Journal Entry #1

        The Sequoias, Year 1950

            Henry Scott

 Mountain top closed off due to avalanche caused by heavy snow, no way up or down, low on food, only planned for a weekend, no idea how long we will be stuck, friends all despairing, trying to decide who’ll we’ll have to eat first, I voted for the one who weighs the most.

Entry 1. We are optimistic, that we will be able to blaze our way back to civilization, some think we need to ration our food and supplies for a worse case scenario situation, cutting small trees for firewood.

Entry 2.

Broke the axe head today, have already burned all the firewood in sight, I think someone is sneaking extra rations, made progress shoveling our way out, looks to be about a five-foot path.

Entry 3.

We started burning the books, but the fires are small and only last so long, so we are rationing that too. Jim has a fever.

Entry 4. Things aren’t looking so bright, we are all freezing and only have a little bit of food left, Jim’s fever got worse and now he is hallucinating, still we have made some progress, clearing a path, we now have moved twenty feet.

Entry 5. We haven’t eaten in two days, and no animals are in sight that we could hunt, Jim didn’t make it, we thought about eating him to survive, but considering he died sick, he could be tainted. Found some twigs to start a small fire, too tired to keep digging a path.

Entry 6. Can’t hardly move, we’ve been stranded for over a month, we are praying someone will send a rescue team, maybe they are already making their way towards us, there is hope yet.

Entry 7. Our group of five is down to three, Frank died in his sleep, and Chuck never returned from getting us more firewood, we are eating our hats and the snow, still no further progress on a larger path.

Entry 8. Dave has two broken legs and we’ve given up, don’t expect to live through tomorrow.

Henry looked at his handy work, “There, I’m finished, does that look believable enough?”

His friends crowded around and read the dire tale of five men trapped in the chalet, of the Sequoias”

Jimmy the skinniest boy in the stranded group, became serious “I don’t know boys, it seems dangerous to write this stuff, I mean what if that actually happens to us? After all we really are snowed in, I don’t think I wanna die hallucinating, or with a fever, especially if y’all are planning on eating me”

Dave snickered “Jimmy you’re a piece a work, obviously it ain’t gonna really happen, and we aren’t exactly all alone up here, there’s at least two families, and the workers who’ve been working since this morning, to clear a path with a machine, we aren’t gonna be stuck for more than a couple extra days, and if things get bad, well, we can eat Chuck’s food, he brought enough to feed a whole town”

Chuck bit off a chocolate bar, “and I need every bit of that fella’s I’m a growing boy, Ma says I need to eat lots of protein”

Frank the youngest boy in the group added, “It’s not like we are stuck too bad, we can still go out and explore or go skiing, but maybe we should right a note to our parents so they don’t worry”

Henry, the mastermind of the story, grinned “and how would they get the note? No trucks will be able to make it up, and nothing is going down till it clears, so lets just have some fun with this, Dave you got your pocket knife?”

Dave nodded and retrieved it out of his pocket “What d’ya have in mind Henry?”

Henry took the knife and walked over to the small fireplace, “I’m gonna cut away some of the mortar, and hide this notebook behind a brick, and maybe someone will find it later and read it”

The five boys took turns breaking away the mortar, till the brick became loose, and they slid the book in the gap putting the brick back to cover it, but sticking out enough to cause curiosity, for the next guest.

Pleased with their work they stepped away and began getting ready to go outside, but Dave wasn’t satisfied “Boys I was just thinking, that book looked brand new, we need to age it somehow”

Quickly Fred got it back out, “What can we do to it?”

they thought for a minute and each came up with different ways to rough up the journal

“Drop it in the snow a couple times and let it get wet”

“Smear food on the pages”

“How about adding a little blood”

“Burn the edges of the book”

“Tear the pages”

Henry whistled “Wow those are some great ideas, lets just do them all”

Everyone cheered and got to work, they tossed the book back and forth, and dropped it several times, Jimmy eagerly burnt the edges, while Chuck tore at the pages and bent them up, Dave left smudges from a chocolate bar, and Henry poked the tip of his finger and squeezed the drops of blood out over the pages, and handed it to Frank to inspect “Well what’cha think? Does it look better now?”

“Frank examined their efforts “I’d say it never looked better”

They put it back in the hiding place, and went in search of something else fun to do, but Dave still thought they could go even further “We need some bones, anyone happen to have a skull or something?”

Jimmy looked at Dave “I think you are taking it to far, why would we carry around old bones?”

“I don’t know it’s just a thought”

Chuck went to his bunk and pulled out a large basket from underneath, “I guess we could eat this chick and do something with the bones”

All eyes turned to him, “A whole chicken, gee, thanks for sharing, lets eat boys we’ll find something to do with the bones when we’ve finished”

The five boys were only stranded two extra days, and were happy to see Dave’s Dad pull up in the truck to take them all back home, to the sunnier side of California, wondering who might find the hidden journal and bones.

1 Year later.

Alex and his little sister May, ran about the cabin in a game of chase, while their parents called the front desk, about being charged for an extended stay, when they couldn’t leave because they were snowed in, and could not leave at the scheduled time.

May finally got cornered and he tagged her, by the side of the fire place and when he leaned against it, his hand landed on a loose brick, because he was a curious little boy, he tugged the brick, and was surprised to see it come all the way out, Mom caught what he was doing and ran to stop him “Alex Your Dad is going to have to pay for that! Put that back!” he was about to when he saw something shoved in the back, and without a second thought he reached in and pulled it out “Look it’s an old journal or something “Maybe it leads to treasure!” Dad was finally off the phone and he came to see what the commotion was about “What did you kids find?” he asked.

Alex handed over the worn book and Dad opened it and read it aloud, Mays eyes got bigger and bigger listening to the sad story of five men who perished in this very cabin. “Daddy they got snowed in just like us, do you think we are going to all die here too?” she began to cry and Mom tried to comfort her “No dear it’s not as bad as all that, you just calm down we’ll be leaving in just a few days.