Hidden

(LX.)

She shot her a glare. "Deal with it." Then, she tapped the red button.

Not long after, the hip hop beats resumed. "Argh!" Jess groaned out loud. She was tired and not in the mood for a long, gruelling conversation. So, she switched off her phone. Better.

The next morning, the excursion began, thirty minutes after breakfast. Their first destination was the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness.

The bus dropped them at the start of the Boynton Canyon trail. Melas took the roll call again to make sure everyone was present.

"Make sure to stay close. There are several paths branching off the main one. I don't want anyone getting lost. This isn't time to unleash your adventurous streak. If you don't see a particular student in our midst, alert me at once."

They waited for a few minutes until a car pulled up. A man got off from the back, followed by his driver. He walked towards the students who were all dressed in jeans and khakis, and T-shirts and jackets. A big smile appeared on his face. He scrutinized theirs from behind dark sunshades.

"Good morning, everyone," he bellowed in a thick Southern accent. "Welcome to Sedona. The name's Tommy Mallory. And I'm your tour guide. Well, your teacher here told me you guys are doing some historic expedition. You've come to the right place. Just be sure to follow the rules and stick together. Then, everything is a piece of cake. We clear?"

"Yes," most of them responded.

"The rules are simple." His tone suddenly switched from lighthearted to hardened. "Don't take any artifact, or corrupt an archaeological site. These things have been preserved for thousands of years, and over ninety-nine percent of them are irreplaceable. Any tampering, and you're fined. Just hope your 'rents are well loaded. Or you can spend a couple of days or weeks in juvie. So, no vandalism.

"Follow your guides. Me or your teacher. Oh..." He jerked towards the driver. "I forgot to introduce to you my friend, Riley Gonzalez. He'll be my assistant. Kind of. Follow his lead, too."

He jammed his hands together sharply. The sound of the clap was taken up by the wind. "Now that we're past that. Let's move on to the main thing at hand. For safety precautions, don't walk too close to the edge of a cliff. And make sure you're carrying water in an air-tight flask or bottle. No spilling. Clear?"

"Clear." "Yes." A few didn't say anything.

"Good. Let's go."

Jess hefted the straps of her backpack up on her shoulders, and followed the rest of them down the trail.

Tommy pointed out certain spots along the way, throwing comments in between. He had a sense of humour and a way of handling teens. His friend, Riley, hardly spoke. Melas did his job by recounting the number of students in the group every now and then.

The trail took them into the main canyon. They got into the caves, felt the walls, saw the pieces of potsherds and grinding stones used by the Indian ancestors.

While everyone else dealt with the sights with normal excitement and awe, Jess felt uncomfortable. Her eyes flitted across stones, hovered on some spots on the walls, lingered on certain crevices.

Karen noticed. She nudged her gently with her elbow. Jess slowly inclined her head towards her. And caught her frown.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head, not just in reply, but to clear her mind.

The frown was still in place, but she was no longer looking at her. Her attention was on what Melas was explaining.