Hiking Part 3, Suspicions

Like the previous day, Jason woke up early.

"Hope you had enough sleep, Fred."

"Well enough."

"I am brewing coffee for myself. You want some?"

"Yes, please."

"Here you go. Now, tell me, what's been bothering you? You have been acting odd since yesterday."

"It's the dream that I have been having recently. Yesterday I didn't have any. But while I was sleeping it felt like my body was sinking into the ground. And after waking up my body felt a bit heavy."

"You might have felt light headed. Make sure to eat well and have a good rest. I will go make breakfast. You may have a bit more sleep if you want to."

"No need. I will be fine."

They had their breakfasts after everyone woke up and then prepared to go to the second checkpoint. After reaching, they set up the tents beside the lake.

"There are fish in the lake for sure. Why don't we compete who can catch the most fish before evening?" Ashton proposed.

"It will be fun. How about a can of beer for the winner?" said Damian.

"I like it cause I will be the winner for sure," said Ashton.

"Hey, where's Fred?" asked Damian.

"He's resting in the tent. Maybe he's tired from standing guard last night," said Jason.

While Ashton, Damian, Abbey and Yosef brought out their lines and were preparing for fishing, Jason and Thomas went to take a look at Fredrick.

"It's unusual for him to be feeling tired. I have never seen Fred exhausted in my life."

"Maybe he's feeling under the weather. By the way Tom, did that shopkeeper tell you anything else apart from the possible murder and landslides?"

"Now that you ask, he mentioned something about God's wrath. And also told me not to go out at night. But why do you ask?"

"I have been thinking. Aside from the murder, the landslides seem to be a bit suspicious. Think about it. You were told that it was from the third checkpoint to the second. We are already at the second checkpoint. But from the surroundings it doesn't look like there have been any landslides recently."

"Now that you mentioned it, there doesn't seem to have been any landslides. That's odd. The way that the shopkeeper told me, it didn't seem like he was lying either."

When the two of them went inside the tent, they found Fredrick sleeping. As he was asleep, they didn't bother him anymore.

"Something about this place doesn't feel right."

"I heard there is an old shrine nearby. Wanna go check it out?"

"I didn't know you were religious or is it out of curiosity?"

"It's not that. From what that shopkeeper said, the shrine seems to have appeared after that incident. Before that, no one knew about that shrine."

"Sounds interesting. While the rest are busy fishing, let's go have a look."

As Thomas and Jason went to look for the shrine, they found a small shrine a bit further from the road that leads to the third checkpoint.

"Is this the shrine you have been told about?"

"Seems like it. Now I see why that shopkeeper said it was a small shrine. It really is small."

"Judging by its size, I guess it was buried in the ground, which explains why people didn't notice it before."

"Then how did it rise up the ground?"

"It didn't. It's probably the landslides that caused the ground around it to fall apart and this small shrine seems to have a well built foundation despite its size."

"So it proves that the landslides have happened. But why are the surroundings still normal?"

"That's the part that's been troubling me. Let's go back. I have to make lunch."

Jason and Thomas returned to the campsite. It seemed Ashton and the others were taking a break from fishing.

"So who won?" asked Jason.

"Unfortunately, none," they replied.

"Fred woke up a while ago and asked where you were," said Ashton.

"I will go check on him. Hey, Abbey, if you are done with fishing then come and lend me a hand," said Jason.

While Abbey headed to take out the dishes, Jason went to Fredrick.

"You asked for me?"

"I am not feeling very well."

"I can definitely tell that without you saying. Tell me what's wrong?"

"I am feeling like the ground beneath us is shaking a bit. I am not joking. I am only telling you because unlike the others you won't think that I have gone insane."

"I am not saying that. And there seems to be landslides within this area. So you being a bit sensitive to the ground shaking may not be that bad."

"What are you suggesting?"

"If it's ok with you, would you mind standing guard for tonight as well and not just one shift but the whole night?"

"Didn't I just guard yesterday?"

"It's just a hunch. Just trust me on this as well."

"Alright, but for that I need to sleep now. Otherwise I won't be able to stay awake."

"You are welcome to sleep but before that make sure to have lunch."

As they all had their lunch, Fredrick went to sleep saying that he had a headache. The rest of them tried fishing again. But no fish were caught. Soon the sun went down and they finally gave up. They sat together around the campfire when it was time for dinner.

"Ashton, would you mind calling Fred up for dinner?" said Jason.

"Alright." said Ashton as he went to wake Fredrick up.

"Hey guys, check this out! The news says, a giant squid was found on the shore on the Coronado beach. Here's the photo," said Damian.

"That's certainly huge," said Abbey.

"Seems more like a kraken to me," said Yosef.

"A kraken? It's just a squid that grew bigger in size," said Thomas.

"Who knows, maybe there are unknown monsters deep in the sea. It's one of the reasons I am not very fond of the seas," said Jason.

"What did I miss?" said Ashton as he came with Fredrick.

"How are you feeling now, Fred?" Asked Yosef and Abbey.

"I am alright now. No need to worry," replied Fredrick.

"So who will be standing guard tonight?" asked Yosef.

"It's our turn tonight," said Abbey and Damian.

"I don't think I won't be able to sleep anymore after waking up just now. How about I stand guard tonight?" Fredrick suggested.

"Will you be alright? Weren't you feeling unwell?" asked Ashton. The others were looking at him with concern in their eyes.

"Don't worry. I am feeling energetic now after sleeping," replied Fredrick.

"Alright then, let him do what he wants. If he feels sleepy midway then he can call Abbey and Damian to take his place. Now let's have dinner," said Jason.

After dinner, they went back to their tents while Fredrick remained standing guard. Jason was doing a routine check as usual.

"I will be going to sleep now. Wake me up if anything comes by."

"Alright."

As Jason went to sleep, Fredrick was sitting alone beside the campfire. He was passing the time checking up on the news on his phone. It was almost one o'clock when Fredrick suddenly noticed something. Without the slightest delay he called everyone.

"EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE TENTS QUICK!"