"We're lost, aren't we?" she asked him, shining the flashlight on the map. "We should have turned back there where the sign said Haverhill Turnpike. We're on the wrong road, and we're going to end up in Snellville. Just admit it, Sam!"
Sam kept his eyes on the road. "Never. Look, Mary," Sam told her, "It's two in the morning. Do you really want to argue with me? I know these mountain roads a lot better than you because I come up here with the hunt club. I'm telling you we'll be home in forty-five minutes. I know a short cut through Snellville. We need to get down off this mountain and as far as I'm concerned, all roads lead in the general direction of down."
Mary started to remark about men and directions but thought better of it. He was right. It wasn't worth turning around at this hour of the night. They were both tired, and the drive back from Chicago had been a long and tedious twelve hours. It was a good thing they were in love or they would have killed each other by now.
As Sam drove his Honda SUV around the curve, she felt the free sample boxes shift in th back seat. They were returning from the annual Eastern Coast Mortician Conference where they had enjoyed a week of seminars on new technology in the funeral business. Sam had loaded up the car with boxes of free embalming fluids, cosmetics, and arterial washes. He couldn't wait to try them out.
Mary, although also a licensed embalmer, had gravitated more toward the booths demonstrating new ways to advertise the business and promote package deals. She knew from experience that the real money was in selling pre-burial arrangements. The ever present struggle to balance rising expenses against what the client could afford was a juggling act for any funeral home owner.
Mary settled back and pulled her coat tighter around her. "It feels cold enough to snow."
Sam adjusted his knit cap over his bald head. "It should be snowing. It's almost Christmas. What kind of place is this, so close to West Virginia, that there isn't snow on the ground already? Up in Maryland, we always had snow by the end of October."
"It must be that global warming you don't believe in. We used to have big snows. Now days, they say the mountains keep all the bad weather in West Virginia. They can have it, I say. Why is it so light out here in the middle of nowhere? It's after midnight."
"Full moon," Sam answered and then mumbled, "Sure explains your mood."
Mary looked up and suddenly gripped the dashboard. "Watch out, Sam! Just saw eyes on the left!" Sam hit the brakes, and the car swerved back and forth in the road. Mary hung on to her seat as Sam fought the streering wheel. He brought the SUV back to the middle of the road and straightened out. They came to a stop.
"I'm awake now," he announced. "Are you still breathing?"
Mary nodded, looking in her side mirror for a glimpse of what they almost hit. "I'm glad you're driving. I'd have been over the bank in an instant. Oh my God, Sam! It's a man. Not a deer. Back up! Back up!"
Sam shoved the gearshift into reverse and moved the car backwards. Staring into his mirror, Sam saw a man illuminated by the moonlight standing by the side of the road. When they were close, the man staggered out into the road, his hand waving for help.
Sam stopped the car. "What's he doing up here at this hour of the night? We're surrounded by National Forrest. How did he get up here?"
"Maybe his car is down over that bank. Plenty of deer around here. He probably plowed into one."
Mary lowered her window and watched as the man walked right into the side of their car and then slumped to his knees on the cold pavement. He was a tall man, his face obscured by the dark hood of his jacket. He wavered on his knees for a moment, then fell face down on the road.
"Help me," Mary heard the man murmur, the air barely gurgling from his lips. Mary cracked her door, ready to get out, but Sam grabbed her arm.
"You don't know what's going on, Mary. You're too trusting. Let me park the car. I hope we're the only stupid people out here tonight." Sam moved the car to the narrow strip of gravel on the side of the road and turned the engine off. He reached across Mary and pulled out a handgun from the glove compartment.
"Is that really necessary, Sam? He's passed out on the road!"
"I've been shot and stabbed so you can hardly blame me for being suspicious. And this is suspicious. Let's go."
They got out of the car and walked back to the man who had fallen over. Mary shone her flashlight on the unconscious man, lying face down. She crouched down by his side.
"Should we call 911?" Mary asked, looking up.
Sam shook his head. "No cell service up here. It'll be faster if we take him in ourselves. He'll freeze to death if he stays out here. Not really dressed for the weather, is he?"
Mary reached down and felt for a pulse. "Alive. Feverish." She pulled back the man's hood and gasped. "What are all these purple splotches on his face? Bruises? He's hemorrhaging. Maybe he was hit by a car."
The man suddenly moaned and rolled his head. Sam grabbed his arm to help him to his feet. "Get him to the car. We'll have to take him to the hospital. Something very weird about all this, Mary. How could he get hit by a car up here? There's no traffic. No one lives up here but bears. He looks sick. He might have something contagious. Mortician school 101."
Mary grabbed the man's other arm and together they got the man to their car. Sam roughly shoved the few boxes he had on the seat into the back of his SUV. They pulled and pushed the man into the back seat where he immediately collapsed in ball, moaning in pain.
"Had all your shots?" Sam whispered to Mary.
Mary sighed. "We've seen a lot of terrible things in our business, Sam and we survived them all. I doubt if this is going to be the exception to the rule. I do worry that he's not going to make it, though. Hurry! Onward!"
"Well, we did the best we could do. We're not doctors. Undertakers aren't really trained for this. Call Joey and tell him we're taking a detour. You're going to be late."
They sped off into the cold night, the moon light leading the way. Half way down the mountain, snowflakes began to fall.
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