A town named Winter

Todd

The furniture here is tacky and the coffee is stale. Rural Canadian motels are just as you would expect. I have been running this global tour guiding business just for over two years now. I've always been a big camper and hiker before, but now I lead the way for richer people who have too much time on their hands. Is this what selling out feels like?

I'm an Army veteran from sunny California and this is what I am reduced to do to pay my bills. I thought about re-enlisting, but I'm 35 now and wanted a change of pace. I've spent enough tours away from my wife and sons. This job allows me to be home more often for them. My boys started growing up too fast and they need me around.

I take another sip of my black, bland coffee and pick up the files. There are eight in total. Each person has a file with a signed waiver and doctor released physical. Since this is an intense hike, I had to make sure they were up for it.

The person on the top was the first one to reply to my online ad. Her name is Alex and she's 25. She had asked permission to record our trip and post it on YouTube. I looked her up and she has quite a few subscribers. She mostly sticks to creepy things such as horror movie reviews and morbid legends. Her most watched videos appear to be the ones where she visits supposedly haunted locations. Sounds like a wanna be paranormal investigator to me. The picture she sent with her application makes her look like a punk. She has a toxic waste green colored hair. She's pale with brown eyes and freckles. The lady is quite small too. I almost denied her for this trip. She looks too small and fragile even with the piercings and tattoos.

The next file belonged to a 27 year old man named Adam. He's a police officer from Miami.  He seems like he will be able to keep up easily with the pace and weight of the bags. He's got light blond hair and slightly tanned from the sun. His green eyes and intense as they stare at me from the picture.

The file under Adam's is his wife's. Her name is Meghan and it seems like they were just married a few months ago. When I look at the picture I can tell she's quite pretty. She's 26 with long, dark brown hair. Her eyes are a dark brown similar to the color of chocolate. It shows here she's a paralegal. Maybe that's how she met Adam? They make a lovely couple.

I flip open the fourth file and I am greeted with a picture of blonde girl with bright blue eyes. She's got her hair up on a ponytail and very obliviously looks like a 'girl next door' type. She's more on the plain side than the last two girls. Her name is Stephanie and she's a nurse from New York.

I leisurely glance at the Manila folder underneath Stephanie's, and I was taken back. This girl, Amy, is stunning. Her skin is a beautiful lighter shade of brown. It could almost be described as mocha. She must be mixed. Only god could create such a color with the perfect amount of blending and mixing. Her hair is natural and looks like it would bounce with each graceful step she takes. Her eyes are comparable to butterscotch. She looks like she could quit her nursing career and dominate the catwalks in Paris.

The bottom three are all college football players from Wyoming. The first of the boys is named Ryan. He's 22 years old and looks like he would be a ladykiller. He's got black slicked back hair with bright blue eyes. His cocky smile and posture screams flirt. He must be the pretty boy out of the group.

The next Wyoming boy is named Kevin and his skin is almost the color of my coffee. He appears to be a bit more reserved looking than Ryan. His head is completely devoid of hair. Just from the picture, I can tell this is a good kid. His smile seems genuine and real.

The very last file in the stack belonged to the third Wyoming boy. Jake looks goofy compared to the rest of the group. His hair is tightly curled and ginger. His mint colored eyes had a slight mischievous glint in them. I would bet my lucky bracelet that this boy will be a troublemaker.

I lean back in the chair with my now empty coffee cup dreading this trip. Nobody in this group seems to have much outdoor experience. The ad for a Halloween haunted hiking and camping trip seemed to draw in thrill seekers and not most typical clients. They are unprepared for the frigid cold, tough terrain, and darkness that covers the wild parts of Canada.