This is another very long chapter but I am sticking to my plan of finishing the camping trip in three chapteres. This chapter just reall focuses on one event but I added a few things because next chapter I will be brining them home.

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Chapter 25

Maybe it was just because I had never been so hungry in my life and I would have eaten insects or maybe it was the fact I caught it, but that night I had the best dinner of my life. Nothing had ever tasted so good as that fish. That night Mr. Michalchuk made a spectacular fire. I had never sat around a camp fire before and listened to ghost stories or sing stupid camp fire songs. We even roasted marsh mellows. It must have been close to midnight when we all decided to go to bed. I don't know how on earth we all managed to stay up that late. I was so exhausted that I hardly noticed the difference between my bed the forest floor. I can't say that was the best sleep of my life but it was the deepest. I was awoken early the next morning by Dylan. I turned over to look at him. I was so stiff I could hardly stretch out my arms to rub my eyes.

"Alex." Dylan whispered in my ear.

"What?" I asked, I looked around the tent walls.

"Common get up." He said unzipping the tent entrance. I had expected to get a blast of sunlight but was surprised to find it was still dark outside..

"The sun isn't up yet?" I questioned suddenly unsure of what Dylan was doing.

"Not yet." He laughed.

I rested my head back down on the pillow. I was somewhat annoyed that I was awake now.

"Alex, common." He wined.

"What time is it?" I questioned.

"A little after four. We have to hurry." He said.

"For what?" I demanded rolling back over.

"Well get up and I'll show you." He laughed as he left the tent.

I rubbed my eyes and groaned. I was awake now. I sat up. God, I was stiff. I got up and stretched out. Dylan peeked his head back into the tent.

"Get dressed and hurry." Dylan left the tent before he saw my make a face at him. I changed into my jeans and and threw on a old white tank top and a sweater. I slid my feet into my shoes and left the tent to find Dylan waiting.

"Okay, what?" I questioned as I walked up to him.

"Ready?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Okay, let's go. Oh, wait. You might actually want to bring your camera." Dylan said turning to look at me.

I looked at him.

"Go get it." He laughed.

I gave him a suspicious look but turned around and went back into the tent to get my camera.

"Ok." I said as I came back out with it. It was in it's case. I slung it over my shoulder.

"This way." He said walking into the forest. I followed.

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We must have been walking along this path for almost an hour and it only seemed to be getting steeper. I thought my legs were going to fall off.

"Were are you going?" I asked for what must have been the thousandth time.

"You'll see." Dylan answered.

"Isn't the sun suppose to come up sometime?" I asked noticing how dark it still was.

"Soon." He smiled.

I sighed. Dylan and I walked for at least another 20 minutes.

"Dylan." I wined, "This hike is killing me."

"It's worth it." He said. He made a turn behind some bushes off the path.

"Where are you going?" I questioned.

"It's up here." He said as he continued walking.

"What's up there." I questioned. Dylan didn't reply.

"I really had hoped on not dying to today." I said to myself as I followed behind him. The ground only seemed to be getting steeper. I thought I was practically mountain climbing now. I looked up to see Dylan standing at the top where the ground seemed to level. He was looking away from me outward towards whatever was out there. My legs were hurting so bad I could no longer move them.

"Dylan." I called out. He turned to look down at me. He noticed me struggling to get up there. He took a few steps, balancing himself he reached out and grabbed my hand pulling me up.

"Thanks." I said as I took my first step on level ground.

Dylan smiled at me. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

"Okay, so where are we?" I asked.

He turned his head to look away from where we had just climbed, "Look." He said grabbing my arm and pulling me forward a few steps.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Straight ahead of me was a valley and behind that were miles and miles of mountains and forest. The sun was beginning to rise from behind the mountains and it's rays were illuminating over the mountain tops down into a valley that was below us. I looked down to see the river glistening in the sun's rays. My eyes followed the river to a small waterfall from one of the mountains. I could see deer drinking from the water. The sky was covered in small patches of cumulus clouds. The morning light made the appear a light shade of pink and yellow. It looked like painting, a very big painting. The site itself was amazing. The scene must have stretched on for miles. It was beautiful.

"My dad used to take me and Paige here when we were kids." Dylan said, "That was when Paige used to come camping with us." He chuckled.

"We used to watch the sun rise." Dylan finished never taking his eyes of the site.

"It's beautiful." I said.

"It's worth getting up at four in the morning for." He laughed.

"Yes it is." I agreed

"Glad I told you to bring your camera now?" He questioned.

I had forgotten I had it with me. I quickly pulled it out and began snapping shots of of the scenery. It was amazing. I got the whole sunrise in it's entirety and then I zoomed to get the snow covered mountain tops, the river, and the waterfall. I even got a few pictures of the deer. When I was finished I sat with Dylan and we watched the sun rise together. Even after the sun was up, it's beauty did not fade. I suddenly felt so small and meaningless compared to the awesomeness of nature. I felt I was looking at a gift and I was thankful for it. My mind felt more open then it ever had. I was finally able to think. To think about my life and who I was. I realized that everything that had happen had led me here to this one spot. I never wanted to come back down, I could sit here forever.

"This is amazing." I said not taking my eyes off it.

"I know." Dylan replied, "It really puts things in perspective. I come up here every year just to clear my mind and think."

I said nothing. But I got everything he was saying. We sat there for a few hours in complete silence. We just listened to what nature had to say. My whole life and I had never experienced anything as captivating or as grand as this. It was perfect.

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Dylan and I made it back to camp a little after twelve. We had talk the entire way back about random things. When we reached camp I saw Mr. Michalchuk. He was cooking something on the fire and seemed a little uneasy.

"Where have you two been?" He asked coarsely as to where we could have been.

"I took Alex to the spot." Dylan replied.

"Oh," His mood seemed to lighten, "How did you like it?" He asked me.

"Loved it." Dylan spoke for me and I laughed.

"I thought it was beautiful." I replied, "I even got some shots." I held up the camera.

"Wonderful." Mr. Michalchuk exclaimed, "I can't wait to see."

There was a silence while Dylan poked at the fire.

"Anyway, I caught some fish this morning so let's eat some lunch and we will go have some fun." Mr. Michalchuk said pulling a pan out of the fire.

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Lunch was good. My mind was still fresh on this morning. It really had been worth getting up early to see. We all finished lunch and Mr. Michalchuk grabbed a few bags. He handed two to Dylan and then he gave a pack to me. We walked through the forest for awhile and I was less than excited to be hiking again. My legs were still unbelievably sore from this morning. We finally made our way to an open field.

"Okay. Here we are." Mr. Michalchuk said looking around, "Dylan why don't you set it up."

"Alright." Dylan replied walking over and grabbing the bag off my shoulder and walking out to the middle of the field.

Mr. Michalchuk grabbed one of the bags Dylan had carried up. He unzipped it and pulled out one of the rifles that we had brought on the trip.

"I thought you said that was for protection." I questioned as Mr. Michalchuk inspected the rifle and attaching the scope.

"It is, but it only works if you know how to use it." He replied.

I didn't say anything. I just continued to stare at him. Mr. Michalchuk shifted his gaze to me.

"Just some target practice." Mr. Michalchuk chuckled, "It's what we boys do for fun."

"That's why I'm confused." I joked. I looked out in the field were Dylan attached some targets on the trees at the end of the field. He had also set up a few on a few logs just sitting in the ground. He was making his way back to Mr. Michalchuk and me.

"Finished." He said walking over a grabbing the other bag he brought. He removed the rifle and attached the scope. Dylan reached into the side pocket of the bag removing a box. He opened the box and pulled out two shells. He loaded the rifle and took aim at one of the targets. There was a moment of silence before a loud crack went off. There was a huge hole in the target on the tree were the bullet went through.

"Nice." Mr. Michalchuk said. Dylan handed Mr. Michalchuk the rifle.

"Alright, Alex." Mr. Michalchuk said.

"Oh no." I said waving my hand in the air, "I can't."

"Just like Paige." Dylan teased.

I gave Dylan a mean face. His comment went through me for some reason.

"Okay, show me." I said to Mr. Michalchuk.

Mr. Michalchuk smiled. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the field.

"Okay, Alex." He said handing me the rifle, "Now take hold of it here and here."

I followed his orders. The rifle was heavy and felt so foreign in my hands. I had never actually held a gun before and I had always related them to violence, never sport. Considering I'd had had bad experiences with guns this wasn't something I was extremely enjoying. I did however feel a sense of power.

"Okay now hold it good and tight against your shoulder. Good, just like that." Mr. Michalchuk said positioning the rifle, "Now look through the scope and find your target."

I could feel Mr. Michalchuk's arms on my shoulder keeping me steady. It was a weird feeling holding the rifle and getting ready to fire it.

"Alright." He said, "Are you ready?" He asked and I nodded.

"Okay, now gently squeezed the trigger." He said he still had his hands on my shoulders keeping me steady.

I slowly pressed on the trigger until I was suddenly shaken back a little. There was a loud crack and a hole through one of the targets on the log. I released the death grip I had on the rifle a little and looked at Mr. Michalchuk.

"Great shot, Alex!" He exclaimed and I felt proud, like I did when I caught the fish. I felt I had actually accomplished something. Shooting a gun. So it wasn't the exactly something most people lived to brag about. It was still something for me. I was a person who thought I would be do nothing for the rest of my life. Now I can fish and shoot. I have skills.

"Not bad." Dylan remarked nodding his head, "At least you hit the target, unlike Paige, who hit a duck." Dylan laughed, "She wouldn't even let us eat it. We had to have a funeral for it and everything. She felt bad for a month."

"Paige was thirteen." Mr. Michalchuk stated, "and very emotional."

I laughed at the thought of Paige firing a gun. I had always thought Paige to be deadly, I had never realized how true that actually was. We spent the rest of the afternoon shooting for target practice. All in all, I had had a very good day. I hadn't been killed and I was actually enjoying this camping trip. This trip had made me feel free, freer than I had felt in my life. I went to sleep that night thinking about the sunrise, how spectacular it was, how I wanted to capture it and keep it forever. I went to sleep thinking about Paige and how wonderful her family was. I thought about how I felt when I shot the rifle letting go of myself. I thought about my life and about who I was. I feel asleep that night, just thinking.

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I'm going to be finishing up the camping trip next chapter and then I will start building things up and getting ready to bring Paige into the story...I only anticipate maybe 3 more chapters, including the next chapter, before Paige actually enters the story. I will also be spending a lot of time working on this story this week so hopefully I'll have the next few updates soon.