“Exactly what you’re supposed to do,” she lied. “Commune with nature, find inner peace, rethink my questionable life choices.”
He raised a dubious eyebrow, and she laughed. “Don’t believe me?”
He shook his head.
“Fine,” she conceded. “The regular campouts don’t do them, so I’ve actually only done a couple. I find food, eat, and try to sleep the day away.”
“Sounds smart. Hope the rain stops.”
“Yeah, me too.”
They picked as many berries as they could, but because they’d been picking off this bush all week, their haul was modest.
On the walk back to camp, a tiny chipmunk darted across the trail, and Logan let out a yelp.
“That’s a pretty high-pitched scream for such a grown-ass man,” Tess said. “You that afraid of chipmunks?”
“It surprised me, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh.” She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
“Think anyone else heard that?” he said, looking toward camp.
She chuckled. “I caught Ashton crying last night after he dropped his berries in the dirt, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
The rain let up around noon, and they spent the rest of the day preparing for their solo excursion. They caught and ate fish, reviewed emergency protocols, and got a refresher course on the basics—shelter, food, and water.
The initial plan required them to build their own shelter for the night. But after the week they’d endured, she gave up on that notion and allowed them to take tents.
Tess assigned each camper a set of coordinates where their “space” would be. They would be about a half-mile apart. And each would have access to the river for water and fish. She centered herself in the middle so she could quickly and easily reach anyone who needed help.
The next morning, after coffee and ash cakes, they stood at the edge of the woods, ready to go—backpacks on and compasses in hand. They would spend today and all night by themselves.
“You got this,” she said, hoping a quick pep talk might wipe some of the concern from their faces. “It’s what we’ve been gearing up for all week. Use your flare if you need to, but only for a real emergency. You can scare off most animals just by making a lot of noise. Set up camp first, and if you leave it, be back before dusk. I would advise against venturing too far from your spot.”
“And hopefully by now,” Grayson said. “We’ve all learned that when Tess ‘suggests’ something, we should do it.” He shot a pointed glare at Carter and Ashton.
“You’ll all do just fine,” Tess continued. “Boredom will be the biggest hurdle, but use the twenty-four hours for what it’s meant to be—a chance to do some uninterrupted soul-searching and self-reflection.”
They all nodded.
“See you on the other side,” Grayson said, crossing himself. “God willing.”
Tess watched as they trudged off like kids on their first day of school. She waited to make sure they headed in the right directions and then hoisted her pack and started off to her allocated spot.
Since she was in the middle, her hike was only an hour. And while she sent them out to places they hadn’t been to yet, she’d picked a known entity for herself—the falls they’d come to on day three.
It might have been a little unfair, but she wasn’t the one paying to learn something. It was just another day for her. And here, she knew there’d be fish and sun most of the day.
After setting up camp, and when the sun was high in the sky, she stripped and dove into the chilly water. She thought about washing her hair, but they were going home tomorrow, so what was the point?
She lay in the sun until her hair was dry and then fished until she caught a few small trout. After cleaning, cooking, and eating them, she took a nap.
All that, and it was barely two o’clock. She’d just taken a sip from a flask of whiskey when Logan popped through the trees.
“Oh,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone would be here.”
“Why aren’t you at your spot?” Tess asked, screwing the lid back on the flask.
