Tales from the Garden of Eden (COMPLETED)

Chapter 8

"I've never seen mountains this tall," Jack is looking out of the window, mesmerized as he has been for the last five minutes.

     "Well seeing as you haven't been outside of the South..." I look at him and smile, but he doesn't return my gaze.

     "Still, my statement is valid."

     "It just doesn't hold much weight." I volley back, and to that I get the middle finger.

     "Can y'all just shush for a few minutes?" That pleasant voice is from the very hung over Hayden in the row behind us. Her voice is muffled, so I know she has her head down inside her camping pillow to block out the light and probably has on earmuffs to quiet the noise.

     I rolled my eyes and then promptly flipped her off, much to Melanie's amusement.

     Jack continues to talk loudly, probably just for Melanie and me to enjoy. "So what are we going to do in the nights?" He asks the two adults in the front. It is Mrs. Gimms and another woman, who I guess is Melanie and Hayden's person.

     It's the other woman who answers. "Well, I'd guess that you guys would first set up camp as the light is dwindling, then once you get warm and situated you will get dressed in warmer clothes and then sit around a fire and eat and tell stories. You'll likely go to bed somewhere around eight, because there isn't any point to stay up in the pitch darkness when you could be resting up for tomorrow. And anyway, I imagine you will be getting up early."

     "Wait what time does the sun rise?" I ask, popping my head in between the headrests.

     "It's just before nine now, and you can just start to see the sunlight over the tops of the mountains, so I'd say depending on your relation to the mountain right at nine. Maybe a little more."

     I look at my watch, more from habit than to really fact-check her. It was 8:54, and we have been on the road just under two hours.

     We are in the middle of the start of a mountain range, and thy skyline is jagged from the peaks of mountains. The mountains are not just white capped; they are white fully from snow. Even with cheap sunglasses I had bought on the way out of the hotel, they hurt my eyes to look at. So without trying too hard to keep my eyes open, I keep my gaze on the tips of the range.

     "Hey when will we stop? I kind of need to go to the bathroom." Hayden asks, keeping her head stuffed into her pillow.

     "We're going to stop in about ten minutes and let you guys get out and stretch your legs. Does that sound ok?" The man in the front asks us, and I don't bother finding out his name.

     "Yeah, I guess."

     We get out in a rest area, that has picnic tables, a small vending machine, and restrooms. Most everyone bolts to the-hopefully-heated bathrooms, but I hang back. Other than the fact that I don't really have to go, it's gorgeous. About five inches of snow covers all of the tabletops, signifying that there has not been anyone here today.

     By the way Kelly shrieked when she walks into the restrooms, I assume it is not heated. But then again, that would be kind of wasteful. I really don't have to go, so I decide to not put myself through the cold ceramic seat.

     A small breeze forced my attention back to the wilderness around me. It was much like the Bay in Anchorage. Beautiful and scary. Woods surrounded the rest stop, and if you look up, there are peaks of mountains towering over the trees, casting a shadow over most of them. The shadows created a black expanse in front of me. It was eerie to say the least, and if I stared in one spot for too long I could almost make out eyes gazing back at me.

     Shivers ran down my spine, not necessarily from the temperature. "You should get back into the car if you're cold, Eden. You'll be spending enough time out here in the next few weeks."

     I turn sharply and see Jack smiling at me. "I'm not...I was just looking at the woods...they're kind of scary don't you think?"

     He looks thoughtfully at the cavernous darkness in front of him. "I think it's only scary if you want it to be...like some people would think that contrast between the black and white is gorgeous, but others would see foreboding in it."

     "I see both. Like, I know nothing is really going to hurt me, but I can just sense things looking at me and that freaks me out. And the fact that the most dangerous thing in there right now is I doesn't help either because I'm totally unprepared for this. We should have had to go through training or something to get us totally prepared for this. It's stupid that they're expecting us to make it on our own in this temperature." I don't mean to have a rant, but it just comes out. I did see this as stupid, and reckless for letting us do this with only an hour class. I may be worrying too much, but at least I'm worried period.

     Jack laughs, and then puts his arm around my shoulders. "We're not going to be alone, there are going to be two tour guides with us the entire time. And we're not the first group that has done this, so I'm sure they know what they're doing."

     "Actually, I read that someone broke their tibia."

     He gives me a dry stare. "Are you serious?"

     A dry chuckle is given in return. "Not entirely, but no matter what I'm still nervous about this."

     "And who isn't? I doubt that they got drunk just to get drunk last night. They were nervous, and they didn't know how to deal with it other than drinking."

     "Well I doubt some of them did that, a few people just followed along." I look pointedly at Hayden, who is-ironically-following George again.

     "Well maybe a few people, but I guarantee that Trent was acting like that out of discomfort, not being a douche."

     "Are you sure he's not just a douche?"

     Jack rolls his eyes. "It's a never-ending battle with you, Eden."

     I prepare to make a witty comeback, but I am cut off by a giant shiver. "Yeah, well I think we should get back to the van." Even with his arm around me-making warmth bubble up in the pit of my stomach-it is too cold to stay out for very long. I would be nervous about that, but I intentionally didn't put that many layers on, because we would be in the car for most of the day. I had resolved to put on more before we head out later today, after the orientation.

     He keeps his arm slug over me, in such a casual way I almost thought it was mindless, until the vehicle started moving and I shifted closer to the heater. He takes this as  a sign of discomfort, and being the gentleman that he is, he backed off. I was only ninety percent sure of that theory, so I didn't try and scoot closer to him. That other ten percent picked at my brain, telling me that he didn't want to be seen cuddling in a van with me.

     It was stupid, I know, but I force the thought out of my head as I look at the topography of this foreign place, riding in silence for the remainder of the ride.