Indi groaned. Someone was shaking the tent.

“Indi! Indi! Breakfast,” Cat cried from outside as she knocked on the top of the tent. “Wakey wakey.”

“Sleeping,” Indi mumbled.

“Come on Indi, it’s 9:30,” Amanda called from somewhere outside the tent.

Indi groaned and rolled over. “Soon.”

Cat stopped shaking the tent and returned to whatever she had been doing. Indi lay on her back and blinked at the ceiling. Kass’ sleeping bag was empty. Indi didn’t understand how they could all get up so early. She put her glasses on and lay in her sleeping bag for several more minutes before she began to overheat. She then shed her sleeping bag and crawled over to her pack. She fished about inside. Sunscreen first, so she could venture out. She found one of her two tubes and coated all her skin in the white cream. She had to shake it to get it out. It was running low. Hairbrush next so she didn’t look like a possum. She got dressed and emerged into the sunlight.

“Woohoo!” Cat cheered with fake enthusiasm as Indi emerged.

“Mornin’ sleepy head,” Amanda said with a smile far too wide for the morning.

“How long have you guys been up?” Indi asked

“A couple of hours,” Amanda replied.

“I don’t know you managed to sleep with the sun shining on your tent,” Cat said to Indi.

“What’s for breakfast?” Indi asked.

“Oats,” Amanda replied.

Indi groaned. “Is there sugar?”

Amanda gave a laugh and shook her head.

“Coffee?”

Amanda nodded. “You’ll have to make your own though.”

Indi sat down on one of the logs and Amanda handed her a bowl.

“Don’t rush,” Amanda told her. “We’ve got heaps of daylight and only four hours of hiking. We can leave at 10:30 if we have to.”

“So, what you’re saying is I could have slept longer?”

Amanda chuckled.

Indi dug into her porridge.

While Indi ate the others packed up the gear.

Cat and Kass took down the tents and Amanda cleaned up the cooking equipment.

“Anyone want the last of the porridge?” Amanda asked.

“I’ll have some,” Cat replied, as she folded up the poles.

“How did you guys get all this stuff in this pack?” Kass asked Amanda and Indi.

Amanda laughed and went over to help Kass with Indi’s pack.

“Did you have to pull everything out?” Kass asked Indi.

“My hairbrush was on the bottom,” Indi explained with a mouthful of food.

20 minutes later they were packed up and ready to leave.

“The best thing about carrying the food is your pack gets lighter,” Amanda commented as she swung her pack onto her back.

“We can’t have eaten that much already,” Cat replied.

Amanda shrugged. “If I think it’s lighter then it makes it lighter. It’s gotta be at least a little lighter. We ate half a bag of pasta. You kinda get used to a pack on the second day anyway.”

Indi glanced at Amanda like she was crazy. Her own shoulders were ridiculously sore.

“Mine feels heavier for some reason,” Kass commented referring to the tent which was now attached to her pack. Cat grinned and poked the tip of her tongue out in return.

They got moving and the gradient steepened quickly. It might only be four hours of hiking today but it was hard hiking. The bush became more wild as well, hiding the track in parts. More than once Cat and Kass had to double back to find the marker and then wait for Amanda and Indi to catch up so they wouldn’t wander the wrong way. They crossed several small streams, all running down the hill to merge with the larger river they had crossed on their first day. The bugs were out in full force today.

“Bloodsuckers!” Indi cursed as she swatted at a sand fly.

From in front of Indi, Kass laughed and made a comment that would have been much more characteristic had it come from Cat. “You’re one to talk.”

“Kass!” Amanda reacted with surprise in her tone.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Indi glanced up. “That’s mean. I hardly ever even drink anything that isn’t animal blood, and certainly not directly from the vein, blugh!” Indi hated the blood-drinking part of being half vampire. She could avoid it completely if she wanted to, but it made her very tired. Animal blood was sufficient for her at least. Human blood gave the benefit of enhanced strength and alertness but Indi just wasn’t completely fine with the idea of it, even if most of the blood was bought from willing donors.

“I was just teasing, sorry Indi” Kass replied softly, sensing she’d crossed a line.

“It’s okay,” Indi smiled. She knew Kass didn’t mean any harm. She’d half been teasing back, although she had been a little hurt initially.

They climbed over a few small rocks in the track and over another small stream before the track started to descend for a bit. It would rise again soon but for now they enjoyed the breaks. Eventually, Cat and Kass got further ahead again. Indi tried not to focus on her sore shoulders. Amanda noticed her fiddling with her pack straps.

“You want some help Indi?” Amanda asked.

“Doesn’t your pack make your shoulders hurt?”

“You might want to try shifting some of the weight to your hips,” Amanda replied. “If you loosen the shoulder straps then tighten the lower strap . . . here let me help.”

Amanda helped Indi readjust her straps. Now the weight was less on her shoulders.

“Better?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Almost exactly four hours after leaving their first campsite, the ground finally levelled out and they came across the only hut on their trip. They’d have another four hours to go tomorrow to get to the plateau. This was it for today though. It was a nice hut with a porch running all around the outside. There was a main kitchen area with several long thick wooden tables, and a fire situated in the middle of the room. At the back of the hut were four bunk rooms with three bunks in each room. The wood pile at the side of the hut was fully stocked. Cat and Kass were sitting on the porch eating snacks when Indi and Amanda arrived.

“How long since you guys got here?” Amanda asked.

Cat shrugged. “10 minutes.”

Amanda and Indi dumped their bags on to the ground and sat down next to Cat and Kass.

“Who’s on dinner?” Cat asked

“I can cook,” Indi offered “Kass can do breakfast.”

Kass nodded.

“Where’s the food at?” Indi asked.

“Amanda’s bag.” Cat pointed.

They moved their stuff inside and Amanda pulled the ingredients out. “You might as well finish that bag of pasta.” Amanda handed Indi the bag.

Indi nodded. “Maybe I can do something a bit cheesier.”

Amanda nodded.

“As long as you don’t use all the cheese,” Cat warned.

Kass pulled out the pack of cards and began to shuffle them.

Several rounds of cards, and a break for food later, they had finished off Indi’s Rose wine and most of the brandy. The goon still had plenty left in it. Amanda convinced them to play more poker, this time using pineapple lumps as the chips. She sat at one end of the table, Queen of a large pineapple lump pile. She slapped Indi’s hand away as she tried to steal one for a snack.

“How do you manage to stay so skinny with all the sugar you eat?” Amanda asked her.

“It’s the vampire in her,” Cat replied. “They’re always flaming skinny.”

“I’m not skinny,” Indi replied.

“You’re skinny for the amount of food you eat,” Cat retorted.

“It’s cause all she eats is sugar,” Kass added. “Nothing with actual sustenance.”

Indi poked her tongue out. The fact was both Kass and Cat were skinnier than she was. Indi was pretty sure Cat didn’t have an ounce of fat on her, it was all lean muscle. Kass, on the other hand, was just small all over, like a little pixie. Most vampires were skinny, fast metabolisms. Indi actually had some fat on her: although she wasn’t overweight for a witch, she was certainly fat for a vampire. She often looked at her belly and wished it was flatter but damn did she love food. It was hard to out exercise what you ate, not that Indi really liked exercise either. Cat worked hard for her figure. She got up every morning and lifted weights then went for a run in the evening. She ate right and she hardly ever drank. Kass was also pretty into healthy food, most of the time. She liked sweets occasionally but she also actually seemed to like vegetables, on their own. Indi couldn’t stand them unless they were coated in other flavours. Bacon wrapped asparagus, for example, was great. Asparagus on its own, not so much. Kass didn’t work out as much as Cat did, but she did enjoy swimming lengths at the pool on a regular basis, and sometimes she’d go for a run or play tennis. Amanda rode horses; that was her work and her exercise. She wasn’t as sugar crazy as Indi but she was pretty partial to a beer or several. Being slightly less than 160 cm tall didn’t help with her figure. She wasn’t an unhealthy weight but she had some curves on her.

They switched to playing hearts eventually and Kass ended up on Amanda’s team as it seemed both Cat and Indi were better than she was, especially given how little it took to get her tipsy.

“Sorry,” Kass apologised to Amanda as she realised she’d played the wrong card.

Amanda just laughed. Kass was so terrible that Cat and Indi actually managed to be winning.

Cat removed the pineapple lump bag and put it out of reach, before Indi finished off the packet.

Indi pouted, then mumbled a “thanks.” They really didn’t need a repeat of last night’s marshmallow debacle.

“You guys want to watch a movie?” Indi asked.

“On what?” Cat laughed.

“My phone.”

“You can get movies on your phone?” Cat asked.

Indi nodded.

“Human or Witch?”

“A couple of both, either, mostly imports from the human world, cause they’re better.”

“What do you have?”

“Cabin Fever.”

Amanda snorted.

“What else?” Cat asked.

“Legally Blonde.”

“Yes!” Kass squealed quietly.

“Will your phone battery last for a whole film?” Amanda asked.

Indi nodded. “I charged it this morning and when we got here.”

“What else?” Cat asked again.

“Um,” Indi scrolled through her media files.

“I’m cool with Legally Blonde,” Amanda said. Kass nodded in agreement. Cat narrowed her eyes.

“Keep searching”

“Bridget Jone’s D . . .”

“No,” Cat Interrupted “You got any action movies? Comedies?”

“Charlie’s Angels?”

Cat shrugged. “Let’s do that.”

Kass pouted but didn’t complain.

Amanda glanced at her then at Indi. “What do you want to watch Indi?”

Indi glanced slyly at Cat. “Legally Blonde.”

“I’d say that’s three to one,” Amanda commented.

Cat pursed her lips. Kass smiled. Cat shrugged. “It’s a tiny screen anyway. Pass me the brandy,” she joked in dramatic fashion.

They all huddled around Indi’s phone which she’s propped up against the pot.

It was 10pm by the time they finally got to bed. Amanda warned Indi that they were getting her up at 7am the next morning, so not to stay up too late. Indi’s phone was running low from the movie anyway, so she wasn’t planning on any more reading tonight. She’d charge it again tomorrow. She grabbed the top bunk bed and Amanda took the one underneath. Cat and Kass grabbed the bunk opposite them.

Indi awoke half way through the night to the soft sound of voices.

“Kass!” Cat’s voice whispered in the dark.

Indi fumbled for her glasses and put them on. She rolled over and watched as Cat threw a pillow at Kass who was sleeping on the bunk beneath her. Indi frowned.

“Ow,” Kass mumbled, rolled over, and silently went back to sleep.

Cat seemed satisfied and glanced up to see Indi looking at her. “She was sleep talking,” Cat explained.

Indi nodded groggily. Cat got out of bed to retrieve her pillow. Kass seemed quiet now, so they both settled back down in their bunks and drifted back to sleep.