The following is an excerpt from an upcoming release, Into the Wild, as the third installment in the Trescott Series. To read more, click here.
*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*
It was only two hours into the road trip and due to poor decisions, both Arie and Sam were curled up in the middle row, snoring and sound asleep. If Mom and Dad weren’t here, I’d consider drawing on their faces in permanent marker. But Mom and Dad sat in the front, talking about what music to play and what we were going to do when we got there. The only thing I cared about in their entire conversation was the topic of lunch. Breakfast had been nothing more than bagels.
“Luke, honey, are you hungry?” Mom snapped her head around as she asked me. I nodded. Signs for Madison surrounded us on the highway. The last time I’d been up here was with my class, and somehow turned out to be the most boring class trip ever. It would have been more fun to go to band camp with Diana than it was to spend a weekend up in Madison learning about our state’s government.
“What are you feeling like?” Dad interjected. I shrugged, glancing out the window as a sign for the available food appeared. My eyes lit up. I whipped back around to my parents.
“McDonald’s!” I cheered, making Mom and Dad both grin. Sam and Arie shifted on either side of me, turning to both put their heads on my shoulders. Then to make matters worse, they curled into me even more. Oh yuck! I wanted to squirm out from under them, but there was nowhere to go. I was designated middle seat.
“That we can do,” Dad told me as he turned off the highway. He curved down the exit ramp as we came to the pocket of fast food restaurants and gas stations.
Dad and Mom chatted, eventually agreeing to get some food for my slumbering siblings. We pulled up the window.
BZZZZZ!
Searching my phone, I managed to slip my hand somehow into my pocket without waking Arie on my right side. Oliver had sent me three different photos and a link. I raised an eyebrow. It must be something about GTA5 cheats again. Because we’d found so many websites for them in the last couple of weeks.
Dude! Check this out.
Following Oliver’s text, there were three photos. The first was a screenshot of a newspaper article from River Falls. My jaw dropped. The title read “Homeless Man Arrested By River Falls Police After Attempting to Steal Ham”. Then I started to cackle, right as we pulled up to the next drive thru window. Mom slowly rotated around to look at me.
“What is so funny, sweetie?” I shook my head, not able to answer her question. Pushing the phone in front of her, she didn’t have the same reaction I had. She showed Dad. Was I missing something?
“Who sent this to you?” Dad questioned without even a hint of a smile on his face. I grabbed my phone back from him and stared at him.
“Oliver found it online,” I muttered, flicking through the pictures one by one. They were close ups of the man. He certainly looked homeless. His hair was twisted and caked in dirt and leaves stuck out in every single direction. His t-shirt was torn. He barely had a pair of pants on and they didn’t even fit him properly. He even appeared to be growling by the way his jaw jutted forward and his nose scrunched up.
“Do you remember those stories I told you, Luke? About the nomads?” I nodded to my father. He cocked his head to the side, giving me a long hard look. “That’s a nomad.”
“How can you tell?” I asked and fixated on the photo, trying to find a hint somewhere. There had to be one. Like his eyes. His teeth. Something. How did Dad just know this?
“A little while back, Uncle Charlie complained about them causing problems. Looks like they’re back at it again,” Dad grumbled.
The drive thru window opened and he grinned to the girl working in there. He passed her his navy credit card and waited. His eyes glanced through the rearview mirror again to me. “They’re dangerous, Luke. I want you to stay away from them, if you ever come into contact with them.” I nodded. Yes, sir.
“What did they do last time?” The thought slipped out of my mouth before I could filter my own curiosity. Mom helped Dad as he grabbed the bags, slowly pulling out of the McDonald’s parking lot. She passed me my food and closed up the rest of the bags, watching my father as he started to make his way back onto the highway.
“When they arrived last time, it was long before we had told you guys. They simply came into town, started stealing from local stores, and one day, they were caught by someone. They defended themselves and showed the human man their eyes, and then word got around that there was some yellow eyed man threatening people,” Dad explained, glaring through the mirror at me. “They have their own sets of laws that make our lives harder, son. It’s just best to stay away.” I couldn’t control my wandering mind, even as I stuffed my face.
“Like what rules?” I continued in between bites. Mom and Dad exchanged a look. The light turned green. Dad sped forward up the entrance ramp for the highway. Dad cleared his throat and took a sip of root beer.
“They swear of technology, they don’t live amongst humans, and they can’t leave their pack,” Dad told me. I squinted at him.
“So they’re like Amish?” Mom rolled her eyes, giggling to herself. She covered her mouth when she noticed my father’s stone cold demeanor.
“I suppose so,” Mom chimed in and grabbed Dad’s forearm. “They aren’t less than you though, Luke.”
Part of the nomadic lifestyle sounded interesting. Except for the fact that there was no cell service, no XBox, no fast food, no soccer, and no more friend time. The only cool part was running through the woods all the time and not having to go to school. That part would be the only reason that I would ever consider going into the wild and joining them. Full moons as a nomadic werewolf must be so dope!
“That’s right, but you still have to be careful. Like you should be with everyone,” Dad said in a tone that signaled to me this discussion was over. I’d have to ask Uncle Charlie and Grandpa about the nomads. I knew they’d have more stories. And maybe they’d be more willing to share.
Chewing on my chicken nuggets, I continued staring at the article from the River Falls newspaper. At least nothing like this happened in Lake Geneva. We rarely ever had news. Unless someone died or there was a Miss Wisconsin pageant. Or a werewolf hunter came into town and started killing people. Or a Dan Henessey didn’t follow rules and was spotted by humans. Aside from that, Lake Geneva was boring with a capital B.
Arie shifted on my right shoulder, blinking a few times. As she came to, she groaned and sat up straight. Inhaling, she peeked into the front seat. Mom, as if on cue, held a brown McDonald’s bag up to her. My sister wasted no time in digging in. She put a handful of fries into her mouth and didn’t say a single word.
“Hey, Dad. Jared and Helen asked us if we wanted to join them on a run tonight. Can we?” Arie’s question stumped my dad. He stared out the window and swallowed. Mom waited. If it was up to Mom, I knew what the answer would be: a giant, resounding no.
“As long as Uncle Charlie or I are there,” Dad warned, giving a quick look to Arie in the mirror. “I’ll have to talk to him when we arrive.”
“And how much longer is that gonna be?” Sam chimed in, stretching out his limbs as he shifted next to me. His voice was clear as day but his eyes still revealed his sleep deprivation.
“Three hours,” Mom rattled off after she checked the GPS. Turning back to us, she grinned. “Should we play some of the road trip playlist I made?” Arie raised an eyebrow.
“Does it have any music from this era?” I said out loud, earning a glare from my parents. Shuddering, I shrank back in my seat. “Sorry. Just, we want to hear some hits.”
“Those were hits, you know,” Dad replied, shaking his head. His eyes lit up. He nudged my mom with his elbow. “Remember that Fleetwood Mac concert?”
“Oh yes,” Mom cheered, clasping her hands together. “I must find that song. It’s a classic.” Arie, Sam and I rolled our eyes. Not that I didn’t like Mom or Dad’s choice in music. But there was only so many times you could play Tears for Fears or Fleetwood Mac before it got old.
Fleetwood Mac played over the speakers in the car, causing Mom and Dad to sway to beat. Arie and Sam both reached for their headphones, eager to drown out the oldies. As I went to fetch mine, I came up empty handed. Frantic, I dug both my hands into my backpack before I saw Sam placing my white earbuds into his ears, smirking at me.
“Can I borrow them?” He asked me, using his innocent tone that only made me irritated. If we weren’t in a car, I would tackle you so hard right now. Pressing my lips together, I crossed my arms and gave him a nod.
“Sure, it’s not like I don’t need them.” He grinned, continuing on his merry way to find music to listen to. I, on the other hand, was trapped in a road trip that had traveled back to the 1980s.
Mom gave my knee a gentle tap, humming along to the beat. I forced a smile, but on the inside, I imagined River Falls. Even though three hours of Mom and Dad’s music fest lie ahead, at least we’d be running through the woods tonight without a care in the world. That, to me, was all that mattered.
