“I think that is part of their plan, we will be so exhausted and brain dead from this, or at least most of us, that some will be at a disadvantage from the start, kind of like Carol and Vana. You seem like you’ve held your own.” He said, a soft smile curving his lips.
“Thanks, you as well. I do a lot of hiking in the woods in Maine, but it isn’t quite as hilly as this is. My legs are letting me know, they aren’t happy.” She laughed. He laughed as well and they both became silent, each in their own thoughts. It was nearly an hour and a half later when the last group came over, the porters staying on the other side.
Everyone stood and Marla led the way to the base camp. Sarah could still hear Carol running her mouth and then they heard Grayson, “Carol, can you please shut your mouth so the rest of us can enjoy the hike to camp. For the love of Christ, give it a rest.”
There was a scattering of laughing and quite a few applauses. Sarah looked back at a brilliantly red-faced Carol who was shooting daggers with her blue eyes at Grayson, but at least she shut up. She could hear sighs from others as they started a steady climb into the lush mountains.
“It certainly feels primeval, it is like time never touched this place, there aren’t any true paths but this small one we are walking on.” Aiden said in a hushed voice.
“I know, can you imagine living like this for the rest of your life? I mean, this place is like an Eden, I really feel lucky to be here. That said, when I’m hungry and say I love this place, just smack the hell out of me.” Sarah grinned. Aiden sniggered softly and knocked her gently with his elbow.
For two hours they climbed steadily up, from time to time pausing, looking around. The trees were dense, but there were glimpses of mountains far to the east and west of them, all green and all covered with thick forests.
They heard a scream near the back and everyone stopped and looked back, it was Carol, who was batting at something and Grayson was trying to grab her and smack something off of her. When he finally got it, he raised an apologetic hand and signaled all was well. Once more, it was quiet and they continued on.
It was getting darker, and Sarah could tell that it was late afternoon. They would be getting to base camp near dark. That meant they had to start a fire as their first task, she hoped someone had opted to bring a fire starter. She was tired, dirty and hungry, they’d none of them taken a bath since boarding the plane to come to China, where they’d been whisked away on a bus into the northeastern province.
It had been a long five days since she left home, she supposed she couldn’t really blame Carol or Vana for being bitchy, she was tired too. All she wanted to do was sleep. Then she saw ahead, small crates and bags and equipment. They’d finally made it to base camp. Then the lights of the cameramen came on and they walked ahead of them and began to film. Christian started talking and she looked up and smiled tiredly as the camera zoomed in on her. She waved a little and kept walking.
Christian gave orders for everyone to go and gather wood for a nice big fire. And so, everyone dropped their backpacks and left out into the darkening woods. The sounds of the birds began to quiet and the night insects began their own songs. Thankfully, it didn’t take long, there were quite a few fallen branches, and Sam Lange had a fire starter and within ten minutes, the fire was blazing and everyone was sitting around it, numb and tired, the forest around them growing dark, their gazes blank and dazed.
The cameramen kept filming for a short time as Christian did his monolog, once more going over the rules. Everyone acted like it was their first time hearing it and looked at each other, their faces showing mock surprised. It was all scripted and there were no surprises. Then the cameras went off and everyone relaxed, Marla and Christian smiled at one another and high fived and then sat as well.
The cameramen brought over several bags, which contained MREs and she heard Aiden groan, she looked at him, her brow up in question.
“It’s nothing, these things are high in calories but also sodium, let’s just hope they don’t taste too bad.” He caught his MRE as did she and she read hers, “Chicken Fajita, what did you get?”
“I got Chili Mac, not bad, I’ll live.” He grinned.
They heated up their main meals and everyone sat in silence eating their food. The crew began to set up their tents and get themselves settled in. It was quiet but for the buzzing and chirping of insects. Sarah could also feel the air around them cooling and she was glad for her windbreaker. It would hold her body heat in for the night. She’d opted for bathing suit shorts for underwear, in case they’d gone to a hot place, she could wear them as underwear and also swim shorts. She had to be practical.
The warm food in her stomach felt good and Aiden was right, it was salty and made her thirsty. They’d been given water bottles, and when she finished, she slipped the empty bottle into her backpack.
She nudged Aiden and she nodded
