“Here it is, guys, our campsite for the night,” Ty said, dropping her stuff on the ground.
“Thank God,” AJ groaned, and promptly fell over. “My legs are gonna fall off!”
She watched as the others set down their things and sat down.
“We’ve got work to do before we can rest,” she said, urging them all back to their feet.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Howie said. “We’ve been walking forever!”
“You guys are wimps! Don’t you sing and dance simultaneously for two hours nearly every night? And now, you can’t even handle simple walking?!”
Howie cringed.
“We’ve got to set up camp before it gets dark,” Ty continued.
Kevin was busily videotaping the scenery. His gaze settled on the stream just a few feet away. It reminded him of the stream that ran behind his father’s camp. Suddenly he was feeling very depressed.
“Kevin, are you all right?” Ty asked, coming up behind him.
“Yeah, sure.” He switched off the camera. “What needs to be done first?”
“I knew I could count on you.”
They walked back to the group.
“Okay, let’s get some wood together to build a fire, it’s gonna get chilly tonight,” she began. “And we can position our sleeping bags around the fire.”
“I’m hungry,” Brian said, rubbing his stomach.
“The sooner we get our stuff spread out, the sooner we can eat.” Brian, and Howie went looking for firewood. AJ and Nick started unrolling sleeping bags, and Ty and Kevin started getting the food ready.
“Beans?” he questioned, holding up a can. “I don’t think these are a good idea.”
“Why not? Beans are a standard camping food.”
“Five guys eating beans? Are you sure you wanna go there?”
“Oh, I get it. We’ll skip them tonight.”
Kevin grabbed the coffee pot and headed for the stream. Ty watched him. He had a natural knack for camping, she decided. Moving from the country to the city must have been a culture shock for him.
Brian and Howie returned, arms loaded with sticks. “Where do you want these?” Howie asked.
Ty pointed. The sticks were dropped. “Do you know how to start a fire?” she asked them. They gave each other blank looks.
“Hey, Kev, I think we need you, man,” Brian said.
Kevin handed Ty the coffee pot and smiled. “No problem,” he said, looking at the sticks.
While Kevin worked on the fire, the others busied themselves with their stuff. Ty figured it was to avoid helping her with the cooking.
“Fire’s going,” Kevin said.
“Thanks. Can you open this?” She passed him a can.
“What are we having?” AJ asked from his place on his sleeping bag. He was searching through his bag for his Walkman.
“Ham,” Ty said.
“From a can?”
“Unless you see a pig nearby to slaughter.”
“All right, from a can is fine.”
Ty and Kevin shared an amused look.
Soon they were settled around the fire, eating, or in Nick’s case, picking at, their food. Night slowly settled around them.
“It’s sure dark in the woods, isn’t it?” Howie said, looking around. “Wild animals aren’t gonna jump out and attack us, are they?”
Ty stopped eating to focus on Howie. “Well, there are bears out here.”
“Bears!” AJ screeched.
“But they’re friendly,” Ty added.
“How do you know?”
“Uh, well, I don’t. But if you don’t piss them off, they won’t come after you.”
“Oh, thanks for the tip,” AJ muttered.
Ty laughed. “You guys, come on, relax, everything will be fine. How’s the food?”
Nick made a disgusted face. “Ick.”
“Well thanks a lot.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” he said quickly, “it’s just not what I’m used to eating.”
“Which would be pure crap,” Ty said. “I bet you guys eat nothing but junk food!”
“We try not to,” Kevin said. “But when you’re on the road, and the only place you can find is a McDonald’s...”
AJ licked his lips. “McDonald’s sounds really good right about now.”
“You are all sad, sad people,” Ty said, getting up. “Who gets to do the dishes? And it won’t be Kevin either.”
Silence.
“If you don’t pick, I’ll pick for you.”
Still silence.
Ty put her hands on her hips and pointed at Brian.
“Aw man!” he said.
“I am a woman, you are a man, you do the dishes.”
Brian grumbled, but he got up.
Nick set his plate on the ground and stood up too.
“Nature calls,” he said.
“Thanks for sharing,” Howie said.
Nick glared and then headed for the trees.
“Hey, Nick, don’t go too far,” Ty called. “And here, take a flashlight with you.” She tossed him one and he caught it.
“I’ll stay close,” he promised and then left.
Brian washed and dried their dishes and packed them. Then he settled down around the fire with the rest of them. Kevin tossed in a couple more twigs.
“Nick’s been gone a long time,” he said. “Do you think he got lost?” Ty, who had been reading a book by flashlight, instantly sat up. “Omigod, where is he?”
Howie looked at his watch. “He left fifteen minutes ago.”
“It doesn’t take fifteen minutes to pee,” Ty said, dropping her book and getting to her feet. “Oh God, we have to find him!”
The panic in her voice spread to everyone else. They grabbed flashlights and prepared to split up.
“No! Don’t go alone!” Ty cried. “Kevin, Brian and Howie, you go that way, AJ, come with me. Stay together, and if you find Nick, holler as loud as you can.” Then she grabbed AJ’s arm and practically dragged him into the woods with her. “Nick” she screamed, aiming her flashlight in every direction. “Nick, where are you?”
AJ joined in the yelling. They could hear the other guys yelling too.
“Oh God, where the hell could he be?!”
AJ was starting to panic even more now. And Ty was nearing the hysterical point.
“NICK!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Meanwhile...
Nick looked left, and then right. He didn’t know where he was, he didn’t know which way was back to camp. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he turned right.
“Ty?” he called out, but it was barely above a whisper. “Anyone, where are you?” He stepped on a twig and it snapped. He jumped a foot in the air. “Okay, Nick. So you got lost. No biggie, they’ll find you,” he said to himself. “And then Ty will rip your head off. Yeah, uh huh, that sounds about right.”
He continued walking, the flashlight aimed ahead of him. Much to his surprise and horror, it started to go dim. “Oh no way, this can’t be happening,” he groaned. He shook the flashlight and smacked it with the palm of his hand. It flickered and then went dark. “Shit!” Suddenly, an owl hooted from a tree. Nick stopped walking and listened.
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die,” he chanted. “Oh man, maybe I should stop moving, yeah, they’ll find me faster if I stay in one spot.”
He slowly sat down, leaning against a tree trunk for support. It was then he noticed his knees were shaking.
And so he sat there, eyes wide and darting every which way. Every ghost story he’d ever heard came flooding into his mind, along with the thought of wild animals and killer insects.
When something small and furry brushed by his leg, that was it for Nick. His eyes rolled
back in his head and his body went limp as he collapsed in the dirt.
