Virals Pack: Reborn

Chapter 101: Into the Woods

It started out as a normal adventure...I suppose that's how it usually goes. 

The pack had decided to take another crack at geocaching together, and I was invited along. The cache was apparently hidden within Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, so we made the drive out and began our venture into the woods. It was quiet, peaceful, and very remote. No one around to witness five teenagers wandering the wilds looking for treasure.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining down with a radiant warmth, there was an occasional melodic chatter as birds darted about, and the greenery surrounding us whispered gently with a passing breeze. Along the way, we passed a babbling brook that splashed down from the rocks above us in a dazzling waterfall. I took a moment to relish in the splendor surrounding me, letting everything else aside from this very moment drift away so I could simply exist. 

My peaceful moment in my personal bubble was popped by Hi, who barged into me while attempting to evade Ben's counterattacks. I chuckled and shoved him back as he nearly sent us both sprawling. Ben is less amused by his shenanigans and continued to pursue him with mildly violent intent for a short while. Eventually things settled down again, and we all happily hiked along together.

As we pressed on, they each took turns relaying their piece of the fantastically horrifying previous geocaching misadventure to me. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought them insane, or their story impossible. But I do know better, and I listened in awe as they described how one little geocache started a whole chain of events.

I listened as they described their initial curiosity about the first puzzle, which morphed into shock and horror as the weight of their situation hit them. I listened while they told me of their triumphs and dead-ends, their close-calls and their struggles. I found myself holding my breath at parts where they described the mortal peril they were placed in; only the fact that they were all there to tell the tale kept me from going completely insane with worry. When the tale was finally told in full, I noticed a lightening in the atmosphere surrounding us. It was as if a cloud or a heavy weight had lifted from their shoulders by simply sharing their harrowing plight with another, with me.

I was honestly honored they deigned to invite me along in the first place. Given how traumatizing their last geocaching quest went, I suspected this one was partially meant to wash away some of the lingering emotional scars via exposure therapy. But I also surmised this was an event designed to help re-forge the pack's connection. For that I felt special, to be included in this journey. Even if I wondered whether or not my presence was merely to serve as a reminder of how times were different, an anchor to the present.

Everyone was having such a good time simply walking around out in nature that we almost forgot to search for the geocache. Almost. After some effort and some arguing over which of the many trails to take, we ended up picking the right path (eventually) and found the hidden treasure. The cache was a small pouch nestled in the crook of an enormous tree with crawling roots and sprawling branches that seemed to twist and claw at the clouds. After writing our names in the cache log, we added a contribution to the assortment of odds and ends within the pouch: a perfectly pearlescent shell found along the beach earlier that morning.

Once we returned the pouch to its proper place, Shelton let out a hearty whoop and Hi pulled us all into a crazed dancing circle around the tree. I let myself get caught up in their carefree revelry, and I found myself laughing and beaming at their antics. Eventually we tired of our prancing around and began our journey home. The mood was impossibly feather-light as we all chattered away gleefully, sharing thoughts and jokes in a beautiful moment of comradery. 

We were all still chuckling as we arrived at the waterfall and came face to face with the bear.