Chapter 511
“Zaylee! Look! The supply point on the map is right there in that little valley! If we get to it now, we can sleep in tents tonight instead of shivering outside!” Connie’s excitement spilled into every word.
Zaylee barely glanced at the map. The weight of last night’s events still clung to her, leaving her tired and detached. “It’s close,” she muttered without energy. “Wait. Zaylee. Connie.”
A tall boy studied both the map and the dense forest ahead, his voice laced with unease. “Are we off course? The safety boundary should be around here. Look at the forest ahead — it’s clearly primary secondary growth. The canopy’s so thick it blocks the light, and vines are everywhere. There’s no sign of any clearing. They wouldn’t put the supply point in there. It’s too dangerous. We should turn southwest and follow the marked trail.”
“Oh, you’re all too cautious!” Connie waved off his concern with a flick of her hand, her eagerness rising. “The treasures for winter camp aren’t supposed to be easy to find. Maybe they hid the supply point somewhere that looks dangerous but is actually safe, just to test our courage. Think about it — finding those supplies or treasures could boost our assessment scores by a lot!” Her argument struck home. The thought of higher scores lit up the eyes of several classmates who had been wavering.
“I agree with Connie!” another girl chimed in. “Admiral Morgan planned this. He wouldn’t actually put us in danger. It probably just looks worse than it is.”
“But…” the tall boy tried again. He had been through jungle summer camps before, trained by soldiers to recognize these exact warning signs.
Before he could finish, a sharp cry broke the air. “Ah! Over there!” One of the girls pointed to the edge of the dark forest behind Zaylee. The bushes shook violently, as if something large was moving through them.
Every gaze locked on the rustling bushes, breaths held tight in suspense. Zaylee flinched at the movement but quickly forced her composure, masking her nerves with, “There’s nothing to panic over! Don’t work yourselves up. Brad’s always careful. He’d never allow anything dangerous near our activity area.”
Her assurance had barely left her lips when the bushes split open.
Rylie stepped through in a swift, controlled motion, bow and arrows in hand. Strands of grass clung to her hair, and her face carried a gravity that none of them had seen before. Her eyes, sharp as glass shards, swept over the group, measuring and assessing in silence.
The air shifted. Her focused, unyielding presence clashed with the carefree mood around her.
“Rylie?” Zaylee’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her earlier gloom evaporated, replaced by something sharper. “How—how did you get here? And from that direction?”
Her glance flicked toward the shadowed forest, unease stirring in her expression.
Rylie didn’t answer. She knelt, pressing her fingers into the soil, then shifted to study the fresh claw marks gouged deep into a nearby tree.
When she spoke, her voice was even but carried an urgency that cut through the air. “Someone brought a full-grown brown bear up the mountain last night and hid it in this area. It’s starving. That makes it even more dangerous.” Still scanning the ground for signs, she added, “Get back to the others. Tell the soldiers and Brad to shut everything down before someone gets hurt.” The force in her tone left no room for doubt, and several students instinctively stepped back.
“A bear? Why would anyone set a bear loose just to harm students?” The question came from Zaylee, who had been quiet until now. Her disbelief rang sharp. “That’s impossible! If someone does that, they will be arrested!” Since the night before, when Brad had openly gone after Rylie, her name had been a thorn under Zaylee’s skin. One word was enough to make her bristle. Why was Rylie so close to Brad? Why could she speak as though her voice alone could command him?
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