Lahat ng Kabanata ng Roadside Tents on the Ridgeline: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

Phoebe Harding, the most popular girl in class, walked up to the front of the classroom and looked out at everyone."Let's go to Alvor Base Camp. We'll take the Ridgeline Highway. We'll head west the whole way, no turning back. We'll see the fall colors at Ember Crossing, the clouds rolling over Carrow Flats, and the blue water of Lake Amberly."The kind of freedom you get on the Ridgeline? You can never feel that in the city. Highland snow peaks are clean and healing. It's the perfect way to close out our youth. And if we don't end it with a photo at the foot of Mount Alvor, what would even be the point of this summer?"The room erupted immediately. Everyone was sold."The Ridgeline's a must-drive! You'd regret it forever if you never went!""Blasting music with the windows down the whole way... Just thinking about it gets me pumped!""That's how you do a graduation trip. A photo at Alvor? That's bragging rights for life!"It did not take long for a few people to frown and spea

The two of them walked in without a shred of courtesy and went straight to asking for a handout."Nina, the 33 of us don't have enough funds for the backpacking trip. Your agency can sponsor us a bus and a full-time driver. Throw in some free oxygen tanks and trail food too. Think of it as supporting your classmates' graduation dream trip."I looked them both in the eye and refused without hesitation."Vehicles and staff cost money to operate. I have no obligation to hand them out for free."Phoebe's expression went cold instantly. She pulled out her phone, filmed the inside of my house, and posted it online. She played up the victim angle for the camera, her voice pitched to sound wounded and helpless."This travel agency owner's daughter goes to our school. She's always been stuck-up and standoffish. Her own classmates hit a rough patch planning their graduation trip, and she won't lift a single finger to help."It's cold-blooded capitalism. All about the money, zero humanity.

The convoy reached the edge of the high-altitude Barrens. The freight trucks came to a steady stop at the junction.The convoy leader turned to the 30-some students and explained patiently, "Our trucks are heading north from here, so we're splitting off from the Alvor route. You folks get off here. There should be another ride along soon heading toward Greymont."The driver was a decent man. He had given them a lift out of simple goodwill and nothing more. His route just went a different direction, so the main highway was as far as he could take them.Thirty-three students got out without giving it a second thought, cheerful and carefree. At first, everyone stood around chatting and laughing, still convinced the trip was easy and fun. A few people dug out whatever snacks they had left and passed them around. Others pulled out their phones and took pictures.They waited from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. Almost no traffic came through. The handful of cars that did pass were already pack

On the afternoon of the third day in captivity, a frontier patrol officer passed through the mining site. He heard faint crying from inside the shaft and immediately called in a professional rescue team.The rescuers braved the snow through the night and pulled all 33 students out.The backpacking trip ended in devastating injuries.The boy who had tried to fight off the bandits had suffered a depressed skull fracture. After being rushed to the hospital, he underwent emergency brain surgery and barely survived. The boy mauled by the brown bear lost his right leg to muscle necrosis. Amputation was the only way to save his life.Two girls had such severe frostbite on their fingers that they would never regain feeling in them. Five students developed acute high-altitude pulmonary edema and were placed in the ICU.Every last one of the remaining students was left with permanent frostbite damage and psychological trauma.Phoebe and Wyatt escaped without serious physical injury, but