The sun was setting and the logs were burning as Sean, Daniel and I were sitting around the campfire, eating the snacks Sean and I had in our backpacks. Sean had cookies and sodas while I had some hotdogs and a few chips. We had the hotdogs on sticks to cook them over the fire.

"Wish we had more..." Daniel said after we finished eating. "I know...Me too..." Sean said as I go and dig into my backpack. "I wish we had a cheeseburger and a milkshake like yesterday..." Daniel said to Sean.
"Dude...That shake was so good...Can't believe we found a diner on the way out here..." Sean said in agreement. "I want another one..." said Daniel. "I know...We'll get you one...Promise." Sean said as I pull out three of the Choc-O-Crisp. "I know it's not a shake, but I hope you guys are okay with this as dessert." I said as I start to hand them the candy.

"Yes! Awesome, possum!" Daniel exclaims as he takes one of the candy bars. "You're welcome." I said, laughing, then I hand the other to Sean. "You want one?" I asked him. "You sure? I hate to eat up all of your food." Sean said and I shrug. "I still got a few left. Hopefully, we'll come upon some sort of gas station and I'll buy some more. Plus, I don't mind sharing." I said and Sean smiles as he takes the candy bar. "Thanks." He said. "You're welcome." I said and we began to eat our dessert.

We sat there in silence as we look out towards the beach, the water glistening in the moonlight and the owls were hooting in the quiet, still night sky. "You okay, buddy?" Sean asked Daniel. "Yeah...Feels good to sit down..." Daniel replied then he looks up at his brother. "Sean? Are you mad at me for what happened with Brett? I don't remember everything..." He asked Sean. "It's not your fault... Shit happens...Brett deserved it." Sean replied. 

"Who's Brett?" I asked. "Our asshole neighbor. He got mad at Daniel for accidentally pouring fake blood on him." Sean replied. "Oh!" I said as Daniel asked. "Why can't I remember? That's weird..."

"Uh... Don't worry, dude. You were running around all day... You tired out. It happens." Sean said and Daniel looks up at him then nods. Then suddenly, Daniel points up in the sky. "Look! A full moon! Ooowoooooo!" He howls and Sean and I chuckle. "Uh...It's not quite full yet, wolfboy..." I said to him.

"Do you guys think there are werewolves for real?" Daniel asked us. "Dude, we are the wolves..." Sean said then he leans back and howls. "Oowoooo...See?" He said and Daniel laughs. "Oowooooo..." he howls then he looks over at me. "C'mon, (y/n)! Join us!" He said and I giggle. "Alright, alright." I said then I lean back and I raise my head to the moon.

"OOOOWWWOOOOOOOOOOO...OWOO OOWWOOOOOOOO." The three of us howled then we started to laugh. "Although, I have to say my howls sounded like a dying wolf." I said. "Aw, C'mon it wasn't that bad." Sean said to me and I chuckled. "You don't have to sugarcoat it, Sean. It was bad." I said. 

"I'm bored... Sean...Can I play Mustard Party on your phone? Please?" Daniel asked him. "No reception so go for it..." Sean said as he hands his cellphone to Daniel. "Yeah! Thanks!" Daniel said and he begins to play. "Oh, I am so gonna beat your score...Oof! Aw, come on..." he said as Sean and I shuffle closer to take a look.

"Almost...Almost..." Daniel said, frantically, until the battery dead tone plays, Sean smirks at this. "What? Nooo! I was so gonna beat your score!" Daniel exclaims. "You wish." Sean mutters as he takes his phone back. "Stupid phone..." Daniel grumbles.
"You look tired...Ready to crash?" I asked Daniel. "I've been ready all day...My feet hurt..." he replied as he and Sean move to their blanket and I go over to mine, which was on the other side of the fire-pit.

"I think we earned some serious rest." I said to them. "Yeah, I could sleep forever." Sean replied as he and Daniel lay down on their blanket. "Not on this ground. Ugh..." Daniel grumbles. "Better than freezing out there, right?" I asked. "Way better...Now we have a real fire..." Daniel replied and I chuckle.

"And a secure base! You did awesome today, Daniel." Sean said to him. "Really?" Daniel asked. "Hell yeah!" Sean exclaims. "You're like a...real wilderness expert!" I said and Daniel smiles. "Hmmm...that's cool...My eyes won't...stay open, guys..." Daniel said and his eyes close and he passes out. Sean and I chuckle at this. "Sleep tight, bro..." Sean whispers then he looks over at me. "Goodnight, (y/n)." He said. "Goodnight, Sean." I said and I finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

"Daaad...Dad...Where are we?" I hear Daniel groan and cry. My eyes open as I go sit up and see Daniel tossing and turning just as Sean wakes up. "Daniel?" I asked as Sean turns over to his brother. "Hey bro, wake up!" He said as he wakes Daniel up with a shake.

"Sean? Sean? What happened...Where's Dad?" Daniel asked, tearfully, after he sits up. "It's okay! You just had a bad dream. That's all..." Sean assures him as I go over to them, squat down and places a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Sean? (Y/n)? Where...Where are we?" Daniel asked.
"Right here...in the park. Remember our amazing fire?" I said to him, with concern, as Sean places another log on the fire and gives it a puff.

"Mmmm, yeah....Are we okay?" Daniel asked us. "We're fine... I'm right here and so is (y/n)...Don't worry." Sean assured him. "Okay, I won't...as long as you two are here..." Daniel said and I smiled at him. I ruffle his hair and said. "Go...back to sleep...You need your rest..."

"But I might have another scary dream..." Daniel said, slightly fearfully. "You won't. We're here. Just...Just close your eyes..." Sean said. "Thanks, guys...I'm glad you guys are here..." Daniel said as he starts to lay down. "Goodnight Daniel..." Sean and I said as I stand up, walk over to my blanket and lay down on it and fall back asleep.

"Look, it's easier now. We're going downhill. You just gotta keep walking." I said to Daniel as we walk down the road. It was the next morning and we were a few miles away from the park. "Oh yeah, that's better. Hey! Maybe we'll find a milkshake shop!" Daniel said. "Ah yes...The forest secret milkshake factory...Keep dreaming, dude. Let's walk a little more." Sean said to him. "There'll be a rest stop or something where we can buy food. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah...You said things were getting better yesterday...and the day before..." Daniel said to his older brother and I give a concern look over at Sean. "I'm sorry, dude. I'm trying my best." Sean said and Daniel looks down as we come up to a curved road. "Oh! Remember that time? Harry Thompson wanted to beat me up?" Daniel asked Sean before he continues. "Me and Noah traded some games with Harry...But he didn't like his. So he said he was gonna get us after school..." Daniel tells us.

"What did you do?" I asked him. "We waited in the gym until he went home..." he replied. "That's it? You shoulda told me!" Sean said to him. "I tried...But you said to get out of your room..." Daniel replied and Sean gives him a sad look. "I'm sorry, enano. I shoulda listened." Sean whispered, in a sad tone. "You did stand up for me...with Brett. For a change." Daniel said. "Yeah...Well. He had it coming." Sean said and I smile over at Sean. "Aww, such a good big brother." I said as I nudged his shoulder with my shoulder and he smiles at me.

"I can't wait to tell our secret adventure to Noah! I hope Dad never sends us on a vacation without him again." Daniel said and I frowned at this when, eventually, a gas station sign comes into view. "Hey! There's something ahead!" Daniel said, happily. "Yup! Must be the gas station we saw on that sign." I said. "Awesome! I'm sooo hungry right now." Daniel groans.

"I hear you...We're gonna get food...water...Plus a map. So we can find the best route." Sean said. "All right..." Daniel said, defeated. "Hey, come on! I know last night was tough, but...tonight will be better. I swear." Sean said to him. "Yeah...I hope." Daniel said as he walks over to gas station.
Sean looks over at me and asked. "Sooo....do you still want to come with us? Or do you....?" 

"I have nowhere else to go and if you have some idea where to go, I would like to go. That is...if you guys still want me around." I said. "Of course we do! Daniel wouldn't know what to do without his Choc-O-Crisp partner in crime." He replied and I chuckled. "And you?" I asked him. "Honestly, it's nice to talk to someone who is around my age, after talking to a nine year old for the past few days." Sean replied and I smiled. "Well, I guess I'm stuck with you guys, til the end of time." I said as I wrap my left arm around his shoulder and he chuckles. I pat his shoulder then we head over to the station.

After using the bathroom to clean up, Sean opens the door to the store and Daniel and I follow as an entry bell rings. "Hello there." This old lady behind the desk greets, which was surrounded by wooden statues of bears. "Hey" Sean and I greet back while Daniel sees the Choc-O-Crisps displayed near the entrance. "Woah, (y/n)! They have Choc-O-Crisp!" He said, excitedly. "Cool!" I said as I walk over to the display and look at it. I looked at the price and saw that it was basically two dollars a bar.

 Ugh....kinda pricey....but I still got about thirty bucks left. So...it's worth it! I thought as I grab a few bars and look around the shop, Sean following close as he also looks around and grabs some water.

"Oh my God, this is the coolest thing ever! Hey! C'mere... Check it out! Look!" I hear Daniel exclaim. Sean and I look over to see him pointing at a claw machine, with an advertisement saying it had a Power Bear toy. "Dude! Calm down. What is it?" Sean asked as we walked over to him. "Power Bear Claw! Uh...Can we play? I bet it's easy to get a prize!" Daniel said, happily. "Yeah, no. See all those prizes still inside? Nobody wins. Except the machine..." I said and he looks down in sadness. "Oh..." he mutters.

"But hey. We're the wolf brothers. Let's teach this machine a lesson...right?" Sean said and Daniel looks up at him and smiles. "Yes! Soooo...Who goes first?" He asked. Sean digs into his pocket and pulls out a dollar bill and hands it to Daniel. "Go get 'em, little brother..." he said. "Oooo, I am gonna beat this boss! Let's go, Power Bear Claw!" Daniel said as he puts the dollar in, starting the machine up.

"Wait till you get a good opening..." I said as he moves the claw, pushes the button to lower it but it misses the plastic ball. "Not fair! It sucks." Daniel said, annoyed. "Don't grab so fast..." Sean instructs him. "This is hard...Can one of you try?" He asked as he looks up at us. "Yeah, okay. Let's see what I can do..." Sean said as goes over to the machine and Daniel goes to stand next to me. "Yay!" He exclaims as Sean puts a dollar in.

"Let me get in the zone...Here we go..." Sean mutters and he pushes the button and almost had it but the claw missed. "Almost!" Daniel said. "Here, let me try." I said as I go over to the machine. I put a dollar in and start to move the crane over. "Okay...I think I got it...." I muttered as I concentrated on the machine. I moved the claw then pushed the button and it looked like it grabbed the plastic ball but it slipped out of the claw before it could pull it up. "Damn it." I muttered. "You were just inches away from victory." Sean said to me.

"Can I play? Please please please?" Daniel begs. "Sure...But don't beg! Get that prize!" Sean said to him as he hands a dollar to him. "Just watch me!" He said as he inserts the dollar. "Almost... Almost... Almost..." he said and by some freaking miracle, he was able to grab the plastic ball. "Yes! You're mine, Power Bear!" He exclaims as the claw brings the prize over. "Bet you're the first one to get a prize outta here..." Sean said as the claw drops the prize and Daniel digs in and pulls out the ball.

"Oooo, let's see...let's see..." he said, excitedly, as he opens the ball to reveal a Power Bear toy. "Soooo cool! Look guys! I beat the machine!" He said as he jumps on the balls of his feet and showed us the toy. "Told you nobody beats a Diaz!" Sean said to him. "Yeah, way to go, munchkin." I said as we walk back over to the grocery section of the store.

"Congratulations on getting one of these toys...It's been a while since anyone won." The lady behind the counter said to Daniel. Sean and I continue to look around for some grocery as I hear Daniel talking to someone. "Hi...What are you looking at?" Daniel asked. "Oh, hey there. Well, I'm actually doing research. It's, uhhh...Not for you." A man replied to him.

I look up from the shelf and see Daniel talking to a man, with curly brown hair and a beard and glasses, sitting in front of a laptop. "Why? Like dirty stuff? Uck." Daniel asked. "It's uhhh...It's adult stuff." The man replied. "I'm nine years old. I know these kind of things." Daniel said to him, making the man laugh. "Haha! I'm sure you do! What's your name?" He asked Daniel.

"Daniel!" He introduced.

"Hi Daniel, I'm Brody!" The man said as Sean and I walk over to Daniel. "Hey hi, uh...Sorry about my brother..." Sean said as he places his hands on Daniel's shoulder. "Don't be. He's awesome!" Brody said as I could see a picture of a naked person on Brody's laptop screen. Brody seemed to have noticed my stare as he turned around in his chair and said. "I know what you're thinking. What the hell is this creep looking at?"

"Uh, no, I don't mean...I mean..." I stammered and he chuckles. "It's not as weird as it seems, though. These people, they only wanna live a normal life. Just...naked. I mean, if they're not harming anyone, who's to say they're wrong?" He asked us.

"Nobody." Sean and I replied at the same time. "Yeah, I agree. Yes! Why should we all be the same? Who says so?" He said and I smiled. "Heh, nevermind. I'm getting carried away. Name's Brody. I'm kind of an online traveling journalist..." he greets as he holds his hand out to us. "(Y/n)." I greet as I shake his hand then he goes to shake Sean's hand. "Sean. What's an...online traveling journalist?" Sean asked, curiously.
"Just a fancy name for someone who drives around in a car...writing about people and....stuff. There's a few websites that pay me for these papers, since I know how to write." Brody said. "Nice to meet you guys. You traveling with your brother?"

"Yeah...We're on the road. Going south." Sean said. "And I'm just a friend that's tagging along." I said and Brody smiles. "Good for you two. The best way to learn is on the road...The earlier the better." He said and we smile at him. "Well, I'd love to talk and avoid work all day but...I'm already up against a deadline. Safe travels, dudes!" He said. "Thanks, man...See ya around." Sean said as we walk away from Brody and continued with our shopping.

"Hey, check out the puppy!" Daniel calls out and we walk over to see a basket with a little white and brown puppy inside. "Awww." I said as I kneel down and pet its head. "Yeah. It's a dog." Sean said to Daniel as he also pets the dog. "It's a puppy! Super cute!" Daniel exclaims. "Yeah. Super cute." Sean chuckles as I said. "Adorable." 

"Is this yours?" Daniel asked the lady behind the desk. "Somebody left her down the road. If I saw who did that, it'd be the last time..." the woman replied. "Awww...He must be sad! What's his name?" Daniel asked. "Her. Whoever takes her... gets to name her." The woman replied. "Oh, right...Oh! Can...we have the puppy?" Daniel asked as he looks up at us, his eyes glimmering.

"Please?" He begs and Sean and I look at each other as I stand back up. "I don't know..." Sean said, shrugging. "Yeah, It's a pretty huge responsibility." I said to Daniel. "Yeah! It would be so cool! Come on..." Daniel begs us. "Oh, honey...We have to have an adult take care of her..." the woman said to him, gently. "I know...I just thought we could..." Daniel said in defeat. "I'd love to...but she's right. We can't take care of a dog right now." Sean said to Daniel as he pats Daniel on the back of his head then we head over to the counter and pay for our groceries.

I look over and noticed there was a stand for a map. "Go on! It's actually free." The woman said to me, noticing my stare. I look up at her and said. "Really?" She nods and I smile as I take a map. "Cool...Thanks!" I said. "It's a real nice map. You'll find lots of great hiking trails around here..." she said and I nod at her as we start to head out of the store.

"Hey look...empty table!" Daniel said to us as he points at the picnic table. "Let's grab it! And check out this map." I said as we go over to the table. "It's our table now!" Daniel said as he sits on one side of the table and Sean and I sit on the other side. "Yep! Let's see...What have we got here..." Sean said as he pulls out some water and mac&cheese while I pulled out three hotdogs, some chips and some Choc-O-Crisp. "This is a ton of food! I thought we were broke!" Daniel exclaims. "Not today, Daniel." I said with a smile. "Yeah....So let's grub out. This is our treat." Sean said and I hand over the candy to him, while I hear a truck pull in. I look over my shoulder and see an old man driving the truck but I noticed that he was staring, intently, at us.

"Really? You got me a Choc-O-Crisp?!" He asked as I look back over to him. "Course I did! I couldn't leave out my fellow Choc-O-Crisp addict." I said and the three of us began to chow down on our dinner.

Some time passes, and I see Brody leaving the store. "Where you guys off to now?" He asked us. "Uuuh...South. I guess." Sean replied as he shrugs. "Right on. Pro tip, don't feed the bears! See ya later..." Brody said as he gets into his station wagon. We wave at him then I take out the map.

"Whoa, that's a big map..." Daniel said, astonished. "Yeah...Hope I can read it..." I said as lay the map out on the table. "Me too." Sean said as Daniel moves to sit next to Sean. "Is this supposed to be Washington? I don't recognize anything..." he said. "Yeah. Me neither...But we have to be somewhere in there." Sean said then Daniel points at a spot on the map.

"Hey, I know! We're here! There's a gas station, see?" He said. "Nah, no way. We were near Mount Rainier yesterday. But it's miles away now." I said to him. "Let us show you where we are, okay?" Sean said to Daniel. "Yeah, okay..." Daniel said as Sean and I look over the map then Sean points it out.

"All right...This is it!" He said. "Are you sure?" Daniel asked him. "Yes, it is. It's next to the river we camped by yesterday, here we are!" Sean said, slightly annoyed. "Okay, so...Can we go there tonight?" Daniel asked as he points to another park that was miles and miles away from us. "Are you kidding? It's way too far!" I said. "Yeah, you want to walk a whole week again?" Sean asked him. "Awww...But it looks cool!" Daniel whined. "Hold on, (y/n) and I will find where we can go." Sean said as he and I look over the map.

"Hey kids. Looks like you're out camping." A man's voice said and we jump then turn around to see that the old man from the truck had crept up on us. "Oh...yeah! Just going over trails and...stuff." I said to the man, calmly. "Seems dangerous to be out here all alone...But maybe you're the ones who need to be watched." The man said and we look up at him in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean? We're just..." Sean started to say. "Sure hoped you paid for all that. We don't tolerate shoplifters." The man warned us. "I don't like what you're insinuating, sir! But we paid for this and the map was free." I said to him, firmly, as I glare at him. "Well let's go inside and you and your boyfriend can show us what you bought." The man said and my fists clenched at this.

"No...Thanks...We...have to go..." Sean said as he grabs my arm and the three of us begin to stand up. We start to leave but the old man pushes at Sean's chest with an index finger, pointing. "Nope. You're going inside...Don't make this worse for yourself, kids. Or I will..." the man threatened while Daniel takes a step back but Sean and I were trapped between the table and the old douchebag.

"Excuse us, sir. We were just hiking!" I said, firmly. "Then let's find out if you're telling the truth. Come on." He said. "But...We have to get going..." Sean replied as Daniel cowers back. "Sean...(y/n)..." he said, shakily. "It's okay...Look, my Dad is waiting for us..." Sean said to the man. "Okay. You can call him from our phone. Now let's go." The man said as he grabs Sean's arm.

"Don't touch me..." Sean shouts as he tries to pull out of the man's grip while I said. "Leave him alone!"

"Don't do it, kids!" The man said as Daniel and I try to pull the man off of Sean. "Let go!" The old man shouts then he whacks Daniel in the face with his arm. "Ow!" Daniel exclaims as he falls back. "Don't touch my brother!" Sean said as the old man punches me in the face with his free hand. "(Y/n)!" Sean exclaims as I fall to the ground and the old man gut punches Sean, knocking him to the floor. Before I black out, I see Daniel running away from the old man.