Tales from the Garden of Eden (COMPLETED)

Chapter 9

"The most important thing you can do out there is stay together. One person can't survive as long as a group, and that's because of teamwork. No single person can function as well as a group of efficient people. That is what all of you have to be. Efficient." The man talking in front of us oozed a sort of unimpressed air. It's as though he could look at us through his polarized sunglasses and know that we had no clue what we were doing. His garb was of a traditional park ranger, flat-top hat, brown uniform with the Park emblem on the sleeve, and heavy work boots. "Don't be deceived, however. If you think that just because you are with people that you are safe, think again. Every day you spend out there increases your chances of dying by tenfold. Don't kid yourself and think that I'm just saying this to keep you in line; Cold Temperature Exposure is serious and leads in most cases to Hypothermia. Symptoms of this don't occur until at least six hours after exposure, so it is often mistaken simply as fatigue." He shouts nearly all of his words, punctuating the more important ones by raising his voice another octave. It hasn't been uncommon in the last forty minutes to see a girl jump at his voice.

     "First, you shiver, then get tired. Those symptoms are normal, and you can expect them to a certain degree on your first days out there. Third, you lose mental functions, such as coordination and the ability to focus. Beyond that, you get into the more severe symptoms, which are things such as blue skin, fainting, and an abnormally slow pulse. Of course, with the medical staff and skilled parksmen such as myself, it is highly unlikely for you to end up with something that dire. This is our seventh year doing this program, and no one has gotten more than minor bumps and scratches." I feel as though he says the last line for the girls benefit, for we are all hunched into our seats, sharing nervous glances throughout the room.

     "I can take questions, but everything required by law and more has been said." He finishes, a quieter ending than I would have expected.

     No one raises their hand, whether they are too scared by the man in the front-who introduced himself as Michael Field-or they actually had no questions, I don't know. He waits for a few seconds, and I can almost see his eyes squint in disgust over us. Why does he even need to wear those glasses? We are inside, and sure there are windows but none of the campers were having trouble seeing.

     Hayden raises her hand. "Um, we're not going out there alone are we?"

     I would have laughed, if there isn't silence as deafening as the one after her question. You can see his shoulders drop, and we can only guess that his stare-is it like a hawks? Or just mean?-is focused in on our auburn-haired contemporary.

     "Since no one is smart enough to ask a reasonable and intelligent question, we will move onto the next step: getting supplies." He walks out with his hands clasped behind his back, and we scurry after him. I can heard George telling Hayden that no, we won't be going out alone, he was just going over things just in case. To that she made a noise of indignation.

     I just smile and shake my head, and then pick up my pace so that I am parallel to Jack. It was surprisingly difficult, seeing as his legs are longer than mine are by a lot. "So we're like T-minus an hour before we leave...that's exciting," Jack looks down at me and gives me a smirk.

     "Or maybe you're just excited about being so close to me for these next two weeks." He responds and smirks yet again.

     I push him away. "Oh, shut up. I'm not even thinking about you right now." If only that were true.

     He seems to know better, and just smiles at me.

     We push through a pair of double doors, into what seems like it is a cafeteria but also doubles as a home base type place. In the current moment, packs were lined up, along with sleeping bags and an assortment of pots and pans and other cooking instruments on another table.