Hiking trip of no return

Chapter 16

There was a soft thump as Tyson landed on one of the other logs. "Are you okay?" Ian inquired as Tyson got on his knees and said "I'm fine Ian. I'm just not that used to walking across a bridge made out of logs. That's all." He crawled on the bridge to reach the other side. Tyson was so happy that he got off on the other side. Fred and Lee crawled on the bridge too. They didn't look down. They managed to make it across without falling over. "I might need some help over here. I can't carry my suitcase over the bridge. It's a little too heavy." Ian said as he took it off the big bag off his shoulders. Tyson took off his bag. He went back across the bridge. Nate and Fred followed him. They all stopped at the spot where the bridge ends next to the head counsellor. "Mind if we carry your bag back?" Tyson queried. "If we campers worked as a team, then we will get your bag across the bridge." Lee contended as he and Greg crawled onto the bridge.

Ian and Uncle Thomas thought for a moment. They both lifted the heavy bag onto the bridge. Phoebe could feel the rough surface of a log as the bag was gently put on two of the logs. All five campers made a circle around the bag. They both carried the bag across the bridge. It sometimes fell on the hard surface, and Phoebe felt hurt each time the bag fell on top of the bridge. She couldn't bother to look at her arms or legs though. Phoebe didn't want anybody to know that she was in the bag's secret compartment. The bag was slowly carried and dragged across the bridge. When the bag was on the other side, the campers got off the bridge. Tyson and the other got off the bridge and pushed the bag until it was near the end. The five campers tried to carry it away, but the heavy bag was holding them down. So they dragged it to a tree that was only fourteen feet away from the crevice. When the bag was safely away, the campers waved their arms. Ian got onto the bridge and stood on it. He held out his arms for balance. Ian tried hard not to look down into the crevice. He took his time while crossing. After a whole minute, the counsellor reached the other side. He jumped off the end of the bridge and thanked the campers for bringing his bag across. Tyson but his bag on his back. The other campers did the same. The head counsellor was now crossing the bridge. He was staring at the other side of the bridge. The campers were nervous as they watched him cross the bridge. He had his arms out to keep his balance. Lee and Nate had their eyes closed. They were scared that he might fall off. "I don't think we have to worry." Greg said. "Why is that? And why are you saying that? I nearly fell off the bridge when I went across." Tyson complained as he glared at him. "Don't worry about that Tyson. Uncle Thomas must have done this before. I'm very sure he could reach the other side in no time flat." Fred assured, trying to calm him down. The head counsellor managed to make it to the other side without any problem. He sat down at the end of the bridge. The head counsellor got himself standing at the other side of the bridge. "Good job campers. You've all did well when crossing the bridge. You campers deserve a treat." Uncle Thomas said.

He walked across a small open area and stopped next to a flat rocky area. The head counsellor turned to face the other campers. "This is where you and your counsellor are going to sleep for the night. Jack and I are going to continue on our way to the zip line area." Uncle Thomas spoke kindly. "This is a very nice spot to camp for the night." Ian commented as he looked at the view from this spot from the mountain. "I can see the lake from here." The head counsellor mentioned as he pointed to a blue surface. Jack and Uncle Thomas continued on their way towards the top of the mountain. "Alright campers. We need to set up camp. " Counsellor Ian said as he looked around. "Lee, Fred, could you get some nice rocks to put in the fire circle?" The two campers looked for rocks nearby. "Just don't go over the bridge." Ian warned. He then turned his attention to the other campers. "Nate, Tyson I need you two to get some wood for the campfire tonight." "But we're not crossing that bridge right?" Nate asked. "You're right." Tyson and Nate started to look for wood in the wooded area next to the camp site. They found some twigs and some small logs that would make a perfect fire. "Hey Tyson, come here." Nate insisted as he looked at something on the ground. Tyson looked and saw that Nate was staring at some saw dust on the ground. "Why are you looking at that?" Tyson questioned. "This wood was freshly cut. As if somebody came out here with a chainsaw. Isn't that strange?" Nate queried as he took another log into his arms. He went back to where Ian was. As Tyson picked up another log, he found some saw dust underneath it. There also some dried up oil next to the saw dust. The campers tasked with finding some rocks for the campfire circle found some. They were mostly smooth as if somebody took the time to carve them into the sleek like surfaces. Some small minerals that look like grey dust were found next to the stones. Tyson saw those minerals on his way to get another load of wood. Greg and Ian made the fire circle. They made sure that the stones didn't fall, and that they didn't slip off each other when the fire was started.

The five campers and the counsellor worked together as they set up a big tent. Each of the campers put their sleeping bags in the tent. The counsellor started the fire and began cooking cold stew that was in the counsellor's cooler. He also gave the campers cheese if they wanted it. When the chili was cooked, Tyson helped him serve the bowls of chili to the campers in his group. He put some cheese on his chili. The campers shared their favorite times they had at camp so far. They even told jokes to the counsellor. Tyson and campers enjoyed the supper and talking with the counsellor. "The next night campers, we're going to be camping next to the zip line which you're going to ride all the way to camp." The head counsellor announced. The campers felt excited or nervous about the zip line. Tyson couldn't stop thinking about the campers from Kyle's group. They changed in a way on their back from the zip line. He was worried that the same thing might happen to him and the other campers. The counsellor gave the campers marshmallows, crackers, and a stick. "I want to see you campers make a great smore." Ian said as he watched the campers put a marshmallow on their sticks and put them closed to the fire. "Make sure that you don't burn your marshmallows!" Ian cautioned. Tyson didn't take his eyes off his stick. The sides of his marshmallows were turning brown. He was determined not to have any of them burnt. When they were all toasted, Tyson took them off the fire. Ian gave the campers a bar of chocolate to use with their smore. The campers put the bar of chocolate and the marshmallows in between the two crackers. Tyson enjoyed taking the first bite out of his dessert. He had felt the sweet dark chocolate bar used in the smore combined with the marshmallow. The counsellor told a story around the campfire. "Remember that Uncle Thomas told the campers the story about the scientist who went missing around these woods?" Ian reminded the group. The other campers nodded their heads. "Well, I can tell you what happened to him. Just after he went missing, the scientist woke up at a cabin near the place where we're going to be zip lining. He had no idea why he was here. The animals wanted him to construct a machine. This machine was a result from the scientist's research. He was terrified that the animals are going to eat him."

"What was the unknown project that the scientist was working on?" Lee asked. "Uncle Thomas told us that the scientist was working on an unknown project. He didn't want his colleagues to know about it." Nate added. Ian cleared his throat and continued his story. "This machine had a special use. The project was so unknown that I didn't even knew about it until Uncle Thomas told me about it. This special machine was wanted by the bear Dangerous Ripper. Could it be a machine he was going to use for revenge? Or is it for something else?" From the inside the bag, Phoebe felt scared. She had found another small lunch box. Inside it was a hotdog along with a side of cold macaroni and cheese. There was also a piece of brownie inside the lunch box. Phoebe didn't mind the cold food. She also though about the scary story that Ian told at the campfire. Before Phoebe could think of anything else, she heard a howl of a wolf coming from close by. "I think that sound came from over there." Lee said pointing a bunch of bushes next to the crevice. The scared campers started to slowly move from their seat next to the campfire and walk inside the tent. "Stay calm. I'll check it out. Cabin number one I need you to stay in the tent." Ian said as he grabbed a flashlight out of his big bag. He turned it on and went to check out the howling noise. The campers dragged Ian's bag back into the tent with them. It was dragged against the small rocks and dirt on the ground. Tyson and his group looked outside and didn't see any wild animals yet. Once they took the bag in the tent, the campers tried to make no noise at all. It was quiet, a little to quiet. The campers could hear the faint sound of Ian's footsteps next to the tent. It wasn't closed. He continued to shine the light from his flashlight on to the ground before walking into the tent and closing it up. "Are you campers okay?" Ian asked. They all nodded their heads. "Then let's get your suitcases inside. We don't want any wild animals stealing do we?"