my final scout trip (7M&6F/F)
so i have shared the story about my final jamboree, and in my previous story i told about the several short TUGs i had with the rovers, most of them between my last scout meeting and that jamboree, but a few before.
this story takes place in November of 2014, for those who read my short story collection, this took place the weekend right after that wood chopping story i shared.
this story is obviously about my absolutely last scout trip, and except another few meetings that took place after it, some of them you might have already read about in my short story collection, this would be the end, my final tour as they say in rock’n roll business.
i really wanted to make the best scout trip ever for them all since it also would be my last.
the trip would go to the same cabin that we tied up Tanja in the second story i had to share from my new rover team.
it was a perfect place, a small cabin that had just enough room for each and everyone of us, no electricity, middle of the forest in the Norwegian mountains, a nice fireplace in the living room and a gas stove in the kitchen, we had a nice view from the balcony toward the lake, and if it should be a problem then there was a village a short drive away.
a cosy place and perfect for a scout trip.
but this place also had a very personal and special meaning to me, the first time i had gone on a scout trip when i was just a little kid was at this cabin, it was also the place where i had arranged the first scout trip with anyone of those who were in the rovers at the time since they begun as apprentices, and now i would also have my very last scout trip at the exact same place.
inside the cabin was a journal that anyone who slept over could write something.
you have no idea how fun it was to look back at all the things that had happened at this cabin during the years, i even found several of my own trips, also we found when several of those who were in the rover team now had been here before as kids.
“Oh my god!” Eire said when she read the journal “look, Caitlin B. wrote in this back when she was in the cubs! i have to take a picture of this and show it to her”.
Eire took out her iPhone and held it over the journal, i had huge plans myself for that journal, by the end of this trip we would also write something in it about this weekend and i already knew exactly what i would write.
“haha, look, she misspelled frog” Ellie said when she looked at the old journal.
“alright everyone, it’s time to get out” i said.
this is once again one of those stories where the actual TUG is of the simple kind, the difference however is that we were 13 people together about kidnapping one person.
attending was Rodney, Tom, Michael, Shaun, Larry and Olaf (AKA the twins), Riley, Sabella, Tess, Ellie, Meg, Mary, Eire and of course myself (Viking).
“Tanja really wanted to be here as well” Eire said when we all walked out “she tried everything she could to trade shifts at her job so she could have the weekend off”.
“i know, she told me via facebook” i said.
everyone lined up outside in the shape of a horseshoe with me in the middle off it.
“before we do anything else, there is one very important thing we have to do that should have been done a long time ago” i said as i made Eire hold the Norwegian flag out “Tess, do you mind stepping up for a little?”
Tess looked confused at me then she stepped up as i pulled a blue scarf out of my pocket and said “i might not get the honor of making you a Rover, but i shall at least have the honor of making you a proper scout”.
this was yet another thing i wanted to get done before i quit, Tess had been a guest in the scout organization for a whole year already, but yet the leaders of her previous patrol had not managed to make her officially a scout, now that she had been in my patrol for the last 3 months i felt like it was time to get her initiation done as well.
Tess held her arm on the flag while i held my own arm on top of hers.
“do you want to be a scout?” i asked her.
“yes” she said with a big smile over her face, this was really happening.
“do you promise to serve God, help others and live by the scout law?” (this is a direct translation of the Norwegian scout promise, how the promise goes in other countries varies)
“yes”
“in that case” i said and knotted the scarf around her neck “i officially declare that you are a scout”.
i saluted her and got my salute in return, then she turned around to get her salute from the others.
hehe, you probably expected that her initiation would have her tied up now, didn’t you?
well, no, nobody is forced to do anything that could be traumatic for some people, if it had been like this, then Meg wouldn’t have been in the scouts at all, and besides, this was just a regular scout initiation, not a rover initiation, so she didn’t have to go through any challenges to get that blue scarf.
but don’t worry, we will get to the part with somebody tied up soon enough.
“alright then, i got some few things to take care of inside the cabin, the rest of you will follow Rodney’s orders and play tag or something”.
“tag? i haven’t played that since i was a kid” Meg laughed.
“sounds like fun, let’s do it!”
while the others played tag, i started bringing stuff i had hidden in my car over to the cabin.
among them my kidnapping gear.
it was cold outside but still not any sign of snow. if you stepped in the grass you could feel it break under your feet. also unlike the summers were you could see the sun at midnight when living this far north, instead there was no sign of the sun at all, it was day light, but the sun hides behind the mountains.
i figured the outdoor temperature was perfect for storing the food so i just left the bags next to the cabin entrance.
inside i sorted out the ropes we would use before i sneaked out to find a place for us to attack.
walking along a tractor road up in the forest i found a perfect place where we could hide in 3 different positions and surround them when they walked by.
next i had to show Ellie.
i sneaked back to the cabin and spotted Ellie hiding from whoever was it during the tag game.
“Ellie” i tried to say not to loud and signaled for her to follow me.
i showed her the tractor road and explained to her “you will bring Eire up for that direction, as soon as you leave, the kidnappers will prepare and hide here, then i will send a text to signal for you to return, and when you reach this spot we will attack”.
“got it” Ellie responded.
we headed back to the cabin i went to the balcony facing the lake further down to let everyone know that we would now start preparing the food, Shaun, Tess and Riley would come with me inside to help, the rest of them was told stay outside for a little longer.
Rodney fired up the grill outside, while he fried the pork-chops everyone else stood around him to stay warm.
meanwhile Tess and Riley decorated inside the cabin and prepared everything for the party, well Tess for the main part, Riley still had bandage around her finger after her accident the weekend before, so she did whatever she could to help Tess with only one hand.
of course since i was the one with most culinary experience and Shaun was educating to be chef we took care of the remaining cooking.
i prepared an apple sauce and Shaun made the risotto.
“i trust that you won’t drink any of the wine for the risotto today” i said handing him the bottle of white wine.
“don’t worry, i can handle it” he said and poured some of it in the rice.
“the alcohol will steam out when we are boiling it, so it will be okay to serve the dish for those who are underage”.
when everything was prepared we turned down the heat on the gas stove and i went out to signal Ellie.
“now” i said while i stood next to her.
“hey Eire, wanna go for a walk?”
“no” was her respons.
dammit, we had to convince her to go along somehow.
“please, i just wanna take a walk and talk some”.
“it’s cold, i’m freezing, i’m just waiting for us to be let inside”.
that’s when i got an idea and told her “it could take another while before everything is ready inside, if you go for a walk then it should help getting you warm”.
Eire was silent for a little but eventually said “fine…”
as soon as Ellie and Eire was around the corner i signaled the others “let’s go”.
Rodney, Sabella, Olaf and Larry stayed behind and took care of the few remaining pork chops and would later go inside as well.
Tess and Riley had already received a bunch of confetti guns that they would give to everyone when all was set.
then it was the rest of us, THE KIDNAPPERS.
the kidnapping team had been decided by me long before we had arrived, i needed someone i knew was good with knots, therefore i had chosen Shaun, Meg and myself since we were the 3 best at pioneering.
i also needed someone strong to help carry Eire back, so Michael and Tom was also a part of the team. finally just so Meg wouldn’t be the only girl among us i had chosen Mary as well.
all 6 of us hurried up and put on black sweaters, skiing masks and gauntlets.
“alright, Tess, you got everything under control here?”
“yes sir” she responded and gave a salute.
“good, we’ll be back soon, kidnapping team, let’s go!”
it was time, and the timing was perfect as the dusk entered the atmosphere around us.
we jogged to our positions and stopped at the mark for the kidnapping to happen.
“Ellie has brought Eire up there” i said and pointed for the direction.
“okay, so what next?” Michael asked.
“one of you will hide with me behind this boulder by the creek, 2 of you will hide behind those trees over there and the last 2 will hide over there” i kept pointing around the area “i will soon send a text to Ellie and tell her to come back, when they reach this exact spot we are standing now, we will attack from all 3 directions and surround them”.
“okay, so who will be standing where?” Shaun asked.
“i let you guys decide” i said.
“i wanna be with Michael” Mary said and raised her hand.
“i don’t care who i hide with” Tom said “but i would prefer standing over there”
Michael looked over at the trees and said “then i guess Mary and i will hide among the pine trees”
“i can go with Tom” Shaun said.
“then i guess the only two members here of the rainbow butterflies will hide behind the boulder” i said and looked at Meg.
“yay, rainbow butterflies!” she cheered.
“alright, then we all have agreed on positions, when we attack, Meg and i will tie Eire’s legs while Shaun ties her arms. Mary, you will blindfold her. Tom and Michael will help holding her in place so it will get easier for us to tie her up”
everyone was standing in a circle and placed their fist together “let’s go”.
we all got in positions and i got my phone out of my pocket to send Ellie the text, then i made sure it was in silent mode in case somebody would try to contact me at the exact moment the kidnapping would start.
now we would just have to wait.
it was getting darker, but still not too dark to see. Meg and i sat on the ground with our backs up against the boulder and just listened to the sounds of nature, the water in the creek that still hadn’t frozen by the cold November temperature, though there was ice laying around at certain spots on the tractor road, a dog from one of the farms nearby was barking and the birds in the trees that tweeted.
“how far away do you think they are?” Meg whispered.
“not sure, but Ellie did answer my text so i know she received the message…” talking about the sunshine, i suddenly got another text from Ellie “get ready, they are almost here”.
short after we heard the voices of Eire and Ellie as they got closer, step by step.
Meg and i got up on our knees and prepared to attack. i spotted Michael and Mary at the opposite side of the tractor road behind the trees, they were also getting ready.
Ellie and Eire passed by us and i saw Ellie staring right at me and Meg. she smiled when she saw that we stood up and started walking toward them. Michael and Mary followed our moves from their hideout.
“what is that sound?” Eire suddenly said scared and turned around.
when she saw 4 masked people running toward her she let out a loud scream, Shaun and Tom quickly ran toward us from their hiding spot and all 6 of us went straight for Eire who panicked and laid down on the ground while she screamed out loud.
she was wearing a blue jacket and a pair of black cargo pants, her hat felled of and let her black hair out.
just like we planned Tom was holding her arms while Shaun tied her wrists together in her front while Michael held her feet. i pointed my finger at her knees indicating for Meg to tie her rope around there while i took care of the ankles.
meanwhile Mary took a scarf and blindfolded poor Eire who didn’t see any of this coming.
“help” she said with a rather low voice as i finished my reef knot.
Shaun and Meg quickly completed their job too and now it was time to bring her to the party.
Michael grabbed his arms around Eire’s upper body while i grabbed her legs. we lifted her up and Tom came in between us and helped carrying her in the middle.
“please don’t drop me” was all she said when we started carrying her.
walking back toward the cabin Ellie, Meg, Shaun and Mary walked next to us while we carried her.
“seriously Ellie, i thought we were attacked by yeti’s”.
i decided that it was time to take of my mask, she was blindfolded so she didn’t see much, but at the same time it was kinda obvious that it was us, so why bother wearing that uncomfortable thing any longer.
Mary, Shaun and Meg had the same idea and pulled of theirs too.
Mary walked right next to me, so i poked her in the side to get her attention and then pointed toward the cabin door to indicate that she should run up there and let everyone else know we were coming.
“huh?”
“run up ahead, tell the others to get ready and hold the door up for us” i whispered.
“oh” Mary started jogging forward with Meg right behind her.
shortly after we arrived the front door to the cabin, it was starting to get really dark now, Tess was waiting with a candle at the entrance when we arrived and signaled the rest to be silent.
we entered the living room of the cabin and placed Eire in a chair. Michael and Tom decided to take of their masks now and we received the confetti guns from Tess.
“uh, what now?” Eire said confused.
i activated my portable speaker and started to play a birthday song from my iPod.
Rodney pulled the blindfold off Eire who now looked straight at the twins who held a gigantic homemade birthday card that was signed by everyone in the room and we all shouted together “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” while we popped the confetti guns right at Eire.
she couldn’t do anything but laugh while Shaun and i went over to untie her.
“i knew you had planned something for my birthday, but i seriously didn’t expect this” Eire laughed.
“shall we eat before the food gets cold?” Rodney said.
and what a feast, everything was perfect.
the pork chops that was served with risotto and apple sauce, Ellie had also brought home made spring rolls, and of course we had a lot of cake. Tom had made a cheese cake, the twins brought a cinnamon cake and even though Tanja had work she had managed to bake a Oreo-cake that Riley had picked up before we traveled to the cabin.
afterwards Eire received her birthday presents.
i knew that she loved chess, so i gave her a tiny chess board that was easy to carry on trips (like a scout trip for an instance) along with some candy i knew she liked and a bottle of Cola with her name on.
Rodney gave her even more of her favorite candy.
Michael gave her underwear… i think he was trying to send her a signal.
Larry and Olaf made it simple and just gave her some money.
the rest of the night we spent with just relaxing. i made some silly drawings with Meg and Olaf, Riley and Shaun was cuddling in front of the fireplace, Eire and Ellie played chess while everyone else was playing poker.
the day after we had decided that since today was Eire’s actual birthday (we had just found it better to celebrate the night before) she didn’t have to help out cleaning.
while the rest of us cleaned the cabin Eire had the honor to write about her weekend in the cabin journal for future visitors to read.
afterwards it was time for me to write one last time in the journal myself since this would be my last scout trip out here. before i wrote my own words i decided to have a little sneak at what Eire wrote.
she had basically written about the things we had done, but the last sentence was most noticeable.
“thanks for the best birthday party ever guys, i will never forget it. btw i will definitely have enough candy for a while” and a smiley face with a heart next to it.