Page 5 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 1
“There will be plenty of fun, but I need to know all of you will also take your safety seriously. This is not a joke. We’re not in some movie. This is reality, and if one of us gets seriously injured, it could require hours or days for help to reach us, if they can reach us at all,” I stated.
Josh turned to his companions and raised his eyebrows. “Agreed. Right, everyone? Trinity’s in charge. We do exactly as she says.”
For a second, I thought I saw every one of them bow their heads to Josh before he turned back to me and nodded. I read that as the signal they were ready to set out. I pulled out my compass to ensure we would head northeast toward our objective.
Josh and his team talked as we hiked through the wild. I listened but concentrated on just getting to the campsite. Their conversation really wasn’t making much sense to me anyway. They continued speaking about business back home and getting things completed in time before the big day. I didn’t want to eavesdrop. I needed to keep my ears tuned in to other noises around us.
Just get through day one, I repeated over and over as I trekked up a steep hill.
I wanted nothing to happen, but I also wanted to make sure they all knew what they were getting into for the next four weeks. Besides, it wasn’t as if they would really rough it. The only thing they had to do when we reached the campsite was set up the tents. A stash of supplies was at each spot where we would camp over the next four weeks thanks to the money Josh had supplied to the company I worked for.
It had taken almost two months just to get everything set up. Josh had been specific about every part of this trip. Not that I minded. Each phase had been planned out well.
A few hours into the hike, I got a bit tired and was ready to call for a brief break, but none of them were. Not one of them was out of breath, looked exhausted, or even red in the face. I was in good shape, but my thighs, particularly my quads, burned from the exertion.
“Anyone need a break?” I called out anyway. “Ready to grab some water and a quick snack before we head onward?”
“Sure,” Josh agreed. “Break, everyone.”
They all removed their packs and found seats on the ground as I removed mine and pulled out a granola bar. I walked a few yards away and checked our surroundings. So far, everything was fine. The temperature was chilly but not overly frigid. I had checked the weather reports for this week, and no storms had been on the radar. The Alaska state park rangers had promised they’d get ahold of me somehow if something big headed our way.
Thank goodness the trip was going well so far, but that wasn’t what worried me. I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t as comfortable as I normally would be out in the wilderness, away from the city.
“So how are we doing so far?” Josh asked.
I turned, finishing a gulp of water, and forced a grin onto my face. “Well, no one’s passed out yet or fallen into a hole, so I’d say everyone’s doing pretty well for amateurs.” I played with my water bottle for a second before glancing up at him. “Are you sure none of you guys have hiking experience?”
“Not that they’ve told me about. They’re just really excited to be out here.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t convinced. “I think it’s time to get moving again. You want to tell everyone to pack up? We won’t break again until we arrive at the first encampment. Maybe we’ll do some fishing for dinner tonight.”
“Sounds good. I’ll tell the others.” Josh headed to his group and told them to pack up and move out.
A few minutes later, they were back on the trail, following me through the wild.
Chapter 5
Fergus
My breath createdtiny white puffs in the cold air. I crouched down under the tree cover and stared at the multiple sets of footprints. A large party with five or maybe six individuals had passed through the spot not too long ago.
I took a deep breath and smelled the dense forest air. Something wasn’t right about the stench. But until I had a visual, I had nothing to go on except these tracks, and they told me little about who was in this traveling party.
“Beta to Alpha, have you found a visual?” Cutter’s voice came over my radio.
I pressed my earpiece tighter against my ear as I clicked the button on the radio at my shoulder. “Alpha to Beta, that’s a negative. Footprints heading north. Multiples, but no visual. I repeat, no visual.”
“Orders?”
“Meet me at the first rendezvous point. Alpha out.” I clicked off the radio and straightened.
I gripped the rifle tightly in my hands before slinging it over my shoulder. With two shoulder holsters, which carried at least three knives, I was prepared for anything that might cross my path. However, a wild animal wasn’t what I wanted to find today.
People had made these tracks.
I scanned the trees, but I saw no other tracks besides the footprints. Growling deep in annoyance, I trudged toward the rendezvous point to meet up with the rest of my team. Perhaps they had more information to help me understand why this mission was quickly turning from simple to dangerous. But we had our orders, and I never missed my mark—ever.
A few minutes of heavy hiking and I was at the river. From what I could tell, the group had passed this way, out of the neutral territory. The rest of my team, Cutter and Grant, stood alert, waiting for me.
