Winter’s Forest

The kids began streaming out of the area and heading into the various barracks. We headed towards our own barracks. The door opened and a tall man in green armor entered. He was carrying a huge sword on his back. His hair was black and curly and he had a beard. He wore a pair of glasses and looked like he could easily kill a bear with his bare hands.

"Hello everyone." he said cheerfully, "My name is Caide Trent. I am your scout for this exercise and I will be leading you to your destination. I see you all have your things, but please check to make sure you have everything you will need. We will not be returning until the fourth day."

"Should we introduce ourselves?" Kevin asked

"No, Captain Haizer told me about all of you." he said

"Then, shall we head out?" Kyle asked

"Of course!" Caide said

We struggled through the thick snow and in between the trees. All of us were exhausted when we finally reached our destination. It was nearly noon when we got there. It was a nice place, surrounded by large trees - hard for a bear to sneak up. Caide bowed his head and disappeared on the horizon. Kyle quickly cleared the snow, we jumped in and helped him. We cleared as much as we could. Thomas gathered rocks and stones and built an area for a fire. I gathered wood and placed them in the center. We waited for nightfall before igniting it. We each brought a sleeping bag. Kyle, Keven, and Hunter brought tents that could fit two per. Kyle and I were in one. Kevin and Joseph were in one. Thomas and Hunter shared the last one. Sleeping wasn't too bad, the fire outside the tents kept us warm, plus the body heat inside. The morning was rough, we were all starving. We each brought provisions, but not enough for all four days.

Joseph had a bow and many arrows. Him and Kevin would go hunting and by lunch time would come back with birds or rabbits. After lunch, we would all gather around the fire to eat. They weren't the best meals, but they were filling. By the second day, we heard howling and we were tense for the rest of the day. Kyle and I would walk around our perimeter to see if any danger was nearby, or if another group was. The biggest animal we saw was a deer. It's a shame they are too quick to hunt. At night before we would sleep, Hunter would tell us a story.

"Are you guys ready for a second story?" Hunter asked

"Go for it." we said

"Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a king who was very lonely. One day, he decided to set out and find a wife, but he didn't know what qualities to look for. A wise man advised him to seek a woman who was beautiful, smart, kind, and adventurous. The king did exactly as he was told. He traveled for months until he came across a village. This village was a small farming village near the edge of a lake. He went disguised as a trader and had four different trinkets. One was a piece of marble carved in the shape of a heart. Another was a small but gorgeous necklace charm with emeralds. Another was a newly forged blade. The last was a ring with a simple diamond on it. He went around offering his things to various women. One woman asked to purchase the dagger. 'Why do you wish to have the dagger?' he asked. 'Because my father was a warrior, but his belongings were lost at sea.' she responded. The king handed over the dagger to her, free of charge. 'I must pay for it! I must!' she cried. 'No. I insist.' he said. She bowed and thanked him before leaving. He approached another woman who was sitting on a bench all alone. 'Would you like any of my trinkets?' he asked. 'That heart.' she said. 'May I ask why?' the king asked her. 'My husband died a few days ago, and it feels like my heart is shattered in a million pieces.' she explained. 'Of course, you can have it for free.' he said. 'Thank you, kind sir.' she said. The king walked away full of sorrow. He had given the dagger and the marble heart to two lovely ladies, but those were not the type of women he was looking for. Then after the day was done he had given all of his trinkets away, and he did not find a worthy bride. He decided to journey home and on his way he found a lone beggar on the side of the road. The king walked up to her and said, 'What is a lady like yourself doing here?' 'I have been abandoned here by the very people I loved.' she said. He stood and stared at her for a brief moment. She was covered in filth and fleas. But when he looked into her eyes he knew this was the woman he was going to marry." Hunter concluded

"Boring!" Kevin shouted

"I liked it." Kyle said

"Me too." I said

"Yeah, I'm just kidding." Kevin said with a smirk.

We each went into our tents after the story. Kyle slept silently next to me. I turned around and hugged him tightly. His warmth felt so comforting.

The third day dawned and we were all excited this was the last day. Kyle suggested that we expand our perimeter and we split into two groups. Kyle, Thomas, and myself. The other group was Kevin, Hunter and Joseph. They went Southeast and we went Northwest. We went further into the woods and we could hear howling. When we got close enough, we could see them. Wolves. There were three of them.

They growled and snarled at us as we approached. One lunged forward and bit down on Thomas' leg. As the wolf tried to get its teeth through the leather of his pants, Kyle drew his sword and chopped the wolf's head off. Blood sprayed everywhere and the wolf collapsed onto the ground. The leather was thick and the wolf's teeth couldn't penetrate it. Thomas quickly stood up and we began shouting to scare off the other two. They ran off with their tails between their legs.

"At least we got dinner." Thomas said

"Yeah." Kyle said with a soft laugh.

Kyle and I carried the wolf back to camp. Thomas was the only one, besides Hunter, that could properly prepare the wolf for consumption. The others weren't back yet when we arrived, so we just helped Thomas prepare the wolf.

It was afternoon when we heard distant screaming. We all stood up simultaneously and listened. It got louder and we could hear multiple footsteps. Then we heard Caide's voice.

"Climb a tree! Quickly! Climb a tree!" he shouted

We quickly threw off our heavy armor and grasped the branches above us. It only took a few seconds for us to be multiple feet above the ground. We saw the others further down high in a tree. Then Caide appeared out of nowhere and was in the center of our camp. Suddenly a giant grizzly bear came barreling down the forest straight to our camp. Caide looked around sporadically and saw the wolf carcass and picked it up and carried it away from camp. The bear followed him through the forest as he led it away from us. We stayed up in the tree for a few minutes, until Caide returned.

"Screw wolf! Come help me gather this bear meat! It tastes so much better!" Caide shouted, with a huge smile on his face.

We climbed down and started gathering bear meat. By the end of the day, we had plenty of bear meat that we were cooking over an open fire. The smoke smelled so delicious.

We gathered around the fire and ate together. Caide enjoyed the meal with us as well. The stars were extra bright, perhaps because of the moon. Hunter began to tell another story. He told us it was going to be a special one since this was our last night.

"There once was a man, who was incredibly lonely. He lived in a small home on the edge of a small village. He spent all day and night alone. Most people didn't even know he existed. Little did they know he was a powerful knight. He wore all black armor and had a single black rose growing in his backyard. One night a small child grew curious about this man and wandered into his home. Only to find it empty. A mattress was the only thing that laid in the house. The child plucked the dark rose out of the ground and returned home. He placed it in a vase and showed it to his mom. She praised him for such a lovely find, and off to bed he went. The Knight coated in darkness was in a rage when he found the rose was missing. He grabbed his mighty sword and slaughtered and pillaged the poor town. He safely gathered his dark rose and carried it with him as he walked off into the forest, while the village burned to the ground." Hunter finished

"Now that is what I call a story." Kevin said

"A dark and chilling story." I said

"Sorry, I got carried away." Hunter said

"Well, good night to you all." Caide said

"Our last night." I said

"Yeah, tomorrow morning we return back to the village." Caide said

We all said good night and hastily went to sleep.

"Rowan?" Kyle whispered

"Yeah?" I answered

"Sorry if I woke you." he said

"No, I couldn't sleep." I said

He reached out and hugged me. I returned his hug.

"Your heart-" he stopped mid sentence.

"What?" I asked

"Nevermind, sorry." he said

He let go, but I couldn't. We fell asleep like that.