One Temptation

One Tent? (Chapter 51)

We'd just returned from the small hike, the sun beginning to sink lower.

Everyone seemed relaxed, winding down for the evening. My legs were aching slightly from the trail.

It was actually extremely hot right now, I put on a hoodie this morning thinking it would be cooler. Big mistake.

"Ugh, it's so hot," I mumbled, heading towards my tent to change.

I unzipped the tent flap, stepping inside. As soon as I bent down to tug my hoodie over my head, I felt it—an odd pinch on my ankle. Then another. My skin tingled.

A bite of pain, sharp and sudden, then another. And another.

"What the—?" I muttered, peering down.

My heart nearly stopped.

Red Ants. Everywhere.

Little red dots swarmed over my shoes, crawling up my legs. My eyes followed the trail, and that's when I saw it—our sleeping bags. Covered.

A scream burst out of me before I even realized it, and I shot out of the tent still clawing at my legs and arms, desperately brushing off the ants that were steadily climbing higher, biting, stinging.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Em was at my side in an instant.

"Ants!" I gasped, stumbling away from the tent, trying to shake the last of them off. "Red ants! They're everywhere in there!" I pointed back at the tent, my legs now covered in itchy, angry red welts where the ants had bitten me.

Everyone stared at me, wide-eyed, then back at the tent.

West took a cautious step forward, peeking in, and immediately recoiled.

"No fucking way," he muttered.

Cole pulled back the flap slightly. "Oh man... there's no way you two can sleep in there."

Lia came to inspect my leg, her fingers brushing over one of the growing welts. "You're bleeding a little," she said, her voice concerned. "you'll need some ice." she then walked over to the coller to get an icepack.

I pressed the ice to the stinging pain, and let out a little sigh of some relief. "It's everywhere. The sleeping bags, our bags, everything. And I swear some are still in my clothes."

Then Em gasped. "Oh my God, I think I know why. We left that trail mix in there. The one with all the dried fruit and nuts..." Her face dropped as she realized what must have happened.

I groaned, "What do we do now? There's no way we're sleeping in there tonight."

Everyone exchanged glances, clearly realizing the situation.

Jake scratched his head. "Well... we've still got two double tents. Cole and Lia are sharing one, and Kaleb and I have the other. But that doesn't really solve anything."

West spoke up, his gaze shifting to me, then to the others. "There's another tent down in the car, right?"

Em looked at him, "It's a single tent."

He sighed, "We'll figure something out, but that's an option."

Cole nodded. "Yeah, but someone would have to hike all the way back to get it. Not exactly a quick trip."

"We don't have much of a choice," West said. "It's either that, or Mads and Emma sleep outside tonight. And, considering the ants..." He shot me a smirk. "Not the best option."

Oh god.

Remind me to never go camping again.

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