Camping (III)

VIOLET


Exhaustion sets in the moment we finish setting up the tents. The campfire cackled softly in the distance and most of the other groups were still putting their gear together. I was proud of our little campsite—three tents stood neatly arranged and all the members did a decent job of organizing things—Ryan and Evelyn included. Though Evelyn helped reluctantly,her face twisting with disdain every time she looked my way.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead,glancing around. The air felt fresher here compared to the bustling streets of New York. A school camping trip wasn’t something I had anticipated but here we are.

“Good job” I said to Luke as I took a seat on a nearby log. “Looks great,doesn’t it?”

Luke smiled flopping next to me. “It does. You did a nice job”

I was about to reply when one of the teachers blew a whistle, gathering everyone’s attention.

"Alright, campers! Now that you've set up your tents, it's time for the next task." Mrs. Allen, our group coordinator, stood near the front with a clipboard in hand, a confident smile on her face as she scanned the eager but tired group of students.She raised her voice to make sure we could all hear.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and nearly jumped. “How was it?” Ashley's voice came from behind me, and I flinched in surprise

“What the hell, Ash? You scared me!” I hissed, turning to face her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your group?”

“That’s a harsh thing to say to your best friend who got stuck with the devil incarnate” she groaned, crossing her arms. “I got paired with Clara and Rosa. We almost killed each other already.” She shot a withering glare in their direction. They were standing by Evelyn, chatting, and for some reason, I felt relieved Evelyn wasn’t with Ryan this time.

“Hey, don’t be too mad. We’ll definitely hang out later tonight,” I said with a reassuring smile but ut didn’t do much to soften the scowl on her face.

“The only good part of it is that Kyle’s in my group. He’s actually nice, and...” Her cheeks turned a shade of pink.

Luke, standing beside me, gave her a teasing smirk. “You sure it’s just that, Ash? You and Kyle, huh?”

Ashley glared at him, opening her mouth to retort, but Mrs. Allen’s voice cut through the chatter.

“Attention!” she called out, silencing the groups.

Ashley quickly shot me a wink and hurried back to her group,.Mrs. Allen raised the clipboard again, her voice firm .

“You’re going to be given maps, and each group will need to hike to a specific location. The hike isn’t easy, so stick together and use the map to guide you. Once you get there, you’ll find a plant- a wild violet. The description would be given to you.The first team to return to the camp with the item gets a reward.Follow the map carefully, and trust your instincts."

I exchanged a glance with Luke. Hiking? It sounded fun, but also... challenging. The teacher handed us the map and we all took a quick glance at it

“Let’s do this!" Luke said, holding the map with excitement.

" Great. This should be interesting," I muttered under my breath.

We set out on the hike, following the winding path outlined on the map. The woods were beautiful — tall trees with leaves that swayed gently in the breeze, the sound of birds chirping overhead.

The occasional breeze rustled the leaves, but the woods were mostly quiet, save for our footsteps and Evelyn’s constant signs of annoyance.

"Are we even going the right way?" she muttered for the third time in the last ten minutes, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

The hike started off fine, but after what felt like an hour of wandering through the dense forest, frustration began to settle in

“We’ve been walking forever, and we haven’t found anything," Evelyn groaned, stopping in her tracks. "Are you sure you’re reading that map right?"

“I’m pretty sure this is the right direction. We just need to keep going," Katie replied glancing at the map

"We’re lost” Evelyn stated flatly.

I tried to stay composed, but the creeping doubt gnawed at me. The trail stretched ahead, seemingly endless, and there was still no sign of the mysterious plant we were meant to find.

"Maybe we should rethink this," I suggested quietly, glancing at Luke. "We could be missing something."

Ryan suddenly stopped and turned to face us, his expression unreadable. "We should split up."

"Split up?" I repeated, feeling a slight twinge of apprehension.

Ryan shrugged "We’re not getting anywhere like this. We’ve got six people. If we cover more ground, we might find it faster."

"That’s actually not a bad idea," someone else chimed in.

"We should split and search different sections of the woods," Luke added, looking at the map again. "Just make sure no one wanders too far. We will meet back here if anyone finds something."

I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely confident. "Yeah, I agree. We’ll spread out, but stay close enough to regroup if necessary."

The group exchanged nods of agreement, and we quickly split. I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious but I shook it off. After all, it wasn’t like we were going too far.

"Are you going to be okay?" Luke asked, concern etched on his face

I smiled, trying to ease his worry. "Yeah, I’ll be fine. We’re not going too deep into the woods."

He hesitated, but eventually nodded before walking away. I watched as everyone left to a different path feeling a strange mix of relief and uncertainty.

Drawing in a long breath, I glanced at the map again, tracing the path with my finger. It should be somewhere around here. I began walking deeper into the woods, scanning the area carefully. The cool air brushed against my skin as I moved through the trees. I kept my eyes on the ground, searching for the plant we were tasked with finding.

After what felt like an eternity, I spotted something up ahead, partially obscured by a bush. A small plant with heart-shaped leaves and delicate purple-blue flowers stood out against the greenery.

Could it be?

I quickly pulled out the sheet we’d been given with the description of the item we were searching for. Small, heart-shaped leaves. Purple, blue, and violet flowers.

A smile tugged at my lips as I realized it was exactly what we were looking for.

"Yes!" I whispered triumphantly.

With a renewed sense of excitement, I stepped forward to gently uproot the plant. Just as my fingers brushed the soil, my foot slipped on a patch of wet leaves beneath me.

The world seemed to tilt in slow motion as I lost my balance. My hand instinctively reached out to catch myself, but it was too late. I tumbled down a small slope, the plant slipping from my grasp as I hit the ground with a dull thud.

Pain shot up my arm, and I winced, realizing that in the chaos, my satellite phone had fallen out of my pocket—and worse, it was now lying in pieces nearby.

"Shit” I groaned, wincing from the impact. My whole body ached, and as I blinked, disoriented, I realized that I hadn’t just fallen down a slope—I had slipped into a pit. It wasn’t too deep, maybe eight or ten feet, but it was deep enough that climbing was totally impossible.

Great. I was trapped