Whispers In The Wind

Chapter 11

Camila and Keisha's plan didn't work. When all of them gathered in the afternoon, all they talked about was what they are going to do once they arrived at the Silent Mountain. Even Keisha was shocked when all of a sudden, Camila became the most excited of all. She no longer talked to her, unless she has too. At first, Keisha thought that Camila played, but then she noticed something.

An now, they all woke early, excited to finally step foot at the Silent Mountain, except Keisha. She's been trying to find the right time for her to them about what she's feeling, but her friends looks so happy. It made her think twice before ruining the mood. Maybe, she's just overthinking.

"Is one of you Ms. Gaia Lennon?" A handsome man asked them. He's wearing a warm and beautiful smile, and naturally, Antoinette noticed it.

"Yeah, my friend here is Gaia. She's the one who booked the hiking package, and I am Antoinette. What's your name?" She asked without trying to hide the flirtations.

"Brandon Leonne, your hiking guide." The man introduced himself. " You guys ready?"

"Of course, we are." It's Antoinette who answered again.

"You don't have the right gear for hiking. Not having the right gear can cause troubles. There's a gear shop near here. If you guys have money, we can go to that shop." Brandon said.

"Yeah, sure. I think that's a good idea." Fiona said.

"Cool. Come on."

They almost shook their heads at the same time when they saw how Antoinette throw herself on their hiking guide. Even though it was obvious that Brandon is not interested, Antoinette doesn't seem to care. Her friends know her as a aggressive girl. Whenever she likes someone, she's afraid of making the first move, but this time, it's different. It's like she doesn't care about anything, not even the fact that Brandon is obviously much older than them.

At the gear shop, Brandon showed them everything they need. He even exerted an effort to explain how to use those hiking equipments. He seem to be a good man, and Keisha's friends seems to be comfortable with him, but not Keisha. For some reason, she just can't get herself to trust him.

"Keisha, are you okay? Did you forget to buy something?" Brandon asked her outside the shop.

"No, I've got everything I need." Keisha responded.

"What's wrong then?" Brandon asked again.

"Nothing. Stop asking me, I'm not Antoinette." Her forehead creased when Brandon smirked, but she decided not to say anything. She can feel something is off about, but she just can't figure out what. When she was about to ask him something, Antoinette finally came out of the shop.

"We're all done, let's go." She said before grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

All Keisha could do was to shake his head in disbelief. Antoinette is starting to look desperate because she's acting around him. It's as though she wants to get laid so bad, and hell with the consequences.

"Girl! Cheer up. We're in a vacation, remember?" Margarette said while pushing repeatedly. "Come on, have some fun. Loosen up, Kei."

"Marge is right, Keisha. Come on, girl. Are you still that affected about what happened on Gerard's birthday? You know that none of us thinks any different of you, right?" Sarah added.

She smiled at her friends, but she doesn't mean it. Her heart is pounding so loud, that she almost can't hear the noise around her. Her gut kept telling her that she needs to make her friends believe her, that they can't go to the Silent Mountain. However, how can she do it?

"Look, this path looks beautiful. Come on, Keisha. Let's take a picture." Fiona suggested.

"Yeah, okay."

Keisha took pictures for all of them using her DSLR camera. They enjoyed the beautiful view, and the cold breeze. It's like as they approach the foot of the mountain, all their troubles are being stripped away.

"Can you smell that? Hmm... Nature!" Dianne exclaimed while inhaling the scent of fresh air.

"This is great, right?" Natalie said with a smile.

"Aren't we going to call or text our parents? At least to let them know that we're okay and we arrived here safely?" Keisha remembered to asked.

"Keisha, if you won't stop being such a kill joy, I think it's better for you to leave. We're trying to enjoy this vacation, okay?" Antoinette warned her.

"I'm sorry."

When Keisha realized that her friend has a point, she finally chose to ignore what her gut is telling her. She felt ashamed because the way she's been acting. Gaia spent a lot money to make this vacation possible, and she's acting all kinds of weirdness.

"This is the first beautiful spot before we reach the foot of the mountain. I'll let you guys spend a couple of hours here before we proceed, okay?" Brandon announced.

It's an entrance to a kingdom. The tree are artfully lined up evenly like arcs giving them protection from the sunlight. Weird thing is, they can't hear anything, not even a single bird chirping. That's unusual for a mountain so rich and beautiful like the Silent Mountain.

Instead of saying anything, Keisha took pictures of the place. She was honestly mesmerized by it's beauty, but she can't help but notice it. Someone's watching them somewhere.

"Beautiful, right?" Brandon said from behind her.

"Why are you talking to me? Antoinette likes you, and that's obvious. Why don't you talk to her instead?" Keisha is not the mood to act in front of him.

"You're smart, I'll give you that. But, you're too smart for your own good. You have to be careful." The hint of threat in his voice didn't escape her ear.

"Are you threatening me?" Keisha asked directly.

"Me? Of course, not. You're my client, and my job is to ensure that nothing bad will happened to you."

"Good. Two hours is up."

Despite the paralyzing fear that's starting to spread in her whole being, Keisha pretended to be tough. She thought that she will be safe as long as she stays with her friends. They just have to stay together no matter what.