The Four as One

by R. F. Pace

       George asked, “When do you guys want to do this?”  Tammy said, “Why not now?”  Sara asked, “How long will it take everyone to get ready?”  George replied, “Not long, but we need to break the list down first so we don’t forget anything.”  Ten minutes later this list was divided and everyone was on their way back to their houses.

       The group was packed and ready to go just before 10 am.  Jim, Jakes dad, was doing his inspection of the vehicles, equipment and the kids.  Jim asked, “How long are you planning to be gone?”  Jake replied, “We’ll be back before dark.”  Jim smiled and said, “Good answer, I don’t want you riding through the woods after dark.”   Jake explained the general area they would be riding in.  That being said, Jim nodded and said, “Be safe.”

   

  ***

   

       The group took off down the road to an area where there were several trails.  Sara was first; Jake, Tammy and George fell in behind.  The trail they were on soon forked, one going toward the south, the other continuing to the west.  Sara stayed with the trail going west.  The ride was going pretty smoothly until they reached the area where the trail seemed to end.  Sara stopped and turned her four-wheeler off.  The others followed suit.  Sara said, “This is where everyone turns around and heads back.  Looks like we can continue west.” She pointed to a densely covered path as she spoke.  

       Jake pulled out his compass and did a direction check.  Agreeing with what Sara pointed out, Jake and Sara swapped positions in the riding order and they were riding again.  Because Jake was now making his own trail, he was trying to memorize land marks so they didn’t get lost on the return trip.  The group was now going about a third of the speed they had been going.  The ruts, rocks, trees and bushes made them have to twist and turn every direction.

       After riding for about an hour, the path opened up to a clearing and Jake parked his four-wheeler.  Everyone followed suit.  “It looks like we are going to be in for a rough ride from here on out,” Sara said. Everyone was looking at the surroundings and agreeing with her.  After a quick break and discussion of which way they thought would be best to go, the group was off again. 

       Jake was gradually making his way toward the west, but to him it felt like he was going more south than west.  The terrain due west was a steep grade up, so they continued toward the southwest.  After another thirty minutes Jake came to a stop near a creek.  Tammy said, “This must be Little Creek.  That means we are about two miles from your house, Jake.”  Jake replied, “We have only traveled about two miles?”  Sara and George were smiling and nodding their heads.  Jake said, “I wish we had a map of this area.”  George said, “I tried to find one but was unable to.” “I might try to find an aerial view from the internet when we get back tonight.” Jake murmured while surveying the area.

       The group decided to continue the way they had been, also they could go around the mountain and not over it.  The problem was, they were getting further away from where they wanted to be.  An additional problem was the trees were getting thicker, making it harder to maneuver.  About an hour later, Jake found a nice spot and stopped. When they got off of the four-wheelers, everyone felt as if their bodies were still vibrating. 

   

       Jake pulled out his compass to get his bearings.  Looking toward the west the area was level but descending slightly.  “If we continue heading west, other than this mountain, are there any others that are going to give us problems?”  Jake asked, pointing to the mountain in front of them. Sara replied, “No, but we will need to head west by northwest to avoid it.” Jake nodded. 

       After going around the mountain, they were heading west and could feel the terrain inclining. When they reached the top, the view that greeted them was spectacular.  Jake’s stomach rumbled and thought this would be a great place to stop and eat. After everyone got food and something to drink, Sara pointed toward their destination, the mountain that loomed in front of them and said, “Somewhere on the other side of that mountain are the caves we are looking for.”  Each of them in deep thought, there was very little conversation.

       They cleaned up their trash and continued in the direction they were traveling. The group was making good time until they hit a stream that was too wide and deep to cross.  George suggested to head north toward the start of the stream, where it might get smaller.  The group traveled about 20 minutes when they found a crossable section of the stream.  Sara was now clock-watching as the day was starting to get away from them.  Forty-five minutes later they were in the area of Deep Gorge.  Before them was the steep face of the mountain they had seen in the distance a while back.

       Tammy took her camera out and started snapping various photos of the side of the mountain.  “Why are you just snapping photos of nothing?” Jake asked. Tammy replied, “When I get home tonight I can blow them up and look for anything odd, so when we return we have a better place to start.”  They only stayed a short time before they decided they had better head back home.

       The return ride was uneventful and quiet.  Everyone was excited about reaching their destination but worn out from the long ride. They were tired from the bumps and bangs their bodies had endured during the day.  They arrived at Jake’s house about 30 minutes before dark.  After making plans to get together the next day, the group said their goodbyes, split up and everyone headed home.

   

  ***

   

       Jake went in, let his parents know he was back and told them a little of what had happened.  After eating dinner, Jake went to his room and crashed.

       When Sara arrived home she found a note that her parents had gone out.  She grabbed a quick bite, a shower and then headed to bed.

       George was wide awake and hard at work on his computer.  He used every search engine he could think of to get maps of the area.  After an hour of searching he found the perfect map and printed it out, one copy for each of them. He grabbed a quick snack before heading to bed.

       Tammy informed her parents of their adventure and made up a story of a giant two-headed lizard that attacked them.  Her parents smiled and shook their heads.  Her father asked, “Did you have fun?”  She smiled and nodded her head.  He continued with, “I’m glad to see you getting out and doing something other than surfing the web.  You know I don’t like you sitting at the computer all the time.”  Tammy said, “They are planning a camping trip over a weekend.  I told them, no way, I’m not sleeping in a tent with all the bugs and poisonous snakes.”  Her father replied, “That would do you good to get out and camp!  You used to love camping when you were little.”  “Hmm… I don’t know if I want to do that, I’ll think about it,” she said. Tammy then got up and stretched, yawning said “I’m going to grab a quick shower and head to bed.  I love you.”  In her room Tammy downloaded the pictures she had taken, and for the next two hours she was scanning the mountainside.  Several pictures had shown areas where an entrance could possibly be located.  As the hour was getting late, she decided to go to bed and get a fresh look at everything in the morning.

  CHAPTER 4

   

       The next morning everyone met at Jake’s house. George came in with a huge smile on his face. “You will never guess what I found.” All eyes turned to George waiting for the punch line thinking this was a joke.  “I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited about what we found, so I went online and searched some more for maps of that area.  Here look what I found.”  George handed each one a copy of the map he printed.

       Jake said “This is awesome. Where did you find such a clear view?  It’s almost like you can see the trail that we need to get back up there.”  Sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table everyone gathered around with their copies and started studying them closer.  “Why don’t we mark out the trail we made after we left the main trail?” S
ara ask, pointing to the where Jake took the lead on the ride. George, Tammy, and Jake all said at the same time “That’s a great idea.”  “Jinx” they all said at the same time again then started laughing.  Over the next couple hours they mapped out the trail on each one of their maps then compared them to make sure they all matched.

       “Oh!” said Tammy said, “I almost forgot about the photos.”  She pulled the prints out and laid them on a table.  The group, still gathered around, looking at them as Tammy was flipping them one after the other.  Most of them looked the same: rocks, dirt and trees.  As Tammy was about to flip one, George said, “Stop! What was that?  Look about halfway up the mountain.”  Everyone was looking at the photo but seeing the same old thing.  George pointed at what looked like a reflective light.  They all moved in and started staring at the spot he had pointed at.  Tammy said, “I didn’t notice that before.”  “Do you have any other photos of this area?” Jake asked.

       Tammy flipped through several photos and selected three of the same area.  When she laid them side by side, the others didn’t show anything.  Whatever was reflecting was no longer there.  Sara said, “That’s weird. Look how the area around the reflection is blurry in the middle picture.”  “I noticed that too,” Tammy said.

       Tammy pulled out several more photos and laid them on the table.  She laid a photo that looked like it was badly out of focus in front of the other three and said, “Check this out.”  George laughed, “You were out of focus.”  Tammy said, “No! I zoomed in on the area near the reflection.  It’s about five feet away.  Look, the rocks on the edge of the photo are clear, but the middle looks wavy, not blurry.”  Jake got chills looking at the photo.  When he looked up he noticed it was having the same effect on Sara and George.

       After a few minutes Jake breaking the silence said, “That looks like the place where we want to start.”  Sara replied, “There could be some old mountain man hiding up there, thinking his refuge from the end of the world is being invaded.”  George replied, “I didn’t see any man anywhere.”  Jake and Tammy both said, “Nor me.”  Sara said, “I didn’t really mean to say I saw a man in the photo, oh just forget I said anything.”

      Tammy asked, “When do we want to go?”  Sara said, “My parents leave next week for 10 days. It sure would be nice if I had someone staying with me.”  Sara looked at Tammy and smiled.  Tammy said, “My parents want me to get out of the house and do other things.  I don’t have to make up where I’ll be, but thanks.”  Sara said to Jake and George, “What about you two?”

       George said, “My parents don’t worry about what I do.  I’ll tell them I’m going camping with Jake for about a week and they’ll be happy.”  Everyone turned to Jake.  Jake said, “I’ll just have to tell mine where we’re camping and when we‘ll be back.”

   

  ***

   

       Over the next couple of days the group met and made plans for the camping trip.  They compared supply list and noted what was still needed.  Looking back over the list they agreed that each would be required to carry a full back pack and at least two additional packs of gear. With all the plans set it was time to put it into motion.

       Later that night, Jake and his parents were sitting down to eat dinner.  Jake had butterflies in his stomach about asking them if he could go camping.  Donna kept staring at Jake and finally said, “You’re awful quiet tonight.  What’s going on in your head?”  Jake replied, “Just thinking what gear we need for the camping trip we are planning.”  Jim said, “So you guys are still planning on an overnight campout?”  Jake frowned and said, “Well we were thinking of camping for several days, not just overnight.”  Donna’s eyebrows went up and she asked, “Several days?”  Jake’s mind was racing.  Do I tell the truth or a lie?  He finally said, “We thought it would be cool to take a week to ten days and kind of live off the land.”  Jim smiled and said, “You’ll starve to death.”  Donna frowned, “I don’t like the sound of that.”  Jake quickly said, “I don’t mean we’re going to paint our faces and hunt wild boar with a sharpened stick.”  Jim had a visual pop in his head and said, “Better tie your loincloth tight.”  Donna started laughing and said, “That is not an image a mother needs.”  Jake replied to his father, “Who said we were going to be wearing a loin cloth?”  Donna answered, “Now I didn’t need to hear that!”  The look on Donna’s face caused Jim to burst out laughing.  Embarrassed about the image his mother had, Jake said “It’s just camping and hanging around. You know campfire cooking, ghost stories and stuff like that.  It’s not even that far away. Just down the trails.”  Jim looked at Jake saying “We trust you son, just be careful.”  “We will Dad” Jake replied.

      After dinner Jake packed his gear and got ready for the next day.  He called George first to make sure all was good to go for him, and then called the other two.  Everyone assured Jake they were ready.  That night the four teens had trouble sleeping.  The plans were set, their gear was packed and everything was a go.  The all agreed to meet at Jake’s house at 7 a.m. so they could make the most of the day.

  CHAPTER 5

   

       Seven a.m. arrived and everyone was sitting in front of Jake’s house.  Jim was out once again, inspecting everything.  He rattled off item after item to ensure everything was covered.  When he said, “Toilet paper,” the four of them just looked at each other with a startled grin.  Jake said, “Not I.”  The other three had the same response.  Jim said, “Did you think of a shovel, or are you going to dig with your hands?”  Four heads shook from side to side.  With the additional gear now packed, they were off.

       The trail ride was uneventful and took them half the time it had the first day they tried.   They arrived on the western side of the mountain, looked for a place to set up camp and settled on a flat spot inside a small group of trees near the base of the mountain.  There was a water source a short distance away, with the circle of trees to block the wind.  Most importantly the mountain was just a few yards.

       After discussing where to pitch the tents, they all agreed it would be best up toward the end of trees for the most protection from the wind thus leaving the center area opened for the camp fire.  The group first removed the tents from their four-wheelers, then set them up, before taking a quick break.  After a few minutes of rest, they all started pulling gear to organize their areas.  Stopping, Jake said, “Before we do anymore, let’s go and check out that spot we saw in the pictures.”  Everyone agreed.

       They removed a few items from their packs and kept what they might need for the short hike.  The group then set off toward the area in the picture that had caught their attention.  Looking at the mountain now, it was hard to tell where that area was located.  Stopping momentarily, Sara asked, “Where were you standing when you took those pictures Tammy?”  Tammy looked around a bit and replied, “About here, I think.”  With all of them looking at the photos and comparing them to the mountain face, it took a few minutes to find that specific area.  Excited at what they might encounter, they again set out on their hike.

   

  ***

   

       The mountain had more underbrush and small trees than it initially appeared.  The climb looked a lot easier than originally thought and it didn’t matter who was leading; the others following were showered with small rocks and dirt.  The group started picking out small ledges, going at an angle instead of trying to go straight up, thus making the climbing easier.  This prevented most of the debris from falling on the others, but increased the problem if you slipped, no one was there to help stop you.

       The group steadily worked their way to the area they saw in the pictures.  The closer they got, the more odd it looked.  They reached a plateau when they were about thirty feet away.  Stopping to rest, they could see a slight shimmering.  George said, “That looks cool, but it s
ure is strange.”  Tammy questioned, “Do you think it’s wise for us to go over there?”  George smirked, “Do I recall something about chicken, or words to that effect you once used?”  Tammy biting bottom lip said: “No, I was just saying…oh, never mind.”  George just smiled at her stammering trying to find the right thing to say.

       It took a bit of work to cover the last 30 feet, but persistence paid off.  The group, now in front of an opening that could only be viewed when standing within five feet, could clearly see the oddity of the reflection from the photo.  Jake moving in and out of the five-foot radius exclaimed, “This is so cool!”  The scene would change from a rock formation to a cave entrance and back.   After seeing Jake do this several times, the others had to take their turn.

       After a few minutes of playtime and the novelty wore off, Jake said, “Who wants to go in first?”  Looking at one another, Jake was nominated by default for standing the closest to the entrance.  He took out a rope, tied it to himself and said, “If something goes wrong, pull me out!”  Half-expecting to be prevented from entering the cave by some invisible force, Jake was able to walk right inside.

      After letting his eyes adjust, he untied the rope and yelled back to the others, “You’ve got to see this!”  The rest wasted no time getting in, looking like a cartoon of one trying to get in front of the other and no one making any progress.  When the three popped inside, they couldn’t see anything.  After waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness they noticed Jake wasn’t standing there.