A - T Summer

Once the man was tended to as best Brett could, Brett turned to the woman. 'Are you alright?' Brett asked as he held Jerry's head to keep it immobilized.

'I think so,' she responded. 'I banged my head and my shoulder hurts from being slammed into the van.'

'I was an Army medic. Would you like me to look at your head and shoulder?' Brett asked, though she seemed okay.

'No, I'll be okay,' she told me. 'Please help Jerry if you can.'

'Tell the paramedics you banged your head and your shoulder hurts when they get here. Don't take any chances,' Brett told her.

Brett tried talking to Jerry again, but he remained unresponsive.

'What happened here?' Brett asked the woman.

'Jerry and I were here to replace an old sign. We were done and getting ready to leave when this guy came out of nowhere and smashed Jerry's head against the van a couple times. Then he slammed me against it. He took Jerry's wallet, then found my purse in the van and dumped it out. You came along when he was going through my purse,' she told him.

She had just finished her story when a North Carolina Highway Patrol car arrived. The trooper looked at Buck then approached the unconscious Jerry. 'What happened Sheila?' he asked, apparently acquainted with the woman. Sheila repeated what she had told Brett, adding his part. When the trooper turned to Brett, Brett told him he was a former medic and that Jerry's head injury looked serious. The trooper returned to his vehicle and got on the radio.

Buck groaned and opened his eyes. He looked around as he struggled to move.

'You couldn't even go a week before gittin' inta trouble agin, Percy?' the trooper asked when he returned from the patrol car, sounding disgusted.

'Fuck you, Burrows,' Percy spat. He looked at Brett and said, 'I'm gonna fuck you up when I get loose.'

'Yeah, that ain't gonna happen, Percy. Y'all look pretty-well trussed-up an' I ain't turnin' ya loose. What y'all gonna do now is go back inside and finish your sentence. And I bet you get a whole bunch more time for this.' Burrows turned to me. 'Percy hates his given name. He prefers to be called Buck. Doncha, Percy?'

Percy/Buck struggled angrily, and futilely, against his bonds. His wrists and ankles were bleeding when he finally gave up. He directed a tirade of expletives at Brett and the trooper. Burrows ignored him so Brett did, too. Burrows interviewed Sheila, then Brett, separating them and taking extensive notes. He took a photo of Brett's driver's license and took down his contact information. Brett also gave the trooper his future Arizona address.

Sirens announced the arrival of two more state police cars just ahead of the ambulance. A paramedic and the driver tended to Jerry while another paramedic talked to Sheila. Sheila was led into the ambulance. Brett told the paramedic what he'd found. The second paramedic returned a few minutes later to help treat Jerry and load him onto the stretcher. They drove away hot, lights flashing, siren blaring. Percy was loaded into a patrol car barefoot, his bleeding wrists still wire-tied. The two late-arriving troopers drove off in different directions. Burrows told Brett the prosecutor would contact him. He locked the van, got into his patrol car and drove off, leaving Brett alone in a parking area with a handful of trucks and cars.

Brett later learned Jerry died a few days later. He had to return to North Carolina to testify at Percy's murder trial, early the following year.

It was well past lunchtime when Brett returned to the trail. He made do with two protein bars and water for lunch. Brett pushed hard to make time along the trail but called it a day after just a few hours, stopping for the night at another shelter. Brett shared the shelter with two young couples. Other than an offer of some of their extra water and a few brief conversations, the couples kept to themselves and opted to sleep in tents, leaving Brett alone on the shelter platform.

Once again, Brett spent the next few days by himself. He exchanged greetings with some hikers and shared shelters or campsites with others but, oddly, met no one going north for more than a few miles. The sun was low the third day when Brett reached another shelter where he intended to spend the night. There were two packs under the shelter but no hikers when Brett arrived. A single tent was set up nearby.

Brett set up for the night on the shelter platform. He unpacked his camp stove and prepped dinner. He was just getting ready to eat when he heard voices. Callie and Shannon, the women that helped the day Terry got hurt, came into view. Each was carrying a large water bag and had a towel draped over a shoulder. They were surprised to see him.

Callie spoke first, 'How's your friend? Is he alright?'

'He'll be okay. His mother and sister drove down from Knoxville that day. He's at his mother's house by now.'

Callie and Shannon started making their dinner while Brett ate. After Brett finished his meal, he prepared to get water for himself. But Shannon told him they had more than they needed, and he could help himself. If they ran short, water was only a short hike away.

Brett filtered water for the three of them while they cooked and ate. They talked and began to get acquainted over the next few hours. They were a few years younger than Brett. Both were teachers out west, though they didn't offer specifics. Both were born in Maryland but had met in grammar school in Arizona and grown up there. Callie was more talkative than Shannon. Neither wore an engagement ring or wedding band.

Shannon was the taller of the pair, nearly as tall as Brett's six-three. She was slender, with long, thick, wavy dark blonde hair tied back, and sapphire blue eyes. She had a pretty girl-next-door look. She wore a form-fitting top and baggy rip-stop nylon cargo pants. Callie was shorter, maybe five-five. Her eyes were pale blue, and her blonde hair was almost yellow. She was similarly dressed but had more curves than Shannon. Callie's pixie hairstyle and elfin facial features reminded Brett of Tinker Bell from the Disney cartoon.

Callie and Shannon went into their tent for the night a couple hours after sunset. Brett stripped down to his boxers and tee shirt, stretched out on his bed roll and promptly fell asleep. He woke for some reason while it was still pitch black. A glance at his watch told him it was just after one. He got up and moved to the front of the shelter and looked up at the sky. The forest canopy blocked most of the sky. No stars were in the parts Brett could see. Slowly moving charcoal gray clouds glowed faintly in front of an obscured moon.

Brett heard a soft moan as he turned to go back to his bed roll. He didn't think anything of it until he heard a gasp and a voice cry out softly, 'Yes, like that. Don't stop! Don't stop! Oh, god that feels good.' His vivid imagination stimulated; Brett hardened reflexively.

Callie and Shannon were quiet, but not silent. After listening to Shannon and Callie each have an orgasm, Brett needed to relieve his own arousal. Brett freed his erection from the constraints of his boxers and quietly took care of himself. Brett got off twice as he sat at the edge of the shelter, listening to Callie and Shannon for the next hour. Brett wasn't entirely sure what they were doing. But conjuring arousing images wasn't difficult as he listened to them take pleasure in each other.

Brett listened for a moment while Callie and Shannon talked quietly after they were done, giggling occasionally. Brett silently returned to his bedroll. He had just stretched out when Brett heard Callie ask, 'Do you think he heard us?'

Shannon replied, 'I hope not. Do you want me to check?' The zipper on their tent flap opened. A few twigs broke under foot as Shannon approached the shelter. A few minutes later, she made her way back to their tent and zipped the flap closed again.

'Well?' Callie asked anxiously.

'He's on his side with his back to us. He didn't move a muscle. I think he's sound asleep.'

Brett smiled contentedly and drifted off to sleep again.

Brett woke again when there was barely light to see. Unseen birds twittered and called from every direction, preparing for their busy day. He fired up his stove to boil water for coffee. He mixed some powdered milk and ate a bowl of granola. Brett poured the hot water into his cup and instinctively started another pot of water. Shannon came out of her tent just as the aroma of instant coffee reached his nose. Brett added the left-over milk from his cereal bowl to the coffee and sat on the edge of the shelter platform again.

'Is there more hot water?' Shannon asked in a whisper.

'In a minute or two,' Brett answered softly.

Brett turned off the stove when the water was ready and poured it into her cup. Shannon sat at the edge of the shelter platform with him. 'How'd you sleep?' she asked innocently. Brett smiled inwardly. She was fishing for information about what he might have heard the previous night.

Brett responded barely louder than a whisper, not wanting to silence the birds. 'The sleep of the dead,' he told her with a smile, looking down into his cup. 'You?'

'Not so good, at first,' she answered. 'Callie tosses and turns after she falls asleep. But eventually she settles down. Once she does, you can't wake her without shaking the hell out of her,' Shannon laughed softly.

Callie appeared at the entrance of their tent just then. She stood up and stretched languidly, then rolled her head. She mumbled something that might have been 'Good morning,' and wandered off toward the privy.

Shannon looked at him and grinned. 'Callie's not a morning person. She's grumpy until she's been up a while.'

Brett chuckled. 'Her students must love her,' Brett said.

'I'm sure they do. She's a great teacher. And she has good qualities that allow me to overlook her grumpy morning disposition,' Shannon laughed.

Brett couldn't resist picturing what some of those good qualities were as he talked with Shannon.

'There's a town not far from here. I planned to get supplies today, so I'll be leaving the trail at the next parking area,' Brett told Shannon as Callie returned. He wasn't sure why he mentioned it. They weren't together on the trail. He doubted they wanted his company.

'We need supplies, too. If you don't mind, maybe we'll go with you,' Shannon said. 'Callie, Brett is going into town to get supplies today. Want to go, too?'

'Sure, whatever,' was all Callie said as she went back into their tent. She really wasn't a morning person.

'It'll be an all-day affair. I won't be back on the trail today.' Brett wanted to make sure she understood what going into town with him meant.

'I could do with a day of civilization, a bed, real food and a hot shower. I don't think Callie would mind, either.'

They were on the trail a little after seven. Shannon and Callie set a brisk pace. They passed a boisterous group of college-aged hikers a few minutes before arriving at the parking area a little before ten. Brett called the shuttle service he had in his contact list and was told a driver had just dropped off a group but would return and pick them up within a few minutes.

After scanning their credit cards, the driver took them to an outfitter where they resupplied. While they shopped, the driver made some calls to get the lowdown on available rooms. Brett told Shannon and Callie to make the call on a hotel while he visited the men's room. When Brett returned, he learned there were only three rooms available in town, in three different hotels. One room with double bed was available at each of two hotels outside of town. Another, right in town, had one room with two double beds. Their decision surprised him.

'We decided to take the room with two double beds as long as you promise to behave yourself. We can split the cost three ways,' Callie told him.

'I think I can control myself,' Brett told them, which got a grinning 'Dammit' from Shannon. Callie raised an eyebrow when she looked over at Shannon.

It was overcast and threatening to rain when they started out that morning. A light rain began on the ride to the hotel. They looked out on a torrential downpour after showering and changing. Brett called a cab and asked to be taken to a restaurant when it arrived. The food was barely passable, but they still ate heartily. It was nice to eat something other than rehydrated trail food. Not having to clean up after a meal was also a pleasant change. Cold beer was an especially welcome break from lukewarm water.

After their late lunch, they went back to the hotel and washed their clothes in the little laundromat available for guests. Everyone made phone calls while waiting for their clothes. Brett called Terry first. Terry sounded in good spirits, though frustrated that he had to stay off his foot for another week and wasn't allowed to drive for another month after that. Brett called his parents, but it went to their answering machine. He left a message that he was doing well, promising to call the next time he had a chance. After his calls, Brett told Callie and Shannon that Terry was doing well.

For dinner, they got take-out from the diner across the street. After watching a chick-flick on cable, they turned in for the night. Brett didn't expect to hear a repeat of Callie and Shannon's previous night's activities. Not while in the next bed, three feet away. He didn't.

In the morning, the shuttle picked them up after a predawn breakfast at the diner and drove them to the trail head. The weather was sultry. Warm, humid and overcast with gloomy dark gray clouds. Though it looked otherwise, no rain was forecast.

A couple hours after hitting the trail, they passed a shelter, then a couple miles later passed a large, scruffy looking group of hikers, all wearing Virginia Tech baseball caps.

Lightning, thunder and a torrential downpour began about an hour later. After donning raingear, they briefly debated what to do. It was still a long trek to next shelter and there were no campsites along the way. But there was no point in turning back. The Virginia Tech group would shelter at their first opportunity, meaning there would be no room for them. They had no choice but to press on to their original destination. It was slow-going and near dark when they arrived.

No one else was at the shelter. It was still raining hard, so they set up on the platform. Once under the shelter, they couldn't get out of their sweaty clothes off fast enough. All were so hot and sticky after spending hours hiking in raingear, modesty wasn't a consideration. Brett was soon down to his boxers, the women down to their bras and panties.

Callie stepped off the platform into the rain first. Shannon and Brett watched for a minute and then decided a shower in cold rain wasn't such a bad idea. They shivered while vigorously rubbing the sweat from their bodies. After stripping off wet undergarments and drying off, they dressed in dry clothes.

Brett tried not to watch Shannon and Callie while they all washed, dried, and dressed, but couldn't avoid getting a few glimpses. Brett was glad he had a chill when he came in from the rain. Shannon and Callie might not have been pleased to see his otherwise likely reaction. A naked Shannon was a vision from his dreams. Brett thought her breasts were perfect for her frame. Dark nipples, hardened by the chill, were capped with erect, round nubs. Her long, lithe, body oozed an athletic sex appeal. Supple, shapely, and muscular legs completed the body of a woman Brett found incredibly appealing.

Shannon looked like every woman Brett had ever been attracted to. But Callie wasn't without her own appeal. She was shorter, maybe five-five. Her breasts were much larger, rounded and full, sagging just slightly. Her nipples and areolae didn't harden from the chill like Shannon's. They stayed softer. Her areolae were barely discernable from the surrounding skin. Callie had classic, sex-pot curves. A chest slightly smaller than her hips and a small waist. There wasn't an ounce of fat on her. Her legs were short but shapely and looked very strong. She had mentioned being a striker on her college soccer team.

Brett strung out a line to hang their clothes and towels once he was dressed. The clothes they wore that day would have to get rinsed and dried before they could stand to wear them again. But attempting that during a heavy rain was pointless. They collected, filtered, and boiled rainwater for their dinner and hot chocolate. It was already dark, they were tired, so all stretched out on bedrolls for the night. They talked until Callie fell asleep. Like Shannon had said earlier, Callie tossed and turned fitfully before finally settling down.

Shannon and Brett talked a while longer. She shared some personal details about herself and told Brett a little about Callie. Callie taught elementary school. Shannon lived outside Tucson, near his new university, taught high school math, and coached the girls' cross country and track teams. She had a master's in education and was considering pursuing a PhD. It would mean giving up coaching. She'd been a scholarship sprinter in college. Brett told her a little about himself and his new job. Brett mentioned his military service but didn't dwell on it. When Shannon rolled over, Brett knew it was time for sleep.

The storm ended during the night. Morning greeted them with nearly clear skies and a light breeze. The few remaining clouds were to the northeast and moving away. The air was cool and humidity tolerable for a change. Up until then, the days had usually been hot, and always humid. Or raining.

Over the next week, Callie, Shannon, and Brett got comfortable with each other. They never formally decided to stay together. They just fell into it. Cooking meals soon became a group endeavor. Callie and Shannon still shared a tent most nights but either they weren't amorous again, or Brett slept through it.

Callie was friendly and talkative but reticent. Shannon gradually became more open, sharing more of herself. She grew more attentive and more talkative as she and Brett got better acquainted. She spent more time walking alongside Brett and talking with him. She occasionally touched Brett casually during conversation. She didn't ignore her friend, but she gradually paid Brett more attention as time together passed.

Brett became infatuated with Shannon. But he didn't interpret Shannon's increased attention as more than amiable familiarity. It never crossed his mind to act on his growing attraction to Shannon. It would be pointless. Awkward. Foolish and embarrassing. And probably get him banished to solitary trekking. Callie and Shannon were a couple.

They spent several nights at shelters with other hikers, who were always southbound or near the end of their hike and had a good time with them. Sharing shelters and campsites with others meant much more social interaction and later nights. Everyone shared an easy camaraderie born of the trail experience. Though she interacted with others, Shannon often stayed close to Brett until bedtime those evenings.

Though she was a private person, Callie was a truly social creature. And hysterically funny when she had an audience. She had a quick wit and a way of good-naturedly skewering people in ways even her targets found amusing. One evening, Callie performed a comedy act she had done for a charity event while she was in college. Shannon nudged Brett in the ribs and told him to pay attention when she recognized what Callie was doing. Callie had them all laughing so hard their sides ached. Brett realized Callie had to be an incredibly effective teacher. And if she had a mind to, Brett believed she could be successful at stand-up.

One morning, they decided to take an easy day. The previous day had been particularly long and arduous, partly because of two side trips to overlooks with spectacular vistas. The side treks weren't long but had punishingly steep climbs. They got a late start and only hiked a few hours before setting up for the night at a shady campsite. After they set up camp, water was needed. Normally they went for water together. But Callie had a sore ankle and begged off to rest it. Brett volunteered to make the trip and set off for the water source, about two miles away.