Lost in a Journey

By Daniel P’Lopez

Its the end of the summer in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and an eager group of high school teenagers pack into a bus for a well-planned week at a summer camp.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything does!
After a devastating accident, the surviving students find themselves all alone against the untamed wilderness, pitted against each other, with no idea how to get home and no means of survival.
Will this group of friends endure the hardships of the Forest Mountains? Will they be able to work together in order to survive? Or will they destroy each other before the darkest elements of nature beat them to it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468546330

Daniel P’Lopez

Daniel P’Lopez is a native of Southern California and started writing his first story at the age of sixteen. Lost in a Journey is Daniel’s fourth published book, he has three books under his name and also writes poetry and songs, many that have also been previously published.  Daniel is currently living in Los Angeles and is working on other future projects.                    For questions and comments please send an email to                         [e-mail]  Or check out his website for book reviews, pictures, updates and news at, www.DanielPLopez.com

Book preview

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www. authorhouse. com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 Daniel P’Lopez. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 3/14/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-4634-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-4633-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012901593

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Epilogue

About the Author

I would like to dedicate this book to my beautiful mother Terri.

Thank you for the love and support.

Also by Daniel P’Lopez

The Vendetta House

The Story of Myles

Alestir

Prologue

Summer was almost over and school was just about here, or so it seemed, since there were only two weeks left before vacation ended. But there was still one thing that lay between school starting and summer ending - our annual end of year school summer camping trip. Our school would take us to the Forest Mountains of Colorado, about three hours away from our home town of Mountain View.

My friends and I had all enrolled to go, making this our third camping trip as we headed into our junior year. Many of our classmates and students from other high schools would be going as well. Over a hundred and fifty students were going on the trip from just our school alone, almost a quarter of our school population.

The reason so many students enrolled to go is because of what the trip offered, and that is plenty. Not only would we all be staying at a nice clean campsite in the woods by a lake surrounded by beautiful scenery, but we’d enjoy all of the events that come with it.

We could swim in the lake or the pool, go fishing, and even ride in the boats and go waterskiing. There would also be sports and rallies with the other schools in the grassy fields, where we’d split into teams and compete with each other for prizes. Hiking up in the mountains was also planned, to learn about wild life and survival, along with many other outdoor and indoor activities, and of course we were all looking forward to campfires.

At night the students liked to go to the big entertainment room to play pool, listen to the juke box and dance, or watch a movie on a big screen TV. There was plenty to do without getting bored; because every day there was something new to do, somewhere new to go, and someone new to meet. Not to mention the fun and adventurous things us students do on our own behind the adults backs. We always found ways to escape them and their rules—but that’s a whole other story.

So every student that enrolled paid the sixty five dollar fee and prepared themselves to spend a full week there at the ‘Green Journey’ campsite deep in the mountains of Colorado, together with our friends and classmates and many others to have our last week of fun and excitement in our summer, before going back to school for another year. And soon it was time.

Chapter 1

Saturday, August 21, 1993

Day One

To us students, it kind of felt like the first day of school, though we knew it wasn’t. Maybe we had that impression because we all shared the inner feeling of new excitement that we’d carry with us to school in the fall.

School grounds opened early, just like on the first day of school. Students poured into Mountain View, most being dropped off by their parents and a few driving themselves, parking in the student lot.

Parents helped their sons and daughters with their belongings and students walked around the school, going to their favorite hangouts to talk and catch up with their friends on what they did over the summer.

The students saw many of their old teachers and many unfamiliar faces - mostly the new freshmen who were also walking around and exploring their new school.

Four waiting lines formed in front of the school auditorium. Each line had senior kids from student council who were running the check-in and handing out information packets about the trip.

The student council seniors, who were also going on the trip, were sending the already checked in students to the yellow school buses that had parked out in front of the school. There were supposed to be four school buses, but so far only three of them had showed. Once they opened their doors, the students that had been waiting immediately grabbed their belongings, lined up and boarded one at a time.

When the buses opened their doors, my best friend Sal and I were just arriving, among other latecomers. My mother parked her blue minivan in the student parking lot.

Never thought I would be at this place during the summer, I said after I got out of the van and stared at our school.

Yeah, me too, Sal answered, as he pulled his blue baseball cap over his short brown hair, even on a Saturday.

Hey what are you guys complaining about? my mother asked, as we all walked to the back of the van. It’s not like you’ll be spending your week here. And just think about it, you’ll have something exciting to write about for the school paper.

Thanks mom, I answered as we both took out our belongings and placed them over our shoulders. Alright mom, I said to her as I closed the back hatch of the van. We want to check in before they leave without us.

Okay, well have fun, my mother said as she hugged us both and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I’m going to miss you guys.

Mom, we’re only going away for a week, I said. It’s not like we’re little kids anymore.

I know. Well just go and have fun, but please don’t get into any trouble.

We won’t, Sal answered, as he looked at me and winked.

After we said goodbye to my mother, we were headed towards the school auditorium, when we saw students putting their bags onto the grass near the three yellow school buses. Sal and I followed suit, just as two of our friends came over to greet us.

Hey! Sammy! Sal! A voice we both recognized yelled out behind us. We both turned around and saw Alan and Raul still holding their bags.

Hey what’s up, Sal said to them with a smile, you guys made it.

But of course, Raul answered first, also with a smile across his face.

You think we’d leave all the fun to you guys? Alan said jokingly as he shook his head and ran his fingers through his auburn hair that he had parted in the middle and that hung freely down past his ears. I don’t think so.

Where’s everyone else? I asked.

They should be coming, Raul answered with his Latino accent. Though the four of us had Mexican roots, only Raul had been born in Mexico.

Hey, we’re here, Alan said with a fake accent, mocking Raul’s. Isn’t that enough? Alan did great impersonations of people, including Raul. Of the four of us, Alan was the class clown. He always liked to joke around and be funny and make us all laugh, and he usually did.

Not bad coming from a White boy, Raul said.

Hey I’m only half of a White boy. Alan defended himself.

Come on. Let’s go get checked in. Sal finally said.

We chose to get into the fourth line, where we ran into more of our junior and senior friends. A group of popular seniors were now at the front of the line, about to get checked in by Keisha and Ranae, two of their fellow seniors.

It was the football jocks, standing proudly in line before their friends. Josh, Richard, Ronnie, and Casey were the studs on campus; they were a pack and had always been one.

Hey, when is our bus getting here? Josh asked as he got checked in.

It should be on its way, Ranae answered, but if there’s room on the other three buses you guys can go in them.

Hey Ranae, where’s Gus? Richard asked her. I thought he was supposed to come.

Gus was Ranae’s boyfriend and a friend to them all, but for his own reasons that were quite obvious to those who knew him, he chose to stay home.

Yeah I thought so too, Ranae answered sarcastically, but I guess he decided not to. I guess he didn’t want to be around or see certain people we all know. As Ranae stopped speaking, she took a quick glance at a girl named Tammy who was standing with her friends behind the jocks.

Tammy had heard what Ranae had said and had seen the not-so-good glance, until she looked away. Tammy and Ranae hated each other. They used to be friends before, when Tammy was going out with Gus, but then things changed.

After six months with Tammy, Gus broke off their relationship, and just a couple of days later he went to her ex-friend, Ranae. That set off the breakup of Tammy and Ranae’s friendship. It had bothered Tammy that they both would do that so quickly after the break-up. Tammy concluded they’d been seeing each other secretly while Gus was still her boyfriend.

Many months later, Tammy still had feelings for Gus. She still wanted to be with him. But Gus wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and he told this to Tammy. Ranae knew how much Tammy loved Gus, but she didn’t seem to care about that.

A lot had happened between the love triangle, causing problems for all of them and leading Gus to hate Tammy for the things she’d done and said to him and to Ranae. The break-up had been difficult for Tammy and she tried to get over it, but still, she hadn’t. And seeing Gus or Ranae still stirred her hurt and anger that would not go away.

37835.jpg

And what they hell is that supposed to mean? Tammy stood in front of the line after hearing Ranae’s rude remark.

Tammy, I wasn’t talking about you, Ranae answered smartly.

Yeah, right, Tammy went on. Then who were you talking about? No one here I can think of. I know what you meant.

Ranae looked at Tammy and sighed, then said, Look, Tammy. I’m sorry that you can’t get on with your life and get over the fact that Gus is with me now. You need to stop interfering with other people’s lives, and worry about your own.

Ranae, the drama queen, always liked to put on a show and had done so with many others before. Tammy was furious and wasn’t sure what to say out of the many things she wanted to say to her. The first words that came out of Tammy’s mouth flew out angrily, as she pointed her right hand finger just inches away from Ranae’s pretty face.

Listen to me you little bitch! I will- Tammy was about to go on when Josh walked in front of her and cut her off.

Whoa, Tammy slow down. Josh stepped in just in time to divert Tammy from going overboard and grabbing Ranae’s long pretty brown hair and picking her up from the chair she sat in, like she would have loved to do. And she could have done it too, since she weighed than twenty pounds more than Ranae. Not that Tammy was fat, because she wasn’t; she was just a big-boned girl, a lot bigger then Ranae, who was petite and skinny.

Tammy calm down, Josh said to her. Ranae breathed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair.

I hate her, Tammy said with tears of anger in her eyes.

Tammy, it’s not worth it, her friend Lynda, a girl who was over six feet tall and played for our school’s basketball team said.

Well that’s easy for you to say, Tammy answered. She didn’t steal your boyfriend.

Lynda looked down at her boyfriend Don, who ironically was only 5’8. He just stood there and smiled unsurely, showing his half white and half Asian features.

Keisha checked in Josh and Casey and then she sighed, and said, You white folks need to stop tripping.

Tell me about it, Ronnie said, agreeing with Keisha. They were both African American.

37843.jpg

Two of the youngest teachers who were also going to the trip, Ms. Evans and Mrs. Hernandez, came over to the four lines and spoke to the remaining students standing around.

Can I have everyone’s attention! Ms. Evans yelled out. Those of you who already checked in, go to your bus, and those of you who are riding the last bus, just go and wait in front of the school, so we can get everyone checked in and cleared out!

The students