The Wilde Expedition

15. six rivers

Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

〮CHAPTER FIFTEEN 〮

About two and a half hours later, after traveling through miles upon miles of redwood forests and mountainous terrane, I pinpointed the road that would guide us to the Six Rivers Academy grounds. I peered up the walls of the valleys, astounded by the height of the trees, the mass collections of pine and foliage across the land. I couldn't imagine how insane it must be, going on wild runs through these forests, prowling the land as far as the eye could see.

The urge to shift was so great, that I forced myself to sit back in my chair and flip through the national park pamphlets instead. Gavin kept his eyes on the road.

"Have you ever driven a Volkswagen?" he asked me. He had his forearms draped over the top of the massive wheel, and sometimes, when we were on super straight roads, I'd catch him resting his chin on his arms. Sometimes, I feared he'd fall asleep, but he always seemed wide awake, especial after that thermos of tea he made.

The man was nutso.

"No, I find it hard to believe that many people do nowadays," I said, which he laughed at and ended with a great big sigh, as if the folly of the world was the fact that Volkswagens weren't commonly used vehicles. "Actually, I don't drive. I don't have my license."

"Now that I find hard to believe. You said you were nineteen."

"It's hard to forget when you keep bringing it up. I like to think that I'm at the ripe old age of sixty-seven."

He rolled his eyes and would have given me a ridiculously flat look, if it weren't for the fact that he had to keep his eyes on the road. It was windier than the others, since we were traveling between mountains and through valleys. "Well, what I mean is that aren't you able to take, like, a test and skip the driver's ed if you're eighteen?"

"Yeah, so? I don't want to drive. I like biking and walking." And running in the form of a wolf-like beast. Speaking of which... I hoped the headmaster would let me go for a jaunt around the grounds. I doubted it, but it would be worth asking. There was no telling when I'd shift back, and for all I knew, I'd miss my flight.

"That is quite interesting. You see, I thought Americans succumbed to death-by-inactivity long ago. We are a rare few, you and I. I'm a bit of a hiker myself." He reached over and nudged my leg when he said this, drawing my attention from the pamphlet in my hand. I was reading about Coeur d'Alene National Forest in Idaho.

"I sort of pieced that together with all the, uh, the parks you've been to," I admitted, holding up the one I was currently invested in. He flashed me a childish grin, like the kind that would suggest he had an annual Disney pass in his back pocket instead of an annual national parks pass. His glasses sure made him look the part, too.

"Yes, I love hiking, but the one thing I cannot stand is going underground. I don't like the cave tours."

"That's a pretty rational fear, don't'chya think?" I told him, but he shrugged.

"I wish I liked them, but I can't even take a damn picture because my hands are shaking so bad. Like- look! Just thinking about caves gives me the heebie jebbies." He held out his arm for me to see, but I was too distracted with trying not to laugh to notice. "When I was little, since I live in Wisconsin and all, I went to the Dells-sorta up north, but not really-and they have all these caves there and they do tours and stuff. And they've got railings and stairs and it all looks fake, but you can't believe how terrifying it is being underground."

"Isn't there a phobia for that? Maybe you just have a fear of being buried alive, and being in a cave is sort of like a tomb." That got him startled real bad, and he slapped me in the arm and told me to stop talking before he panicked and drove us into the river. "What happened to living life to the fullest? Huh, Gavin?"