Hamilton Academy: He's Always Watching

Part Three ~ Chapter Two

I felt like an idiot crying over such a silly thing, crying over the fact that I couldn't hate Michael for helping my brother in his crazy schemes.

-Amy

____________

AMY:

I stared at the packet in my hands, looking at the six faces around the table in the lounge before placing it down. "Who wants to read?" It was the packet containing all the information about the competition, the packet that would tell us whether we should be looking forward or dreading it.

"I will," Matt sighed. He picked up the packet from where I had placed it. Leafing through it, he said "this better not be dangerous. Doesn't sound that safe to me."

"Just read it," Ethan rolled his eyes at his brother. I knew he was annoyed at how much Matt cared about everyone's safety. Especially on a Saturday morning, we were all really cranky. But we all wanted to find out what was in that packet and this was the earliest time we all had together before we spilt up to enjoy our weekend.

"Fine," he muttered. Putting on a mock voice of authority, he started to read it word for word. "Every tribe starts off this adventure at six in the morning at Center Circle, where you will receive your map, backpack, and compass. You will use the map and compass to find your way to your halfway point, or cabin. Take note that you may not follow any other tribe, because all of your cabins will be widely spread out over the mountain. The items in your backpack have all the necessities you need to survive."

"I vote we give Kyle the compass and map!" Johnny interrupted.

"I second that!" Ethan chimed in.

We all mumbled our agreement, considering if any of us tried to use the compass and map we would probably end up in the middle of nowhere. Or worse, in some ditch.

"Anyways," Matt continued. "You will reach the halfway point at night, where there will be a cabin for you to sleep in. At this cabin, you must get your first object. Getting the object is necessary, because at the end of the competition you will need to present a total of three objects. The first object will help you obtain the second object. All the objects you need will be included on the map."

"Seriously? A treasure hunt...?" I muttered.

"You will continue to the top of the mountain early in the morning. You will reach the top approximately at nightfall, where you will find three tents for your tribe. You will then set up your tent and use your first object to help you get your second object. The next morning you will continue back down to the cabin and spend the night there. You will use your second object to get your third object here."

"This is beginning to sound, well, absolutely terrible." I knew Julia had a hatred for sports and many other outdoor type things.

"On your last morning, you will wake up very early in the morning and start your race to the bottom. The winners win a trip to a very luxurious hotel."

"Why are they doing this again?" I muttered.

"They are trying to get our mind off things?" Andrew said in a mocking tone. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Well they aren't doing a very good job at it," I put my head in my hands. "In fact, I think they are just putting us through more torture."

"None of this is very safe." Oh great, here comes the Matt rant. "They are leaving us alone on a mountain for a four day and three night trip! What is this? It's leaving us very vulnerable out there alone in the woods, anybody could be out there! And you know exactly who I'm talking about."