S E C R E T S of the N I G H T C O U N T R Y -posts loved-

[mercury.]

This is a tale of the night country. A place of darkness and bumps in the night. Inhabited by unimaginable creatures and people who have lost hope long ago.
This is no fairy-tale. This is the night country.
We have long since forgotten how to get in or, more importantly, out.
Join Cooper, Cameron and Hunter as they venture into a world they cannot escape from.

[mercury.]

"Coop, get up."
I groaned, "Ugh...now?"
My voice was a husky croak and I could almost feel Hunter's grin, "Now." He
chuckled and yanked off my sleeping bag.
I moaned and pulled my pillow over my head, trying to block out the cold,
even though I knew it wasn't possible; we were camping and the weather had
been less than perfect. We really needed this but it just wasn't what we
expected.
The whole reason we had gone camping was to get away from home; Hunter's
parents were having a divorce, Cameron's sister was missing and I was their
moral support. That's what I've always been. Support. Not that I really
mind, but it's really one of my only purposes. It's like I'm programmed to
say, "What's wrong?"
I guess it's nice to have friends that trust me so much but really, when do
I get some 'listen to Cooper' time? I love them and all but soemtimes I just
have so many of their problems to deal with that I have no time for my own.

"Coop," Hunter growled, "Don't make me throw you in the lake!" he threatened,
starting to grab one of my legs. I yelped and jolted back to reality,
"Alright, alright!" I said and sat up.
The only reason that Hunter was up early was because he wanted to call home;
the only place with reception was at the ranger station and it took an hour
to drive there.
I shooed Hunter out and stood up, stretching so that my fingers almost
touched my toes. I'm just not flexible, okay? I continued by cracking my neck
and fingers. Satiated, I sat down on the blow-up matress, thinking about the
wild events of last night.
It all started when Cam decided we should go for a walk. I agreed but Hunter
was very reluctant. We basically dragged him into the woods, kicking and
screaming. After we were far in, the moon was far in the country sky and I
realized it was far too late to keep going. Hunter was happy to go back and
I'm sure he was ready to run if he had to. Funny thing, a guy named Hunter,
afraid of the woods.
We turned to go back, trying to follow the path we had came on. It was so dark
in the woods, no streetlights to guide us and no cars with bright headlights.
At some point we must have strayed from the path without knowing it, so then
WHAMO we're in this clearing filled with caves.
Hunter, being the doofus he is went straight into them. I guess it was the
closest thing to a house he was going to get in the middle of nowhere.
So anyways, Hunter runs in and me and Cam wait outside. After a while, he still
hasn't come out, so me and Cam go in.
Smack in the middle of the cave is Hunter, on the ground. He's sleeping like a baby.

Now this surprised us; Hunter can barely fall asleep in a tent, let alone a cave!
Cam just shrugs and moves to carry him. I follow suite and we carry him out.
Light is just starting to fill the forest and I could see a crack of sun
streaming through the trees.
That's when we realize how long our 'walk' had been. 'Walk'? More like marathon!
So we ended up lugging Hunter all the way back to the camp ground, dropping him
on his sleeping bag and going to sleep.

I couldn't help but wonder why he was sleeping or if he even remembered last night.
Something was weird about that cave place, and I intend to find out what it is.

So, here we are, the next day.
I pushed away my questions for later, hoping to enjoy the day, or at least this morning.
It was a small thing to ask really, but judging by my luck, a little too much. Time to get
ready. Judging by the breeze that pushed through the thin material of our tent, it was still
gloomy out. Pants weather I guess, wich sucked since I only packed two pairs.
I sighed with frustration and grabbed my duffle bag. I rifled through its contents and
grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. For good measure I yanked out a hoodie incase I
got too cold. I threw it on my sleeping bag for later.
I tugged on the jeans and pulled the T-shirt over my head, ruffling my hair a bit.
At the moment I could care less what I was wearing, it's not like I needed to impress
Hunter and Cam; we'd known each other long enough and seen each other at our worst,
so being a bit scruffy didn't bother anyone.

I stood there a moment, taking a deep breath. It was way too early for me, but I knew I
couldn't leave Hunter to his own devices for much longer. That kid hated the woods and
I'm sure he'd drive home if we didn't keep him entertained.
I headed towards the tent's door, stooping a bit as the tent was fairly small. I unzipped
the entrance and stepped out onto the dewy grass, shivering a bit as the breeze I'd
noticed earlier struck me with full intensity. I was generally a person who got very cold,
very fast. Maybe I should've put on the hoodie I got out.
I got out fumbled around with the pairs of shoes that were all strewn around the front of
the tent, finally finding mine. I slipped them on quickly, not bothering to tie them tightly.
When my shoes were tied, I knew it was time for breakfast. My stomach was making
sure of it.
I walked towards the wooden picnic table that was in the center of our campsite. It had
small pools of what I assumed was rain water on the top and on the benches.
I grimaced and shoved my hands into my pockets, looking for Hunter. Finally I spotted him
sitting beside our cooler, stuffing his face with something. Typical.
I plodded over, putting a hand on his back, "Hunter," I mumbled, "how many mini-cereals
have you eaten...?" I asked slowly, hoping for the best.
"Uhm...five." he replied with a sheepish grin.
"We only packed 8! That leaves three for the rest of the trip!" I exclaimed, "We have three
more days to go, that leaves everyone a third of a box each day."
"Sorry, I just got carried away." he mumbled.
I frowned, I could never stay mad at Hunter. He never really meant to do anything bad, he
just...does. I ruffled his hair, "Alright, just give me the rest of that box." I
caved, grabbing the one he was snacking on. There was only a few spoonfuls left, but that
would have to last until lunch, I guess.
"Anyways, where's Cam?" I asked, noticing his absence.
"He's in the loo."
"Oh." I murmured.
"And here he is." Hunter remarked as the door of the outhouse swung open, revealing a very
disgruntled looking Cameron.
"Hello, Sunshine!" I chuckled softly as he trudged towards us.
"Go away." Cam gumbled.
Looks like he didn't get much sleep; his hair was a mess, his shirt was on backwards and he
was in his boxers. "Cam, put on some pants, will you?" I said, shaking my head, "You'll catch
a cold or something."
"Okay, Mom." Cam grumbled, shuffling towards the tent and returning a few moments later with
his pants on.

I patted his shoulder and ushered him over to the picnic table. He plopped down on a dry spot
and then turned to Hunter, "By the way, I think all that food is finally starting to kick in.
Remind me never to try and lift you ever again." he snapped.
Hunter looked confused, "When did you lift me?" He asked.
So Hunter didn't remember. Maybe it's best if we keep it that way. "Remember that time when you
fell asleep at the movie theatres?" I suggested, shooting Cam a look. He raised an eybrow but
remained silent.
"Oh yeah." Hunter said slowly, though I could tell he was still puzzled.
I grimaced and looked between the two of them. I wanted to see if I could find the place with
the caves, and I wasn't sure if I could leave them. Oh well, they aren't little kids,
what trouble could they get into, really.
Okay, a lot, but I really wanted to see it.
"I'm going for a walk guys, I'll be back in a few." I said, trying to seem non-chalant.
With that, I turned and walked towards where we had gone last night. I watched the ground as I
walked, trying to make sense of the dirt. Was that a Cam's foot-print or just some sort of animal
track? I sighed, this was pretty hopeless.
After a while of walking I came upon a fork in the trail. I had lost track of the foot-prints long
ago and was just travelling the natural forest paths. One seemed far less travelled, and so, like
Robert Frost, I took that one.
It was long and covered in under-growth, with many tracks of animals I couldn't place. I frowned as
I wound around trees and shrubbery, this path was over-grown but still filled with teacks. Whatever
had been here had come here recently.
After a long time I stopped, my eyes widening with surprise. There they were. The caves. I unfroze
and started to smile. My walking paid off. Then I narrowed my eyes, this was the same place, but not
the path we had taken.
The path we had taken was on the other side of the clearing. I grimaced and walked over.
I wanted to be able to find this later, for sure. I grabbed a hand-ful of small stones from the side
of the road. Hanzel and Gretal style I guess.
But first, to explore.
I walked into one of the first caves, finding nothing of interest. Then to the next, with the same
result. It went like that for a while until I came upon the seventh or eighth cave. There, at the very
back of the cave was...

[Lover-Of-Music!]

Wow. I really enjoy this story and I would definitely keep reading it. I like the cliff-hanger at the end up chapter two and now, I really would like to read chapter three! Good Luck!

[mercury.]

Thank you C: Chapter 3 is on its way.

[Lover-Of-Music!]

Yay!