Ch 3 Lost in the Forest

A month passed by since Richard broke up with Stacy. In that time she kept calling him. He had to block her number so the phone would stop ringing every 30 minutes. Raven was getting annoyed with the constant ringing throughout the apartment. The place was quiet since Richard blocked her call.

Victor waited outside for Richard to come out. The door to his car opened and closed and he drove off towards Wayne Inc.

"Sorry it took so long," Richard apologized.

"No problem. Did you finally block her number?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, I had forgotten what quiet was like. And I'm sure Raven is happy, she was starting to get irritable," Richard responded.

Victor let out a laugh, "We wouldn't want her to kill you."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Richard said.

"Hey, me and the others were thinking since we have vacation coming up we could go camping."

"Camping?"

"Yeah! So we could get away from the city life and relax."

"Ok, when?"

"This Friday."

They finally arrived at the office. They climbed into the elevator and went up to their floor. Once the elevator reached their floor they went their separate ways.

Work seemed to drag on for hours. It was mostly paper work and meetings all day. When the day finally ended Richard went to meet up with Victor in the garage parking lot. It was 9 o'clock at night and everyone else had gone home. When he arrived Roy was leaning up against Victor's car.

"You know Victor doesn't like anyone touching his car," Richard replied.

"Well I am touching it so he'll have to deal with it," Roy responded.

"So whose car are we taking on the trip?"

"Probable Karen's since she has more room."

Victor finally came down to join them, "Roy! Get your butt off my car!"

They all said their farewells and headed home. The car ride was very quiet since Victor was still reeling over Roy. Finally reaching Richard's apartment he got out and went inside.

Richard grabbed his carry bag and started to pack up some of his clothes for the trip. Once he was done packing he sat on the floor going over some paperwork. Raven was out of her cage quite content that she hadn't heard the phone ring all day. She hopped over to wear Richard sat and curled u next to him.

"I see that you're happy," Richard said picking her up.

Raven looked at him with a cocked head and a smile at her lips. Richard pulled her close to him and scratched behind her ears.

"It would be so much easier if you could talk."

The week went by slow. Everyday seemed longer than the last. Richard grabbed his bag and Raven's cage and made his way down. He put his bag in the trunk of Karen's car and climbed in.

"Richard! Why are you bringing your rabbit with you?" Roy asked.

"Because I have no one to watch her," Richard replied.

"Leave it alone Roy. We'll be in the cabin anyways," Karen said.

Roy just rolled his eyes and looked out the window. The whole ride was spent listening to the radio and talking about what they were going to do on their trip. Raven spent most of the ride sleeping. They finally arrived at the cabin around 8pm. Going into the cabin they each went to their own room. Victor and Karen shared one room while Roy and Kori shared another.

Richard sat Raven down on the table that was in his room. He started to unpack his belongings and got ready for bed.

The next morning Richard took Raven out of her cage so she could stretch her legs. The sun shined bright in the light blue sky. Birds were singing and flying. He brought Raven downstairs so he could cook breakfast for everyone. After he finished breakfast everyone came downstairs to eat. The aroma of pancakes, syrup, biscuits, and eggs filled the room.

"Roy! Watch it!" Richard nearly screamed.

Roy was shocked by his outburst. Richard ran over and picked up Raven.

"Why do you have your rabbit downstairs?" Roy asked.

"Well I can't leave her alone upstairs out of her cage," Richard replied walking back to the table.

"Then why didn't you put her back in her cage?" Victor asked filling up his plate.

"She's been in her cage all day yesterday. She needed to ho around," Richard said rolling his eyes. He picked up a carrot off his plate and gave it to Raven.

"So, what are we doing today?" Kori asked.

"We could go hiking this afternoon," Karen suggested.

After breakfast everyone lounged around the cabin. They sat in the living room watching TV. Karen and Victor sat on the couch, Roy and Kori sat on the loveseat, and Richard sat in a chair with Raven in his lap. It was now 1 o'clock and they started to get ready for their hike. Gathering their belongings they left the cabin and took the trail that lead to the mountain.

The trail was peaceful with only them taking it. The sun shined bright in the sky. It was very quiet and peaceful.

"How much longer?" Roy complained.

"We just started walking," Karen replied.

"Well it's hot out here," Roy justified.

"No it's not. It's really nice out here," Karen said.

"Ok fine. I just don't want to be out here," Roy conceded.

"No one said you had to come," Victor replied.

"Then I would have been all alone in the cabin. I would have destroyed it," Roy said.

"He does have a point," Richard replied.

"Well stop complaining," Victor said to Roy.

The rest of the hike was spent in silence. They finally reached the top of the mountain.

"Finally!" Roy exclaimed sitting down on a nearby rock.

"It wasn't that long of a walk," Kori said.

"Maybe for you," Roy said, "Why did you bring Raven with you?" looking over at Richard.

"To show her the sunset," Richard replied.

"I think you love that rabbit a little too much," Roy inquired.

"I think it's cute," Karen said.

The sky filled with orange, pink, and red. The sun set at the horizon. Orange and yellow filled the sky.

"Are we going yet?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, it's getting dark anyways," Victor replied.

They made their way down the mountain. There was nothing but trees in front of them.

"Where are we?" Roy asked.

"Um…" Victor said looking around.

"We're lost aren't we," Roy said.

"No! I just don't know where we are," Victor said.

Everyone groaned. They kept waling straight ahead along the path they were on. The night air let out a soft breeze. Richard wrapped a blanket around Raven so she wouldn't get cold. They had been walking around for three hours and still couldn't find their way back to the cabin.

"I can't believe we're lost," Karen complained.

"I don't see you coming up with any suggestions," Victor replied.

"Let's not fight. I'm sure we'll find our way back to the cabin," Kori said.

"I think I see smoke ahead of us," Richard said pointing in front of them.

"Great! We can ask for directions," Roy said happily moving in that direction.

Everyone followed Roy toward the smoke. It lead to a clearing. A small cabin sat in the middle with the lights on. A white fence surrounded it and flowers laid in front. They moved closer to the cabin. Karen knocked on the door to see if someone was home. There was a little rustling inside until the door opened. A woman with red hair, dull grey eyes, and wore a pale red dress stood in the doorway.

"May I help you," the woman asked.

"Hello, we were wondering if you could give us directions to the Brickwood Resort," Karen asked.

"Of course, but it's really late. Why don't you stay here tonight and you can leave tomorrow morning," the woman said.

"Thank you. You're very kind," Kori said.