Chapter 2

By daybreak, three inches of fresh snow had fallen in the region. Everything was white, and, had the snow stopped at three inches, two men plodding through the forest would have left very clear tracks for anyone in pursuit. But the snow kept falling, covering their tracks and making any forward progress more and more difficult. A forest in the midst of a falling snow can be a very quiet place. Sounds travel a long distance and yet the precise direction of their source can be confused by the sounds themselves bouncing off of trees. Felix and Carlos could hear the sounds of cars on a highway, and they naturally walked towards those sounds, but the winds and terrain changes made their trek much longer than any straight line. It was mid-afternoon before they saw the little store and the half dozen cars in its parking lot. Both men remained back somewhat, in the darkness of the trees, and waited while Felix tried to decide on a plan. One by one the customers exited the stores, got into their vehicles and drove away, most of them heading east. Since Felix had no idea where they were, he wasn't sure which direction they should take, but his gut told him that west would be better, if everyone else was heading east. Before he could decide on the best course of action, the last remaining customer had driven away.

Carlos was cold, and he complained constantly. "Felix, I am so cold I think my toes are frozen. Why can't we just go down there and stand inside and wait for the next car? We can just take it and be on our way. But anyway, I want to go down there and go inside. I'm cold."

"Carlos, you idiot! If we just go down there and hijack a car, the cops would be on us in no time. We need to do this smart. Just try to act calmly, like nothing is wrong and maybe, just maybe, nobody will notice us."

Together they moved through the remaining trees and onto the parking lot and finally into the warmth of the little store. Of course, as soon as they entered the warm building, they both felt the immediate need to use the washroom, and when they discovered that the door to it was locked, Carlos ran to the counter and crudely demanded the key.

"Hey, Buddy. Gimme the key to the john, will ya? I gotta pee so bad I can taste it. Hurry, man. I ain't peed since last night!"

There was nothing terrible about what Carlos said, although he could certainly have been much less brusque and crude when asking for the key, but it was his crudeness and the last part about not using a bathroom since the night before that remained in the mind of the store clerk.

When they were finally through using the facilities, Felix returned the key to the clerk.

"Where you guys from? I haven't seen you around here before, and we don't get many strangers through here this time of year. This is a warm weather vacation spot. Not much to do in the snow, except shovel." The clerk thought that last comment was particularly funny.

"We're not from around here. We are trying to get to Buffalo but the guy we were riding with wrecked his car in the snow and so we just started walking, hoping to snag a ride."

"Well, I don't know if I would say this is lucky or not, but about two miles up the road is a gravel road to the right that heads straight in to Buffalo eventually. Only bad thing is, there is nothing else on that road, and very few people ever drive that far down it. It's one of those roads that connects to a bunch of others, but really doesn't go anywhere itself."

Felix wasn't quite sure what the guy meant by that, but was happy to find out how to get to Buffalo. "How far up that road is it to Buffalo? Would it be okay if we just wait in here until someone comes along that is going our way?"

The clerk had no problem with them staying in the building. "It's about ten miles, give or take, maybe a little more and you're welcome to stay in here as long as you like."

They didn't have to wait long, however, before their fortunes improved. A young woman pulled up in front of the store, leaving the lights of her car on and the engine running. Bursting through the door in a flurry, she almost collided with Carlos as she nearly sprinted to the dog food aisle.

"Holly, you just left. Forget something, did you?"

"Yes, John. I'm dog sitting for the Potters and I forgot to get food for that stupid dog of theirs. I hate that thing. He is constantly nipping at my feet and legs. A real pain. But I gotta feed him or Mrs. Potter will have a cow. She pampers that dog like it's a kid."

"I agree. I've seen her with him when she comes here. Of course I won't let her bring it inside, which upsets her no end. The whole time the dog is alone in her car, he is howling. Say, Holly, these gentlemen are trying to get to Buffalo and they have had some car trouble. Since you are going that way anyway, could you give them a ride, at least part way?"

"Sure, as long as they're not too proud of what they ride in. My car's a real beater, guys, and I'm not even supposed to be driving yet, but I had to get to the store, so. Yeah, I'll take you up to my corner."

Holly had the front seat piled with her school books and now a large bag of dog food, so both men sat quietly in the back seat. Quietly was a significant word in this case, as it is the opposite of screaming in fear as fifteen year old Holly McAdams took to the snow covered roads in her nearly forty year old car. They quickly discovered that her right foot was heavy on the gas, and that her left foot never moved toward the brake.