Road Trip 1988 - Stranger Things Fanfiction

Chapter 10: Grand Canyon

"Fuck, I should've saved the pancakes from your aunt," Dustin complains as he's sitting in the car, "this sandwich looks sub-par, at best." 

"Oh, my god what did you get? That stinks!"

The group had woken later than they intended at 10 a.m. and got ready to spend their afternoon hiking. They decided to stop at the diner next-door and get their food to go, figuring they could eat at the midpoint of their trail. The Grand Canyon was only a ten-minute drive from them, the car shortly coming to a stop and Lucas taking the keys out.

The second the got out of the cool car, they all groaned at the hot Arizona heat.

 "This is gonna be fucking terrible," Dustin mumbled to Will who playfully smacked his arm, "it's a dry heat, it's not that bad!" 

The boy was trying to stay positive but otherwise had his backpack emptied of his clothes and toiletries and full of bottled water.

Mike finds a ranger and when the older man takes a look at the six teens, he has to hold back a laugh. "I'd say your best bet is Rim Trail, it's a little less than 3 miles. It usually takes people an hour to an hour and a half."

The teens thank him and follow the signs to that area. "How much you wanna bet Dustin's gonna be on the floor in 15 minutes?" Lucas says with a laugh. 

The boy just flips his friend off, speed walking past him and down the dusty trail. "Good, that's how we can keep him motivated," Lucas strategizes, "let's go!"

 The hike started off surprisingly successful, many shady spots with an occasional breeze in the air. Will is snapping all kinds of pictures, pointing the black lens in every direction. His friends are up ahead when he skips toward them and shouts "turn around and smile!"

    A couple passing by asks if they want a group photo and they get a great shot of the six of them, arms around each other's shoulders and waists as they smile with the blue sky and orange mountains in the back.

They're 40 minutes in when El's stomach starts growling and Max looks down to see her bashful smile. "Someone's hungry, are you eating for two?" she teases. "Max!" she screeches, pushing her friend roughly. 

"I'm kidding, hey you nerds, we're hungry!"

They sprawl out across three large rocks, overlooking the dunes and Lucas sees why his parents were so impressed; when you really stop and enjoy the view, it's pretty amazing to think about the formation in front of them. 

"This is totally worth the sweat," El says softly, her brown eyes mesmerized by the sight. Everyone nods in agreement, the peacefulness and warmth surrounding them; unfortunately, the tranquility didn't last.

"So, I think we messed up," Will says, "the guy said it was only an hour and a half and we started at 12," he looks at his watch, "it's now 2:30."

The sun is at its peak and beating down on them, everyone leaning against the rocks and sweaty hair slicked to their foreheads. 

"How did we manage to get lost on the easiest trail!" Max shouts, frustrated. 

They hadn't even seen any other hikers around, just them surrounded by dry trees and dusty rocks. 

"We're not lost!" Mike insists, more for his own sake of mind, "we just...made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's head up and see where we made the mistake."

"Fuck that," Dustin says as he plops down on the ground, "I'm sitting right here until a helicopter gets me out of this bitch." 

Max closes her eyes and sighs, truly not in the mood for his nonsense. "Dustin! We're not leaving you here, get the hell up and let's get out of here!" she firmly says, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet.