The Lost Civilization

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚛𝚖𝚊

(Not a real U.S. location being used.)

One in the afternoon had rolled around and the chatter in the living room had now moved to the dining room. Serenity and I made some garlic bread and spaghetti for everyone. A simple, yet very good meal.

Everyone was finishing up on eating and Maxwell lied his fork down on his empty plate, "I really don't know if we should truly go on this trip, guys. I don't want to be the buzz kill, but I know you guys remember what our parents always told us about the mountains of Arma." Arma was the name of the town we were traveling to in Colorado. We planned on hiking through the mountains. Taking tents and spending a couple of nights out there in the wilderness. The location held beautiful mountains with serene and breathtaking scenery, but an old myth our parents always told us about those mountains had scared us from a young age. That is until we got older and realized it was just a made-up story.. or at least I hope was made-up.

Victoria chimed in, "Maxwell, I know our parents always told us that and we were terrified of those mountains as children, but that's exactly it. We were children." Maxwell looked at her with a squinted eyed glare, "How do you know those stories were made up? Still to this very day, our parents have told us to stay away from those mountains," he said with a serious, almost nervous tone. He tapped his finger on the table periodically throughout his statement, ensuring to add emphasis on how serious this could be. Serenity and I watched the conversation with wide eyes.

"Guys! It's fine! Stop talking about it and psyching yourselves out. Those were just myths.. fake stories that our parents made up to keep us from wandering off and getting lost in the mountains," Serenity said, trying to lighten the seriousness of the conversation. Maxwell quickly chipped in, "I just want us safe. That's all."

"We will be Max.. We just have to be cautious and watch our surroundings. We don't have to worry about those stories our parents told us though. Do you really think there's a group of pe-", I responded to Maxwell, before being abruptly cut off by Victoria. "Nope! Don't even talk about it. Conversation is over! Let's get the bags in the car and head out!" She stood up from her chair and put her hands in the air, swinging them around while making excited noises. I assume she was trying to pump everyone up, but in all honestly it just made me want to giggle.

Some time had passed while everyone was loading their bags into the back of my vehicle. We were taking my vehicle. It's a Jeep so we felt that it fit the vibe of where we were going. We only had an hour long trip ahead of us, but I think I was actually starting to get nervous for this trip as well. I'm not sure if I should be. It was just stupid stories our parents made up when we were little kids. Why am I letting it bother me? Anyways, Maxwell drove and we chatted and the vibe mellowed back out on our trip there. We passed a blunt around, as it was legal in Colorado and we were all well known as potheads. Yes, even since high school. It felt so great to be completely honest. Just chilling on a small road trip with my old best friends from high school that it felt like I hadn't seen in ages.

An hour later, early in the evening time, we arrived at our destination, which was a playground next to a trail that we knew since we were young lead way up into the mountains of Arma. The trail was a nice little distance from the playground and would be invisible to the eyes of anyone who hadn't already known. Everyone gazed out of the front windshield as Maxwell put the car into park. The trail was almost non-existent. It looked as if it hadn't been walked on since the early 1900's. Maybe an exaggeration, but it appeared that way.

After a brief gaze at the beginning of the trail, Victoria must have known that the longer we waited in the car, the more nervous everyone would get and want to back out. Maxwell is the main concern for backing out. Only because of his shy, quiet, and sometimes timid demeanor. Serenity was a wild child and still is, and Victoria holds a confidence that sometimes is overwhelming and leads her to trouble. Victoria broke the brief silence, "Let's goooo! Why are we just sitting here?"

The rest of us broke our gaze from the trail, and followed what felt like strict orders from an army sergeant. We got out of the vehicle and unloaded our things, making sure we had all of the equipment and items we needed. With our large backpacks on, that may I add almost felt too big to even walk with on your back, we started walking towards the trail. Maxwell let out a sigh, "Here we go I guess-"