Chapter 7 We Should Never Have Made Camp Here!

• Chapter 7
• Steve and Pierre have been gone now for fifteen minutes. The ladies had been working well together, setting up the site for the night. Meanwhile, Markous has his phone in his hand, cursing at the fact that his phone is not working.
• Emma gradually motioned to Markous. “Hey babe don’t you think we should start collecting firewood?” She asked softly.
• Markous glared at Emma angrily, “I paid Pierre a shit load of money to do his job, if he wants a fire he can get the wood himself.”
• Emma thought of what she was going to say before speaking. “The point of hiring a survivalist is to learn how to be one with nature. To learn how to care for ourselves out in the wild.”
• Markous glared at Emma as if she had no brain cells, “no! The point of buying this plot of land is to make money. Fools will pay whatever I am asking to enjoy nature and its glory.” Markous started to hit his phone, “why isn’t this damn thing not working?”
• Emma started to shake her head in disbelief. “Wow, you can’t go one weekend without your phone connected to your hand. You promised me a weekend of fun …” She was not impressed with Markous’s behaviour. “Maybe I should go and help the ladies gather wood and learn something!”
• Markous glared at the phone, “You go and do that!”
• Camile was studying the pile of wood they all had collected. “With all of the wood we have collected, this should be a good start.” She spoke to herself more or less.
• Merna walked over to Camile and Emma, “I have an armload of wood, flint is in my back pocket. I think this is a good time to teach you how to start a fire without a lighter!” She smiled sweetly at the ladies, knowing that it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
• Emma smiled at the group with growing enthusiasm. “Where should I go to collect more wood?”
• Merna motions with her head to the woods, “where we came from would be a start.” Then, Merna briefly studies Camile, “do you know how to start a fire?”
• Camile started to rub her hands together in a nervous manner. “I have a concept of how, just never have started a fire before.” she spoke in an uneasy tone.
• Merna smiled confidently; teaching the basics was a skill she enjoyed sharing. “I am going to take it that you have never gone camping.”
• Camile chuckled nervously, “my idea of camping is sleeping in a cabin with AC and wifi.”
• Merna goes back to the tent to grab the folded shovel. “That is not camping!” she laughed, “but in all seriousness, you have nothing to be nervous about, that is why Pierre was hired, to teach you how to respect the land, enjoy its beauty and learn skills that our ancestors had.” Merna paused for a second to allow Camile to relax and collect herself. “You are going to get your first lesson on how to set up a proper fire pit.” Merna unfolds the shovel, “first time campers always think they have an idea of what they are doing. Thinking is not knowing! I will show you how things are done properly so that you do not hurt yourself or worse, hurt someone else.”
• Camile glances over at Markous, “what is he doing?”
• Merna looks over her shoulder to see Markous having a temper tantrum. “He just realized his phone isn’t working and doesn’t know how to live without technology.” Merna started to chuckle when she watched Markous jumping up and down on the phone that he threw to the ground. “Spoiled rich boy … something doesn’t go his way and he starts to cry for his mommy!”
• Camile glanced down at her feet and shook her head back and forth. “He has always been like that, he always gets his way or he starts to take a fit or threatens you.”
• Merna started to laugh, “That will not work with me! Plus, he is the definition of entitlement!”
• Camile glanced at Merna, “you would be surprised … Many have said they will not do as he said, in the end they do what he says. I am speaking from experience!”
• Merna placed a malicious grin on her face, “I have thicker skin … okay so let’s get back to our lesson! The first thing you want to do is dig a hole in the ground deep enough so that the fire can be contained. After the hole is made we want to make sure that there isn’t anything around the pit that will catch on fire and start a forest fire. Safety first! That is the number one rule when you are in the woods.”
• Camile was starting to gain back all of her self-confidence. “What is the next rule?”
• Merna smiled, “Respect! That would be the opposite of what Markous is doing! You have to remember that you are in someone else’s home! What rules you would have your guest follow, should be the same you display in the wild.”
• “I have maids to clean up my place, but I get the idea of what you are speaking about.” Camile clapped her hands, ready for the following rule, “what is the next rule?”
• Merna put her all serious facial expression on, “it isn’t a rule, more of an understanding … the laws that we follow do not apply here so listen to the land, it will only tell you once if you have disrespected them. They expect you to correct your mistakes and take accountability. And most of all never repeat what you had done that was disrespectful!”
• Camile was alarmed and concerned, “what happens if we do not do as they say? How can anyone hear the land?”
• Merna smiled in understanding Camile’s response. So many other clients had reacted the same way or, worse, disregarded her warnings. “I guess it really depends on who you have offended. Every location humans go to is looked after by different spirits. And to your second question, listen to your intuition, it is a major indicator. Spirits will send energy our way to let us receive messages, it is our job to interpret what it is they are trying to say.”
• Camile frowned, “Emma said you are a psychic medium, is that true?”
• Merna smiled, “that term is grossly overused! Mediumship is someone that is a channeler, who speaks to the dead and relays messages to loved ones. You could use an ouija board to get the same results! I would never label myself as a psychic medium, too much bad juju attached to that title. I, on the other hand, am always walking between worlds. Which makes it that I am incredibly sensitive. I can hear, see and speak with the things others can not. I can sense when the energy has changed or when I am coming up to something with great power. there are other things that I can do, but I am still learning how to control them.”
• Merna stopped speaking; the energy was shifting under her. She glanced down long enough to see what appeared to be a cave. There was the sound of trickling water. There was the sound of a snap as if someone or a thing was snapping their fingers. Swirls of mist clouded her vision, making it so that she could not see clearly. The cave was cold, with droplets of water falling from the ceiling. The rock was rough to the touch. It wasn’t strong, but there was a hint of decay. Chains started to rattle, pursued by a grim voice telling her to get out of there. The sound of a low growl startled Merna; followed by the hint of sulphur drifting up into her nostrils. Merna closed her eyes, reading the energy flowing towards and around her.
• In her mind, Merna could see Pierre and Steve walking around a tree in circles. She noticed several creatures of the land watching them as they laughed at how ridiculous the guys looked.
• They were tiny creatures that had humanoid features. They had clothing that covered their bodies, but everything was grey. It was difficult for Merna to see any outstanding features, colours or details. Merna could hear them laugh more when one pointed out that humans were so easily tricked into believing in anything they wanted them to see.
• Merna then spotted a creature intensely observing her, documenting and reporting, telepathically, to his master. Others with this creature were telling their master everything happening in this location.
• Merna tried to focus more on their physical appearance so that she might get a better idea of who she was seeing. She would be pushed back whenever she thought she had broken past their barriers. The only thing she was able to see were the eyes. Venomous! That was the first thought that popped into her mind. They were ready to strike, but why have they not done so? That was the question that lingered in her mind.
• The next thing that Merna realized, these creatures were not of one kind but many different species ruled by one master. They were possibly never living organisms, making them very powerful.
• A voice growled in her head, “you can walk the land, leaving only your footprints. Those who stay, never leave!”
• Merna’s heart started to thump in her chest. Composing herself as fear began to take hold of her body. She had always been told never to engage with anything of great power, which could lead to disaster.
• Camile places her hand on Merina’s shoulder, “are you okay, you kind of zoned out on me!”
• Merna bobs her head up and down for a few seconds. “Yeah!” Merna cleared her throat, “I think I was just given a warning." Merna glanced at the tents one at a time. "Whatever you do here …” Merna glanced over at Markous with a look of disapproval, “we should have never made camp!” Merna had lost her train of thought. “Get to the road as a whole before the moon is at high peak,” She repeated the words that entered her mind.
• Camile shivered, “why would you say something like that?”
• “The spirits of the land just told me that the master of the land isn’t pleased that we made camp here.” Merna discontinued her glare toward Markous and brought her attention to Camile, “we need to leave! If you hear anything that is out of the norm, do not search for it.” Merna panicked, “I am not sure why we are getting this warning … if I am reading things correctly, no other humans ever got this kind of warning before. But we need to leave now!”
• Camile was having a hard time understanding the muttering Merna was spouting out of her mouth.
• "The land just told me that the master of the land wants us out of here now." Merna was up onto her feet standing straight. "we have to leave as we came here. we have only until the moon is at high peak."