Car Trouble: A Cassidy Callahan Novel. Kelly Rysten

stretched out. I relaxed, savoring the feeling of the earth against my back. Finally, quiet and nature again. I needed to stalk, track and climb to work out all the kinks the city threw my way. I didn’t want to worry about bills or shopping or murders. This was my time, my place where things worked right, where I was comfortable. I unpacked the extra food I’d brought, adding it to the ammo box of food I kept in the hideout. The new novel was added to my stash of reading material. Occasionally when I was stuck up here by rain or fog the books came in handy.

      Leaving the hideout I checked the area for signs of wildlife and found tracks of chipmunks and squirrels. One track, heading up canyon, looked like a coyote but it could have been left by Shadow. I studied it more carefully. It wasn’t Shadow but it wasn’t a coyote either. The track had been left by a domestic dog but one much larger than my Sheltie. I tried to gauge how old the track was, hoping the dog was no longer in the area. I never worried about the wildlife; it was the non-wildlife that could be dangerous.

      I lit my stove, then heated water for a meal. Good old backpacker food. It was tempting to live off the trail mix but I’d soon tire of that. Maybe I could snare my next dinner and have some real meat. Maybe tomorrow. I’d be out in the game trails tomorrow anyway and get a better feel for things then. Today it was arroz con pollo backpacker style. I tore open the pouch, added boiling water and folded the top down to let the food cook. At least this was easy. No fuss, no mess, quick clean up; my kind of meal.

      After dinner I hiked down to a small clearing below my camp to check out the deer population. I explored the wall of the canyon, looking for interesting places like caves or nice boulders for rock climbing. I’d been to this canyon dozens of time but always saved areas for further exploring so it never got old. Shadow followed along. When he brought pinecones to me I would throw them in a game of fetch. This was his play time, too. At home we used an agility course, and that was Shadow’s job. He was a smart, working dog and needed to keep busy. Out here, his work changed to keeping track of me and investigating all the smells and animals.

      As the sun dipped below the side of the canyon I headed back to the hideout. This was not a place for wandering around at night. It was rugged, so I kept close to camp after sunset. I slept when it was dark and got up with the sun in the morning.

      The next day I awoke to scurrying noises on the roof of the hideout. Obviously a chipmunk or squirrel had taken up residence in the branches covering the tarp. I went outside to greet my new neighbor. I sat quietly on the flat rock, my eye on the hideout. Sure enough, out popped a chipmunk. He poked around in the bushes and then carried something into the branches and disappeared. Pretty quick he was back at it again. I went back inside, brought out my trail mix and hid some under a nearby bush for the chipmunk to find. When he had located that stash, I left out the open bag for him to discover. I was sensitizing him to this new food using different locations. After he made a few trips to the bag I took it and lay down at the base of the hideout. I put some trail mix in my hand and found a comfortable position that I could maintain for a long time, and then lay quietly, stilling my breathing. Be still, Cass, quiet. I relaxed and felt a shift in my attitude and I was settled in, ready for the long wait.

      The chipmunk scurried around, then froze at the site of me. Still, I thought, stay still. The chipmunk stepped forward, froze, stepped forward. It wasn’t sure about this new addition to the forest bearing food. I must have moved a bit because the chipmunk hurried up a tree. I laid beneath the tree for over an hour letting the chipmunk get used to me. You can’t hurry nature. It moves on its own clock. I started getting hungry and realized I hadn’t eaten yet but remained in place willing the chipmunk to come down. I could see him spiraling down the tree, stopping to sniff every few feet, nose twitching, tail flicking. He landed by my head at the base of the tree. Still, stay very still. Don’t blink. The chipmunk inched towards my outstretched hand and placed his two front paws on the ball of my thumb. He quickly darted forward and snatched a piece of fruit then dashed up the tree. I lay there still as a stone as he spiraled back down and found another treasure in my hand. It was hard to stay still with a critter on my hand. I was enjoying the company so much I wanted to visit with him but I knew to do that meant I would lose the chance. I wished Rusty was here to try this. With his fast reflexes he’d probably flinch at the touch but it would still be fun to watch him try it.

      Finally I had lain on the ground as long as I cared to. I put a stash of trail mix where it could be easily found and went on my way. I heated water and made oatmeal and hot chocolate, my normal camping breakfast. I didn’t really like oatmeal but it packed and cooked easily and it lasted until lunchtime so it’s what I ate.

      For some odd reason I was developing an unsettling feeling. I began watching the woods around me with a critical eye, but couldn’t pinpoint the source. Just a feeling that I wasn’t alone up here. I changed my way of looking at things and started watching for odd colors or movements but continued my actions like normal. I called Shadow and we headed up the canyon, once again exploring the walls of the canyon for interesting places. When I found a rock that looked fun to climb I judged it by size. I wasn’t willing to take a tumble of more than eight or ten feet when I was by myself so I only took note of the longer climbs. Occasionally I would find a shorter climb that I could try myself. Shadow didn’t like me climbing rocks. He wanted to follow, but going straight up was not an option for him, so he watched me and whined and sometimes he would find a way to the top, only to watch me turn around and climb back down. I hoped he would eventually learn to wait at the bottom, but even after two years he still persisted in following me as closely as possible.

      I climbed up a rock and looked at the country beyond, more boulder-strewn mountainside stretching up, up to the top of the peak. These boulders were not the eroded sandstone rocks so typical of the area. These boulders were just piled up haphazardly. How had that happened? I could understand the tilted sandstone of Vasquez Rocks. Wind and rain had eroded them. Earthquakes had tilted them. But these rocks looked totally foreign to their environment.

      I was tempted to keep climbing but decided to save it for later. Even when I was alone I felt Rusty’s watchful eye on me and it kept me in check. Maybe it would even keep me out of trouble. I climbed back down into the canyon again and continued following the walls, climbing and exploring the nooks and crannies. Rock climbing was slow going, and before I knew it the day was waning and I hadn’t had lunch. Returning to camp, I rehydrated a pouch of lasagna flavored noodle stuff and washed it down with hot chocolate. The unsettling feeling persisted as I watched the canyon walls for signs of life. Walking around camp I searched for any footprints left by other people but only found my own. I circled the camp looking for sign but didn’t see anything definite. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.

      Night fell and Shadow and I slept in the hideout, waking to the scurrying of the chipmunk in the branches overhead.

      I had not intended to spend the entire previous day rock climbing, so I headed down to the clearing to see the deer in the early morning. I didn’t see any deer in the lower clearing so I headed up canyon to see if they were in the clearing above my camp. Although unusual for them to be in the upper clearing, they’d been there before and I was looking forward to stalking them.

      When I reached the clearing the deer were very wary. I could sense tension in the air as though something had been after them recently, making them flighty. I had little chance for successful stalking under these conditions but I was determined to try. If I could get into the herd in their agitated state it would be quite an accomplishment. I started walking cautiously towards them, but noting my presence they began to dance around with pricked ears, watching me. I stood still, giving them a chance to accept my presence as nonthreatening. Taking a cautious step, I felt Shadow beside me and gave him the down/stay signal. He found a shaded spot and lay there waiting for my go-ahead signal. I stepped closer. Inching my way into the herd, I couldn’t help but get the feeling something was brewing. The deer expected trouble and I wondered what it could be. If it was predators then I didn’t need to worry because they would be after the deer. Although I hated to see one come down I knew it was just nature taking its course. I automatically felt for my pistol but remembered I’d left it home. I then felt for my knife. I brought a hunting knife; not for protection but in case I had to live off the land. A good knife was necessary for cutting things to make snares, and if I caught something, it was also needed to clean