The Survivalist, the Photographer, and the Prankster

Mckayla

My friends and I are going on an amazing trip together. We’re gonna go camping in the woods. I drove them there, but not everyone was as excited as I was. Toby kept asking if we were there yet, Brenda kept making up excuses to try and go back home, Gabby was staring out the window, searching for some sign of wildlife. Bryce was briefing us on survival tips for every situation, even though I kept telling him there was no way a blizzard could hit us in the middle of April. 

It was getting dark when we got to the campsite, and Toby helped me set up while Gabby and Bryce went exploring. Brenda went and lay in her tent, saying that she needed a rest. After we finished setting up, we made a campfire and talked about how awesome it was to be here. It had probably been 30 minutes to an hour after we got there that Toby and I suddenly heard screaming. 

I squinted and saw Bryce and Gabby running towards us, screaming bloody murder. Well, Bryce was screaming. Gabby was running silently. Toby said, “What’s their problem?” Brenda was still asleep in her tent.

Gabby reached us first. She was covered in mud and had some twigs in her hair. Bryce looked like he had just thrown up. I asked, “What happened to you guys?”

They both took in huge deep breaths and Bryce screamed, “Bear! There was a bear chasing us!” At that exact moment, a bear ran through the trees and straight at us.

Bryce

This campsite is boring, I thought as we got to the spot Mckayla picked. As soon as I could I snuck off into the woods. I walked through the forest, determined to prove myself a true survivalist. Eventually I found something. A grub. I once saw a show where a guy ate one because they were full of protein. 

I picked it up and it squirmed in my hand and I gagged at the thought of eating it. But I thought, What would Bear Grylls do? Without a second thought I put it in my mouth. 

I gagged and coughed and spit it out. I’m not at that survivalist level yet. 

“What are you doing,” said a voice from behind me. Gabby was standing there, covered in mud. “Did you just try to eat a grub? That’s disgusting.” 

“Bear Grylls did it once,” I said to her. She just rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm and started to run. “Hey, what-”

“There’s a freaking bear back there and I don’t want to be it’s dinner.” 

“Yeah, right.” I turned around and a big brown bear was not far off, but just close enough to see us. It looked right at me and started to run. Not away. At me. 

I have spent years learning about survival and what to do in these kinds of situations. But I forgot it all in an instant and screamed and ran away like a little girl. 

As Gabby and I ran back to the campsite, I saw Mckayla and Toby stand up and watch us. When we finally reached them, Mckayla said, “What happened to you guys?” I took a huge breath then screamed, “Bear! There was a bear chasing us!” Then the bear caught up to us. 

Gabby

I didn’t really care about camping with friends. I mean, yeah it’s fun, but I’m not into it like Mckayla is. When we got to the campsite, I snuck off into the woods to look for some animals. I brought my camera with me because animals are just the best subjects for photography. 

After wandering in the woods for a while, I had only gotten one picture of a woodpecker. That’s when I found a stream. It was a pretty stream, and I started to take some pictures when something moved in front of me. 

It was a big, brown bear, walking towards the stream. It didn’t notice me, so I decided to get a picture. My stupid camera decided that was the right time to put the flash on. In the dark it flashed so bright I momentarily lost sight. The bear didn’t though, it turned right on me and started to walk towards me. Because my eyes were still recovering, I slipped and face-planted into a bunch of mud. I started to run. 

That’s when I saw a figure up ahead. I knew it was Bryce. When I got to him he spit out something that looked like a grub.

“What are you doing,” I asked, forgetting about the bear. “Did you just try to eat a grub? That’s disgusting.”

“Bear Grylls did it once,” he said. As if that was an excuse. That’s when I remembered the other bear. I grabbed Bryce’s arm and started running. “Hey what-”

“There’s a freaking bear back there and I don’t want to be it’s dinner.” I kept running, but Bryce, being an idiot turned around and the bear was running towards us. I was about to ask him what we should do, because he’s the “survivalist,” but he just screamed and ran. I followed after him. 

We somehow made it back to the campsite without the bear killing us, and I saw Mckayla and Toby stand up. Brenda’s tent door was shut, and I assumed she was in there sleeping. 

“What happened to you guys,” Mckayla said. Toby just stared at us like, “What’s your problem?'' 

I was about to say something real smart, like, RUN, but Bryce cut me off. “Bear! There was a bear chasing us!” That’s when the bear ran out towards us.

Toby

I helped set up the campsite with Mckayla because there was nothing better to do. There was no way I was going on the animal hunt with Gabby or eat my own crap with Bryce. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, I just don’t agree with their activities. Brenda went to sleep, so I talked with Mckayla. More like she talked while I half listened. 

After we finished that, we made a fire and sat around it. Mckayla started saying, “This is going to be such a good experience for us. We needed some bonding time, and what better place to do it than the great outdoors?” I wasn’t really listening. I was intrigued watching some white light go off in the forest. 

“-Don’t you think?” Mckayla stared at me. I realized she was actually expecting an answer. But what was the question?

“Um, yeah. This trip is going to be awesome.” That seemed to satisfy her. I really did think this trip was going to be fun, as long as Bryce didn’t make me eat a termite. He seriously tried to do that once. 

Just then, two figures burst through the trees. I recognized them as Bryce and Gabby. They looked like they were running as fast as they possibly could. “What’s their problem,” I asked Mckayla. When they reached us, they both gasped for breath. 

“What happened to you guys,” Mckayla said. 

“Bear! There was a bear chasing us!” I was about to say “yeah right” when a bear broke through the tree line and ran towards us. 

Brenda

I don’t like camping. I mean, I like my friends, but camping isn’t my thing. I hate bugs. But of course, Mckayla didn’t listen to my protests. So I was going to get back at them. I knew that Gabby and Bryce had gone off running in the woods, and Toby and Mckayla were setting up camp. I opened my suitcase and pulled out a weirdly realistic bear costume. I got it last year as a gag gift from my dad, but now it would come in handy. 

I quietly snuck out of the back of my tent and followed where I had seen Gabby go. I found her sitting at a stream, taking pictures. I got down in a bear pose, walked to the other side, and waited for her to take a picture. It was dark out and I knew that the flash would go off. When it did I looked her straight in the eyes and started running towards her. 

I swear, I have never seen such terror in someone's eyes. As she ran away she slipped and fell into mud. I almost died of laughter then. When she ran off, I followed behind her. I saw her approach someone else and have a conversation about grubs. Bryce. I smiled inside my costume and ran after them. I could hear him screaming like a little girl. Oh, I was going to hold that against him forever.

As they ran down to the campsite. I saw them meet up with Toby and Mckayla. They had just finished saying something when they saw me. Their reactions were priceless. Toby dropped to the ground and played dead, Gabby ran as fast as she could, Bryce just screamed, and Mckayla ran in the direction of my tent. Of course Mckayla did that. She was always selfless. 

I just stared at them and then took off the head to my costume and laughed. I laughed a lot. At first everyone just stared at me, but then they started to laugh too. Except Gabby. She was hiding inside her tent and thought that everyone had gotten possessed by the bear and was going to attack her. When she finally calmed down, she told us the story of how she fell in the mud, and how Bryce tried to eat a grub. We sat around the campfire, messing around and joking, all of them congratulating my pranking skills. 

I may not like camping, but I like my friends. Even though one is a Bear-Grylls wannabe, one is Snow White, one would jump out of a helicopter with no parachute if it meant saving one of us, and one would save us all if we ever did get attacked by a real bear. They’re my friends, and I would do anything with them.