Happy birthday to me! As of the time I update this story, I am officially 20 years old, and I couldn't be happier to post this chapter on a day that is so special to me. It was quite an enjoyable one to write.

I hope everyone is staying safe and practicing social distancing. I care about all of you guys, and the last thing I want is for me or someone I love to contract COVID-19. There are some good things about quarantine, though, one of which is that I can stay in my pajamas as I type this.

In any case, enjoy the chapter!

BRADLEY CLARION

It was very quiet in the hotel lobby. This wasn't surprising, given that it was still in the early hours of the morning, but I still found it rather ominous to see it relatively deserted.

Why should it be? It's 4:30 AM. Not the most lively hour of the day.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that now was the point of no return. If I was going to even attempt to change my mind, now was the time.

"Good morning" the cabbie said to my father. "You are Brendan Clarion of the Inter-Regional Archaeological Association?"

Man, they always greet us so formally. It's like we're millionaires or something.

My dad nodded. "Yes, and this is my son, Bradley. We've got no time to waste, though, so please take us there as quickly as reasonably possible".

The cab driver nodded curtly. It was clear that he took his job very seriously, and this was somewhat reassuring, if only a little bit.

My stomach rumbled, and I realized that I was rather hungry. That begged the question: What would we be doing for breakfast?

As we were getting into the taxi, I asked my father this question.

"They'll have a continental breakfast for us when we get to the HQ" he told me. "Don't worry, you won't be leaving on an empty stomach".

"That's good," I replied. I'm one of those people who gets hungry rather easily; perhaps it's due to my large frame. Or perhaps it's because I tend to get a lot of exercise whenever I can. Either way, I was very relieved at my father's answer.

The rest of the cab ride passed in near-total silence. The driver didn't talk to us, and neither of us talked to each other. My father sneezed at one point, but that was about it.

I remembered the thought I'd had a few minutes ago about the point of no return, which I had just passed. I had just passed up the opportunity to get out of the expedition, and I didn't know how to feel about it at first.

And then I remembered what my father had told me last night.

I'm very proud of you. It takes quite a lot of courage to go on an adventure like this one, so far from home. It's normal to be nervous, but anyone who tells you that they've never been nervous is lying.

If I had chickened out right then and there, what would that have said about the supposed courage I had? Certainly nothing to its credit.

Besides, just like I'd felt the previous evening, I had something to prove to the others. I didn't want to squander my opportunity to do that.

After about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the IRAA headquarters. This drive had been quicker than the other two for the simple reason that there was less traffic when it was still dark outside. Almost everyone in the city of Atticus was still sleeping.

"Thank you very much" my father told the cabbie. "You got us here as quickly as you could".

Shaking hands with my father, the cabbie replied with, "It's no problem. That is my job, after all".

My dad hiked up his duffel bag so that he was carrying it on his back. "Okay, Bradley, let's get this show on the road".

In that instant, much of my nervousness was replaced with excitement. I was actually going to do this! Go on an adventure with my father, just like I'd always dreamed!

As we made our way through the lobby of the building, I cast a glance at the painting called Braixen's Curse. Even though the subject matter was rather morbid, I still found it a pleasing work of art to observe; it was very well done, and I can respect that, even if the painting itself is of something disturbing.

We went to the front desk, and a different receptionist was there than there had been yesterday. After we introduced ourselves as Brendan and Bradley Clarion, just like we had to the other receptionist, he let us through to the elevator.

Once we were in Room 7C, I saw that, much like yesterday, we were the last to arrive. The other four trekkers, as well as the guides, were already present.

"There you guys are," Matt said. (Or was it Mike? Like I've said before, there was absolutely no telling these thirty-something men apart).

"Yes, we are here" my father told the guides. "And we're ready to go. Right, Bradley?"

I saw no reason to do anything else but nod. Even if I'd wanted to quit, trying to run out of the room would probably get me nowhere at this point. And even if it did get me somewhere, I was in the middle of a foreign city I knew almost nothing about, a scenario almost as daunting as the one I was about to experience.

"Okay...time to take attendance" the other twin said. He was wearing an orange shirt, and the other twin was in a purple one. That was the only visible difference between the two men. "By the way, I'm Matt".

Oh, so I was wrong about which one of them it was. Oh well; it's pretty much inconsequential.

"Terrence Santorini?"

"Here".

"Kenneth Weldworth?"

"Here".

"Dr. Patrick Saint Lawrence?"

"Here".

"Christopher Ruby?"

"Here".

"Brendan Clarion?"

"Here".

"Bradley Clarion?"

"Here".

This time, I was able to announce my presence with more confidence, a fact that gave me a certain degree of pride in myself. I didn't know how much longer that would last once we were all rumbling in the jungle.

"Okay. Since I presume you guys have all your gear, it's time to get breakfast. It's not as fancy as last night's dinner, but it'll give you enough energy for this morning, and that's ultimately what it's all about". That was Mike speaking, which I could tell due to the color of his shirt.

Mike is purple, Matt is orange. That's what I have to remember.

After that, we went into the private dining room in the lobby, where muffins, granola bars, slices of watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, and papaya, and several fresh cheeses had been set up for us.

All of us then went through the buffet line, sat down, and waited for everyone else to do the same, just like we had last night for dinner. And then we ate.

There wasn't a lot of talking during this meal. I figured this was probably because others were nervous as well. I kind of hoped they were nervous, because I didn't want to be the only one with pre-trek jitters.

The food was pretty good; it was not nearly as exquisite as last night's dinner had been, but it was good enough, and, like Mike had told us, it didn't need to be fancy. It served its purpose of energizing us for the beginning of the trip, nothing more, nothing less.

I wasn't sitting next to Chris Ruby this time; I was in between my father and Terrence Santorini. He was tall and rather handsome, with a short brown beard and curly hair, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. Like the guides, he was probably in his mid-to-late thirties.

I didn't talk to Terrence or my father at all. Instead, I listened for anything the guides (who were seated at the two ends of the table) had to say. For the most part, they were simply going over what they'd told us last night, but I was still hanging on to their every word, going by the philosophy of "if it keeps me alive later, it's well worth it now".

Eventually, we finished breakfast, and then Matt said that we were going to go down to the building's garage.

"Why are we going to the garage?" I blurted out. I fought the urge to cover my mouth as I realized that this was a rather stupid question.

"That's where the van is," Matt told me. "It's about two hours from here to the start of the trail by road".

Two hours...that's plenty of time to think about how nervous I am. How worried I am that something might go wrong.

"Since we only have so many hours of daylight, it makes sense to leave as early as possible". That was my father talking, and he made a lot of sense. I knew that he'd been on several expeditions before this, and that I could stand to learn a thing or two from him.

"All right," Mike told us. "Let's go".

The twin brothers led us into the garage on Sublevel 3. They showed us the way to a white van that, if I hadn't known what we were getting into, would have looked extremely sketchy.

"Get in," Mike told us. Turning to his brother, he curtly said, "Matt, drive it like you stole it".

I couldn't help but laugh. I'd never heard the saying "drive it like you stole it" before today, but it was a pretty funny one. It relieved the tension, even if only slightly, and it gave me the courage to get in the white van.

As we drove out of the garage and into the city of Atticus, which was just starting to wake up as the sun rose over the horizon, the other men on Expedition 33B, including my father, began recounting stories from other expeditions that they'd been on that I hadn't witnessed.

Needless to say, I found this rather annoying, as there was nothing I could contribute to this conversation. I felt rather left out; Dr. Saint Lawrence was old enough to be my father, and Brendan Clarion actually was my father. The point being, of course, that I was so new to the whole thing that I didn't really feel like part of the group.

Traffic was starting to increase as Matt drove us through the old town of Atticus. Here, the streets were very narrow, lined with tourist shops selling everything under the sun, rug stalls, and small casual restaurants just opening up for breakfast.

It was quite a sight to behold. I hadn't done a lot of traveling in my life, and it was pretty amazing to get to see the world like this.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Mike pointed out of the window to his right. "That right there is Atticus City Hall," he told us.

I looked out of the window and saw the building he was referring to. It was a large building that, with its blue domed roof and spire in the center, looked almost like a church or mosque. If I didn't know that it was the city hall, I would almost certainly have believed it was a house of worship.

City Hall was so large that it took up a whole block, and it wasn't a small block either. Several parks had been placed around it; it appeared that the whole old town of Atticus had been designed with City Hall in mind.

Since we had to stop at a red light, I got a few seconds to see that there were a few people hanging out in the parks surrounding the massive building, walking Lillipups, Smeargles, or Poochyenas. There were also several individuals entering the hall for what must have been government work.

I'd been to downtown Pastoria City many times before, but it was nowhere near the size of Atticus. The sheer amount of people was overwhelming at times.

Well, just you wait. It won't be long until we're deep in the rainforest.

Eventually, the light turned green, and we kept moving. It wasn't too long before we were out of the city limits and on a highway that wound its way through the suburbs of Atticus.

Unlike the suburbs of Pastoria City, with what appeared to be cookie-cutter houses that all looked the same, the houses here were all different colors and shapes. Seeing such contrasts was rather incredible to someone from that background.

To be fair, there was one unifying factor between all the houses. They were all large, bordering on mansions, and it was clear to me that this must be one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Alola.

Of course, I'm sure the cost of living here is pretty high in general. Who doesn't want to live in a tropical paradise like this?

As I would soon know all too well, however, not everything in Alola would make it seem like a paradise. I hadn't been so naive to assume that everything would be perfect, but even I had been underestimating the exact amount of hurt that I would go through.

I gazed out the window and tried to fall asleep. If I could sleep, that would at least spare me some of the worry; there would be less time for me to be scared before the trek actually began. Besides, my eyes felt slightly glazed over still from waking up so early, so sleep didn't seem like such a remote possibility at that moment.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not catch any Z's. It wasn't for lack of effort; I'd even tried to push everything out of my mind, even for just a few minutes, so that I would be more relaxed.

After about fifteen minutes, I gave up on trying to get any sleep at all. What sleep I'd gotten during the previous night, even if it had seemed to be only a few minutes, didn't feel adequate, but this was all I was going to get.

Now all there is to do is wait to arrive at the trail, as well as listen to all these people talk about how well they know each other, and leave me out in the cold.

I supposed that the scenery was pretty enough. Matt eventually drove us off the highway and onto a series of rural roads that wound their way up and down hills, and it wasn't much longer before we started seeing increasingly dense greenery on either side of us.

"We're in the jungle now, boys!" Mike stated excitedly, in a tone that emphasized the word now, albeit only slightly. "About thirty more minutes until we reach the trailhead".

Thirty more minutes. Here we go.

My heart began pounding even though I wasn't exerting myself at all. I knew that as soon as I got out of that van, I was going to start sweating like crazy. It wasn't going to be long at all. Just another half an hour and I'd be hiking through the jungle with seven other men, six of whom were strangers.

As we began climbing another hill, the road curved to the left, and I caught a glimpse of one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen in my life.

Shimmering in the morning sunlight was a tall waterfall, part of a narrow river trickling its way through the jungle and over a cliff. Water careened off the side from quite a height, well over a hundred feet by my estimation.

A few daredevils appeared to be rappelling down one of the waterfalls, and that, to me, was reason for alarm. I was rather afraid of heights, and the thought of walking backwards off a slippery cliff, even if I was securely tethered to a strong rope, was a little too much for me to bear, no pun intended.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all. If I get to see things like this, in fact, I think it'll be well worth it.

About fifteen minutes after passing the waterfall, the van began to slow down, and then it ground to a halt. By this time we'd been on dirt roads for about ten minutes as we traveled further and further from civilization, further and further from safety.

It was then that I heard a voice inside my head. I wasn't sure if the following words were my own thoughts or if I were suffering from some mental disorder, but I chose to believe the former.

Safety's for chumps, Bradley Clarion. Life is a game of calculated risk, and if you don't roll the dice every now and then, you're not really living.

Back to the world outside my own mind, I heard Mike say, "We're here!"

A few of the other men in the van had actually fallen asleep, unlike myself, but they were now fully alert. There was a slightly feverish buzz around the interior of the van as the men raced to get out.

These people are grown men in their thirties and forties, and yet they still act like kids being dismissed from school at the end of the day. What is WRONG with them?

Was I dealing with a bunch of crazies? Probably not, but these were the people I was trusting with my life, so I had reason to want to be cautious, didn't I?

I was the last person out of the van, as nobody else had sat in the back row with me. As I got out, I closed the door behind me and observed my surroundings.

We had clearly arrived at the beginning of the trail, but you might not think that from how unremarkable it was. If not for the purple mark on a large tree jutting from the ground and rising towards the heavens, I wouldn't have believed it either.

"This is the start of the trail to the Temple of the Fox" Matt told us. "Once you begin, there is no turning back, so make sure you are fully prepared to come with us, or else you're going to have to hitchhike back.

"So, I repeat: Does anyone, anyone, anyone have any reservations whatsoever about embarking upon Expedition 33B?"

Prior to this question, I'd perceived Matt as professional, yet fun-loving at the same time. He still sounded professional, but I wasn't so sure about the "fun-loving" part anymore. He clearly took his job very seriously indeed.

Nobody raised their hand or nodded, and that included me. Even though I still had fear inside of me, I knew that I couldn't back out now. Plus, the voice I'd heard inside my head not three minutes earlier reminded me of something important.

Whether they were my own thoughts or not, it was definitely correct. Life was a game of calculated risk, and I'd rather leave this world doing something exciting than live the rest of my life wondering what if.

"Okay? Good" Matt said. "Let us embark on this journey that, for some of you, will be a life-changing one".

With that, I picked my duffel bag up off the ground and put it on like a backpack. It felt rather awkward doing so, but that probably had more to do with the sheer weight of everything inside than anything else.

I recalled that, despite having prepared for the journey in so many different ways, I had not even bothered to try walking with the pack on. Now that I was actually carrying one, this seemed like a glaring omission.

Well, grin and bear it. The others are doing so.

At first, everything went smoothly enough.

The trail, while it did have a steady upward slope to it, wasn't that steep, meaning that it didn't feel too much like we were climbing a hill at all. Even though the duffel bag was rather heavy, I got used to it quickly.

As it turned out, the duffel bag would be the least of my worries.

Within a few minutes, however, the shirt I was wearing became soaked with sweat. I'd expected it to be hot in the jungle, but I hadn't expected it to be eighty degrees at eight in the morning.

I considered taking off my shirt and tying it around my waist, but that didn't strike me as a very good idea, for three reasons.

First of all, it wasn't considered socially acceptable for an 18-year-old man to take off his shirt in front of seven other men, six of whom are near-complete strangers. This would make things a lot more awkward than they needed to be.

Second of all, leaving my upper body bare would mean more bugs would get to it. I'd lose the protection of my shirt, which had of course been treated with a powerful repellent. The bugs might or might not transmit disease, but they were still annoying, and if I got multiple mosquito bites, I was going to be miserable.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my shoulders were already starting to hurt from keeping the duffel bag off the ground. I didn't think I would have the strength to pick it back up, since I'd have to take it off in order to remove my shirt.

After about twenty minutes of a gradual uphill gradient, Mike called for a water break. He made it clear that we weren't going to sit down for this one; just grab water from the pack.

"Don't drink too much water, but don't worry either, because we're coming up on the Phoenix River in about half an hour. There will be plenty of water on this trip, I promise you". Those were Mike Chelan's exact words.

For about a minute, I struggled to get my water bottle out of my bag. It's harder than you think to do this while wearing a duffel bag around your shoulders, but I eventually managed it. I saw everyone else do the same, and basically copied Chris Ruby so that I knew what to do.

Even though we had only been walking for a relatively short period of time, the water was heavenly on my throat. I hadn't realized just how thirsty I had become during the first twenty minutes of the trek.

"Hydration is extremely important" Matt said, launching into a speech about how important it was to drink half your weight in pounds, in fluid ounces every day. Since I was a bigger guy, that meant roughly three whole water bottles worth.

After a couple minutes, we resumed our walk. Since the trail was becoming increasingly narrow, we had to walk single-file. I found myself in the middle of the pack, right behind my father and in front of Dr. Saint Lawrence.

"Dad?" I decided to ask my father at one point. It was about fifteen minutes after our standing water break, and, if my math was correct, about fifteen minutes later we would arrive at the Phoenix River.

"What is it, Bradley?", he replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "I'm trying to conserve my energy and lung capacity; we shouldn't talk too much".

"Did you check the weather forecast today? Just wondering".

My father nodded. "They said high of ninety-three degrees, ninety-five percent humidity. Make sure you stay hydrated, Bradley".

As if I needed another reason to do so.

Eventually, the trail curved to the left and began sloping downhill. To me, this was a major relief, because I had sincerely hoped that we wouldn't have to go uphill the whole time. The gradual uphill incline had been tuckering me out more than I wanted to admit to the others.

A few minutes later, the river came into view.

There were probably any number of rivers in the jungle, but this one certainly stood out as important. It was about a hundred feet wide if I had to guess, although I'm not the best judge of that. It raged over rocks and small waterfalls, and didn't appear to be more than a few feet deep.

Matt, his orange shirt soaked with sweat, turned around to face us as soon as we reached the river's edge. "This is the Phoenix River", he told us. "This is a good place to have a water break, and this time, you can sit down for it. Just remember to purify it first".

Mike nodded. Unlike his brother, his purple shirt seemed pretty dry. His face was only sparkling, unlike Matt's, which was drenched.

"Five drops of iodine if the water is clear, ten if cloudy, stir it around, wait thirty minutes, and then it'll be safe to drink. Drink up your water, then fill it back with the river water".

"Yeah, you don't want giardia" Matt replied. "I still remember…I lost thirty pounds in a couple of weeks".

Mike nodded. "You sure looked like a skeleton. Like they just draped skin over a bunch of bones and said, Okay, let's call him Matt Chelan".

I chugged the last few mouthfuls of my canteen, then took off my duffel bag and went to the river's edge. I ran the canteen through the water in a motion reminiscent of someone scooping ice cream. When it was full, I didn't put the lid on; rather, I asked where the iodine was as I walked back to the group.

"It's in my bag" Matt told me. "Just don't use too much, as we only have a limited supply for the eight of us".

"There's another way to purify water, too, right?" I asked him. "I forget what it was, though". I was rather embarrassed that I'd forgotten something so important.

Matt nodded. "There is, but boiling the water requires building a fire. If it should rain, then that method is useless".

It was then that I started feeling a lot more anxious, and my heart dropped like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. I managed to choke out, "How likely is it that it rains?"

"Virtually 100%. It's called a rainforest for a reason, Mr. Clarion".

Oh well. There's still iodine, at least until there isn't.

The sun climbed higher into the sky, and the air became even warmer. Fortunately, we were still in the shade afforded by the jungle canopy, but I did not know how much longer that would last.

After retrieving the iodine from Matt's bag, I saw that the water appeared clear. Of course, clear water doesn't always mean clean water, even if there's only one letter different in those two words, so I added the five drops of iodine.

Now it's time to play the waiting game.

The other men were sitting around, laughing and joking about something. I wasn't much in the mood for that, but if it worked for them, that was fine with me.

After a few minutes, I saw something white out of the corner of my eye. It was barely visible from here, probably a good fifty yards away and partially hidden behind a bush.

Almost immediately, I came up with a good excuse to check it out. It wasn't true, but it would work, and that's what I cared about.

I am morbidly curious as to what this white thing is.

"I, uh, have to take a piss" I blurted out, looking at Mike.

"Okay then" the man in the purple shirt told me. "Don't go too far, but make sure we can't see you".

I ran as though I urgently needed to relieve myself. I didn't have to in actuality, but I didn't want to make any of the others suspicious.

As soon as I found a suitable tree near the bush, I saw what the white object was.

It wasn't an object. It was a Pokemon, a living being.

It was a white Alolan Vulpix, cute and cuddly, but its fur was matted and it looked rather emaciated, as though it hadn't eaten in quite some time.

"Hello" I said, trying to sound as natural as possible.

The Alolan Vulpix visibly flinched, but did not change positions at all. He (for I could tell, somehow, that it was a male) continued cowering in the bush.

"G-get away from me!" the Vulpix cried out. "Y-you're a m-m-monster!"

Oh, so it's one of those paranoid creatures. Okay.

I tried to rationalize with the small creature. "I do not have the slightest clue what you are talking about" I replied in as soothing a tone as I could muster.

"You're...you're not a monster?"

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm a human. Name's Bradley. Bradley Clarion". I didn't know how good an idea it was to share my last name as well as my first, but I remembered that this wild Vulpix would have no access to the Internet, and therefore wouldn't be able to cyber-stalk me in the future.

"Jacob" the Vulpix replied. "Can you please take me to my Mama?"

I chuckled. "I will. But there's one thing".

"W-what is that?"

I briefly explained that I was with a hiking group that was heading towards the Temple of the Fox. Since this Alolan Vulpix didn't seem to be a threat in any way, I felt safe disclosing this amount of information.

"Ah, I've heard of that temple" Jacob replied. "But yeah, tell them what you need to".

"Thanks, Jacob".

I relocated the group, who were still under the impression that I had gone off to urinate. After accepting a squirt of hand sanitizer from Mike, I told them what they needed to know.

"I need to help this Alolan Vulpix get back to his mother. Will you guys wait for me?"

I had no expectations that they would say yes. They'd probably yell at me for making the trek last longer, or say that I was stupid for wanting to waste any more energy than necessary.

Matt looked at his watch. "Do you think you can make it back within thirty minutes? Because if not, we will leave without you".

"I do think I can" I replied, more for my own benefit than his. To put it mildly, I was less than convinced that I could be that quick, but I couldn't just leave this cute Alolan Vulpix alone in the jungle. That went against everything a lot of people, including my father, had taught me when I was little.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure if I can make it back in 30 minutes. That's just half an hour! Hopefully Jacob's Mama isn't too far away.

"Okay. Time starts now".

I began jogging through the jungle back to the bush where I'd found Jacob the Vulpix. I had a job to do.

There we go! I'd love it if you guys reviewed, since it is my birthday and all, and I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter.

Fun fact about waterfall rappelling: My YouTube channel (under the username SnowLucario, my old Internet name before I chose Lucas Whitefur) has a GoPro video of me doing just that when I went to Costa Rica at the end of 2018. It's really quite freaky stepping over the edge, but after that it's a lot of fun. I love the outdoors, and this chapter (as well as the next few) can be considered a love letter to nature.

Although...you have to respect nature not just as a friend, but sometimes as a threat. More on that next time.