Pierce was watching the hills of the Appalachian mountains approach as he looked out the window of the bus the school had rented for the trip. It was gorgeous; the hills were covered in trees, and Fall was beginning, giving the eye a pattern of greens, oranges, and golds. He sighed as he reflected on the past month or so. His ex-girlfriend Grace cheated on him, with his former best friend, Dean. At least he had the retreat to look forward to despite both of them being on it. It ended up like this because Dean worked at the same school as he did and had to invite his new girlfriend on a beautiful journey into the Appalachian mountains. Neither thought about how Pierce would feel. Pierce supposed it made sense, though, given they didn't give him a thought when they did what they did. So now he will be witnessing the lovey-dovey stage of their relationship for the next week.
Thinking about the lesson he left his students with, he reflected on the quote he had put on the board. "To live is to suffer; to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.” In Pierce's humble opinion, his current situation would encapsulate this idea. It was almost a shame he wouldn't see his students if this was what he was trading it for.
He could practically hear his resident class clown Nate say, "Mr Adams, I think you need to join the 21st century, given you dress like a library book."
"Thanks, Nate." Pierce says inwardly, "Really are rivaling Nietzsche right now."
Still, the mountains were a glorious sight, and Pierce hoped he could escape to some vague trailhead or another and venture deep within those hills to evade Dean and Grace. Pierce sank in his seat and broke out the beef empanadas he had fried last night, collard greens, and a chimichurri dipping sauce. Say what you will, but he could still whip up a solid meal. As Grace once said, it was his leading redeemable quality, although it now had a slightly different meaning. He initially believed she was joking around with him, but given the whole thing about sleeping with his best friend, she meant it more than he had thought. He picked up one of the empanadas and dipped it into the Argentinian sauce, remembering the first time he had one at his childhood friend’s house. Having not eaten since early this morning, he devoured the rest, collected the trash, put it in the ziplock container, and put it back in his bag. A paper was sticking out, and Pierce picked up the brochure the HR rep named Ms.Garcia had handed them as they left. He'd forgotten about this and gave it a quick scan.
Horace Overlook is an excellent venue for group bonding and personal development. We welcome individuals from diverse backgrounds to engage in our wide range of activities, such as spa treatments, ropes courses, and the beautiful outdoor trails that traverse our property. You won't regret choosing Horace, and we look forward to seeing you in the future.
Pierce snorted at the claims on the front page. Regardless of how wondrous this place looked, he didn’t believe for a second it could turn around his mental state. Still, he looked through the pages of activities regardless and noted some attractive options: Trail hikes, wood craft classes, and maybe the spa as well -- it was long overdue for some relaxation. He heard Grace laugh from the front of the bus and saw Dean and her messing around and chatting about some stupid movie, book, or something else dumb. Pierce was a little petty, but he deserved to be -- if he couldn't do that, what could he have?
Looking across the aisle, Pierce saw Fiona reading a book. She was a colleague of Pierce's, and they had a good working relationship. If Pierce was honest, he found her very intelligent and quite pretty. He whispered across the aisle and said, "Hey, Fiona, do you know how long we have until we get to the retreat?" She looked up at him with her light brown hair slightly askew. She had held it behind his ear as she was reading, and her blue-gray eyes gave him a disgruntled look as she said, " I think about twenty minutes. I just talked to Principal Howard, and he told me thirty minutes ten minutes ago, so yeah. Now, could you leave me alone? I want to finish this chapter; the main character just made friends with a demon while wearing a dress, and I like the look of the story's arc right now." "Alright, fine," Pierce chuckled. That did sound entertaining.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The rest of the time on the road flew past, and Pierce occupied himself with daydreaming and admiring the landscape when they finally arrived at the front portico of the hotel. Pierce gathered his belongings and helped Fiona grab her suitcase from the rack above her. She thanked him, and they got into the line, exiting the bus with the two most incredible people ever leading the front, Grace and Dean. He prayed to any god that would listen not to get a room near theirs. Knowing his luck, he would likely share a room with them. The line moved forward, and they all disembarked into the sunlight of a slightly chilled afternoon. Principal Howard gestured for everyone to form a half-moon around him as he spoke, " Hey folks, hope the journey was good, and I hope you are all well this afternoon—just a couple of housekeeping things to get out of the way. First, room assignments are random, so do not expect to be with anyone except the partner you brought on this journey. Second, if there are any problems with your room or anything going on with amenities, please get in touch with me or the front desk, and we will try to resolve it -- but don't try to bother me too much." he flashed a crooked smile."Now, let's all have a little fun, shall we?"
Everyone moved into the lobby and admired the modernist touches throughout. It had a delightfully cozy feeling, with some apparent Victorian inspiration. After Principal Howard got the block of rooms and sorted out the keys, the teachers set off for their rooms to settle in.
Pierce found his room, numbered 112 in big brass numbers, and unlocked the door to a spacious interior, complete with a bathroom and a queen bed with all the expected amenities. He opened a sliding door onto a little patio and breathed in the fresh air. This beat a classroom's air conditioning any day of the week. He unpacked and went downstairs to find someone to point him toward the trail hike starting spots. He was desperate to move his legs after sitting for an hour and a half.
He was 6'0 and weighed in at about 190 pounds, which didn't put him in the incredibly muscular category, but he kept up with running and working out occasionally. Pierce wouldn't say he was fit but had a strong foundation. The front desk worker, a tall young woman in a pantsuit with a name tag that read April, gave a bright smile and pointed him toward a set of stairs outside leading down to a couple of trailheads. He decided he was going to take the trail labeled as the Copperhead Trail, given it was a loop, and he could make it longer if he wanted to. So he started down it, admiring the foliage and sounds of wildlife as he went. At one point, he saw a deer cross the trail and bound up the slope.
He felt at home in this environment. He had always talked to his ex-best friend Dean about settling in a forest, building a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, and hopefully bringing a significant other. He shook his head as he realized he had put his then-girlfriend Grace in that position. But he supposed that was just the romantic in him. Now, though, it felt like a part of him had broken off after that relationship had ended. 4 years together and for what? That dream had petered out with the realization that she didn't love him anymore. Dragging himself out of his morose thought process, he wandered deeper along the trail till he came upon a crossroads. The path down the right looked less traveled, but he supposed this was the extended loop you could take if you wanted to. He decided that he did want to and took the sloping path down toward what looked like a bit of a clearing further down.
The afternoon quickly turned to mid-evening as Pierce winded down the hill, less convinced about his chosen path as the light shining through the trees darkened around him. He sighed, thinking he should probably turn around, when he saw something move behind him out of the corner of his eye.
"Who's there? I promise that I know some extraordinary skills to kick your ass if you jump me."
He got no response; well, this is just great. He knew nothing extraordinary except for a great recipe for these cheesy potatoes, which the French called au gratin. His mouth watered, and he refocused on the task at hand. It was probably just a squirrel or something, right? There's no way it would be a giant bobcat that would be too unlucky. Consoling himself, he turned back around to trudge back up the hill, and that's when the giant scaly head sunk two teeth into his arm.
"Oh fuck."