A Hike For 50 Dollars, A Journey Of a Lifetime
January 11th, 1992, a man by the name of Fitz Jerold wanted to make history; with something called “The Human Engagement project.” It’s premise is simple on paper, introducing a small prize for completing a simple task, slowly enhancing the intensity of the task; not allowing for deviation from the task. The subjects may slow down progress, but shall not under any circumstances be harmed in the experience. All participants will be given a non disclosure form; keeping them legally bound to the experience. They will be told the duration of the experience is 1-2 weeks at the start; however this is not true, in reality it’s more than 50 years. Because of this; subjects must be in their mid teens to early 30’s to qualify for the experience.
No Going Back……
“Hello, my name is Alex Letcher, and this is my colleague Fitz Jerold. In one short hour from now you will begin a series of hikes and trails that will test your limits; at the end of it all. You will each receive 50.00 in USD. If you're not from America or Australia, we can discuss arrangements for an equivalent in your currency of choice. The six of you have chosen to be here because it will be fun, though technically true doesn’t come close to covering everything.” Alex said, as he stood with a small microphone set in his ear, he seemed genuinely excited. It was definitely surprising how much of this he was fully comprehending; all at the mere age of seventeen.
Alex then hands the microphone piece to Fitz, as he puts it in his ear and stands towards the center of the podium. “As Alex has told you, this will be rather fun! Now for arrangements; three girls and three men not including me and Alex. For living arrangements, three Motorhomes have been prepared. For your duration of being here in western Northeastern Alaska, as well as an F450 rig for carrying your motorhomes and belongings. Each of you will be pared bh gender; one male and one female each motorhome. We will follow up with you all every few days, but will not be part of the core six of you. Now that’s out of the way, we will be handing out assignment cards.” Fitz said cheerfully, as he got three small white envelopes from his coat pocket.
Each envelope had a large number written on it in sharpie; from 1-3, Fitz gave Alex envelopes 2 and 3. As he walked over towards the group of six. “Jasper and Allaya, please step forward!” He yelled confidently; as a large broad shouldered guy in a gray shirt, and black track shorts stepped forward. He had a buzz cut, a well defined figure and bright blue eyes. He had a very prominent Brooklyn accent; as Jasper stood, asking what was going on.
Allaya was a somewhat busty brunette, with a pink tank top, as well as blueish gray short shorts. She was maybe up to Jasper's chin height wise; and she has a wonderful smile about her. She stepped forward, giving Jasper a quick glance out of interest. Fitz walks up to Jasper and hands him envelope number one; as he opens it him and Allaya are shocked beyond belief. In the envelope wasn't just a set of keys to the truck and RV, but also a piece of paper neatly folded in the corner of the envelope. Allaya took it out and gasped as she unfolded it.
In the envelope, was a deed of permanent ownership of both the truck as well as the motorhome; along with that was a gas station card. A card with one million dollars on it, allowing them to get free gas for a lifetime. This should have been a bit of a red flag but in the moment, two singles, Jasper in his early 30’s and Allaya in her late twenties. It seemed like a dream come true. Next was John and Mikaru, as they were called up by Alex.
Mikaru steps forward, she was around or just under five feet in height. She had a slim and rather flat chested physique; she wore a black zip on hoodie, as well as yoga pants. She has a very noticeable Japanese accent, as she walks up eggarly towards the front. Giddy by the thought of getting free living arrangements, as the previous two had just been given.
John steps forward towards where Mikaru is; he’s not anywhere near as big as Jasper but he still towers over Mikaru. He’s dressed in a bright flannel long sleeve shirt, and jean pants. He’s a little bit chubby, but overall mostly physically fit and healthy. Though he definitely seems to have more of an overall spirit when it comes to, “the great outdoors.”
Mikaru excitedly swiped envelope number two from Alex’s hand, opening it quickly as she got the deed and keys; just as Jasper and Allaya had before. Her and John jump up and down with excitement. As John yells, he has a very notable Australian accent.
“Finally last but not least Joseph and Connie, please come to revive your living arrangements.” Alex and Fitz said in unison, as they smiled at the two. The trucks were all navy blue; the homes themselves were white with green and brown stripes lined from front to back, in a neat line of two.
Joseph was scrawny, probably more than twenty pounds underweight. He had red hair, freckles, and a red beard. He had to be 20 years old or so; he was wearing a red hoodie, and khaki slacks. He was about the same height as Jasper, but less than half his weight. He has black Nike brand glasses, as well as brown eyes.
Connie was a beautiful blonde girl, about several inches shorter than Joseph. She wore a crop-top, jean shorts, as well as a riding leather jacket. Other than the fact that her eyes were gray; she has this saic, untold, danger about her.
The two step forward in unison, Joseph calmly takes envelope number three from Alex. Tears welled up in his and Connies eyes, as they opened up the envelope and took its contents. “Wait a minute, you said we’re here for 1-2 weeks right? So why the hell are you giving us pertinent arrangements. What’s really happening here?”
10:00 am……
“Let’s do role call before we head out, I promise, that right afterwards we’ll be on this beautiful mountain. Jasper age 31!” Jasper raises his hand, “Allaya age 28!” Allaya raises her hand. “John age 33!” John raises his hand, “Mikaru age 29!” Mikaru raises her hand. “Joseph age 19!” Joseph raises his hand, “Connie age 21!” Connie raises her hand.
Fitz quickly jogs up to the front of the pack; as Alex follows shortly behind him. “It’s a 12 mile round trip, for today. Six there and six back” Alex explained with a word of caution and curiosity to his tone of voice.
The group managed to get to the summit of the mountain in very short time; they than begin to descend. The group then stops to eat, John and Alex work together to prepare some hotdogs as well as a few chip bags over the bonfire. “Heya, Alex, John! What made you wanna do all this stuff anyway?” asked Mikaru.
They bickered quietly amongst themselves for a moment; as if deliberating on whether to tell the group or not. “Ok, we’ll tell you guys,” Alex pauses, Fitz picking up almost seamlessly; “in the form of a riddle!” Fitz continued, “death, Can change a world and bring utter destruction to its people, but what can do this to us, and not have an overall effect on the world itself as a whole?”
The group thought long and hard, they felt as if they had come to the right conclusion overall; but it just didn’t seem right to them. Even though all of them had the same word in mind. Then… “It’s the apocalypse, if I’m right, that’s a terrible riddle.” Jasper stated loudly, breaking the deafening silence with a mighty blow. Fitz’s eyes widened, Alex just sat back in his chair and shrugged. “Bingo, the winner is Jasper!” Fitz said as he appeared to be sweating bullets.
“Wait, what does this whole thing, have to do with the apocalypse?” Allaya asked, with a hint of fear mixed in with genuine curiosity.
