The Wilderness

Chapter Three

The journey had begun for the freshmen as they headed down the mountain and into the forest. The way Chris's small group had originally come up was covered in rocks and, although the journey down would've been quicker, Alex convinced Chris in going down a different way. They couldn't risk losing anyone, and a fall down that path would've certainly ended in someone splitting their head on a rock. Therefore, Chris chose another, disappointedly longer path to the mountain's base. The sixteen-year-old had put himself in charge, and Alex became second-in-charge. Stephan watched with disapproval-a little upset that his best friend had teamed up with Chris, his rival-but he had no choice but to follow the others. Lola, noticing Stephan was no longer in command, began following Chris around, adding to Stephan's misery.

​The progress down was frustratingly slow. The soft snow was part of the problem. Most of the kids were wearing tennis shoes, only a few girls had boots, and even then it wasn't the type that are made for snow but the type made for style. Thus, the kids were ill prepared for the decline down the slope. Their hunger, discomfort, and predicament only made things worse. But Chris was determined to get down the mountain in the same amount of time it took to get up. After an hour, however, the group found themselves still within clear visibility from the plane. Chris was getting increasingly annoyed at the painstakingly slow pace.

​"Come on guys!" Chris exclaimed for the tenth time. "We've barely left the plane; we still have a whole way down to go!" Most of the teens were behind him, but a few, Jason, Stephan, Ally, Sky, and Andy, had traveled ahead. Stephan was eager to keep away from Chris, so when he saw Jason, followed by Ally and Sky, outpacing Chris, he quickly followed after. Andy, watching his friend walking after Jason's small band, also followed suit. It annoyed Chris to see the five kids far out ahead of him, but as the self-appointed leader of the group he knew he had to remain with the main body of his followers, no matter how ridiculously slow they were.

​"We should've gone down the other way," Chris said annoyed to Alex. "It would've been much quicker."

​"And much more dangerous," Alex reminded, "We already lost a lot of people, we can't lose anyone else."

​"Ugh Chris!" Lola complained, adding to Chris's irritation. "My feet are super cold! And wet!"

​"Too bad!" Chris snapped. Lola pursed her lips and crossed her arms, mumbling.

​"What you say?" Chris suddenly turned on Lola.

​"Nothing," Lola said in a low voice.

​"What?" Chris repeated, getting more and more annoyed.

​"Nothing!" Lola suddenly screamed out. It actually hurt Chris and Alex's ears, as well as those walking behind. Jason's small band heard her loud and clear, too. For a moment everyone was silent, than a loud crack echoed throughout the mountainside. At first everyone stood tense, unsure what had caused the sound. An ominous rumbling was their first clue that something bad was coming. As the kids turned around and looked up the slope, they saw the White Death.

​"Run! Run!" Chris shouted, but there was no need for the command. The moment the kids saw what was heading right for them, they broke out in a mad dash down the mountain. The rumbling became louder, turning into an indescribable sound. The sound of approaching death.

​Jason and the four others with him were far ahead of Chris's group, but it didn't make their fear any less than those behind them. As the avalanche grew and gain speed, it took only mere seconds for it to catch up with the slowest of the freshmen. And within moments they had disappeared, the avalanche enveloping them.

​Jason saw a tall and sturdy looking evergreen in front of him and headed for it. His best hope of surviving, he decided, was to climb up the tree. Ally, realizing what Jason was doing, quickly headed to the tree as well. Stephan had noticed too what Jason was planning, and he headed to another tree which he thought would be able to withstand the avalanche. The rushing snow was quickly catching up with the majority of Chris's group.