I woke up with a chill down my spine. I sat on my bed breathing heavily. I felt terrible. I grabbed the water next to me and drank the whole thing. My dream was terrifying. The men in purple cloaks had knocked Mason and I off the cliff. We both died. I looked at my watch. It read 9 AM. I checked the date. It was January 8th. A week had passed since the hike. Mason and I hadn’t spoken about any of the mysterious happenings since Lion’s Trail. We hadn’t had time or the need to talk about it. 

I had thought a lot about going to the police for harassment charges but Mason said it would be a waste of time so I believed him. It scared me a little, knowing that I could be a target of this organization. I wasn’t as scared for me as I was for the wellbeing of my family. I didn’t want them to get hurt because they were related to me.

I got out of bed and picked up my phone from my desk. I had some messages from everyone.

“Guys, we got one more week to do something, let’s meet at the base and discuss what to do,” Giampi said.

“I’m in, what time bro?” Fernando asked.

“10 o’clock?” Giampi messaged.

“I’m in,” Mason said.

“Me too,” Fernando and Jett chimed in.

“Let’s do it,” Sebastian texted.

I started typing my reply.

“I’m in as well,” I wrote.

I got up and put on a white T-Shirt. I put a hoodie over it since it was chilly. I added some track pants and walked downstairs. 

“Hey Mom. Can I go to the base?”

“Sure, but have breakfast first, won’t you?”

I sat down at the table. My sister was already there. She was eating a bowl of cereal and staring at her phone.

“That’s not a strong breakfast, is it,” I said teasing.

“I’m not that hungry,” she replied, not taking her eyes off her phone.

“Even if you’re not hungry you should eat. It’s bad for you if you don’t. Are you on a diet or something?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to lose weight.”

“First, you’re not fat at all, You’re lying to yourself. If you were fat, I, as your annoying big brother, would tell you. Second, that’s not how to lose weight healthily. You should eat smaller portions. You’re basically starving yourself if you keep doing that. I don’t think you want to become excessively skinny do you?”

“Not really…”

I sat down and waited for my mom to serve breakfast. She handed me a plate of eggs and french toast. I picked up my fork and knife and dug in. I got up when I was finished, put on my sneakers and walked outside. I began the walk to the base in the pleasant, slightly cool morning. In SoCal there weren’t drastic changes in the seasons. People went to the beach any time of the year.

I was thinking about our lack of seasons when I suddenly got the idea. We should go to the beach! I thought. It was the perfect idea. Just the week before we had gone hiking, so why not spend a day at the beach?

“Good morning, Christopher,” I heard someone say.

I turned around. It was Mason. I had made it to the halfway point and he was waiting there for me.

“Good morning, Mason,” I said.

 We walked towards the base in silence. We both weren’t sure what to say. We arrived at Giampi’s house and swung the door open.

“We’re letting ourselves in!” I yelled.

“Come upstairs!” I heard Giampi call.

“We’re waiting for you, bros!” Fernando said.

“Get your asses up here!” Jett called down.

I smiled and climbed up the stairs. I swung the base door open. Everyone was sitting at the table with a hot beverage.

“We came too late for hot drinks, huh?” I said, disappointed.

“You’re not too late! We got them ready for you! They’re in the microwave, let me go get them. Wait here,” Giampi said.

I took my place at the table.

“So guys, I was just wondering. Where will the new base be when Giampi graduates?” Sebastian said.

“That’s far into the future, bro,” Fernando said.

“Not that far,” Sebastian replied.

“Do we really have to decide that right now?” I asked, feeling suddenly annoyed.

“How about if we have it at Christopher’s house?” Jett suggested.

“What?! No! Not my house!”

“I think that’s a good idea!” Sebastian said.

“Let’s vote! All in favor of the new base being at Christopher’s house?” Fernando said.

Everyone raised their hands. I couldn’t see Mason because he was behind me. I turned and saw him holding up his hand.

“Not you too, Mason!” I whined.

He let loose a smile.

“Coming through! Coming through!” Giampi said.

Mason moved out of the way and took his place at the table. Giampi placed the drinks in front of us. It was hot chocolate.

“Thanks, Giampi,” we both said.

Giampi sat down at the table.

“Now, what were you guys talking about?” he asked.

“We were talking about where the new base will be after you graduate,” Sebastian explained.

“Why are you thinking so far ahead?” Giampi said as he took a sip from his hot drink.

“Well, it’s important to be prepared for the future I guess,” Mason pointed out.

“Unless you plan to study in this town,” Jett added quickly.

“No, looks like I’m moving to Italy to study,” Giampi said sadly.

“Well, we’re going to miss you. We already decided where we were going to go when you’re gone: Christopher’s house,” Sebastian said.

“I think that’s a great idea! You know, I’m really going to miss you guys. All of you are like my best friends. I don’t have many friends my age. I enjoy spending time with you guys. We like the same things.”

“We enjoy spending time with you too,” I said.

We sat in silence for a while, finishing our drinks.

“I got an idea of what we could do,” I said, breaking the silence.

“What is it?” Giampi asked, curious.

“I was thinking that since we went last week to Lion’s Trail we could go to the beach, doesn’t that sound fun?”

“That’s a great idea! My family owns a private beach so we could go there!” Fernando said.

“Perfecto! Let’s do it!” Jett said as he high fived Fernando.

“Does everyone here have a bathing suit?” Sebastian asked.

“Check;” Fernando said.

“Check,” I said.

“Check,” Jett said.

“Check,” Giampi said.

“Check,” Mason said.

“Check,” Sebastian said.

“What time should we go?” I asked.

“Tomorrow, at 12. It’s the hottest part of the day and it’ll feel great to jump into the water,” Giampi said smiling.

“Is everyone good with the date?” I asked.

“Yes sir!” everyone said.

“Then it’s settled,” I said happily.

“How far is it from here Fernando?” Sebastian asked.

Fernando stopped to think for a moment. “It’s an hour from here,” he finally said.

“That’s not that bad,” I said.

“How should we get there?” Mason asked.

“I can borrow my mom’s car. It’s a van,” Giampi said.

“Perfect! Everyone, call your parents and ask them about this trip,” Sebastian said.

I took out my phone and called my mom.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hey Mom, the squad and I were talking about having a beach trip tomorrow at 12. It’s like an hour drive from our house. Giampi is driving. Can I go?” I asked as nicely as I could.

“Put me on loudspeaker.”
“Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes Mrs. Luna!” everyone said.

“Giampi, I trusted you with my boy on a hike. Can I trust you to drive them to the beach safely?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am!” Giampi said seriously.

“And Christopher’s friends? Can I trust you to be good friends to my son?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” everyone else chimed in.

“Alright, you guys have my blessing.”

“Thanks mom, you really did embarrass me,” I said, furious.

Deep in my brain I knew that she was doing it out of love, as she was worried for me and that was fine. It was worth the embarrassment. I couldn’t stay mad at her and forgave her immediately before I hung up.

Once everyone had called their parents and Fernando asked if he could use the private beach, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing what we usually did. We read all types of books, watched some cartoons and went home. I walked to the halfway point with Mason. It was already getting dark. I was a little scared of the dark so I stayed close to him. I started picturing how the men in the cloaks would jump out of nowhere and grab Mason and me. I was frightened.

“Don’t be scared Christopher,” I heard Mason say.

“Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t be,” I replied.

“As long as we’re together, nothing can hurt us. We’re stronger than everyone else. If anyone comes and tries to harm us we’ll cover each other's backs. We can defeat them together.”

I gave Mason a weak smile although I doubted he could see it in the dark. The only source of light were the dim street lights.

“Thanks Mason,” I said as I relaxed.

We got to the half point and split up. As soon as I left his side the fear came back. I had one specific fear though: the fear that someone was watching me. Now that I think about it, it was probably true.

…………………………………

I sat outside of Giampi’s house waiting with him and Mason for the others to come.

“They sure are late aren’t they?” I said.

“I wonder what’s keeping them,” Mason added.

It was 12:30 and we were still waiting. I suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind me. I turned around and saw Sebastian running towards me at full speed. He seemed not at all out of breath. He reached us and said:

“Sorry I’m late. I overslept.”

“Do you know where Fernando and Jett are?” I asked.

“They overslept too and were right behind me.”

I looked over him and sure enough, there were Fernando and Jett. They ran at a slow pace. I could hear them breathing heavily.

“Almost…there...bro!” Fernando said panting as he did.

“I...can...see...them...from...here,” Jett said as he gasped for air.

Despite them looking very much in shape they were out of breath. Compared to Sebastian, they were not as in shape as they looked.

They reached us and crumpled to their knees, breathing heavily. 

“Shall we be on our way now?” Giampi asked.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We got into the van. The van was white and had many windows to look out of. The seats were a soft gray. It was almost a minibus. I was in the front. Mason and Sebastian were in the first row, Fernando and Jett were in the back. They had already gotten past the exhaustion and were talking.

“Alright men!” Giampi said in a drill sergeant voice,”Let’s get a move on!”

Giampi started the car and we drove off. I looked out of the window the whole time. I watched the beautiful scenery. It changed a lot as we got further and further from the town. More trees were visible and as we got closer and closer to the road that led to the private beach the ocean was visible. I could see the waves crashing into the shore. The sun was reflected on its surface.

“That’s amazing!” I said.

“Sure is!” Fernando replied.

“How many times have you seen this beauty?”

“Many times, I come here usually once a month.”

“Lucky!” Sebastian said.

“Turn right,” The GPS said.

Giampi turned right and we arrived at a gate. Fernando rolled down the window and scanned a keycard on a machine close to the gate. The light on the machine turned from red to green and the gate slid open. We drove through and got to a small clearing that was used as a parking space. We got out once we parked and pulled out our stuff.

On the beach there was a giant palapa with chairs for all of us and a table. On the table lay a bag of burgers, some hamburger buns, ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and a note that read:

Hello Fernando and friends!

Welcome to our private beach! We left you some ingredients you’ll need to cook on the barbecue. Christopher’s mom told me he is a vegetarian so you will eat a Beyond Burgers. I hope that’s okay for you. Anyway, have fun!

-Fernando’s Mom Dora

“You’re mother is so kind!” I said.

“You didn’t tell me you were vegetarian!” Fernando said angrily.

“I never thought it was worth bringing up!” I said shrugging.

“Now we have to eat vegetarian shit!”

“I don't know what a real burger tastes like, but many people say this tastes exactly like a real burger.”

“We’ll see…”

I ran on the soft beach. I expected for the sand to burn me but it felt nice. I reached the water and waded into it. It was a beautiful turquoise. I stood there for a moment thinking about how great life was.

“Hey guys I didn’t tell you this, but we bought each of you a boogie board! Let’s ride those waves!” Giampi called, from the car.

I got out of the water and ran quickly to get a look at the present he had given us. He handed me a boogie board with a picture of an orca swimming in a beautiful sea.

“Thanks!” I said.

We all got our own boogie boards with a different sea creature on it. We ran into the ocean and started paddling our way to the waves. I positioned myself in front of one and rode the wave all the way to the shore. I spotted a boogie board with a jellyfish on it. Fernando must've fallen off.

We rode the waves for a while until we got bored. We sat on the beach pondering on what to do next.

“Let’s build a sand castle,” Sebastian finally said.

“But do we have the tools to do that?” I asked.

“Already ahead of you bud!” Giampi said.

He pulled out a couple of buckets and shovels.

“Man you’re prepared for anything aren’t ya?” Fernando said, impressed.

“I guess so!” Giampi said, smiling.

We grabbed the buckets and started building a sand castle. First Giampi and Sebastian made four towers. Jett dug a moat and Mason built two smaller towers inside the castle while I worked on the main building. We finished all of that and then started working on the walls together. We finished the castle in an hour and stood back admiring our work.

“Hopefully the waves don’t knock it down,” Sebastian said.

“Yeah, we worked hard on it,” I said as I wiped away sweat from my forehead.

“Who’s hungry, bros?” Fernando asked.

“I am!” everyone yelled.

We all headed back up the beach and sat down at the table while Giampi approached the grill and prepared it.

“I’ve never used a grill before, so this is up to you, Giampi,” Mason said.

“I haven’t either,” I added.

“Neither have I,” Jett said.

“I’ve got no experience bros,” Fernando said, shaking his head.

“I don’t even know how to make it work,” Sebastian said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cook these burgers-”

“Fake burgers,” Fernando interrupted.

“I’ll cook these burgers well,” Giampi said.

We sat at the table and talked until I stopped mid sentence and said: “I’m thirsty,” 

“I don’t think my mom brought us any drinks…”

“I’m way ahead of you!” Giampi said.

“Of course,” Jett said, shaking his head.

Fernando walked to the car and picked up the cooler. He walked back to us and handed each one of us a Mountain Dew.

“Cheers!” I said, clinking my soda with everyone as I did.

“Burgers are ready!” Giampi said.

We ate in silence until Fernando broke it with:

“Bro! These burgers taste like real meat! You were right!”

I smiled. “What reason would I have to lie?”

At that point it had started getting dark. We finished our burgers and stood on the beach for a while watching the sunset. A beautiful red and orange color dominated the sky.

“This is amazing,” Sebastian said.

“I know, right? I see this every time I come here and I never can take my eyes off of it!” Fernando said.

The sun came down and it was time to go back. I got into the van and this time I was in the first row with Mason. We talked for a bit but stopped when I started feeling very tired. I leaned on the window and fell asleep, loving the day I had until the end.