Under ordinary circumstances Ellen's faith in Gina's ability to take care of herself in the wilds would have been amply justified. She did not take into consideration, however, the agitated state of the girl's mind – a condition approaching panic. Furthermore, Gina's apprehensions about what might happen to her if she remained in the camp were intensified by another factor: by watching Ellen and Pam enjoying themselves with Arnie and Charlie she had succumbed to the sensual excitement crackling in the atmosphere and had herself become highly aroused. It was almost as if the rampant sensuality generated by the bawdy couples had reached out to strike a deadly blow at Gina's active little clitoris.
Oh, God, I wish I could stop a minute, she thought as she hurried down the trail. These shorts are killing me!
In her haste to shoulder her pack and get away she had not fastened the pack's waist strap properly. As a result the thick belt edged up her shorts until the crotch rubbed firmly into the lips of her pussy. Her clit, already highly agitated, responded readily to the pressure of the material and became even more aroused. Each step worked the thick cotton against her clitoris, and although the contact was decidedly not a sensual one, the effect had little real difference: Gina became more excited with every step she took.
After walking steadily for twenty minutes, heading along the trail in the direction she, Pam and Ellen had been taking, she paused for a moment to take stock of the situation. The thought of going back to the campsite never entered her mind; she thought only of getting away from her friends and their new lovers. There was no possibility of their tracking her, due to the nature of the trail – granite shelving alternating with thick layers of pine needles – but she wanted to make absolutely sure that she would not be found. Looking around the small valley in which she found herself, she noted a peculiarly shaped peak to the south of the trail.
That's the Sleeping Beauty, she thought, remembering her close examination of the map earlier in the day. And didn't I see a road going near it? Sure, it's a little track the rangers use for maintenance! I'll head that way; it'll be sure to get me out of here!
Without pausing to consult her map and make sure of her bearings, she turned off the trail and set a course due south, or as near it as she could manage. Her new course brought her directly across the grain of the terrain, which mostly consisted of a series of canyons and ridges running east and west, and thus she found it very hard going. She kept to her work, though, and by six o'clock had reached a point about six miles south of the main trail. Realizing that the sun would soon set – the canyons were already swathed in deep shadow – she halted beside a small stream and began preparing a quick meal. She had her own tiny stove, of course, and it was no trouble to prepare a small pot of soup enriched with dehydrated meat. By the time she had eaten from the tiny pot and cleaned it she was in almost complete darkness.
"This ought to do for the night," she mused aloud as she packed the stove away. "Nobody will ever find me down here!"
She took out her sleeping bag and spread it beneath a tree, then hung up her pack to keep it out of the way of inquisitive mice. Satisfied that she had tidied up the signs of her meal, she began undressing and preparing for her rest. There was a chill in the night air and she shivered as a breeze whipped across her nipples. Upon removing her shorts and panties – she always slept nude when on the trail her nostrils were immediately assailed by a warm, musky, feminine scent and she realized, even more acutely, that her body was still highly aroused.
"Mmm, just about ruined those," she said as she felt of the damp crotch of her panties. "Maybe I'll have time to stop somewhere tomorrow or the next day and do my washing. Damn that Ellen and Pam… who'd ever have thought that they'd be so horny? God, did they ever take to those guys!"
Gina slipped into the sleeping bag and zipped herself up snugly. The nylon bag felt very good against her naked flesh. Since the bag was cut on the mummy pattern she found it difficult to keep her hands from rubbing against her nipples, although the dark, stiff little cones were supremely sensitive. Without really thinking about what she was doing, her right hand slipped down over her belly and found the dark, furry bush crowning her love mound.
You might as well, she told herself. There won't be any sleep till you do it, you sluttish little cunt! Oohh, how can it be so bad and yet feel so good? Mmm, that's just right! Wow, Ellen and Pam didn't waste any time going down on those dudes – and they seemed to love it, too! Wonder if they'd do it till the guys came? Probably – they're bad enough that they've probably done everything a girl shouldn't do!
Torturing herself by remembering the sight of those stiff, thick cocks going into the mouths of her friends, Gina began working two fingers of her right hand into the mouth of her cunt. The opening, rimmed by a strong muscle, had the consistency of a hot, thick pudding; she moaned tenderly as her fingers spread it apart and penetrated. Her left hand now crept down to the same location and she began rubbing her clitoris, an inflamed nub of exquisite tenderness, with her left index finger. She closed her thighs tightly around her hands, forcing the fingers of her right hand ever further into the taut, moist opening, and began flexing her hips. By clenching them tightly she could elevate her loins slightly, intensifying the pressure from her fingers; by relaxing she lowered them as she gathered her strength for another squeeze. She lay on her back with her eyes closed; her breath became faster and shorter as her muscular contractions heightened the tensions in her body.
"Mmm! Oohh!" she muttered thickly. "Do it, do it, baby! Fuck! Fuck! Oohh, come! Come now! Unngghh! Fuckfuckfuck!"
Curiously enough, Gina found it no problem to use language of the most vulgar, abandoned sort when she was alone. In tact she had long ago discovered that muttering lewd, provocative phrases and words to herself had the power of heightening her sensual awareness and hastening the climax she sought. She would have been most reluctant, however, to have used these words and phrases in front of another person, especially a male; she had always been told that men looked down on women who had "dirty mouths" and this one lesson, at least, had made a strong impression on her.
"Oh, wow, it's out of sight!" she murmured, working her hips up and down even more rapidly. "Oohh, it's beautiful, it's too much! Cum, baby, cum! Mmm, fuck those fingers! Get it on!"
Suddenly she sucked in a deep breath; whimpered softly and stiffened every muscle in her lithe, youthful body. Soft, incoherent moans escaped from between her tightly clenched teeth; she arched her hips upward, pressing her throbbing pussy even more firmly into her waiting hands. Her entire weight rested on her shoulders and heels for several minutes until finally, limp and breathless, she sank softly back down onto the sleeping bag. Her hands fell limply to her side and she drifted off to sleep, satisfied at last.
Gina woke early the next morning, as was her habit when in the wilderness, and lost no time in fixing herself a hasty breakfast and getting under way. She nibbled on a packet of dried fruit throughout the morning, not stopping for lunch, and by mid afternoon had covered several miles. Unfortunately, most of the miles had been of the zig-zag variety and she could hardly tell that the Sleeping Beauty was any closer. By dropping frequently down into canyons and making detours, due to the presence of precipitous cliffs directly in front of her, she had nearly completely disoriented herself and had to resort to her compass frequently.
This isn't going to be as simple as I thought, she told herself when she unloaded for a short rest at about three o'clock. I didn't figure on the country being so rough and broken.
An experienced camper and hiker, Gina had enough confidence in her abilities to keep her composure. She knew, for example, that she had only to keep to her southerly line to come upon the maintenance road that would lead her to a paved road and a route out of the forest. There was plenty of food in her pack and no danger of a storm. There was also, she realized with a sinking sensation, several miles of extremely rough country ahead before she could possibly expect to find the maintenance road.
You won't get there sitting under a tree, she told herself as she rose to her feet and prepared for the last march of the day.
By the time the sun had set she had eaten her dinner, stowed away cooking gear and food, and had wearily settled into her sleeping bag. On this occasion she wasted no time in falling asleep immediately: the hard hiking of the day had sapped her strength and she was already half asleep when she began undressing for bed. By the time the sun had cleared the peaks to the east she was again plowing through the rock-infested canyons, still attempting to make her way south toward the rock leading to safety.
Shortly before noon she came upon a small pond. Though it lacked the picturesque waterfall which had graced the pool where they had been surprised by the four ardent young men, it was even more inviting to Gina, who was covered with sweat and dirt from her strenuous exertions. The pool lay before her eyes as soon as she had climbed out of a canyon; she took one look at it and began unloosening her pack.
"Oh, man, is that ever what I've been needing!" she muttered as her fingers flew up and down the buttons of her shirt. "A hundred miles from nowhere and nobody in sight!"
She lost no time in slipping out of her clothes and dashing into the pool. The water, little more than freshly melted snow, was bone-chilling but highly exhilarating. Gina splashed happily for fifteen minutes, then floated and paddled listlessly for several more minutes. By the time she was ready to pull herself from the water her flesh was almost blue with cold and her nipples had shrunk until they were no larger than the tip of her little finger. As she walked through the shallows to the grassy spot where she had left her clothes, she looked up and saw a sight that froze her into place.
"Good God!" the man standing before her exclaimed, dropping the towel he carried in his left hand. "Where in hell did you come from?"
Gina did not answer for a moment. The man was stark naked, except for a pair of sandals, and looked to be at least as surprised as herself. He had a thick brown beard, but through it she could see the astonishment on his face.
"I… I hiked in from the north," she said. "I'm trying to get to a maintenance road just north of the Sleeping Beauty so… so I can walk out to civilization."
"Hey, you're way off base," the man said. "That road's been closed off for over five years! I doubt if you'd even be able to see it now. I'm Pete Barnet, by the way; I'm a seasonal ranger. Got a little shack down the way there."
"I'm… Gina Bellardi," she said, wryly reminding herself that she had never before introduced herself to a man under quite these conditions. "I hope you don't mind my using the pool."
"Huh? Of course not," Pete said. "It's big enough for both of us and more. You've had quite a hike, I suppose?"
"Uh, I cut off the trail up at the Big Horn cutoff," Gina said. "That was about two days ago."
"And you've covered all that distance in that short a time?" Pete asked, looking at her with a new respect. "Say, that's pretty good traveling!"
"Well, I wanted to get across that stretch as soon as I could."
"Yeah. It isn't the most scenic part of the forest," Pete agreed. "Hey, you want to use my towel? I don't see yours anywhere. Just let me jump in and rinse off for a minute and… well, I don't know. Where are you going now? What's on your agenda?"
Gina and Pete crossed paths; she on her way to the towel he left on the grass and he moving into the water. His question brought her to a halt: only then did she begin to consider the implications of his remark about the maintenance road being closed. She knew that the forest could obscure, even hide, a rude track in only a few years. That being the case, she might not find the maintenance road such a good route out of the forest.
"I don't know what I'm going to do now," she confessed, drying herself off with the towel and holding it around her body as she edged her way toward her clothes. "From what you've said, that maintenance road might not be quite as good an idea as I'd thought. I mean, as a way of getting out to a main highway."
"You can believe that," Pete said, gasping as he splashed the cold water over his body. "I'd bet that you'd have trouble finding it, much less following it anywhere. Tell you what – you can either walk out from here on the road down to the junction or, if you're fed up with hiking, you can sit it out here and ride all the way in to Jasper City."
"Jasper City?" Gina asked, looking up with surprise. "I could catch a bus there and be back in the city in a few hours!"
"See, every Friday a park ranger comes out to drop off my supplies for the neat week," Pete told her. "Today's Tuesday, so you could spend a couple or three days here and then ride in. Or you can hike out, whichever you like. You'd be welcome to stay, of course, except that there isn't a lot to do."
"Man, it would be great to get a ride all the way in," Gina said. "I don't know; let me think about it awhile, huh?"
"Sure, take all the time you want," he said. "That's the best part of being out here – nobody'll ever hassle you about time. You can take all spring and summer to make up your mind if you've got food enough to last that long. The only reason I say that is because they only give me enough food for one."
"No, I've got plenty to eat," Gina replied.
Pete came out of the pool, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he was completely naked, and grabbed up the towel. Gina realized with a start that he was probably a nudist: his entire body, even around his hips, was nut brown, though his blue eyes suggested that he was not naturally dark. For the first time in her life she felt relatively at ease with a naked man: Pete exuded a trustworthy air and seemed to be interested in her more as a person than as an instrument of lust.
"Okay, why not walk down to the shack with me and we'll throw something together for lunch?" he suggested. "You can think it all over and make up your mind on a full stomach. That's always the best way to make decisions."
"All right, that's a deal," Gina agreed, darting a curious look at his prick as they set out down the dim trail.
"Don't worry, I'll put on some clothes now that I've got company," Pete said with a laugh. "As long as I'm up here by myself I've gotten into the habit of doing without clothes. I guess I'm just a hedonist at heart – I like to feel the sun and wind on my bare hide. But I've got a shirt and a pair of jeans in the shack."
Gina said nothing but her mind turned anxious flip-flops. The man's prick, an uncircumcised length of meat equal to any she had ever seen, hung down like a gigantic, meaty arrow; the brown fur surrounding its base curled richly and crisply. Behind that lengthy, thick tube were suspended two balls at least as large as hen eggs; the entire equipment swung gently from side to side as they plodded along. Gina tried to force herself to think of other subjects but she could not rid her mind's eye of that unusual sight.
The calm, easy way in which Pete accepted his masculinity without blatantly parading it bothered her. Any of the other men she knew would have managed to suggest that they were nude in order to be ready to take her to bed; Pete's attitude suggested only that he found it more comfortable to be naked. As soon as they were in the shack, a neatly kept one-room cabin, he dug into a duffle bag and brought out a wrinkled pair of jeans and a battered shirt. He slipped into them quickly as he continued talking.
"Are you all alone up here?" Gina asked, seeing no sign of any other occupant.
"Sure, it's usually better that way," he said. "There isn't enough to do for more than one person. Considering most of the people I've seen, I'd rather be alone for all the company they are."
"Yeah, I can see what you mean," she said, thinking back to the scandalous way in which Pam and Ellen had exhibited themselves. "Gee, this might be a pretty good way to spend the summer."
"I haven't found anything like it," he said. "I can live up here for five months on almost nothing. The money I make is almost all pure savings and I live on it the rest of the year. I'm a painter, by the way, when I'm not a ranger. But I don't mix the two – that's why you don't see much, sign of art work around here."
They decided that a package of Gina's soup, mixed together with a slab of beef which Pete produced, would make a tasty stew. Pete diced the beef while Gina prepared the soup, then she added the cubes of meat.
"It'll be ready in ten minutes or so," she said. "Or maybe a little longer if we want to let it simmer."
"Smells good already," Pete told her. "Hey, it's almost twelve – time for me to check in. Hang on a minute."
He went over to a shelf and took down a small portable transceiver. Gina watched as he pulled out the antenna, depressed a switch and chanted into the mouthpiece. When he got no response he tried again.
"Sometimes it doesn't work so good inside," he told her, shaking the transceiver apologetically. "I'll take it outside and see if it works better."
"Go ahead, I'll check the stew," she replied.
She was dishing up their food when he returned. He had a faintly annoyed look on his face.
"That was headquarters," he said, replacing the transceiver on its shelf. "I'm supposed to check in every day at noon, just to let 'em know the trees are still here."
"And they didn't take very kindly to my being here," she guessed, motioning for him to sit down at the crude table. "Is that it? You're not allowed to entertain wandering hikers?"
"No, that's not it. In fact, I didn't even mention that you were here," he said, drawing up a crate and turning it into an impromptu chair. "The thing is, they think some bank robbers are loose in the forest somewhere."
"Bank robbers?" Gina exclaimed. "This is not a very good place to find a bank, I'd say!"
"No, they already found it. Seems they held up the bank in Two Rivers yesterday morning; that's a little burg fifty or sixty miles east of here. They shot the teller and somebody else on their way out."
"And they're hiding out here? In the forest?"
"Well, they're not sure. The cops found the car they used to split; it was parked off the highway over by Dilley Springs, out of gas. So either they had some more wheels stashed there – not too likely, since the first car was out of gas, remember – or they just ditched it and took out on foot. Either way there's a flock of cops out working the forest."
"Good heavens!" Gina exclaimed. "And they think the robbers might come here?"
"Oh, no, that's not very likely," Pete assured her. "Dilley Springs is, oh, fifteen or twenty miles from here and that's over some pretty rough country. No, what they wanted with me was to tell me to be careful when I'm out cruising the woods. All those cops out there, they might be ready to shoot anything that moves, so the guys at headquarters wanted me to watch it when I'm outside."
"Hey, that's wild!" Gina laughed. "They call you up but it's to tell you to watch out for cops, not bank robbers! Which one is supposed to be more dangerous?"
"Listen, they weren't fooling," Pete said, looking up anxiously. "These guys on the sheriff's outfit, they can get all cranked up and they just might blast away at anything they see. Hell, for a buck seventy-five an hour you don't get Dick Tracy!"
"Yeah, I can see that," Gina agreed.
"But this is liable to screw things up for you," Pete went on. "See, one of the robbers was a chick. Tall, brunette, pretty well-built, about twenty-five. See, if somebody didn't know better they might get you mixed up with her. So, if you were to go waltzing along that track, who knows?"
"Uh, that doesn't sound very good," Gina agreed. "It might be almost like going out during hunting season, right?"
"You know it! Look, if you want you can stay here till the heat's off. There's that bunk over there; you can have it if you want. Or you can sleep outside somewhere if you… well, if you don't like it indoors."
"I can sleep outside," Gina quickly decided. "It wouldn't be right, throwing you out of your own house!"
"Come on, about half the time I sleep outside anyway," he said. "And don't think I'm doing you any favors by offering you the bunk – when it rains this is like sleeping under a tree, the roof is that bad!"
"I'll still sleep outside," Gina insisted. "After all, I didn't come all the way out here to sleep inside!"
They finished their meal and cleaned up the dishes and cooking pot. Pete told her that he had to make a tour of one section of the forest assigned to him and invited her to accompany him.
"It'll be about a ten- or eleven-mile hike," he said. "Easy country and some great sights if you want to come along."
"You know, I believe I'll accept your guided tour," she said.