Camping With Wolves

Her lungs were burning. Her feet ached with blisters. Her chest felt like it was going to shatter. But still, Maeve ran. She ran and ran, no matter how much the muscles in her legs screamed at her. All she could do was run. Because as much as her legs hurt her, it was nothing compared to what that thing would do to her if it caught her. No ifs. No buts. It would kill her without a second thought. So all she could do was run. It felt like this had gone on for hours, but she couldn't think about that. All she could do was run.

Part of her wanted to stop. To take a moment to check if the beast had followed her. But she wouldn't have to. Every time she stopped for even a moment, the beast was there. She couldn't see it, but she could hear its growls getting closer, almost as if a reminder that it was always on her heels. She thought for sure she could stop running once she got to a road, but that hope had disappeared hours ago. So she ran. And ran.

And then before she knew it, there it was, blocking her path. She skidded to a halt in the dirt, and as she paused all the pain of the chase smashed into her. She collapsed to her knees, panting hard, on the verge of tears. Whether it was from the hurt or the fear she didn't know, but she was certain of one thing. It had won. And as it approached her, all she could do was look into its eyes. Its bright yellow, almost golden eyes, as they focused only on her. It bared its fangs and let out a low growl, and she fell back on her ass. In seconds, its face was inches from her. She could smell the blood on its breath, its black and gray fur tickling her skin.

But as she looked into those eyes, she felt a sense of calm. It was almost... familiar. Warm and welcoming. Those eyes... those eyes...

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Maeve woke up with a start as the car jolted beneath her. She let out a gasp of surprise. She felt disoriented and lethargic.

"Sorry about that babe," came a voice from the driver's seat. "These old roads are full of speed bumps."

"You'd think with all the construction going on they'd spend some time outside of the city," came a woman's voice next to her. Maeve let out a shudder, and flinched when someone touched her shoulder. "You OK?"

Maeve turned her head and blinked. As sunlight shone through the window across from her, she slowly regained focus, and the face of her best friend came into view.

"I-I'm fine, Lisa," she lied, forcing a smile before turning away and looking out her own window. The road the car was driving along passed by a lake, and as the newly raised sun reflected off the surface, Maeve found herself mesmerized by the glittering water.

"Babe?" The driver, her boyfriend John, said tentatively. "Are you sure you're ok?" Before Maeve could say anything, the guy sitting in the passenger's seat just laughed.

"That's what happens when you stay up until the crack of dawn reading," sneered Lisa's boyfriend, Warren. Maeve just rolled her eyes.

"Just because you read at the same level as a 2nd grader doesn't mean we all have to dumb ourselves down," Maeve shot back, making both Lisa and John laugh. Warren went red and sank back into his seat.

"Whatever," he mumbled. "No reading while camping by the way. Last thing we need is for you to fall off a trail and break your legs because you had your nose in a book."

"Oh leave her alone," Lisa said with a shake of the head. "Anyways, how close are we Johnny?"

"Should be about fifteen minutes," he replied, one hand on the wheel and the other picking up his coffee. He glanced up at the rearview mirror, his girlfriend reflected back at him. "When we get there and find a spot, me and Warren can take care of setting up the tents if you guys want to just sit and rest." Warren looked ready to say something, but a glare from his friend made him go back to his grumbling.

"Awww, look at you big strong men trying to take care of us," Lisa said with a giggle. Maeve only offered a slight smile before returning to looking out the window aimlessly, haunted by the ghost of that dream. Where did it come from? That beast... Maeve let out a breath, the picture of those eyes suddenly flooding her with relief. She couldn't explain why, but even before she'd awoken, she had the sense that whatever that thing was, it didn't mean her harm.

The rest of the drive went on in silence, with each one of them lost in their own thoughts. Soon enough they passed through a grove of trees, and after a somewhat bumpy drive they eventually pulled into a large space. There was a nearby picnic table, and a swathe of trees that surrounded them.

"Holy fucking finally!" John had barely put the car in park before she had the door thrown open and jumped out. Maeve chuckled as she climbed out as well, stretching her arms over her head before moving around the back of the car to the passenger's side. She was just in time to see her friend taking in a huge breath of air. "Ahhh that hits the spot." Lisa looked at Maeve and smiled. She was an extremely pretty girl, with a small form and a slim, toned stomach. The sun shone wonderfully off her chocolate skin, and her curly hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She had on a pair of jean shorts that just barely showed off her ass cheeks, and a white tank top.

The pair of guys got out of the car next, and Warren immediately wrapped his thick arms around his girlfriend, making her giggle as she leaned back against him. 'They really are a beautiful couple,' Maeve thought to herself. Warren was on the varsity wrestling team, and his physique showed it. He was just over 6 feet tall, with spiky black hair, mischievous dark eyes, and a muscular physique. He and John had spent the summer working for Warren's father's construction company, and his tan proved how hard he'd been working.

John meanwhile came up to Maeve and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her softly on the forehead. He looked down at his girlfriend and gave her a warm smile. She smiled back up at him, though it wasn't quite as loving as his own. John was a handsome young man, with bright green eyes and brown hair. He wasn't beefy like Warren, instead being lankier. The hard work from the summer had done a lot to help him develop a tan and put on some muscle though.

"Come on," John said as he popped open the trunk of the car. "Let's unpack." Each of the four pulled out a duffel, containing clothes and other toiletries. John and Warren lifted the cooler that held all the food and drinks out of the car next, while Maeve and Lisa worked on pulling out the sleeping bags. Soon the car was unpacked, and the boys pulled the two bags that contained the tents over to separate parts of the campground.

"For privacy reasons," Warren said with a knowing smirk aimed at his girlfriend. Lisa shot a wink at him, while Maeve shook her head, avoiding eye contact with John.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Maeve asked as she carried their sleeping bags to the tent that they'd be sharing. John just smiled at his girlfriend.

"I promise it's alright babe," he replied as he unzipped the tent bag. When she set the sleeping bags down, he stood and tilted her chin up, leaning down to kiss her. Maeve returned the kiss, forcing a smile on her face as they pulled apart. "What about you? You seemed pretty rattled back in the car."

"I just had a strange dream," she admitted with a shrug. "I was being chased through the woods by a... a monster," she finally forced out, not really wanting to give too many details.

"A... monster?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I'm sure there's no monsters out here. Besides maybe... BEARS!" He raised his arms over his head and let out a sound that was probably meant to be a bear roar, but instead sounded kinda like a dog trying to let his owner know he had to pee. Maeve let out a laugh at her boyfriend's ridiculous behavior, but before she knew it he had his arms around her and lifted her into the air, twirling her around.

When he set her back down, he kissed her again. "Don't worry babe. I'll keep you safe from any monsters."

"Yeah, but who's gonna keep you safe?" Maeve countered before turning from her boyfriend and walking back to the car, his laughter following her. As she walked away, she let the mask on her face fall away. She glanced in the direction of Lisa and Warren, who were laughing at Warren's poor attempts to set up the tent. 'Good,' she thought. 'Let them have fun this weekend.' Considering she planned on breaking up with John after the trip, she figured she could at least let her friends enjoy this first.

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Not too long after they had set up camp and had a quick breakfast of granola bars and yogurt, the group began the half mile trek to the nearby waterfall. The others had to change first, but Maeve had worn her one piece suit under her clothes, so only needed a towel. Part of Maeve felt silly for not wanting to change in front of the others, especially John who had seen her naked on more than one occasion. But she couldn't help herself. Since she'd started college, Maeve had always felt self-conscious about her body. She wasn't fat, but she had a chubby body that sometimes felt a lot larger when she was thinking too much about it. Her straight, fiery red hair flowed across her face in the breeze that flowed through woods, and as she glanced her emerald eyes over at Lisa, she thought about how different the two were physically.

Lisa was only about 5'1, with dark skin and a tight, athletic body. Her ass had been honed into a heart shape, while her B cup breasts complimented her small body well. Maeve meanwhile was about 5 '8, her skin pale and her body curvy. Her E cup breasts often made her body feel much heavier, especially on days like this where the now fully raised July sun shone down on them and the heat quickly had her panting as they moved up the incline. She was at least thankful that her round ass had developed well enough. It made her feel less weird about wearing shorts.

Thankfully, John's promise of a short hike was true, and soon enough they could hear the crashing sounds of water. They passed through some more trees, and came out to a clearing. There was a lovely pool of emerald water, with water crashing down into it from above. The water came down along a mountain wall, and from their angle she could see it came from another pool above that had its own waterfall.

"Wow," Lisa said in awe as she approached the water. She kicked off her sandals and poked a foot in, letting out a sigh of relief. "Ohhhh that's the good stuff."

"It's beautiful," Maeve said as she followed her friend, their boyfriends right behind her.

"Yeah it is, and it's still pretty early so we have it all to ourselves," John said with a grin. He spread his towel out over one of the rocks and then kicked off his sandals, then pulled off his shirt and waded into the cold water. The others quickly did the same, stripping down just to their bathing suits and slipping in. Maeve let out a deep groan as she leaned back and floated on her back along the surface of the water.

"Goooooooood," she groaned. "This is amazing."

"Damn, you don't even sound like that when you're with John," Lisa joked, making Warren laugh and John blush furiously.

"Oh fuck off," John grumbled. Maeve giggled and went under the water. She swam up behind her boyfriend and burst out of the water, grabbing him and pulling him down. He let out a yelp of shock as he went down, and when they emerged, he stood there gasping for air while the other three laughed.

"Sorry babe," Maeve offered halfheartedly, still laughing. "But you looked like you were heating up pretty bad." John and Warren, who was coming down from it, shared a look that Maeve noticed but chose to ignore. He then turned back to his girlfriend.

"Oh, it's on," he said before swimming toward her. She yelped before turning away and trying to swim away. Lisa and Warren laughed and quickly joined them, Warren trying to help John corner Maeve, and Lisa helping her friend evade them. After several minutes of cat and mouse, Warren scooped up Lisa in his arms, holding her to him while John cornered his girlfriend against a rock.

"Ha! I win," he said with a triumphant grin. Maeve rolled her eyes.

"Mhm, and what exactly did you win?" She raised an eyebrow. He blinked and pondered the thought, pondered it long enough for her to duck down and pass her body just under his in the water, pushed up, and flipped him into the water. They turned into a tangle of limbs, but it was Maeve who pulled herself up first and lifted herself onto a nearby rock. She laughed at her boyfriend as he came back up after a minute, gasping and looking like a waterlogged puppy.

"I do think this means I win," Maeve said, crossing her arms and smirking down at John. "Sorry Johnny."

"Yeah yeah, I'll get you back." He offered her a hand and she shook her head.

"Think I'll stay and enjoy the sun for a minute," she said, stretching her legs out across the warm stone surface.

"Suit yourself," he said before swimming back toward Warren and Lisa, quickly getting into a match of water wrestling with his friend while Lisa laughed and commented. Maeve smiled while watching them. Part of her felt guilty, knowing she was about to break up their little group after three years, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Maeve had met John when they were ten years old, when her parents had him and his parents over for dinner. Their dads were co-workers at a local law firm, and after winning a big class action suit wanted to celebrate with their families. Maeve's parents had always been pretty strict about who their three daughters could spend time with, so Maeve didn't spend much time with other boys growing up. John was the only one her parents approved of, and as they got older their parents pushed them together, as if they decided even then the two would one day get married.

Once the two got to middle school, John began pursuing Maeve, who initially resisted his attempts. It wasn't that she didn't like John. She just wasn't attracted to him in that way. There were other boys who she found much more interesting, though any time she started to talk to one of them, 'someone' told her parents and the two did everything in their power to shut it down. Finally, when they were freshmen in high school, Maeve relented and went out with John, and the two had been together ever since.

Their relationship had been alright for the most part through high school. She often looked at it less as a romantic relationship and more as just friends who would occasionally kiss and go on dates. John was the exact opposite. He was heads over heels for Maeve from the moment they met, and when she finally agreed to go out with them he thought he was the luckiest guy ever. Seven years later though, as they prepared to enter their senior year in college, that spark had mostly died away.

It had started even back when they were freshmen in college. It had been Maeve who wanted to go to college two hours away from home, and after a heated argument with her parents that lasted over three weeks, they relented and supported her. John also supported her choice, and that of course meant applying to the same college as her. They had met Warren and Lisa during their first week, at a mixer in their dorm building. They all hit it off and quickly formed a group, with Lisa and Maeve becoming roommates for the next two years as well.

As much fun as Maeve had in their little group, it had become painfully obvious to her even then that the two couples were very different. Lisa and Warren were obsessed with one another, while Maeve and John had become increasingly distant. The only thing that really kept them together was familiarity. Maeve had hinted in the past that maybe they should take a break, but John was always adamant about how in love he was with her. But over the next three years, she couldn't ignore how often she'd caught him checking out other women, usually ones much skinnier than her and with hair so blonde the sun nearly reflected off them. She couldn't ignore the fact that after exchanging virginities the summer before freshman year, he had become increasingly less enthused about it over the years. Now after three years, they have sex maybe once a month, if that. Even now, they hadn't had sex since the last week of classes, nearly two months ago. Part of it was just finding time together, but if Maeve was honest, she just didn't feel like spending time with John. She wasn't in love with him, and she had decided a couple of weeks ago that she would finally end things once the weekend was over.

Maeve had been so lost in thought that she had zoned out. She wasn't paying much attention to her friend until Lisa had splashed a large wave of water that lapped at her ankles, making her jump.

"You OK?" Lisa asked after pulling herself up onto the rock, shaking the water out of her hair. Maeve put up her hand to protect her face from the water, grumbling.

"Peachy," she muttered. When Lisa tilted her head, Maeve sighed. "Sorry, that was bitchy. Just feeling kinda off."

"Hmmm." Lisa pulled her knees to her chest. "Are things OK with you and Johnny? You two seem pretty distant lately."

"Define lately."

"Since Valentine's Day," Lisa said with a grin, making Maeve's eyes go wide.

"Damn, is it that obvious?"

"Maybe not to those two," Lisa responded, turning her gaze to the two guys who were floating in the water. "But come on girl, I know you."

"That's the problem isn't it?" Maeve let out a deep sigh. "You know me. But John doesn't. He doesn't know what I want. He's sweet and I know he cares but... I just don't think he's the one." Maeve looked at Lisa, who nodded.

"Well then, you should tell him that," she said gravely, knowing just as well as Maeve the implications of what their breakup might cause. Just as Lisa had become Maeve's best friend, Warren had become John's, and their breakup would make things really awkward for the whole group.

"I'm sorry," Maeve muttered, guilt flooding her stomach. Lisa smiled and put an arm around her, rubbing her arm.

"Don't be," she said softly. "You're still my best friend, and we'll all figure out how to make it work." Maeve smiled and hugged her friend, happy to hear it.

"Come on," Lisa said after a moment. "Let's get back in the water." Maeve nodded, but before they could slip back into the pool, they heard a voice suddenly from the rocks near the top of the falls.

"Hey guys! Check this you!" Maeve and Lisa looked up just in time to catch the sight of a man cannonballing into the water below, causing a massive surge of water that crashed into Warren and John. The two went under the water, and came back up a minute later, sputtering and gasping for air.

"What the-" before Maeve could finish her sentence, there was a chorus of laughs and cheers. She looked up and saw that standing in the spot where the man had been before was a group of people, ranging from late teens to mid twenties, consisting of three other men and two girls. Before she could get a good look at them all, the group all leaped forward one at a time, joining their friend below. "John, look out!" Maeve cried out, realizing too late what was about to happen.

As each person hit the water, they caused a massive splash of water, each one hitting the pair of guys. They happened in such quick succession that they barely had time to get their bearings before the next wave hit them. Finally, when the last of them hit the water, Warren and John finally had the opportunity to recover long enough to swim to the shore and step out the water, both of their faces contorted in masks of rage.

"Uh oh," one of the girls in the water said, catching sight of the pair on the shore. She had long, brunette hair that stuck to her pale face, and she appeared to be the youngest in the group. The others looked where she was looking.