The Survivalist Journal - The Treasure of Adventure Mountain

The Survivalist Journal is a document of combined journal entries written by a group of children called “The Survivalists” who were on an adventure to find a treasure on the top of a mountain.

Day 1. Post: “Survivalists!! I hope you enjoyed sleeping in, because tomorrow we're waking up before the sun does! Currently, I don't have any plans to overwork anyone, so we'll just be taking a nice hike up to that clearing. Just three miles today. Oh, and we will be crossing a river. And rain is expected. But we should be making camp well before sunset. Alright, pick someone to buddy up with, and let's be off!”

Moss's Entry/Emma's Entry
November 1, 2021: I woke up early, at 9am, to hear Rella yelling about… well, something I was too tired to remember. Only one thing stuck in my head - I had to find a buddy. I barely know anyone yet! How am I supposed to do this?!
The other people in my cabin got out of bed as soon as our leader started to speak, but, as usual, it took me a while to get ready.
Assuming we would return to the camp, I packed light. Only three books and my water bottle - as well as you, Mr. Journal - made it into the backpack.
Finally, I managed to make it out of the cabin, only to find that most people had already paired up.
I stood there for a minute, afraid to ask anyone. I don’t suppose you’ll count as a buddy, Mr. Journal?
After a moment, a tall girl appeared from the cabin across the trail. Her face fell as she realized no one was available. I offered a small wave, and she jogged over to me.
“You’re Kara, right?” I asked her.
And guess what — she asked me to be her partner!!

We only had to walk a few miles today, but I was still able to make it through part of my book. Some of the campers were pretty slow, but my buddy Kara was in the front of the pack!!
The worst part of the day by far was when it started to rain. I wish someone had told me it would be so wet, because I forgot to pack my raincoat - not just on this hike, but for the entire month-long camp! Luckily, a kind girl named Marigold shared her umbrella with Kara and I, and then proceeded to distract me from my book for the rest of the hike. I didn’t mind though, she seems really nice!
Just after it started raining, we made it to the river — another thing I wish I had been warned about. A few campers slipped on the mud and took a tumble into the water, but Rella helped us to successfully make it across.
The three mile hike didn’t take us too long, and I was excited to turn back to our cozy cabins. Only a few minutes after we made it to a clearing partway up the mountain, though, campers began unloading tents from their backpacks. I asked Kara what was going on, and she told me that we weren’t turning back!
I must have missed much more of Rella’s announcement than I had thought! I was so disappointed that I hadn’t packed so much of my things, especially the suitcase full of books. A few other campers offered to let me read the books they had brought, and Kara grudgingly allowed me to share her tent.

Overall, it’s been a pretty good day! I’ve made more friends today than I thought I would over the whole month, and despite having to sleep in the same tent as another camper, I’m excited to get to know her more. I’m looking forward to another long night of sleep tonight!!

-Emma


Ash's Entry/Marigold's Entry
Nov. 1st, 2021

I hiked with my buddy, on my guard just in case an Intensity came up and attacked. I grabbed a stick from the ground, luckily it was long, so it worked perfectly. While we hiked, I didn't really understand why we had to beat the intensities. I asked my partner why, and they replied back “Well, they could possibly use it for bad! Hey look, next camp is up in 2 miles.” I looked from my partner to my stick. We continued hiking together, pleasantly chatting away. It was quite exciting actually. While we were walking, I looked up, only to have been ambushed. I looked back, realizing I was weak compared to this person. The ambusher was one of the Intensities. I freaked out and started running, luckily for me, my partner was strong. I threw the stick at them and they caught it, and started attacking. The intensity was a female, and I realized our advantage. It was 2 against one, I suddenly felt the stick get thrown back at me, as my partner was sure that they got it kicked out of their hand.

I grabbed the staff, looking worried. Suddenly, I felt a fire burn in my eyes, I got ready to run and attack, only to get my eye slashed by an upcoming branch. I stopped and turned around, looking at the attacker whom had already gone. My partner came running to me, shouting my name, “Marigold, Marigold! Where are you!?” I heard them shout, I got up and spoke “R-right here.” They looked at me, concerned, as we continued on up, we had an easier time going through, It turned out there was some sort of wall with assorted rocks that was planted. Even though I only had one eye to see through, I still could make this! I analyzed how I should move, and looked at my partner, telling them to follow me. About half an hour later, we got to camp. I bandaged up my eye, sat down, and wrote my daily journal.


Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
it's the first day of searching for the treasure at the top of the mountain with the other survivalists, and I'm honestly surprised. everyone here's so YOUNG? there's even a couple of 10 year olds!

we've just set up camp, and I can tell some of the others are ready to collapse. I'm soaking wet too. plus, the rain was so hard. a little too hard, especially for the first day. my goat's shivering, but none of our matches will work in this downpour. the hike wasn't fun at all, considering the weather. it was miserable, wet, slow, and a lot of words I'd be dead for saying if any of the 10 year olds caught me saying them.

I'm pretty sure I have burn marks from where the rain hit me the most. yes, it was that strong.

oh wait, hang on, I need to go. someone's asking for help with their shelter. be back later, I suppose.


Pika's Entry/Rella's Entry
Day 1. Dear journal, it's the first day of our adventure! I'm super excited to be leading this. I really need that treasure. Besides, I think someone else knows about it, too. I just want it so I can learn about it and donate it and yeah, maybe keep *some* for me and the goats, but I'm positive this other person wants it for something else. I think it's Lipa. We weren't ever “friends”, but we weren't enemies either. Every since that day a few years back when she attacked out family's treasure hunt, she's been targeting me. I know for a fact that she'll use the treasure for something evil. Anyway, enough monologuing. I guess I should go wake up my Survivalists.

So when I said “find a buddy”, I guess I forgot that pretty much no one knows each other. I had to assign a few people which was kinda awkward. I mean I know I'm in charge of this whole thing and I'm supposed to be telling people what to do, but still, telling people what to do is kind of weird. Anyway, the hike was pretty enjoyable for the most part. I usually scout ahead on expeditions, but I literally can't do that here because if anyone gets hurt and realizes that the “liability contracts” are forged, then that'll probably be the end for me. So hard to go on adventures in these “modern days”.

It was a bit ironic, though, ‘cause the rain was really starting to pick up right as we got to the river. When I say river, what I really mean is creek because it was SMALL. Well the water was booming and all that, but it’s only like four feet wide. I don't think anyone was that scared, but a few of the younger ones did look worried. Ah, that youthful, inexperienced nostalgia. I'm only fifteen - there are some people here older than me - but I feel older. Eh, age is overrated anyway.

Setting up camp was pretty fun as well. A few of us all helped make probably the best curry ever for dinner. We got a pretty good group going on. A lot of adventurers already. I got an excellent feeling about all of this! It's all fun and enjoyable! We as long as we get the treasure before Lipa does, this expedition will be a success!


Rogue's Entry/July's Entry
I groaned as I trudged up the mountain through the rain, water making loud splats on my gear. I sighed. This was going to take awhile. “3 miles?” I called through the windy air as the others kept climbing. It wasn't like they could hear me anyway.

I reached a small hill jutting from the already steep mountain. I cursed under my breath and started to climb from ledge to ledge. I soon came to the stop in the ledges big enough for me to stand on, and the ones only my foot would fit on. I gulped.

Someone from above called, “You can do it!” I gritted my teeth and pulled up onto one, hearing a slight crack. I froze until everything was quiet and still.

I put my hand on the next, and started to move up and then heard a click. The stone fell out. I screamed as I plummeted down the small hill's edge, and hit the ground hard with more than a few brusies. Other than that I was fine.

I sat up, sacking droplets out of my long gold hair. That click… seemed almost maniacal. It had been sabotage. And it had almost k!lled her. Great.

I groaned, and climbed back up, and this time reached the top. Everyone there was asking if I was okay, but I waved them away, stuck in my own thoughts.

Was this the doing of… o-of the people fighting for the treasure? Her mind quickly dismissed that thought, but she knew that her instinct was probably right.

I kept truging through the puddles for awhile until I felt a pain in my ankle, where I had landed. I fell to the ground, quickly turning over to look at it. My ankle was sprained. Good god, was this day going to get worse?

I regretted saying that after they found out it was also fractured. Yayyyy. I stumbled, two of the other survivalists on both side helping me walk. I needed to stop every few minutes.

Near the end of this, I sat on a log and closed my eyes. I imagined being there, at the treasure. I knew we still had many more miles to go, but it had the right effect. I slowly got up and said, “Let's go.” With the faintest of a smile. I was back in sorts.


Forinah's Entry/Pacifia's Entry
Today was…interesting?

At the start of the day Rella announced that we were going on a three-mile hike so we had to get buddied up.

I got partnered with this girl called Patricia. I’ve seen Patricia around a bit but we’ve never interacted before. Since I don't really know anyone I had to be assigned a buddy. It was sooo awkward going up to Rella and asking for her to assign me a buddy. I would have liked to go with Charlie or JJ but they were already going together. I know Rella is only like, a year(? Mental note to self to check up on that- hang on is that creepy?) older then me but she seems so much more mature; I mean she's literally leading all of the Survivalists to find a lost treasure! I felt like such a loser.

Me and Patricia kinda just stood there for like a good minute staring at the ground. She looked me up and down, she really did not look impressed with my pink bandana. She totally took an instant disliking to me- am I being too sensitive and making stuff up? I hope not!
So I walked up to her and went,
“Hi! I’m Pacifia! What’s your name?”
She replied, “My name’s Patricia.”
Our names are so similar, so I pointed it out but she merely raised an eyebrow.

Before we left we had to feed the goats, so Patricia came with me.
All the goats are sooo cute! Pumpernickel is definitely the cutest though.
She piped up suddenly, and I turned around to see she was only talking to a goat…Pumpernickel?!

“Pumpernickel is very cute isn’t he?” I said to her.
“Yes, we have this totally special bond.” She replied.

WHAT?!?!? Pumpernickel is literally MINE!!! I mean unofficially but like…Ok so we didn’t get off to the best start.

I better skip to a lot, because I want to get to sleep early, tomorrow we have to wake up before the sun does.

The hike was nice, could have been nicer if Patricia hadn't kept nagging me to go faster! I was simply trying to thoroughly enjoy the hike and take in the lovely views! It started raining while we were walking but I don’t mind the rain since I’m used to the cold. It made me think back to the arctic where Pa is which made me a little teary but luckily the rain shielded me from people’s judgement, as it simply looked like rain.

Something gives me a strange feeling about Patricia.
I’ll write more tomorrow.
Pacifia Le Survivalist x


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
We hiked some today. We all had to go with “buddies,” but I didn’t really pick anyone. I ended up with this girl named Gabbie. I don’t know her, but she seemed nice enough. She talks a lot. I talked a little She likes animals, and has a snake, a turtle, 2 chinchillas, and no goats, but she wants one. She thinks Dracul sounds cute.
I think I saw another person. I mean, obviously I saw another person. I was walking with another person. I mean I saw someone who didn’t seem to be one of the Survivalists. They were just standing there, over by some trees about 50 feet away from us. Watching us, it looked like. Maybe they were an Intensity. How many groups of people could there be, climbing this mountain at the same time as us? I pointed them out to Gabbie. But when she looked, the person had disappeared into the trees. I wish I’d gotten a better look at them. I wish I knew what they were doing. I’m not even sure they were a person. It could’ve been just a shadow, or a tree, and I imagined that it was a person.
It rained. We figured it would. We had to cross a stream in the rain– luckily, it wasn’t as big a river as I expected, otherwise it would have been dangerous to cross it in the rain.
I am enjoying the journey so far. Right, who doesn’t want to go on a dangerous adventure that involves going on hikes through rainstorms? But hey, there’s supposed to be treasure at the top, and it’s not like hiking is terrible. It is kind of chilly, though. And it’ll only get colder as we get higher up and the month goes on. At least I have a jacket.
My wrist is getting sore from writing, and I need to go bed since I have to get up ridiculously early tomorrow. I think that will be the hardest part of this journey: Getting up early.

Day 2. Post: Attention! There have been sightings of these err… strange people. They're called the Intensities. Just be wary - we're not quite sure of their intentions yet. Anyway, we're making our way to that cliff *points* so hopefully you're not sore. We'll probably separate into groups to move faster. Anyway, let's go!"

Moss's Entry/Emma's Entry
November 2nd, 2021: I was planning to sleep in again today, but the blaring light entering the tent paired with Rella's morning message made sure I was up before dawn.
The cliff we're supposed to head to today looks pretty far away — I'd guess that we will be walking until the sun sets. Paired with the strange sightings and the early wakeup, this day does not seem promising.
We started walking pretty soon after breakfast, and Rella nonchalantly dropped another horrible fact — we'd have to separate into groups.
Of course, the faster moving Marigold and Kara slipped into Rella's group, but I was stuck in the other one, again separated from everyone I knew.
The book in my backpack was waiting eagerly for me, however, and I spent a good portion of the day reading and trying to avoid tripping on the rocky ground.
A few hours into the hike, someone's yelp jolted me out of my reading. I dropped my book directly into a mud puddle created by yesterday's rain.
I looked around to see what was going on, and saw a strange looking girl walking past us, staring at her own book. Was she one of the “Intensities” Rella had warned us about? We might never get a chance to know, because the girl walked right past us, nose in her book, seemingly not even noticing our presence.
My group looked around curiously. Everyone else seemed as confused as I was.
One of our campers ran ahead to Rella's group to tell them the news, and when she returned, we heard that they had seem an Intensity as well! No one knows who they are yet, but Rella reminded us to be careful and stay out of their way until we can be sure they're safe.
We soon made it to the base of the cliff and set up our tents again. Kara told me that she had made another friend in Rella's group, and they're going to share a tent now. Luckily, Kara's new friend is letting me have her old tent all to myself!!

Overall, it's been a pretty strange day. The Intensity sighting has set all of us on edge, and I can only hope that we won't be seeing any more of them.

-Emma <3


Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
okay, okay, it's been a long day today. I'm tired and sore and blistered. ants here are so big! and horrifying. my goat was practically shaking in its fur! no guesses to what the ants did. yes, they bit me. on my hands. hard. it made it harder for me to climb up to the cliff we're on now and while I appreciate the challenge it was definitely unnecessary and made my hands sting like they were on fire. plus it attracted the giant centipedes and I did NOT need to see them that big and up close. my hands slowed me down considerably so I had to stay at the back of the group which meant I barely got to speed up the cliff and enjoy it like I was planning to.

other than that there were these people (I think they were people. but now that I think about it I'm not very sure. they were humanoid, at least) a couple of us spotted when we went up. so far the only info ANYONE has gotten is that they're called the Intensities. Strange name for a group of stalkers but they seem pretty good at adventuring so they have my respect.

speaking of respect, I don't think my goat has any for me because he just peed on the campfire again, embarrassing me. oh and he seems to be trying to impress one of the other goats. I might go over there and help him soon. he's failing spectacularly. I'm pretty sure the other goat just kicked his behind, haha. poor guy.

wait, hang on. I think I just saw someone sneaking around our camp. it's already very late at night though. everyone should be asleep. maybe I'll go check?

their footsteps are so quiet I can barely hear them. I can't make out any talking either. who is it?

hmm… it's…. one of the Intensities? well, that's surprising. what are they doing sneaking around here? surely they have their own camp somewhere. eh, maybe they just came over to say hi to us, but went when they realised everyone was all conked out. hm, I think I'm getting sleepy. I should probably just get to bed. definitely going to have a long day tomorrow. I'll tell Rella about the Intensity I saw later, my eyes are way too droopy.

good night for now.



Pika's Entry/Rella's Entry
Day 2. All right, journal! You're not gonna believe the day I've had! Actually, you might. I mean it was too chaotic. Anyway, the day started with me waking everyone up. A lot of them seemed really annoyed for some reason. I mean it's not THAT big of a deal to get up early. Sleeping it sucks. You waste so much of your day sleeping in. Sorry, sorry. Heh, I got off topic. All right, so what was I saying earlier? Oh, yes, how the day started. I told them that there had been Intensities who had been sighted which totally freaked a few of them out.

Who are the Intensities? Well, the girl - Lipa - I mentioned yesterday, we used to play a game together. Our families would usually go camping together. While everyone cooked dinner, we'd take our collection of pine cone dolls and have a battle. My pine cones were called the Prickle Power Force, and hers were the Pintensities. I think it was originally just the Pineys, but one time I said she was being rather intense about the game so she changed her pine cone legion's name.

Anyway, after I climbed the cliff, I saw a glint coming from a tree. There was a coin. The words, “Letting the change step up” inscribed on it. Behind it was a note. I recognized Lipa's handwriting almost immediately. She wanted me to meet her at a cave entrance. I know it's probably a trap, but what's life without a little adventure?

After that I looked around a bit, making sure it was completely safe, and helped the Survivalists up the cliff. We set up camp. I mean I thought everyone would have a bit of trouble setting up tents and preparing stuff, but it's been super fast! I'm thinking of timing them sometime - maybe make it into a challenge? Well, to properly set up a tent you need other people to help. Just not everyone has friends yet. I should really look into that. Wow, hehe, I'm sooooo good at my job. Sometimes I wonder who trusted me to take all these people out into the wilderness to find a lost treasure. Y'know, maybe those people at the funding place thought I was cynically insane or something and weren't taking me seriously… Oh well. At least we're having fun!

After our delicious, baked-potato dinner, I told everyone to go to bed. Tomorrow may not be a hard day, but wait ‘til they see what’s to come after that.


Forinah's Entry/Pacifia's Entry
Morning diary,
It's 4: AM and I am awake but barely!

Rella just called out that everyone has to gather around for an announcement.
The Survivalists isn't really what it's cracked up to be. Just announcements, announcements, and a bit of tedious hiking. I doubt the Intensities are even a thing. Probably just a rumor made up to make us go faster. I haven't even seen a single Intensity! Who knows if the treasure is even real!
One thing that is better than back at the arctic, is that I'm never alone. Oh, and the weather. The weather is MUCH better.

Oh oops! Everyone else has already gone!

~

I'm back! Kinda ironic huh, how I was JUST saying about how I haven't seen a single Intensity! Because that's exactly what the announcement was about! Intensities.
Apparently, there have been multiple sightings of them! Okay, this should be bad news right? But I'm honestly kind of excited!
Forget I ever said anything about the Survivalists being tedious or the Intensities not being real - that was purely a morning grumble.

We're separating into groups and we're going to head for the cliffs.

OMG JJ and Charlie asked me to go with them!
Got to go!

~

PATRICIA IS AN INTENSITY! I JUST KNOW IT!

I had almost completely forgotten about that girl, till I was busy chatting with Cece (Charlie said I can call her that- it's what her friends call her!) when someone standing next to me cleared their throat! I turned around the fright of my life, for standing directly next to me was Patricia!
“Lets go.” She said and started to walk off towards the cliff.

We kept a watch out for intensities, but forgot ourselves through most of it, chatting and laughing. Everyone except Patricia that is.
Everything was GREAT. Until JJ sprained her ankle. Cece pulled out her first aid kit and told us to go ahead.

Once it was just us Patricia started to talk a bit, and I started to think ‘maybe she isn’t so bad?'.
At one point I turned around to swat a fly, and by the time I turned back the worst had happened.

An intensity was standing directly in front of Patricia, who had jogged a few metres ahead. NOw that I was pretty much face-to-face with an intensity I didn't know what to do. I clearly remember feeling my blood rush to my cheeks.
'Get a grip, Pacifia!' I thought and took a few calming breaths.

I cleared my throat and stood with my hands on my hips.
“Ahem, would you please move OUT OF OUR WAY?” I said.
The Intensity just stood there.
“Sorry, but you live me no choice.”

“AAAAAAAAH!!!” I yelled, as I leapt for the intensity but was stopped by Patricia who had grabbed my leg.

“GET OFF MY LEG!” I shrieked thrashing around, but Patricia held her grip as I shrieked and by the time she let go the Intensity was gone.


Pandora's Entry/Cecilia's Entry
“Just one more step…” Cecilia grunted as she ascended the mountain slowly. They had been walking for hours with no breaks or pauses. She felt as if her feet were about to fall off. The heat of the mountain was intense and she longed dearly for cold fresh water.

Cecilia dropped her equipment and leaned back against the rock, gazing into the distance. The sun was going down faster than ever, and Cecila needed to climb fast before it was completely gone and she had to call it a day. She needed to get to the top before the others did - that treasure had been the only thing on her mind for hours. It was the thing that motivated her, moved her.

“CECILIA! WATCH OUT!” Rella screamed nervously as she scrambled up the mountain, about 10 yards ahead of her.

Cecilia whirled around immediately. Masked people in all black were climbing the mountain below at an alarmingly fast speed.

“Get ‘em! Beat ‘em! Get the treasure!” they yelled. One threw a sharp sword at Cecillia, which landed in the mountain.

“It must be the Intensities.” she whispered to herself. She grabbed her bags and began to climb higher and higher, faster and faster. The Intensities were climbing fast as well, and they were hard to get rid of.

At last, Cecilia reached the cliff. She threw her bags on it, and then crawled up herself.


A boy with black eyes and wavy black hair stood at the top of the cliff on his goat.

“Hey there. Do you know who those people are?” Cecilia asked him.

“They’re the Intensities. Pretty good climbers, if you ask me,” he said as he observed them.
“The name’s Eon, by the way.”

“W-Why are they here? What do they want?” Cecilia stuttered.

“No one knows.” Eon repiled. “I suppose we’ll find out soon.”

Cecilia grabbed her bags and started to climb again. “Thanks for your help. Good luck.”

—

It was midnight, and Cecilia couldn’t sleep. Her mind was still on those masked climbers - The Intensities, whatever their name was. What if they beat the Survivalists to the treasure? What would happen then? What are they going to do, what is their motive? And most of all, are they a valuable friend and helper, or a dangerous foe? Cecila rolled over: all her questions would probably be answered tomorrow.


Liv's Entry/Skylar's Entry
Time: 9:00 a.m.
I was still sleeping when I heard Rella calling us to wake us up. I was still tired when Rella said to everyone to hurry and eat breakfast because she has an important announcement. I looked around at everyone and could see that we were all thinking the same thing ¨What was this annoucment¨?.

Time: 9:15 a.m
As we were getting our breakfast I decided to sit with a girl who was sitting by herself in a corner. I walk up to the girl and introduce myself. I say ¨Hi my name is Skylar. I was wondering if I could sit with you?¨. The girl smiles at me and with a warm voice saids ¨Hi Skylar. Of course, you can sit here. My name is Mia.¨ I smile back and sit down. Next, ¨I said nice to meet you Mia¨. From that moment we kept on chatting. Next, we finished our breakfast and went outside for the important announcement.

Time: 9:30 a.m.
When we were outside when Rella said ¨Everyone can I have your attention please¨ everyone went quiet. Rella then said ¨I have been informed that some sightings of uhh… strange people have been found¨. Everyone started to whisper. Rella went on ¨These strange people are called Intensities. Be careful, we don't know what their intentions are yet.¨. After that everyone once again started whispering. I heard a girl whisper ¨OMG, what if they are dangerous and want to hurt us. I then heard a boy say ¨Don't be such a scaredy cat¨. Then Mia whispered to me ¨Do you think that the Intensities are scary?¨ Mia asked. I responded with ¨I don´t really know but I am still going to keep an eye out for them. Mia was about to say something when Rella interrupted and said ¨For today we are going to that cliff over there.¨ She then points to the cliff. ¨Oh right, I forgot to mention that, so hopefully you are not too tired¨. Rella said. I then heard almost everyone groaning and complaining. ¨Hey, I don´t want to hear anymore complaning.¨She said. Then suddenly everyone stopped. Rella then said ¨We will probably separate into groups to go faster. So start picking your groups. Also, I advised that you have at least four people if in a group or more"

Time: 9:35 a.m.
When Reya finished talking Mia said to me “Skylar want to be in a group with me?” I responded with a yes. Mia smiled. Everyone around had formed groups except for us and two other kids. I realized that it was the girl and boy from before that were whispering. Mia and me walked up to them and asked if they wanted to be in a group with us and they said sure. Then the girl spoked “Hi my name is Elizabeth you can call me Liz, Eli, Lizzy, or Beth.”. “Hi my name is Josh,” said the boy. Mia said, “Hi Josh and Elizabeth my name is Mia and this is Skylar”. I said hi to them they said hi back. I will write more after I finished packing my stuff and getting ready.

Time: 12:05 p.m.
Ok, I am back it took a while to get ready. Ok, it was time to start our journey to the cliff. Me, Mia, Josh, and Liz decided it would be faster to ride a goat and so did almost everyone else. When we got to where the goats were Mia picked a goat that was quiet and gentle which was perfect for her. Josh picked a goat that was rather energetic and loud. Another great match I thought to myself. Liz then choose a goat that was quite shy and even a bit nervous, at first the goat was in a corner and looked very scared but when Liz came over it was like a whole new goat they got along well. I on the other hand chose a goat that was wandering by itself it seem to be curious and very adventurous like me.

Time: 12.10 p.m
On our journey, we went. We were riding our goats on our way to the cliff. Me, Mia, Josh, and Liz were all talking when we heard a loud sound and you could hear the ground vibrating a little. I immediately covered my ears. I did not like loud noises. Mia, Josh, and Liz covered their ears and stopped. Then the sound stopped. Mia then said “Whoa what was that sound” Liz then said, “I don't know but it was scary”. Josh then said, “Do you think it could have been the Intensities?”. I just stood there shocked. I could not say anything I was frozen with fear and shock. Liz then asked me if I am ok and then I finally moved and said yeah. I was shocked and scared because it sounded like the noise I heard years ago before my parents disappeared…forever. I kept this thought to myself. I then answered Josh’s question and said “No, I don't think it is the Intensities.”. Well, what else do you think it is?“ said Josh I responded with an ”I don't know but I just don't think it is the intensities“. Mia then said, ”Well whatever it is we have to tell Rella once we get to the cliff". We all nodded and said yeah.

Time: 2:00 p.m.
We were all getting tired along the way our goats got tired so we had to walk. We were still not at the cliff and we were getting hungry. We decided to take a break and eat. There was his beautiful water which was perfect for our goats to drink. While we were taking a break we took food from our backpacks and started eating.

Time: 2:15 p.m
Once we finished eating I decided to look around. I found this beautiful area of the mountains there were all kinds of pretty plants and flowers and it was so calm. There was a rock rick at the center and decided to sit on it. I then sang a song with the softest voice ever that my mother used to sing to whenever I was sad or going to sleep. I then was startled by the sound of clapping. I turned around it was Liz. Liz then said “I apologized I did not mean to interrupt you or follow you it is just that I realized you left and I got worried and I found you here. I am so sorry, but your singing is amazing. I said ”Don't worry it is ok you did not interrupt me and thank you for the compliment.“. We both smiled back. Just then we both heard Josh and Mia call our names.” We hurried back to the waterfall.“Where were you both?” Mia asked. I said we were just wandering around. Josh then interrupted and said we need to hurry up so we packed up all of our belongings got our goats and started going.

Time: 3:00 p.m.
We were finally almost at the cliff. All of a sudden I saw a black figure it move fast I did not know if it was a Intensities. It seem like Mia, Josh, and Liz did not notice so I decided not to tell them. We then saw that to get to the cliff we had to climb. We took out our climbing gear and started climbing. The others already started climbing and were almost at the top. I waited for them to make it to the top.

Time 3:10 p.m.
When the others made it to the top I started climbing. It was fun. When I was halfway to the top my foot slipped and my other foot slipped and I hanging for dear life. Then Mia and Liz started to freak out. Liz even almost fainted. Josh on the other hand stayed calm and was trying to help me. I could not see any place for my foot to stay on. Josh told me to feel to my left side that there was a place for my foot to go. I was feeling towards my left side and I finally found it. I put my foot there and started to climb again. It was a scary experience.

Time 3:15 p.m
Once I made it to the top Mia and Liz were hugging me really hard. I then told them to let go because I could barely breathe. They finally let go. They both apologized and I said it was ok. We look around us everyone was already there and was settled in. We decided to set up our tent and sit by the bonfire. Today was a crazy experience. We then saw Rella we decided to tell her about the loud sound we heard today. Rella responded with “Ah yes I know I've been getting a lot of reports on this we are still trying to figure out what this was”. Mia then asked, “Do you think it could have been the Intensities?” Rella responded and said, “I don't really know but we are going to look into it”. Once Mia, Liz, and Josh left, I stayed behind and said to Rella “Today I saw a black figure in the woods it moved fast and I was the only one that noticed it. It could have maybe been a Intensities.” Rella then said "Oh really? Well, thanks for letting me know Skylar. After that, I left and joined my friends at the bonfire.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Today was… interesting.
I was hiking with this girl named July. She’s a few years older than me, and not exactly what you’d call friendly. I tried to make conversation, but that’s really not one of my strong points, so it was pretty awkward. She fractured her ankle yesterday, which slowed us down. I miss Gabbie and her constant chatter.
See what I meant when I said today was interesting? Pretty interesting, I had to try and make conversation and failed miserably. I know, basically the most exciting thing ever, right? I doubt the trip can get much more exciting than this! So glad I journaled about this, I would absolutely hate to forget it– not that I could forget something so interesting. Yeah, that was interesting.
Haha, no.
Here’s the interesting part:
We (me and July) ran into some Intensities– I think that’s who they were. July accidentally hit one with a stick, so they attacked us. I threatened to throw a rock at them, and I think they almost just let us leave, but then changed their minds. One of them attacked July. She got them off of her, but a bunch more came. I threw the rock at one, and we ran off. When we were almost at camp, July had to stop, because of her injured ankle. I helped her walk back to camp. She wouldn’t let me help her before– back when we were just walking, before we ran into the Intensities, I mean– even though I told her she would only make it worse if she kept walking on it.
We made it back to camp. I told Rella about the Intensities we saw.
I don’t see how July is supposed to climb the cliff with her fractured ankle. And are we expected to climb the cliff now? Today? I like climbing, but I am EXHAUSTED. Seriously, I already ran for my life. Climbing a giant cliff? No thank you. Tomorrow? Sure. That sounds fun. But today? Ugghhhh. Hopefully we’re climbing it tomorrow, not today.
Okay, I cannot write any more, especially if I’m still supposed to climb the cliff. I think I will go flop down on the ground now.

Day 3. Post: “Morning, everyone! So, I hate to do this, but there is something I need to take care of. By myself. So, just hang tight here until noon, I should be back by then. You three! You're in charge. Just clear skies today - there there is a chance of Intensities. Just try to stay safe. We'll just go on a short mile hike when I get back. Good luck, guys!”

Moss's Entry/Emma's Entry
November 3rd, 2021: By the time I woke up, Rella was gone. Marigold happily updates me, saying that Rella's going to be gone for the next few hours. She says that she was picked as one of the temporary leaders while Rella is absent.
I saw a girl named Katya reading one of my favorite books, and I talk to her — pretty awkwardly, I'd expect. I'm terrible at first impressions. She brightened up once I asked her about her cat, Dracul, and actually offered to lend me one of her books!
We spent a pleasant afternoon reading in the shade of the cliff.

I was the first one to notice the Intensity — she literally hit me in the head with a rock. I mean, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it left a big bruise. Wondering where it came from, I walked our from under the cliff to see an Intensity patrolling the top! I tell Katya, and she quickly warns everyone. We hid under a big oak tree for a while, hopefully the Intensity didn't notice us. We kept pretty quiet, I think we were all on edge from that second sighting.

Rella came back around twelve o'clock, as promised. The three appointed leaders update her on what happened, and she seems uncharacteristically nervous. I guess she wasn't expecting to see this many Intensities so soon.

I wonder if there's something she's not telling us about them…

We had a pretty good night to balance out the scary morning. We only took a short hike today, but all but the most athletic of us seemed tired by the time we make it to our third campsite. I have to say, it was a bit terrifying to crawl into my tent alone tonight. The last thing I want is to be alone when an Intensity sneaks up on me! I think that's just the ghost stories Rella told us tonight coming into the writing, those really creeped me out!

I'm going to turn my flashlight off now, my arm's getting pretty cramped from writing in this confined place.

-Em


Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
yawn. wait, did I seriously just type that out? I guess I did. today was… disappointing. if I'm honest, I'm starting to doubt there even is a treasure at the top of the mountain. barely any of us seem to care about it that much. we kept getting sidetracked too.

first, some of us wanted a toilet break, and a toilet break was what we got. second, Rella went… somewhere and made us wait until noon] before setting off again. I'm also a little suspicious of whatever she was doing. one moment, those Intensities start appearing, and the next, our leader is going off on solo adventures doing stuff no one knows about?

I brought this up with the others but no one seems to agree with me. clearly neither Rella or the Intensities mean us any harm, but that didn't mean it wasn't strange. they say I should cut her some slack and maybe I am being a little harsh, but I guess I'm just upset we haven't done anything exciting in the last three days.

really, the only good thing about today was that my ant bites managed to heal and my hands aren't aching anymore. it made the short one mile (only one mile? why?) hike much more bearable. our new campsite does look nice though. I found a good spot and instead of using my tent I put together a quick shelter with a couple of fallen logs, some twigs, and those bouncy, soft mushrooms I found my goat eating.

lucky the mushrooms weren't poisonous or anything. I'd be pretty lost without him. my goat, that is.

everyone looked at me weird when I said I wouldn't be sleeping in my tent. actually, maybe no, they weren't looking at me weird. I think they were just looking at all the twigs in my hair. there were a lot of those. making shelters isn't really a clean business, after all.

huh. is that another Intensity? what are they doing here again? they could have just said hi this morning if they wanted to. no reason to act all mysterious, isn't it? wait, there's more of them this time. I don't know why, but I have a feeling I shouldn't go out there right now. it's not like the Intensities are trying to hurt us or anything.

right?


Pika's Entry/Rella's Entry
Day 3. Hello, hello, hello, dearest journal!! Wow, I have a whole lot to tell ‘ya! So I pretty much fled after after I made my announcement. I left so quick I didn’t even know which three Survivalists I pointed at to lead everybody. I really wondered what happened while I was gone. Nobody died, so that's good, I guess, but I hope they did something fun. I mean if I was them I would've taken everyone to try to find a watering hole to have a cannonball challenge or something. If their day was wasted sitting around doing “trust exercises”, I'd honestly be a bit disappointed. Oh well - maybe it's best I don't know.

Oh, yes - my meeting with Lipa. The note said to meet to meet 10 AM, but I didn't have a watch so I'm not exactly sure what time I got to the meeting point. The note said to meet at the “granary tree on the mountain's east side”, which I managed to find after an hour of my departure. I actually had to retrace the steps we took yesterday, go off the trail, climb a separate cliff, and then climb a tree. After all of that I spotted the old tree that had probably been struck by lightning in the past. I ventured there quickly, and what do you know? There was Lipa, kneeling at the base of the tree.

She's much thinner than I am - if anything scrawny. Her light brown skin outlined her mocha-colored hair rather well. She wore what looked like a dark purple bodysuit, but the material didn't look uncomfortable. On either hand was a gray gauntlet that looked well-polished. Her long hair was tied into a bun, which separated into two braids that fell all the way to the ground(in her sitting position, at least). Her glasses had a gray frame, but that's beyond the point. She used to hate it when I commented on her glasses. Anyway, I stood there a second, and then yawned.

“Hello, Rella,” she had said, in a voice that sounded way too ominous.
“Why, good morning, Lipa! How's life going? Terrible? Heh, that's what I assumed. Aw, don't look so shocked. I was your best friend - it's so easy for me to tell what you're thinking!”
“Oh, shut up, Rella!”
“-And, no need to boss me around anymore. Now, could ‘ya tell me what you wanted to say? I’m kinda on a tight schedule.”
“Kind of. Not kinda,” Lipa corrected, in the most snarky voice I've ever heard. I just sighed. Some people never change. I gestured for her to continue, and she did.

So basically she said that she heard of the treasure before I did - total lie by the way. You cannot believe all the books I've read and all the research I've done to figure out where this lost treasure is. Lipa said she “respected my abilities” and “knew my persistent nature wouldn't give up” and I was bound to find the treasure. She literally just asked if I could take my Survivalists on an adventure somewhere else. I just laughed at that. She then threatened me, so I threatened her back. Then I shoved her. And threw a punch. Don't worry, it was a fake one, hehe. I told her that me and my Survivalists wouldn't leave. I taunted her a bit and finally declared that whoever found the treasure first could keep it. I would offer to split it, but I know she's not going to do anything good with all that wealth.

Eventually, I departed and made my way back to the Survivalists. We had a nice hike, set up camp, and kind of chilled for the rest of the day. It seemed they had a fun time. I showed some of them some basic wildlife skills. We also did some whittling by the fire. I made a wooden goat. Oh yeah, one of the goats had a scratch. Hopefully it's just a birthmark, because I don't even want to know how he got that.


Violet's Entry/Kara's Entry
Well, Rella gave me this thing to write in, so I thought, why not? Today was interesting, so that was different. What was not different is the fact that everyone here does not have the same motivation as I do. I guess you can learn and get better, I think they will, but seriously, so far everyone but Rella has been annoying me.

Rella left us alone for awhile, so I sat alone, watching out for intensities, Monty the goat then came up to me. I grinned at the creature.

'Maah!'

“How are you Monty?” I smiled as I stroked the goats white fur, “You're the only sane one here today.”

'Maah!'

I continued petting Monty until I heard a voice.

“Kara!”

I recognized that voice, it was Jeniie.

“Jeniie, what's wrong? Are you coming to bother me again?”

“No Kara, the intensities are here!”

I shot up from where I was sitting and Monty the goat was still standing.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes!”

That was it, Jeniie and I ran back to the campsite, and there were a group of five them. The tallest, toughest one sneered at me.

“Hello Kara, I see that Rella is not here.”

“Why do you want to see her? Just to harass her?”

“No… Just to show her how awesome we are.”

“Well, you are not awesome. The Survivalists are going to win.”

“Don't you mean the Intensities? It's not worth talking to you anyway. See you when we win. We have a head start because you guys are not moving.”

I didn't say anything, I just frowned at them as they started walking away. I sat back down, without Monty.

About an hour later, Rella was back. She took a drink of water from her canister and then walked up to us.

“Hey Survivalists! Was everything okay while I was gone?”

I shrugged, “It was mostly fine, we did run into a group of Intensities though.”

Rella's expression dropped, “Oh, what did they say?”

“They basically told us that they are going to win.”

Rella sighed, “Of course… Well come on survivalists, lets go on a hike!”

We went on the mile hike and the view was alright. I didn't pay attention to it though, because I mostly focused on hiking. It was a good hike though. Today was a fairly good day, except for the run in with the intensities. We better beat them, or I am going to be upset with every survivalist.

Well, I guess writing in this was alright, I think I will do it again sometime.

Kara

Day 4. Post: “OKAY WAKE UP! Sorry ‘bout that! And that it’s 5 AM. Anyway, we're leaving immediately for a 10 mile hike. Great pace so far, but we can do better. Stick with a buddy, and let's get moving! Also there's gonna be lots of fog, so be careful. Also make sure the goats stay safe. All right, let's move!”

Moss's Entry/Emma's Entry
November 4th, 2021: UGHHH Rella is SO ANNOYING! Even after the TERRIBLE EXHAUSTING day we had yesterday she STILL got us up at five in the morning! Sometimes I wish I could just go up and tell her to let us sleep, but somehow I don't think that would go very well. (I really hope Rella doesn't see this… it's not like I hate her or anything, I just don't get why we have to be up so early.)
Anyways, sorry about that. This journal isn't for yelling about Rella, it's for writing about my day. Unfortunately, since it's FIVE AM the day hasn't STARTED YET.

I paired up with Marigold for the hike today, figuring that she would be the best person I knew to spend the day with. Turns out I was right! We got to know each other pretty well today!
Kara decided to partner with a goat today, and she chatted with it as we walked.
Part way up the mountain, we ran into an enormous cloud of fog. There was a lot of screaming and MAAAAing as the goats immediately ran off. In the fog, it was really hard to spot any of them. I was almost scared of getting to close to them, I hear those little horns can be pretty painful if they scratch you. Marigold and I grabbed a tarp from her backpack and used that to throw over anything we saw that moved. We hit a few campers, but also managed to capture five goats!
After all that craziness, we decided that each pair should be in charge of watching a goat. With that strategy, they didn't get lost in the fog again. It was pretty funny to see our little goat (we named him Stuart) trotting ahead of us.

About eight miles in, everyone's legs started to ache. Most of us aren't used to this kind of exercise! Luckily, we took a couple of very long breaks. After a day like this one, I think I might POSSIBLY understand the early wake up. We didn't get to our campsite until nearly nine o'clock, and even after we made it, it wasn't like we could just go right to bed. We still had to set up our tents, feed up the goats and eat dinner ourselves! We're getting faster at the tents, but it still was a while before we fell asleep

Despite all the panic from the goats, it's been another great day! I barely thought about the Intensities at all, and we were all really glad not to see one today. It was great to talk to Marigold some more, she seems like a really nice person!
-Emma


Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
so! today was actually nice, for once! we went for about ten miles this time, not just the measly one mile we did before. there was a lot of complaining about sore legs. and sore arms. and sore backs. and sore goats. okay, there was a lot of complaining, really. but I could still see how refreshed everyone was after. and it makes sense! what's more exciting and refreshing then a nice morning hike? (according to my roommate back home coffee is a better alternative but I disagree. but coffee is still nice when I don't have time to go outside)

back to the hike. it started out slightly boring at first. just practically flat terrain - it was no where close to 90 degrees. but then the fog came (there was a lot of it) and our goats started freaking out. thankfully enough my goat was… pretty calm. until it stepped on something it didn't like and started bucking around like crazy. it took ages for everyone to get their goats to calm down properly in the mist what with not being able to see and a couple of us losing our goats, but we made it eventually. my buddy nearly came back without their goat, though.

then we went more and more uphill (which was a pretty good change from the last three days of disappointment) until we finally reached our camp. we were about to celebrate with marshmallows when we realised just how deep the cave we were going to be staying in tonight was, and how many night creatures could be in it. just in time, one of us threw a rock at the deepest, darkest part. as expected, they ran out screaming a second later with a giant centipede crawling behind them. we had to climb and tug on one of its antennae to make it stop screeching. at least we have a giant centipede pet now.

at least it's asleep while I'm writing this. I can tell it's given some of us nightmares for life. not me, though. who knew that this mountain would so amazing and full of wildlife and resources? I didn't. now that I've seen all this I'm pretty glad I came along for the ride. hopefully the next few days are like this. I don't think I'll be able to stand another one-mile-day.

if we get another one of those, I might ditch this trip. I'm not here for the treasure, after all.


Pika's Entry/Rella's Entry
Day 4. Okayy, so I think everyone now hates me. Word of advice in case you ever decide to take a bunch of kids on an expedition up a jungle mountain in a race against your nemesis: don't make them wake up at 5 AM. The groaning was awful. I mean, once we started the hike everyone was to busy breathing and catching their breath to yell at me how awful I was being to them. I could see their hatred towards me from a mile away. To be honest, at the rate they were going I could've been a mile ahead. To be even more honest, even I was growing a bit tired by the seventh mile. I'm just glad I didn't over-pack. Sore shoulders are definitely worse than sore legs.

So that's how the morning went. Glares from Survivalists. That is, until the fog rolled in. Now, I'm not sure if you know how much I love fog, but it is a LOT. Fog is the best. Fog is Number 1!!! The cool layer of mist blanketing your skin, the sensitive sent clogging your nose, just the immersive look of it all was stunning. Anyway, Monty may not like the fog as much, but I sure do! (He's so picky for a goat!)

I slowed down my pace a bit by about noon. I really wanted to move faster, but I do care about the health of the Survivalists. I'd like to say we're not in a hurry, but we are. I know I should tell them everything I know about the Intensities, but I don't want to push them yet. Maybe in a couple more days, when the adventure spirit has truly set in on them.

Closer to when we reached our campsite, there was a break in the fog. I could see a huge burst of sunlight lighting up the trees below us. Now, most would call that sight tranquil, but I could only think about how lively and energetic things down there must be. All the animals in their daily life-or-death situations, the microorganisms on every single plant, the explorers trying to make their mark on the world. Everything there was just bursting with freedom. Those are the type of sights I live for. No photograph can capture the feel of that moment; it has to be experienced directly.

After our very long day, we made camp in a sheltered cave. I'm pretty sure everyone collapsed as soon as they set their tents up. I didn't even need to call for lights out. Even I'm getting tired, and I doubt it's even 8 PM. Anyway, I think I'll let them sleep in a bit more. I need my rest, too.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
I never wrote in here yesterday. Oh well.
Rella left to do… something yesterday, but she’s back now, and made us all get up at 5 in the morning for a 10-mile hike. Scratch that. 5 AM is not morning, and no sane person would willingly get up so early.
At least I was with Gabbie again. She actually asked me if I wanted to be her “buddy”. I said yes, because what else was I going to say? “Yeah, no thanks.”?
It was very foggy, and we could barely see anything. Once, I had to grab my goat– her name is Ophelia, which seemed like an omen of her suffering a tragic dea+h (unless I have my Shakespeare plays mixed up)– and lost track of Gabbie. I called for her, and she called back, and I found my way back. After that, she insisted we hold hands, which was awkward, but better than getting lost in the mist. Besides, my hands were cold, anyway. I should have packed gloves.
Gabbie was less chatty today– not that that’s saying much. I did learn that her turtle is named Clyde, her snake is named Ka, and her chinchillas are named Rocky and Fluffball. She told me this after I mentioned how my goat being named Ophelia seems like a bad sign. Her goat is named Billy, which I already knew and found rather uncreative, but she says it’s short for William, which I found amusing.
We didn’t see any Intensities, but considering how foggy it was, that shouldn’t be surprising. If they were only 5 feet away from us, and kept quiet, we would’ve had no idea.
None of us– me, Gabbie, Ophelia, and Billy– were injured, though I came close. There was a rock that I tripped over. (I couldn’t see it because of the fog.) I’m just fine now, but my arm was sore for the next half hour or so. Gabbie made a big fuss about it, even though I told her it was fine, and that if it still hurt at all when we were making camp, we’d check to make sure. (It didn’t, so we didn’t.)
I think that pretty much covers everything important from today. I am completely exausted exhausted, not so much from the hike as from getting up at 5 AM. (Gabbie actually likes getting up really early, but even she would rather sleep until 7 in the morning.) I think someone brought coffee with, so maybe I’ll try that tomorrow.

Day 5. Post: “Hello, hello! Congrats! It's 7 AM! Anyway, it'll rain later today, we can already see the clouds rolling in. Expect lightning as well. We were gonna make a 15 mile trek, but that's being lowered to 3. Hey! Don't look so happy. It's all up a rocky hill. After that, we'll reach the rainforest! We'll set up camp earlier than usual, to prepare for the storm.”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
today started out pretty boring again. but then the rain started. we'd already seen the clouds hours before the rain actually started, but once it started, it never seemed to end. it wasn't even raining that hard. it wasn't light rain, but it wasn't a downpour either. it was just rain. the only thing that actually drove us back was the mist. it was everywhere. around us, behind us, in front of us, above us, every single place I looked the only thing I saw was more mist. and the mist and rain didn't just drive us back, it separated us.

we could barely move without stopping because of the risk of accidentally falling. it was pretty hard getting through all the fog and mist with both the whole group, ourselves, and our goats whole. fifteen minutes in, and some of us had already disappeared without a trace. we tried to find them. but we couldn't. so, we moved on to try and get to the decided campsite before the centre of the storm hit us. thankfully the rainforest gave us some shelter from the rain. but it gave us a new problem too. more things to trip over. a couple of the missing Survivalists caught up with us sometime during the day while we were in the forest.

our speed was more like a snail sprint than a goat's jumps. we barely made it to our campsite in time before the thunder started. we were all tired and miserable and too drained to set up our tents and a fire was impossible, so we just huddled as close as we could in our cave with our sleeping bags and goats nearby.

after a few hours of just talking and getting to know each other, some more of the missing Survivalists showed up. they were shivering and soaked to the core but alive. Rella was overjoyed to see them. the whole time we'd all been talking the subject of the people who got lost was mostly avoided, apart from the occasional outburst. none of us wanted to touch on that matter yet. not until they were really ready.

for once I'm glad we only did a 3 mile journey. it might have been exciting to try and get through the storm but now I know that it would have also been a death wish. it looked like everyone else knew too, considering how relieved they were when Rella announced we wouldn't be continuing the next 12 miles.

one other thing I realise though, is that not all of the lost Survivalists came back.

there were still one or two, all alone in the storm.


Pika's Entry/Rella's Entry
Day 5 - Dearest Journal of all the journals in the world, it is I, the beloved Rella, here to describe my day. Woah. Sorry for that weirdness - I have no idea what I said it all fancy like that. So my day I guesS? What happened? All of that stuff? Alrighty!

Ah, waking up may be my favorite part of the day. It's when I can look at the faces of all my sleeping Survivalists and see how angry they get when I yell throughout the campsite that it is time to wake up. It is more than hilarious. It could make even the most depressed person in the world laugh.

Anyway, it's been almost a week since we set out. That means that that's a quarter of a month. And after three more quarters, we'll be at the top! Well, it won't take us a whole month to get to the top. The mountain may be big, but not that colossal. Once we get to the top, we'll probably have a week to spare. AHH! I'M GETTING OFF TOPIC AGAIN!

So, as we walked along the trails - stopping every now and then to make sure the goats were all accounted for - I could keep feeling the winds push on us. Now, on a fairly even trail this wasn't too much of a problem, but on a trail with loose rocks and moist dirt, it was awful.

Thankfully, we made it up the hill pretty easily with no harm, but we still had to set up camp before the storm came. We all worked fast, hard, and thoroughly, so we were all prepared by the time someone felt the first few droplets of rain. I was really hoping for an epic showdown of Nature VS Sky, but there wasn't too much rain. Now, some people might say it was crazy, and the lightning was epic, while others would be like “that's more like a lame ride at a waterpark”. Either way, it was an experience!

Now, I could only mesmerize the forecast for seven days, and as the week ends so will that handy forecast, so I'm not all that sure what I'm supposed to tell the Survivalists. I guess it's not all that bad. I don't think anyone ran into any Intensities today, so that's good. I'm just really excited for tomorrow. We'll be entering the jungle! Now, jungles are what I live for, so I'm way super excited! Well, g'night!


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
It is storming, and she is missing, and no one is looking for her. I should go look. She
She is back. She is okay, although very cold and wet. I was If she She is fine. She is safe.
Ophelia is still missing. She was missing before. I do not know if she is okay, if she is even still alive. I thought the name was a bad omen. Seems I was right.
Who knows, maybe she’s just fine, and will come waltzing in at any moment, laughing a goat laugh at us for thinking she wasn’t, or bleating angrilly because no one came and got her.
I do not want to be responsible for an angry goat. But I would rather be responsible for an angry goat than a dead one. Although a dead goat would be easier to manage.
I can hear the storm outside our cave. This cave doesn’t keep us dry enough to be at all comfortable, but it’s better than nothing.
I am in my tent now. Gabbie is here, too, because she lost her tent in the storm, along with most of the rest of her belongings. She has the thickest of my blankets, because her own blankets were among the things she lost, and she’s colder than me.
She says she’s sorry to take them, and that I should just use them myself. She’ll take the thinnest, most raggedy blanket, she says. She’s not that cold, anyway. Her teeth chatter as she says it, which makes it even less convincing.
Billy is safe. He is with some of the other goats. He came back with Gabbie. Even though she got lost in the storm, she still managed to keep track of her goat. I, on the other hand, lost Ophelia. Maybe whoever named her is to blame. Who did name the goats, anyway? Where did they even come from? Gabbie says maybe they’re Monty’s friends. Turns out she’s been reading over my shoulder.
It’s getting darker, and it’s hard to see what I’m writing. I’m cold. I’m surprised the rain isn’t leaking through the roof of the tent.
Oh, did I mention we got to the rainforest?

Day 6. Post: “Well, that storm was interesting last night. It'll only get more interesting from here! Today marks the day we make way into the jungle. The trails will be covered in vines, rocks, bizarre animals, and all that. This terrain is difficult to get through, but we'll still just do 8 miles. Expect light rain all at noon, but nothing to much. We'll camp out in the open, seeing as there's not too much caves now.”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
wow. today was… interesting. we finally found all of the missing Survivalists but then we had to immediately set off and go right into the thick part of the jungle. giant bugs that roared and weird little furry things were everywhere and I’m pretty sure they might have permanently traumatised some of us. I was a little freaked out of course but it turns out they’re not that different from those giant ants that bit me a few days ago. the furry things were actually kind of cute. my goat was terrified of them though. I could barely keep hold.

the rain today was light. and I mean really light. we could barely feel it. but it did disturb some of the animals. so we had to spend about half our trek running away from them screaming. who knew some animals were that sensitive to rain? I didn’t for one. maybe I should note that down somewhere. it might be useful for animal proofing an emergency shelter. the second half of the trek we just spent tripping on vines and rocks and the like. I have bruises on my bruises in places that shouldn’t even have bruises. and they ache so much.

to be honest I was reluctant to camp out in the open. since when was that a good idea? I did bring it up with Rella but she just gave me an “I’m the leader and there’s no more caves” look. so I backed down. I don’t even know why I was that intimidated by some girl two years younger than me. that’s fine though. I can make this work. just add a little camouflage on my tent here and there. some sticks and leaves and maybe bark. hopefully that way nothing will walk in on me sleeping and decide to eat me. that would be the worst possible way to go out.

the best way is while doing something actually exciting.


Pandora's Entry/Cecilia's Entry
Cecilia woke up early that morning, after a long night of dreamless and peaceful sleep, unless you count the goats munching a patch of grass right next to the tent. Last night was very rainy, but other than that, everything was perfect. They had made it into the wild rainforest, which meant they were only getting closer and closer to the peak. She did some stretches and physical exercises to get prepared for the long hike, and then went outside to grab her gear and get going.

Yesturday, Cecilia had found a big goat by itself on the mountain and decided to “adopt” it, as her feet were getting tired from walking so much, and her back was so incredibly sore from carrying everything for hours and hours. Augustus, as she had named it, was eagerly waiting for her. She threw all her luggage on him, and set off in the wild terrain.

If Cecilia was given a penny every time Augutus nearly bucked her off, she would have around 30 cents by now. Augustus wasn’t the best goat one could get, and she was feeling incredibly “goat-sick”.

As they strolled through the vast jungle, a figure rushed through the trees. Cecilia dozed off as Augustus continued to walk. A low growl and loud crunching footsteps along with a high-pitched squeal got Cecilia awake. Augustus kicked Cecilia and her equipment off his back. A jaguar was staring directly at him, and the jaguar was angry. It pounced, and Augustus kicked it off with his strong legs and poked it with his pointy horns. Cecilia, shocked and frightened, grabbed a stick and hit the jaguar. Eventually, the wildcat ran off to find another animal to attack, and the explorer got back on her goat and promised herself to stay awake and alert at all times.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Has it only been 6 days? It feels like longer.
It is still morning. (Thank God (whatever god there is) for coffee.) I’m trying to write in here both at the start and end of every day. We’ll see how long that lasts.
I’d better get going. We’ll be hiking through the jungle today.

Today was fun, even though it rained a little. Really, it was nothing compared to the storm yesterday. I guess it is called a RAINforest.
I saw no Intensities (it’s been awhile since I have, actually– I’d actually somehow sort of forgotten about them until now… heh.) but I did see a massive turtle sunbathing on a rock, a weird creature that looked kind of like an anteater, and a green bird that looked like a little flying ostrich (except green, obviously), as well as lots of big, mossy, vine-y trees.
Ophelia has not reappeared, and I am pretty sure she never will. Even if she’s still alive, she probably won’t be able to find us, since we’re so far away from where she went missing. We hiked 8 miles today.
The trees were huge. I climbed one of them, but not to the top. See, the goats had to stop and eat or something, but since I don’t have a goat anymore, I climbed one of the trees. I got up about 15 feet before it was time to get going, which was less than half the height of the tree. I slipped on the way down, and almost fell out of the tree, but I managed to catch myself on a branch. I got down from the tree with only two small scratches, which I sterilized and bandaged, just to be safe.
I could list everything interesting we saw in the jungle today, but that would take forever, and I need to go to bed. Even with coffee, I can only stand getting up so early.

Day 7. Post: "Did y'all enjoy the nice, little warm-up yesterday? Hopefully. We're gonna run three miles today. And walk ten more. Don't worry, don't worry. We'll have a break in between each run with an additional walking mile. Confused on how many we're doing? So am I. We might as well do five more. I honestly have no idea what the weather is going to be like. The forecast I memorized only went for seven days. The trees are too thick to see any clouds, so maybe it'll be sunny? Who knows. All right, let's get going!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
I definitely underestimated the sheer endurance our leader has. it's already the end of the day, and I feel ready to drop like a fly. I think even my goat is sweating. can goats sweat? I don't know, I never bothered to find out. everyone else is either lying on the ground panting or drinking as much water as they can while still leaving some for tomorrow. my legs feel so sore. and somehow Rella is still able to pace around our campsite. which is both admirable and concerning. even I'm tired, and I've been at this adventuring thing for longer than half the people here!

the weather was insane, too. one minute it was raining like someone had upturned thousands of galllons of water in the sky, and the next the heat was so hot a couple of us felt like taking off our clothes. this mountain is a waking nightmare.

I can hear my elbows and knees creaking. this is both embarrassing and huge relief, since I think if I even try to run anymore my legs might as well drop off. I might need to get up soon though, since everyone's calling me down for dinner and tonight's moaning-about-the-amount-of-miles-we-did festival.

it'll have to wait, though. my goat made a huge mess of my things and now I need to tidy them up before he pees on them. which he most definitely will. or will try to. in fact, he's butting his head at me right now. it's starting to get annoying.

okay my goat is gone now. off trying to impress another goat again, I'd guess. he's a hopeless romantic.

(I wouldn't tell anyone, but it's actually a little cute when he does that. but I'm still not going to help him do romantic goat things. it's disgusting)


Kit's Entry/Katya's Enty
We will be hiking and running for an insanely long time today. Great. 13 miles? 16 miles? 20? I don’t know. Gee, thanks, Rella. She also doesn’t know what the weather will be like.
Still no sign of Ophelia, as I expected.

I’m so tired. My legs ache and my feet hurt. I also have bruises on my elbow and cheek from falling into a small ravine. I’m not injured or anything, but still, it hurts.
I am writing this during a brief break, and now we have to get going again. We’re only a bit more than halfway done for today. Great.

Ugghhhh. I. Am. EXHAUSTED. I think I’ll need a new pair of hiking boots before we get to the top. And then we have to get back down…
I was so distracted by trying to reach the treasure, I had completely forgotten about the fact that after we get to the top, we have to go all the way back down to the bottom. Or maybe a helicopter will come and collect us at the top or something. Although if a helicopter could do that, why hasn’t anyone just flown one up to the top and collected the treasure that way? Or maybe someone has, and now there won’t be any treasure left for us.
Okay, now I’m confused.
Let’s see… What was something good about today? “Think positive,” or whatever, right? Ha. Well, I guess we made progress on the whole mountain-climbing thing. So that’s good. Shame it came with a however-many-miles long hike and run. I guess that’s back to negatives. “Thinking positive” isn’t really my thing.
Oh, Gabbie said I’m her friend. Which is nice? But like, I’ve only known her for a week. It usually takes me longer to make friends. Wait, when was the last time I made a friend? What friends to I have? Well, there’s Gabbie (apparently), and
I didn’t come on this trip to make friends, anyway. Nice thing for Gabbie to say, though. She’s a nice girl. She has brown skin and eyes, and curly black hair that she had in lots of tiny braids the first day, but hasn’t styled that way since. I guess we’ve had to get going so early, she hasn’t had time to braid it like that.
I just realized that anyone reading this– although I don’t know why anyone would be reading this– might want to hear more about the ravine.
It wasn’t very interesting. It wasn’t very deep or anything, and I didn’t fall in any exciting way. I just tripped, and fell in, and now I have bruises on my arm and cheek.
So yeah, today was just great. My elbow and cheek hurt, my legs are sore, and now my wrist is getting sore from writing this.

Day 8. Post: “Gotta say, guys, wow! No one died! First of all, that was some crazy weather - but y'all handled it! I mean some of you had some trouble handling the terrain, but that's to be expected. Today we'll just be going on a ten mile hike with plenty of breaks. Expect some spectacular view points! As for the weather, I don't see any clouds yet, so maybe clear skies? Not sure. Well, we're gonna head in about hour so you can have a bit of time to eat a second breakfast or whatever."

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
the views were amazing today. the sky was clear (thankfully) and there was barely any fog around. we passed a ton of great views that would definitely be social media worthy. a shame not many people climb this mountain. we had a lot of breaks, too, and the people who brought cameras took a lot of pictures. after a while, though, we had to get moving, since we dawdled for a bit too long on our last break. one poor kid had a big stomach ache though, because they ate too much breakfast. I guess that's what happens when an adventurer has seconds.

everyone seemed really glad when we got to the campsite. since today was a break day, we spread out our most campfire worthy snacks and exchanged funny stories. who knew that Liin used to be really clumsy? I don't know her that well, but she's always been one of our fastest and best hikers. apparently she wasn't always like that. according to my usual “buddy”, she once tripped over her own feet while on a flat floor with nothing in the way. in front of a crowd. while she was supposed to be opening a school ceremony. talk about embarrassing.

I was actually surprised when my goat didn't decide to misbehave today. he usually does. I think it's his way of showing he cares about me. which sounds sappy and dumb, I know. but even some of the others have said it. right now he's not even doing much. just staring at a tree. is he in shock? what happened?

oh well. as long as he can still function, that's fine. I should probably give him a name. I'm not really sure what, though. something funny probably, to get back at him for messing with me these last few days. maybe I'll go ask some of the other Survivalists for ideas. I'll get back to this when I find a good one.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 8
Yay, I actually got to sleep until 9 today. I haven’t slept that late in ages. Well, a week, but it feels like longer.
Still no sign of Ophelia. If there is any sign of her, I’ll say something. Otherwise, assume there hasn’t been. I doubt I’ll ever see that gaot again.

I am currently sitting in the branches of a tall tree, writing this. It’s a massive branch, so I can sit here pretty comfortably. I’m at least 20 feet off the ground.

We’re taking another break now. I climbed even higher in the tree after I stopped writing there– I got like 50 feet up before I headed back down. I wasn’t the only one to climb the tree, but I got the highest by far. I’m certainly not scared of heights, but up that high, even I was getting a bit scared. Climbing back down, I started to slip, which was pretty terrifying. I think someone back on the ground screamed. I didn’t fall, though. If I did… well, I wouldn’t be here to write this. Anyway, I got back to the ground safely. Gabbie was all freaked out, said I shouldn’t have gone so high, it was too dangerous. I told her I was fine, and pointed out that this is called “Adventure Mountain.”

We’ve made camp now. So, other notable things from today: There was this waterfall, for one. It was only as big as the trees, but the trees were huge, so that’s pretty big. It was fairly narrow, and poured down into this pool. (Yeah, a man-made swimming pool in the middle of the jungle. Totally! …not. It was a natural pool, obviously.) Some of the Survivalists went swimming, including Gabbie, but I didn’t.
Oh, and I saw this big shadow, but I don’t know what it was. It moved, so I assume it was something alive, but I didn’t get a good look. I wonder what that thing was. Probably one of this jungle’s weird animals. Or maybe an Intensity.

Day 9. Post: “Hmm, so apparently some of you think this is getting too easy? Well I got new for you, all y'alls endurance is NOTHING compared to what it should be! So today, fifteen miles! Many of them will be up steep and rocky hills. And if I feel like it, there may even be running intervals! Anyway, besides that, I'm so proud of you! We've come so far. Weather is chilly right now, but who knows what it'll be later. Let's head!"

Laxy's Post/Eon's Post
right. so we had a little endurance test today. fifteen miles, with running intervals in between, up a rocky terrain. I think my endurance has gotten better, but it definitely did not prepare me for this. I'm now winded and tired and I feel like I'm about to collapse. thankfully I'm not in as bad condition as some of the others. I think I even heard someone puke all over the ground just now. which is fair, considering everything. half the goats are lying on the ground and moaning (who knew goats could moan?). I feel a little sorry for them, actually.

my tent looks pretty unstable right now, but I don't feel like getting up and fixing it. I'm just going to… uh let my limbs rest a bit. hm. actually, nevermind. my tent looks like it wants to cave in on me sometime soon and it's probably better to just fix it before it happens, tiredness be darned.

okay, it's fixed now. I can finally lie down in peace without the constant fear of being hit with a pole and just be content with being poked at by my goat.

Rella's endurance is unbelievable. the worst condition she's been in is being sore, and even that didn't last long.

maybe I should get her to teach me her secret to it.


Kit's Post/Katya's Post
Day 9
Today sounds like it is going to be absolutely exhausting. We’re supposed to go 15 miles. Great.

OH MY GODS I AM TIRED. (Yes, gods. The one book I packed was of Norse mythology. Turns out Thor had a chariot pulled by goats. I wish our goats would pull me in a chariot.) It was getting cold, but I’m still all sweaty.
Not only are my feet and legs sore from walking, but I turned my ankle. We were running up a rocky hill when it happened. It isn’t broken, or even sprained, but it will probably keep hurting for a few days. I’ve wrapped it up, and I’ll have to use a walking stick now. Maybe I should be glad it isn’t more seriously injured. Yeah, like, “Yay! I twisted my ankle! It isn’t broken or anything, so woohoo!”
Yeah, no.
Still no sign of Ophelia. Wait, I said I wouldn’t mention it unless there was. (Well, if I don’t even have one goat anymore, I guess I can’t have 2 goats pull me in a chariot. I also don’t have a chariot. And even if Ophelia were here, I’d need a second one. Maybe Gabbie would let me use Billy, at least if she got to ride in the chariot too.)

Day 10. Post: “All right, if anyone is sore, then you should be. If anyone isn't in extreme pain, I am mildly concerned, but oh well. So! As I don't want to overwork you, I'm going to start making things easy. Out trail to day is probably only around five miles, but there are plenty of switch backs and such. Stay alert for snakes and Intensities. I've got a feeling it'll be pretty clear skies. Alrighty, let's get moving!"

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
Rella's “feeling” wasn't even close to right. practically the moment we hit our halfway mark, the clouds started coming in and it rained. there was a little bit of hail too. we had to take cover, but there wasn't much to take cover under. so a couple of us (including me, I'm proud to say) got up and made an emergency covering over our heads. only thing was, the Intensities also got stuck in the storm. and since they didn't have any one who could make any shelter for them, we had to share. which really ruined a lot of moods. not mine, though. I'm not even sure why everyone's so against them.

they haven't done anything to us so far, and they're pretty good at adventuring themselves. they have my respect at least.

the storm didn't last very long but the clouds didn't clear away at all. by the time we got to our campsite they'd only gotten thicker. that menas that tomorrow will probably have bad weather. maybe even worse than today's.

on another note, I finally have a name for my goat. from now on, his name is Fuzz. not really the most original, but it's still great. I like it. I think he likes it too, actually. might go see if he responds to it.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Today seems do-able. We aren’t going too far, which is good, because I’m still sore from yesterday, and my ankle still hurts.

I just saw a flock of little bright green parrots fly out of the trees. I don’t think anyone else noticed. They’re a bit ahead, doing something with the goats (Ophelia’s still missing), and I’m resting about 20 feet behind th
There is this shadowy figure standing in the trees the birds flew out of. I should maybe go get the others. No, it’s probably nothing. Let me just get a closer look.

Hi, Gabbie here. Katya is missing, and I thought we should check her journal here for clues since it was laying on the trail by where she disappeared, and it looks like I did find a clue. Someone else is checking over in the trees already, and maybe after I show everyone this, they’ll think something is actually wrong, which most of the other Survivalists didn’t before. Well, I’m not sure if it was most of them or not but some of them thought we’d find her right away and that it was no big deal. I’ll have to go show this to Rella and all the other survivalists since it might be important.

Day 11. Post: “ATTENTION! Yes, PLEASE WAKE UP! We have reports of a missing Survivalist. I'm not sure how well everyone knows her, but her name is Katya. She's thirteen, red hair, last seen in a green jacket. We'll look for her until we find her - NEVER leave one of your own behind. There's clouds there in the distance, so expect heavy rainfall. Break into search groups, let's MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
theres a survivalist missing. none of us knew when it happened. none of us knew when she just, just poofed! just upped and disappeared. no one saw her. weve been searching for hours. none of us can find her. we looked everywhere. her tent, her sleeping bag, the caves, even the treetops. theres been no trace of her since last night. its like she just vanished off of the face of the earth. but thats not possible right? its not. something must have happened while we were sleeping. something must ave made it so that she's suddenly untraceable in the morning.

someone must have taken her.

but who? was it the intensities? they cant have. they would never, why would they even do it? money? they already have it. and the treasures the reason were all here in the first place. besides wouldnt someone have noticed? we didnt see them at all after we separated when the storm stopped yesterday. we found a few in the woods an hour ago but they said they didnt see anything either. but if it wasnt them then who did it? why did they do it? there was no reason for anyone to do it in the first place. so why? and who?

katya wasnt even anyone special. she wasnt rich or poor or famous. if she really was kidnapped, the people who did it had no reason to pick her. she didnt have any special talents either. she wasnt the fastest or the strongest or the smartest or our leader. she couldnt hold her breath long or make shelters out of anything or climb the highest. she was just that. ordinary. why pick her out of all of us? why not rella or cecilia. there was nothing in her journal that gave us a clue either.

she was good at rockclimbing, though. and geography. and first aid. but still. those werent exactly skills that stood out. maybe ill go look around again. i know its close to hopeless but maybe just maybe ill find her,

i dont know what i was thinking. i saw this person on the trail. dressed in all black. they were sneaking around like they didnt want to be caught. so i thought hey, it cant be that dangerous. i have a pocket knife. it could come in useful. and i could always call for help. so i followed him.

now i'm stuck hiding in this, this campsite full of intensities. they really are the ones who took katya. shes not far away, tied up in ropes. i wish i could get to her, but that would just put me in risk too.


its been two hours. i dont know how long i can stay awake or keep hiding in this cramped hole. i dont even know if my pen scratching against paper might be too loud. it shouldnt be. oh no, i can feel my eyes drooping. i have to stay awake. i cant sneak back out of here without being caught. i dont even know the way back to our campsite. all i can do is wait. i really didnt think this through as much as i should have.

i cant face up against a whole group of people with just my pocket knife. why did i do this?







stay awake, i need to stay awake, stay awake staya wekk, stayaaane weake…


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Hi, so I guess I’m writing in this journal until Katya gets back. We’re all looking for her right now, and I’m using this to take notes in case we find anything. Writing in here right now while we look isn’t helping anything, so I’ll put this away soon.
Our best theory about where she is is that she was captured by intensities, which isn’t something I knew the intensities did. Anyway, I’m putting this away now so I can look better, and by that I mean do a better job searching, not look prettier. Anyway, bye.

Later
We have not found Katya yet, and it’s dark out, so we set up camp and will look more in the morning, since it will be hard to find anyone in the dark. It is very late, since we stayed up a while in the dark, still trying to look even though it was night, but now we decided this isn’t working and we’d have better luck in the morning. We didn’t tell any scary stories or anything, and we are going to get up early. One of the other survivalists is missing too, the oldest one of us, named Eon, I think. Not like old-old, like grandparent old, but 18. This is really really not good, and Rella is very worried, and the rest of us are too. Most of us, anyway, because I haven’t asked everyone how they feel, since we’ve been busy looking.
I am supposed to be sleeping so I can get up early tomorrow, but I can’t sleep, and I don’t think I’m the only one who can’t. So I am still writing in here while I try to figure out what to do, or how to fall asleep. I’m using Katya’s tent, since mine is lost and has been for a while, so I’ve been using her tent for a while. ANd now she is the one missing. I wonder if she found my tent and everything, and her goat, too. She thought that it, the goat I mean, was going to die because of its name, which was Ophelia. But maybe the goat didn’t die, and now Katya has found it, although if she is captured by intensities she probably hasn’t, unless the intensities capture goats, which I don’t think they do. I am going to try to sleep again now, and I’ll probably fail to sleep, but I’ll try anyway. So goodnight, journal.

A little more later
Guess what? I couldn’t sleep, so now I’m writing in here again. This is no fun, and now I sound like a whiny little kid, but it’s troo true. Why did I just spell true with 2 Os? I guess I’m tired, and that’s why I spelled it TROO, but I tried to speep I mean sleep, oh I guess I can’t write right anymore. I tried to sleep and I can’t, and so now I am writing in this journal about random things that don’t matter at all, which isn’t helping anyone at all and isn’t even any fun.
Maybe I should go look some more, only I’d probably get lost or captured too, and I think going and looking alone is how Eon disappeared, so it’s a bad idea and I won’t. But if I got captured and Katya got captured, then at least I’d find her, and Eon too if he also got captured, and maybe I could save them but probably not and I’d just get myself in trouble and make things worse. OKay, I’m going to try to sleep one more time, and then tomorrow I can look more along with everyone else, which seems like a better idea then going and maybe getting myself in trouble and making everything worse. Goodnight.

Day 12. Post: “Guys, I know you didn't get much rest last night, and I know it's the crack of dawn, but we NEED to find our missing Survivalists. Hopefully clear skies today. Anyway, I got a good feeling about this. Stick with someone, and look EVERYWHERE. Good luck guys, let's MOVE!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
Eon woke up in cold sweat. Ropes cut into his wrists and ankles, and his throat burned dry from lack of water. Where…? Everything rushed back to him. Searching for Katya, getting lost, hiding out, stuck in the Intensities's camp, falling asleep, rough hands finding him, binding his wrists and ankles, and stuffing a gag into his mouth.
They must have found me while I was asleep, Eon thought. Wait- where's Katya?
He raked his eyes through the campsite, sight eventually falling on a pole at the far side, where said girl was trussed up and tied to. She looked like she was still asleep - or knocked out, he couldn't tell.

Again, he searched the ground for anything useful that could get him out of here. Nothing. He should have known. The Intensities were most likely far too smart to just leave anything lying around in wait for him.

Speaking of Intensities, one came up to him, holding a packet that looked suspiciously like a medical pouch. Eon flinched back, then glared at them.
“Now?” they asked someone out of his line of sight.
“Now,” that person agreed. The Intensity took out a pill, examining it carefully before taking out his gag.
“Open your mouth,” they said.
Eon shook his head. “No way,” he managed to rasp out.
The Intensity frowned. “Either this, or the hard way. Do you want to know what that is?”
He shook his head again. The easy way was certainly better than the hard way, especially in this situation. He opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.

As his head began to swim and his vision darkened, he realised how they'd managed to keep Katya from waking up and calling out for help for so long.

Through sedation.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Hi, Journal, or person reading this, or whoever I’m writing this to. I am looking with someone else, this kid named Rowan, and so far we’ve found nothing. We aren’t giving up obviously, right now we’re just stopping for a quick break to eat real quick and stuff. We have to keep going now so we can find Katya and also the other missing survivalist, Eon, and save them if they need saving, which hopefully they won’t.

Later
Okay so we found the intensity camp! And Katya is there, and I don’t know about the other one, Eon, but at least we found Katya! We’re hiding in the forest because I wanted to just go free her, Katya, right away, but Rowan said that is a bad idea, which I guess it probably was so good thing we didn’t do that. Rowan is going to go get help now while I stay here to make sure they don’t leave or anything, the intensities I mean, and I need to not to anything stupid. I guess that means no rushing in and freeing Katya, or anything, so I have to not do that or else Rowan will be mad at me and I will probably get captured. Okay now I’m going to stop writing because maybe that will make noise and the intensities will here me, oops I mean hear, and then I could get captured and we don’t want that to happen.

More later
Okay so it’s REALLY boring just waiting here, so now I’m writing some more while I wait for Rowan to get back with the other survivalists. How long am I supposed to wait? I am SO BORED. I thought keeping an eye on the intensities would be the exciting part, but it isn’t and I can’t even really see them very well, and they aren’t doing anything interesting, and I can see Katya sitting there tied up, and it would have probably been more fun to go back and tell everyone what we found, although fun isn’t really the right word. Anyway, this is so so so so so so so not entertaining, and neither is writing the word so over and over and over and over and over again.
Maybe I should go sneak in and save Katya, and look for Eon too. But I’m terrible at sneaking, and I don’t know how they haven’t found me here yet, so that wouldn’t work. I can see Katya from here, even though it’s getting dark which is making it harder to see anything, including what I’m writing, which maybe is how the intensities haven’t found me yet. She’s tied to this big pole, and it looks like she’s sleeping, or something, I don’t know, but I hope she’s okay. Maybe she’s pretending to be asleep so she can sneak away? I can’t stand this much longer. Hopefully the other survivalists get here soon, or else I might not be able to wait anymore and will go try and rescue her and then get captured, and we don’t want that to happen so they’d better hurry up.

Continued.

Day 13. Post: {non-existent}

Kit's Entry/ Katya's Entry
Day 13
It’s after midnight now, so I guess that means it’s a new day! I think, well I guess I fell asleep at some point, because I woke up, and I don’t know how anyone I mean no one, that’s not the same thing, found me, none of the intensities. No one else found me either, and Rowan never came back. Or maybe Rowan DID come back, but then left? That makes literally no sense at all. Maybe I should go back and see what happened, and tell everyone I found Katya, or maybe the intensities will have left by then or something, by the time I get back I mean, and it will be too late if I di that and we will never find her. Or I could try and save Katya myself, and then either I would save her, or I wouldn’t and might end up captured. Let’s just wait a little longer.
I am bad at waiting. I don’t know how I have waited this long, and I don’t think I can wait any longer. So, let me plan here. I’ll go get Katya, but do I sneak or run? If I untie Katya, then what? Because if she’s asleep and I can’t wake her up, I’ll have to carry her back, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that, so now what?
Oh, wait! They, the intensities I mean, are distracted by something, I don’t know what, because it’s really dark and I’m hiding in the trees, but I think it looks like they’re all gathered over to one side of their camp, away from Katya. This is my chance! Well, wish me luck!

I’m back. Gabbie thinks I should just rest. But from what she tells me, I seem to have been asleep for awhile, so I don’t feel the need for more rest.
I don’t remember much of the past few days. I mean, I think I was unconscious for most of it. I guess Gabbie took over writing in this journal while I was gone. Not sure how I feel about that. But it’s time for my side of the story, which isn’t much.
That shadowy figure? That was an Intensity. When I saw, I went to go get Rella, but the Intensity attacked me. They had… oh, now I’m not sure. A club or something? And I guess I must have been knocked out.
The next few days are what I don’t remember much of. When I woke up, I was tied up, and someone put something in my mouth. That kept happening until I was rescued. Even when I was awake, everything seemed… foggy.
I don’t know what happened to the other missing Survivalist. Eon vanished after I was kidnapped. He might have been kidnapped, too. I don’t know; I don’t remember seeing him at the Intensities’ camp, but since I barely remember anything, that’s no wonder. Maybe they will find him now, since we know where the camp is. But maybe the Intensities will have moved, since I was freed.
Wait, how did Gabbie escape with me? She never said. She’s outside right now (I’m in my tent), but I’ll have to go ask her.

Day 14. Post: {non-existent}

No entries for Day 14.

Day 15. Post: “Good news! I've err… negotiated with the Intensities about some things. The missing Survivalists could come back at any time, but for now they're with the Intensities. So for now, let's just focus on climbing to the top! It's a twenty mile hike today, and we'll be going fast. We have a lot to make up. Clear skies I think, so let's get going!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
right so apparently I'm stuck hiking with the Intensities for a while. I don't know what happened but I do know Rella came over and sorted… something out with them, though I'm not sure when. it's a little disappointing that she didn't try to get me and bolt back to camp. then again, I think the Intensities moved me somewhere else in their camp, because now I can't see Katya or anyone else. maybe she couldn't see me. they untied me from the pole in the morning and made me get ready for the hike, all with my arms tied up in thick uncomfy ropes.

I overheard the Intensities talking about Katya. they said something about a rescue and “pesky meddling Survivalists”. I don't understand. what are they talking about? was Katya rescued? she probably was, because now that I think about it I haven't seen her anywhere even while we were hiking up. and Rella did come over, so… that must mean that Katya really was rescued. the Intensities looked at me weird then and they must have realised I heard them, so they told me to move faster. but it's not like I could get much faster, considering how my wrists are tied up.

why didn't the other Survialists come get me too?


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
I never wrote in here yesterday. There was nothing to write about, really.
It will be a long hike today, since we haven’t really made any progress the last several days. I guess that’s partially my fault, since they were looking for me and Eon, and Eon got captured looking for me. It’s also the Intensities’ fault, though, since they’re the ones who kidnapped us. Apparently they are going to give us the other captured Survivalists back, or something. At least, that’s how I understood it.

Yes, it was a long hike. I think my boots are going to wear out before we reach the top. That is, if my feet don’t fall off first.
Still, it was nice to just be hiking and stuff again, instead of being either kidnapped or sitting around while Gabbie fussed over me. (Although after everything that’s happened lately, the kidnapping and just this whole trip, being fussed over isn’t the worst thing in the world. Still, after 2 days of it, it gets tedious.) My ankle has healed now, which also helps. Lucky I hadn’t broken it, or even sprained it, otherwise it would still hurt.
Oh, still no sign of Ophelia. Unless we come across her on the way down, which I doubt we will, I am pretty confident I will never see that goat again. Maybe she’s met a tragic Shakespearian death.
Okay, now I want to see a Shakespeare play where everyone is played by goats.

Day 16. Post: “Good morning, good morning! We're happy to have some of our Survivalists back, but we must remember to still be weary of the Intensities! Anyway, if my calculations are correct, we should reach the top in about six days or so! Let's get there quicker by hiking fifteen miles today. We'll be crossing lots of rivers and jungle lands, so hopefully it doesn't rain too hard! Let's move!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
so I'm back with the other Survivalists. to be honest, it does feel good to be back. it was basically like I was never gone in the first place. we all threw a small campfire celebration for me and the other missing Survivalists. Fuzz looked pretty happy to see me. they asked me a couple of questions about the Intensities's camp, of course. I couldn't answer much, and neither could Katya. we were sedated for quite a while, so logically we couldn't see anything worthwhile. and the Intensities are smart, I'll give them that. they placed us in the least suspicious spots possible and kept practically everything out of our reach or hearing range.

it doesn't feel right, though. not the questions, I mean coming back. it doesn't feel right. it's not like I don't want to be with the Survivalists anymore, I do. they're practically my family now, after all we've been through. but nothing about today feels right (other than Fuzz making goat sounds at me very early in the morning). I think I'm just disappointed in them, maybe. I'm not really sure. it was bad with the Intensities. they sedated me and kept me tied up and all. but somehow I think I would have been more satisfied staying tied up than being left there for an extra day after Katya got rescued.

I just wish they'd come and gotten me too.

wait, I have to go, Fuzz wants me to… do something, I don't know what.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Nothing notable to say about today, as of this morning. Yep, that’s the beginning-of-the-day report. Nothing has happened quite yet. Rella says we should reach the top in 6-ish days.

Yay, hiking in the rain. How fun. Woohoo.
At least we crossed the biggest river before it started really pouring. And at least that biggest river wasn’t fast-moving. We weren’t done with rivers by the time it did start pouring down rain.
You know what’s even more fun than hiking in a rainstorm? Walking on a log to cross a river while trying not to fall off and drown in a rainstorm.
Seriously, that was one of my least favorite parts of the trip. (Aside from the kidnapping and everything, I mean.) That river was not the widest of the ones we crossed today, or the deepest, but it was one of the fastest. The strongest swimmers would have trouble surviving its rapids, and I am far from one of the strongest swimmers. I have decent ballance– thank God (or gods or goats or whoever)– but walking across a log, even an extremely wide one, when it’s pouring down rain is not easy in any way, especially not when there’s the obvious risk of drowning.
I’m so cheerful and positive, aren’t I?

Day 17. Post: “Well, that rainstorm last night was rather… intense - hehe, see what I did there? Yeah, sorry, sorry. Anyway ten miles today, first half is uphill, second half is trekking through a very thick forest. There'll be a lot of flora and fauna and mosquitoes and all that good stuff. No idea on the weather! Also, keep an eye on the goats, please! I'll give y'all another five minutes, and then we'll head!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
today was pretty easy by both yesterday and my own standards! which is good, because according to everyone else and my friend's doctor I need to rest and lie low after that many sedatives. not fun for me, but good for my body. apparently. the uphill part of the journey wasn't that hard, surprisingly. it was basically just like the first few days of our long route to the treasure at the top of the mountain. I did almost fall though, so that was pretty fun. I decided to back up the more long winded way after that, just to spice up the hike.

the forest part was where things got more frustrating. there were gigantic mosquitos with purple dots on their body everywhere, and we kept tripping over vines and things. we did get to see a couple of impressive deers though. there were little flower buds and patterns in their antlers and I could have sworn their eyes had little star constellations swirling around in the pupils. no one else believed me when I told them. as expected. there was also this very big, very suspicious, very flashy and very smelly flower thing. it smelled like corpses. we all bolted out of there as fast as we could just in case the stink wasn't just a quirky biological aroma.

we ran into the Intensities sometime before we got to camp. a couple of us were really upset at them, including Katya and her friends. mostly they were mad at them for the whole kidnapping fiasco. I was a bit * too. they did kidnap me and Katya and sedate us. though from their point of view it must have just been a logical decision - they're obviously a bit shady, and two Survivalists coming across their camp and potentially finding out about whatever plans they have would definitely not be a good thing. so they did the logical thing and captured us to make it look like we went missing on purpose, and so on.

not long after everyone else went to sleep (I was too busy cleaning up one of Fuzz's messes), one of them came over and hid just in the border of the trees. I tried to ignore them. it was always best to let people assume you didn't know they were there, so they'd drop their guard. that's what one of my professors told me, at least.

unfortunately, that plan failed because they'd noticed that I'd noticed. they gestured for me to come over, but I shook my head. no way was I going to come with them a second time. the Intensity gave up and turned back to the trees. strange, considering how determined they usually were.






okay, I'm back in my tent and ready to sleep. only thing is, is that there's a piece of paper (a note, maybe?) on my sleeping bag. and since I don't knw anyone else who would sneak into my tent instead of talk to me, I'm willing to bet it's from the Intensities. so I opened it, because despite curiosity killing the cat, satisfaction brought it back (my friend says that, but I think the cat just had an identical twin).

We apologize for kidnapping you and the other Survivalist (Katya, was it?). It was a hasty decision and we shouldn't have done that.

In return, you're welcome to visit our camp anytime. The place will be revealed every night to you in case you might want to come. There should be a piece of paper with the location under this note.

Again, sincerest apologies,
The Intensities.

that's what it said, anyways. weird. what are they even planning to do? ambush me? I guess I'll write a reply or something and stick it on Fuzz's horns.






Eon's reply:
no thanks, I'd rather not be ambushed. and don't come into my tent without permission, which you'll never get.

go away,
from Eon.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 17
Rella instructed us to “Keep an eye on the goats.” I no longer have a goat, since Ophelia is still missing, presumed dead. (Presumed dead by me. Gabbie says she could still be just fine, and maybe we’ll find her on the way down, and no one else has said anything on the subject. I don’t exactly go around asking, “Do you think my goat is dead? She’s named after a tragic Shakespearian figure, which seems like a bad sign.”) Maybe this means I’ll help Gabbie keep an eye on Billy. (Okay, I just realized Gabbie says the goat is named William, just called Billy for short. Ophelia is from a play by William Shakespeare. Coincidence? I think not.)
(Okay, I do think it’s just a coincidence.)

HELP, I’M BEING EATEN ALIVE.
Seriously. There are mosquitoes everywhere, and they keep biting me. I’ve somehow managed to keep the big, weird ones away (I think I might be the only one they didn’t bite at least once), but I am covered in bites from the normal kind. (At least, I think they’re normal. They aren’t giant, and don’t seem to have any weird colors or anything.) It is so hard not to scratch them. I’ve put witch hazel in the bites, and shared it with a few other Survivalists, too.
We met some Intensities today. (Yes, that should be more notable than the mosquitoes. But as I am writing this, I am very, very itchy, and it is hard to think about anything else.) They didn’t do anything to us, fortunately. Obviously, I was absolutely delighted to see them. Completely over the moon. They were even more fun than the mosquitoes!
Yeahhh… The Intensities aren’t exactly my BFFs. I don’t think they’re any of our BFFs. Gabbie actually started yelling at them. I had to tell her to stop. I was worried that if she didn’t, they might attack her. That would be… bad. There would probably be enough Survivalists to stop anyone else from getting kidnapped or anything, but a fight could lead to injuries, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Well, I wouldn’t mind the Intensities getting hurt, as long as it wasn’t fatal or anything.
In other events, I saw a dragonfly almost as long as my arm, a plant that could be a corpse flower based on the smell, only I don’t remember what corpse flowers look like (I’ve never seen one in real life), and an orange lizard with yellow stripes.

Day 18. Post: “DID YOU SLEEP WELL? HOPEFULLY. Yes, it's four AM, so terribly sorry. We're gonna hike five miles, get some more sleep for two hours, and then hike five more. There's also been some things happening with the Intensities, so BE EXTREMELY PROTECTIVE OF YOUR GOATS. Thanks y'all for being such troopers. Start moving! And Katya, may I have a word?”

Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 18
I`m so tiired. It is the middle of the night, basicly, and I cannot spell at 4 AM. Coffee is good.
Rella wants to talk to me, apparently.
Rella told me I could scout ahead, walking about 20 feet in front of the rest of the goat ugh I’m too tired to write group. Almost everyone else has goats, who they will have to take care of, but since I don’t, I could do it. I didn’t have to, given my… shall we say, unfortunate encounter with the intensities, but I aggreed.

Nothing of note happened so far. Not writing more now. Time to sleep more. Still so tierd tired. Going too i forgot how grammer GRAMMAR works sleep.

I slept. I am still tired, but after some more coffee, I am ready for the next 5 miles. I will still be scouting ahead, although hopefully no scouts will be necessary to avoid trouble.

I almost got kidnapped again. Yay.
I ran into 2 Intensities. One had a dagger, and the other had a club. I ran back to warn everyone else. Some of us grabbed sticks or rocks just in case they attacked, and we all grouped close, with our goats in the middle, for safety. There were way more of us than them, but unlike us, they had decent weapons and probably wouldn’t mind using them. We kept walking, giving the Intensities plenty of room, and they didn’t harm us.
My head does hurt, though. I banged it on a branch while running from them. Thanks to that branch, my forehead now has a large, painful lump on it, and it is hard to write in here because I am holding an ice pack to it (my head, not the branch) at the same time. Gabbie was worried, although I told her I would be perfectly fine in a few days, and she is displeased my me agreeing to scout ahead today. So, I guess I won’t be doing that tomorrow.

Day 19. Post: “Woah, sorry guys I forgot to wake you up early. It's ten AM… Wow this is so weird… I'm rested? Anyway, we're getting insanely close to the top! We're so close to the treasure - but so are the Intensities. I'll pass out some simple weapons today, ONLY use them if you have to. Just another ten miles, I want us to save our energy just in case we need it for something. Alright, let's move!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
today was a pretty slow day. only ten miles, nothing more. the only interesting things are that we woke up at ten AM, and one other thing. Oh, and Rella told us that we needed to be “extremely protective of our goats”, which is also what she said yesterday. And that was all a little uncalled for, really, because the goat fiasco wasn't that serious. Fuzz is fine. well, as fine as he can be when I'm pretty sure he has brain damage from how eggheaded he acts. he think my hair is grass! it took me an hour to get all the slimy goat drool out of my hair! hm, it's getting a bit long now, maybe I should cut it.

oh, and that one other thing was that Rella wanted to talk to Katya, alone. privately. I don't know why, but it's a little unfair. it was obviously something about the Intensities. I think. but why wasn't I talked to too then? I got kidnapped as well. I got kidnapped while looking for Katya. what's up with the exclusion lately? that was yesterday, though, and not today. I didn't have enough time to write last night.

Rella gave us weapons. small, simple weapons, and smart just in case the Intensities decide to do something, but a bit of a stupid decision. half of us aren't trained in using weapons, and most of us are minors. I don't know much about American laws, but isn't it at least a little bit against the law? or is it only against the law to use them?

on another hand, the Intensities gave me another two notes. they ignored mine, but I know they've read it. they stuck them in my bag though, which is better than before. all the first note had was a set of directions leading to the location of their campsite, plus a few more apologies. I still don't know what they're trying to do. the second note told me they needed help finding and making a shelter in their campsite, since apparently one of them lost their tent.

is it still an ambush? why would they do that when it's clear I know what they're up to?

maybe it's not an ambush. I don't think it is at this point. I guess going over to help would be fine. I'm not that mad at them. not mad enough to leave some guy to have to squeeze in in another person's tent and not have comfortable sleep until they get off the mountain, at least. I'm not dumb either, though, so I'll leave a trail just in case.





okay, I'm back. it turns out they really did just want help. aside from asking me a few weird but not suspicious questions and telling me a few weird things, (“maybe you should come here more often, you're pretty skilled,” - what was up with that?), everything went pretty smoothly.

I'm still a little upset at them, though.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 19
I got to sleep until 10 today, which was both amazing and weird. I am not at all tired, and do not need any coffee (which is good, because coffee is bitter, and I don’t actually like what it tastes like.)
Apparently, we’re almost at the top. It will be nice to get the treasure (unless the Intensities get it first, or it turns out the “treasure” is just a bunchof junk). And it will be nice to go home, see Dracul and my mom, and not be under threat of kidnapping. But I will also miss adventuring, and I’ll miss Gabbie and the rest of the Survivalists.
Rella gave us weapons. Nothing fancy or anything, and they are only to be used if absolutely necessary. I got a club that looks suspiciously like a baseball bat.
Anyway, time for us to go.

Fortunately, the weapons weren’t necessary today. It did make me feel better to have one, even a simple one. Probably better that it wasn’t anything much, anyway. A sword would be awesome, but I might worry about accidentally stabbing someone with it, and I absolutely do not want a gun. (Also I have no idea how to use one.)
Today wasn’t actually that eventful, though we did climb a small cliff. It was only 10-15 feet high, and I honestly really enjoyed it. I was first to the top, though not by a lot. Several others were very close behind me, and it was hard to tell who got there first.
I think I’ll try telling spooky stories tonight, since for once, I’m not completely exhausted by the time we made camp. I would like to continue getting up at 10 AM. Or at least 9.

Day 20. Post: “Okay, so, it was brought to my attention many of you do not know how to use a weapon. Which means… training time! Do I care if you know how to use it? NOPE! Everyone is going to receive some training - after our five mile hike through the thick jungle. There should be a pretty neat cave where we can stay the night at and do our training, so be on the lookout for that. I actually have some… er- requirements to take care of, but I will meet you guys at the cave at noon. Don't get lost, don't be late, and good luck. See y'all soon!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
just five miles today, apparently. not much, even for everyone else. the jungle was very crowded though, so we had to move slowly and carefully, just in case we accidentally disturbed some of the animals. by the time we got out, everyone's limbs were cracking and numb from moving slower than a sloth. our goats weren't very happy either, so there's that. we had to keep shushing them. goats are very loud and a bit of a danger to the whole “silent, slow and sneaky” aspect of it all. once or twice we couldn't stop them, though. we jus hurried from the spot we were in when they bleated as fast as we could.

the moment we reached our cave a couple of us collapsed. turns out that being slow and quiet can be just as tiring as going fast or doing a twenty mile hike. thankfully Rella let us rest for a bit (she collapsed too). we all shared stories and had lunch while we did. Fuzz stole some of my sandwich even though I was hungry. is it possible to put a goat in time out? Fuzz has been misbehaving a lot recently and I can tell he really needs it. is there such a thing as goat training school? maybe I should get him signed up for one.

the next surprise came after our heavenly break time. evidently, not all of us knew how to use weapons. so our great leader Rella decided to give us training. normally it would be fine, but this is not normal. it's just a mountain and the Intensities here, and we've managed so far, so why do we need to be able to use weapons now? plus, she's teaching ten year olds (ten!) how to use a pocket knife offensively. again, I'm worried about the legality of doing this. I brought it up, of course, but she said it's fine, so there's not much I can do about it anyway.

luckily I already have a few weapons. yes, they're just a slingshot and a pocket knife, but it should manage.

the Intensities invited my to their camp again. it was a bit further this time, but no harm came out of going there yesterday, so I did it. they said something about a celebratory campfire party for how close they had gotten to the top of the mountain. since it sounded fun, I went and brought a few of my own snacks with me. it was kind of nice there, actually. I even found out why they're here. it looks like they want to get the treasure, same as everyone else.

their leader is nice. they thanked me for helping out yesterday and told me I could come over anytime. and since I don't really want the treasure, I told them they could have my share of the treasure if the Survivalists got it first. maybe I'll even be able to talk Rella into giving splitting the treasure with them.

it's only fair. after all, they worked just as hard to get up here as we did.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 20
Apparently we are going to be trained how to use our weapons. I’m not sure how much training goes in to using a club, but maybe there is some. Rella apparently has some “requirements” to deal with, which means we’ll have to find our way to this cave ourselves.

Rella instructed us to “not get lost”. So of course, we got lost.
She didn’t appoint anyone to lead us until she got back, like she did last time she had to leave for some reason, so things were kind of chaotic. No one knew who to turn to when we got lost, which lead to a while spent trying to figure out what in the cosmos (I’m still reading that Norse mythology book, and in Norse mythology there isn’t just one world) we should do. And then someone’s goat ran off, so we had to go chase after it. Fun.
We didn’t get to the cave until it was after 2 PM. Yeah, Rella was absolutely delighted that we got there more than 2 hours late.
The cave is pretty impressive, though. The first bit is pretty narrow, but it leads to a much larger room where we’ll be spending most of the time in (and where I’m in right now). It seems like a good place to stay the night. There’s plenty of room (this chamber is like the size of a small house). And it’s not right at the mouth, which gives us more shelter from weather, animals, and Intensities, but it isn’t very deep either, so we won’t get lost and could escape quickly if we had to. The cave goes back much further, and I’d like to explore it more. But not now, because apparently it’s time to practice fighting learn how to use the weapons.

Pretty much everyone else has some sort of knife, so I’m not sure why I got a baseball bat- I mean, “club”. I guess maybe Rella ran out of pocket knives. I didn’t get much in the way of training. Rella basically got as far as how I should grip the club before she had to run over to help some younger kid with their knife. She had to spend a while working with the little kids, actually, so some of us, including me, pretty much had to figure out the details of our weapons for ourselves.
Eventually, I got tired of practicing swinging my club at the air, and went and read some more of the Treasury of Norse Mythology. Rella wasn’t terribly pleased about that, either, when she noticed.

Day 21. Post: “Fourteen miles left~ We'll be at the top. I'll give more information tomorrow about our plan, but basically we're gonna find a base and hang out there until we locate the treasure, which might involve a journey or quest of some kind. For today, we'll be traveling through muddy, rainy conditions followed by clear skies a view of a huge bird migration in the evening. That'll be amazing, so be on a look out for that. Also, if you find a Intensity, please talk to me. There's several things going on that keep becoming more complicated, but I think I can sort it all out in a fair way. I just need information. A'right, follow me!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
I really, really don't like mud. it sticks to my fingers and legs and it's very, very uncomfortable to walk around in. of course, the terrain we had to walk through today didn't care and was all muddy anyway. it's not really the terrain's fault, though. it can't help being muddy. the only thing is, there were patches of quicksand. quicksand! a few of us nearly drowned in it! I did step in a patch, but luckily I realised soon enough and managed to get out by myself, since the other older campers are helping the younger ones get through them. the rain wasn't much better, honestly. it made walking in the mud about a hundred times harder.

Rella might act suspicious and abandon us to do her own thing and “requirements” sometimes, but she was right about one thing. the bird migration really was amazing! there were thousands of them, all flying about in the air towards north. or north-east, I'm not really sure. it's very hard to keep track of things like that on this mountain, especially since I lost my compass somewhere (even if I may or may not have a feeling a certain goat definitely not named Fuzz ate it. he has a habit of eating things that should not be eaten. maybe I need to get his eyes checked? he seems to think things that aren't food are food a lot of the time).

anyway, Rella told us to talk to her if any of us say an Intensity, which I will not do. it's a hard no to her (at least for now). I won't tell her every thing every time I even look at an Intensity, because they haven't done many things wrong (aside from the kidnappings, which they told me was a panicked mistake) and because she won't tell us everything either. she's never told us what she does when she goes off on her own for a while, and she's never really told us everything about why she's going off alone. it could be dangerous and end up with her dead, for all we Survivalists know!

okay, I may have gone a little overboard with that one. I didn't mean to rant about Rella. she's not that bad, really. it's only that she can get a little frustrating sometimes. but she's still a good person and a good leader. she's smart and talented and she knows what she's doing and how to lead a whole gaggle of adventurers, treasure hunters, and wannabe's, all with extremely different skill sets, personalities, ages, and experience. I respect Rella for that, I do. I think I'm just still a little frustrated that she left me behind back when I was held hostage, but still bothered to go and get Katya back.

wait, I should get going. I just found the note the Intensities left me with directions to their camp, and this time they're saying that the real celebratory party is going to start soon. Be back later.





okay, I'm back and a little tired from the party. it was pretty exciting. I got to meet a couple more Intensities and they discussed their plans for what to do to find the exact location to the treasure. it's pretty much the same as the Survivalist's one, where we all go around and comb the area and stay there until we do. for some reason, though, the Intensities were all mud free. according to them, there's another, much safer route to take. I don't know why Rella chose the mud and quicksand path, but I hope she did it for a good reason.

the Intensities have been having some trouble with locating the possible area of the treasure, so I promised to help them as much as I can while still helping my own group.

after all, the Survivalists will still be my first priority.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Apparently we’re going to walk through mud in the rain. Doesn’t that sound like the absolute very most fun ever? More fun than anything in the entire universe?
But seriously, we’re supposed to get to the top today. Not looking for the treasure yet, but still. And there’s going to be a big bird migration, according to Rella. So that should be cool, at least. We’re also supposed to tell Rella if we see any Intensities, which I’ve been doing anyway, but okay.

Today I did not stay clean, drown in quicksand, find Ophelia, or get kidnapped. So, based on that, today was pretty average.
But we are basically at the top. There’s just a small(ish) cliff between us and the very peak of the mountain. We’re staying in a cave that is built in to that cliff.
The birds were spectacular. There were so many of them, and they just kept coming. Sometimes it would seem like that was all of them, but then another flock would follow. They really filled the sky. Me and Gabbie found a ledge about 5 feet above the ground, and about 20 feet away from the next nearest Survivalist, to watch it from. We briefly played a round of “Name-The-Birds,” which is where we would point at a bird and give it the first name that popped into our head. The names I remember were Birdy, Caramel, Emily, Charles, and Sir Flappy. But most of the time, we just sat there, staring at the birds. It was getting dark by the time the last of the birds finally left.
We set up camp in the cave. I’m writing this from my tent. Rella says she’ll tell us what’s going on with the treasure hunt tomorrow.
I think something’s going on with one of the other Survivalists. The other one that was kidnapped. Eon. I just don’t see him much. That doesn’t sound strange, but I saw him leaving his tent yesterday night when I was going out to check on I don’t remember what. I didn’t think much of it, though, because I was tired and only half-paying attention. I don’t think he saw me. I also don’t think he likes me very much. The other day, I saw him give me this… look. Maybe it’s that he was kidnapped looking for me.

We set up camp in the cave. I’m writing this from my tent. Rella says she’ll tell us what’s going on with the treasure hunt tomorrow.
I think something’s going on with one of the other Survivalists. The other one that was kidnapped. Eon. I just don’t see him much. That doesn’t sound strange, but I saw him leaving his tent yesterday night when I was going out to check on I don’t remember what. I didn’t think much of it, though, because I was tired and only half-paying attention. I don’t think he saw me. I also don’t think he likes me very much. The other day, I saw him give me this… look. Maybe it’s that he was kidnapped looking for me.
The campfire is set up, and I’m being called over to go tell scary stories. It turns out I’m good at that. I don’t make the plots up, they’re out of books. I think tonight I might tell them a summarized version of The Graveyard Book. I’m not sure if that will be spooky enough, but it does have ghosts in it. (Nice ghosts, but still.) Maybe Coraline would be better?

Day 22. Post: “Congrats, we are at the top! Well, not the exact top, but close enough. We'll set up our base here for the first bit of the day. Some of you will set up defenses, some of you will train, some of you will decipher clues, and some of you will scavenge for some food. There's a few more thoughts I had about the location of the treasure, which I'll bring back after I do some scouting. If you see an Intensity today, do NOT ATTACK. If you decide to talk, just please make sure it is clever, witty banter. Anyway, I'll tell y'all your assignments in a bit! First, Katya and Eon, you're doing some scouting with me. Let's go!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
so, it's day one of looking for the treasure. Rella divided up our tasks. some of us were told to set up defences (for what?), train, decipher clues (I didn't hear anything about clues, but that's to be expected), find food since we nearly ran out, and go scouting. speaking of going scouting, it turns out that Rella wants me and Katya to go with her. I don't know what she wants now, or if she even wants anything, but I have to admit it feels nice to be included again. I've been feeling a bit distant from the Survivalists these last few days, but I don't know why. still, I appreciate that Rella asked me to come with her.

the first thing we did was get a new compass for me. fair enough, since getting lost wouldn't be useful in terms of finding the treasure. one of the other Survivalists had a spare one with them, so they let me borrow it. the second thing we did was narrow down the places we'd search. there were plenty of places to hide treasure on the top of the mountain, so we searched the easiest ones first, like the treetops (apparently Rella can climb trees very well), the forest floor, and the caves that weren't too deep and dark. we didn't find anything. there were a few close calls though, when we thought we'd found it, but it turned out to just be leftover junk from other treasure hunters.

I came back a little tired, but thankfully Rella let all of us have a few hours of rest to regroup and catch up on all the progress everyone's made. the ones who were tasked with getting food managed to secure enough bits and pieces of edible meat and plants to last us at least a few days, a week if we try hard. only a few clues were deciphered. I didn't catch all of the answers, but that's okay. progress is progress. our defences are pretty strong now, and while I still don't know what they're for, they look sturdy enough to protect us from animals and stuff. I do feel sorry for the poor guy who got stuck watching the goats all day. it doesn't sound very fun. I'll make sure to apologise for anything Fuzz might have done later.

the Intensities sent me their location early this time, maybe because they want to get searching. I'll have to go soon.

okay, I'm at the Intensities's camp while I write this. they're discussing strategies for where to search while I update them on what us Survivalists have learnt and what we've been doing. we all deserve to be on even footing, after all. then they split up into groups to look. their leader asked if I wanted to come along, and I said yes. I might be a bit tired from searching with Rella and Katya earlier, but I still have enough energy to help. it took a while (a few hours, I think), but we turned up with nothing either.






back at my own campsite. by the time I got back, all the stars had already come out. now I'm in my tent and I feel very, very ready to collapse. it's been a long day. thank goodness I already had dinner with the Intensities.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 22
Apparently I’m going to go scouting with Rella and Eon. So that will be… Interesting? Maybe, or maybe it will be boring. Who knows. Well, anyone who can see the future might know. Most of the Norse gods can.

I am back from scouting, and sitting in my tent back at camp. We didn’t really find anything, but at least we ruled out several places where the treasure isn’t. We climbed trees, explored caves, Well, we did find something, but it has nothing to do with treasure. I disturbed a colony of bats. We were checking a cave for treasure, so I walked into this one chamber of it. As soon as I did, a ton of bats started flying everywhere. We all ran out of the cave, which didn’t seem to have any treasure in it, anyway. The bats weren’t hurting anyone, and I think they’re really cool, but it is not a pleasant experience to be stuck in the middle of an agitated flock of them.
What if the bats were guarding the treasure?
I don’t really think they were. I got a good enough look around that cave to know there was no treasure there. But that would be pretty cool, having bats guard treasure.
Oh, I think maybe tonight I will tell a story of my own invention. Giant, treasure-guarding bats.
Gabbie greeted me when we got back, asked if I had done anything interesting, and told me all about her day. Apparently she was told to look for food, which she did, and then gave me a very detailed description of it that was filled with tangents. Her hair is braided today. This and the 19th are the only days she did, I guess because most of the time there isn’t time to. I always braid mine, but she has so many little braids, it must take forever. They do look cool, though.
Obviously I don’t go off on tangents at all. Not even the tiniest of ones. Nope, not me, not at all. Clearly.
I actually have a decent amount of free time here. I guess I’ll read some Norse myths, and then just hang out until dinnertime, and scary stories.

Okay, I just finished reading the Treasury of Norse Mythology. So… I guess I’m back to writing in here. Yeah. So, the worlds ended, and then they un-ended. In the book, I mean, not for real. Why did they all fight in Ragnarok if they knew how it was going to end? (It ended with most of them dying, and the worlds getting destroyed.) And what happened to the goddesses? Were they just killed by some random giant, and that wasn’t important enough to talk about?
I’m confused.
Yep, I don’t go off on tangents AT ALL. No, I’ve NEVER gone off on any tangents, especially not when writing in here.
There has got to be something more interesting to do than write in here about my thoughts on the battle of Ragnarok.

Day 23. Post: “Hello! Awesome job guys, everything seems all set up to begin our treasure hunt! Also, I've been able to work things out with the Intensity leader, things seem to be going smoothly! All we have now is a little friendly competition - so, only use your weapons for wild animals! Anyway, we need to find the location of the entrance for the treasure vault, and then find the clues that lead us to the treasure. We have three ideas, so that's where we'll search today. I know I'm not the easiest to work with, but I just want you guys to know how proud I am of y'all. ANYWAY ENOUGH OF THAT!! Let's get going!! Also, feel free to have light conversation with any Intensity, most of them are pretty cool! But maybe let's not exchange secrets with our hunt. I mean, where's the honor if we only find the treasure because we cheated it out of an Intensity!?”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry

I'm glad Rella's realised that the Intensities aren't a threat, and that most of them are pretty nice to hang out with. sure, I don't think I'm allowed to tell them what we found while searching anymore, but maybe that puts us all on even more even footing. I even saw a couple of Intensities searching places near us, so it looks like we don't have the separation from Intensities rule anymore either. some Survivalists even talked to them and started chatting to them. all in all, I'm pretty happy at Rella's new attitude towards Intensities and today in general. except for the fact that Fuzz ate one of my headbands.

don't ask how, why, or what he was even doing with it in the first place. it's… just better not to know.

not even being grouped with Katya (she's a nice kid, but I'm still upset I got abandoned for her and that she was rescued properly while I wasn't. also, her and her friends still hold very unreasonable grudges against the Intensities) can bring my mood down. oh, and maybe the fact that we didn't wake up extremely early for once helped. it's nice not having eyebags. the search didn't go that well at first, actually. two of the search groups looking at the other places Rella thought the entrance would be in didn't find anything. we didn't find anything either.

really, the only thing that went well was that more clues got solved. except it wasn't really much help when we were more focused on finding where the actual treasure vault was. whoever hid it must have been great at playing hide and seek.

as usual, after searching with the Survivalists, I went straight to the Intensities's camp after having lunch. I told them I couldn't tell them what we found (their leader seemed okay with that), but apparently helping them look anyway is a dead giveaway that us Survivalists didn't find anything. real shame. the Intensities and I looked for a while, and when we came back I felt sleepy and tired. of course, I went and walked back to my own camp.

aaaand I got stuck in one of the defences built yesterday. great. thankfully it only left a bruise on my lower arm and a small tree branch-cut on my cheek, so that's a plus. it wasn't that hard to get out of.

maybe I should sleep now. my hand is getting pretty tired.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 23
Apparently things are going better with the Intensities. Which is good, because I really don’t want to be kidnapped again.
We’re going to be looking for the entrance of the treasure vault. I’m not sure what exactly it’s supposed to look like. Maybe it’s a “we’ll know it when we see it” thing.
I suggested we should check that one cave again, the one with the bats. We left so quickly after the bat storm, there might have been something there that we hadn’t noticed before. And I think I saw the entrance to another chamber in the bat room.

We tried the bat cave again. We were more careful this time, so the bats did’t go crazy right away this time, but they still started flying around a lot. There doesn’t seem to be any treasure in the cave. There was and entrance to another chamber, like I thought, but that dead-ended pretty quickly.
On the way back to meet up with the others, we ran in to a pair of Intensities. Some of the others started chatting with them. I guess Gabbie’s still mad, because even though she rarely stops talking, she just glared at them the whole time. I’m still wary of them, too.

No one else found anything, either, although Rella thinks one of the caves she checked seems more suspicious. But it sounds like it’s hard to access some of the chambers, so I’m not sure how someone would have gotten treasure into there. We might be investigating it further tomorrow, with more caving gear.
In unimportant events today, I stepped in bat poop. I took my boots off because of it. My feet are sore, too, which is not the fault of the bats. Bat guano is apparently good fertilizer, but I don’t think my hiking boots need to be fertilized.
I’m not sure what we’ll be doing tomorrow. Some of the new clues point to the one cave, too. (Not the bat one.) That cave apparently has a lot of tight squeezes and climbs in the dark. Yeah, that should be a pleasant little stroll.

Day 24. Post: “All right, so I think we should scan Gasher's Cave today - I did some searching in some history books and ancient journal logs, and that is what it's historically called. It's the one with all the different chambers. We'll leave a few Survivalists here to decipher some more clues, but the rest, pack your things ‘cause we’re going spelunking! Grab your jackets, food, flashlights, everything - we'll be down there all day! I'm sure we'll find the entrance! If, for whatever reason we don't come back tonight because we're almost at the treasure, try not to panic and remember that you're a Survivalist - a survivor. ‘Ya won’t die! Anyway, grab some water and let's get moving!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
we're stuck. okay, okay, back to the start. this morning wasn't that eventful. we woke up as early as usual, got breakfast, listened to one of Rella's briefings. then, we split up into groups (I was put in the searching group, because… well, I don't really know why) and got started. on a side note, I think Rella might have stayed up too late while researching last night. her eyebags are worse than mine and I'm slightly worried. I trust that she'll do fine though. she always does fine. especially on her own. especially when she goes and does her private secret Rella things. I'm also still a bit frustrated that I got stuck in one of the defences yesterday. it doesn't hurt, but it's made my arm sore and that's annoying.

we went to investigate “Gasher's Cave”. apparently it used to be the place where some old man who went to explore once. the thing is, he came back with thousands of gashes and cuts all over his body. he said it was because of wild animals, but no one knows what wild animals could have caused those. not really the happiest place to look around in. it was all maze-like, and it had so many branches and intersections of tunnels between chambers, which made it even more confusing to navigate. twice we had to go back and mark our route so we wouldn't get lost. another time, we had to go back because our route dead-ended.

and now we're stuck. we came out to this gigantic, very dark chamber. we could barely see the ground, but we managed, at least until it turned out there was no ground anyway. a few steps in and all of us were falling down a huge hole in the dark. it was a very long fall. we ended up splashing into this shallow pool at the bottom of the hole, right next to a (amazingly) dry area where the rocky floor jutted out and above the water a little bit. a couple of us were completely drenched, while some (like me) were only a bit wet. it was a great thing some of our flashlights were intact, actually. we lit the place up and found that the hole was even bigger at the bottom. not a good thing, considering the fact that we had no way to get out.

honestly, the only thing not bad that came out of this is that there are weird picture carvings on the wall. they look ancient.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 24
We are in fact going to investigate that cave more. It’s called Gasher’s Cave, apparently. The other cave I am just calling “the bat cave.” It (Gasher’s Cave, not Bat Cave) sounds pretty dangerous. Rella says we won’t die, which isn’t actually that reassuring. It means it occurred to her that we might think we could die.
I am leaving my Norse mythology book here at camp (it sounds pretty stupid bringing it), but I will bring this journal with. Actually, no, I’m taking the book with. I’m not sure if we’ll come back to this camp at all.

Oh, spelunking went great. Just great. Absolutely wonderful. Lovely little trip.
I wish.
We almost got lost in the cave several times, and had to keep doubling back. There are not any bats in this cave. I much prefer the swarms of bats. There were some cool stalagmites and stalactites, but it was hard to appreciate them. We didn’t find any treasure, either. There’s some creepy story about an explorer, and rumors of a monster somewhere inside. So that makes being stuck here even more fun.
Yeah, we’re trapped. We were in this one dark cavern, and we fell down into a… I don’t know, another chamber or something. I’m all wet now, as well as sore. I’m all scratched up, and covered in bruises.
I don’t know how we’re going to get out.
On the bright side, there’s some ancient-looking cave art on the wall. It looks like pictures of stylized stick figures, honestly. I read a book on early humans once, and I remember finding it interesting. I wish I remembered more of the actual book.
Speaking of which, is that a skeleton over there?
Yes, it’s a skeleton. But it looks ancient, too. Maybe it’s the fossil of some early human, a species predating Homo Sapiens. Maybe it’s a new species. Maybe we’ve just made a major discovery. Maybe we won’t live to tell anyone about it, and will end up as skeletons, too, trapped in this cave until some other explorer visits and marvels at these ancient finds.
I, um, don’t think any of us are in the mood for scary stories. That’s just what we need, more things to be scared of. If we want any stories, I guess I could read some Norse myths to the group. But I doubt anyone will be in the mood for those, either.
If only one of us could shapeshift, or had a flying chariot pulled by goats or cats.
Wait, where are all the goats, anyway? We brought them into the cave with us, but they don’t seem to be down here.

Day 25. Post: “Good morning, Survivalists! Or I think. Not too sure - but I feel rested, so it's safe to think it's 5 AM! We're currently trapped in a chamber in Gasher's Caver, but not to fear - Monty is not trapped with us and I have complete faith he can find us help. Anyway, I've been studying the marks on the wall over here, and I think - if I deciphered it correctly - were on the right track! I'll be keeping trail reminders here and there as we continue to venture so we don't double track. Also, don't let your flashlight batteries die. I did not bring enough torches or matches. So! Follow me! If I read the clue correctly, there should be a passage with four chambers. One of the chambers will lead us to the treasure trail, the other three will end with a lot of paperwork and suing. The correct chamber is ‘The one that keeps fighting, the one with balanced light. T’wil be found if one keeps writing, even when out of sight' - no idea what this means YET so we got a lot of work ahead! Don't lose hope guys, let's go!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
right, so no one is really sure what time it is. Rella thinks it's around 5 AM, because according to her that's what her “biological alarm” said. some of us aren't even sure if it's morning at all. it does feel like it though, since I have morning breath. my water bottle should fix that problem, but since we need to be careful with our food and water supplies, I won't have any until it's necessary. I really hope Fuzz is okay. I'm getting worried thinking about what kinds of things he'll get himself into if I leave him alone for too long. hopefully he doesn't end up in a trap or ditch.

this cave is a little off putting. creepy, but in weird way I've never felt before. there's a skeleton here. a whole, not deteriorating, in perfectly good good condition, human skeleton. one of us, a kid called Lynn I'm pretty sure is either really reckless, curious, or just plain unintimidated, actually touched it. which is both fine, since the skeleton looks clean-ish (as clean as a skeleton abandoned in a cave chamber area can be), but also a little disgusting, because it's a skeleton and there was an actual human brain and flesh on it once upon a time. I don't believe in ghosts, but I do know that it's considered impolite in a lot of places to just touch a skull like that without permission from the dead person's family.

apparently, we're also on the right track. Rella's figured out a route for us to take, and some of us have been tasked with marking the trail so we don't get lost. we've been walking for a while now, and since this is terrain that most of us have never been in (I've been in a few cenotes, but never somewhere like this), it's been a bit of a slow going. we had to try and not get crushed or stabbed by stalactites, avoid dead ends, not disturb whatever animals are living down here, and conserve our water, food, energy, and flashlight batteries. it was pretty tiring, actually. this is a bit different from the last few days.

okay, now we've set up camp in the biggest and safest chamber we can find. it's been a bit hard getting a fire started, but we made it work, even if said fire does look small. it's a shame that we don't have our tents. right now I can see a lot of other Survivalists scribbling in their journals. to add to the list of things I'm a little upset about, we haven't found the intersection with four chambers yet, and no one has figured out what the riddle to the correct chamber means. I'm not even here for the treasure, but being stuck underground with no way out has a tendency to make your fuse shorter.

plus, the others aboveground are probably looking for us. Rella did say that Monty would be able to get us some help, but even then the help might just get stuck down here as well.

I'm also feeling very guilty and more than a tiny bit mad that we can't get out, because it means that I can't and haven't been able to go and help the Intensities search, which really sucks because I promised and I'd really like to stick and stay true to my promise, thanks.

the others are looking at me now. wait. oh. I think I said that last part from above out loud by accident. oh well. just another thing to add to today's list of unfortunate things that happen to me, Eon.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 25
I’m pretty sure it’s the 25th. I mean, yesterday was the 24th. Only maybe it’s still the 24th, or maybe 2 days have passed and today is the 26th. Okay, I’m going with day 25. I’m pretty sure that’s right. I really don’t know what time it is. None of us do. Rella thinks it’s 5 in the morning, because she feels rested. 5 isn’t the morning, and I’m tired, but not nearly as much as I would be if it were 5. I think it’s more like 7. But who knows how late it was when we went to sleep.
Forget the time. Here’s what Rella said the marks on the wall said, so I don’t forget: “The one that keeps fighting, the one with balanced light. It will be found if one keeps writing even when out of sight.” (I asked Rella, to make sure I had it right.) I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but maybe I should keep writing in this journal? That’s kind of what it sounds like.
Me and Gabbie decided we’ll take turns having our flashlights on, so it would take longer for our batteries to run out.
Before we left the chamber we camped in, I said goodbye to the skeleton. I’m sure I looked and sounded ridiculous. But if this skeleton has been here so long, I’d imagine it gets lonely. Except it’s dead, so it can’t get lonely. That’s why I said I’d imagine. I don’t think it actually gets lonely. The skeleton didn’t follow us. It’s missing all its muscles, so it can’t exactly move. Also it’s dead. Hopefully we won’t end up like it: Dead skeletons, sitting in a cave to spook future explorers. This is reminding me of The Graveyard Book. Well, we will all die at some point. We aren’t gods. And the Norse gods can die. Most of the Norse gods did die in the myths.
I am SO cheerful and optimistic.
At least we’re getting closer to the treasure, according to Rella. But will we be able to get the treasure out of here, even if we find it? Will we even be able to get ourselves out of here?

We did not find any treasure. We did not get out of here. But at least no one died. We are now camping in one of the safest-seeming caverns, although we still have no idea about the time. We also haven’t solved the riddle, or even found the place with the 4 chambers.
There’s something about this tunnel up ahead… it looks like it could have multiple tunnels or something coming off of it… I’d better investigate. I am not going to just go off on my own, though, since that’s how I got captured by the Intensities. It could be nothing, though, and we’re all tired. I don’t want to bother anyone. I know, I could ask Gabbie if she wants to come. She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to, and if she doesn’t want to then we’ll just stay here.
Gabbie agreed to come with me. We’re going to investigate. I tore a page out of this journal and wrote a note on it, in case we take a while to come back and the other Survivalists notice us missing.

There are multiple chambers leading off of this tunnel… but which is the right one? And are there 4? It’s hard to tell. We can’t see very far, since we just have our flashlights. I also have a little booklight, for reading and writing after dark, but that doesn’t do much good. We’re going to look around.
There’s some more cave art on this wall here. It looks to me like 2 groups of people fighting. “The one that keeps fighting”, maybe?
We’d better go back and get the others.

Rella has been told, but almost everyone is already asleep. We probably won’t look at that tunnel more for a few hours or so. Rella says she’s going to go check it out herself tonight.
In other news, my head hurts. We were heading back to tell the other Survivalists what we’d found. There were these weird sounds coming from down one of the chambers. Maybe it was some monster, or maybe it was just the cave doing weird things to the wind. Either way, it sounded creepy, so me and Gabbie rushed back. And I managed to trip over something in the mostly-dark (we just had our flashlights), and fall. I hit my head pretty hard. I’m not seriously injured, but it really hurts at the moment. I also feel pretty stupid about the whole thing. We’re on a big adventure, and I manage to hurt myself in some of the most mundane ways possible.

Day 26. Post: “Last night I did some exploring - thanks to some help from a certain Survivalist. Anyway, I found the chamber room. Well, I saw it. I believe that if I step in the door will jam, so we all have to do it together. Hopefully you rested, because we're going to need some clever ideas to figure out the riddle! We got this guys. Once we get through the chamber door, we should enter a room full of traps. It is very important you follow my lead DIRECTLY once we get in there. I'm positive we'll make it past. And after THAT is the catacombs, and the treasure should be there somewhere - along with the exit - but I doubt we'll get that far today. We got this guys - this is what we've been training for! Let's move!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
apparently today's the day we get the treasure. Rella gave us a quick rundown of what we're going to do, starting with figuring out the riddle. “one that keeps fighting (probably the drawings on the wall), the one with balanced light. t'wil be found if one keeps writing, even when out of sight,”. currently, I don't have any ideas what that means. I'm not really the solving clues person, after all. I'm more of a… you know, I don't really know what I am, but it doesn't matter right now, since it looks like we'll be setting off and entering the chamber room soon. the smartest and most creative of us are pretty hard at work on the whole deciphering thing.

okay, so the chamber door is HUGE. it's at least ten times bigger than the tallest Survivalist here. there are tons of vague but very, very threatening and very, very disturbing warnings etched into it. it's written in… sanskrit, I think, or something similar to it. it's similar enough for me to read, anyway. thank goodness I listened to my grandma that one time and decided to learn it. ha. and all my cousins and friends said it was dumb. then again, being able to read it in these circumstances isn't really a good thing. I'll forever have that… extremely descriptive paragraph about what would befall you is you came inside burned into my mind. there is this tiny set of words that just say “Advait was here” in the corner, though. that was funny.

my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and start running around when we stepped through. it could have been wrong. we could have been wrong and gone into the wrong chamber and ended up dead or something. and I, like most people, would definitely not like to be dead, because being dead is bad and means you're not useful, able to talk, able to walk, able to move, able to think,, or generally alive anymore. Rella didn't tell us who helped her find the chambers (because she said something about anonymity I think) but I do hope with all my heart and bones and limbs that they thought this through and that it, in fact, was not the wrong chamber.

it wasn't.

that was a relief. except it also wasn't because right after the chamber is a room of traps and that's just as deadly as going into the wrong chamber by mistake. practically the moment we stepped inside and the door jammed behind us, someone stepped on something and nearly got us killed by way of a gigantic block of something falling on us. it's a big shame that that counted as something light and harmless compared to the rest of the room. despite everything Rella said (about following her lead and her being able to lead us), we still had a couple of mishaps. first, we realised that the room was much, much bigger than it looked. then, we had to try and guess the meanings of the threat-like riddles on the walls so we could get through properly, try not to get hit by a barrage of arrows, sidestep extremely hot flames, and just try not to get killed.

it was very tiring. by the time we made it out of the room, only the more sensible of us weren't covered in ash, small scars, arrows, ropes, or cobwebs (that room has most likely not been cleaned for a while. it smells of rot. probably rotting human meat). I have an arrow stuck in my hair but nothing else. but we did make it past, so I suppose that's what matters. surprisingly enough, the part after the trap room wasn't deadly at all. in fact, it was boring. we had to trek on through the tunnel for ages and it didn't seem to end. there were some really bad parts of it too, where it was either very narrow, very short, very rough, or all three. in the end, we got stuck setting up camp in one of the biggest parts of the tunnel we could find, and even that one wasn't very wide.

I should probably sleep, though. let's hope we find the treasure tomorrow, because a couple of us have already ran out of flashlight batteries.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 26
We are going to go into the chamber. Rella thinks I’m right, and that it is what the riddle was talking about. She told us that she found the chamber room, “with the help of a certain Survivalist”. She never said who the “certain Survivalist” was, and I’m glad. If I’m wrong, and this gets anyone killed, everyone is going to hate me. Also I’ll feel bad for getting them killed, of course. It’s not like it would be a huge loss if they hated me, though. I only have 1 friend here.
It sounds like it’s going to be pretty dangerous, though. So hopefully, whether or not me and Rella are right about that being the right chamber, no one dies.

Well, no one died! Yay!
That’s a pretty low bar, honestly. “Hooray! No one died!” But that’s basically the best thing about this. We all made it through it. The room was filled with traps, and we were all nearly killed several times. Let’s see… there was the falling block… the arrows… the crushing walls… the pit… It was kind of ridiculous. And honestly, why would someone hide treasure back there? If they wanted to get it back, they’d have to go through all their own traps. And what good is treasure doing if no one can do anything with it?
Yeah, we all survived. I guess we are called the Survivalists, so it would be ironic if we didn’t. None of us have any potentially-fatal wounds, either. So that’s all good. You know, this would be a good place for Ophelia to die. Not that I wish death on my goat. Besides, she probably found it elsewhere, anyway. I wonder what exactly happened to her.
No one died, but we’re all in worse shape than we were before we went through that room. Some of us are just filthy, but there were several injuries. I was just helping tend to some of them. Gabbie broke 2 ribs dodging one of the things. When I first asked her if she was okay, she said it hurt but we’d better keep going. According to her, she thought it was just a bruise. I meant to check as soon as we got out of the Chamber of Doom (Doom Room?), but so much happened during that, I honestly forgot. No one seemed to have any urgent injuries, so we went down the tunnel that followed the Doom Room right away. I took care of her first once we set up camp, and I’ve done what I can now, and she’ll heal. It’s only a few broken ribs, and she’s strong. But still, I feel bad for not doing something earlier.
She says not to worry about it, and points out that I was pretty banged up myself by the time we got out of the Doom Room. I wonder if the world heard what I wrote in here yesterday, about me managing to hurt myself in the most mundane ways possible, and thought I meant I wanted to be hurt in a more interesting way. If so, I didn’t. Got it, world?
I didn’t break any bones, but I’m covered in cuts from arrows. Most of them are very shallow, but one on my leg is pretty deep. I quickly bandaged that one as soon as we got out of the Doom Room. I’ve cleaned all of them out now. I also have large bruises on my shoulder and cheek.
Yeah, today was nothing interesting. Just another nice little walk.
I am tired now, and I’m wasting flashlight batteries writing this. We still don’t know what time it is, but a lot of us are going to sleep now. I’ll try to sleep now too. I’m sure I’ll need rest for tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be less painful than today.

Day 27 and Day 28 have been retracted by Rella for “Legal Issues” - she wished to inform you that “stuff happened”

Day 29 and Day 30. Post: “GUYS! OKAY SO WE HAVE TO FIND THE TREASURE!! IT'S SOMEWHERE IN THESE CATACOMBS! Please, wake up! I- I found something I wasn't supposed to and they're gonna take me away any second now and the Intensities aren't who I thought they were! Find the treasure keep it away and meet me back at the base!! IF ALL GOES WELL THE HELICOPTER WILL BE THERE AND WILL TAKE US HOME!! KATYA AND EON, YOU'RE IN CHARGE! ACK GET OFF ME! LEAVE!! GO SURVIVALISTS, I BELIEVE IN YOU!!! HEY- GET OFF ME INTENSITY! NO, NO, NoooooO!!!”

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
whats going on whats going on whats going on? i cant see anything. its so dark, even darker than before, its like someone snuffed out the sun. whats happening? where is everyone else? who whos screaming? wait. thats Rella. what happened, why is Rella screaming? what is she saying? why do i hear scuffling sounds and is was that just the sound of a blade? where's my pocket knife, i need my pocket knife. okay, I have it. I can hear Rella better now, but what's going on? I still can't see anything, and did Rella just leave me and Katya in charge? what's happening, why is everything quiet now?

okay, it's getting lighter. I can see my bag now, I just need to take my flashlight- there. everything's quiet now, I can't hear anything except some others starting to wake up after all that noise. hang on, i need to go and check on Rella. Rella's not there. she's not there. she's not in her sleeping bag and there's scratch marks on it and her stuff is all trashed around. and there's actual blood on the ground. not much, only a few spatters but there's blood. which means that Rella must have put up a fight, but who took her? why?

I don't get it. she told us to go find the treasure somewhere around here in the catacombs, but why? why prioritise the treasure when there's such a big chance other people are about to get hurt, and when you yourself are hurt? and she said something about the Intensities but what did she mean? it was all happening so fast. why would they try to take Rella away, and what did she mean when she said they aren't who she thought they were? who attacked her and took her? it couldn't have been the Intensities. they're a bit strange bu it can't have been them. they'd never harm a human being.

would they? they sedated me and Katya. but it was a mistake, they said. a friendly mistake, and the Intensities are pretty nice, so they can't have done it, can they? it doesn't matter. what matters is that Rella is gone. Rella is gone, our leader is gone, and there was blood near her sleeping bag. someone is out there who was a bone to pick with us, and we need to get to safety. we need to find the treasure chamber and go through the exit and back to our camp to the helicopter and we need to do it fast. I need to wake Katya up.

everyone's awake and calm. it took a few hours (hours we should have already been using to look for the treasure chamber) but everything's fine now. waking Katya up was easy, but stopping her from freaking out, waking everyone else up, and stopping them from freaking out was a little harder. but now we're all set. me and Katya decided to make everyone split into groups of three and search the catacombs like that. it's safer that way, but also more efficient. in the end, it was Lynn (the one who touched the skull) and their group who found the chamber.

there it was, right below a pile of bones that looked suspiciously human. probably the least likely place anyone would want to look. smart, for the person who wanted to hide it. inside, the chamber turned out to be pretty small, but big enough to host all the treasure. right in the middle was a medium sized chest filled to the brim with all kinds of valuables, from crowns made of diamonds to gold bangles and relics. I didn't really want to bring it. it was too heavy and it would be a mess and hard to carry around. but everyone insisted, so I stuffed it all in my bag for safekeeping and we pushed open the doors to the exit tunnel.

the only thing I could think abut was getting off this mountain. Rella promised us she'd be waiting at our camp with a helicopter and everyone else ready to get inside and bolt. I could only hope she came out okay. what if she wasn't there? what if we came out someplace too far from the campsite? I managed to keep my face calm while we walked, but I really did feel like a mess. everything happened to so fast. it was all just a big, very blurry blur.

when we came out, Rella wasn't there to help us back to camp. instead, there were a few intensities, including their leader. but it was better than nothing. they're good people. they'll help us.

and they did. but they also stopped us in the middle of the walk back to camp and asked for the treasure. the others, of course, refused, and we ended up with several darts and pocket knives pointed at us. I can't believe this. I had fun with the Intensities. they were nice to me. I helped them. but this is what ends up happening?

still. we need to get to safety and off the mountain. and the best way to do that it giving them the treasure. it's just a pile of old things. it's fine. what matters more is our safety, anyway. I don't care what everyone says, we need to get off the mountain, because this isn't fun anymore. it's not thriiling, or a joy ride. we have an actual (hopefully empty) gun aimed at us. so I took off my bag and dropped it at their leader's feet. they have the audacity to smile and thank me. I could feel someone asking me what I was doing, but I ignored them. we need to go, and if this is the only way, then fine. it's just treasure. I didn't even come here for it anyway.

I think Katya is very mad at me now.

the intensities are about to escort us back to our camp. I hope this goes well.


Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Day 29
They took Rella. I barely saw it happen. I woke up to her yelling. Apparently me and Eon are in charge now. We are in charge and we need to find the treasure. Everyone is panicked and confused, and no one knows what to do.
She was kidnapped by an Intensity, it sounds like. I don’t know the details. I don’t know what they looked like. There are rumors about it already, but no one really knows. It was dark. It is still dark.
I don’t know how I am supposed to lead everyone. Co-lead. Eon will be leading too. Everyone is panicked and confused, and they’re asking me and Eon what to do. I don’t know what to do.
We will split them up into groups to search. Me and Eon will each lead a group, and there will be 3 others. Eon and I appointed leaders for each group. 1 will be led by a kid named Lynn, the other by one named Rowan. Gabbie suggested Rowan, actually. Apparently Rowan were the Survivalist who was there when Gabbie found me, who helped Gabbie find me. I had Gabbie lead the other. I would rather have her stay with me, but I trust her more than I trust anyone else here. I also had some doubts about her leading because of her broken ribs. I talked to Gabbie about it. She says she’d be happy to do it. She told me to stay safe, and I told her the same thing. We laughed, because this whole thing was basically the opposite of safe. We laughed, but it wasn’t funny.
IS it the 29th? Or the 27th? The 28th? The 30th? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter right now. We have to go. I am wasting time writing in here. We are leaving now. We will find the treasure. We will get Rella back. And no one is going to die. I hope.

We found the treasure. We found it. And no one died. We still need to get out of here with it. And save Rella. And then get home. Without anyone dying. We can do this. We have to do this.
Me and Eon forgot to come up with a means of communication, to figure out what to do if a team found the treasure. So apparently a pair of kids just went around, running through the catacombs and yelling about it. That could have gone very, very badly (they could have added 2 more skeletons to this cave), but everything somehow worked out. They found Gabbie and her group (or maybe it was the other way around), and then they all found the others, and we were all led back to the treasure. I’m surprised those kids were able to find their way back to it, but they did.
There were some more bones near where the chest was hidden,, which made us all feel nice and cozy. Yeah, they were such nice, cheerful decorations. Luckily Lynn isn’t at all scared of skeletons.
And then there it was. An old chest, filled with treasure. It’s what you’d think of as treasure: gold coins, gems, crowns, jewelry, all that. Eon didn’t want to take it. The rest of us insisted. I mean, this is what we came for. We weren’t going to just leave it here. It would be one thing if we were just climbing this mountain for the fun of it, and happened to come across a treasure chest (although we probably would have insisted then, too), but this was why we came. Why we climbed this mountain. Why Gabbie broke her ribs. Why I was kidnapped. Why Ophelia the goat got lost and maybe died (though with a name like that, she was doomed to suffer a tragic death anyway). Why Rella was just taken. Yes, we need to get her back. But she wouldn’t want us to just leave the treasure here.
Eon is carrying the treasure now. He’s the oldest and biggest of us, so I guess it made sense. A few of the Survivalists (mostly the little ones) grabbed bits of it. Mostly just a few coins or gems that they pocketed, but one put a crown on her head. Gabbie slipped me a ring. It’s gold, with these little markings around it. It’s pretty, as well as very valuable. It was nice of her.

Eon gave it to the Intensities. All the treasure he had. They were threatening us, and he just gave it up, no argument. The treasure we had worked so hard to get.
Let me back up.
We found our way out of the cave. We started trying to figure out the way back to camp. Rella wasn’t waiting at the exit for us, but I kind of expected that. What I didn’t expect was the group of Intensities waiting for us. They offered to help us, and Eon agreed. I didn’t. I tried to tell him not to. I still don’t trust them. Neither does Gabbie. A lot of us weren’t delighted by them, actually, but we were tired. Me and Gabbie were the only ones to really protest.
He should have listened to me. The Intensities threatened us with weapons. They told us to give them the treasure. He did. Eon just handed it over. All that he had, which was almost all of it. I have the ring. That’s all. He just gave it to them. The treasure we worked so hard for. The cause of all our struggles this month. The riches. The reason we came. The reason I was kidnapped. The reason we were kidnapped. He barely seems to mind. He just gave it to them.
Clearly, I am absolutely delighted with him. Completely, totally, absolutely, thoroughly delighted.
I am angry about the treasure. But what I am absolutely frumious over is that he trusted them. This wouldn’t have happened if he had listened. I TOLD him not to. Rella appointed both of us to lead the Survivalists until she got back. But he just went ahead. I didn’t trust the Intensities. I was right not to.
They say they’re taking us back to our camp. I still don’t trust them. I trust them even less now, in fact. I don’t think we should. But let’s see, what are the options? Either we try to find our way back ourselves, or we accept their help. If they don’t actually want to help us, if they have some evil plan for something to do with us, they won’t just let us go if we refuse. And if not, well, I guess they’ll help. I guess we don’t really have a choice. Oh, Thor, Odin, and Freyja, if the Intensities try to hurt us, I swear I will kill Eon. If the Intensities don’t beat me to it, that is.

Day Unknown.

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
everyone is absolutely furious at me. I'm trying hard not to look behind at them, but I can feel it. Katya and her friend Gabbie are already running up to me, and, above all the noise and protests the rest of them are making, they started talking and ranting and screaming at me for giving the Intensities the treasure. blaming me for not listening to her, saying that they're disappointed in me, that I shouldn't have given the Intensities the treasure, that I should have listened to them. but they don't get it. why don't they get it? the Intensities were pointing weapons at us. they had a gun aimed directly at us. we needed to get out of there safely. the treasure doesn't matter when your lives are at stake. they gave us a way out, and it doesn't matter if we have to let go of the treasure for it. what matters is getting onto the helicopter and off this mountain.

the Intensities told me I made the right choice. I hope I did. they followed in on their promise, thankfully. they led us right back to camp. Katya, Gabbie, Rowan, Lynn - they're all still mad at me. no one is looking me in the eyes, and it's so tiring because all I was doing was ensuring us a safe path to the helicopter and our camp. the treasure, it's just bunch of old things that were hidden under a pile of skeletons. it's just junk, in a way. handing it over in exchange for safety is a fair deal, and the Intensities, no matter the fact that they're filthy liars who I got stuck in a trap for, held up their end, and instead of focusing on how we don't have the treasure anymore, why aren't the rest of the Survivalists focusing on getting back to camp?

we're getting closer to our camp now. I can see it between the trees. someone's there, too. more than one person, actually. two? they're talking very loudly, and one of the voices sounds familiar. Rella? yes, it's Rella! except… she's tied up. she's talking to someone else, someone I can't make out just yet. it looks like the leader of the Intensities.
we're getting closer now. I can hear them properly. they're arguing, from the looks of it. it looks like they know each other, though. but that's not possible. it can't be, right? we only met the Intensities at the start of the month, so they can't know each other. it's not possible. except it really does look like they've (Rella and Lipa, the Intensities's leader) known each other for a long time.


Perspective of Collis Spiretis - the Mountain Spirit - a Guardian of Adventure. This particular document was found in Rella's possession. Currently unknown of where it truly came from.
How could things have fallen so far? HOW COULD THINGS GO SO DREADFULLY WRONG!? Rella was being held captive at the Survivalist base, hoping her Survivalists were safe and would arrive promptly. Lipa was hovering over her former friend, explaining her case and what was to happen to Rella.

“Hm, so Rella. Bet you're wishing you forfeited while you had the chance.” Lipa - the leader of the Intensities - said with slanted eyebrows.

The Survivalist leader glared. Her hands were both literally and figuratively tied, but she was moments away from getting the knots loose. “NOT A CHANCE, LIPA.”

Lipa scoffed. “Oh, sweet Rella. As naive as ever. How I see it, you're in no position to talk back.”

“THEN YOU NEED TO GET NEW GLASSES!”

Rella turned her head as far as she could as Lipa walked around her. No way was she going to let Lipa out of sight.

“Wow - you really haven't grown up? Not a bit? That's… actually, painfully believable. You've always been such a sensitive and intense child. You should really figure out how to have better banter, maybe-”

“Lipa, seriously? That was dreadful talk. You need to have more-”

“OH LOOK WHO'S TRYING TO INSULT ME NOW! Rella, just see a therapist. You need help, serious he-”

“Wow, just WOW! You're the one who needs a therapist - you're humor is so bad. Jus-”

“HOLD UP, RELLA! I'm the mature one, I'M THE ONE WHO-”

Rella shook her head and chuckled. Lipa seriously thought she was going to win this one. "Let me clear this up, my dear friend. You literally think that you are mature? Now, now that's just sad. I really hope you can find happiness someday, really.“

”Ummm?“

Both leaders snapped their heads to that statement. Standing about ten feet away was the Survivalists, the Intensities, and the treasure. They had just witnessed the whole squabble and were staring with various looks, but all were valid responses.

Rella finished untying the ropes and stared at her Survivalists. The treasure… they didn't have it. The Intensities did.

”YOU GAVE THEM THE TREASURE!?“ Rella growled as she marched to her friends. ”No, we needed that! The Intensities are EVIL! They'll use that to blackmail and buy weapons and hurt nations - hurt innocent lives!“

The Intensities shook their heads. One of them piped, ”No! That's not true. We're going to buy luxuries and donate it!“

This wasn't happening. Rella looked at everyone. She had evidence of Lipa! A few witnesses, even! ”No! Don't fall for it. You guys are good people - don't fall prey to Lipa!“

The Intensity leader laughed. ”Oh, Rella! How humorous. Don't believe her lies, Survivalists! She wasn't even going to give you any treasure. Precious Rella was just using her to do her dirty work!'

“Listen to me!” Rella begged, with the most hopeful look in her eyes. “I love dirty work! I do my own dirty work! I was going to give y'all bits of gold and jewelry and stuff, but not the majority! It doesn't belong to us, it isn't ours. It was pirated many years ago, stolen from nations all over the world. We need to put it back in its place! Lipa is EVIL - ‘YA HEAR ME? Please, don’t fall for her trap!”

“LIES!!” Lipa yelled, throwing her arms out at Rella. “Don't believe such words!”

More and more moments of bickering passed. It didn't take long for sides to form. Both Survivalists and Intensities were all over the place, switching the side they were on over and over. What was happening? Who would take home the treasure? One thing is for sure: Rella is positive Lipa is evil, and Lipa is positive Rella is stupid.

Laxy's Entry/Eon's Entry
there's this look in Rella's eyes I've never seen before. it's new. it wasn't there when she led us past the quicksand, or up the cliffs, or through the caves and chambers underground. she's… desperate. desperate for what? meanwhile, Lipa is calm. she's far calmer than I've ever seen her, too. the two girls in front of me don't look like the ones I met a while ago. it's different, they're different and it's because of each other. the way Rella is yelling - she never yells. Rella never yells, not even when we're being slow or stuck or distracted. and Lipa. she's calm. it's like Rella isn't in front of her and yelling at her face, telling her she needs new glasses. it's a little scary, actually. both of them are.

the way they talk sounds like they're childhood friends that aren't friends anymore. what else has Rella been hiding from us?

someone interrupted their… talk. it was Lynn, I think. always the one to butt in. I'm a little relieved. all this business between Rella and Lipa, and her and the Intensities, it's all so confusing. I'd really like to have some straight answers for once, but no one is giving them. and now Rella's untying her ropes, and I'm not sure how. Lipa's not doing anything about it, surprisingly. it's a good thing, of course, but it's still… surprising. they're both talking to us now. I can't make anything out. my headache is getting worse and worse and the only thing I can hear is Rella shouting “you gave them the treasure?”.

that's it for me. I don't care if Rella thinks the Intensities are evil. they're just a bunch of teens like us hiking the mountain for treasure and glory just like every other person that's been up here. I don't care what she says about Lipa, and whatever childhood rivalry they had, because no, we didn't need the treasure, we didn't need it at all, and if everyone is so attached to it when they could instead be more attache to their lives, then maybe it would be better if I just got on the helicopter and pull them all in with me, since they don't want to come. we don't need the treasure, we never did, and the Intensities aren't going to do anything with it because it's just some old jewellery and cutlery and coins. we don't need the treasure.

no one seems to be listening to me, even when I come over and try to talk some sense into them. Rella is yelling again, and this time, I'm concerned. it's not like her. it's concerning, and a little scary, because she looks wild and she's shouting things about the treasure no one knew about, things that weren't written down in the research books some of us read. she says we need to put the treasure back in its place, but can't anyone realise that we can do that after we're off the mountain? or that we can just let the police handle this, if the Intensities really are “evil”?

someone blamed me again. they said it was my fault the Intensities had the treasure. and I was the one wo gave it to them, but can't anyone understand that I did it to get us back to camp safely? can't anyone just stop and think and see that what we need to do is get off the mountain? this isn't what I signed up for when I said I wanted to be part of the Survivalists. Katya is arguing with me now, and everyone else is starting to take sides, and no one is even thinking of saving their lives. and Rella doesn't even deserve my full trust yet, she never has, not when she rescued Katya and only Katya, or when she goes off all on her own sometimes to do things she doesn't trust us with.

Lipa just said Rella was using us to do her dirty work. the Rella I know is willing to get her hands dirty, but that doesn't mean anything.

why can't anyone just stop caring so much about the treasure?

Kit's Entry/Katya's Entry
Wow… it’s been… a lot. You could say the day was intense. Ha ha ha.
The Intensities brought us safely back to our camp. Rella was, in fact, there. The thing is, she wasn’t just sitting around waiting, and she wasn’t alone. The leader of the Intensities (whose name is apparently Lipa) was there, and she had Rella tied up. They were arguing. Rella was yelling at her.
Rella was mad about us giving the treasure to the Intensities. “YOU GAVE THEM THE TREASURE?!?” I really felt like telling Eon “I told you so.”
It sounds like Rella knows Lipa well. Like they used to be friends. She’s been keeping secrets from us. But then, it’s not like I ever asked. And this does explain how she knew about the Intensities. I never wondered how.
All of us were mad at Eon. The first thing I said, once I managed to talk, was actually telling Eon I told him so. “See?! I TOLD you we shouldn’t! I TOLD you we couldn’t trust them! I KNEW we shouldn’t give them the treasure!” Lots of others joined in. He barely argued.
Rella said the Intensities are evil. They said they aren’t. Lipa said Rella makes us do her dirty work. That’s not true. Rella does a lot of work herself. Most of the Intensities sided with Lipa, most of the Survivalists with Rella. Not all of them, though. A few Intensities seemed to be on Rella’s side, and vice versa. It was chaos. Rella got herself untied. Me and several others kept yelling at Eon.
It was Rowan who eventually managed to really do anything. They climbed up on top of a boulder, and yelled (somehow loud enough to be heard over everything) “HEY! I HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT THE TREASURE!!!”
The idea was that we just share it. Half and half. This led to more yelling. “We can’t SHARE it!” was the main reaction from almost everyone. “We found it! WE should get it!” said some of the Survivalists. “They’ll use it for evil!” Rella said. “We already have it! Why should we give you half?” some of the Intensities pointed out. I didn’t love the idea of sharing, either, but half of the treasure seemed better than none. Although we didn’t quite have none. Some of us had little bits in our pockets.
Almost everyone was really not a fan of this idea, but a few of us started muttering about it, debating.
And then the Intensities came up with another compromise. Not all of them agreed to it, and it wasn’t a very good one. One of the ones holding the treasure said, “We’ll give you like a fifth of the treasure.” This led to more yelling and protests. “Which is still worth a lot. AND we’ll let you go ride off in your helicopter.” Some people seemed to think this was a pretty good deal. I didn’t, really. “Why should we give them ANY treasure?” another Intensity demanded. “WE have it! We don’t have to share ANY!” “WE found it!” some Survivalists argued. “It’s OUR treasure! We should get ALL of it!” The Intensity who had offered that compromise said, “Okay, okay, we can talk about it more. First, let’s pay these Survivalists for their help getting it.” And they handed each of us a coin. Some of the Intensities started to yell more. Some of the Survivalists yelled that this wasn’t enough. Lipa was yelling at her Intensities not to share. Rella was yelling at her Survivalists to take it all. Some people thought we should just take what we had and escape in the helicopter, and others said we should take all the treasure and escape the helicopter. Then someone realized the helicopter wasn’t even here.
It was supposed to be here by now, according to Rella. Or was it? How long had we been in that cave? Had it not been as long as we thought, and the helicopter hadn’t arrived yet? Or had it been way longer, and it had arrived, but the pilot got tired of waiting and left? I didn’t know. I don’t think anyone knew, except maybe the pilot.
Some of us tried to figure out what had happened to the helicopter, or what to do now, while others kept arguing and yelling. I did both, which meant I didn’t really figure anything out. It was chaos. It had been chaos for a while, and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop being chaos any time soon. I don’t know how long we were there, yelling, fighting, angry, confused.
Then we heard a helicopter. People looked up, pointing towards the sky. I don’t know why the helicopter wasn’t here before, but it was now. It was coming down, about to land on the mountain, about 50 feet away from the nearest of us.
For a moment, everyone quieted down. Then a Survivalist said that this was our chance, that now we could grab the treasure and run away. And so there was more yelling and fighting and arguing and chaos, maybe even more than before. I think someone tried to actually steal the treasure back the Intensities. Then people started actually physically fighting. Lots of us had weapons, but the Intensities had better ones. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want a battle. Lots of people, both Survivalists and Intensities, were yelling at everyone to stop, to not hurt each other. It just added to the chaos. I could barely see what was going on. Even if I wanted to fight, I didn’t have any weapons. I had my baseball bat “club”, but it was in my bag and I couldn’t get it. Gabbie had a knife, but she lost it in the chaos.
I had the chance to wonder what the pilot was doing, why they weren’t doing anything. Maybe they were smart enough not to get in the way of whatever was going on. Some of the Survivalists ran for the helicopter, and I think they were let in. That meant there was someone in the helicopter capable of letting people into it, someone who could try to help.
Then I was being pulled toward the helicopter. The doors to it were open, and I was pushed inside. There were others sitting there already. Gabbie was there. Rowan was there, but running back out. I think Rowan was the one who brought me in. I’m not sure.
There was more chaos outside. I didn’t know what was going on. I still don’t know, exactly. But eventually, all the Survivalists ended up back inside. 2 of them, Lynn and another whose name I don’t know, had a lot of treasure. Nowhere near all of it, maybe not even half. But it was at least a third of it, which is still a lot.
Rella was one of the last to get on. I saw her talking to Lipa out the window before that. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but no one seemed to be yelling, which is a good sign. I wonder if they’ve made up. I don’t think I’m the only one. No one has asked, at least not yet. Rella’s been really quiet the whole flight, but then, a lot of us have. I think we’re all tired and confused.
Yes, we’re flying back down now. Everyone is here, all the Survivalists and the goats. I’m not sure where the goats came from, or how they ended up on here There’s also 1 Intensity that somehow ended up on board. I don’t know how they got here, either. They’re just sitting, staring out the window. They just shrugged when someone asked what they were doing here, and said, “Do you mind if I just stay here?”
Ophelia is sitting next to them. Apparently the Intensities found her, and a few decided to keep her as a pet. I don’t know if Lipa is evil or not. But some of the Intensities seem okay. I still don’t trust them, but it sounds like they aren’t all evil.
I don’t know what will happen next. Maybe the Intensities will make friends with the Survivalists Maybe I will go on more adventures. I will miss adventuring. But I need a break now. I’m looking forward to going home. To seeing Dracul, and my mom. I miss them. I miss home. I miss the library. I will also miss Gabbie, though, when I get home. I’ll miss Rella, too, honestly, and Ophelia. (I think the Intensity will be keeping her.) But I will miss Gabbie the most. I don’t know if I’ll see her again. Even with all her chatting, she never said where she lives. I know she lives in the suburbs, in a boring-looking gray house that is at least nice and big, and has 4 bedrooms and a recently-remodeled kitchen. But I don’t know what suburbs. I just realized, I don’t think she ever even told me her last name.
I can ask her. There is still time.
That’s not the only thing there’s still time for, I guess. There is still time to apologize to Eon. Not for yelling at him over the giving-the-treasure-to-the-Intensities thing. I’m not sorry for that. Apologize for being the reason he was kidnapped. I could apologize. Well, in theory, anyway. But can I really? Do I want to, really? We’re going to land before too long, anyway. Maybe there isn’t really time. I’m tired, maybe too tired to do it. Okay, now I’m just making excuses. This is getting ridiculous.

Rella's Entry
Okay, okay, okay, Journal. If you were a humanoid you'd probably be biting my face off for neglecting you, but hey! I have my reasons! What are they? Oh… uh… Well, I was busy leading a bunch of kids through a jungle and up a mountain! All while sneaking off to have secret meetings to gain crucial information! So ha! Alright, so long story short, stuff happened and now I'm sitting in a tree back in one of my homes in Iquitos, Peru, pondering about my future and past, and hoping my “friend associated with several governments” is willing to cut some strings to get me out of the mess I wound myself into. It's been a whole four weeks since the helicopter landed and brought the adventurers back to their homes, and yet the governments have finally decided to have my court hearings. It was decided to be held here in Peru where lots of my family members(who are willing to vouch for me) are located. Plus, it's been great to see Iquitos and the Amazon and my culture all in action. I love going on adventures and seeing the world, but there's nothing like home.

So what in the world happened? Well, after the Survivalists and Intensities found me and Lipa, I knew things were going to get disastrous. And they did. I saw plenty people get hurt. It's really not fair- no one else should have to pay for Lipa and mine's mistakes beside me and Lipa. I probably could've chosen different words, but I had my reasons. See, long ago, my ancestors were guardians of ancient spirit and adventure. They protected people's treasures and cultures. One day, thieves who could fly with heat stole our family's treasure along with the treasure protected by different guardians around the world. Valuables from Ancient Egypt stored in pryamids? Gone. Gold once worn by respected kings in Africa? Disappeared. Treasure belonging to ancient Empires? No where to be found. All because of these… these pirates! A few years ago some relatives told me this story(with much more detail, of course) and showed me all the research our family has done to find it. My knowledge of various locations and adventure came into great use and I was able to solve the final missing pieces. All of my family supported me when I decided to bring back our treasure and the world's treasure. Are ancient ancestors could finally be un-banished and free of being an Adventure Guardian for eternity.

It was a very set plan- but then Lipa happened. We grew up like sisters(we believe we're like ninth cousins twice removed? it's complicated) and did everything together. One evening, a new side of her was revealed. I believe we were about ten. We had ventured into the rainforest. I thought it was for the sake of adventure, but Lipa showed me it was something else. She showed me an ancient, magical mural that possessed a curse. She showed me all the powers she had learned and that she would one day curse the rest of the world, but she needed me to help her. Lipa argued that our precious Earth was dying, that it was up to her to stop the rest of humanity so our people could live in harmony with nature and save our dying planet. There was just a few more things she needed. Treasure. Certain artifacts from around the world. It just so happened that those objects belonged with my family's lost treasure. I told her I'd help her. It was a lie, really. I couldn't let her hurt everyone else in the world and just let our family live happily. Imagine all the other families and friends who wouldn't be able to keep living life… It wouldn't be just or fair.

That motivated me to locate the treasure even quicker, which I eventually did. I'll admit that I betrayed Lipa, but it was my duty. My ancestors needed to be saved, and the rest of our planet needed to live. It was truly up to me to make sure that our world would exist in harmony.

So when I saw the Intensities with the treasure, I think it's pretty easy to imagine why I was so ticked off. I couldn't let Lipa have it! Both the Survivalists and the Intensities had worked so hard - they both deserved a bit of coins and charms and necklaces, but I couldn't spare any more than that. The rest had to be returned to their proper places in the world.

There was a whole lot of arguing and points being proved. It didn't take long for me to notice that even my most loyal Survivalists were beginning to lose faith. I wasn't mad at any of them. They had every right to look at me and feel disgusted. I haven't really given them any truth. But what was I supposed to say? “Hey, guys. We're getting this treasure so that my cursed ancestors can be free of being Mountain Gaurdians and live on in piece and so that my sister won't use a painted rock to freeze the whole world to save the planet!!” Yeah, it's not exactly believable.

Call me crazy, but I could feel my ancestors, the Guardians, watching me. I could feel their support. At the time, I wasn't sure if that support was for Lipa or for me, but it was there and burning stronger than wildfire. Looking back, I now know that the support was meant for me. Being a guardian must be great, but I know my ancestors deserve to be free of the duty and live on in peace in their afterlife. I was not only helping them, but all of Earth. That support was meant for me. They contributed, maybe worked up enough power to do something, because something about Lipa changed. It just might've been sorcery because Lipa became docile enough to reason with. We agreed our two parties didn't deserve to get hurt. I flared the helicopter call gun a few times and waited for the pilot to bring the massive chopper over. It was thanks to the flare gun's light that the pilot(my brother actually, named Swilia)
was able to locate the top of the mountain. I tried to board all the Survivalists and goats as quickly as possible, but I'm certain a few Intensities found a way on board. Apparently dear Lipa didn't inform them that their helicopter would be arriving eventually as well.

Lipa and I exchanged a few sentences through all the chaos. I'll never forgot her words. “The New Year. At the La Casita Tree. Be there, or else all of humanity will burn down in frozen flames.”

The La Casita Tree was what we called our tree house deep in the jungle. We played and lived and pondered for many moments of our lives there. It was once my most beloved and precious place in the world. That was no longer the case, though, as now it was just a painful reminder of what Lipa's relationship with me had once been.

There wasn't enough time for me to nod at her threat, for I was being swept away by my Survivalists into the helicopter. I wasn't comfortable leaving the majority of the treasure with Lipa, but she had some honor. Besides, she couldn't activate the curse without two members of our family's bloodline, so she couldn't do anything without me because there was no way any of our other precious family members would do such an awful thing like burn down all of the world's peoples.

As soon as it was midnight and became New Year's Day, I was at our cherished memory home waiting for Lipa. I found her inside La Casita Tree with all the treasure remains surrounding her. We exchanged a few words, mostly me mocking her, but then I noticed something. Underneath her round glasses, in her eyes. They weren't brown, but blue. Flickering in icy flames.

“W-what happened to you?” I asked then at that moment.

Lipa's thick brown braids suddenly twitched and tightened all on their own. I took a step back and gawked. “I've discovered power. The power I need to restore our Earth and save our family,” my friend said in an automatic voice. It was like she was posessed- but free as well. What had happened to her? This was not the Lipa I once loved. “I'll give you a final chance, Rella. Join me and help restore what needs to be restored.”

I shook my head as I tried to wrap my mind around all the thoughts flying around me. Lipa glared at me and her eye-fires burned brighter. Her braids twitched again and the treasure around her started to sparkle. A force had pushed me to the floor of our tree house and kept me there. I watched flares of blue light dance across the room. Everytime I tried to sit up I was pushed back to the ground. There were sounds - terrifying sounds that scared even me. I knew Lipa left. I felt it. I could feel my Gaurdians watching me as well, but we all knew that there was nothing anyone could do. I had been cursed. Lipa's test subject. I was shivering and sweating. I felt cold. But also hot. It was uncomfortable and gave me the desire to rip out my skin and scream at the stars shining above the leafy trees.

Correction, it is uncomfortable. For I am lying on the floor of the La Casita Tree, scribbling down what might be my final thoughts and hoping that my memory will be honored and that this is proof of me trying to save the world. I am not a dishonor to my family. Lipa is. I'm doing all I can to fight whatever power is keeping me here. Please, I know I won't be around much longer, but if you find this, please, I beg you. Stop Lipa. Save our world. Free the cursed Gaurdians and return the treasures to where they belong.

There's sounds… and shivers… I can feel beads of sweat freezing on my skin. i cant feel my toes. no, i can its just burning and freezing. fire. fire. wind! ah, it burns. but… comfort? I'm trying but it hurts and my finger is losing warmth and burning up and i cant writeanymorepleaseforgivemeimsorryicantkeepondoingthis

suurvivalsts- thnk yu,illmssyu. family….. Ilveyu



You've reached the conclusion of “The Survivalist Journal: The Treasure of Adventure Mountain” Your reading of this is appreciated. The Intensities and Survivalists thank you. Note from the publisher: documents of this journey have been found over time, and after twelve years of what our teams believe to be the start of the Survivalists' adventure, we have finally found the majority of pieces to make this into an official document. It is unclear what actually happened to these people, but it can be assured to you that these events were recorded by real persons in real life. There has been no evidence of Rella's death or of Lipa's plan, so it is safe to assume that the events that you have read are entirely fictional and are simply an arrangement between friends.