Chapter Two- Weird Nets
(Author's Note-Hey guys! Within an hour of uploading that first part, I got two reviews, which felt great! Thanks for those. They inspired me to really rush production on this chapter wow, that sounds very industrial. Just don't get too used to chapters less than three days apart. I'm generally very usy with school, and this is just a side project, but I'll make it a point to upload as soon as I finish a new chapter. Anyway, I got a suggestion to write in Character POVs, which is not something that I'm very accustomed to. I figured that I could try to give it a shot, but not right this instant. Look for that in the next few chapters, but no guarantees. Feel free to suggest scenarios to put the characters in (Reviews or PMs) but nothing too outlandish, as I want this to follow my course pretty closely. If you want some characters to play some pranks or have some heart-to-heart conversations though, that might be arranged ;) I hope that you all continue to have a wonderful day!
TriforceP- Thanks for the support! I will be writing from Kim's perspective as well as other perspectives. I'm not taking inspiration from the don't starve challenge, and I didn't forget Sjin's real name, haha.
Guest- Thanks for the inspiration to keep writing :)
SpiritedandLoyal- I know, I was really wanting to put some of those other characters in, but felt like I could write about these better, as I know them better. But that doesn't mean they won't be showing up at some point. I actually already have an appearance for Strippin planned already, though It isn't for a little while)
Kim walked back over to her family, paying a bit more attention to her fellow course-mates now. What sort of families did they have, dysfunctional like hers? Or perhaps none, as seemed to be the case for Zoeya and Martyn? Those two stood awkwardly near a couple of people in what seemed to be social worker's uniforms. They must have been in the foster system.
Kim looked at her mom uncomfortably for a moment, until her mom opened her arms for a hug. Kim awkwardly embraced her, letting go as soon as was acceptable. "Uh, I'll see you in a while Mom." Feeling particularly friendly then, she tried to reach in the open window to give her sister a hug, but Emma just made a face and leant away.
"Whatever. Bye then." Kim said bitterly, turning away.
Her mom gazed sadly after her retreating daughter. Hopefully this time in the woods would fix her horrid attitude!
Kim was one of the first to the shed with her bag, preceded only by Zoeya and Martyn. They didn't really have anyone to say their goodbyes to, so they just hurried over as soon as they were able. The red head and the blonde made small-talk, but seemed distinctly awkward. The three instructors stood to the side conversing quietly to themselves. They were probably making plans for later.
Before long, the rest of the group had slowly migrated to the shed, and Minty began to speak while the other two instructors pulled various bins and sacks from the structure. "Ok guys, so to your left there is a line of empty packs. You'll carry these for the first five or six days, until we start canoeing. We have a special way to put things in these packs so you can fit everything that you'll need. Now, Sparkles is going to pass out some fabric bags. We call these 'Stuff Sacks'. You should get three of them, and three black garbage bags." She waited a moment while everyone got their things.
"Alright, so you all have those things?" Everyone nodded or murmured in affirmation. "Great! Lomadia is bringing you all a sleeping bag now. Take one of those garbage bags and line the largest black Stuff Sack with it. Then, you're going to have to take that sleeping bag and force it into that sack." She led by example, stuffing a sleeping bag with ease.
"Then, when you've finished, take the edges of garbage bag and pull them out of the top of the sack." Honeydew accidently pulled his entire sleeping bag out and had to start again. Minty helped him, while Lomadia continued the explanation.
"Okay guys, now you have to force the air out of the sack. Just push all of the air out by leaning on it, and use the plastic bag to make sure that no air can get back in. When it's compressed enough, just twist the extra plastic together and stuff it into the side. Oh! Great job, Lalna… I'd forgotten, but you did a five day with us last summer, didn't you?"
Lalna nodded assuredly. "Yeah. I'm pretty used to all of this. Did great last year." He offered a smile, but the rest of the group remained silent. Rythian in particular seemed angry, but perhaps his eyes always looked like that. It was hard to guess, with the bandana covering his mouth.
Everyone managed to successfully stuff their sleeping bags, even Honeydew, and it was on to the next thing.
Sparkles had taken lead on the announcing. "Now, please find your orange Stuff Sacks. Line them with a garbage bag like before, and open up your personal bags." There was much unzipping as everyone followed his orders.
"This is going to be for your clothes. Just stuff them the same way you stuffed the sleeping bag, don't worry about wrinkles. This isn't glamour camp. I'll read off this list of things you should have. Don't bring what you don't absolutely need, and make sure to leave some clothes to the side for resupply That will be on day nine, and we'll bring you clean stuff to exchange with the dirty stuff." After that, he began to rattle off a list of different articles of clothing they would need. Kim was glad to find that she did have everything she needed, plus some thanks to her mom's obsessive packing. She noticed that some of the other students were missing a few things, but the instructors quickly procured extra fleeces and woolen socks, so all was well. They also handed out thin pieces of tarp-like plastic that they called 'groundsheets' and grey foam 'sleeping mats'
The final Stuff Sack was filled similarly with their toiletries, bowls, spoons, and cups, as well as the occasional other miscellaneous item, such as bug spray or headlamps. The instructors showed everyone how to put everything into their packs and handed out three jugs of water to each student.
"Wha' the hell?" Honeydew wondered aloud, turning one of his over in his hands. It was made of a thick plastic, which was scratched and stained on the outside. It didn't taper at all when it got to the sturdy, bright yellow cap. It held about a quart of water. "But really-" Honeydew said, turning to the group. "How are we supposed to drink out of these?"
Martyn shrugged, unscrewing the cap from one of his bottles. The opening was too wide to easily drink from it, and his attempts left him sputtering and the front of his shirt damp. He chuckled, slightly ashamed, especially as their resident expert, Lalna, was having no trouble at all. Indeed, Lalna had already drunk a quarter of a bottle. It was already a hot day out, and the sun was still growing higher in the sky.
"Ah, it seems that Martyn should have been wearing his kagul!" Sparkles announced to the group.
"What's that?" Kim found herself saying. She was a bit surprised that she was able to talk, as awkward around strangers as she usually was.
"Thanks for asking, Nano!" the instructor exclaimed, not really thanking her so much as trying to bring her into the group's attention. So outspoken a moment ago, she now felt herself shrinking under the added scrutiny.
"so-" Sparkles continued, "A kagul is basically a light raincoat to wear while hiking. If you look in the top compartment of your pack- We call it the brain- you should find yours. It may seem big, but it's meant to be long like a dress so that it protects your legs from water too. Wet clothes are heavy, so you want to avoid getting them wet if you can."
Sjin pulled his kagul out, and with it came a webbing of some sort. Puzzled, he dropped his kagul to better examine the mystery object.
It was an army green mesh, with a band of elastic that pulled it into a nearly-closed sphere. He messed with it for a moment, uncertain what its use might be. Eventually, he turned to the person next to him, which happened to be Lalna. Kim was close enough that she could hear them as she worked on putting her water bottles in the side compartments, which was actually pretty difficult.
"Hey, it's Lalna, right?"
"Yep. And you're Sjin?"
"Yeah. I was just wondering what these weird nets were for."
"Oh, those? They're bug nets. I didn't need mine on my five-day, but I did wear mine for a few minutes here at base camp before we left. Go ahead, put it on your head."
Sjin followed the directions, but quickly pulled it off, grimacing. "It felt like it was choking me. And it stinks."
Lalna snorted. "Yeah. They're horrible. I suppose they're better than mosquitoes though."
"Well, we've got our bug spray, right?"
Lalna's response was in a playfully dark voice. "That's what they want you to think."
Sjin sniggered, and then turned back to his pack.
Before long, everyone had managed to get their bags to close, and sat around waiting for further instruction. The instructors had all huddled again, and Kim heard Lalna tell Sjin that they did that pretty often. Eventually, the instructors finished speaking amongst themselves, and prepared to speak to the students again.
Minty spoke first. "Ok guys. We're about ready to head out. Let me just say that you guys were very fast with issuing and packing gear. Nice job. Now, see that van pulled up to the curb to the right of the shed? We're going to put our packs in that rack on top of it, so bring yours."
There was a bit of a scramble as everyone stood from the logs they sat on and hurried to pick up stray water bottles and began trying to lift their packs.
They were much heavier than everyone expected.
Honeydew didn't have much of a problem with his, but he was pretty much the only one. Kim nearly fell backwards, and Nilesy said in despair "I'm supposed to hike over mountains with this?"
Despite the fuss, eventually everyone made it the fifteen feet to the van with their bags, and Lomadia who stood atop the van, lifted everyone's bag up and tied them down. Quickly, the instructors gathered everyone into another circle and went over some van rules.
That took only a few minutes. Then, everyone piled into the van, buckled up, and then they were off on the first leg of their life changing journey. Many surprises and experiences awaited them.
End of Chapter Two