by Frank Martinet
The Warning
Just like that, Gary's shitty day suddenly took a one-eighty. One minute he was cursing old Buck Daniels for backing out of a deal to buy ten of Gary's refurbished air conditioners and making him drive a hundred miles through the mountains for nothing, and then he forgot all about his barn full of the crappy equipment he was becoming more desperate to unload. He gulped, stared hard, and took his foot off the accelerator.
Up ahead on the side of the road were two visions of loveliness. Even at this distance he could see they were both gorgeous. One was tall and lean with long jet-black hair, the other petite and cute with light brown hair cut short. Both were wearing cutoffs revealing miles of creamy legs, and skimpy tank tops bulging up front from nice big titties. The dark-haired one's top was so brief it left her belly bare. Backpacks rested on the road next to them. Fuckin' hikers. He couldn't believe his luck.
He put on the brakes and rolled to a stop about ten yards past the women, who eagerly grabbed their packs and ran toward his Buick.
"Thanks, Mister," said the brunette, opening the door to the back seat. She threw in her bag and climbed in after it. The dark-haired girl, with smokey eyes and a seductive smile, tossed her bag in after her friend, but then closed the door and slipped into the front seat next to Gary. She was damp with sweat, her rounded ass sliding gracefully across the vinyl. He felt his pulse rate climb.
"Where are you girls headed?" he asked, trying to sound casual. It was tough, because he hadn't been this close to such fine female craftsmanship in more than a decade, if ever. He wished he'd worn a hat to cover his balding head and that he'd brushed his teeth after lunch. He started the car going, his palms sweaty on the steering wheel.
"Wherever the road takes us," said the girl next to him. Her eyes glowed with challenge, and there was a confident smirk on her face that told him she knew what her beauty was doing to him.
"We're heading to Atlanta," said the girl in the backseat. "Hiking through the forest as much as we can."
"But we're not particular about how we get there," said the other. She smiled at Gary. "We're out to have an adventure."
"You make it sound so dramatic, Luce. We're just on vacation, that's all." The brunette waved at Gary in his rear-view mirror. "I'm Kelly."
"And I'm Luce." The dark girl put a delicate hand on his arm in a way that nearly made him lose control and drive off the road into a tree.
"Gary," croaked Gary. "Not much out this way. You camping?"
"If we have to," said Luce. She grinned at him so naughtily that he became worried he actually did know what she meant. His heart was pounding.
"What road is this?" asked Kelly. She had a paper map out and was studying it.
"This is 64," said Gary. "We're going more west than south. Hayesville's about the next town of any consequence, I suppose."
"So we're not in Georgia yet? And we're going the wrong way? Fuck!"
"What's your hurry, Kelly? We're supposed to be having fun, not punching a clock."
"I guess I'm just tired. We've been climbing these mountains for two weeks."
Luce rolled her eyes. "She's exaggerating. We've spent as much time hitchhiking as walking."
"Tell that to the blisters on my feet!" grumbled Kelly. She peered at the map. "Did you say Hayesville? Near Chatuge Lake?"
"Yup. That's where I'm going." Gary licked his lips. He had to take a chance. "You girls can crash at my place tonight, if you want. I got a guest room. Just a double bed, but it's real nice. I make a mean venison stew."
Luce looked back at her friend with questions in her eyes. Kelly frowned, conflicted. A shower and a real bed sounded great, but she was the cautious one. Slowly she shook her head.
"Thanks for the offer, Gary, but Hayesville takes us way out of our way. If I'm looking at this map right, we'd be better off going down 175. It'll take us south to Georgia." She looked up at him in the mirror. "Can you drop us off near the lake? We can hike from there."
"That's some mighty wicked country out there," said Gary, trying not to sound disappointed. "Long, dangerous walk to Georgia."
"Everybody tells us that," said Luce. "It's been just fine."
"Yeah, but there's strange people that live up in those mountains there. Two pretty little things like yourselves? Alone?" He shook his head.
"I'm a brown belt," said Luce fiercely. "Not to mention I've been training in ballet and gymnastics since I was four. I can handle myself."
"And I've got this," Kelly said softly, and Gary looked up to see the muzzle of a tiny revolver inches from the back of his head.
For two seconds, the man forgot to breathe, and then he saw the gun wasn't cocked. He relaxed. "This is a windy road, young lady. If you shoot me, we'll all crash."
He watched as the gun disappeared back into the girl's clothing somewhere. "I wasn't going to shoot you," she said with a sly grin. "But I could have, if you were a perv out to get us."
Gary nodded. "So you two can take care of yourselves. That's good. Are you sure you won't come to my place? I could drive you back down to 175 in the morning, give you a head start."
Kelly shook her head. "Naw. We'd rather keep going tonight. Stay along the lake somewhere. Sounds pretty."
"You be careful. That lake area ain't national park land. Some of those folks along there are pretty possessive of their property. They don't like trespassers."
Luce scoffed. "What are they gonna do? Arrest us? Just be a slap on the wrist and let us go, that's all."
"Ain't much law around here," said Gary, shaking his head. "Most folks don't rely on the Sheriff for such things. They just handle it themselves."
"They'd shoot us?" demanded Luce. She seemed to relish the idea.
"Naw, probably not, unless it's with rock salt. But there are others ways of teaching meddlers a lesson."
"Like what?"
Gary didn't respond for a moment.
"Come, like what?" insisted Luce.
"It's just a rumor. I can't vouch for it myself, but there's supposed to be a guy down that way, got a large farm near the border, up in the mountains. Prichard's the name." He pronounced it with a hard C. "His nickname is Whipper Prichard. Hates tourists and hikers and trespassers. Got warning signs up all over. You take you chances on his land and he catches you, he takes a bullwhip to ya. Strips ya and flogs ya, so I hear, and sends ya on yer way naked as a baby."
"Bullshit!" said Luce. "That's ridiculous. He'd go to jail!"
Gary shrugged. "You gotta prove he did it. Hard to do when it's just your word against his. And there's the whole border issue."
"What border issue?" asked Kelly. She was sitting up, leaning forward and listening eagerly with her head between the other two.
"Prichard's land is in both Georgia and North Carolina, so who has jurisdiction? Apparently the cops don't like a mess like that. Case might get thrown out after they invest a bunch o' time and money. So the NC cops leave it for the Georgia ones, and they leave for NC. No one does anything."
"I still don't believe it," said Luce.
"You're just trying to scare us," said Kelly.
Gary shrugged. "Every year we hear about a few hikers that supposedly got it. But it don't matter. Just stay near the highway and don't go hiking through the mountains and you'll be fine."
Luce reached back to grab the map from her friend, and she examined it closely. "The mountains look like a great shortcut," she said. "If we follow the lake we make a big U out of our way. Days more walking."
"Didn't you hear what I just said?" said Gary.
"Yeah, but I don't believe it. It's too fucked up."
"Too fucked up means that it's probably true," said Kelly, looking nervous. "We'll stay near the highway."
"Where's the adventure in that? I say we take our chances in the mountains. If this Prichard fellow attacks us, he'll be eating his balls for breakfast!"
There was an awkward silence after that. Gary didn't want to argue with the pretty girl, and his passengers seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. He drove in silence for a few miles. They were heading into a more populated area now, a few houses and businesses showing up occasionally. He knew the lake wasn't far and he felt bummed that he'd have to drop the girls off soon.
Then he remembered a diner coming up. It was just past three, a bit early for dinner, and he had eaten lunch, but the girls didn't know that. "You girls want some chow?" he said. "Little place in a few miles that we could stop for some grub. I'm starving."
"Me too," said Luce. "I'm sick of energy bars."
"It's pretty near the lake," said Gary. "You can head on from there if you want."
"Okay," said Kelly, shrugging. "I could use a bathroom."
The best value on the menu, according to Kelly, was the pancake special. It was just five bucks for a huge stack and included an egg and a side of biscuits and sausage gravy. The girls split it, loading up on carbs, while Gary munched on a burger he didn't need or really want. But it was a good excuse to hang with the pretty girls for a few extra minutes.
He learned the girls were from Cincinnati, where they were in their third year of community college. The hike through the Smokey Mountains had been Luce's idea, who'd seen a documentary about a woman who'd done it. The girls weren't quite crazy enough to go through the heart of the mountains, but were staying near the roads and making a shorter trek supplemented with occasional car rides.
"We just needed to get away," said Luce. "Kelly's folks are on her like ass on a donkey. She needed some space."
"I'm surprised you didn't go to Florida or some place exotic," said Gary.
"Too expensive. This is pretty cheap. My brother's a trucker and he had a run down to Knoxville and dropped us off there. We hitched to Marysville and hiked the rest of the way. It's been pretty fun. We only stayed in a motel once."
"What are you going to do in Atlanta?"
"I've got a cousin down there," said Kelly. "We'll stay with him a few days, see the town a bit, and then take the bus home."
"We figure it's our last summer to do something wild and fun," said Luce. "Next year we graduate and who knows where we'll end up."
"We've been best friends since we were in kindergarten," explained Kelly. "She's worried I'll get a job or a husband and move away."
"It happens!"
"Not to us. I've told you I'm not moving anywhere."
"You say that now, but Prince Charming comes around and you're off to L.A. or New York and I'm stuck in Shitcinnati forever."
Kelly rolled her eyes, sighed, and stuffed her mouth with the last of her pancakes. She excused herself to the restroom.
Gary watched her petite, but extremely attractive jean-clad butt wobble as she headed away. His heart was aching and his dick was hard. He immediately tried to persuade the clearly more adventurous Luce to come and stay at his place for the night.
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