Stranded

Franky Bonfanti
Nov 1 · 3 min read

“You have no fucking idea where we are do you?”

Jeff turned to glare at Susan.

“And you do, I suppose?”

A pregnant moment of silence passed between the pair, the only sound the eerie sigh of the wind through the bare autumn trees.

“I thought as much”.

Jeff made to trudge off further into the woods but stopped when he realized Susan wasn’t following him.

“Oh for fuck sake Susan….”

“I’m not going any further! We should just hole up here for the night and wait till dawn.”

“We’ve got to keep moving, it’s too cold to stop and in case you had forgotten, you dropped the phone and the rest of our food down that crevice. I’ve walked this way plenty, I know there’s a bothy around here somewhere.”

“You said we’d be there by now” Susan acidly spat.

“I say a lot of things”, Jeff fired back as he took a long stride into the wood away from Susan. “I’d keep up if I were you” came Jeff’s disembodied voice through the trees.

Exasperated, Susan followed Jeff into the wood, dark thoughts of what she’d like to do to Jeff curdling in her mind as she caught up with her husband.

Though these days, she wasn’t really sure what he was to her now. Ever since Jeff had started his new job he had become increasingly cold and distant towards her. All was not well and they both knew it.

This trip had been her idea, a chance for them to reconnect, she told him. Jeff had said he’d have preferred a week in Tenerife and hadn’t been shy in reminding her as they trudged through the wild, stormy Highland weather.

“What have we got left to eat anyway?” Susan asked.

I’ve got a water and two energy bars. You dropped your stuff, remember?” Jeff said tartly.

“Are you honestly going to let me starve?”

Jeff grunted a reluctant negative before stopping dead in his tracks. He turned to Susan, a smug grin on his face. In the clearing beyond, was the unmistakeable shape of a bothy. Shelter from the storm.

“Told you didn’t I?” Jeff said triumphantly.

Wanker.

Susan said nothing, not wanting to give Jeff the satisfaction. Jeff — the bastard — wouldn’t let it go.

“C’mon, admit it Susan. I was right and you were wrong…as per fucking usual. You know that’s your problem, you never can admit when you’re wrong”.

Susan considered this a moment, Jeff snorting contemptuously as he crossed the threshold of the bothy. Her hand, resting upon a small stone wall, felt a large stone come loose.

Susan looked at the stone, feeling its almost comforting, sturdy weight. It felt right in her hand.

She glanced towards the bothy Jeff had entered.

Susan pocketed the stone and entered, standing directly behind Jeff.

“I know about Linda” said Susan quietly and with one swift motion brought the stone crashing down on his head. Jeff slumped to the deck, immediately out for the count.

To her immense relief, she noticed that Jeff was still breathing but she’d be damned if she’d hang around here waiting for him to wake up.

Helping herself to his water and the two remaining energy bars, Susan began the walk back to the car.

Franky Bonfanti

Written by

If elected mayor, I’ll kill the whole lotta ye and burn yer town tae cinders

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