Chapter 90 *

Chapter 90 Chapter 90
Angelina’s POV
Then something burst out of the bushes.
Small. Brown. Furry.
A rabbit.
A fucking rabbit.
It hopped across the clearing and disappeared into the bushes on the other side.
Nobody moved for three full seconds.
Then someone started laughing. I think it was Tyler.
"Are you kidding me?" he wheezed. "All that for a RABBIT?"
More laughter erupted. Nervous, relieved laughter.
"Holy shit, I thought we were dead!"
"That was the scariest rabbit I've ever seen!"
"I literally pissed myself a little!"
Kai slowly lowered his knife. His face was bright red.
I walked past him back toward my backpack.
Zoey was still standing there, arms crossed, glaring at him.
"We need to talk," she said coldly. "Right now."
"Zoey—"
"NOW, Kai."
She stormed off toward the edge of the clearing. Kai looked at me once more, then followed her.
Mia came over, trying not to smile. "Well that was dramatic."
"It was a rabbit."
"I know it was a rabbit. But the look on everyone's faces..." She couldn't hold it in anymore. She started giggling.
Silas walked up, grinning. "Master, you weren't even scared."
"Why would I be scared of a rabbit?"
"Not the rabbit. The possibility of a mountain lion."
"If it was a mountain lion, we'd already be dead."
Silas's grin faded. "Wait, seriously?"
"Mountain lions are ambush predators. If one wanted to attack us, we wouldn't hear it coming."
"Jesus Christ, Master. You can't just say shit like that."
On the other side of the clearing, I could hear Zoey's voice getting louder.
"You're supposed to protect ME! I'm your girlfriend!"
"I was trying to protect everyone—"
"Bullshit! You were trying to impress HER!"
Mia leaned closer to me as we watched Kai and Zoey argue. "You knew it wasn't a mountain lion, didn't you? You were just messing with us!"
I shrugged. "I said stop moving. I didn't say it was a mountain lion."
"That's not the point!" But she was grinning.
Silas walked over, trying to look casual. "I wasn't scared or anything. I was just being cautious."
Tyler burst out laughing. "Dude, you were literally shaking."
"I was NOT shaking!"
"Your hands were trembling so bad you almost dropped your water bottle."
"That was because it was cold!"
"Sure it was."
More people joined in the teasing. The tension from earlier had completely evaporated. Everyone was relaxed again.
Everyone except Kai and Zoey.
Her voice carried across the clearing. "You literally pushed me aside to go protect HER! What the hell, Kai?"
"It's not like that! I was just trying to protect everyone!"
Zoey laughed. It wasn't a happy sound. "Right. EVERYONE. Sure."
"I'm serious!"
"I saw your face, Kai. I saw how you looked at her. You still like her, don't you?"
Kai's face went red. "That's not true!"
"Then why did you run past me?"
"Because I'm stronger! It made sense for me to go first!"
"Bullshit! You didn't even think about it! You just ran straight to her!"
The clearing had gone quiet again. Everyone was pretending not to listen while obviously listening.
Zoey crossed her arms. "Whatever. Let's just keep hiking."
"Zoey —"
"I said let's go." She walked back toward her backpack, her movements sharp and angry.
Kai stood there for a moment, looking frustrated. Then he followed her.
Silas cleared his throat loudly. "Alright everyone! Break's over! Let's get moving before it gets dark!"
People slowly started gathering their stuff. A tall girl from the group walked over. I recognized her from school. Senior, maybe. She had a huge backpack that looked like it weighed fifty pounds.
"My backpack's too heavy," she announced. "Anyone want some snacks?"
She started pulling out energy bars and trail mix. Handed them out to whoever wanted them.
I took two energy bars. Unwrapped one and started eating it slowly.
The group reformed and we started hiking again. The trail was definitely steeper now. The trees thinned out a bit, giving us glimpses of the valley below.
Silas picked up a pinecone from the ground. He turned it over in his hands, examining it.
"Master, what can you do with this?"
I glanced at it. "Throw it hard enough, it could hurt someone."
Tyler laughed. "That's dark!"
Silas grinned. "Master's always thinking about weapons."
"I'm just being practical."
But Mia was looking at my face. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yes."
She shook her head. "Sometimes I can't tell if you're joking or not."
"I'm usually not joking."
We kept climbing. The trail got narrower. In some places, it was barely wide enough for one person. We had to walk single file.
I stayed near the front with Mia. Silas was right behind us, still way too energetic.
Behind him, I could hear other conversations.
"How much longer?"
"My feet are killing me."
"At least it's not as steep as before."
"That's a lie. It's definitely steeper."
I glanced back. Kai was walking alone now. Zoey was further back, walking with a group of girls. She kept shooting looks at Kai. Angry looks.
Mia noticed too. She leaned closer and whispered, "I can literally feel her death stare from here."
"Not my problem."
"I know. But it's kind of funny. She's so mad."
We walked for another hour and a half. The sun was getting lower. The shadows were getting longer.
My legs weren't tired at all. I could keep going for hours. But most of the group was struggling now.
"How much farther?" someone groaned.
Silas checked his phone. "Less than a mile. We're almost there!"
"You said that twenty minutes ago!"
"And we're closer now than we were twenty minutes ago! That's how distance works!"
Finally, the trail leveled out. The trees opened up into a large clearing.
The summit campground.
"We made it!" Silas threw his arms up. "SUMMIT!"
A few people cheered. Most people just dropped their backpacks and collapsed onto the ground.
I looked around. The clearing was maybe a hundred feet across. Flat grass. A few designated camping spots marked with wooden posts. A pit toilet building on the far side.
And the view.
The valley stretched out below us. Mountains layered in the distance. The sky was turning orange and pink. The sunset was starting.
It was actually pretty impressive.
"This is so worth it!" one of the girls squealed. She was already taking photos.
Mia grabbed my arm. "Come on, we need a group selfie!"
"No."
"Please? Just one?"
"Fine. One."
She pulled me over to where a bunch of people were gathering. Everyone squeezed together, making faces at the camera.
I stood on the edge, not smiling.
Mia took like ten photos. "Okay, got it! These are so cute!"
I walked away before she could take more.
The guys started unpacking tents. Silas pulled out his new tent and stared at the instructions.
"This looks complicated," he muttered.
Tyler came over to help. "Dude, it's just poles and fabric. How hard can it be?"
"There are like fifteen different pieces!"
The temperature was dropping fast. The sun was almost gone now. I pulled my jacket tighter.
People were putting on hoodies and extra layers. Some girls were huddling together for warmth.
"It's so cold!" Zoey whined. "I didn't bring enough warm clothes!"
One of her friends offered her a spare hoodie.
Because of what the man said about the mountain lions, nobody was wandering far from the tents. Everyone stayed close to the campsite.
I found a flat spot and dropped my backpack. Started pulling out my tent.
It was a simple one-person tent. Easy setup. I had it up in five minutes.
Mia was watching. "How did you do that so fast?"
"Practice."
"Can you help me with mine?"
"Sure."
Her tent was a two-person one. A little more complicated but still straightforward. We had it up in ten minutes.
"Thanks!" She crawled inside to set up her sleeping bag. "Oh my god, it's actually warmer in here!"
More tents went up. The campsite started looking more organized.
Silas finally got his tent assembled. He stood back and looked at it proudly. "See? Told you I could do it!"
"It's leaning to the left," Tyler pointed out.
"It's NOT leaning!"
"Dude, it's definitely leaning."
Silas looked closer. "Shit. You're right."
He started taking it down to fix it.