Watch the Northern Lights

Chapter 1: I Hope We See Polar Bears

Chapter 1:

5 days ago

When the plane touched down in Alaska, Skye felt the urge to do a happy dance. The snowy oasis was right out her window and she could not wait to explore it.

When they got off the plane, Skye tightened the scarf around her neck and looked at her friends, who looked equally excited. Although Brandon didn't exactly show his excitement, she knew that he was.

"DUDE, okay, where are we going to see the lights?" Lauren pops up next to Skye.

"I had this friend that lived here once, and she told me about the perfect place to see the northern lights. It's a big open space, acres and acres of snow. It's part of some campsite retreat."

"Do you even know where it is?" Bree asks, as she walks up beside Skye.

Skye holds up a piece of paper that had an address on it. "I asked her for the address before we left. Don't worry, I got this covered."

"What does it look like? Where is it? What's it called?" Alex asks. As always, too many questions, within one breath.

"Chill," Brandon says. "We'll know when we get there."

"Exactly!" Skye says. Her nerves were kicking in. She was having doubts about this trip after all, I mean... No one really wanted to go in the first place. She was sure Lauren and Bree was just trying to make her happy. Everyone else thought it had been a bad idea.

What's this sinking feeling in her gut?

"I hope we see Polar bears. I heard they're pretty abundant around this time." Ingrid smiles innocently, as she always does.

That's Ingrid. She always has something to say, that keeps Skye's nerves down.

---

The six friends checked into the retreat, and when they got to their campsite, they were not disappointed. The place Skye's friend was talking about, was a big open field, as promised. You could see the sky clearly. Of course, it was definitely the perfect spot.

Everyone could see Skye's excitement clearly.

"Wow," Lauren voiced everyone's thoughts. The rest nodded in agreement.

"So, where do we want to set up camp?" Brandon asked.

"How about right in the middle?" Ingrid suggests, pointing further out into the field.

"Great idea!" Skye says, taking Ingrid's bag that has her tent in it and starts running.

"Hey!"

"You're going to have to catch me, Ingrid!" Skye laughs, holding the tent up high above her head.

Ingrid laughs and starts running after her.

"Oooh, I want to be in this too!" Lauren says, running after the other two. "I'm coming!" Lauren says, in a sing-song voice.

Alex, Bree and Brandon just continue to walk as the other three, seemingly hyper women chase one and other to the middle of the field.

"Why aren't you running?" Alex asks Bree, who shrugs.

"Too tired. I just want to set up the tents and sleep." Bree answers, tugging at her bags.

"Meh, understandable." Brandon shrugs.

When the three girls make it to the middle, Ingrid grabs her tent back from Skye, who smiles mischievously.

As the other three approach the agreed campsite, Ingrid looks at her tent and says, "I... actually do not know how to set this up."

Brandon and Alex look at all the girls. "Do either of you know how to set up a tent?"

Lauren, Bree, Skye and Ingrid just look at each other.

---

As the boys are on the third tent, Ingrid, Bree, Skye, and Lauren had set up the fire and the chairs. They were sitting and talking, as they continuously looked over at the boys and their progress.

"Babe, you know you could help too." Brandon says, eyeing her. Skye looks at Brandon innocently.

"What do you mean?"

Brandon gives her a look. "You know how to build a tent," he deadpans.

"Eh," Skye shrugs.

"WE NEED HER OVER HERE," Lauren says, grabbing Skye's arm. "She's helping us keep the fire going!"

Brandon rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

Skye pokes the fire with a stick. "Oh, I can't wait to see the lights!"

"Same here, I've seen pictures but never in person." Bree says, and Lauren nods.

"I've seen them," Ingrid says and smiles. "They're really pretty."

The other three girls look at Ingrid, like they've been betrayed. "HOW DARE, Ingrid." Skye pouts.

"Oh, I'm sorry, should I have not said anything?" Ingrid asks.

Skye laughs. "No, you're okay, Ingrid. Just, act like you're in awe when we see them, okay?"

Ingrid nods, smiling.

"Done! Feast your eyes on our masterpieces!" Brandon says, triumphantly.

The girls turn around and see all 6 tents are set up.

"Good job, guys," Skye says with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks, without your help." Brandon says. Alex and Brandon high five each other for a job well done, and go over to the fire with the rest. They sit down in their chairs and sigh.

"God, I'm tired now." Brandon says, shutting his eyes.

Alex nods in agreement.

"Should we go to bed then?" Skye asks, as it seemed to be getting late. The moon and the stars were out. The Northern Lights were supposed to be out tomorrow night. Skye smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, I'm beat." Bree nods.

"Alright, we'll all go to bed then." Alex says.

As everyone says their goodnights and got into their respectable tents, Skye put out the fire and stored the food and bins away. After she was done, she went towards her tent and unzipped it to go in. Before she stepped foot into her tent, she noticed a glint out of the corner of her eye. She looked towards it and found a cave that was dimly lit about a mile or so away. She squinted at it, and moved away from the tent to get a better look. Absent-mindedly, she started slowly walking a little closer, but a voice stopped her.

"Hey," someone touched her shoulder, and Skye jumped, and gasped. She turned around to see Brandon standing there, smirking.

Skye laughed a little, "don't do that, you scared me."

"Sorry," he wasn't sorry. "Came out because I saw you standing out here. Why aren't you in your tent yet?"

Skye blinked. "I saw..." she looked towards where the cave was, but the light was gone. "... I saw something."

Brandon looked where Skye was looking, and was confused. "Uh-huh... Okay... It's time for bed for you." He kissed her forehead, and she pouted.

"I did see something..."

"I believe you." Brandon smiles. "Now go to bed. We can all go walking around tomorrow, if you want." Skye nods and smiles back at him. "Alright, now get some sleep. Goodnight." He walks back to his tent.

"Night." Skye says, finally heading into her tent. She zips it up and lays down in her sleeping bag, zipping it all the way up, to get as much warmth as she possibly could.

She dreamt of what would be in that cave.

And the Northern Lights.