4. Lisa/River

An even stretch of road cut through the dark country woods like the knife of civilization through an endless expanse of darkness. It was strangely comforting to Lisa Tillman, late evening drives through Oregon’s deep wilderness. The quiet murmur of a choppy radio station filling her empty car, a reminder of her solitude, and at the same time a way to break apart the silence. Soft orange beams from the car’s headlights lit up the black tarmac, halted completely by an impenetrably dark. Dense brush and thick woodlands flanked either side of the road. Occasionally a brief break in the treeline afforded a momentary glimpse at the ocean beyond. Dark waves crashing upon rocky cliffs, and disappearing far out into a horizon of nothingness, with only the gentle moonlight to illuminate the once friendly, once familiar deep black water.

The gentle taps of raindrops filled the car as a light drizzle came down. Lisa sighed. Hopefully River would be inside by now, cozy and warm and in her cabin amongst all her new friends. It was a funny thing being a mother with a child as energetic and full of life as River. Bouncing from after school programs to sports and trips, the girl could not get enough of life, and all the while it’d been Lisa making it all happen for her.

Driving her places, organizing events, networking with parents and teachers, taking care of her when she’d sprained an ankle. Lisa had gone for months with barely half an hour to herself and yet the moment she finally had some peace and quiet all she could think about was if her daughter was going to be alright on her own. She couldn’t help it. Watching her daughter grow into such a beautiful young woman, overcoming her insecurities, opening her heart up to others and taking on every obstacle others tried to put in front of her ... it was the greatest happiness of her life.

It’s remarkable how different it was in the beginning. When David had left her, all alone with a little baby girl to raise. She was ashamed to admit that at the time, it hadn’t all been about River. Survival had been something she did out of spite. Now things like David hardly seemed to matter at all.

Lisa slowed the car down a bit, her eyes noticing the dark shape of an elk looming by the roadside ahead of her. Its eyes glinted in the headlights as the great beast watched her pass, not even bothering to move from where it stood. It was a bit unnerving, even for Lisa who wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with the outdoors. The lack of fear it seemed to exhibit was odd. Then again, these were his woods. If anyone was out of their element up here it was her.

At that moment the engine light came on, and Lisa felt the car suddenly grow quiet and heavy, the engine sputtering and then stalling out completely. A brief moment of panic and confusion overtook her as she struggled to even turn the steering wheel and stamped down hard on the break. Quickly realizing what had happened, she forced the car to pull over onto a shoulder.

“What the- shit!” It took an uncomfortably long time for the brakes to finally bring the car to a stop, but she pushed down hard, forcing the suddenly quite heavy pedal down as far as she could, and sighed a relief when her minivan finally stopped rolling forward.

The headlights were still on, the radio still babbling in the still night. The only station for miles was broadcasting a preacher reciting some biblical passages or some such other religious nonsense. She put the car in park and pulled up the hand brake, quickly engaging the hazards in case anyone came up behind her. Then for a moment Lisa just sat there, letting herself calm down.

“God ... ah- ... God dammit!” She let out a frustrated sigh and got out of the car.

A bit uncertain what to do, Lisa paced awkwardly between the hood of the car and the driver’s side, the open door letting the sounds from the radio drift out into the night air. She hadn’t been watching the gas, but she didn’t think she’d needed to! There was still half a tank in the car when she’d left Camp Half Moon. More than enough to get her to the next gas station. Yet her engine had stalled? Could it have been a mechanical failure?

She leaned back in and tried turning the key in the ignition again. Her minivan made a chugging noise, like it was trying to start, but nothing happened.

Well what the hell did she do now? She had no cell service out here, and even if she did she hadn’t renewed her AAA membership in over two years ... she could always call the cops. Lisa had heard that even if you don’t have any signal modern phones could still call 911, but was this really that kind of an emergency? Was it worth bothering the police over?

Frustrated, she tried opening google maps to see where she was, but when it failed to load anything she just put away her phone entirely. She’d been driving maybe twenty minutes, at most half an hour, and not very fast at that ... there might be a chance to walk back to the camp.

But even that ... Lisa hated the idea of bothering them with her problems. Besides, there were bears and mountain lions, and other wild animals out there. She shivered in her dress as a cool night breeze ran through the pines. It was stupid not to even bring a coat.

Nearly fifteen more minutes passed as she ran through other ideas, pacing back and forth, opening the hood and staring blankly at the engine, trying the car ignition again. Finally Lisa was dialing 911 when headlights appeared, a silver Ford F150 driving her way down the road.

She stirred, uncertain whether to be happy or frightened. Should she get back in the car and lock the doors? What if they turned out to be dangerous? She was alone out here with a broken down car and nothing to defend herself with. At the same time however, she could use the help. Hiding in her car did seem like the wrong thing to do when she’d just spent the last fifteen minutes trying to find a ride.

She fidgeted uncertainly with the door as the car approached, slowing down as it neared her.

A familiar face peeked out at her from within. “Hey there Lisa, you having some trouble?”

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. “Rod! O-oh, it’s a good thing you showed up, I-I really am having trouble!” She let out a nervous laugh.

Rod smiled awkwardly, but with an air of excitement. “Well let me take a look. You- you know these woods can be pretty dangerous, it’s a real good thing I found you out here!”

She gave him a warm look that she could tell melted the man’s heart. “My hero!” He was adorable, the way he looked at her, like a school boy with a crush, his obvious nervousness and clumsy attitude as he bumbled out of his truck, it was all very endearing. She had to admit, it felt much safer here with a friend that she knew. “What were you doing driving out this way so late? Aren’t you needed back at the camp?”

Rod laughed, fidgeting with his hands. “Well I kind of ... forgot my pillow. Can’t sleep without it, so I was going to pop back to Moon Lake- the town of Moon Lake I mean, just to pick it up.”

“Well believe me, I understand that. River, she’s just such an outdoorsy kind of kid, and no matter how I’ve tried to like camping with her, I can never seem to sleep anywhere but my own bed.”

Rod rocked forward and back on his feet, his hands in his pockets. “W-well let’s hope that’s not true! Sometime you might have to- uh ... to sleep in- in someone’s bed!”

Lisa forced a gentle laugh. It was a pretty weird thing to say, but she let it slide. Men tended to get a little nervous around her, and that was far from the strangest thing she’d heard come out of their mouths. “Well if that ever happens, let’s hope I think to bring my own pillow!” She quickly changed the subject. “So you live around here somewhere?”

Rod nodded, seemingly eager to brag about his home. “About fifteen minutes drive from here, little bit on the outskirts of the town of Moon Lake. Real cute one room cabin by a small bog. When the fireflies come out at night, it’s practically the most beautiful place in the world.”

“That sounds lovely, there’s something special about having a home you can feel truly comfortable in.” Lisa tilted her head and gave him a smile. “Speaking of actually, would you mind taking a look at my car? I’d love to get back tonight, and I’m afraid it might need a man’s touch.”

Rod glanced at the vehicle. “Uh, yeah let me uh ... take a look at that for you.”

He pulled his loose jeans up, subtly scratching his crotch as he did so, and circled around Lisa’s minivan. Popping open the hood, the large, rotund man took a few minutes to peek inside, taking his time studying every piece.

Lisa peaked over his shoulder, hugging herself even as the cool sea breeze blew straight through her dress. She tried to cover her rapidly hardening nipples with her arms, hoping Rod wouldn’t notice them poking through the thin fabric. “Do you have any idea what happened?”

Rod tapped on one of the metal thingies in there. “Seems you ran out of gas. Might want to watch your fuel gauge next time!”

“You got that by ... looking at the engine?”

“You know anything about cars?” His friendly tone quickly turned very dismissive, even annoyed.

Lisa touched her throat uncomfortably. She hadn’t meant to offend him. Although something within her was making her feel nervous. “U-uh, well no, I’m sure you’re right, I’ll trust your judgement.”

Rod closed the hood. “I think for now you can leave your car here and stay at my place. We’ll come pick it up in the morning.” He spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh, thank you, I really appreciate it but I can’t impose on you like that-”

Confusion crossed his face as he realized she was declining his offer. “Oh, no! It’s not imposing, listen I love company, and you’ll have your own bed and your own room. Really my place is so nice, I’m sure you’ll sleep alright.”

She gave a nervous smile, brushing a pretty blonde lock out of her face, and forced a soft, measured, reassuring tone into her words, trying to counteract his rushed insistences and maintain the casual civil tone the conversation had had. “I just think I’d be more comfortable getting a ride home from a police officer. I’ve got a lot to get done back at my house, a lot of chores and the like, but maybe sometime you can show me your little place, when things aren’t so chaotic...” She trailed off when she saw the look on his face.

The sweet, awkward, endearing man that had made her feel so safe was still there, but his eyes had turned angry. His lips twisted into a grimace.

“I get it. You make me come all the way out here to help you and now all of a sudden you want another man to give you a ride.”

“I didn’t- ... I-I’m not saying no-”

“Fuck!” Rod slammed his fist into the side of her car causing her to yelp. “You women are all the fucking same. Didn’t it occur to you that I could have driven you all the way home?! You didn’t even ask me though, you just wanted the next guy- and the next guy and the fucking next guy, never me!”

Were they still talking about the car? What the hell is going on? Lisa backed away from him slowly, stumbling a little as one of her heels caught on a pebble. “Rod you’re scaring me a little...”

The man held up his meaty palms, “hey hey! No- it’s ok! I was just venting a little, I’m not scary, you can’t be scared! Why are you getting scared when all I was doing was venting?”

“I’m- I’m not scared of you, Rod.” Again she tried to reassure him, forcing a level tone.

He clenched and unclenched his fingers, face red in anger and embarrassment. “Don’t lie to me you fucking bitch.”