'tis my Sunday, so my writing spree is over for this week. I will be back to work. I was exhausted this weekend so I only worked on banked chapters. I'm actually not getting my reviews on the app, and honestly that's a bummer. but I know wyou guys are reading it and so I have to do deeper diving. anyway here is the next chapter, there is a third part to this retreat comming up. I know these ladies are always facing one desaster or another... it is their quirk, we are just waiting for that other shoe to drop are we not? We are getting close to my favorite part of the story, so Im writing as fast as I can to get it to you. Next Camping part will have the most fun stuff during this retreat, at least for us the readers so, yeah... soon. Lets hope I finish that chapter soon. Enjoy ~S.K.
Five
She was on the back of a horse, the easy, rocking rhythm familiar to her from childhood. So comforting was the motion that she was half asleep, her head nodding against the back of the person in front of her. Her arms circled a slightly protruding waist, protectively, and loosely clasped around a belt a surface that had the feel of sun warmed leather, and she could feel some soft fur under her cheek.
She was too sleepy to open her eyes. Too sleepy to look around her. All she wanted was for the hot sun to finally fall behind the mountains she knew were at their back, and give her some relief from it's relentless force.
A warm pressure surrounded her fingers, and she cast a lazy half of an eye up, to gaze a the long, dark hair that gently covered the dark leather surface she was leaning against.
"Almost there." The low, vibrant voice was as familiar to her as her own, and she gave the figure a gentle squeeze to let her know she'd heard. She was aware of being hot, and tired, and hungry, but there was a distinct sense of contentment, which warred against that, and made her wish the ride would never end.
Strange.
Tori was chiefly aware, first, of being cold. She opened one eye grumpily, and confirmed that she was where she was afraid she was, stuck in this damned camp full of snakes and spiders, and yeah the real animals too. She rolled over, then smiled a bit, as she detected Jade's scent on the sheets, and pillow next to her.
Her dream drifted back into her consciousness, and she reflected on it's weird quality, sure that the person she'd been seated against had been Jade. But Jade in leather?
Tori's brow wrinkled, and she smiled a little, at the ceiling. Was that how her subconscious saw her lover? As some warrior?
Yeah, maybe…or maybe it was her mind's way of rationalizing the reason she suffered all the discomforts of being Jade's right hand, in order to stay at the woman's side. And was she pregnant? Woo… that was profound. She almost a had to giggle, imagining herself telling Jade about it.
She could hear her voice. "I was dressed in what?" Tori smiled at the vision.
A glance to her right told her Jade was missing, and as she viewed the dawn light, she suspected her sometimes solitary lover was out and about, soothing her ruffled feathers from the day before. Tori stretched and yawned, then sat up, debating on whether or not to get out of bed.
She sighed , she needed to go to the bathroom. So she got up and put some clothes on before stepping outside.
Mary Lou pushed herself out of the tent at that point, and ruffled her short, ash blond hair. "Oh my god." She peered around the campground, then gazed at Tori. "This is a nightmare, right?"
Tori sighed, sitting on one of the porch chairs,. "It sure feels like it, doesn't it?"
Elle groaned, sticking her head out of their tent and peering at them in the dawn's quiet. The marketing VP's hair looked like a curious ferret had been nesting in it, and her eyes had blue and black rings around them from her smeared mascara.
She looked, Tori realized, like a grumpy, blond raccoon.
Cat came out and took the chair next to Tori, folding her hands on her stomach. "All right… we've got one day here, and then tomorrow we'll be going home. " She paused. "We're all adults." She paused again. "We can do this."
Mary Lou yawned. "You're right, Cat… I'm sure we'll survive.. look, we made it through the night, didn't we?" She glanced over towards Tori. "Hey.. where's Jade?"
Everyone sat up to look. "Maybe the spiders ate her." Tori remarked innocently. "Just kidding.. I don't know.. she was gone when I woke up. She's probably checking things out."
Jade chose that moment to walk down the path to the Tent, her dark hair damp with sweat. "Morning." She greeted them briskly, as she headed over to where her bunk was. "Our hostess has provided something resembling breakfast up at that main hall.. they want to start things up at nine."
Tori checked her watch. Seven thirty. "Okay… you said something resembling… what are we talking about here, peanut butter and jelly?"
"Yes." Elle edged to a more dignified sitting posture. "I usually have Mueslix."
Jade sat down and started taking off her sneakers. "Well, there's coffee and hot water… and couple of baskets of bagels, and some boxes of individual cereal." She paused, exhaling. "And bananas."
"Great." Cat sat up, then gazed at Jade. "What on earth have you been doing?"
The dark haired woman gave her a look. "Running" She answered briefly. "You all want to pick who takes a shower first?"
They all looked at the bathroom, with it's tiny, bare shower stall, then back at her in mute horror.
"Fine." Jade stood, and stripped off her sweatshirt, leaving her in her sports bra, then went into the tent and picked up the towel she'd rolled into her bag and her small kit of soaps. "Be right back." She padded to the bathroom and kicked the door shut.
"Rude." Elle spat, with a disgusted look.
"Efficient." Cat disagreed. "She's right… we're going to feel awful if we don't' shower."
"Practical." Tori nodded. "That's Jade."
"Buff." Mary Lou noted, approvingly. "Very nice."
They all looked at her in surprise.
"Hey, I call 'em like I sees 'em." The finance assistant stated, lifting her shoulders in a little shrug. Tori got up and twitched her beds into some kind of order, Cat and Mary Lou going back into the tent as well. "Dear god, what is that?" Cat suddenly said, with a start.
Tori heard their reaction and looked out of the back flap of her tent. "Oh… my…. Gosh… " Mary Lou exhaled. "It's a bog monster." The sun was behind the approaching apparition, which was moving towards them with stiff, unnatural motions, a solid black form with little white flecks here and there.
"God in the heavens." Elle snapped. "What is that?"
The figure lurched up onto the steps, and tried to get in Jade and Tori's Tent, and the women all clustered on Jade and Tori's Porch. "Where in the hell is that bitch!" The figure screamed, eyes and teeth white against the black stained skin. A pungent, unpleasant odor floated in with it. "Jade, I'm going to kick your ass!"
"Steven?" Elle asked, cautiously. "What happened to you?"
He ignored her. "Bitch! Get out here!" He yelled louder.
The bathroom door opened behind him, and Jade stepped out, her towel wrapped around her otherwise bare body, and her dark hair slicked wetly back. "Yes?" She asked, taking in the apparition with a stifled grin. "Looks like you're next up for the shower, Steve." She drawled, leaning one hand against the wooden post, and crossing her ankles.
He seethed, and for a moment Jade thought he was going to attack her. Muscles along her arms and thighs visibly tensed, but he thought better of it, and instead, he threw open the door to the men's tent, and stormed through. A chorus of loud complains echoed back, then Jose came to the door, rubbing his eyes. "What in the hell is going on…oh Dios Mio, Jade, put your clothing on!"
He was almost run over from behind, as the doorway filled with bug eyed, wild haired men.
Jade smiled, perversely flattered.
"All right." Skippy had donned a perky pink sweatshirt, with her company's name on it, over neatly pressed white slacks. "Well, did we all have a good night?" Silence greeted her words. "Well, that's great.. I'm glad to hear it….okay…"
They were seated around a circular table in the smaller hall near the lake, it's screened in walls giving a good view of the water. Breakfast had been a round or six of complaints, as the food was found uniformly lacking, and now it was a group of mildly disgruntled people seated around, waiting for the torture to begin.
"Okay.. let's start with this little exercise…"Skippy plugged bravely on. "I'd like everyone to tell us about a favorite hobby of yours." She looked encouragingly at Rob, bypassing the still seething Steve. "How about you start?"
Rob inhaled, then exhaled, folding his arms across his chest. "A hobby is it? All right… I collect pencils."
Skippy sighed. "Mr. Shapiro…"
"No no.. I mean it.. " Rob held up a hand. "My oldest one is from 1833… truthfully."
Everyone looked at Rob suspiciously. "Who's next?" The accountant went on, blithely.
Cat was next to him. "I grow herb gardens."
'Ohh…that's so nice!" Their guide burbled. "For cooking?"
The personnel VP smiled. "For Santeria… my uncle's a priest."
Skippy's eyes jiggled. "Oh.. um… next?"
"I...um… " Charles swallowed nervously. "I raise fish." He mumbled. "salt water tropical fish….I have a tank."
"Really?" Jade asked interestedly. "How big?"
He looked up at her, and pushed his glasses up onto his nose. "seven hundred gallons." He nodded a little. "I converted my garage."
Even Jade's eyes popped. "That's not a tank.. that's the Seaquarium." The dark haired woman murmured. "That must take a lot of time to take care of."
"It does… but my wife, and the kids… they help." Charles stated, happy at the reaction. "I have a baby nurse shark." He stated proudly. "I had to segment him, though.. he was eating all the flounder, and he was getting fat."
"My god." Elle blinked at her assistant in amazement. "That's incredible."
Everyone looked at her. "What?" The marketing VP snapped. "Oh… a hobby.. how silly.. I have no hobby."
"Nothing? What do you do in your spare time?" Skippy inquired, encouraged by her last success.
Elle remained silent for a moment. "Well, I… go to dinner, of course, and go out shopping, and play cards with friends of ours… "
"Oh.. well, that's nice." The blond guide smiled perkily. "What about you?" She turned her gaze to Steve.
He glared at Jade. "I run." He answered grumpily. "I enter marathons."
Big smile from Skippy. "Oh.. that's wonderful… I always wanted to do that.. I participate in all our corporate walks and runs… isn't it great exercise?"
"Yeah." He tried to clean the black muck from under his nails with little success. "Great."
Mary Lou leaned back, and grasped her knee with both hands. "I fly ultra lights." She stated, grinning at the reaction. "Yeah.. that's me out there in North Beach on the weekends, buzzing around…" Her eyes slid to Jade, who was seated next to her. "What bout you?"
The blue eyes blinked innocently. "I collect heads." She answered with a straight face. "You know… shrunken ones.. with the laces through the lips."
Everyone stared at her, with reactions ranging from horror to wry amusement. "Well, it's what you all expected to hear." The executive drawled. "Isn't it?" She caught the swiftly hidden grin on Tori's face. "Actually, I scuba dive."
Skippy nodded her head like a back car seat Chihuahua and turned to Tori hopefully. "Hi there."
Tori drew in a breath. "I write poetry." She answered very quietly, her peripheral vision catching the warm twinkle in Jade's eyes.
"That's wonderful." Skippy looked like she could have kissed her. "So creative!"
Jose had propped his chin up on his hand with a bored look. "I collect baseball cards." He told them. "For investments, you know?"
Another pathetically grateful look from the guide. "Oh.. that's so fantastic… I always wanted to do that…" She made a mark on her clipboard. "Well, we certainly are a varied group, aren't we?" She went through her papers. "Okay… well, I hope you all learned something about each other… um… let's try a trust exercise now." She stood up. "Everybody stand up, and we'll take turns catching each other."
They all looked at her.
"It'll be fun." She assured them. "Really."
"This is a bad idea." Jade stood in the back of the circle of people.
Tori turned and glanced at her. "It's okay… we used to do this during practice for gymnastics… it's just a game, Jade." She just kept herself from giving the woman a comforting pat on the arm, but leaned closer and dropped her voice. " Don't worry.. whatever happens, I won't let you fall."
Jade gazed at her, a smile playing about the edges of her lips. "I knew that…." She murmured back. "I just…" She chewed her lip. "I don't like people touching me."
The brunette woman rubbed her jaw. "Well.. you could tell everyone not to catch you." She commented softly. "But that's gonna hurt."
Jade sighed, and watched, as Skippy joined them with her ever-present clipboard, her hair tucked up under a delightfully pink hat, with a prancing, coy pony on it. The executive had an almost irresistible desire to snatch it, and bury it deep in the earth.
"Okay…this is how this works…" The guide explained. "One person stands in the middle, and the rest of you get behind. Then that person just lets themselves fall back, and everyone else catches them. Okay?"
"What if they don't?" Rob asked, in his deep rumble.
"Excuse me?" Skippy peered at him.
"What if they don't catch the person." The Financial VP inquired.
"Oh…well.. um...I guess… they just.. well, they fall, I guess.. " The woman's brow knit. "I don't know, really.. it's never happened."
"That's very reassuring." Rob put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. He was wearing a pair of cotton painter's pants, and comfortable looking hiking boots, along with a crimson flannel shirt. Then he turned to Cat, who was wearing a crisp tan shirt over blue jeans. "You did bring workman's comp packets just in case, right?"
Cat cleared her throat. "Of course."
Skippy blinked at her, disconcerted. "You did...oh... well, I'm sure you won't need them." She hastened to reassure her. "This is a very safe course… we never have accidents, never."
"Don't worry, my dear.. the ship is absolutely unsinkable." Mary Lou muttered, sotto voce.
"Shh." Tori scolded her. "Or we'll be at this all day.. let's get it over with."
"Um…who wants to start?" Skippy gave Steve a little smile.
With a little shrug, he came forward. "Might as well… can't be worse than being dumped ON MY ASS in the MUD this morning." He glared at Jade. " You could have warned me!"
Everyone looked at Jade, who shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that mud was there?" She asked reasonably. "You decided to run ahead of me… not my fault you didn't stop in time."
"Oh, will you two shut up?" Elle snapped, in a foul mood. "Let's get this idiocy over with already."
Sullen glares all around. Steve turned his back on them, and let his arms hang down straight, his bright blue sweatshirt over a white polo shirt contrasting with his khaki chinos. "Ready?"
Jose sidled forward, and nudged them all along. "Come on.. come on.. " They clustered in a group. "All right."
Steve very obviously squared his shoulders, then let himself tip back.
A loud explosion behind them sounded. Everyone jumped, and whirled, even Skippy, who threw her clipboard up as a defense. "Oh my!"
Steve dropped forgotten into the pine needle filled ground with a thump. "Son of a bitch!" He screamed.
The sound was repeated, and they realized it was a backfire from some vehicle. Skippy dashed over to where Steve was lying, rubbing his head, and knelt down. "Oh my gosh.. oh my gosh… are you all right?"
They were all torn between giving him guilty looks, and watching the camp entrance, where a low growling sound indicated someone was approaching. "Listen… Sorry about that, kid.. " Jose offered him a hand up. "That noise.. you know, it just startled us… sounded like a damn gun."
Speak for yourself, Jade thought she hadn't been planning on trying to catch him anyway.
The sound got louder, then a flash of sun on metal almost blinded them as a Harley roared in, thumping across the uneven ground and heading in their direction, after slowing to check the scene out. It pulled to a stop and the rider pulled his helmet off. "Hey."
It took all Jade's considerable concentration to keep a devilish grin off her face. "Hey, Sinjin… didn't think you'd make it."
The MIS chief got off his bike, and glanced down at his body, which was covered in tiny, blood specked forms. "Neither did I.. god damned love bugs… the company owes me big time for this one...it's gonna take me a week to get all their guts off my bike." He glanced over. "What's he doing on the ground?"
Skippy decided to give up on that activity, and she let them take a break for a few minutes while she got Sinjin settled, and his Harley put in a safe spot. The MIS chief had been stuck in San Francisco resolving the Hong Kong issue and had promised to try and join them, but had left his assistant there to finish mopping up. "That was a bitch, Jade." He shook his head, as he joined them, having changed out of his leather and love bug carcass outfit into something less gruesome. "I had to end up having the Erding office bring the equipment in for them…you're gonna owe a few folks out there one."
Jade nodded. "Good going…" She re-tucked her long sleeved, heavy cotton shirt into her jeans. "Glad you could join us." She glanced over where Steve, Jose and Elle were clustered.
"Yeah.. you look like you're having a great time." Sinjin commented dryly. "This place is a dump." He glanced over as Skippy returned, with a bunch of little sacks slung over her shoulder. "Uh oh… now what?"
"Okay!" Skippy looked perkily grim. "Here's what we're going to do now… we've got a course set up- you can see the entrance to it over there. " She pointed, and they all looked over to where a trail was clearly marked. "It's a ten mile path, and along the way there are different stations and obstacles you have to get through." She handed each one of them a bag. "The object of this is for all of you to get through." She gave them a look. "All of you, not just some of you, okay? You all have to get back. All of you. Everyone get my point?"
Tori muffled a chuckle.
"Okay.. in this sack is your lunch…and a snack." She held up a sample. "The directions are on the top."
Jade laughed, on seeing them. "You guys shop on the Military channel, by any chance?"
Skippy scowled, in a nice way, at her. "Anyway, at each station is a check point.. you have to get this card stamped at each checkpoint. About halfway, there's a cabin with water, and juice, and things like that." She exhaled. "It's not a race, okay? The purpose is to make you work together, to get through the obstacles."
"We got that point." Rob informed her.
"Right.. okay.. .well, go on… we'll have dinner waiting for you guys when you get back." Skippy made shooing motions with her hands.
"Wait.. you want us to walk, for ten miles?" Elle objected. "You must be joking." She glanced around for support. "That's ridiculous."
"It's not that bad." Tori told her, kindly, as she moved closer to the marketing VP. "Really."
"Oh no… no… no way." Elle backed away from her. "I'm sorry.. I've had enough."
"Look…" Skippy clasped her clipboard to her chest. "This is the important part of the seminar, okay? I have to write a report on your group for your leadership team, and it's based mostly on this exercise."
Cat exhaled. "Come on, Elle… god knows I'm not up to walking ten miles, but we'll get through it." She glanced over at Jade. "Let's get going…sooner we start, the sooner we finish." She shouldered her pack. "We can rest along the way… right?" This she directed at Skippy.
The guide smiled in relief. "Right.. there are benches and things for you to rest on…it's not an endurance race or anything." She assured them. "And there are water fountains."
The group moved reluctantly off, and approached the path, passing the sign and entering a tree lined, fairly well marked lane covered in sand and pine needles. A grumpy silence held over them, and they strung out a little on the path, with Jose and Steve deciding to set the pace, and Jade choosing to bring up the rear. Tori casually dropped back next to her, while Sinjin amiably engaged Rob in talk of the upcoming football playoffs. Mary Lou and Cat started off after Jose and Steve, and Elle, complaining loudly. Chose to walk next to her assistant. The wind picked up a little, and blew the leaves against each other, whistling lightly around them and isolating their conversation.
"Having fun?" Jade inquired.
"Mm.. not really.. but did it seem to you like Mary Sunshine back there was awfully glad to get rid of us?" Tori asked, adjusting her canvas pack to settle around her slim waist, instead of over her shoulder. "Here… let me get yours.. it's easier to carry this way." She adjusted her companion's, slipping her arms around Jade for the moment needed to fasten the straps.
Well, slightly more than the moment, but not long enough to attract attention from their grousing coworkers.
"Yeah.. " Jade glanced around. "I don't think we're going to rate a good report from her… we've been sort of uncooperative." She took a breath of the cool air, and felt her temper settle a little. "This is kind of nice, though."
"Wait until we get to the obstacles." Tori chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Hey, you know, I had the weirdest dream last night." She missed the sudden, startled glance in her direction from Jade. "We were riding a horse… and you were wearing leather."
"What?" Jade started laughing. "You're joking."
"No.. no, really.. " Tori chuckled too. "I know.. it was really strange.. but it was really vivid, too… I could smell the horse.. and the leather stuff you were wearing… and there was fur… wolf I think."
Jade didn't reply. She went silent for a moment, and paced along, thinking. "Well… " She finally said. "I guess it was the atmosphere then.. I had a pretty strange dream too." Then she fell silent.
Tori waited for a long minute. "What was it about? Was I in it?" She coaxed, interested.
"Yeah… " The taller woman responded. "We were on a hill… someplace I didn't recognize, really… over some river… it was warm out, and we were just out there, watching the clouds go by." She paused. "You were sleeping…you had your head resting on my leg." She tapped her thigh.
Tori waited. "And.. that's strange?" She queried, puzzled. "I don't get it."
"You were pregnant." Jade said, very softly. "That was the strange part." She walked on a few more paces, before she realized she was walking alone. With a start, she stopped, and looked behind her. Tori was standing on the path, staring at her. "Hey.. it was just a dream." But she felt the question in her own voice, and knew Tori had heard it.
The brunette woman took a breath, then started forward, breaking into a trot and catching up with Jade. They continued walking in silence for a little stretch.
"That is strange." Tori finally said. "I mean.. it's kin shock to hear that… it's something I.." She hesitated. "I know I don't have to worry about that anymore, unless I want to.. um… you know." She looked up at Jade's face, seeing the odd hints of tension around her eyes. "Uh…have you… I mean, do you want… um… "
"No.. I don't know... " Jade lifted her hands and let them fall. "Kids and me… they don't mix well." She stated firmly, then hesitated. "I mean.. well, I um… I mean, if you wanted… someday.. I think… um…" She fell silent, then peered at Tori. "You know?"
The brunette woman's face wrinkled up into a confused grin. "I think so…but it's not in my plans anytime soon, if that's what you're worried about."
"I wasn't worried." Jade replied instantly. "Not at all. I was just saying that.. um… it's possible to get used to anything, if you know what I mean."
Now, Tori smiled. "I know what you mean." She reassured her boss. "But that's a strange image, for a dream"
"Well, what about me in leather?" Jade asked, glad to change the subject. "Maybe it was those sandwiches we had…. I'm still not sure of what they were." The pasty substance had tasted like a cross between chicken and tuna salad, mixed with a little Tabasco, or pimento, and Jade had resolutely swallowed it, and turned her mind from examining it too closely.
"Maybe." Tori agreed softly. " Or maybe it's a kink of mine…" Tori chuckled and trailed off thinking. "Jesus.. I haven't thought about being pregnant for…" A pause. "A while."
A gust of wind blew past them, lifting up dark hair and whipping it around both their faces. They'd let the group get a short distance in front of them, and the winding path had isolated the two of them briefly. Jade glanced over and saw the look of quiet, grim introspection on her lover's face and she debated with herself, whether or not to push Tori on the subject. Finally she sighed, and flexed her shoulders. "You.. um… " A light shrug. "Want to talk about it?"
Tori regarded the passing trees thoughtfully. "Not really much to talk about….it was just mostly stupidity on my part… when I was home last year." She related, in a quiet tone. "They were giving me a hard time…I felt lousy… " A slight pause. "I felt ugly." Tori wryly corrected herself. "And I went to a party with some old friends from college… got drunk until I didn't know half of what I was doing, and ended up in bed with some guy I hadn't seen for five years." She studied her boots, remembering just how disgusted she'd felt when she woke up. "I wasn't on the pill, of course.. " She snorted softly. "I got lucky…nothing happened."
Jade snuck a look ahead of them, then settled an arm around her companion's shoulders, pulling her close. "That's lousy….sorry you had to go through it." The dark haired woman stated gently. "I can't tell you how mad that makes me."
"That I'd do something that stupid?" Tori asked bitterly. "Yeah, well.. I was pretty mad at myself too."
"No." Jade kissed her head. "That your parents made you feel that bad about yourself."
"Don't put the blame on them, Jade… " Her lover shook her head. "They didn't make me go to that party, or get plastered, or jump in bed with that guy."
"I know." The executive agreed, with a sigh. "But I think you did that as a reaction to how you were feeling… when that guy came on to you, it made you feel better about yourself, didn't it?" She felt Tori's shoulders move a little in a shrug. "Didn't it? I bet he was good looking."
A hazy memory surfaced, and Tori's nostrils flared. "Yeah… " She admitted wryly. "He looked like that guy from Dune." She admitted. "He was really cute.. and he told me he thought I was cute… and I…" A long sigh. "I guess I really needed to hear that." She glanced up at Jade, who was still walking along with her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders. "He was a nice guy, too.. he called me the next day, all panicking… because he hadn't had protection on.. and telling me he was healthy, and saying… he'd 'do the right thing' if it turned out I was… " She had to laugh. "It was surreal."
Jade laughed gently. "Well, you'll never have to get me drunk to make me tell you how cute you are, okay?" She hugged Tori.
The brunette woman rested her head against Jade's arm. "You make me feel so wonderful, did you know that?" She replied simply. "It's such a pleasure to be in love with you."
Jade blinked, speechless for a few heartbeats. "Likewise." She finally managed to say, faintly.
"Have you ever had a scare?" Tori asked Jade.
"No… but I think I've promised my Womb to Beck." Jade stated.
"Aww the two of you would make really cute babies." Tori stated with a smirk.
Jade bumped Tori lightly. "The kid would kind of look like you and me in that case… You kind of favor Beck a little."
Tori tilted her head slightly. "Yeah, I see it… plus having a genius baby with your eyes and my body…"
Jade laughed out loud now. "You'll have me being a shotgun daddy huh." A yell up ahead distracted them. "Oh hell. " Jade's face took on an annoyed look. "Damn, for ten cents I'd just lose this place."
Tori patted her companion's belly. "All of us have to get through, remember? C'mon… let's see what they found." She disentangled herself from the taller woman's grip lengthened her stride, climbing up the tiny, root encrusted rise and peeking down the path.
The rest of the group was standing on the edge of a slice across the path, into which a creek had carved itself deeply, causing a chasm about fifty feet across.
A single, braced rope bridge went over it, consisting of a simple strand, with two others running alongside The entire thing was suspended over the water about twenty feet, providing an annoying, but not lethal drop if one got dumped off the bridge.
The object, obviously, was to get to the other side. If one walked carefully, it seemed achievable enough.
The problem was the fifteen foot python wrapped around the rope, sunning itself. "Oh boy." Jade muttered, coming up behind her. "This could get ugly."