I was hiking in the mountains with a group of friends. That is, I was supposed to be with a group of friends. I'd stopped to nip behind the bushes for a minute and then hurried to catch up to the others. When I didn't catch up as soon as I expected, I hurried a little more. By the time it dawned on me that I didn't seem to be catching them I was well and truly separated.
It wasn't a problem though. We all had satellite smart phones. I took a GPS reading of my position and rang the others. They'd been about to ring me, afraid I'd had an accident. We exchanged GPS positions and determined that I'd taken the left fork of the trail where they'd taken the right.
We considered back-tracking and meeting up, but that would have taken ages. A quick review of the map showed that the track I was on would swing round and meet up with the path they were on. Whichever one of us reached the cross trail first would just wait there. The only drawback was that I'd probably have to camp out overnight by myself. Not a real problem as I could see there was a lake up ahead. I'd just make it a point to camp on the lake.
That lake was the reason for the fork in the trail, with each trail circling the lake, just taking opposite sides. Depending on the size of the lake I might even be able to spot my friend's camp across it.
I padded easily along the trail. I was young and fit and an experienced hiker. I'd have no troubles making it to the lake. I was doing quite well when I came upon this sign. Just one of those silly signs people put up.
'PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING. OFFENDERS PERSECUTED.'
I assumed they were trying to be funny with that persecuted in place of prosecuted. The mentality of some people is amazing. Anyway, I took another GPS reading at that point, marking it on the map. I was making quite good time.
I forged ahead, happy that I'd make the lake with plenty of time in hand. I think I'd actually taken a shorter route than my friends. I came ambling around a bend in the trail and there was this man standing there, glaring at me. A very big man and he looked truly formidable.
"Who the hell are you," he snarled, "and what are you doing here?"
My, my. Such politeness. He got my back up right away.
"I'm Simone," I snapped back at him. "Any fool can see I'm hiking. There's no law against it you know."
I mean, I'm carrying a stick, dressed for hiking and carrying a backpack. What the hell did he think I was doing?
"There are laws against trespass," the man pointed out. "This land is posted. You must have marched right past at least one warning sign. Are you illiterate or do you just think you're above the law, one of those people who thinks that they have all the rights and others don't have any?"
"I saw the sign," I admitted with a shrug. "I thought it was a joke. And you meant prosecuted, not persecuted," I added for good measure.
"No, I didn't," the oaf replied. "If I prosecuted you the court would laugh, say I was wasting everyone's time and dismiss the charge or let you off with a warning. I'd have my time wasted and probably lawyer fees. So I deal out my own punishments. You ignored a sign put up giving you fair warning so you take the consequences."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"If you were a man I'd give you a black eye and run you off my land. Seeing you're an attractive young thing I'll give you a chance. You turn around and head back down the trail, off my property. If you back-track a few miles you'll see where the track forked. Take the other fork and it will take you to the lake."
I knew what fork he meant. The one I'd already missed. Going back down there and back up the other trail would take me ages.
"And what happens if I insist on going ahead and getting to the lake by this trail?" I demanded.
"Your choice," he said, with a very nasty smile, "but in five minutes time I'm going to start hunting for you. If I find you on my property the persecution starts."
He looked me up and down, a very male look on his face.
"When I catch you I'll strip off all your clothes, socks and shoes included. After that I'll be taking off all my clothes. Once we are both naked I will lie you flat on your back. Seeing a naked woman lying flat on her back in front of a naked man is an open invitation for the man to ravish her, and I will happily accept that invitation."
He ostentatiously looked at his watch.
"Better start moving as your time starts now."
I gave him a killer look.
"You wouldn't dare touch me. I'd have you arrested."
"The cops would have to find me first," he pointed out. "It's easy to stay hidden in the woods. It's not likely that they're going to launch a big manhunt for me on the word of one young woman saying she got screwed while breaking the law.
Still, you're welcome to stick around and find out for yourself. As far as I'm concerned, if you're on my property five minutes from now then you're consenting to what happens. You've been told, but then again, maybe you like being ravished."
He wouldn't dare, I just knew it. But what if he did? Feeling furious I turned and marched of back along the trail. There was no great hurry. Five minutes would see back around where his stupid sign was. I'd stop there for a moment and tell the others what had happened and that I'd have to take the other trail so I'd be a couple of hours behind them.
I moved on down the trail. I wasn't rushing but I wasn't exactly taking my time. Several times I looked behind, wondering if he was following. I finally decided that he probably wouldn't. He'd stay where he was until the five minutes were up, probably laughing while he timed it.
The five minutes passed and I still hadn't passed his silly sign. Just a little worried I stepped up the pace a bit. Five more minutes passed and I was now seriously worried. One reason being that I seemed to be moving uphill and I should by rights have been moving down. I stopped and checked the GPS and promptly experience a horrid sinking feeling in my tummy. I was nowhere near the point I'd marked as the sign. It was my day for wrong turns it seemed. Trouble was I had no idea where I'd gone wrong. I debated turning around and going back but decided no. After all, I damn well knew that man was back down that track somewhere. Hereabouts I was probably off his land.
I checked the map, trying to work out the best way to the lake. It seemed to me that the path I was on would get me there, but was a bit further than going via the trail the man had chased me away from. I forged ahead.
I turned a corner and that man was there again. I couldn't believe it. He was just standing in the middle of the trail, looking at me and shaking his head.
"You just don't get it, do you girl?" he growled. "I gave you a fair and reasonable chance to get off my land after you ignored properly posted warning signs. And what do you do? You try and sneak around anyway. Don't think much of other people's rights, do you?"
"I was leaving," I protested. "It was just a case of me taking the wrong path somewhere. That's how I landed up on your land in the first place."
"If you're that inept out in the woods, you shouldn't be out here alone," the man pointed out, and I blushed.
"Don't tell me. You weren't alone. You just happened to lose them somewhere."