Roland lived with his mom, Danielle, his father Nevin and his two sisters, Ilrahna and Rebecca.  Roland’s best friend was Ronald.  All Roland knew is that this summer wouldn’t be a repeat of last summer…on the Bed Rocks.  Even though Ronald still says it was one of the funniest trips in his life, an adventure at the least. 

It had been a simple plan; Ronald had come up with this idea of the two of them taking off on their own for an over nite-er at a place the school would occasionally take the students to on class trips called the Bed Rocks.  The place wasn’t that far away, about three or four miles.  There was a path that ran along the river.  Down the river a little ways, still inside the view of a guard tower, on the same side of town as the school but on the opposite end, there was a spot where the river ran wide and shallow.  At that point in the river there were wide rocks.  You could go across the river water to a long skinny island that ran down the middle of this section of river and was about two miles long.  All you had to do was hop and skip across the rocks and you were there on the island.  It was really an island of rocks and mud pits of sinking brown mud.  There were plenty of trees, and long grass that grew down the island.  Really the grass just covered up the sinking mud and made it hard to see.  Roland’s mom made a comment that she didn’t think it was safe for the boys to be going by themselves.

“The boys will be fine, it’s just one or two nights.  They're men, honey,” said Nevin. 

“What are you guys going to do there?” asked Danielle, looking back and forth at the boys.

“We're going to set up a camp and fish,” said Roland.

“And swim,” pitched in Ronald.  Danielle knew that Roland wasn’t going swimming, but she didn’t say anything.

“OK…OK,” said Danielle.

“Thanks, Mom,” said Roland. He gave her a hug and kiss. She smiled then both boys ran off, talking of tomorrow.

Ronald showed up bright and early that morning.  His pack looked heavy.  He shifted it uncomfortably back and forth on his back.

“You got enough stuff there my friend?" asked Roland with a smirk as he threw his light pack consisting of a bed roll, extra shirt, fishing pole, a hunk of bread, bag of nuts and hand full of this and that, up onto his back, and started down the path.  “You know it's only a one night trip,” said Roland.

“Ya, but if you don’t have it you don’t have it said Ronald, starting to keep step.  They walked shoulder to shoulder down the path heading for the Rock Beds.

“You bring any garls?” asked Roland looking at Ronald.

“Plenteeee,” said Ronald with a smile.  They continued walking.  As they came up to the guard tower, a familiar head poked itself out the window.  It was Orrin.

“And what are you two up to?” he yelled down at them as they walked by.

“We're staying on the Rock Bed tonight,” Roland yelled back.  “Well have fun you two,” yelled down Orrin.  They finally came to the part of the river with the raised rock path.  The path was just a bunch of wet rocks that stuck up high enough to stand on and jump to the next.  Halfway across Ronald slipped into the water up to his knee.  He glanced back at Roland with a…this is really great…smile and continued on.  Ronald was always in competition physically with Roland; he would try to keep a good pace.  The island was treacherous though.  There were sinking spots of brown mud; these were usually covered by weeds and grass and were hard to see.  There was a path that had been cleared over the years.  You had to stay on the path, if you stepped off, especially in the dark, and fell into one of those sinking spots…actually it would be hard to drown, if you were careful and moved slowly you could easily get out.  In the beginning of Ehlron a couple of people, accidentally laid their bed roll down on the sinking mud and simply… sunk.  Roland believed it to be an old wive's tale told from mothers to their children for the sole purpose to keep them off of the Bed Rocks.  The only real usable spot on the Island was at the far end.  The far end of the island had large flat rocks that looked like they had been set into a puzzle.  They sat out of the river about two feet and were wide enough you could lay down on them…so go the name Bed Rocks.  The area was big enough that the school would sometimes bring classes out to study the water and all of its many types of life. 

The ground was wet and marshy on the island almost everywhere except on the path and the Bed Rocks.  Ronald was walking ahead on the path.  He was about fifteen paces ahead of Roland negotiating a slippery spot of rocks.  The path was only wide of enough for one person to walk at a time.  Roland could hear Ronald saying something about, “Not wanting to go in again” and “it’ll just be a matter of time before he knows Roland is in the water.”  Roland knew that wasn’t true.  He looked over at the river wondering what was lurking just under the surface…out of view.  The sun was shining, brightly.  It was only about a half-hour later and they were there, the Bed Rocks.  The end of the Island opened to four flat rocks that sat up out of the water about two feet.  All around the rocks were nothing but little canals of water maybe an inch or two wide at the widest.  They took down their packs and sat down on the edge of the Rock.  Ronald slipped off his shoes and dropped his feet in the water.  Roland kept his dry.  It was only a minute before they had their poles out.  Ronald fished out a little bowl with a tied piece of cloth around the top.  Inside was a bunch of Garls… Many of them dead.  When he removed the cloth, a whiff of air came out of the bowl.

“Oh,” said Roland, turning his head away from the awful smell. 

“Why’d you bring those dead things, they won’t work.”  Ronald looked down shaking the bowl, and started tossing the dead ones into the water; it was easy to see by which ones would freeze.

“There’s plenty still alive.  Come on.  He then thrust the bowl back at Ronald.  Roland fished out a Garl, tied it on and cast into the river…Ker- Plop.  Ronald tried to do the same then with a little help…Ker-Plop.  It was only a few minutes before Roland felt his line drop and yanked on his line.  Swish…..Plop….Flip….Flop….he had caught a fish.  It flopped around on the rock.  Ronald pulled out another little bowl, lifted the lid and thrust it at Roland.

“Good job, buddy,” he said.  This bowl was empty.  Roland picked up his fish, and tossed it into the empty bowl.  Ronald set the bowl down in a spot between the rocks, just wide enough for the bowl to be squeezed into.  Water ran over the top of the bowl; this kept the fish alive…for now.  Ronald and Roland continued fishing and talking.  Ronald’s Garls kept disappearing off his line.

“I’ll show you again… now pay attention.”  Roland showed Ronald again and again how to tie his Garl onto his line, but still Ronald he had no luck.  It started to get cooler, the boys pulled in there lines; Ronald sat holding the bowl that contained the one fish Roland had caught, he was asking it if it wanted to be eaten and then poured it into the river, setting it free. 

          Both of them were looking at the Bed Rocks, trying to decide which one looked the most comfortable, when Roland noticed something shining from up between two of the rocks.  He sat there looking curiously and called Ronald over.  “What do you think it is? asked Roland.

“I don’t know," said Ronald, looking down at the shiny gold thing.  He grabbed a stick and started poking at it.  It slid over a little side-to-side down in the crack.

“Get it…come on…get it!”  Roland sat there looking down the crack and decided that there was no way he could get pulled in by one of the skinny, slimy armed creatures.  Roland plopped down on the rock, and stuck his arm down the crack.  He could feel the cold water against his skin.  He couldn’t reach it.  He then pulled his arm out, grabbed at Ronald’s stick, broke off a little piece of the end and then thrust his arm back into the crack.  He fished down into the water.  He could feel it.  It had flipped up on its little edge.  He grabbed it and pulled it out.  It was a coin.  Someone  must have dropped it by accident.

“All right!" exclaimed Ronald.

“Money!"  It wasn’t much.  Roland wiggled his eyebrows and stuck the money in his pocket.  He felt lucky and wondered how long it had been out there.  Roland wiped his arm on his shirt, and then rolled out his bed roll.  They both just sat there for about an hour when it started getting dark.  Then they both lay on their bed rolls and looked up at the sky.  A crack between the rocks ran between them.  They were hungry and had pulled out the food and were eating.

 “Do you want one of my mom's cookies?” asked Ronald shoving a couple towards Roland.  Roland was looking up at the sky.  Ronald’s hand was suddenly in his face… blocking the stars.  Little bits of cookie crumbs drifted down into Roland’s eyes.

“Ya,” said Roland grabbing at the cooking, and rubbing his eye.  Ronald’s mom made the best cookies.  Ronald's mom and grandmother were the ones that baked and sold the pies near the school to the students.  He lay there enjoying the cookies.  It wasn’t long after the air had cooled before the little biting bugs came out.  Roland was asleep as well as he could be out there under the open sky, on a cold hard flat rock, next to the water, when he felt the first sting.

“Ow…”  Slap.  Roland felt a bite on his right cheek.  It hurt so he sat up rubbing it.  Then Ronald must have felt something, because he suddenly was up jumping around, pushing his blanket away, jumping around saying

“Something's in my bed…. Something's in my bed… Ow… it’s biting me… Ow…it's biting me… He was patting all over.  He patted and patted all over and hopped around.  Roland sat there looking at Ronald.  In the night light and it was just so very funny.  He suddenly let out a, “HA Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha”. Then Roland felt a crawling on his left arm.  It was a little black bug.  It bit him.

“Ow, that stings,” he said swatting at it.  Then there was another and another.  He stood up with Ronald and suddenly felt very itchy.  The little black bugs were suddenly everywhere.  If someone could have seen them out there they would have had quite the sight, these two hopping around, scratching at there clothes, yelling.  They picked up their stuff.  Ronald pulled a brilliance out of his pack.  Roland smiled, held out his hand, and with a wave a ball of light appeared, glowing, hovering in the air. 

“Show off,” said Ronald with a smile.

“Let’s go home.”

“Good idea.”  Ronald was leading again, and Roland had to really watch where he was stepping.  He didn’t like this part of the path; it ran awfully close to the river.  He was concentrating on keeping the ball of magic light floating just ahead when… Splash, he went into the dark water.  The little spot he slipped into was pretty deep.  It was dark and for a moment he felt disoriented, rolling under the water…which way was up…he didn’t know.  That is when he felt it.  The slimy arm, it touched him on the cheek.  He panicked, and then Ronald was there.  Pulling him up out of the water and over to the edge.  Roland lay on the ground with his eyes closed breathing deep.  Opening his eyes he sees Ronald…smiling.  “You OK”?

“Yeah…Thanks.”  Ronald smiled and held out his hand.  Roland grabbed it and pulled himself up.  It was dark outside, and Ronald’s brilliance was stuck into the ground.

“You ready?”  Roland nodded.  He shivered as he walked.  Ronald was only a couple of steps ahead.  They got back onto the path when suddenly Ronald stopped.

“What’s up?” asked Roland.  Ronald was looking off towards a clump of trees.

“Let’s cut through there, it will cut off that whole loop, that’s at least twenty minutes out here in the dark.  Roland looked off into the darkness, he raised his hand; his hand began to glow.  A ball of light shot out of his hand, the ball of light shot out over the ground flying out until it disappeared in the trees.  “Ground looks OK, can’t see any mud,” Ronald said as he stepped off the path, testing the ground.

“Feels good…I’ll go first, you follow.”

“It is your idea,” said Roland, smiling.  Ronald started, one step at a time walking off the path.  He held his brilliance out ahead of him as he walked.  After a few steps, Ronald looked back and smiled at Roland.  This will work.  Roland started to follow.  Ronald had found a new path, thought Roland.  Ronald started getting a little farther ahead, ten or fifteen feet ahead.  He was walking fast, feeling confident.  As he reached the clump of trees and bushes he stopped looked back and waited for Roland. 

“I wish I could see the guard tower,” said Roland as he walked up.  Ronald looked at the tree.  How about you shimmy up that tree and take a look.  “You might be able to see it from here.”  Roland looked up the tree.

“OK…will you give me a boost?” 

Ronald walked over to the tree and held out his hands, his fingers intertwined.  “Up you go,” said Ronald as Roland stepped onto his hands. Ungh, said Ronald with the effort.  Roland grabbed at the branch and pulled himself up.  He swung his arm over the branch to hold him as he looked to see what he could see.  He squinted trying to look through the darkness.  That almost looked like fire, he thought.  No I’m imagining it.

“I can’t see anything.”

“You’re not high enough,” yelled Ronald.  Roland pulled himself up, reaching for the next branch, his fingers almost grabbing it…almost…almost…there, he pulled himself up so that his feet were on the branch he was just hanging from.  There off in the darkness is that.  He strained, stretching his head to see, then suddenly he stuck his head into something soft and…dripping.  There was instantly loud buzzing as thousands maybe millions of little black bugs flew out of the nest and swarmed all over Roland’s head and upper body.  Roland jumped back as he felt little bites and stings all over almost instantly covering his face.

“AAAHHHHGGG,” yelled Roland as he jumped down to the lower branch. “AAAAHHHGG,” yelled Roland.

“What’s wrong?”

“AAAAHHHGG,” yelled Roland as he swung down to the ground.  Ronald could hear a yell and suddenly Roland was swatting and jumping down.  Clouds of little black bugs rose everywhere.  He swatted at them as they flew.  As Roland hit the ground next to Ronald little black bugs filled the air.  Ronald could see Roland was just covered with them.

“Oh…Oh,” said Ronald as he started swatting and wiping off the hundreds of little black bugs all over Roland.  As Ronald wiped off the little black bugs they flew into the air attacking Ronald.

“AAAAHHHGGG”

“AAAAHHHGGG” 

“AAAAHHHHGGGG,” yelled the boys as they swatted at the little black bugs.  For a minute they stood there swatting at themselves.  Then they started running through the trees and grass.  Fifteen minutes later they had traversed through the trees, had gotten across the raised rocks that went across the river…without anyone falling in again.  They laughed and fell to the ground as they got to the shore.  Both lay there on the wet ground laughing.  They could see the guard tower a couple of rock throws away.  Ronald was scratching and scratching along with Roland.  He was just looking over and suddenly laughed and laughed.

“You are so swollen,” Roland said as he looked back.

“So are you,” said Roland scratching at his chest, chin and neck.  He could see Ronald’s face.  “Your face looks like a pie, my friend.