The B Girls by Cari Cole

arrow."
    "Can't you just use the one on your
phone?" Jane asked.
    "The sales guy says this will work even if
there's no cell service and service is bad up in the wilderness area."
    "Belle must have had one too, that's why she
had those coordinates written down," Mae said.
    "Exactly and now we have them. With the GPS
and a map of Cohutta, we'll be able to find the homestead with no
problem."
    "I seriously doubt it'll be that easy,"
Jane said.
    "You really should do something about that
pessimism," Mae said.
    Jane just shook her head.
    Lucy handed over her platinum card. The salesclerk
bagged up their supplies.

 
    ###

 
    It was almost noon when they pulled into the
parking lot closest to the coordinates. Mae turned off the van and Lucy stared
through the windshield, speechless. The three sides of the parking area not
bordered by the road they'd just left were a horror show of nature run amok.
The trees were too close together and the shorter underbrush was lush and
tangled. The ground wasn't close to level or even sloped. It all seemed to go
mostly straight up or straight down. The whole of it looked like it was made to
keep humans out and hide nasty surprises for anyone stupid enough to venture
in.
    Lucy looked at her compatriots and saw signs of
impending mutiny. "Don't worry, the map shows a road. We'll be fine."
She opened her door and got out.
    Mae and Jane followed suit but neither looked happy
about it.
    "Maybe we should try the police again,"
Mae said.
    "It's just a hike through the woods for God's
sake." Lucy refused to listen to her own doubts.
    "Let's just get it over with," Jane said.
    They slathered themselves with SPF 100 and
tightened the laces on their cross trainers.
    Lucy figured they were either completely nuts or
incredibly perceptive about their need for a change and their ability to find
Belle. Hopefully they'd come out of it unscathed. Or at least not permanently
damaged.
    She surveyed the perimeter of the parking lot and
found a track that seemed to correspond to the map and went in the direction
the GPS arrow pointed. Best of all, it seemed to take advantage of the
landscape in a way that meant the up and down wasn't as steep as the ground on
either side of it. The track was twisty and disappeared from view within fifty
yards or so but Lucy was sure it had to be the right way to go.
    "All we have to do is follow this until it
forks, then go east to Breakleg Creek. The old homestead is on a hill above the
creek," Lucy said as she led the way out of the parking area.
    The Forest Service map identified the old overgrown
track as a jeep trail. No Jeep or any other vehicle had used the trail for
years. The Forest Service had closed the wilderness area to motorized traffic a
few years ago and the wilderness was taking over again.
    Jane cast a wistful glance back toward the parking
area as it disappeared from view. "Breakleg Creek? That doesn't sound very
promising."
    Mae frowned at her. "We're not doing this for
fun."
    "Ouch! Damn it," Jane stopped and hopped
on her right foot muttering more curses under her breath.
    "What now?" Mae asked.
    "I stubbed my toe on a rock. I think it might
be broken."
    "It's not broken. You'd still be yelling if it
was broken," Lucy said.
    Jane gave her the evil eye. "Well it
hurts."
    "Just sit down for a minute," Mae said.
    Jane looked around at the foot high weeds on the
track and the dense forest on either side and shuddered. "No thanks.
Anything could be crawling around in there. I'll just walk it off. The
throbbing is slowing down."
    "Next time we should probably wear hiking
boots," Mae said.
    "There isn't going to be a next time,"
Jane said. "If we had any brains, there wouldn't be a this time."
    "Let's just keep moving, before we change our
minds." Lucy was already starting to miss the air-conditioned van. But
she'd gladly put up with some sweat and a stubbed toe if it meant finding Belle
in one piece.
    They trudged on for another fifteen minutes before
Jane started