Random stories

Hike

By: Hedonis

It started out to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the gentle breeze made the early fall day pleasant and enjoyable. A perfect day to do almost anything out doors. So it was that nineteen year old Todd, along with his eighteen year old friend Mark decided to go for a long hike into the woods that butted up against the edge of the town that they lived in. Mark had lived there most of his life, while Todd had only been around for three years. The two were great friends, and had been out into the wilderness many times, digging around the hills, and streams, and valleys, exploring whatever they could find.

They stopped off at the local convenience store- which had once been a Quick Trip, but had since been turned into just a mom-and-pop sort of general store. Todd, tall and slim, was friends with the owners, and so they were a little relaxed in what they sold him on occasion. It was that type of town, where people were friendly, and many of them seemed to know one another. Todd and Mark entered, and walked around the place, trying to decide what to take with them, that they didn't already have.

Mark grabbed a pair of tall, plastic bottles of Coke. Todd, meanwhile, had collected some sandwiches, some beef jerky, and a bag of chips. They went to the counter, where Mark picked up two candy bars, and they slid all the stuff toward the clerk, who was a middle-aged man. He was actually the owner, and Todd greeted him.

"Hello Todd," the owner said, "and Mark. Back into the woods today?"

"Yep," Todd responded. "Probably still some place left that we haven't found yet."

"I heard it was gonna rain," the man said.

"That's all right, we always take along the ponchos, just in case," Mark added.

"Smart kids," the man said, and bagged the items. "Well, be careful out there, and head back if it gets too stormy."

"We will," Todd assured him, and the pair of boys exited the store. They stopped outside, only long enough to put their new purchases into their backpacks, and then headed out into the woods. As they neared the edge of town, and prepared to head into the trees, Mark looked back, and shrugged under the light blue sky and bright sun shine.

"Don't look like it's gonna rain to me," he said.

"Sure doesn't," Todd added, and then led them into the trees.

They walked along, at first walking through so much familiar territory. Landmarks were plentiful, with big stones, and trees with initials carved into them played out like a map. They had walked most of the woods south of the river, but had not been to the other side. It had not rained for weeks, and the water level was low. As they emerged from the trees and looked at the river, the thought occurred to each of them at the same time.

"Let's cross," Todd said out loud first.

"You bet," Mark added. "Haven't seen anything over there."

They walked down to the edge of the water, which was hardly moving, and looked down into it. Both were instantly drawn to the sight of a small fish as it zipped by, and the pair exchanged a quick glance, almost as if to acknowledge that the other had seen it. They then splashed into the shallow water, careful to watch their footing, as there were still sink holes. Soon enough, though, they had crossed over, and they were on the other side, looking back at where they had come from.

"Well, here we are," Mark said. "Uncharted territory."

"Come on," Todd said. "Let's chart it."

They set out into the woods, now excited by the premise that they were somewhere that most of the kids from their town had never been to. The river was never that low, and so now this was truly a pioneer expedition among their friends. The stories they could tell, the places they could talk about, all made their way into conversation as the pair continued through the thick brush. The trees towered above them, and Mark looked up at the ceiling of green. He looked back down at the sound of Todd's voice as it filled the air once again.