Karyn mother was standing in the hallway. If ever, she looked even more worried than fifteen minutes ago, when Karyn went upstairs.
"Karyn, I need to ask you to pack some essential things quickly. Get warm clothes, some essential hygiene products, and some other things you will need. Sorry, but we will have to make this trip to check on your granddad. It will take us 3 hours to get to the parking lot, where we will leave the car. My plan is to continue on foot until dusk, and then make a camp for the night. That way we should arrive at your granddad place early tomorrow."
"Ok, mom, but aren’t you panicking too much? Maybe really the battery just died and grandpa had not noticed this, or maybe the generator in the creek had broken and he does not have a means to charge the phone?" - Karyn suggested.
"That's not the case. I will explain while we ride. I know you would have preferred to spend a weekend at home, but if something really happened then it would be good to go together. It's a shame your father is away until next week. Now, please go and pack yourself quickly. I will take care of the rest". - Her mother seemed dead set on her decision.
Seeing that, Karyn just nodded and went upstairs to pack herself. She was quite unsure about all of this. On one hand, she will soon be outside of the range of the rock, but on the other hand there is all the more chance that her mother will notice also her smaller breasts. All in all, she had to admit, though, that it was easier to fake having bigger cup size, than to do something about Jon’s anger coupled with his almost unlimited power.
Karyn made a quick assessment: She didn't want to pack too much, to reduce the weight she will have to carry, so she decided on the essentials. Some basic hygiene products, come underwear, warmer sweater, a jacket, and her hiking boots. As for food, some candy bars and a larger bottle of water will have to suffice. Once they arrive at her granddad place, there will be more food available. At a last moment before walking out of her room she also grabbed her phone (not noticing the notification about not answered connection), power bank, and small headphones. All of the items she had thrown into her backpack at random, and they created a small mess in there. With that, she was ready in just a few minutes. She didn't want to stay in stone range any longer than necessary. Closing the door she went outside.
She had not had to wait for her mother long, though.
"Good thing I had not yet unpacked most of the things after our trip this year. I have tent, stove, our sleeping bags, and some other items ready." her mother said when she joined her on the driveway just few minutes later. "There is just one more thing we will have to do. We will stop at my work to get some medical supplies, and hopefully the security will allow me to borrow their spare sat-phone. Better safe than sorry!".
That meant that they will be stopping about 20 miles away, at the st. Aidan's hospital where Karyn’s mother worked as a doctor. This was fine with Karyn. The stone had limit of a few miles, according to the letter Jon had received, and that meant that she should soon be outside of the stone reach.
They had closed their home, put their bags in the trunk, hopped into their car, and shortly they were on the road to their first destination.
