Hunt of the Night

c h a p t e r f o u r t e e n ( m i k i e )

Previously...

Shawn looked over in delight before rushing over and grabbing the bag. He fiddled with it for a while before reading the clue, "To find some eats and treats, all you have to do is look above the streets."

I was the first to speak after that, "I bet it's in one of the trees!"

Shawn grinned, "Not to bad, Grandpa."

"Well, let's get moving before it rains!" Jade announced before beginning to walk.

Currently...

  9:30 pm on Friday  

I decided to break the silence that had settled around us, "So, Jade, do you go to college?"

Shawn scoffed, "Funny, like Ditsy here even graduated high school."

Jade flipped her hair over her shoulder before looking at me, "I just graduated high school."

I nodded my head in understanding, "Shawn, do you go to university?"

A smile appeared on his face, "Yeah, I go to Penn State! I'm a midfielder on the lacrosse team."

Jade let a small giggle slip from her lips, "I would have never known that you play lacrosse based on your bag full of lacrosse equipment."

Shawn rolled his eyes before pointing his attention to me, "Where do you go to school Grandpa?"

I ignored his ignorant nickname and answered his question, "I go to the Carnegie Institute of Technology,"

Shawn pretended to cough, "Nerd."

Jade trailed her fingers down my arm, but smacked Shawn across his chest, "What do you go to school for?"

"Engineering." Jade tilted her head, looking at me as she pondered my response. I adjusted my fanny pack across my waist, shrugging slightly.

"What do you go to school for?" Jade sneered, turning to face Shawn.

"Sports med."

I scoffed, shaking my head, "Go figure."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"N-nothing. Just makes sense is all," I muttered, pushing my glasses up my nose.

Shawn looked like he was going to respond, but he shut his mouth and looked ahead. We continued on, looking for something in the tree tops.

Suddenly Jade screamed, "Katie!" and ran ahead of us.

"Jade!" another voice screamed before they ran into each other's arms. They were a squealing mess, hugging each other and spinning. It was like they hadn't seen each other in days.

"Oh my god, you've been apart for like 3 hours. You're like the annoying middle school couples that act like they won't see each other for years, but in reality they have next block together," a masculine voice, whom I decided was John.

"Guys, we need to move on! We can't help the other group!" Jamey's voice said, and then they all came into our view.

We all joined together, watching Katie and Jade.

"Oh em gee! Do you have any sunscreen?" Jade asked Katie frantically.

Chris let out an exasperated sigh, "She's not the only one? We have Tweedledee and Tweedledum over here." The boy swayed, his eyes bloodshot, clearly medicated.

The rest of us watched in silence as the two put on their sunscreen.

"Can we go now? You're slowing us down!" Jamey asked with her arms crossed over her chest. She even stomped her foot for emphasis.

Katie and Jade whispered a few things before we split up again. They continued behind us, and we walked forward, except Jade galloped ahead with a grin on her face, "The clue is this way!"

My brows furrowed in confusion and Shawn seemed to be wondering the same thing, "How do you know that?"

She stopped hopping ahead so she could turn around with a devious grin, "Katie told me,"

We nodded our heads skeptically. Katie didn't seem like the most reliable source, and she was apart of the other team so she might have lied. However, Jade seemed pretty confident, so we followed her anyways.

"Here we are!" Jade stopped, turning around to face us. She pointed above her head before tugging on the rope ladder. I looked over at Shawn who seemed just as shocked as I did. Jade looked at Shawn, crossing her arms, "Well?"

Shawn tilted his head, "What?"

"Get on up there! Mikie isn't strong enough and I am not going to break a nail. So that leaves you. Chop. Chop."

Although I was slightly offended at the dig to my masculinity, I wasn't going to object. She may have had a point. Shawn groaned, climbing up the rope ladder anyway.

"Okay, so there's some food. The hint is Northeast from where you are now, you'll find some clear water somehow." His voice became distant before granola bars fell at our feet. "That was all that was left, so I'm guessing we are a bit late to the party." He jumped down the last few steps on the ladder, then he continued to shove the food in his bag.

"Well, how are we going to know where to go next? I don't have a compass," I looked between my group members, unsure of our next move.

Shawn looked at Jade, raising an eyebrow, "Did your girlfriend give you any other tips?"

"Well, she told me where this was." She paused, racking her brain, "Oh! And she told me joints could either be drugs or places to break into. She hadn't decided which one Chris was part of though. Oh, I also told her that it was going to rain. You know, just in case."

I looked at the girl, perplexed. How could so much stupidity fit into such a small girl? The question probably would never have an answer.

"Well, considering there has been no water where we came from, let's move that way," Shawn pointed behind us, the opposite direction that Katie's group had went.

Shawn picked up his bag, leading the way. I couldn't help but notice Jade move closer to him, resting her hand on his arm. We made our way in the woods, trailing each other. Pretty soon, rain drops began to fall from the sky.

Jade shrieked, hiding under Shawn's arm, "I told you guys! It was going to rain! Ha! Oh my hair!" I just shook my head at the girl.

It wasn't a minute before the rain stopped, but Jade insisted on using the blanket. She had it wrapped around her body. She almost looked like a nun. A nun in sandals and a romper, that is.

"For the record, it only rained for like thirty seconds. You can take the blanket off. I think you are safe," I spoke up, to cut the silence. Shawn chuckled to himself, Jade rolled her eyes at me.

We traveled further in silence, before Jade spoke up, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That beeping. Like someone is texting or dialing a number?" Jade looked around, clutching the blanket under her chin, as if it would protect her.

We stopped moving, listening to the woods around us.

Our eyes widened at words that would haunt us forever, "I found her."

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QOTC What do you think they are going to do now?