(Here's the 2nd chapter on "Nature Nightmare." Thanks to !SAmRoX!, HikaruOfArrow, Martin Seymus Mcfly, Sherlock-fan19, fatlip565, and capm for reviewing chapter 1. Check out my other stories and review those. I'd appreciate them.)
Copyright 2004
4:12 p.m. -- National Park Waskesiu
We had arrived in Canada and the girls were motivated, but I was still ecstatic. I wore my green Kawasaki t-shirt with Darcy Lange's last name on the back and underneath it was a 330.
"I can't believe we're finally in Canada," I said happily.
"I still can't believe that you've always wanted to go to Canada," Alex said.
"Hey, I have my ways. Not many people know this but this province is the site of the final round of the 125cc western Canadian National series," I said in total confidence.
"You do realize we're only here for a mission, right, Mathew?" Alex asked.
"Oh of course," I said back.
"According to the coordinates Jerry gave us, we're right around where the reporters disappeared. I'd say we set up camp and start looking for clues," Sam explained.
"Sounds like a plan. Where's Clover? Clover?" Alex asked after agreeing with Sam.
Clover was way behind them carrying the briefcase where we kept our things.
"Okay, I don't know who designed this forest, but it needs an escalator, and could the woods be any dirtier?" Clover complained.
"Don't worry, Clover. We brought plenty of water to wash up. Right, Alex?" Sam asked.
"I-I thought you brought the water," Alex said.
"Me? No, I'm the guide. The guide never brings the water," Sam said.
"Really?" I asked cluelessly.
"Yes, really," Sam responded.
"Who came up with that rule? The camping fairy? Well, why couldn't Clover bring it? She brought everything else," Alex said.
"And more," Clover added.
"Okay, stop. We'll find water tomorrow, it's no big deal. Let's just set up camp, and run a fire before it gets cold. Whose got the matches? Mathew?" Sam asked, turning to me.
"Me? No way, Sam. I don't even own any matches," I said.
"You serious, Mathew?" Sam asked.
"Yes I am serious," I said back to Sam.
Later that night, we were sitting inside of the tent with blankets around our bodies because it was really cold.
"If anyone else has stones, we can bring them together and sparks would make fire," Sam suggested while she was shivering.
"I've got a pair of clocks," Clover said taking out a right foot high heeled sandal.
Alex zipped open a bag and found a few packs of hot chocolate. "Hey, I found some packages of hot chocolate," Alex said, tossing us a bag.
"Geez, I'm not too fond of chocolate, but I'll just have to pass, and try to find other ways to keep myself warm," I said, putting down the bag.
"Okay, suit yourself, Mathew," Sam said.
The girls ripped open their bags of hot chocolate, looked up, tilted the bags below their mouths, but their faces got smothered with chocolate powder.
"I wanna go home," Clover said crying.
"What?!! And tear me to pieces?!!" I snapped.
The girls were stunned.
"What are you getting so worked up about, Mathew? You can come again with us or your family on a vacation the next time," Sam said.
"Bug off, Sam. I know what I'm saying," I hissed. Sam was stunned. "It's been my destiny to come to Canada. I can't just plop my feet on Canadian soil and just tell my other friends back home that I got to go to Canada. Besides, this is my big opportunity to fufill my destiny of going to Canada," I added.
"Mathew's right, Clover. We've got a mission. Look at it this way, Clover: What better way to prove to David you're not high maintenance than by surviving out here," Alex pointed out.
"You're right. This is total proof," Clover said, looking up. She rummaged through one of the bags looking for her phone.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked.
"I'm gonna call him," Clover answered, while she frantically dialed David's cell number.
"Hello?" David said after he answered.
"David, hi, it's Clover. I just called to tell you that I'm camping out in the wilderness, not to mention freezing to death. Pretty extreme, huh?" Clover said happily.
"Uh, Clover, listen, uh, I'm busy and, uh, I don't wanna cramp up," David said as he continued his exercising.
"I knew you'd see it my way. So, can I come climbing with you this weekend?" Clover asked.
"Sure, whatever," David said. All of a sudden, he lost his focus, and fell to the ground from the 2 pummel horses that his feet were resting on.
Clover hung up. "Score!! You know, I think this whole afterburn thing is starting to grow on me," she added.
We heard a strange sound from outside the tent.
"What was that?" Alex gasped.
"Get your sunglasses," Sam ordered.
We went outside to check.
"Maybe it was the wind?" Alex guessed.
"If it was the wind, then it wouldn't make a sound that loud," I responded.
"According to the glasses, there's nothing there," Sam said, looking a little scared.
Hearing the sound again, we dove back into the tent.
"What is that?!" Clover said, scared.
"I don't got the slightest clue," I responded.
"Just stay calm, and maybe it'll go away," Sam assumed.
Tree branches came in like unwanted lizards through the windows of the tent.
"You were saying, Sam," I said.
The tree branches picked us up, even though we were still in the tent, and carried us somewhere. When Sam looked outside, she saw that the branches were going to throw the tent over the cliff.
"We've gotta get out of this tent! Clover, Alex, Mathew, grab onto me," Sam ordered.
We grabbed onto Sam's torso while she activated her parachute, while we descended down to the ground, while the tree branches threw the empty tent down the cliff.
Our stuff we took had been scattered all over the place.
"Who could've done this?" Sam asked.
"I think the question is what did this?" I corrected her.
"Maybe we trespassed on a bunch of angry squirrels?" Alex guessed.
"Or maybe those strange mountaineers that suck out your brains," Clover guessed.
"I highly doubt those guesses. If it were angry squirrels, then they'd probably be about our heights, and breaking every bone in our bodies," I said.
We started to pick up our things that had been scattered all over the ground, until Clover noticed something.
"What the-- Hey, guys, I think I found something," Clover said, calling us over.
"What? What did you find, Clover?" I asked.
We had spotted a really wrecked airplane. All the windows were smashed, as if 2,000 huge rocks were thrown at them.
"Wow, looks like some people had no luck trying to escape," I said.
"Weren't those missing reporters from WKG TV?" Alex asked.
"They must've crashed trying to escape from something. Maybe the same something that attacked us as well," Sam said, finding a video camera that had belonged to them.
She looked through the viewer, and watched the video, but it was too short.
"Viewfinder's smashed. I might know a way around it though. Let's get somewhere safe," Sam said.
We got somewhere safer in the woods. Sam plugged in her compowder to the video camera to get a better view of what happened. "Okay, I'll plug the camera's playback into my compowder, and keep your fingers crossed," she added.
While we watched the video, we got to the part that Jerry was talking about.
"That's the reporter Jerry was talking about," Alex said.
"Newsflash: a hottie," Sam said, but I didn't get too concerned.
The video had turned to static after a few more seconds.
"Recognize the path he's on? It's right in front of us," Sam said.
"I didn't," I answered.
We followed a trail of Wade's footprints until they stopped in the middle of nowhere.
"Check it out, footprints," Alex said.
"That's odd, no other tracks leading the way. The only other place he could've gone is--" Sam was about to say until we looked up to see something hanging in the trees.
"What is that?" Alex said.
"I think it's a pinata," Clover guessed.
"It's a cocoon, dummy," I said to Clover.
Sam picked up a stick and started poking it.
"Don't poke it! What if some bloodthirsty thing comes out and sucks your brain?" Clover warned.
"I'm just gonna knock it down so we can get a closer look," Sam said.
"And like that dumb thing is ever gonna happen, Clover," I said to her.
Sam continuously poked it gently, until the coccoon fell down, breaking and out popped Wade, covered in an icky green substance.
"Eeewww," we all said.
"So, that's what going on here. Someone's growing men in pods. Hmm, not a bad idea really," Clover assumed.
"Wait! It's Wade Gridgely," Sam said.
Wade started coming around. His eyes slowly started opening up. He could see Sam in his sight. He held out his hand and Sam helped him up. "W-What happened?" he asked.
"You and your crew were attacked. You're safe now. Who did this to you?" Sam explained.
"I don't know. They were everywhere, and there was this, this--" Wade was about to say, until he almost fainted, but Sam quickly grabbed his arm.
"Clover, Mathew, help me get him up," she ordered.
We ran to help Wade until Alex heard a sound. The tree branches were all around her within a 5 inch radius of her. She screamed after they picked her up.
"Wait, did you hear something?" Sam asked while she helped Wade up.
"I did for sure," I responded.
"Where's Alex?" Clover asked.
We heard a strange sound and Wade gasped. "Th-That's the sound. That's the sound it makes when it comes for you," he said terrified.
"When what comes?" Clover asked.
We looked behind us to see an army of tree branches ready to take us on.
"I hope that answers your question for sure, Clover," I said to her.
"It's the forest! It's alive!" Sam said, also terrified.
"In a country that I've been dying to go to for the past year and a half," I added.
"We've gotta get outta here," Sam said, determined.
"No, Alex, we can't--" Clover was about to say, until one of the tree branches made a lunge for her, but she dodged it.
We quickly scurried off.
"I can't believe we left Alex," Clover said.
"Don't worry, Clover. We'll find her," Sam said, sure of herself.
"Somehow," I added.
"There's something up ahead," Wade said.
Sure enough, there was. It was an ordinary shed.
"Maybe I've seen too many horror movies, but an abandoned shed is usually a bad thing," Clover said.
We were cornered between the shed and the tree branches.
"I don't think we have any choice," Sam said.
(That's it. Don't flame this chapter. Thanks for reviewing nicely. Chapter 3 should come up eventually, but I'm not sure when.)