, setting it down in front of me.
“This will probably do just fine for a little thing like you,” she said, which was almost comical considering the fact that she was shorter than me. ” Bolt action rifle. A step up from a squirrel gun, but if it’s self defense you’re lookin’ for, it’ll get the job done. Not bad for huntin’, either.”
“How big of an animal could it kill?” I asked. The old woman raised an eyebrow. ” Don’t go shootin’ a moose or a bear, that’s for sure,” she said. “Why? What’re you plannin’ on killin’?”
I bit my lip as I tried to come up with a response. Before I came up with anything, however, she waved her hand and spoke again. “Nevermind. That’s your business. Hang on a sec. I’ll be right back.”
The woman grabbed the box and disappeared into the back of the store, returning a few long minutes later with a different gun. My eyes widened when she set the box down on the counter.
“Pump-action shotgun. You know, like in those old western movies. The recoil will hurt your shoulder like a bitch, but this’ll take down just about anything with the right ammo.”
“How about silver bullets?” I blurted out. The old woman paused, her eyes widening, like she knew exactly what I was planning on killing if the need arose. She looked around, as if checking to make sure this wasn’t some sort of prank, then wordlessly reached under the counter and pulled -out a box of ammo.
It was unlabelled, but we both knew what it was. “Thank you,” I said, handing her a wad of all the cash I had on me. “This is all I have. I hope it’s enough.”
The old woman shook her head. “No. Keep your money. Just… be safe out there, kid. You hear me?”
A couple of hours later, Lori, Jessica and I were packing up Lori’s car for the camping trip. I wrapped the gun and ammo in a blanket and stashed it under the back seats, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use it, then ran to the grocery store and picked up firewood and food for the weekend. Soon, we were ready to go.
Just as I was about to get in the car, I could’ve sworn I saw Luke’s hoodie peering out at me from behind a building, watching me. It didn’t matter, though. I would be long gone before they even knew where I was going.
