The Redemption of Maximus

What a hike-Emily

  I trudge along with the group through another stupid assignment. If what I write form this current excursion doesn't lead me to front page news then I am going to have to find another station to work at. I have spent too many years doing the grunt assignments. Another curse leaves my mouth as I trip over the root of a tree sticking out from the forest floor. It feels as if we have been walking for hours.
 
  As I look around everything looks the same. The only things that lets me know that we have main any progress through the density of the trees is the winding trail behind me slowly disappearing.
 
  "How much longer until we make camp?" I ask as my breathing grows heavy from the journey once more.
 
  "It should be just around the next bend of trees dear" Bernard says. As he speaks he turns his head to let his eye drift over my form. I quickly look away from him not wanting his attention. For four years I have been working at the station.
 
  Countless times I have denied his ways of showing affection. After dealing with it for the first year and him not taking no for an answer, I finally tried a different approach. I pulled the oldest trick in the book by telling him that I was seeing someone.
 
  Yup, that's right, I lied. I have even gone as far as making up stories of the elaborate dates we've gone on and made my made up boyfriend, Lee, sound like an intimidating person. I have no idea what Bernard even sees in me. My skin is a warm coffee color, and it is without blemishes. My hair is long and coyly and no matter what I do it tends to fan around my face like a lions mane. My eyes however are my best future. Depending upon my mood they can go from a warm grey to a dark hazel if I'm mad.
 
  My body is okay. I'm definitely not drool worthy. My hips are too wide and my midsection kind of fluffy. Put that together with my height at 5'4 and you get the picture. I don't miss many meals and me and a gym will never be acquainted. I take a sigh of relief and lean against the boulder on the side of the campground where everyone seems to have stopped.
 
  As the group talks about who's tent will be placed where I take a look around the clearing. I can see obvious signs of where other have had campfires and I see the benches in the distance of where they must eat their meals. A tap on my shoulder breaks me from my discoveries and I meet the eyes of the only other girl in the group my best friend Julia.
 
  She quietly pulls me to the side. Her eyebrows are raised, and her lips are pressed together in a thin line. Crap, I must have missed something important. "You always have your head in the clouds. You missed discussing the sleeping arrangements and now our tent is next to his." She says berating me.
 
  "Next to who?" I ask thinking that I already know the answer. She stops a few feet away from everyone else and looks at me with her hands on her hips. "Really? How did you let that happen?" I ask her now mirroring her irritation.
 
  "When we all turned to look at you for your opinion, you stayed silent for objections to the arrangement. Everyone in the station know that these trips are used for people to hook up. He has had his eyes on you since we started" She warns me once more.
 
  "I know. I know." I say thinking. Everyone else in our group still stands talking as Bernard watches our exchange closely. Everyone has already become suspicious about my mysterious boyfriend who they have never met. Julia has always backed up my stories but since we went to college together and work at the same station it may not carry enough weight to be believable.
 
  Then an idea hits me. "Julia, you know you are my best friend right?" I say as I give her my best smile.
 
  "What are you looking at me like that for? What do you want?" she ask looking at me with scared curiosity.
 
  "Your ring." I say as I grab her hand in mine.
 
  "What? No.......it's my grandmothers ring. You know how much it means to me" She says the last part a bit too loud.
 
  "Shhhhhhh" I say leaning against her side. "It won't be forever love. I promise. I only need it while we are in the woods this week. If I have a ring then I am a promised woman and Bernard is bound to leave me alone. Please I will give you something in exchange. It will be an even exchange" I plead with her.
 
  She seems to think it over for a moment as she twirls one of her dreads around her index finger. It's always her move when she I strongly considering something. I start to get giddy inside know thing that there is something that she wants.
 
  "Come on, there has to be something" I say trying to goad her. She looks at me up and down as her evil grin spreads to her face. I pale knowing what she is going to ask for.
 
  "I get your Keurig for a month" She says with an award winning smile as I feel my face pale.
 
  "What? You know I am nothing without my coffee. How could you go for the thing I love most. You're supposed to be my best friend?" I whine.
 
  "You want to fake engagement so badly, you got to part with your baby then." She says as she blows a cool breath across her perfectly manicured fingers with a shrug. I told my arms across my chest knowing that she has me backed into a corner. I could always use some of my budget to buy coffee or stop at her house on the way of work to get some.
 
  "Fine but you have to follow my cleaning instructions and you are buying your own pods" She claps her hands in glee as she gently pulls the ring off her finger and hands it to me as she shakes my hand. Her hand clasp mine tightly as she leans closer.
 
  "Just remember that that baby is mines for a month and not to be used as an excuse to show up to my house every morning" she says still holding on to my hand. With a long sigh for how much this is going to cost me I shake her hand in agreement and quickly slide the ring onto the proper finger.
 
  We step away from leaning against each other and turn back toward our group with large smiles on our faces. We walk over to our group and fall in to step behind Bernard as he chooses the plot where his tent will go.
 
  "You ladies will be right there" He says gesturing to the plot just to the right of his. I look from where we are and realize that these are the two tents furthest away from the others due to a set of trees growing. Julia and I exchange a look as we both drop our packs and begin our set up.
 
  A long while later when we are done setting up the tent and placing our belongings inside of it. I step out to find that the sun has nearly gone down and some of our crew has already built a fire. Julia steps out of the tent behind me and sighs as she wipes sweat from her brow.
 
  "Food, I'm totally starving right now." She gushes. My stomach rumbles loudly agreeing with her statement as we make our way to the fire. I do have a few snacks that I brought along but the smell of the hotdogs sound way better than my granola bars. Besides, we still don't know what the assignment is about. We both grab sticks that someone has taken the liberty to pile and grab a few hot dogs to roast too.
 
  After the three hot dogs I roasted are done I look around for the buns that I saw earlier. I spy them across the fire next to Bernard. When he catches my gaze he pats the seat next to him calling me over. I shake my head and gently nudge Julia. Her head snaps up and she looks at me quizzically and I clear my throat. "Did you still want the buns?" I ask her.
 
  She raises an eyebrow in question, and I cock my head toward Bernard in answer. She looks in his direction and I can see the moment she understands my meaning. "I thought we were doing a low card diet" she says with extra honey in her voice. At that statement it's my turn to frown. Why in the heck would I cut out my carbs. Then in my epiphany moment I catch on and reply with a smirk.
 
  "Right, I do have to fit into my dress after all" I say with a chuckle. I look at the buns longingly once more and take a bite of my first hot dog.
 
  "Dress. What kind of dress?" Bernard ask as he sits higher on his log. His gaze sweeps back and forth rapidly as he waits for one of us to answer.
 
  "Her wedding dress of course"" Julia answers as she holds out her hands for the buns.
 
  "Your marrying the guy!?" He ask incredulously as his face turns red.
 
  Trying not to chuckle at his reaction I nod my head. I hold my hand out in front of me and wiggle my fingers showing off Julia's ring. His face pales at the sight and he rises from the log. He drops the buns into Julia's lap and continues walking off into the trees.
 
  "I need some air" He shouts as he retreats. I look at Julia to see she is barely containing her laughter. The other four people in our group watch his retreating figure as it disappears into the trees with frowns on their faces. I sigh with relief gladly at the thought that I will finally be done with him hitting on me. He was really starting to give me the creeps with how much he stared when he thought I wasn't looking.
 
  "Well, before we all retire for bed I think it is time that you learn what your assignment here is." Anthony out team lead begins. He rises to stand and dust his hands on his cargo shorts. "We have received many reports from this area of coming into contact with strange creatures. Some call them supernatural's but others refer to them as people with interspecies DNA. You job will be to gather information and see if you can get an interview to back up your claims. Any questions?" He ask with a yawn.
 
  "Wait, are you talking about the dragons?" I ask. As the question leaves my lips several people snap their head in my direction.
 
  "Yes, they are among some of the species here. Have you seen them before" he ask as if he is extremely interested in my answer.
 
  I squirm in my seat as I get uncomfortable under everyone's gaze. I receive a brief flash of the monster I saw in my childhood nightmares and shake the image away before I answer. "Yes I have. I saw one when I was a little girl. Why would we need information about them?" I question him as I barely hide the note of fear in my voice.
 
  "No one has reported much on them since the year of their birth. To get an interview with one as an adult would be headline news. Now that we have reports of other species as well, we want to be the first to get in front of it. This is the only place on the globe with reports of sightings for all the species." He says in fact.
 
  Stunned by his answer I begin to have many questions swirling in my mind as conversations continue. What other species could he mean? Is it possible that the boy I friended so long ago is one of the dragons here? Why is everyone interested in this now? As my mind races goosebumps spread across my skin. This is dangerous. They have no idea what these beasts are capable of. They haven't seen what I have seen.
 
  As my heart races I look around the forest into the trees in a panic. Could they be watching us now? I sigh in relief when my gaze doesn't see anything. I tune back into the conversation. "We can talk more about this in the morning. Just know that you are safe, and we have been assured that they are peaceful creatures" he says with a wave as he heads to his tent.
 
  Everyone in our little group watches his retreating figure as if they truly can't believe what they have just heard. I can feel the tension in the air as I look at the fear on the face of my colleagues. If only they knew true fear. They have never seen one of these monsters standing only a few feet away. They haven't even truly see what one is capable of. I shake out of my fear from the past and rise from my seat on the log.
 
  As I approach my tent I am stopped by a hand on my arm that cause me to release a yelp as my hand flies to my rapidly beating heart. As my gaze meets Bernard's I quickly snatch my hand arm away from his embrace.
 
  "What?" I question him in my anger.
 
  "Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. I was just wondering if you had a moment to talk" he says looking around.
 
  I take a step away from him as my eye search to find Julia. I meet her gaze as she peers over from the group and give her a subtle nod. I look back at him and see that he now looks at my body. Seeing as I caught him he quickly brings his gaze back to mine and smirks.
 
  "Just say what you need to say Bernard" I huff wanting to retire for the night.
 
  "I just want to make sure that you are making the right decision. I mean you are marrying someone that you barely even know. Is this guy even good enough for you? This Liam fellow?" he says with a clenched jaw.
 
  I feel my anger rising under his gaze. I lift my chin in the air and take a deep breath before I speak. Afterall I must still remember that he is my superior. "LEE is good enough for me. He is all that I deserve and more. I have known him for long enough for us to take the next step in our relationship. You have no right to question what I do in my personal life." I spit.
 
  He raises his hands as if to ward off my anger. "I wasn't trying to tell you what to do in your time Em. I care about you, you know this." He says taking a step closer. "I was just shocked that you suddenly announced this. You don't even know what your other options are. Don't you want to find out?" He ask as he licks his lips.
 
  I make no move to hide the disgust on my face at his blatant invitation. Hurriedly stepping back from him my back leans against one of the lines on the tent and I panic at the thought that he has me cornered. When I meet his gaze I realize that he has followed my retreat. My breath quickens and I rush to try to step away from the tent.
 
  "Is everything all right over here?" Julia says a bit too loudly.
 
  With a sigh of relief I step around him to go to her side. I glare at him as I answer her. "Everything is fine. Bernard was just retiring for the night." I say with final conviction.
 
  He pursues his lips as he frowns not liking my answer. "Very well then. Goodnight Em. Julia" he says. He gives me a lingering gaze and then goes into his tent. When he is gone from sight and I see he zipped his tent, I finally relax and loosen my stance.
 
  "You need to be more careful. I can't always be here to save you" Julia says to me in warning.
 
  "I know. I won't let it happen again" I say as I grab her hand in thanks.
 
  "I think we should retire for the night too. That long hike here has made me more tired than I thought." She says as she releases a large yawn.
 
  "I'll meet you in the tent. Just give me a few moments and I will be right behind you" I say as I push her toward the tent. I do a little potty dance letting her know the reason why we will be separating as she throws a cautious glance toward Bernard's tent.
 
  "I can wait a few more minutes. Just let me grab the bag." She says rushing into the tent.
  When she comes out with the bag, I snatch it and run into the nearest part of the forest. "Just stay right outside the trees, I promise not to go far." I shout as I walk.
 
  I walk the few feet into the tree line. I can hear as she starts to sing a song in the distance. I chuckle at the rule we came up with on our first trip into the wilderness. We learned that singing is an effective way to drown out the sound of someone doing their business which is already embarrassing when you are used to indoor plumbing.
 
  I use the bathroom in a rush. As I am replacing the supplies, I grab the bottle of hand sanitizer and quickly put some on my hands. As I rise from my crouched position I hear something behind me snap. My head swings so fast in the direction as I hurriedly pick up the bag that my eyes have trouble focusing.
 
  I scan the line of the trees as I slowly retreat back to where I entered into the forest. I squint my eyes when I thought I saw movement off to the left. Unconsciously my feet pause. When I blink once more there is nothing there. I look in the direction of Julia singing, and I can just make out her figure. I turn my gaze once more to the forest and I freeze in fear. In the spot that I saw movement before I can see a pair of eyes. The irises are so dark that they blend in with their surroundings. The whites of the eyes are the only thing that are visible as I watch them blink.
 
  They slant to the side as I look at them and my body trembles in fear. Suddenly they start come closer, and I scream as the world around me goes black.