And the action begins! Oh and about the special guest in this chapter, this won't be the last we see of him. ;)

Chapter 5

The Mountains

Despite their doubts, Ken, Davis, and TK decided to go through the mountains. A few hours later, so many that they switched drivers and TK was now driving, they were on a jagged path spiraling around the mountain. The only real problem was that they couldn't locate themselves on the map.

"'Go on a mountain path,' he says. 'We'll end up somewhere,' he says," Davis mocked.

TK grimaced. "I'd like to point out that I'm not the one with the map anymore."

Realizing who he was referring to, Ken looked up startled. "There are only major roads on the map; not some winding, pot-hole infested 'road' without even a railing- TK, don't drive so close to the edge!"

Pulling closer to the mountain, TK's grimace turned into a scowl. "I know what I'm doing, Ken. Seriously, what else could go wrong?"

Davis began to list, "We could drive off the edge, get stuck in these mountains forever, or lose our only map. I'd blame you for any of those."

"If you guys are so afraid of me driving, why don't I pull over into those trees and let Ken have his turn?" TK reasoned.

Sensing that TK was probably just tired of arguing, ken agreed, and TK pulled the car over into a grove on the side of one of the many wooded areas of the mountain.

"So while we're here I have to go."

"I told you to use the bathroom before we left town," Ken reminded.

"I know, I know," Davis threw the words over his shoulder as he ran into a nearby area of trees.

As TK got out of the driver's seat, he noticed the sky for the first time since the trip began. It wasn't quite black, there was still a bluish tint, but there was no doubt about it being nighttime. "Wow, I didn't know it was so late."

At TK's words, Ken looked up amazed. "I didn't know there could be so many stars."

"That's what we get for living in the city," TK said nonchalantly.

"Okay, I'm back," Davis announced as he walked up to Ken and TK. "Why are you both staring at the sky?"

"It's night, and there are stars."

"Amazing deduction, Sherlo- Since when are there so many stars?" Davis exclaimed cutting himself off.

Ken snickered. "Since we got away from the city. You see, it's all about florescent lighting."

Davis had only partly heard what Ken had explained due to still being in a state of awe. "That is so cool!"

Peeling his eyes away from the sky, TK glanced back over at their car to produce a worried expression on his face. "Uh, guys, there's a monkey."

Davis faced TK puzzled. "A monkey?"

"Yes," TK hissed, "There's a monkey in the car! Someone left their door open." There was indeed a small, round-eyed, grey macaque sitting in their car and staring at them through the window.

Ken left the sky behind to absorb the scene before him. "My door was open. Hey, why's there a monkey in the car?"

"Shh! It will hear you!"

Davis couldn't help but be amused. TK, the rational thinker, was afraid of a monkey. "Does the monkey scare you?" He teased.

"What? No!" TK replied quickly, "I just don't want it in the car."

Unconvinced, Davis tested TK's statement. "Then get it out of the car."

"Wait," Ken began, "Isn't that a baby macaque?"

Davis looked back at the monkey that now seemed to have found his backpack and was attempting to use the zipper. "It looks like one."

Ken recalled, "I did a report on those once, and I'm pretty sure they travel in groups."

TK gasped, "You mean there's more?"

"Not necessarily, this one could have strayed from the rest. I definitely don't see anymore."

"They could be around here," TK worried.

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Davis announced.

"Half-baked?" Ken wondered.

"Fully baked and ready to serve," Davis answered smugly, "All we have to do is lure it out of the car, then hop in before it realizes we were tricking it."

Blandly Ken spoke, "Fantastic, how do you suppose we lure him out?"

Davis' face fell. "Well I didn't really get that far. You have any ideas, Teeks?"

Letting his fear subside for a moment so he could think, TK spent some time pondering before replying, "We need someone to be a decoy and keep him away from the car. I nominate Ken."

"Me? Why?" Ken exclaimed.

"You were the one who left your door open."

"Ken will go; Good idea," Davis agreed.

"I don't even know how to distract him!" Ken raged. "It's not like we have food for him or anything else he could be interested in!"

"Well… He has been playing with the zipper to Davis's backpack, and your jacket has a zipper," TK hinted.

Ken looked incredulous. "You want me to give him my jacket?"

"Yes," TK and Davis answered in unison.

...

He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. As Davis and TK hid near the car ready to take it back, Ken stood on the edge of the clearing, holding his jacket at arm's length, and trying to get the monkey's attention.

"Hey!" he called, "Over here!"

Noticing the foreign noise, the monkey looked up from Davis's backpack and straight at Ken causing him to almost shudder. Its face was a light red, and he could tell more clearly that this was a young macaque, probably less than a year old. Ken was still unaware of why it would be alone, but that wasn't his most prominent thought at the time.

"Look at this!" Ken hollered. He held up the jacket and began fiddling with the zipper even if he had no faith that this would actually work.

The macaque's eyes met the zipper, and Ken could see it in the monkey's eyes: it wanted the zipper, so it was going to get the jacket. The monkey began moving out of the car and towards him.

At the same time, TK and Davis came out from the other direction and quietly snuck into the car.

Out of nowhere, fright overtook Ken. There was a wild animal coming at him! He promptly threw the jacket in the other direction thus sending the monkey that way. His mind reeling, Ken sprinted to the car at full speed to hop into the driver's seat. He immediately shut and locked the door behind him to find Davis cracking up in the passenger seat.

"The look on your face was so great! You looked like it was going to kill you!"

Already tense from his newfound fear of monkeys, Ken was not in the mood for this. "That was horrible! I bet you would have screamed your head off if a monkey was coming at you!"

TK sat in the back shaking his head. "And I get laughed at for fearing the monkey."

Davis sobered up quickly, so he could speak. "Okay, okay, that was fun, but it's late. I say we just spend the night in the car."

Ken argued, "How do you expect us to sleep on these seats?"

"These seats aren't bad," Davis soothed, "Just get a pillow out of your backpack and you'll be fine."

Realizing how exhausted he was, Ken gave in and agreed to sleep in the car.

"What about you, TK? Are you okay with it?" Davis asked.

The blonde assured, "I've got the backseat. I think I'll live."

...

"No way, that's not what happened!" Davis exclaimed.

TK chortled, "Yes, it is, but you wouldn't know because you left before the bear got there."

Since sleep hadn't yet overtaken them, the three had ended up staying up chatting. TK in the back encompassed by his sleeping bag, Davis lounged in the passenger seat, and Ken laying on a pillow in the driver's seat.

"I admit the bear thing was pretty scary," Ken negotiated, "but I know something more crazy that neither of you are going to believe."

"You got a B on a test?" Davis guessed.

"Nice try but no. Before I leave for college, I'm going to ask Yolei to marry me," Ken said solemnly.

There was a moment's pause before anyone said anything. Then Davis piped up, "What's she going to do while you're at college?"

"She'll come with me. That's why I'm asking her before I leave."

Davis and TK were again silent. It wasn't that they didn't agree with them getting married. It was just that right out of high school didn't seem like the best time.

"Have you thought about this, Ken?" TK asked finally.

Ken seemed shocked by the innocent question. "Of course I have! I know I'll be with Yolei the rest of my life, so why not now?"

"It just seems like the wrong time. You'll be really busy with college, and you're both kind of young."

"Young? We're adults, and as an adult, I think this is the right thing to do," Ken tried to justify, but TK didn't seem convinced.

He preached, "It's just that you should really be sure before you marry her, and if you are sure then you can wait until after college."

Ken couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're my friend, TK. You're supposed to tell me to marry the girl I love not to try and stop me."

TK was becoming irate. "I'm not just your friend. I'm one of your best friends, and I'm not going to let you do something stupid!"

"Stupid? You think it's stupid that I would marry Yolei?" Ken yelped.

"I think it's stupid that you're rushing into this!"

"I'm not rushing anything!" Ken attempted to calm down and have TK see his point of view. "Don't you see yourself marrying Kari?"

TK hesitated, "I don't know."

Davis turned to face TK flabbergasted. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I just don't," Claimed TK sheepishly. "Saying that you'll get married is- is saying you'll stay with someone for the rest of your life. I mean, how am I supposed to know if we'll stay together?"

"Isn't that the point of getting married?" asked Davis.

"It doesn't stop some people," TK stated bitterly.

Davis and Ken were still until Ken spoke up. "That won't happen, TK; to you and Kari or Yolei and me."

"How can you be sure?"

Ken admitted, "You can't, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

"You know, Ken," Davis started, "If you weren't going to that fancy college four hours away you and Yolei wouldn't have to get married." Davis had been against Ken's chosen college since the start.

"My parents think it's a good college."

Davis realized, "I haven't heard you say that you wanted to go there once."

"I don't have to want to because I have to," Ken explained, "I need to go to a good college and get good grades and work hard and one day get a great job."

Davis was still unconvinced. "But why?"

"I'm supposed to."

"Says who?" Davis spat, "Your parents? I thought you just said you were an adult."

Annoyed Ken said, "I am, but this has been planned for so long. I have to go."

"You don't have to do anything," TK yawned, "What time is it?"

Flipping out his phone Davis answered, "Past midnight; we should really get some sleep."

After a few final words and 'goodnights'' they slept soundly on their very first night of the road trip.