Chapter 3

The sun had just barely risen over the horizon when Courtney was jolted from her sleep by the sound of arguing.

"You know she was right in defending Harper, we don't all speak up as Courtney does, but we all see it and we all agree."

"It's none of your business or anyone else's how good our relationship is! What happens between me and Harper, stays between me and Harper!"

She stumbled out of her sleeping bag and threw a pair of jeans on while pulling her hair back into a messy bun. Outside her tent stood Zack and Max in each other's face, both bright red with rage. Harper stood behind Max, trying to pull him away, only to get yanked back into his side. Andy and Crystal stood a safe distance from the argument but close enough to jump in should the situation escalate.

"Enough you two, don't you remember why we're here, who this trip is about?" Andy interjected, irritated with the petty fighting that has been ongoing since their trip started.

Both Zack and Max lowered their clenched fists as they broke their glare. Courtney rose from inside the tent but didn't move towards the brawl.

"Do you really think Caroline, Brenda, and Maralyn would want this? For us to be fighting with each other?" Andy continued, everyone who was listening stood facing the ground. "Max, although I have issues with how you act, right now, we need to focus on the loss of those three girls. That's what brings us here in the first place. Courtney only did what she felt needed to be done to protect Harper, and she doesn't owe anyone anything. The only person who should be apologizing is you, not only for being toxic and abusive towards Harper but for causing turmoil in an already hard time for everyone."

Max directed his gaze towards Andy, angry at first but then realization flooded his eyes for a brief moment as he saw that everyone had stopped what they were doing to pay attention to them. His anger returned as quickly as it had left and turned away.

"I should have never come here! Go do what you planned to do; Harper can stay but I'm going home!". And with that, Max stomped off to his tent, pulling one of his bags out and hauling it off to his truck.

Once everyone had recovered from the events in the early morning, preparations for the day's plans were made. Crystal insisted on hiking past the memorial towards an abandoned house that was built when the town of Blue Creek was established in the 1880's, so the group packed sandwiches and snacks for the day since they would be away from the campsite for most of the day. Courtney loaded up on bug spray and first aid in case someone was to get injured in some way while Zack and Andy handled the food and protective gear. Cara, Crystal, and Trystan mapped out the length of their journey and estimated their time of arrival at the abandoned house as well as when they'd return to their campsite. They wanted to start hiking before 11 in order to get back before the sun went down at 6, a small detour northwest of the memorial markers adding an extra hour.

Harper assisted Andy silently, packed sandwiches neatly into the cooler bag that Crystal had bought him for his birthday. Max stared at her from the driver's seat, stewing in his anger but not daring to pick another fight. If Harper had noticed him, she didn't pay any attention to it. But Courtney took notice of him. She didn't dare to give him another thought. She wanted to enjoy part of the trip.

They started north, west of the memorial towards a marked area Trystan called 'Rock Hall', a giant rock that had the center carved out of it, creating a tunnel that could be crossed through. Each step was followed by the sound of fresh leaves being crunched and the occasional snap of a twig. The trees were all beautiful variants of oranges, reds, and browns. Some had become totally bare while others held onto their leaves for a little while longer. Birds hummed and chirped, and small creatures scuttled by in all directions. The forest was such a beautiful place, but it also held secrets. Before the girls went missing, the campsites were always booming with families on weekend getaways. Now, people rarely ever came, people from Vancouver came up during the summer but never stayed more than a day. All the trails were becoming overgrown since no one bothers with upkeep. Why try when there's nothing to try for?

By noon, they had made it to Rock Hall, where they decided to break for lunch as well. Zack and Andy challenged each other to a race, whoever lost had to cook dinner when they got back to the campsite. They would take turns being in the lead, just to slide back down. Eventually Andy won but barely, Zack was mere seconds behind him. Once they finished arguing over who won, they got back down to help pack up and continue on their journey. From there they would turn east back in the direction of the campsite but angled north to come back to the trail that led to the abandoned house that sat past the memorial. Courtney was hit with a pang of dread, but she didn't particularly understand why.