Hi guys. This is my 22 chapter. I'm super excited. I wanted to give a special thanks to Keruise. Oh my gosh. You have made my whole writing experience better. Thank you so much.
I don't really want to end this story, but I'm running out of ideas. I have a couple more & then I'm gonna have the last chapter be ten years in the future with little Tali's & little Soda's running around Tulsa. Here's chapter 22.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Wake up! Let's go! Time to go cam-ping!" I couldn't place whose voice it was. I opened my eyes & groaned. It was still dark outside. I sat up as Evie did, & we got out of bed.
"Was that Two-Bit?" she asked. I shrugged.
"That's how he says camping." I told her. We changed into some comfy clothes & went down stairs. The whole gang was there along with Paxton, Parker, & dad.
"What are… we doing… up so early?" Evie asked, in between kissing Steve. Darry laughed.
"It's about a six hour trip. We gotta get going." he explained. We all groaned.
"Okay. We're gonna be taking two trucks. In truck one will be, me, Tali, Soda, Evie, Steve, & Dally. In truck two will be, Paxton, Two-Bit, Johnny, Pony, & Darry." Parker called. We all ate breakfast & loaded into the trucks.
"We'll stop for gas & snack break & that's it. I wanna get there pretty quick." Darry stated. Thus began, the week long camping trip.
*2 hour later* We stopped for our first gas run. Parker & Darry were pumping gas & the rest of us went to go get snacks or had to go to the bathroom. Two-Bit stole some snacks, but why wouldn't he? He's Two-Bit. We all got our snacks & went back to the trucks.
"We have about four hours to go. Can we get through that without stopping?" Darry asked. We all thought about this, & then nodded. Darry clapped his hands. We got into the trucks & started the last stretch of the trip. Parker & Dally were in front & the four of us were squashed in back. I was on the edge, then Soda, Steve, & then Evie on the other side. I was reading, Steve & Soda were arguing about cars, & Evie was eating oreos, looking out the window. I was reading Call of the Wild. This is my favorite book. Buck being so out of his elements until he begins to adapt. Him getting into fights with Spitz. John Thornton saving his life & then Buck saves his. The end of the book, when John dies…
"Tali! Earth to Tali!" I looked up at Soda.
"What?" I snapped.
"Ooh. Grouchy! We're here." he said. I put my book down & looked outside. It was beautiful. Parker parked the car & we met the guys at the main lodge. We all went up to the main desk.
"Hi. I'm Darrel Curtis. We have reservations for 12." he spoke. The secretary nodded & looked in a file cabinet.
"Ah, yes. Okay. Two to Four people in each cabin. No smoking inside." she responded. Darry nodded & we started towards the cabins.
"Me & Evie get a cabin to ourselves!" I beamed. Evie nodded in agreement.
"I got Steve & Dally!" Soda shouted. Steve & Dally put their arms around Soda. I noticed that Dally was getting... I don't know, but he was different. I'm gonna have to ask him about that. Two-Bit put his hands on Pony & Johnny's shoulders.
"I get these two youngins so I can teach em' about life." Two-Bit hollered. Darry sighed & we all laughed. This ought to be good.
"Okay. It's settled. I'll have Parker & Darry." Paxton announced. Everybody went into their cabins.
"This is beautiful." Evie whispered, admiring the warm, rustic feel of the cabin.
"It is." I agreed. We unpacked & went back to the main cabin. All the guys were already there.
"So? What are we doing?" Evie asked. Darry was real excited.
"We are going hiking!" he exclaimed. Two-Bit groaned.
"Nah. I think I'm gonna grab a beer." he clucked. We all laughed.
"Nope. You're coming with us." Darry retorted. Two-Bit gave in & we started towards the trails. One said easy, one said medium, & the other said hard. Steve looked at Darry.
"I vote we go on the easy path." he mumbled. We all laughed.
"Let's go on the medium." Pony countered. Steve shot Pony the death glare. If looks could kill, Pony would be on the ground.
"I agree with Pony." Evie spoke. So, we all started down the medium trail. The view was breathtaking. We saw deer, turkeys, squirrels, & other forms of life. We came to a river with stepping stones going across.
"Can we do it?" I asked. Darry thought about it.
"Sure. Just go across & come back. We gotta get back to the cabins." he reminded. Evie & Steve went together & came back. Two-Bit almost fell in. We all started to laugh at him.
"Hey! You ain't gonna be laughing when it happens to you." he snapped. Me & Soda did it next. As we started to come back, I slipped on a rock & we tried to jump to the next, but we fell into the water. It wasn't very deep, up to my chest. Two-Bit started howling with laughter.
"Holy Shit!" Soda exclaimed, dragging me to shore. It was really freaking cold. He helped me up & kissed me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, running his fingers through my freezing, wet hair. I laughed.
"I'm fine." I promised. The rest of the gang ran over.
"Are you guys okay?" Darry asked, putting his hands on our shoulders. I noticed I had started to shake.
"W...we're f...fine." I said. Parker came over then.
"Honey, you guys are shaking." he said. Paxton came over too.
"Yeah. We gotta get you guys back to the cabin." he agreed. Me & Soda started shaking even more. Everyone took off their coats & gave them to us. We started our hike back to the cabin. I was shaking so much, I could barely walk & my vision was getting darker. I looked over & saw Soda shaking & trembling. We were almost back to the cabin when Soda tripped & fell to the ground. Darry kneeled down next to him.
"Soda… baby. Guys. He's out & ice cold. Steve help me carry him." he instructed. Steve came over & started to pick him up. Just then, I fell into Paxton. He caught me & that's the last thing I remember before I blacked out.
