A town named Winter

Meghan

We are about to embark on our hike finally. I'm midway between excited and scared. I've never done anything like this before. Todd leads the way out of the large doors and into the wild. Before we can all exit, the man Todd was talking to earlier stopped us.

"When you all come back make sure it's before nightfall. Once the sun goes down we lock up the gate and won't open it for anyone until sunrise."

Well that was ominous and creepy. After the interruption we head out. Once we are out from the cover of the walls the wind can touch us. It chills me to the bones. The snow we walk on is packed down hard so it's not difficult to traverse through.

Todd seems to be leading us towards the woods. They seem dark and foreboding. I'm starting to panic and breath heavier. There's no visible paths into the woods as we approach. What happens if we get lost? What if we die out of here?

At that moment, I feel a gloved hand in mine. I look up at Adam's face. He smiles at me as if reassuring me that we will be okay. I take a deep breath and just let him lead me. He's always here to keep me grounded.

I notice that once we reach the woods Todd pulls out a can of neon orange spray paint. I sigh in relief. We aren't going into this blind. He checks a compass and then marks a tree with an arrow pointing back the way we came.

The trees in this forest are the tallest ones I've ever seen. They are all evergreens that have probably been here long before me and will be here way after me.

We have been walking for a few hours when Todd raises a hand signaling us to stop. He looks around at the clearing and nods to himself.

"We will make camp here tonight. I'll delegate some tasks for setting up. If we all work together, we can make this easy and quick. I want Kevin, Ryan, and Jake all collecting firewood. Grab as many dead branches as you each can carry. I want Meghan and Adam pitching the tent. Lastly, I want Stephanie, Alex, and Amy to go and scout the area around us for things like bear tracks. I'll be here starting the fire."

We all scatter to complete our tasks.