Hunt of the Night

c h a p t e r f i v e ( w y a t t )

6:45 pm on Friday

I held the slip of paper between my fingers before slipping it into one of my many pockets, "Okay, so we're going to head into the woods where no one can overhear us, and discuss all that we brought. We also need to make up a strategy to win this thing."

As I began to walk into the woods, the boy with the red hair stopped me, "Who made you boss, Rambo?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned around, but not before glancing at Jamey's group. I wanted to be sure they hadn't left yet. "Well, Chucky, Autumn did make me team captain." My eyes narrowed at him and my toned chest puffed out to show my dominance.

Unlike most people, the boy in red didn't seem to be affected by my large muscles and presumptuous attitude. He stepped closer to me and looked up to lock eye contact. His eyes were blue and seemed confident, but a hint of fear seemed to swim through the blue and grey mix. "That doesn't mean you can act like a jackass and make all the decisions for the group."

I let out a huff of discontent. "Then, what do you want to do?" His body seemed to deflate a little at my inquiry. His shoulders fell and his eye contact broke away.

However, his muscles were once again pulled taught, and his eyes met mine before he suggested, "We should go into the woods that way, and talk about what's in our bags before reading the clue and finding it."

At that moment I felt anger boil inside of me. My hands formed into tight fists at my side, and I could feel my face ignite red. "That's literally what I just said!"

Kyle looked like he was going to respond, but before he was able to, a small voice spoke up, "Maybe we should just go into the woods now."

Our features seemed to mitigate as we looked over at our other teammate, whose name I had already forgotten. Her hair reminded me of Rachel from Friends; so I'd probably end up calling her Rachel anyway. I probably wouldn't see her again anytime soon, so, technically, it didn't really make a difference.

There were no more words shared between the three of us as we began to walk into the woods. I heard someone from one of the other groups say something about following our group, so I quickly changed direction to lure them away from us. We soon arrived at a few fallen trees, a stream nearby, and we all looked at eachother in agreement. This was our spot.

I pulled my backpack off my back, looking in my bag as I spoke, "I have a flashlight, rope, pocket knife, first aid kit, water, granola bars, batteries, matches, jacket, compass, and my phone." Then, I looked over to Kyle, "What'd you bring?"

He opened his drawstring bag and began to pull a few things out. "I have my phone, some money, fruit snacks, this little pen light, and a pocket knife."

The little bit of respect I had for him vanished with his words, "Are you kidding me, Carrot Top? What were you planning on buying in the fucking woods?"

"Just let Rosie say what she brought," Kyle said, completely dismissing my outburst. I wasn't sure if he hadn't argued with me because he wanted to hurry and find the clue, or if he was afraid of me. However, I just gestured impatiently with my hand for the girl to continue.

She slid the tote bag off of her shoulder and peeked inside. She pulled out a few scarves, some pens, a half drank water bottle, shoe laces, a book, a change of clothes, an iPad, and another leather bound book.

I sighed. The universe must be punishing me for giving so many wedgies in middle school.

I decided that it wasn't worth it to yell at the girl for not bringing anything useful because she looked like she would cry at any moment. I simply pulled the clue out of my pocket and read it aloud, "The clue says, what can unlock your dream can be found near the stream."

"The streams right over there!" Kyle observed with confidence, pointing directly at the water not far behind us.

I rubbed my face with my hand, letting out a lengthy sigh, "No shit Sherlock. Is that what that small moving flow of water is?"

He just rolled his eyes, refusing to comment. We then split up and began to search around the water. Before I knew it, the girl tapped me on the shoulder with a key in her hand and a flushed smile on her face.

I grinned before I tore the clue from her hands, "Good job, Rachel!"

I was so interested in what could possibly be written on the slip of paper that I didn't quite get what Kyle said when he actually chose to talk in a less demeaning manner, "Her name's Rosie."

The paper was finally unfolded and I announced, "It says, take a stroll to this hole to find some soft coal!"

Before I could complete an actual thought, Kyle's annoying voice chirped up from behind me, "What's that supposed to mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "Like I know, Ronald McDonald."

"Listen, Pretty Boy, I was just asking if either of you had any idea where the next clue could be."

"Well, I don't have any idea, so unless Rachel knows then we're screwed,"

"Her name's Rosie!" he shouted at me, his face growing as red as his hair.

Both of our eyes looked over at the girl who was calmly sitting on the dead tree with a book in her hands. She was so engrossed in her book that she was totally ignoring our presence, "Do you know where the next clue could be, Rosie?" I made sure I put an emphasis on her name so Kyle would stop nagging me about it.

She looked up, adjusting her glasses as she stared at us. Her nose wrinkled as she thought for a minute, leaving Kyle and I in suspense. "Oh, it's totally talking about a cave. Based on the fact that I know there aren't any caves close to the park, it has to be to the East. Caves are almost always found at higher elevation so based on the direction the stream was flowing it has to be up North. So, we should probably head North East." She paused, glancing around her before settling her eyes on the book in her hands, "but right after I finish this chapter."

A dumbfounded look plastered itself on my face, before I readjusted my bag on my shoulder. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.-----

QOTC Who's your favorite member of the Sinking Ships?