Driving all the way to the reserve in Pennsylvania was a pain, and walking all the way to the watchtower from the entrance was even worse. Brambles, leaves, bugs, and dirt stuck to my pants like glue, and on top of that I had to carry all my bags and supplies. I trudge down the path for what feels like hours, and once I get to the bottom of the hill, I realize what I have to do. Up ahead, the hill goes up by 90 degrees, and a flimsy rope hangs from the small cliff. I drop everything in my hands in disbelief, and since no one is around here, or so I thought, I yell out various curse words at the top of my lungs. For good measure, I also kick a few trees. 

After my small tantrum, I hoist all my bags onto my back, and use my hands to grip the rope. “This is gonna snap, I just know it…” I say, gritting my teeth. With one foot at a time, I climb up the steep cliff without falling on my ass, miraculously. Sweat pours down my face, and the thought crosses my mind that maybe this won’t be a breeze after all. If I’d known how much work this would be I would have gone with Kroger instead.

The rest of the path up the hill slopes normally, save for a few drop offs that make me a bit nervous. The tower, all the way at the top, gleams in the sunlight as if heaven itself is shining onto it, and I stare longingly at it. The moment I get up there, I’ll go right to bed, I was never a fan of hiking.

I finally reach the tower, and practically bolt up the stairs. Inside the cabin of the tower is a decent-sized bed, a table, a mini-fridge, a large map hanging on the wall, a dresser, and a really old-looking stove. In the second part of the tower, there is a radio, a few walkie talkies, and a chair to sit in as I look out over the reserve. I will admit, the view is gorgeous, and after unpacking all my things I sit to enjoy the sunset. Today, I don’t have to worry about my coworkers yet, so I don’t switch on the radio. God, if only there was a TV or a computer… 

After the sun sets, I get into the mildly uncomfortable bed and try to fall asleep. A few minutes pass, and I’m still awake when I hear a faint howl in the distance. My eyes snap open, and a bit of fear and isolation overtakes me. They’re just wolves, but to think that there is no one for miles that could help in the event of a wolf attack is terrifying. Living in the city, I definitely don’t feel safe in the outdoors. I close my eyes again, but it takes me until well past midnight to fall asleep.

As soon as I wake up, I am blinded by the sun’s rays cutting in from the window. I scrunch my face up, feeling the dresser next to me for my phone. It’s 12:23 PM. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and let out a long yawn, raising my arms up into the air. My eyes snap open, and before I put my arms down I realize. IT’S F*CKING 12:23 PM! Standing up quickly, I get out of my clothes from yesterday as fast as I can, and throw on my uniform, a red camper’s vest and a white shirt with khakis and boots. Faintly I can hear the sound of my walkie talkie going off in the other room. I race towards it, picking it up and holding the ‘talk’ button. “H-hello??? Hello???” I say breathlessly. 

“Why the hell are you 2 HOURS late?!” An annoyed woman’s voice says, cutting through the speaker like a blunt knife. I’m about to say I slept in, but she cuts me off. “I don’t care actually, just… My name is Jen, and I’m the Park Warden for this section. You can see my tower from yours, far off West I think.” I peer that way, and sure enough, a bigger, better tower is on the horizon. God this reserve is huge. “You are… Mr. Richardson, right? Welcome to the team. As your boss, I have a small task for you today.” Great. “There’s been some tourists coming through here lately, and well, apparently they lost a few items. I need you to go down that hill and down the path for a while, if you see the items just ring. Got it?” Wow, they have me doing chores. And here I thought I’d just have to sit in the tower all day. I mean, it is boring up here so what the heck. “Wait, if I find the stuff where do I bring it?” Jen scoffs into the speaker like I should already know, and I grit my teeth. “The ‘Lost & Found’, genius. It’s at the park entrance.” What I want to say is, bitch, you want me to hike all that way just to return some f*cking items?!?! But instead I just say, “Okay.”

“Alright, welp, you won’t hear from me for a while so after this, if nothing extra happens, you can just chill in the tower. The only reason you gotta do this is because the guy before you quit unexpectedly. This was something he had to do.” I’m kinda relieved I don’t have to hear from her much, but I’m a bit curious about that other guy. “Why’d he quit?” Jen pauses for a while, and clears her throat. “The man, Bailey, said that there was a wolf who attacked him, and supposedly, the wolf talked to him too.” “What the hell?” “Yeah, I know. He quit after we told him he was crazy, walked out the door cursing at everyone at the entrance. Really wasn’t like him, and I feel kinda bad. It must be some, I dunno, auditory hallucinations from the shock of getting attacked. Who knows?” I’m about to ask something else, but she cuts me off again. “Look, I’m on break right now so… Yeah, this is goodbye. I’ll check in next week. Ciao.” The walkie talkie beeps, and her connection is lost. Geez, she didn’t have to hang up on me. And talking wolves? The hell is this, little red riding hood??

I get up, heading into the other room to put on shoes and grab my belt, which has various tools that I may need out in the wilderness. This place seems like it has a wolf problem of some sorts, so I grab a flare gun as well, sliding it into the harness on my belt. First day of work, and I’m already acting paranoid. But despite that, the beautiful scenery makes up for it tenfold. I may like it here after all.