Camping: Wipeout! (Hanover)
They stop at the edge of the embankment where the trail stops abruptly. Justin supposed it was only fair that their luck had run out as he peers over the side. It's about thirty feet to the ground below. To the side where the slope is gentler, is a set of steps that lead down to the pebbled riverbank. They are nothing more than narrow notches cut into the earth. Along one side, runs a handrail made of twisted rope, so worn and frayed they were nothing more than handful of fibers.
Earlier in the day they had drawn lots with the other houses to determine which trail each house would take. Hanover had drawn the Western trail which according to his map was the shortest route to the rendezvous point. All they had to do was hike downhill towards the river and follow it. Easy. As opposed to Stuart house which had drawn the longest route with an arduous uphill climb. He could hear their grumbles, and in the case of Julian, vociferous whining already.
"Stay here. I'll see if it's safe first." Justin commands. Hanover obeys. Spencer and Danny follow him to assist.
His first try, he realizes the backpack he's carrying is throwing off his center of gravity. He removes it and passes it to Danny. It rained the night before and the ground is soaked. Not taking chances, Justin changes technique. Shifting position, he turns sideways, both hands holding on to the rope and starts gingerly making his way down one step at a time.
Everything goes to plan and Justin reaches the last step, the handrail ends with it. He looks up and sees that the ground has evened out somewhat. It's no longer steep but he's not at the riverbank yet. Between him and the riverbank is fifteen feet of gently sloping muddy ground. Justin takes a tentative step and is immediately disappointed when his boots sink a good three inches into the mud. "Oh yuck!…damn…" but presses on.
He makes his way awkwardly. Spacing his steps wide to minimize the amount of times his feet has to sink into the mud. He's relieved when he finally reaches the riverbank, the pebbles crunching under his feet. Justin turns around and throws his arms into the air. "Piece of cake!" he calls back up to the rest of the group above.
Danny nods and gestures for the younger ones to go first. When the kids are all safe and waiting below, the older boys arrange themselves into a human chain passing their gear down the line. Spencer is up top, feeding the chain while Justin is at the bottom standing ankle deep in muck. They finally get the last of their gear passed and Spencer starts making his way down.
He takes the steps like one would normally when taking stairs, facing forward, unlike the others who are using Justin's technique. Five steps down and his right heel slips on the soft wet earth. The rest of him follows. "AAAaaah!"
Danny who is next in line looks up alarmed, only to find Spencer sliding towards him. There is a microsecond when their eyes meet and Danny knows, just KNOWS this is not going to end well. Spencer crashes into Danny just as Merrill and the younger boys (who are safely on the riverbank) screams "Look out!" to the others.
Their combined weight makes it even harder for them to stop and they careen towards Malik taking him out as well. This tangled mess snowballs into Gabriel and then towards Justin who frantically tries to get out of the way, arms flailing. But the sucking mud at his feet makes a swift escape impossible. The final tally is five of them in a tangled dirty mud ball rolling to a stop at Merrill's feet.
There is a chorus of;
"Gross!"
"Oooh maannn…"
"Gerroff me!"
"…fucking boots out of my face!"
"WATCH it! That's my-…ACK!"
As the boys start to disentangle themselves.
"Oh my GOD! Is everyone alright?" Merrill helps to pull them off each other.
They finally manage to get back on their feet and take stock of their condition. The five of them are filthy, covered head to toe in mud and fallen leaves like they've been tarred and feathered but are otherwise thankfully unharmed.
Merrill feels it building in her chest and tries desperately to stop it. But her efforts are in vain. A rather unlady-like snort escapes from her before she quickly claps her hands over her mouth. It wont stop, and she finally gives up, laughter bubbling up. The boys look at her and at each other. Especially at Justin, their normally immaculately put together prefect, whose face is now covered in stinking mud from where he had literally face-planted in it.
He grins at them, white teeth contrasting starkly. "Alright, alright. Go ahead and laugh. But I SWEAR… if this reaches the other Houses I PROMISE you, there will be Hell to be paid."