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H is for — Help is on the way. Only it isn’t; it’s a betrayal of trust

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It comes down to who you trust.

Me, I didn’t trust anyone, and it served me well.  Over the years, the very people you thought you could trust were mostly the people you couldn’t.

A brother who screwed me over with our inheritance.

A wife who cleaned out the bank accounts and left with my best friend.

Naturally, my best friend.

A business partner who spent all the working capital on business trips and women, sending the company broke and the blame for it on me.

It left me with nothing and more or less a hermit, living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, reliant on np one else but myself.

But, like every idyllic haven and so-called peace of mind, it was never going to last.

I bought my little slice of heaven, about a hundred or so acres of forest, and built a log cabin in the middle of it.  The conservationists would be proud of me.  There was nothing detrimental to the environment in it.

It kept me busy, hunting, fishing, and surviving.

It’s why when someone turned up at my doorstep, they were either lost or found one of the tracks I’d made and followed, again because they were lost.

Or, it was someone looking for me, and there were a few.  People people who didn’t realise it was not me who screwed them over but others I worked with.  I’d been lucky so far, but that luck was always going to eventually run out.

My last visitors had been several hikers looking for the caves, about thirty miles to the west.  I pointed them in the right direction and sent them on their way the next morning.

It’d been a month or two since then, and with the advent of summer, I was expecting more.

Or so the forest ranger had said last time he came.  Apparently, the caves, thirty miles away, were supposed to have gold nuggets in the walls.

No sooner had he left, a pair of hikers, a man and a woman ,come out of the woods via the eastern trail.  I was cutting wood when they appeared.

I waited until they’d crossed the clearing before letting them know I was there, just out of their sight.

My voice startled them, so I came out of the hollow, axe in hand, trying not to look threatening.

“We heard someone was hiding in the woods.  That would be you?”

He had that smart Alec look about him, the sort who knew everything but knew nothing.  A city boy dressed up to look like a country boy.

The girl looked like she would be more at home on a catwalk, with designer everything.

These two were no more hikers than the man in the moon was, if there was one.

“Not hiding, just keeping away from people.  I don’t get along with people.  What are you doing here?”

He stopped a short distance from me and put his pack down.  It looked heavy.  The girl did likewise and sat on hers.  She said, to no one in particular, “I’ve done enough walking for today.”

I could see she was tired and angry.  I had heard raised voices earlier and wondered if it was them.

The man, or boy, looked at me.  “We’re heading towards the caves.  I guess we still have a ways to go.”

I pointed with my hand, “Thirty miles that away.”

The girl groaned.

“Any chance we can stay for the night?”

“If you don’t mind the floor.”

“We have sleeping bags and food.”

I shrugged.  “If you want.  There’re no showers, but there is a river about half a mile away.”

“Fair enough.”  He sat too, and I could see they both had equipment that was new, including the boots.

“Phones don’t work out here,” the girl said, holding up her cell phone and moving it around.

“No.  Just satellite phones.  It’s one of the reasons I’m off-grid.  No longer attached to a phone or anything, really.  I’ll finish cutting the wood, and I’ll be back.”

They didn’t look like they were going anywhere for a while.

When I came back with a bundle of wood, I let them into the cabin and showed them where they could stay.

At one end was my room; the rest of the cabin was given over to kichen, lounge and fireplace where I had the fire.  It was down to embers waiting for my return with wood for tonight.

They put out their sleeping blankets and took off their boots, which may have been a mistake because I thought I saw blood on their socks while I stoked the fire into life.  The girl made strange faces as she removed her boots.

There was a pot over the flames and they said they could use it to make their dinner.

While it was heating, I said, “I take it you don’t hike much.”

“It’s a recent thing,” the girl said.  “Fresh air and countryside.  A bit different to walking in the park.”

“Are you here just for the fresh air?”

The girl looked at the boy, and I could see a slight shake of the head.

He spoke, “Just taking a hike as far as the caves to check them out. You know them?”

“Never been there.  The last people passing through were headed there, too.  I don’t think they made it.”

Last I heard from the ranger, they’d rescued two people from the forest, one of whom had fallen down the side of the mountain and had been badly injured.

“I’m guessing the trail is difficult?”

“To an inexperienced hiker, yes, but you guys look like you’ve done this before.”

“A little.  But what we lack in experience, we make up for with enthusiasm.”  He looked at the girl.  “Don’t we?”

Her look at him, then me, said anything but.

“Then you should be fine.”

I was up and about before they woke, making sure there was hot water for coffee.

They could also cook something if they wanted to, but after the evening effort, I got the impression they were yet to shake off the trappings of a fast food diet.

When I came back from the river with water, they were up and about, hardly enthusiastic, the toll of the previous day’s trek plain to see in their pained expressions.

“Good morning,” I greeted them cheerfully, hoping it would improve their demeanour.

Both muttered a greeting on return.  The girl added, “Which way is the river?”

I pointed in the direction where the trail began at the tree line.  “Ten minutes that way.  The water is cold but refreshing.  Stick to the pool.  You’ll see it.”

“Thanks.”

I noticed that she started off by herself.

The man gathered his bathroom bag and started to follow her, then stopped.

“How long will it take to reach the caves?”

“Two days if you keep an even pace and head in the right direction, north west.  I’m assuming you have a map?”

“Yes.  I have a GPS that should help.  But, we were wondering, have you been to the caves at all?”

Odd question to ask.  “No.  It’s a long way just to see some bat droppings.  You’re not the first people to pass through and ask me the same question.”

“We were hoping you would guide us.  I’m wise enough to know that we are too inexperienced to do it on our own.  You can see how we ended up when we arrived.”

“Then you should go home.  It’s not for the faint hearted.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t.  I made a bet, and it’s not one I can afford to lose.  I can pay you, if that will change your mind.  Think about it.”

Just what I didn’t need.  I came to this place to get away from people and responsibility.  I shouldn’t really care what happened to fools, and this fellow was a prize fool.

I didn’t need money, but if he was willing to pay, I’d put a high price on it.  After I let him stew for a few hours.

I had been taught to take people at face value, but there would always be people who would slip past the usual scrutiny.

People were good at pretending to be something else and telling you in the most sincere of tones everything you want to hear.

My record on judging people was not the best.

Still, as my mother always said, the majority of people will be fine, there’s only a few scumbags that ruin it for everyone else.

My two visitors and upcoming intrepid adventurers were too good to be true.  And we all knew the saying, if it’s too good to be true, it generally is.

Call me cynical.

Years of being taken advantage of had forced me off the grid, and I had hoped that I’d got far enough away that only the forest ranger could find me.

It was good to learn that both rangers who worked this part of the forest were the same as me, escaping from a wretched life borne out of trusting all the wrong people.

Dave was the closest, and while down by the river and far enough away from my visitors, I called him.  I had a satellite phone, not for general use, but to call the ranger station if there was a fire or other calamity.  This was the second time I’d called.

“Ethan.”

“Dave.”

“How is it out there in Shangrila?”

“Almost perfect.  I had two hikers turn up yesterday telling me they were heading towards the caves.”

“Gold miners?”

“They don’t look as if they have ever hiked anywhere in their lives.  Everything they have is just off the shelf, minus the price tag.”

When I first arrived at the ranger station, there was a long discussion about setting up a camp and staying.  Of course, it was not allowed unless I worked as a fire spotter.  There was no pay and a good chance of being burned to death, but it offered the solitude I was looking for.

They said people had to report to the ranger station before venturing into the unknown, and if anyone was coming my way, they would tell me.

“They did not report to the office.  We have only one registered group out there but in a different quadrant.”

“Is it possible they didn’t know about the regulations?”

“If they’re proper hikers, no.  Have they told you why they’re out there?”

“Not in as many words.  Is there something out here that I don’t know about?

“Only that some guy found a fifty-ounce nugget in one of the caves.  Since then, it’s been proved that he had stolen it from a private collection, but news of that has been suppressed because of who it was stolen from.  But to stop people from going there, a bulletin was released telling everyone the nugget didn’t come from the caves.  We don’t want a mini gold rush sending thousands of people into impenetrable parts of the forest, getting lost, injured, or worse.  Perhaps they didn’t get the memo.”

“Or they’re up to something else.”

“You going with them?”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“I can offer you a small guide’s fee, a couple of hundred dollars a day, because it will cost tens of thousands to get them out when, not if they get lost.”

“OK.  You should be able to track us.  If anything else is in play, I’ll call you.”

“No problems.”

I felt better knowing the forestry rangers were monitoring us.  Just in case.

When I got back to the cabin, they were sitting outside, all packed up and ready to go.  I thought it was a little strange that the girl looked more like a fashion model with perfect makeup; the last thing she needed in the forest.

There was also an air of tension between the two, the sort that was often said it was so think you could cut in with a knife.  An argument?

The boy sounded happier than he looked.  “Have you considered the offer?”

“How much are you willing to pay?”

“A round thousand, five hundred each way.”  He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the notes.”  New, and crisp.  “Half now, the rest when we get back.”

I came over and took the money.  “I’ll be five minutes. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course.  And thank you.”

I looked at the girl and had a sudden flash of memory.  I’d seen her before, somewhere, but where?  It certainly wasn’t in hiking gear, and she certainly wasn’t as miserable as she looked then.

I shook my head.  It would come back, only by then it would be the wrong time and definitely the wrong place.

The first mile was the hardest.  Not necessarily in terms of terrain; it was nearly flat country before we started up the first mountain, the first of five or six.

Firstly, they had to get over the previous day, and after seeing their feet, the initial struggle just getting the boots back on would have been interesting.

Secondly, it was the time of the year for the first snow of the season, so it was cold.  Very cold.  Fortunately, they had dressed for the weather.

Thirdly, the animals were active, and both of them were easily startled.  I wasn’t expecting to see any bears, but there might be one of two skulking. Generally, they left people alone.

We stopped twice in clearings for a break, and at first, I told them that at the rate we were going, it might take three or four days to get there.

Note:  they were not in a hurry.

I tried to engage them in small talk, but I got the impression there was little to talk about.  The girl wanted to, but a glance from the boy stopped her.

Note: They did not want me to know who they were.   My guess is that the first names were not their real names.

By the time we had traversed the first mountain and had reached a tributary that ran into the main river, some distance away, we stopped for lunch.

They had wisely brought energy bars and drinks.  I suspected the girl was a gym freak because she seemed more at home with the physical exercise.  The boy wasn’t and was sweating profusely, the sort who avoided exercise and fitness.  His definition of exercise would be running for the train to avoid being later than late.

I led, the girl followed, and the boy was the rearguard.  More than once, I saw him looking around.

Note:  Was he expecting someone, or did he believe someone was following us?

With the rustling sounds in the undergrowth, it wasn’t hard to be worried about what could suddenly appear.  I had seen the odd wild pig and several bears over the last year.

By the time we made it over three of the five hills or mountains, we were making a good pace, and by the time light was fading, we had traversed about sixteen miles.

This was going to take two full days, perhaps a little longer.  Darkness fell quickly, and rest beckoned.  Out in the forest, the notion of sleep was a luxury.  Although I didn’t tell them, I rarely slept when on a trek it was never that safe.

Something else I may have failed to mention is that sound travels on the cold night air.  They had moved to a position at the bottom of a rocky escarpment, where they thought they were far enough away not to be heard.

“Tell me again why I let you talk me into this ridiculous odyssey?”  The petulance and contempt were plain to hear in her tone.

“You wanted a life of luxury.  It wasn’t my fault that your parents cut you off.  I can’t see why they don’t like me, other than I’m not one of their self-entitled fools they were throwing at you.”

There was no mistaking the contempt in his tone either.  It still didn’t identify who she was other than she was from a wealthy background.  It explained the attitude and the equipment.

“You told me that money wasn’t an issue.”

“It isn’t.  Once we find a chunk of gold, everything will be fine.”

” I hope you’re not expecting to find it just lying around waiting for you to simply pick it up.  The guy who told you about it would have taken everything he could see.”

“He couldn’t carry it all.”

“So he chose you above everybody else he could tell where this El Derado is?  If it was me, I wouldn’t tell a soul.  Or I would tell people to go somewhere entirely different.”

She had made some very valid points, and if I had been the original discoverer, I would not tell anyone where the gold was.  Not unless I was selling bogus treasure maps.  And the caves were not exactly unknown.  Intrepid hikers who wanted a challenge set it as the hardest trek that could be had in the area.

If there was gold in the caves, it would have long been discovered before this.

“Well, he didn’t.  Just accept that I know what I’m doing.”

That next statement should have been, ‘You’ve been scammed’, but instead, she didn’t say another word.   My only thought was that anything was possible, but I remembered the rangers saying that the geological structures were not conducive to finding any sort of mineral.

Something was not right.

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©  Charles Heath  2025