Chapter Ten- Wolf Mountain
"Eighth graders!" Ms. Carson shouted over the noise. "You will now board the bus! Make sure you behave!"
If she said anything else, it was lost in the hubbub of thirty teenagers cramming themselves into a bus. The Guardians, Matt, Tyler, Brian, and Gary headed towards the back. Mandy, Lacey, and Julia took the three-seater in the back, and Kelsey slid into the row in front of them with Matt. Hayleigh sat alone in the row across from Kelsey and Matt. They all immediately launched into bright conversation, as if it were not five o'clock in the morning.
"Hi Hayleigh. Um… can I sit there?" Hayleigh looked up. Tyler was standing next to her, gesturing at the window seat of her row. Slightly embarrassed, she nodded.
"Thanks." Tyler slid into the seat. Brian and Gary were in front of them and their friends Kevin and Dan were in front of Kelsey and Matt.
Brooke marched toward them, a large purse slung over one plump shoulder. She was closely followed by Callie and Alison.
"We called those seats," she told the three girls in the back row.
"That's nice," Lacey replied breezily. "Bye-bye."
The three glared, but Brooke and Callie sat in front of Dan and Kevin, and Alison sat in front of Brian and Gary. Brooke immediately started talking to Tyler and completely ignoring Hayleigh. The three of them loved Tyler. Actually, most eighth grade girls thought he was cute. He was tall, and had dark curly hair and bright green eyes. His smile was great too. But they always fought for Brooke to get the guy. They had a misguided notion that she was the prettiest. Hayleigh laughed at this idea. Sure, Brooke had nice hair, long dark and straight. And maybe someone could say her pale green eyes were pretty. But that was about all she had going for her. Truth be told, she was just fat.
Hayleigh didn't mind that they were ignoring her. It was very hard for her to talk to any of them without spitting out insults. But jealousy burned inside her, even though she knew that if Tyler was worth liking, he wouldn't look twice at Brooke. But her heart soared when he politely ended his conversation with Brooke and turned to her.
"So, are you excited for this trip?" he asked.
Hayleigh smiled. "Yeah! I love this kind of thing. What about you?"
"It's cool," he answered. "I'm glad we are doing both the camping stuff and skiing and snowboarding. You get the best of the mountains."
Hayleigh nodded. This was going well. They kept talking. Soon her friends and the other boys had joined in. Brooke, Callie, and Alison tried to worm their way in, but everyone pretty much ignored them. In Hayleigh's mind it was the best bus ride ever.
Two hours passed easily. The stores along the highway gave way to thick forests. Then they turned onto a bumpy road. Hayleigh stared at the snow covered peak of Wolf Mountain. It was beautiful! She took out her camera and snapped a photo. This would be her very first memory of what she was sure would be a great trip.
Five minutes later, the bus came to a halt. Ms. Carson stood up, yelling at the chaperones to quiet everyone.
"Boys and girls, we have arrived at Wolf Mountain!"
The students cheered. Ms. Carson yelled over them again.
"Everyone, leave the bus quietly. You can pick up your luggage from the compartments on either side of the bus. Then go straight to your rooms. Girls are on the top floor, boys on the bottom floor. Room assignments are on the doors."
The bus shook as all thirty of them pushed their way off the bus. Hayleigh found her bag immediately, and was quickly joined by her friends.
"Let's go find out our rooms," she said.
"If I am with one of them I will DIE!" Lacey clenched her hands into fists. "I mean it." She led the way up the narrow metal stairway of the lodge. They stopped at the first door.
"Cathleen, Jamie, Marissa, and Claire," Julia read. "They'll be happy." The four girls were good friends.
Mandy ran ahead to the next door, and stood there, smiling. "Brooke, Callie, Alison, and Laura," she said happily. "Which means…"
The five of them took off towards the last door. Sure enough, the paper read "Hayleigh, Mandy, Lacey, Kelsey, and Julia". Hayleigh pushed open the door.
To her left was a storage space, with cubbies and a rod for hanging clothes. Further ahead of her was a sturdy oak bunk bed, tucked securely into a rectangular depression in the wall. At the end of the wall on her right stood a second bunk bed.
Hayleigh scrambled up the ladder of the first bed. "I call this one!" she yelled, laying on the warm ski-lodge quilt and breathing in the sweet clean smell of the mountains that had soaked into it. She looked around the room. Across from her were two twin beds. Across from the other bunk were a writing desk and a large window. In the corner of the room stood a door to the bathroom.
Julia claimed the bottom bed of Hayleigh's bunk. Kelsey took the top of the other, and Mandy took the bottom. Lacey grabbed one of the twin beds.
"This is great!" Julia exclaimed, unpacking her suitcase into one of the large drawers under her bunk.
"I'm glad we're all together," Hayleigh agreed, putting clothes in the other drawer.
Lacey sat on the bed she had chosen, looking at a piece of paper that had been on the desk.
"We have jobs," she said, gesturing to the paper she held. "Look, Hayleigh, Cathleen, and Brooke have the first shift for set up, and Tyler, Dan, and Keith have the clean up. That's for lunch."
Hayleigh wrinkled her nose. "What do the set up people do? And when do I have to go to the dining hall?"
Lacey shrugged. "I guess they'll tell you. But this sheet does say you have to go at a quarter to twelve."
The blonde girl dug a small, plain alarm clock out of her suitcase and studied it. Finally, she took her eyes away from it.
"I give up. Can anyone tell time?"
Mandy giggled. "You can't tell time?"
Hayleigh glared at her. "I can! I just don't feel like it."
"Oh give me that." Mandy swiped the clock out of Hayleigh's hand. "It's a quarter to twelve now."
"Darn." The girl made a face. "Well, I'll see you all at lunch then!"
Hayleigh walked out of her room and down the staircase. The dining hall was a short distance away, at the end of a dirt path that began somewhere unknown to her and wound past their cabin. She wad joined by Cathleen.
"Let's get out of here before we meet up with Brooke!" Cathleen said, fiddling with her strawberry blonde curls. Hayleigh nodded in agreement. Most of the girls in the class shared a common hatred of Brooke, Callie, and Alison. The two girls dashed off towards the wooden building.
When they got inside, they found counselors waiting for them. One of them, a dark haired girl in her early twenties, waved the two over.
"Hi! I'm Jennifer, and I'll be one of your counselors," she told them. "Just set the table and get the food trays. The plates, forks, knives, and napkins are over there." She pointed to a small room off the main dining area. "And the kitchen staff will give you the tray of food for your table right at that counter. Any questions?"
Hayleigh and Cathleen shook their heads.
"Good." Jennifer frowned. "Where is the third girl?"
Hayleigh shrugged. "Knowing her, she decided not to come."
Jennifer shook her head. "Well, I'll talk to her later. Go ahead and get started."
The two followed the instructions Jennifer had given them. By the time their classmates arrived, only Brooke's table was devoid of food and utensils.
Jennifer walked over to that table. "Which one of you is Brooke?"
Brooke stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. But the boys all pointed at her, smirking.
"Brooke, would you like to explain to your table why they have no food?" asked Jennifer.
"No."
"Then I will. Your friend Brooke here decided that she was too good to set up for lunch and didn't come. And now you have no lunch." She turned to Brooke. "Any time a girl in your room has setup or cleanup duty for your table, you are to take her place. Now go get your table some food."
Brooke glared at Jennifer and the boys who had ratted her out. Then she trudged off to do as she was told.
At Table 3, Hayleigh laughed. "Serves her right!"
"I can't believe she didn't come," Mandy said.
"I hope everyone at that table hates her right now." Lacey grinned. "Say goodbye to your friends Brooke!"
Kelsey shook her head. "They'll probably tell their parents, who will complain to someone. And then something will get changed. It is the order of their lives."
Hayleigh just shook her head and resumed her daydream about Tyler. The more time she spent around him, the more she liked him. He was so cute, and funny, and sweet, and smart, and…
Jennifer's voice, about a hundred times louder with a microphone, blasted through the dining hall.
"You will now go to the rock-climbing wall. Along with another counselor, John here, I will show you where it is. We will also belay for you as you climb. Everyone come on!"
Hayleigh hadn't even noticed that the boys had cleaned up the tables already. Whoops. But the news about rock-climbing made her happy. She was an expert rock-climber.
Time to show off!
"Does anyone have any questions?" John had just finished explaining the proper climbing technique. Thirty heads shook back and forth. "Good. Who would like to go first?"
Hayleigh's hand shot up. Jennifer called her over, and strapped her into the harness. John grabbed the ropes.
"Go!" he told her.
Hayleigh scrambled up the wall. It was a little hard at first. This wall was so different than the ones she climbed every summer. But she soon settled into the rhythm, making sure her legs carried most of her weight. She was at the top of the wall in less than thirty seconds. Her classmates looked on in awe.
With a smug smile, she propelled herself down again. Her friends, and a few of the boys (including, Hayleigh was happy to see, Tyler) started cheering. Hayleigh sat down again, content.
The rest of the day passed quickly. The girls had been so exhausted that they had just dropped off to sleep as soon as they got back to their rooms that night.
The cabins were all dark, their occupants fast asleep. Only the moon lit up the camp and its surrounding forest. And behind the cabin where the Guardians stayed, the moon glinted off the armor of a dozen soldiers. They were tall and bulky, and their gray skin and expressionless faces made them resemble rocks. But these soldiers were not of this world. That was made evident by their clawed fingers and elf-like ears.
One was obviously the leader. He stood in front of the rest, and was taller and more muscled. His armor was different also. He wore a helmet topped with an iron replica of Nerissa's symbol. The leader showed his men a photo of Tyler.
"The Keeper of the Heart is very attached to this one," he growled. He gestured at three soldiers. "Granfle, Harnet, Kerson! Get him, and bring him back to our cave. We will be there." He turned to the others. "Come on, let's get back before daybreak."
Morning dawned bright and clear. The alarm clock Kelsey had brought beeped noisily from its spot on the desk. Hayleigh threw her pillow at it. It fell behind the desk but continued beeping. Finally, she got up and turned it off. She stared out the window.
It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, touching every tiny flower and making it burst with color and sweet scent. A cool breeze blew in through the open window.
But then why did she feel so… wrong?
Just then, Mandy woke also. She blinked groggily at Hayleigh.
"You know, your necklace thing is glowing," Mandy told Hayleigh calmly, too tired for those words to have any impact on her.
Hayleigh looked down at her hand, which was resting on the desk. Sure enough, a vivid pink light was shinning out from under it. She lifted it, examining the fire within the orb. What was going on? Surely there was no evil on her school field trip.
Well, besides Brooke, Callie, and Alison. But never mind them.
The door flew open. Hayleigh quickly stuffed the Heart in a desk drawer. Mrs. Roan, the much loved science teacher, was standing in the doorway, looking worried.
"Have you seen Tyler?" she asked.
Hayleigh's mind flashed to the glowing Heart of Candracar. Whatever evil was around, it had taken Tyler! She shook her head.
"Oh. Well, have a nice day girls." Mrs. Roan started to shut the door.
"Wait!" Mandy said. She was now fully awake and standing next to Hayleigh. Mrs. Roan stopped. "Tell us everything you know, please!"
The teacher hesitated, but only slightly. She was outspoken and known for telling her students everything.
"Alright. This morning, Matt came to me and said that Tyler wasn't in his bed, or anywhere in the room. And his shoes weren't gone, so he must have been taken. Oh, and this note was left on his bed. But it probably won't be much help. I can't understand a word of it."
Mrs. Roan handed Hayleigh the note.
Guardians, if you want your little boyfriend back, we'll meet you at the cave. Don't worry, you'll find it. Oh, and we want the Heart. So bring it.
The note was signed with Nerissa's symbol, which was seared into it as if with a branding iron.
As she read it, the girl paled. She swayed, but luckily Mrs. Roan noticed nothing unusual.
"Can we keep this note?" asked Mandy, discreetly supporting Hayleigh.
Mrs. Roan nodded, and left the room. Hayleigh got over her dizziness, but her face remained very white. She retrieved the Heart of Candracar from the drawer.
"They've got him, Mandy," she whispered. "They've got him."
Mandy woke Julia, Kelsey and Lacey, telling them about Tyler and showing them the note. Hayleigh snapped out of her trance and laid out her plan.
"We have free time right after breakfast, right? That's a perfect time to stage our rescue. We'll go to the cave, not transformed. Then Julia, you'll spy, find out where he is. Then we will distract them, draw them out of the cave. They'll leave Tyler behind, and I'll go and get him. Okay?"
The girls nodded but Mandy spoke up.
"But that means… he'll see us in Guardian form. He'll know out secret."
Hayleigh chewed on her thumbnail. "That can't be helped. We can't just leave him there, and it will take all our powers to get him out."
Mandy nodded. "You're right. Free time it is."
Okay so that chapter was sort of pointless, except the last bit. Just a peek into the normal lives of the Guardians. Review please! Praise and constructive criticism welcome!