They stayed for a long time up on the bald of that mountain. Klaus climbed down from the boulder and explored the area while Violet sat for a bit longer, enjoying the solitude and the sound of the wind rushing by her ears. When she grew chilly from it, she made her way back down, fished the flannel from her pack and set up her little camp chair to keep watch in the direction that her brother had disappeared in. It really was a beautiful day and she turned her face up to catch the rays of sun on her cheeks and forehead.

Klaus came back over half an hour later smelling a little like cigarette smoke and holding a bag full of water that he explained was a filter. They could drink any water they found on their trip as long as they had the filter with them. He showed her how to squeeze the water through the filtering nozzle directly into their water bottles. Then, he helped her fold up her chair, and to put her pack on. She really didn't think she'd be able to swing hers into place the same way Klaus did his. Heaven forbid if she were to drop something with her backpack on. She'd never be able to bend over and stand back up again with all that weight.

"Are you still okay?" Klaus asked once they were ready to go. "Feel like you've got another mile in you?"

"Of course," she answered, gesturing broadly with her arm for him to lead the way.

"We can camp just on the other side of this mountain. There's a grove of trees off the path, and some nice, flat areas."

"Have you been here before?" she asked, feeling the muscles in her thighs protest after such a long rest as they began their way down.

"I have done this part before, but tomorrow we'll head back to that little crossroads sign, you know, where we first hit the AT?" When Violet nodded, he continued. "We'll head the opposite way on the trail and then I'll be in new territory."

"So, you've been backpacking before? Obviously."

"Yeah. We try to go a few times a year."

"For some reason I thought this was your first time, too." Then, after a moment, "Who is we?"

"Me, and Josh, and whoever else wants to come along," Klaus answered with a shrug.

"Do you bring your ukulele?" Violet teased. "To sing campfire songs?"

"Who says I don't have it right now?" She caught the edge of his smile.

"You don't. I packed it into a box with a bunch of towels."

Late that afternoon, right before dark and after a fairly easy hike down the mountain, Klaus veered sharply off the path, through a wide expanse of knee high plants that Violet did not recognize, and into a protected area that had trees all around. The ground there was thick with weeds, but flat, and Klaus stomped an area of greenery even flatter for their tent. The tent amazed Violet. The whole thing weighed less than three pounds and fit into Klaus's backpack. He had it erected within ten minutes and both got out their pads and sleeping bags and inflatable pillows, filling the tiny tent to the brim with their belongings.

Next, Klaus got ready the little tank of fuel and the tiny pots and tin cups, making them each instant mashed potatoes and boiling water for tea. "We'll have to find more water in the morning," Klaus announced, holding up the empty filter bag. "But you have some in your bottle? Enough for tonight?" Violet affirmed that she did. After they ate a quick meal, Violet helped to wash the utensils and put away all the garbage. Klaus built a small fire while they nursed their cooling tea.

"Too bad I don't have my ukulele," Klaus teased. Violet only grunted at that. It was quiet except for the crackle of the burning wood, and they stared at the fire until it was nothing but glowing embers, then Klaus and Violet walked a little ways apart in the dark to brush their teeth and to use the bathroom. Violet found a tree, pulled down her pants and squatted against it, feeling exposed and exhausted and wondering why she had ever let Isadora make her think this was a good idea.

When she walked back into camp she could hear Klaus trying to hang up their food in the bear bag a ways off to the right, downwind and away from their tent. With the fire dying, the sky was a bright thing, full of stars, more stars than she'd seen since she lived on the island. Low over the horizon, though, was a bank of clouds that flickered almost constantly with lightning. The contrast of these two phenomena had quite a lovely effect.

Klaus approached from behind and stood next to her, following her gaze heavenward. "Reminds me of the island," he said in a perfect echo of her thoughts.

"That's just what I was thinking." She paused. "Do you ever miss it?" She glanced his way, but his face remained tilted toward the sky. "The island?"

Finally, after she thought he might not answer, he looked at her. "Nah. It's better, I guess, to get on with real life than to live out some fairytale." This answer intrigued Violet. Her feelings of the island had become quite muddled up. She did remember the very good times, but the times that came after her falling out with Klaus were so lonely, so confusing, that it was hard to know how she felt about the island itself.

"Come on. Let's go to sleep. I'm done for," Klaus said, turning for the tent. And though Violet was oh, so tired, she couldn't rest. The sounds of the night kept her awake; the cricket's continuous mating song, and the wind, which began to beat against the walls of the tent, making the fabric rustle and ripple mysteriously. Not to mention, the ground was hard and the blow-up pillow uncomfortable. It had to be getting very late, but she craved some comfort. Not only the softness of a warm bed, but the kind that she knew came from Klaus, that she'd been catching only snippets of for the last few days. She wanted more of that. Here in the darkness he slept not six inches from her, his form bleeding into the night, but his steady breaths were audible, reminding her that he was just there, real and solid. Even so, she felt utterly alone. She wished he would reach for her, acknowledge her presence there; wished he would know that she needed him. Again, she fought back the tears that threatened to overflow. A breakdown in the middle of the wilderness, in the middle of the night, was not desirable.

Just then, she noticed a change in the atmosphere around the tent. It was strange how silence could be altered by the presence of someone…or something else. What she thought was the wind billowing, rustling the walls of the tent, became a snuffle, a snort, then the press of something large against the thin wall, pressing into her shoulder as she lay in her sleeping bag.

Her heart began to beat double time and her breaths became shallow as fear took over. She knew she should make noise to get rid of any wild animals, but she felt paralyzed. As quietly as she could, she extracted her arm from the sleeping bag and reached out for Klaus, turning slowly away from the side of the tent toward her brother. Squeezing his shoulder, she breathed into his ear, "Klaus, there's something outside."

She knew he was awake by the hitch in his even breathing and then the quiet as he held his breath, listening. Once again, whatever was out there pushed heavily against the tent, harder than last time, sniffing and probing. The tent was so small that there wasn't even room to sit up, but Klaus immediately reached around Violet, swiftly pulling her as far away from the side as the space would allow, tucking her into his chest. "We're safe in here. It'll lose interest in a few minutes," he whispered into her hair.

That might be the biggest lie Klaus ever told her. It seemed to Violet that they were neatly wrapped little neoprene burritos and any wild animals would probably be happy to scarf them up— tent, sleeping bag and all. The animal walked around the entire tent before making its way to their fire pit. She could hear it pacing through the dense foliage, could hear the clink of the camp chairs as it inspected them. "What is it?" asked Violet.

"Maybe a bear?" whispered Klaus, who'd let go of her now that the animal, or bear, was farther away, but it still didn't leave. They could hear it shuffling around for the better part of an hour, always coming again to sniff at the tent. Finally, when Violet was exhausted from her fear, they heard the terrible scream of a small animal and the wild snarl of their own predator, then the sounds of it chasing away into the night.

"It's gone," Klaus huffed in relief.

"Do you think it'll come back?" Violet whimpered.

"God, I hope not. I'm pretty sure that wasn't a bear."

"What was it?"

"I think it may have been a mountain lion. Did you hear that sound it made as it ran away? It sounded very feline, don't you think?" Klaus began to make himself more comfortable again. Violet was sure she'd never sleep now, and stayed awake a long time listening for the mountain lion to come back, but Klaus let her stay pressed up against his body, though they each had their sleeping bags pulled up to their ears, and finally she lost consciousness for a couple of blessed hours. Once, the serious hooting of an owl overhead woke her. After half a minute, the faint answering call from the bird's mate could be heard, then even later, the thunder from that far off storm they'd witnessed earlier in the evening rolled through their valley, accompanying the restless wind.

The next thing she knew, it was morning. The mountain lion had left no trace of its appearance in their campsite last night other than the deep hollows of dark circles under Violet's eyes and one overturned camp chair. Klaus was cheerful, asking Violet if she knew how to work the little stove so he could search for a new water source. The fear of the night did not follow her into the light of day, though a cloud had settled over this area of the mountain and Violet couldn't see more than twenty feet in any direction.

After a breakfast of granola with milk that came in little boxes that required no refrigeration, along with a warm cup of instant coffee, they packed up their beds and Klaus deftly took apart their little tent while Violet filtered the water he'd brought back. Once again, he helped her into her backpack, making sure she had it fastened before he loaded into his. "Ah," he sighed in relief. "Isn't that much lighter with our breakfasts in our bellies instead of on our backs?"

Retracing their steps from the day before, they went back up to the bald, though there was no view with the fog, and all the way back down to the sign that said they'd reached the AT. It was a quick three miles since the last part was all downhill.

"Okay? Still ready to get a few miles behind us today?" Klaus asked as he swallowed a peanut butter cracker and a sip of water.

Violet looked longingly in the direction of the trail that would take them back to their car, thinking of how easy it would be to drive home and see the girls, but the unknown, what would come after that, was as daunting as another four days on the trail. Klaus caught her look. "Oh no," he said, laughing at her forlorn expression. "We're not done yet. Come on." He waved her on and turned to continue the hike. "Onward and upward!" he yelled, pointing down the trail.

"Excelsior," Violet mumbled under her breath, following a few paces behind.

The sun never broke through the clouds. In fact, the thunder rumbled ominously around them. It didn't rain, but the misty air they walked through left a chilly layer of damp on their skin and clothes, and Violet kept on the flannel she'd brought to keep her warm all through the early afternoon.

That didn't mean that the mountain still wasn't beautiful. The green of the tree leaves as Violet looked up contrasted naturally with the bright gray of the sky. There was something cozy about a gray day…that is, if you were snuggled on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea.

Dwelling on this only made Violet hungry. "Want to stop for tea?" Klaus looked back at her, frowning, then glanced at his watch.

"Yeah, okay," he complied. Probably, left to his own devices, he would be over the next mountain and making camp by now if not slowed by her. She felt guilty at the thought, but Klaus whistled a tune as he dug around in his backpack for the stove and pulled the lighter out of his pocket.

"Sorry," she said, feeling suddenly guilty about the request.

"We're not in a hurry," he said, conciliatory. "Really," he reiterated when he read the doubt on her face. "I want you to have a good time and tea is a small ask, in my opinion, and easily within my power to give you." His smile was genuinely sweet and Violet's heart fluttered at the idea that he wanted her to be happy. She knew it was true at her core, but hearing it said aloud was another thing altogether. "I am afraid I don't have any more milk for you, though. Or sugar."

"Oh, God!" cried Violet, but she was only playing. "We really are roughing it, aren't we?"

"Actually…" and Klaus disappeared into the depths of his pack, riffled through several bags, and eventually brought out a tiny packet of honey.

"Goodness, Klaus. Thank you. You didn't have to go through all that trouble," she said, though she took the packet carefully, spilled a few drops into her mug and handed it back. "I can man up when needed, even if it means drinking my tea black."

Later that afternoon, as they hiked at a steady incline, they followed closely along a river, which at first Violet found very scenic. It started out narrow and clear, barely more than a shallow creek, but then grew to a turbulent stream, and near mid-afternoon the water grew wide and rushing and remained that way as the trail wound around it. The water reflected the gray sky, and the fog swirling just above the surface only made it seem vast and endless, eventually imbuing Violet with a dark sense of foreboding. On the bright side, Klaus did not have very far to go to fill his water filter. They made a short stop to do just that, not even long enough to set down their packs, though Violet felt she could have used a longer rest. After emptying the filter into their water bottles, she offered to run down the short steep path to the water's edge to fill it again. "In case we're not close to water when we set up camp," she suggested, still holding the filter in one hand.

Klaus nodded absently, distracted by his map. Violet was glad to be of some help to her brother. She feared he was pulling more than his share of the weight, literally, but even so, the long hike uphill that day and the lack of sleep the night before had made her legs tired and wobbly. She'd stumbled more than once already during that day's hike, the heavy weight of the backpack tipping her dangerously to one side or the other, and she'd only just catch herself with her hiking poles.

Now, fatigue got the best of her brain, too, not only her muscles. She stood at the water's edge, thinking how best to lean over to get the water. The smartest thing would have been to take off her backpack, but then she'd have to ask Klaus to come all the way back down to the river's edge to help her put it back on. Well, and then he might as well have gotten the water himself. Stabbing her pole sturdily into the muddy ground and holding on to it tightly while squatting, she plunged the filter down, letting the icy water bubble over her hand and into the bag. Her toes slipped a little in the wet dirt, sliding their way down the bank until the tips of her boots began to submerge in river water. Balance was out of the question. Even holding the pole, she could feel herself falling forward, towards the rushing river. She quickly overbalanced, and with arms reeling, fell backwards onto her butt into the wet dirt and grass. Glancing back, she could see Klaus on his way down to help her, laughing outright.

"Sorry," she said again for the umpteenth time that day when he reached her. "I was supposed to be helping you."

"No, really," Klaus assured. "That more than made my day." Violet whacked him in the shin a little with her hiking pole. Taking her by both hands, he hefted her to her feet, making sure she had both of her hiking poles, and he was just in time to save the filter from where it lay on the ground, perilously half in the water and half out. Once she was steady, he turned and marched easily up the steep bank to the trail. Violet began to follow him but she hadn't gotten very far when her step faltered; the loose, muddy ground giving way just an inch or two. It was more than enough to send her tired body teetering backwards, no match for gravity or the pull of the backpack.

Trying awkwardly to catch herself, she blindly fell a few steps backwards, somehow managing to remain on her feet, but sliding the short distance all the way back to the edge of the bank. The mud and pebbles collapsed under her weight and, dropping the foot or so down into the water, she stumbled precariously over the uneven river rocks, the rushing stream pulling her further still until she was knee deep in the current in her effort to remain upright. Try as she might, she just couldn't find her footing on the slippery rocks, futilely attempting to jam her hiking poles into anything to help steady herself. There was too much momentum, too much weight. Violet blamed the universe for this turn of events. She'd known from the beginning of this adventure that the universe had never been kind to her, but, oh, how it loved her. She'd concluded long ago that the universe must be in love with her, with all the Baudelaires, in fact. It just couldn't leave them alone. It was obsessed, a jealous lover, and if the universe wanted something from them, it would have it.

But she fought anyway. She tried her best. Eventually she tipped too far back, and with a cry of distress, fell into the water.