Cynthia swore, loud and long. She was furious and somewhat disgusted with herself. She knew better than to wander off the trail, but the chance for the photos of some fawns had been just too enticing.
She still couldn't understand how she'd lost track of where the trail was. She'd left it going downhill and to the right. All she'd had to do to get back to it was go back uphill to the left. And when she'd done so there was no trail there.
Then she'd compounded the error by going further, thinking she just hadn't gone far enough.
Standing at what was a really nice spot for a scenic lookout Cynthia conceded that there wasn't a trail in sight. What the hell did she do now? She considered the situation.
Good points were that she was expected back at the camp site in a little while and when she didn't arrive the alarm would be raised. Maybe not immediately, but it would be raised. She had a couple of snacks in her pocket so she wouldn't go hungry. Well, not too hungry.
Bad points were that she didn't know how long she'd be out there and her water bottle was empty. You could get awfully thirsty on a hot summer afternoon.
Cynthia remembered seeing a little creek back aways. If she listened hard she fancied she could hear the water tumbling along. There had been an open area next to the creek. Her best bet would be to return to that open area, sit tight and wait.
Backtracking carefully, Cynthia located the creek, but found the open area was missing. Just how lost was she getting, she wondered. She decided to follow the creek a hundred yards downstream and if she didn't find the open area she'd reverse and follow it upstream.
Fifteen minutes later, moving upstream and swearing steadily, Cynthia found the open area. She took some time to refill her water bottle and then say down to wait.
Cynthia sat and waited. Waited and sat. Every so often she'd relieve her tedium by shouting loudly for help. Silence was her reward. She sat some more and waited some more.
Twilight was closing around her and Cynthia was resigned to the fact that she'd be staying on the mountain overnight. She was quite sure that a search party was out as she'd heard a helicopter buzzing around, but it hadn't passed over her clearing. Unless there were other strays out in the woods then it seemed reasonable that it was her they were looking for. When it got dark, she decided, she fire off a few flashes from her camera. It might show someone where to look.
As darkness stirred and gathered around her Cynthia relieved her feeling with a few loud yells. She often wondered if changing her shout from help to a certain other four letter word was what let her be heard.
In the distance she heard an answering shout, although it was a bit politer that the one she'd just called. Cynthia called again, but this time had the sense to shout creek and clearing in the hope that this would give some indication of where she was.
For the next fifteen minutes Cynthia heard regular calls which she promptly answered. The last call seemed close and she was able to spot a light in the trees, approaching her. A couple of minutes later a man came strolling into her clearing.
After confirming her identity (it would be a shame to rescue the wrong person) he reached for his radio. The general search was called off and the stranger turned to Cynthia.
"Well, everyone who can is now heading for home. A couple of the searchers will meet us here. We'll set up camp, feed you and stay here for the night. Safer and easier on you than trying to have you hike out in the dark. Oh, I'm Johnny, by the way."
Cynthia expressed her appreciation of their efforts, apologising for being a nuisance. Johnny waved away her explanations.
"These things happen," he said, "even to the best of us."
Over the next half hour two more searchers arrived at their little camp, being introduced as Andy and Billy. By this time Johnny had cleared a fire site and built a small fire. Unfolding a small folding kettle he'd filled it with water and boiled it, tossing in some coffee.
The four of them enjoyed their coffee, along with some energy bars that the searchers had been carrying.
After they'd had their coffee the three men put out the fire and extracted ground sheets from them backpacks. Cynthia watched as they spread them around, Andy and Billy to one side of the fire site and Johnny on the other.
The moon had come up and it was full. Cynthia was surprised at just how bright it seemed, and with her eyes having adjusted to the dim light she could see around the camp site quite clearly. Johnny, she noticed, had produced a second ground sheet, presumably for her.
Sure enough, Johnny indicated that she should lie on one of the sheets. Watching the men settled down onto their own sheets, Cynthia noticed Billy nudging Andy and sniggering.
"What's the joke?" she asked Johnny as she settled onto the groundsheet, speaking quietly.
"Just ignore him," Johnny told her. "He always gets the giggles when it's time for the lucky searcher to screw the little lost lamb."
"Uh, say what?" asked Cynthia, confused. Just what had he meant by that?
"It's a local custom," Johnny said. "The searcher who finds a stray lamb, you in this case, gets to sleep with her. Ignore them. It'll be fun. You'll find it's amazing making love on the mountain under a moonlit sky."
"Uh, Johnny, it's very nice of you to ask me, but it's just not on. I don't even know you."
"Uh, Cynthia, it's very much on. I wasn't exactly asking. More letting you know what's going to happen.
Um, by the way, if you're thinking of screaming for help, Andy and Billy would be over here like a shot to help, but they'd help me, not you. And for a reward they'd expect a turn.
You don't want that, do you?"
Cynthia looked at him in shock.
"Are you seriously telling me that you're going to have sex with me whether I like it or not and if I scream or struggle those two oafs will come over and help you?"
"No, no. You misunderstand. You're allowed to struggle, because you won't win. It's just that it's not smart to scream for help as the boys might misunderstand.
Um, are you going to cooperate and get undressed for me?"
