Former Park Ranger

A friend and I spent several weeks traveling cheaply, sleeping in the back of our hatchback and stopping at free campsites. Nearly every stranger we met was kind and welcoming, so we were comfortable making conversation with people we encountered.

One evening we found a remote campsite with an RV and two cars already parked among the trees. A man opened the RV door when we waved, stared at us without speaking, and slowly closed it. We assumed he wanted privacy and parked farther down the road.

Later we saw a campfire and approached to introduce ourselves. Two men were sitting there. One was older and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, while the other was younger and said he had formerly worked as a park ranger. The younger man seemed friendly, so we sat with them and talked about our travels and families.

The conversation changed when he began describing a bear he had seen nearby. He showed us a photograph and then said that if we got out of our car during the night, a bear would not be the thing we should fear. I expected him to laugh, but he did not. We tried to change the subject, yet he repeatedly returned to the idea of something grabbing us from the car.

As darkness settled, he walked toward the cooler outside the firelight. A red glow appeared in the trees, and I realized he was holding a camera. He took a photograph of us without asking. He checked the screen, adjusted the camera, and took another picture with the flash. He did not explain why he had photographed us.

My friend and I decided to leave. The older man smiled and wished us a good night. The former ranger smiled too, but his expression did not reach his eyes. He told us to be careful because there was more than one danger in the woods.

We hurried back to our car. My friend was nearly hyperventilating and asked why he had taken our pictures. I said that I had read that some killers warn their victims, and she wondered whether he had taken photographs of us as potential victims. She locked the doors and turned on the headlights. I immediately told her to switch them off because now he knew exactly where we were parked.

We had not yet unpacked our bedding, so there was nothing to gather. We started the car and drove out as fast as we could. On the dirt road, the former ranger was walking toward us with the same cold expression. We did not stop. We left the campsite and never saw him again.