It was the middle of Summer, and the hottest month of the year. Kristi and her boyfriend, Tom were sitting at home and just enjoying a quiet Saturday. Tom was on the computer, just scrolling through social media sites, as Kristi was lying on the couch reading a book. The soft blowing of the air-conditioner keeps the room comfortable.
Kristi’s phone rings. It is her friend Carly.
“Hey, Carls, what’s up?” she answers.
“Aly and Chelse are going hiking. There is supposed to be some spectacular views, and they want us to come along.” She says.
“But what about John, Roger, and Mike.” Kristi asks concerning the guys in their lives.
“Not invited. This is for us only, just like when we were teens, so grab your stuff and let’s go.” Carly responds.
She thinks it over for a moment, looks at Tom who put on his headphones and started playing some game on the computer, and says. “Sure. Who’s driving, or are we all taking our own cars?”
“Aly’s got the jeep, so…”
“Ok. Yea, call her and have her pick me up. I should be ready by the time she gets here.” she says as she closes her book and gets up.
She walks up behind Tom, kissing him in the cheek. He looks up from his game.
“Hey babe, Carly called. Allison, Chelsea, and her want us all to get together and go hiking up in the forest. It’ll just be a day trip.”
He pulls off his headphones, “Do you want me to come along?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Girls only on this one.”
“Mmm, Girls only, in the forest. This isn’t going to be some “Descent” kind of thing.”
She hugs him, “Awww you’re worried about me. And no, we are just hiking. No caves, repelling or anything like that. We used to do this all the time before college.”
In her room, she grabs her old day pack, putting in a few essentials and changes.
She puts on cargo shorts, t-shirt and a loose flannel shirt over it, then looks in the mirror. “Yep, just like we used to do.” she tells herself and puts on cotton socks and hiking boots.
“Hey Kristi, the girls just pulled up. Oh, wow! You look sexy like that.” Tom says coming into the room. “You look like a character from one of my games.”
Grabbing her pack she kisses him, and heads for the kitchen to fill her water bottle.
She hears the jeep horn, as her friends yell for her.
Heading out the door she kisses Tom one last time. “Be good and don’t jerk off too much while I’m gone.” she playfully tells him.
He hugs her. “I’ll try not to.”
The red Jeep has only a bikini top on to give a little shade, so she throws her pack in the very back and climbs into the back seat.
“Off we go!” Aly yells and accelerates down the road.
“So where are we going?” Kristi asks loudly as the wind whips through the open Jeep.
Chelsea, turns to her, “I heard about an old mining road that is supposed to cut through the forest.” She shows her on her phone where there is a thin line moving thought a large patch of green. “It used to be part of an active mine during the last century but it’s closed and the road hasn’t been used, according to what I could find.”
Aly yells back. “From what I read, the company shut down and nobody bought it. Nature has reclaimed some of it, so we should have some great hiking and even better views.”
Kristi leans back in the bench seat and closes her eyes. The sound of the road, Aly’s music, and the cool of the wind, has her relax and drifts off to sleep.
She wakes up as the Jeep stops in a gravel patch.
“Hey, sleepy head, are you ready?” Carly asks as she hops over the side and grabs her pack.
Kristi stretches, yawns and climbs out too. “So did Tom keep you up last night?” Carly asks in a suggestive tone.
“I wish. He was too busy playing video games, while I slept by myself.”
“Awww, does that mean your pussy needs some special attention?” Chelsea comments.
“Sorry Chelse, my pussy is for Tom to lick, not you.” She says adjusting the straps on her pack.
“You don’t know what you’re missing.” Chelsea says with a playful smile.
“That’s not what I heard from your ex-girlfriend.” Kristi responds, licking the air like a hound dog.
Carly and Allyson both laugh out loud as Chelsea looks embarrassed.
Kristi, hugs her old friend. “I’m sorry. That was mean. I know you guys didn’t break up on the best terms, and she said a lot of catty things before she moved away. I’m just irritated that Tom and I haven’t had sex that past couple of days.”
Chelsea hugs her back, “I’m sorry too. I thought you and Tom were doing great.”
Allyson whistles as she starts moving up a rutted gravel road. “Let’s go Ladies. You can talk about your love life, or lack there of, as we move.”
“Lead the way, oh Fearless Leader.” Kristi responds.
The old gravel road winds thought the forest as it goes up the mountain, and even though the weather is warm, the shade of the trees cools the air.
Kristi and Chelsea continue talking about their situations, occasionally exclaiming “Oh, I didn’t realize.” or “It’s going to work out.”
The road continues up and breaks through the trees along a large switchback with a spur off of it. Allyson continues along the spur road until it stops at a sheer drop.
“Look at that.” she says, pointing to the sun just at the top of the next mountain over and shining light into the valley. She takes her cell phone and shoots a few photos, which the other women do to.
“Hey Aly. Do you have a signal?” Kristi asks.
“Nope, nor did I expect to. The phone companies haven’t put towers up in here yet. Not enough people or business to demand phone service.” she says matter-of-factly.
“Were you going to mention that?” Carly asks.
“What’s the big deal? We used to hike without phones or any electronics aside from flashlights.” Allyson continues.
They all slowly nod in agreement. “But what if we run into trouble?” Chelsea asks.
“We will do as we used to do. One person goes for help and the others stay and give first aid, or help or whatever. Let’s continue on, I would like to get to the top of the mountain before mid-day.”
The women put away their phones and each takes a sip of water from their water bottles or canteens, before continuing back down the spur and up the mountain road.
Kristi enjoys the feeling of hiking with her friends. Yes, she is sweating, and her legs feel a little tired, but just talking, hiking, and taking the occasional photo, just feels good.
“Oh, look what I found.” Carly says, as she holds up a hand full of sun ripened berries.
“Are they in season.” Kristi asks. Carly pops one into Kristi’s mouth. “You tell me.” she says as she eats one too.
They are warm and tasty, not like the ones you find in the grocery. Each of them grabs a hand full and eats them.
Allyson says, “These are perfect for snacking on.”
“I wonder if anyone else eats them?” Chelsea asks aloud.
“Probably just birds, squirrels, whatever else lives in the woods.” Allyson replies.
At that, Kristi hears a strange sound.
“Did you guys hear that? It sounded like giggling.”
Carly stands next to her and listens. “I don’t hear anything. It was probably just birds.”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Allyson says as she grabs another handful of berries and heads up the rutted road.
The road continues to wind up the mountain, with deep potholes and channels cut into it. “Wow, this road’s really in bad shape.” Chelsea comments.
“Of course. No one has probably used it since the mines shout down.” Allyson responds.
There is a sound like giggling again in the forest. Kristi feels like she is being watched so she picks up the pace, and walks next to Allyson.
As they go higher up the mountain, they are all sweating and breathing harder.
“Do you think we’ll see another one of those overlooks?” Carly asks.
“We should get to another one soon. We can stop and rest there.” Alyson answers.
“Good. Because I think my socks are damp and want to change them.” Kristi comments.
“Ewww. Stinky, wet feet.” Chelsea says, holding her nose in an exaggerated motion.
“Yours’ probably are just as bad, Chelse. Do you need a pair of socks, I packed a few extras.” responds Kristi in an honest tone.
“Naw, I was just picking on you. I packed fresh ones too. You’ve got the right idea.”
Soon they see another spur road and take it. The sun is high in the sky and the trees thin out. The women notice more wild berry bushes growing along the roadsides.
They pick more berries as they go along, munching as they hike.
“That is what I expected to see.” Allyson says as they come to another overlook. This one is ringed in wild berry thickets, but the view is breathtaking. The mid-day sun is shining down on the valley and its’ surrounding mountains. From this altitude, they can see more of the area. After taking a few more photos with their cellphones, they all find places to sit down. Allyson closes her eyes and leans against a large rock, enjoying the sunlight and sipping her water. Carly gathers up more berries, filling a small bag from her pack. Chelsea and Kristi find a couple of large rocks they can each sit on and change their socks. “I didn’t think I had sweated this much.” Chelsea says as she wrings out her socks and small drips of sweat drop from it
Kristi nods as she pulls on dry socks. They also talk about the strange giggling noise. Both agree to try to record it on their phones.
As Kristi puts on her boots, she bumps her phone. It falls behind her and at the edge of the bushes. She then bends over to grab it and loses her balance. With phone in hand, she rolls into the thick brambles. Surprised at how they seemed to move and swallow her up. As she stands up, her feet get tangled and she falls again, slipping down the side of the mountain.
(Come back for Part 2 when you see what or who Kristi encounters. If you enjoyed this, leave me a comment. If you enjoy my stories, follow and subscribe.)
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