Voices on the Mountain

Voices on the Mountain part 4

Sam silently pulled her cell-phone out and looked at the time, the soft light as she opened it beamed across her face in the otherwise pitch black cabin. 11:20. It gave her more time to think, she thought. When she had time to think, she asked herself questions about her problems. Sam thought about how she might seem to Jaron. Clumsy? Shy? Sam thought about that for a while and almost dozed off, and then lazily checked her cell-phone again. 11:30. It wouldn't hurt to leave now, she thought. It took ten minutes to get there, but in the dark it would probably take longer. Sam already packed a bag filled with a medical kit, a flashlight, batteries, food, and two bottles of water. She grabbed the bag and opened the cabin door. She had already checked if the door was squeaky earlier, and it was, then she figured out that if you put a certain pressure on the side of it, then it won't creak. She closed the door, then sprinted for the trail that led past the cove. Sam didn't get out a flashlight because the moon was bright and thought she didn't need one. She was proved wrong when she tripped on a patch of rough terrain, and fell in a uncomfortable position. She looked down at her ankle, which was now throbbing from twisting her ankle in a new direction. "Dang it!" She whispered harshly. She opened her first aid kit, found some pain medicine and sat until the pain subsided a little. When she felt a little better, she stood awkwardly and checked her cell-phone. 11:59. "Uh oh," she thought, "I'll be late!" She left going as fast as she could, a slow jog, but this time with a flashlight swinging back and forth in her hand.

"Hey look, it's Sam," said Lauren. 

"Finally. Hey, what happened to your ankle?" asked Travis when he noticed her slight limp. 

"Sorry guys," Sam said as she ran up to them,"I ran into some rocks and dirt, but it's fine."

"I don't believe you, but you're just going to go anyway so I'll leave it alone," said Lauren.

Sam smiled at that. "You know me so well."

"Alright let's go."

"Hold on," said Travis, "I want to be able to do this right," and with that he pulled out his cell phone and lit up his face, "Anyone scared?" then added a quiet, "Mwahahaha!" Three simultaneous pairs of eyes rolled at him.

They started up the steep incline and formed a silent line of people heading up the mountain. First Travis, then Lauren, Jaron, and lastly, Sam. They were far enough from the camp to speak as loud as they wanted, but the silent darkness around them made them want to keep quiet. They walked along, farther and farther into the forest, higher and higher up the mountain. When the path widened out, if you could call it a path, and Jaron walked a little slower to fall in step with Sam. 

"So, how did you come up with the idea to actually come up here?" asked Jaron.

"I like to figure things out."

"That's a strong curiosity to want to climb a mountain in the middle of the night for a strange noise."

"You came too."

"I'm not gonna miss a chance like this."

 Sam was about to ask what he meant by that, when a rock zoomed by her head, whistling as it sliced through the air.

"Duck!" Sam screamed.

 Sam and Lauren scrambled behind a tree trunk while Jaron and Travis ducked behind another. Sam grabbed a rock nearest her and flung it out aimlessly, and to her surprise, she heard a yelp of pain. She let her breathing slow down before she peered beyond the tree trunk and saw a girl sitting down holding her leg where Sam's rock had hit her. Sam stepped over to her and really looked at who she was. "SARAH? I can't believe you! You follow me and then you try to kill me?" screamed Sam, who was completely outraged. 

"You know her?" asked Jaron, who looked confused, mad, and surprised. "Yes, I know her! She's the jerk at camp who seems to have it out for me!" Sam shouted.

"I don't have it out for you, I just overheard you that night you made plans to go up the mountain chasing after a stupid noise with Jaron and that other boy," Sarah said gesturing to Travis.

"You still shouldn't go around trying to murder people with rocks," Travis added.

"Why don't you tell us the truth now Sarah," said Lauren, who always seemed level-headed.

"Why don't you ask Jaron?" Sarah said,

 All heads turned to Jaron wondering what in the world she was talking about. Jaron turned red then said, "Alright, I dated Sarah. Once." He said. Three simultaneous jaws dropped at once, excluding Sarah and Jaron.

 "I think you forgot the part about the other girl," Sarah said coldly.

"I told you, that was a misunderstanding."

"You're a traitor and you can't be trusted!"

Sam looked at Jaron. His face was unexpressive and looked as if he'd gone through this conversation before.

"But that doesn't explain why you almost killed me with a rock,"said Sam.

"I wasn't aiming at you,"Sarah said, staring coldly at Jaron. "I  was just trying to get it in between you two," Sarah turned to Sam. "I don't like you, but no one deserves the trouble that boy brings." For once, Sam had no idea what to say.

"I don't believe you." Sam finally said, but she really didn't know what to believe. She hadn't known Jaron for more than a day, but then Sarah was a total brat who didn't know anything.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," and with that, she took off down the mountain. There was a long and awkward silence, which Travis broke by saying,"Do you think she'll even be able to find her way back to camp?"