Chapter 88 *

Chapter 88 Chapter 88
Angelina’s POV
"You're being an asshole."
"I'm not being an asshole. You're being dramatic."
Their voices were getting louder. Other people started looking uncomfortable.
Finally, two girls decided they weren't going. They said they'd wait in the parking lot.
Silas counted heads. "Okay, so we're down to thirteen people."
Tyler grinned. "Lucky thirteen!"
Someone else laughed nervously. "Dude, that's not how it works."
We gathered our gear and headed toward the trailhead.
It was two-thirty in the afternoon. A wooden sign marked the beginning of the trail: Summit 4.2 miles, elevation gain 2,100 feet.
Silas looked at his watch. "We need to move fast. Want to get there before dark."
The thirteen of us started up the mountain.
At first, everyone was still joking around. The fear from the old man's warning hadn't fully set in yet.
Tyler was walking near the front. "If we see a mountain lion, I'm pushing Kai towards it."
"Fuck you, man," Kai shot back.
People laughed. But the laughter was a little forced. A little nervous.
I noticed people were walking closer together than they normally would. The groups that had been spread out were now clustered tight.
I stayed in the middle of the pack. Not leading, not trailing behind. Just observing.
The trail started off relatively flat. Dirt path winding through pine trees. The smell of pine needles and cold earth filled the air.
I scanned the forest as we walked. Looking for signs.
There were animal tracks in the soft dirt. Deer, mostly. Some smaller prints that were probably raccoons or foxes.
No mountain lion tracks. Not yet.
These kids had no idea how to read a forest. They were too busy talking and looking at their phones.
Mountain lions were ambush predators. They didn't announce themselves. They watched. Waited. Struck when their prey was vulnerable.
But I wasn't worried.
If a mountain lion showed up, I'd handle it. Simple as that.
Mia was walking beside me. She kept glancing into the trees nervously.
We walked for another thirty minutes. The trail started getting steeper. People were breathing harder now. The joking around had mostly stopped.
Silas called from the front. "Everyone doing okay?"
A chorus of "yeah" and "fine" came back.
"Let's keep moving," Silas said. "We want to make camp before it gets dark."
The sun was already lower in the sky. The shadows between the trees were getting longer.
I adjusted my backpack and kept walking.
The trail got steeper after the first mile. The jokes and laughter from earlier had mostly died down. Now it was just heavy breathing and the sound of boots crunching on dirt and pine needles.
I kept my pace steady. Not too fast, not too slow. Just consistent.
Behind me, I could hear people starting to struggle.
"Oh my god... how much farther?" someone gasped.
"We've only gone like a mile and a half," Silas called back.
"Only? ONLY?!"
Mia was walking beside me. She wasn't complaining, but I could tell she was getting tired. Her breathing was harder than before.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." She wiped sweat from her forehead. "Just not used to this."
"We can slow down if you want."
"No, I'm fine. Actually, I feel pretty good." She looked back at the rest of the group. "Better than them, anyway."
I glanced back too. Most of the group was spread out along the trail now. The initial tight cluster had broken apart as people found their own pace.
Kai was still near the front with his group. But even they were slowing down. I could see Zoey struggling, her designer hiking boots probably not helping.
Tyler and another guy were in the middle, talking between heavy breaths.
Silas was bouncing between different parts of the group, trying to keep everyone's spirits up.
"Come on guys, we're doing great! Just keep moving!"
"Easy for you to say," someone muttered.
Without really trying, I'd somehow ended up near the front of the pack. Mia was keeping up with me, and we'd naturally pulled ahead of most of the group.
"Hey, wait up!" Kai's voice came from behind us.
I didn't slow down. Just kept walking.
He jogged up beside me, breathing hard. "You're going pretty fast."
"Am I?"
"Yeah. Most people are falling behind."
I glanced back. He was right. The group had spread out over maybe a hundred yards of trail.
"We should probably slow down a bit," Kai said. "Keep everyone together."
"They'll catch up."
Kai looked at me. Then he pulled out a water bottle from his backpack. "Here. You want some water?"
"I have my own."
"Oh. Right." He took a drink himself, then offered it again. "You sure? It's really cold. I put ice in it this morning."
"I'm sure."
Mia was watching this exchange with barely hidden amusement.
Kai put his water bottle away. "So, uh, you hike a lot?"
"Sometimes."
"That's cool. I used to go camping with my dad when I was younger. We'd do these weekend trips in the mountains."
"Mm."
"Yeah, it was pretty fun. Haven't done it in a while though." He was trying hard to keep the conversation going. "This is actually my first time at Thunder Peak."
"Okay."
Behind us, I heard Zoey's voice. "Babe! Can you slow down? I'm dying back here!"
Kai's face tightened. "Just keep walking! You're doing fine!"
"I'm NOT doing fine!"
He ignored her and stayed next to me. "Anyway, I think it's cool that you're not even tired. Most girls would be complaining by now."
Mia spoke up. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"
Kai realized his mistake immediately. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant—"
"That girls are weak?" Mia's tone was sharp.
"No! That's not what I said!"
"That's exactly what you said."
"I was giving Aria a compliment!"
"By putting down other girls?"
Kai looked frustrated. "You're twisting my words."
"I'm really not."
I kept walking, not bothering to get involved in their argument.
Kai tried to recover. "All I'm saying is that Aria is impressive. She's stronger than most people. That's all."
"Uh-huh." Mia didn't sound convinced.
The trail curved around a boulder, and we entered a thicker section of pine forest. The trees blocked out some of the light, making it cooler and dimmer.
"Hey Aria!" Silas's voice came from behind. "Wait up!"