Chương 117: Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 21 : The Hike

The following Saturday, Aldric woke up even earlier than he did on workdays. Patrick had told everyone to meet at six thirty to avoid traffic and start the hike before the day became too hot. When Aldric arrived at the meeting point, a small parking lot on the outskirts of Paris, Patrick was already there with his car. The trunk was open, and several backpacks were inside, along with bottles of water, a first-aid kit, and two bags containing sandwiches.

Karim arrived a few minutes later with a backpack and a thermos of coffee. Emma followed shortly afterward. She was wearing a jacket, hiking pants, and a camera attached to a strap around her wrist.

"You brought another camera even though your phone already takes pictures?" Aldric asked.

"This one takes better pictures."

"Is the difference significant?"

"For some things, yes."

"Then the additional weight is justified."

"I'm glad I have your logistical approval." Patrick put a bottle back into his bag.

"We're missing someone." Karim checked the time.

"Six twenty-eight." Aldric looked toward the road.

"Lucas still has two minutes."

"I want to believe in miracles." A car pulled into the parking lot a few seconds later. Lucas got out with a broad smile and raised his arms.

"On time, as always. Hehe."

"Six twenty-nine…" Lucas pointed at Aldric.

"Write that down somewhere."

"That isn't necessary."

"I want historical proof." Lucas opened his trunk, pulled out his backpack, and slung it over his shoulder.

"Ah." Patrick closed his eyes.

"What?" Lucas looked at his bag.

"I forgot my hiking boots." Emma looked down at his sneakers.

"You came to a hike without hiking boots?"

"I have shoes…"

"Sneakers," Karim replied.

"Sturdy sneakers…" Patrick sighed.

"Where are your hiking boots?"

"At home."

"Forty minutes from here."

"Approximately…" Patrick looked at the trail displayed on his phone.

"The route isn't technical. You should be fine if those are comfortable." Lucas raised a fist.

"Victory." Aldric examined his shoes.

"The soles appear to have sufficient grip, but avoid very wet areas." Lucas looked at him.

"Thanks, Dad." Emma burst out laughing. They divided their things between the two cars before setting off. Patrick drove the first car with Aldric and Emma, while Lucas drove the second with Karim. The journey took a little under an hour. As they moved farther away from Paris, the buildings gradually gave way to narrower roads, fields, and large wooded areas. Emma looked out the window.

"It feels good to get out of the city for a while."

"That's why I wanted to bring you here. I used to come around here a lot when I was younger."

"With your family?"

"Yes. My father loved walking. My mother, much less so." Emma smiled.

"So you got that from him."

"Probably." Patrick went on to tell them about some of the outings from his childhood. His father always left far too early, packed sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil, and refused to turn back until he had reached whatever destination he had decided on.

"That sounds a little like you," Emma observed. Patrick smiled.

"I'd rather not answer." Aldric looked at the road.

"Determination is generally a positive quality."

"You two really were made to get along…" They reached the trailhead at around seven thirty. A small parking area bordered the forest, and several signs indicated different routes. Patrick took out his phone and checked the itinerary. Lucas arrived behind them with Karim.

"So, exactly how many kilometers?"

"Twelve and a half."

"You said about twelve."

"That is about twelve."

"The extra five hundred meters count." Aldric looked at the sign.

"They represent approximately four percent of the total distance."

"Why are you calculating that?.."

"You said they counted." Karim burst out laughing, while Emma was already taking a picture of the sign.

"You haven't even started yet, and you're already arguing over five hundred meters." Patrick slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Let's go." The beginning of the trail was wide and relatively flat. At first, they walked between tall trees whose branches provided pleasant shade overhead. The air was still cool. Emma took several pictures.

"Are you going to photograph every tree?" Lucas asked.

"Only the beautiful ones." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"They all look the same…"

"They don't look the same at all. That one is green. That one is green too. And that one…" Karim finished for her.

"Green." Emma rolled her eyes.

"They are different species," Aldric said.

"Thank you." Lucas raised a hand.

"Of course he can recognize trees too."

"Not every species," Aldric replied.

"But their structures are different."

"Wrong battle, Lucas," Lucas said. They continued walking. Lucas complained about mosquitoes before he had even seen one. Karim explained that Yanis had wanted to come, but twelve kilometers would still be too long for him.

"Does he walk much?" Aldric asked.

"When he wants to, yes. But if we tell him he has to walk, he's tired after ten minutes."

"Children have selective energy," Emma said.

"Exactly."

"You could take him on a shorter loop," Patrick suggested.

"There are several around here."

"That's what I was thinking." Karim talked about his son. Yanis had started using his new desk for drawing and doing his homework. The knight figurine still occupied an important place on the shelf.

"He moved it again," Karim added.

"Why?" Aldric asked.

"He says it needs to be able to see the door."

"A reasonable defensive position." Emma burst out laughing, and Karim shook his head.

"That's why he adores you." They then crossed a more open section of the trail. The forest thinned out, and the path followed a small ridge overlooking several fields. The view stretched far into the distance. Emma stopped.

"Wait." Lucas sighed.

"Another picture…"

"Look." Lucas turned toward the landscape.

"Okay. This one, I understand…" Emma smiled and took several pictures. Aldric also looked toward the horizon. The morning light still cast long shadows across the fields. Several villages could be seen in the distance, surrounded by greenery.

"Does it remind you of your world?" Patrick asked.

"Some regions, yes."

"Did you often walk through places like this?"

"Very often." Lucas moved closer.

"With the army?"

"Yes."

"For twelve kilometers?"

"Usually much farther."

"How far?"

"It depended on the terrain and the situation. Between twenty and thirty kilometers a day was common."

"With your armor?"

"Not always full armor, but with equipment."

"Stop complaining about your shoes," Karim said.

"I feel judged…" Patrick started walking again.

"Save the story for the break. Otherwise we'll be standing here for an hour." Lucas turned toward Aldric.

"I still want to hear it."

"Later." The trail led back into the forest. An uphill section slowed their pace. Patrick walked in front, while Aldric remained a few meters behind him, keeping the same pace as the others. Lucas began breathing more heavily.

"Who decided that a leisure activity needed hills?"

"The terrain," Patrick said.

"I want to speak to whoever's in charge."

"Way above your pay grade," Karim said. Lucas looked up at the sky.

"A steady incline is generally preferable to a shorter but much steeper slope," Aldric said.

"Is that advice supposed to motivate me?"

"No. It is an observation." After almost an hour and a half of walking, they reached a small viewpoint with two wooden benches. Patrick suggested taking their first break. Everyone put down their bags. Lucas sat down.

"I'm never getting up again." Karim checked his phone.

"We've done five kilometers."

"Only? …" Emma took out a bottle of water.

"You're fine. You'll survive." Lucas looked at Aldric.

"See? This is where you can send your famous 'I confirm that I am alive.'""For now, yes." They resumed their walk. Patrick talked about his first hikes with his father. He told them about one time when they had been lost for almost two hours because his father refused to admit that he had taken the wrong path.

"So everyone in your family is the same…"

"I know how to use a map."

"He probably thought he did too."

"How did it end?" Emma asked.

"My mother found us in the car on another road." Lucas raised his arms.

"Magnificent."

"My father never admitted that we were lost."

"He probably considered it an exploration of an alternative route," Aldric said. Lucas pointed at him.

"That's exactly what he would have said." Emma laughed. The conversation returned to Lucas's failed trips. He told them about a week in Belgium when he and two friends had booked accommodation in a town with almost the same name as their intended destination.

"Another address mistake?"

"Technically, the address was correct…"

"Wrong town," Patrick said.

"Yes…" Karim shook his head.

"How is that even possible?"

"Two similar names…"

"You didn't check the distance before booking?" Aldric asked.

"I was twenty…"

"That does not answer the question." Lucas went on to explain that they had to take an additional train every day to reach the city they actually wanted to visit.

"So you lost two hours every day," Patrick said.

"Approximately…"

"For an entire week." Lucas sighed.

"I'm capable of making mistakes with remarkable consistency."

"That's a skill in itself," Karim said. Shortly after noon, they reached an open area offering a magnificent view over a valley. Several picnic tables had been set up near the trail, and Patrick placed his bag on one of them before sitting down.

"Lunch break."

"Finally, a strategic decision I approve of…" Karim took the sandwiches out of his bag.

"You said the same thing about coffee three kilometers ago."

"Several decisions can be excellent." Emma took a few more pictures before joining them at the table. Patrick handed out the sandwiches. Aldric took his and checked that everyone had something before he started eating.

"Did you just count the sandwiches?" Lucas asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To make sure none were missing."

"There were exactly five," Patrick said.

"Now I know." After several hours of walking, even Lucas seemed to have less energy for talking. Patrick looked out over the valley while Karim ate. Beside them, Emma reviewed some of the photographs she had just taken, while Lucas remained focused on his sandwich. After a while, Emma finally broke the silence.

"So, what about those marches with the army?"

"I want to know too…"

"She didn't forget," Patrick said. Aldric set down his sandwich.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything…"

"We might not have enough time," Karim said with a laugh.

"Marching was part of everyday life during campaigns. Depending on the situation, an army could advance for several days without interruption."

"How many kilometers?" Emma asked.

"Between twenty and thirty in good conditions. Less with heavy wagons, rain, or difficult terrain. Sometimes more when we had to reach a position quickly."

"And I'm complaining after six…"

"Yes."

"Thanks…" Aldric continued. He explained that the distance itself was not always the greatest difficulty. They also had to manage the horses, wagons, wounded men, supplies, and the condition of the roads.

"A large column can stretch for several kilometers. If the front moves too quickly, the rear becomes separated. If a wagon breaks down in a narrow passage, the entire column can be slowed."

"Like a move, only much bigger," Patrick said.

"In a way."

"There you go. We're practically an army…"

"With five people?" Karim asked.

"A small army."

"The men mostly learned to march at the same pace. The fastest could not exhaust the others, and the slowest could not be left behind."

"Like this morning. You could have walked much faster than us, but you didn't," Emma said.

"We are a team," Aldric said.

"Was it the same in your army?" Patrick asked.

"Yes. A unit gains nothing by reaching its destination with only half its men still capable of fighting."

"Always so romantic…" Aldric shrugged.

"It was mostly practical." Emma leaned slightly toward him.

"But you understand the comparison." They had been walking since morning, adjusting their pace to one another. Patrick could have walked faster, as could Karim and Aldric. Yet none of them had tried to leave Lucas or Emma behind. They stopped together whenever one of them needed a break, started again at the same time, and waited whenever Emma stopped to take a picture. When Lucas began to tire, the others slowed their pace to stay with him.

"Yes," Aldric finally replied.

"I understand."

"Except if Lucas gives up, we can call a taxi," Karim said.

"Excellent idea," Lucas replied. Patrick shook his head.

"No…" They burst out laughing. Patrick asked whether Aldric had ever lost men during those long marches.

"Not necessarily during the march itself," Aldric continued.

"But some campaigns were long. Disease could be more dangerous than battle. The cold as well. When supplies ran low, the men grew weaker."

"How old were you when you started commanding?"

"Twelve when I was given my first small unit. More responsibilities came later."

"When I was twelve, I was still playing with Lego…"

"Weren't you afraid?" Aldric asked.

"Fear did not change the responsibility."

"That sounds like you," Patrick said.

"When I was twelve, my biggest responsibility was probably not losing my keys."

"And did you lose them?" Karim asked.

"Regularly…" They stayed there for almost another hour before resuming their walk. Patrick told them they had a little over five kilometers left, which earned a sigh from Lucas as he got back to his feet.

"My legs refuse to accept that information."

"They still appear to be functional."

"Thanks, doctor." The return trail followed another section of the forest, where the terrain sloped downward more often and the fatigue was beginning to set in. Patrick walked in front with Karim, while Lucas followed a few meters behind them. Emma and Aldric brought up the rear. Emma was taking fewer pictures than she had at the beginning of the day. She seemed content to enjoy the silence and take in the scenery around her. After a while, she turned toward Aldric.

"You okay? You're very quiet."

"I'm listening to nature." Half an hour later, Lucas asked for another break.

"Three kilometers left," Patrick said. Lucas sat down on a fallen log.

"An excellent reason to take a break." Karim took out a bottle of water.

"We're almost there."

"Three kilometers is not 'almost.'""That represents less than a quarter of the total distance," Aldric said.

"That doesn't help me…" Emma sat down beside him.

"You'll survive."

"You all say that now…" The final stretch was slower. When the parking lot finally appeared between the trees, Lucas raised his arms.

"Civilization!" Patrick burst out laughing, and Karim looked at Lucas's shoes.

"They survived." Lucas looked down.

"I had faith."

"You forgot the proper ones," Aldric pointed out.

"Detail…" They reached the cars and put their bags in the trunks. Patrick handed out the last bottles of water while Emma checked how many photographs she had taken during the day.

"One hundred and forty-seven."

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Photos."

"That's a lot…"

"Approximately one every eighty meters," Aldric calculated.

"Did you seriously calculate that?.."

"Approximately." Lucas placed both hands on the trunk.

"I'm too tired to react." They sat on the barriers around the parking lot. Patrick drank his water. Karim had taken off his shoes to let his feet rest. Emma scrolled through her photographs. Lucas stared at the ground with an exhausted but satisfied expression. Patrick eventually stood up.

"Ready to head back?" Karim put his shoes back on.

"Yes." Lucas raised a hand.

"Wait."

"What now?" Patrick sighed.

"Next time… we're doing karaoke."

"What exactly does that activity involve?" Aldric asked.

"Oh…" Patrick opened the door of his car.

"Don't explain it to him."

"Too late." Emma started laughing as Lucas walked over to Aldric.

"You're going to love it."

"Their behavior seems to indicate otherwise."

"Next Saturday. It's decided…" Patrick got into his car.

"No one agreed to that." Karim opened the door of Lucas's car.

"You will…" Emma looked at Aldric.

"Unfortunately, he's probably right…"