Noah stood nearby his things as the rest of the group arrived. While he was setting his things down, Daniel was laughing at one of his 'puns' as he was repeating 'cigarette'. Noah gave him a worried laugh as he didn't want to see rude toward Daniel and his so-called 'jokes'. Cecil, Eliza, and Felix soon arrived at the location with their camping gear for the long trip. Then, Val showed up with a plastic lunch box full of brownies. Noah went towards her and thanked her for the brownies as he grabbed only one. The brownie was the best thing that he ever had as he could taste the fresh and warm chocolate. Noah was smiling ear to ear as he ate the entire brownie before Phoebe arrived and their 'quest' began.

Champlain Forest was beautiful during the day, despite the skeletal trees that were all over the forest. The group kept walking deeper into the woods as the heat was getting to them. Noah, thankfully, had some bottled waters in his backpack as he went to get one of them. He should of got one before they left the meeting grounds, but he wasn't thinking at all. Then, they stopped at a small picnic area that wasn't kept clear as Debra ensured the group that she knew where they were going. Noah didn't say anything as he quickly grabbed another water bottle and placed the barely empty one back. The adventure kept going until the group stopped at the nearby river. The river looked like it could drag someone across the forest and kill them before they could yell for help.

The only way to cross the river was a log. A log.

Noah shook his head as he saw the log and the fresh boot prints. He knew that everyone would try to cross the river by using that log. Debra tried to ensure the entire group that it was safe to cross, but Noah wasn't buying it. She even took off her cap as some sort of oath, but she used it to get the bugs away from her. That 'oath' didn't help Noah at all. Even know the log had fresh boot prints, he wasn't sure that crossing the river by log was a smart idea. Noah tried to speak on the matter, but Phoebe told Debra that they could cross the river by swimming it.

Noah wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but he hoped that she was. She asked if someone wanted to volunteer to swim across the deadly river. Noah responded to Debra's question, "I am sure that even a professor swimmer, like Steve Lundquist, won't be able to make it across this river."

---

---

---

---

The brownies were a success, at least. The curse of the dodgy oven had yet to take an effect on Val’s baked goods, and she mentally insisted that it stayed that way. As long as no one was hurling their insides out and everyone was tasting the familiar goodness of chocolate, the whole forest trek wouldn't have to be put on hold. If anyone tried to snatch more than one brownie, Val would simply swat their cheeky hands away.

“Remember everyone, one at a time. A lot of brownies all at once isn't healthy, so no sneaky snatching okay? Besides, might as well save some for later if anyone is in need of a quick energy boost.”

And with a few smiles and assurances that the brownies weren't going to be the leading cause of the group's death later, Val began her adventure into the sort-of unknown with her friends towards Kalispel Hill; Madcat’s station was but a day and a few hours walk away from now.

•••

For the years Val had lived in St. Stephens, Champlain Forest was one of the places she never thought she would ever set foot on. Maybe she would have gotten the chance on some school trip, but delving this far into a forest of colossal trees that looked like they were sitting through an eternal winter seemed far beyond Val’s expectations. The forest trail wasn’t lacking much greenery though, so the whole area didn’t seem completely dead. But what would be dead if Val didn’t do anything about it was herself; with the sky as clear as it was and the sun as hot as it is in the midst of summer, Val would come home looking like a shrivelled burnt cookie if she let her tan-free skin out any longer. Fishing one out of many small bottles of water and her dad’s bucket hat from her bag, she proceeded to protect herself from the burning heat and that glaring summer sun.

Phoebe’s guitar playing had done its job at setting a soothing scene as they hiked down the path, and it sure as hell put Val’s mind off from the terrible humidity and heat. Only eight minutes in and Val was already on her third bottle of water. Unfortunately, the water was not doing its job at keeping the girl the least bit hydrated, which was evident from her constant tripping over tree roots and twig scratches as the group made their way downhill.

Or maybe she just really, really needed to get out more.

Then, the sounds of rushing water resounded through the trees, and soon a fast flowing river came into sight. Val had already gotten a glimpse of the deep and murky depths of this aquatic foot trap, and the rushing water was so loud that it made her shuffle back a little. She hated loud noises more than anything, but all Val did was gulp. Despite the dangers, it wasn’t something that the girl would outwardly squeal over.

"It's completely safe, guys. Scout's honor," Debra informed the group, glancing at the old log that lay flat before them. Val gripped the straps of her bag, taking a small deep breath in.

"I think we can swim for it--who wants to swim for it?!" would be Phoebe’s first suggestion, a suggestion that was met with Val’s horrified eyes.

"You’ve got to be insane Phoebe! You’ll get dragged under the water in two seconds flat if you try to swim for it," Val replied in a concerned tone.

"I am sure that even a professional swimmer, like Steve Lundquist, won't be able to make it across this river," would be Noah’s reply.

"Noah’s right, I’m sure even the strongest of swimmers would have trouble getting their heads above the water to breathe here. I don’t mean to kill the mood, but considering the limited options we have here I think crossing the log would be a much safer choice."

Val didn’t like to snap at others, however it was times like this that she felt the need to step in, even if it wasn’t needed. An extra reassurance for the others, and herself.

"Plus, we wouldn’t want to get our snacks wet, now, would we?" she added with a small smile, making sure she didn’t sound too stern towards Phoebe. Val assumed that she wasn’t totally serious on swimming to the other side, but then again she was just trying to reassure herself that nothing terrible was going to happen to her, or anyone else that decided to follow.

"So..." Val continued, switching her gaze to the other people around her. "...who’s going first?"

---

"Me." Cecil piped up, hopping off of his plundered bike triumphantly. "I don't wanna take the bike, one of ya'll skinny summbitches need to bring it for me. I don't trust that rickety-ass bridge to not topple say, some goddang pigeons decides to hop up on it, y'know?" With that, he let go of his plundered steed, having made the decision up already. "Lemme show ya'll pansies how it's done."

Cecil made his way to the bridge, and took a few steps on to the first plank, holding onto the supporting beams that the tattered handrail was tied to. It was in that moment that he looked down, and as if it were trivial information, remembered that he could not swim. At all. It was a sailor's goal to stay out of the water first and foremost, and by that logic, learning to swim seemed to him like learning to rollerskate after receiving a pilot's license. But it was too late to turn back. Walker wouldn't have turned back, but then again, Walker also wouldn't have put himself in that situation. Pontifications for another time.

Cecil took another few steps, walking slowly and steadily with his hands gliding above the rails as if to magnetically stabilize himself. The drop below was long enough to break something, and would land him in water fast and deep enough to carry him under. He could hear the dull roar of the river below him, though he dared not look down. Step by step, Cecil shuffled across the bridge, carefully testing the weight tolerance of each plank as he stepped forward gingerly. Sure enough, after a few moments, the boy pulled himself foot by foot and reached the end of the bridge. When his foot stepped onto the soft earth, he turned around to shout something at his comrades about his being the best at bridge-crossing, though he realized they were likely not able to hear him over the rushing rapids. Instead, as they decided amongst themselves who should go next, Cecil did what all young boys were wont to do exploring the woods. He kept exploring.

Cecil quickly disappeared into the thick brush, going along what seemed like a path for a few moments to survey the area. Almost immediately, a stench caught his nose. He knew it well, under his trailer, behind the shead, and in the back of the garage fridge. Rot. Something nearby had gone bad, be it a pool of curdling milk or pile of cold cuts, though this specific smell was foreign to Cecil. It was a stronger smell, yet stale and somehow not immediately overpowering. He followed it further, though only in a matter of steps did he begin using his eyes to track. There was a thin trail of trampled grass and bootprints further into the thickets of skeletal trees and bushes.

He followed it, absent-mindedly forgetting about the need to stay close to his friends, following the prints as they grew thicker and clearer into the dense woods. Soon enough, he cleared a small hill and found the source. In front of him lay a motionless deer. Cecil instinctively took a step back, stumbling backwards and landing on his backside, staring at the creature. It was not the first time he had seen something dead, though it was the first time such a thing was so large. It only barely stunk, and in this weather, that meant it hadn't been dead that morning. Cecil crept forward, expecting it to leap up at any moment, and poked it with his boot.

It was stiff. And cold. He could feel it, even through the thick rubber of his sole. As he looked around further, he noticed that it seemed to have been dragged a short distance, though he didn't care to explore furhter and see how far along it had been dragged. He was a hands-on adventurer, and there was more adventure to be found in the deer than any lame blood tracks. The deer had been shot twice in the chest, judging by the two clean holes in its side covered in shiny blood, drying quickly in the sun, and shot in the head at a much cleaner angle than the first two shots.

"Hey Guys?" Cecil shouted. "I found somethin' over here! Come checkitout!"

---

---

Debra called for their journey to begin and Felix nearly jumped out of his skin with excitement. It was finally time to ‘save’ Madcat, or at least that’s what they all had assumed. He felt as though the idea that he was being held captive was a bit extreme somehow, but who was he to crush their dreams? Everyone was ready to go, the air buzzed around him with anticipation. Felix enjoyed being outside, in the woods, in nature, in the city there was too much noise. Too much violence and acts of wrongdoing, to the point it made him agitated enough to lash out. But in nature, there was only the chirping of birds, rustles of creatures who knew not the difference between right and wrong, only acting on instinct alone. A small part of Felix envied that about animals, there was no sense of right and wrong only living and death. He was a smart enough boy to know that, he understood that very well. It was all the more reason he enjoyed being around Eliza so much. She was innocent, pure, being around her made him feel like humanity wasn’t completely soiled.

They walked further into the woods, his hand in Eliza’s so that she wouldn’t get lost, though he knew it was useless though. He could only try and contain her for so long before she got bored of walking and began to inspect everything in close detail. All the people around him walked around, looking at all that these woods had to offer. Debra was at the front pointing out markers to the group, indicating they were going the right direction. Trees lumbering over their heads, causing him to tug at Eliza’s and point out interesting things he noticed that she might like. Phoebe was strumming on her guitar only adding to the majestic atmosphere of the enchanting woods. He almost wished that the fort they had built had been through these woods, it would have been the perfect place to play. But as he saw there was signs of people who wandered through here seeking adventures such as they all did, causing it to be a bit harder to be secluded. For almost an instant he wished to run ahead of the group and see what else the woods had to offer but he knew better than that. He would only cause trouble off by himself without Debra telling him where to go. Letting out a small sigh he walked contently with the rest of the group.

As the time passed, the sun only got hotter, and though the shade of the trees provided some sort of protection the heat was steadily rising as well. The sound of water rushing in the distance though made him hopeful that they might to take a moments rest to cool off. To his absolute horror, it was a river with a rushing current and deeper than he had expected. Debra let out another declaration that they were headed in the right direction, which caused him to gulp. She then began to explain that it was completely safe to cross over the very UNSAFE looking tree bridge. By the fidgets and looks given around him, he knew that he wasn’t the only one nervous. Looking around he then saw a little ways down was a rope swing which looked even more unsafe than the tree bridge. At least with the tree bridge, they would for sure make it across if they went one at a time.

Phoebe spoke up "I don't know, Debs,I think we can swim for it-" Felix felt his jaw slack for a moment as she finished. "-who wants to swim for it?!" Turning to her he spoke up, ”Swim for it?! I hope you’re kidding. You’re strong but Noah and Val are right, this is way too strong for even you. N-not that I am saying that you couldn’t do it, but even pros would struggle. We should think carefully about how we are going to cross this.” Letting out a long sigh, he saw Cecil drop his bike and announce he would be the first to cross over. Then proceeded to call them all pansies which got under Felix’s skin a bit, but knew better than to pick a fight with the boy.

Cecil, despite being a bit reckless, was very careful in his movements, pressing with each step to ensure that it would hold his weight. Felix watched his feet rather than his upper body, knowing that one wrong step could cause him to slip and fall. Finally he made it over and didn’t stop once, continuing forward to look through the woods ahead. Once again, reckless. Giving a shaky breath he grabbed both of Eliza’s hands and held them, looking straight at her. ”I am going to cross next, okay? When I am half way across, you hop on and I will tell you where to put your feet. No running off by yourself and don’t do anything crazy.” Felix flashed a confident smile and then moved swiftly over the bike. ”Sorry, Cecil. I won’t be the one to bring your bike over! Giving a short snicker he made his way over to the edge of the log before turning around once more. ”I will go next then. Once I am over, I will help guide anyone who wants my help.” Taking another long breath he made his first step on the log, staring directly at his feet. He needed to memorize the perfect places to put them so that no one would get hurt. Gliding his sneakers atop the surface of the bark, he pressed down with each step, copying Cecil’s technique with expertise. One step after the other, he was about a third of the way over now. The water rushed beneath him, but it didn’t break the absolute focus he had not even when it made an abrupt splash over his shoes. His balance was very fickle, there were times he could climb over fences and up trees while landing perfectly and others he would trip over nothing. He prayed his balance would hold up a short while longer.

---

A very short time after Eliza and her friend arrived, Debra had told everyone that they were to begin heading into the woods. Eliza’s mood hadn’t really changed, though. Her excitement was not hidden behind a facade of calm and cool like it may have been for many others. Entering the forest, Eliza was difficult to keep still. Despite a heavy focus on her from Felix, she still found herself weaving in and out of the tall trees, completely disregarding the others’ wishes to walk on the trails. Distracting herself with thoughts of adventure combined with a search for all sorts of cool animals and formations in nature had Eliza pretty busy, which was not a common occurrence. This left Felix to his own thoughts rather than having to occupy the mind of his ever energetic friend. They only stopped a few times, and it was rather surprising that Eliza was not one of the reasons the group did so. Often times she would have already been tired and bored by now, but instead she was raring to move onwards. Even for most of their lunch break Eliza found herself exploring the immediate area around them. At times she would lose sight of the group, no doubt causing worry in Felix, but she always found her way back before he got too panicked. As the sun grew higher in the sky, the heat started to warm the damp and cool forest through its heavy canopy. It wasn’t long before the group found their way to a bit of a sunny clearing at the side of a river.

”Our first trial…” Her voice was quiet, as if she was subtly narrating the adventure in a more played up and dramatic manner. The river was quite aggressive, and would have no problem sweeping Eliza to her doom and ending the adventure, but despite that, she sure did have to hold herself back from charging head on. Luckily it was the words of Noah and Val that managed to dissuade her. While Felix was busy trying to do the same, Eliza was instead deep in thought. She watched as Cecil took one for the team, crossing first while still in her contemplative move. It wasn’t often that she went silent like this, but whenever it happened, something insane usually followed, and this time was no exception. Felix was likely talking to her about how the two were going to cross, or at least assuming she’d cross after him normally and per usual, she was not opposed whatsoever to Felix’s plans.



Eliza hurried her way up to the log, hopping lightly atop it. She showed very little care or fear in her movements other than gently reaching her hands out to either side to balance herself. ”It would have been cooler if it was a really deep canyon, though...” Dejectedly, she set her gaze upon her feet as if the log walk wasn’t as entertaining as she had expected. Of course, Eliza wasn’t satisfied with no adventure at all. She neared the opposite end of the makeshift bridge with ease. She weighed very little after all, but it was then she took into a cautious few running steps to jump towards the other side of the river, cutting the corner of the log. It was at that adventurous and ironic moment where one of Eliza’s feet gave out. She successfully left the log, but successfully making it to the shore was another question. Eliza gave a short ”Woah!” as her feet splashed down in the river. She could feel the current immediately start tugging her downstream, causing her to lose all semblance of balance. In a panic, she reached out towards the shore making sure to keep one hand on her helmet which nearly fell off in the short fall in attempts to make any sort of contact with a root or something that could stop her before she fell and was dragged off into the river. It was much of an unconscious and automated body movement, reaching for nothing, but much to her surprise, her hand connected with something. She was hefted ashore only a moment later, exhaling heavily. It was no big mishap. She was close enough to the shore that really only her shoes and the skirt of her dress got wet. It was nothing that wouldn’t dry in a few minutes.

---

Reaching the middle of the log he called out ”Eliza! It’s okay for you to get on! Step first with your right foot in the centre of the edge.” Shifting his body around he stood there waiting for Eliza to step on the log. Once she hopped on, Felix called out where she was to put her feet. Though he soon realized she wasn’t listening to him and made her way across with ease. Swiftly he finished crossing himself landing gracefully, watching Eliza carefully. She had a small pout on her face, unsatisfied with the lack of adventure but he was not to complain. The less chance of injury the better, a first aid kit couldn’t save someone who had drown. Just as she was going to bounce off next to him, his heart sank as he saw Eliza’s feet miss and slide down the shore. Panic coursed through his veins, her arms were outstretched and he threw caution to the wind, grabbing her wrists and yanking her into his arms. Felix’s heart rammed in his chest and momentary adrenaline pumped through his whole body, his worst fear almost became a reality. Though he was thankful for how light she was, carrying her around made him much stronger than his height and build would give off. Breathing heavily, Felix gripped her tighter. ”Oh god… Eliza please don’t do something like that again. You really scared me, what if I wasn’t there in time to catch you???” Wiping the tears that built up in his eyes, he still kept a firm hold on her arms, looking her over. She wasn’t hurt at all, only a bit wet and some minor scratches from the slip. He let out a long sigh of relief and waved his hand to the other side. ”We’re fine! Please try not to fall because I don’t think I could do something that cool again!” A nervous laugh left his throat as his heart settled in his chest.

Emily screwed her face at Xander and Daniel while biting into her cigarette as if she had to eat a worm and they were the ones who made her do it.
„It’s none of your damn business where I get my cigs.”, she said in a breathy voice. “But if you really want to know, I get them from some, um, very shady types. The kind of people who would get-a-rid of your damn teeth if you looked at them the wrong way.” That was actually at least partially true. Before Eddie turned into a working class dad who listens to Phil Collins (Check out those drums in “In The Air Tonight”! They ROCK!), he mugged people in dark alleys and sold meth to the trailer trash.
Emily got so used to having those little sticks of death in her mouth that having it pointed out to her felt somehow violating, as if it was a gap in her teeth or a hideous mole on her cheek. But then she reminded herself that the chief reason why she made a resolution to make herself a metalhead version of a forties crime film character was to get attention and now she got a nice helping of it, in the most irritatingly bright, loud version possible. Wanting attention and then receiving was like asking your daddy to take you to an amusement park, only to find out that the carnival music is off-key, the carousels are making weird screeching noises and the clown is probably a child molester.

Or perhaps she just did not get attention from the people from whom she desired it. “"Nah. Unsinkable." "'Sides, Tommy let me use his bike a while, he ain't gonna miss it none."

“I don’t believe you. Your boat must be in, what do they call it, a state of disarray,” She picked that one from some old book, “because you have to steal bikes to pay for the repairs. Although I think that after this little trip you’ll be only able to sell it to the junkyard.”

It was more than just anger caused by what she saw as rejection that sublimated her voice into pure contempt. There was a sense of superiority too; as far as she was concerned, living in a log cabin was still a rung above rotting away in a trailer straight ouf of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Her anger and disgust momentarily subsided when she grabbed a brownie from Val without saying asking or saying thanks. She took hearty bites with her eyes closed, staining her pink lips brown and licking them like a cat. She rarely got cooking this good in a house will all males.

As they made it towards the forest, she put her headphones on and started blasting her music from hell, a perfect soundtrack for the apocalyptic landscape of skeletal trees. She bobbed her head to the rhythmic thrashing noise for a good minute, until the sound system suddenly went quiet. Her heart skipped: Dammit I must have forgot to change the batteries… She set out on this trip with all the optimism she could muster, but this was a bad sign.

A terrifying vision unfolded before her eyes: a day and a half of Danny’s jokes and Phoebe’s limp strumming with nothing to drown it out. The heat made her feel like a toy picked apart by a sadistic kid - the sun. She had to deal with the sun above picking her apart as if she was a beetle in the hands of a sadistic kid. As her forehead started to glisten with the musty sweat, she began to be overtaken by self-consciousness. She thought she looked and smelled like a swamp monster.

Yet soon after she entered the Champlain Forest, she could not help but inhale deeply the air which, although humid, was still invigorating and rich with the scent of pine needles, and she began to feel her heartbeat settling into a rhythm that was in a way as steady and reassuring as if she was in deep sleep. She was glad to feel small next to the trees so gigantic that they almost seemed to be the pillars supporting the clear summer sky, to hear the animals rustling in the bushes and the nervous staccato of woodpecker’s knocking that echoed through the forest like a series of gunshots. She felt as if she stepped into an ancient domain that was too grand and mysterious to pay her any attention; it was an eerie yet calming feeling.

At some point, she started to find Phoebe’s strumming surprisingly tolerable. She even found herself murmuring a melody she knew from the radio, hopefully quiet enough so that it could not be heard above the sound of her heavy boots trampling on the foliage.

As they reached the river, she was already drowning in sweat, but now she was too immersed into the rhythm of the march and the beauty of the surroundings to pay it any attention.

She scoffed at Phoebe’s ridiculous suggestion to “swim for it”. Emily herself could of course do it a heartbeat, but anyone else would certainly drown.

She watched Cecile try to impress everyone by crossing over first and as she observed him crossing the bridge, after he made each of his steps she was sure that the next one would be his last. Yet he passed it with an almost insulting ease and quickness. Then he disappeared into the forest like a mischievous spirit. Long enough time passed until he gave a sign that she thought that something bad might have happened to him. Then he emerged from the forest and started calling out to them, but they could not hear what he was yelling. Not that she was interested.

She watched Felix and Eliza pass the log. She saw Eliza get carried by the current and for a moment she was sure that it would end with tragedy. Even after Felix saved her, she could not get rid of a lump in her throat – perhaps because she was the teensiest bit afraid that something like this could happen to her. Yes, she was strong, but also big and clumsy. Her clothes were heavy with sweat, her arms strained with the weight of the backpack. She could her heart pounding.

As she walked on the log, she heard the soles of her boots thumping on the wood loudly even though she walked in tentative steps, placing her feet as gently as she could. The sound of the river beneath her was massive, a hum of the perfect machine. She exhaled with a wheezing sound as she made it to the other side.

Now was the time to see what Cecile was yelling about.