A Beautiful New Life (22 page)

They got in and drove off heading in the same direction that they were when they had pulled off. He wanted to prove to her that this road would indeed lead back to itself and then ba
ck into town. They came to the tee
in the
road, turned left,
and drove straight into town. They continued this heading west and then north with each time the road leading back to town. The sun was completely set now and they wondered if they should drive the last road but agreed to wait until morning before making the trip. They headed home.

The next morning brought sunshine and Jordan and Louise headed out to explore the last road. Louise packed a picnic basket to take with them.

“With food this time.” she told Jordan.

Smiling, “I didn’t hear you complain about the blankets last night.”

“Well we just need to be prepared if someone sees us, we have an excuse.”

“We had an excuse last night too.” He was feeling flirtatious and wanted to take Louise back to bed but she wanted to get moving on their plans. With each delay it was that much
longer
she was without her kids. The anticipation of finally leaving was too much at times and today was one of those times.

“Okay the basket is ready. Let’s go.”

He tried one more time to get his way. “Are you sure you don’t want to make the bed before we leave?” He knew she had already made it but in his attempt
to get her back in it,
he had messed it back up again. She looked into the bedroom and saw the messy bed.

“Well it’ll have to wait until we get home.” She was not budging so he had no choice but to follow. He grabbed the basket and her hand and they headed out. They drove into town and head northeast on the last road they had left to explore. They had expected to come across the typical housing develop
ment
but
they found
none. The road
went
east and then north again through farmland. They drove several more miles when the farmlands tapered off and the landscape filled with trees. The road took a sharp left and the trees cleared giving view to a gray brick building. They both shuddered at the sight. This was the first time Louise had seen the outside of the building that started her nightmare but she knew what was inside. Jordan had only been there twice, once when he was captured and again when he learned of Louise’s fate. They got about 50 yards from the building when
two security guards stopped them
.

“Hey I think we made a wrong turn. We’re looking for
Karney
Park.” Jordan had rolled down the window and addressed the guards before they could overreact to them being there. It had worked.

The guard had poked his head into the window and eyed the picnic basket in the back seat. “Oh yeah you took the wrong road people do it a lot. Just take this one back into town and turn left and then take the next left.”

“Ah that’s right. It was the first right honey not the second.” Jordan had turned to Louise and grabbed her hand. “You were right.”

Louise leaned over Jordan. “Thanks so much for your help.”

“Is there somewhere I can turn around?” They had made it this far and Jordan wanted to get a better look at the security around the building.

“
Ya
, just flip a
u-turn
right here.”

“Will do.
Thanks again.” Jordan rolled up the
window, guided the car to the edge of the road,
and flipped around the guards still standing in the middle of the road. Jordan and Louise both waved and they headed off back into town.

“Well that didn’t go so well. At least we know that they are guarding the road in but it would be nice to know if there was a road out. I know if we go through the trees north of the building it would eventually lead us to the road I broke down on.”

“But if we walk we will be caught before we got any distance. We need to take a vehicle.” They drove back into town and with the picnic basket already
packed,
they decided to take advantage of the nice day and headed out to
Karney
Park.

They arrived and found their usual spot on the knoll overlooking the lake. They both were quiet surely thinking but not wanting to say aloud that there was no way out of here. Louise felt the tears fall and for the first time
in a long
time,
she felt hopeless. Jordan sat next to her and held her hand as she cried. He could not even imagine the pain she was going through, the loss, the despair. Her desperation broke his heart and he turned away. He did not want to see her like this and remembered a time when she was sitting getting her nails done.

“That’s it. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it
earlier
.” He was on his knees now facing her. He grabbed both of her hands. “Louise
,
how did you get to the resort
?
”

“Huh?
The resort?
Oh the resort.
Of course there has to be a way to the resort from here.” She wiped the tears with the back of her hand and hope started to filter back in again.

“Okay, we need to figure out where the resort is from here.”

“But I saw you there. Don’t you know where it is?”

“I was there once with Vince. It was before I really knew what this place was all about and we had made so many stops that day that I honestly didn’t even know how I got there.”

“Okay so how to figure out where it is located. It is obviously not in town.” They sat on the blanket pondering. Louise looked out over the lake. “Maybe we can swim out of here.”

“The lake is a good three miles wide. There is no way we could make it.” Jordan laid down looking at the clouds filling the sky. Louise laid her head on his chest
and
both silent
ly
watch
ed
the clouds transform from one object to another.

“TREES!”
Megan shot up.

“Yes dear I see them too but they don’t excite me nearly as much as they are you.” He rolled over and sat up on one arm.

“No, there were trees completely surrounding the resort. I remember driving down the
mountain
and seeing a grove of trees. I almost missed it because
trees surrounded it
. There are trees west of town.”

“Yes but there are also trees north of town…”

“But you came from there and you didn’t see
the
resort. It has to be west of here.”

“You’re right. You have to be right.
Let’s
drive out there. Maybe something will look familiar and we/’ll be able to find the resort and a way out of here.”

They both jumped up and ran to the car before realizing they had left the picnic basket and blanket. They headed back to their spot and hastily picked up the basket and blanket and ran back to the car. They stowed the items in the back seat and before Louise got into the
car,
Jordan pulled her into his arms.

“I love you Louise.” Tears glistened in his eyes and she had to turn away.

She cleared her throat and turned back to him. “I love you too Jordan. Everything is going to be okay.”

“You…”

“
Shh
.” She put her finger on his lips. “It has to be. It just has to be.”

She pulled herself away from him and got in the car. He stood there just a moment his head hung. He took a deep
breath, walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side,
and got in behind the wheel.

They drove in silence back into town and then headed west out of town. There was not much on this side of town. Trees with pull offs every so many feet. Each pull off had a picnic table, a fire pit and a concrete pad or a clearing for a tent perhaps. There were some already filled with those campers eager to get the season started. Louise turned to Jordan.

“How do these people camping not run into the resort. I mean
,
when we used to go camping we would go hiking along the trails. Oh
..”
The thought
was interrupted
with the logical answer. “They must have carefully marked trails to avoid anyone from accidently leaving.”

She turned back to look out the front window and they continued to drive. The road winding around and they knew that the road would soon turn back onto itself.

“There has to be a way out of here. How long is this road do you think?”

“Probably a mile.
Why?”

Megan turned to Jordan once more. “Let’s pull into one of the campsites and park the car.”

“Hmmm I like that idea.” His eyes twinkling now with excite
as the
tears from early
were
all gone.

“No.” She laughed. “Is that all you have on your mind?
No,
don’t
answer that.
We’re
going to walk the road. We have to be missing something.”

“That’s a good idea
, e
ven though mine was better.” He laughed as he pulled into the first empty campsite they came to.

They both got out and walked to the back of the car. Jordan opened the truck and they pulled out their jackets. Here in the sun it was warm
,
but deep under the trees the sun’s warmth was blocked. They put their jackets on and headed west along the road. They stopped from time to time and chatted with the eager campers. As far as anyone was
concerned,
Jordan and Louise were just some lovebirds looking for some time alone.

They made it halfway around the loop and decided to take a rest. They walked into one of the empty campsites and sat on the picnic table drinking a bottle of water.

“We should’ve brought a blanket.” Jordan put his arm around Louise’s waist and pulled her closer to him.

“Really!
Is that all you think about?” Even in the dark of the
trees,
you could see the sparkle in her eyes.

“When I’m with you, yes all I think about
is pleasuring you
. I know you don’t want to think about it but…but you know that this might not end well.”

“No!”

“You have to face the possibilities. Even if we get out of here we may have to split up for
awhile
.”

“No, we’re not going to have this conversation. Not now.”

“Yes, we are.
That’s
why I want you so bad. Want you all the time. I want to remember you, every part of you.” He had his hand on her face pulling it to him. He kissed her softly
and they made love on the soft bed of pine needles under the trees. As t
hey lay nestled in the pine
needles drinking in each other’s face
etching it in their minds
they heard an approaching vehicle.
T
hey lay still each holding their breath for fear the driver would hear them breathe. The sound came closer
, louder.
It was a truck. It slowed as it passed the campsite they were in and then turned into the next one. They both tensed at the thought of what luck they would chose that one but when the truck did not stop, they both sat up forgotten they were half dressed. Jordan was the first to react. He grabbed his jeans. Slipped them on and ran to the other campsite. He stood there jaw dropped to the ground. Louise came up behind him still struggling to button her shirt. There it was
,
their way home. They walked back to their campsite and grabbed their jackets and shoes. They walked along the road and stopped at the next campsite. From the road
,
you could not see that there was a road. The trees gave the illusion that there were just trees. The other thing they noticed was there was no table or fire pit
,
it had j
ust a cracked concrete pad. It looked unkempt
and u
nwanted. No one would use it to set up camp
,
b
ut it blended in with the rest that at first glance nothing seemed out of place.

“Should we follow it?”
Louise asked
. Her heart raced at the thought they were so close to leaving. Had the truck been an illusion? Had
the truck
only turn
ed
the corner
and not pulled into the site?

“Yes
,
but not on the road
, let’s walk along side it.
” He grabbed Louise’s hand and they walked along the road through the trees.

They only walked about a quarter of a mile when the trees started to thin. From
where they stood,
they could
see
a building in the distance and Louise knew at once
that
it was the resort. She recognized the solarium she had enjoyed her first day there.