The shrill screech of the alarm clock squawked through the otherwise still morning air. Springing up rapidly, Kathy violently silenced the machine and began preparing for her day. Kathy was a trail guide, and today she would be starting another trek through the wild mountains and valleys she called home. Though she actually lived in the city, preferring to commute the forty miles to the national park where she worked.

This gave her ample time to collect her thoughts before having to face her day. Today her clients were all employees of a local drink manufacturing company and their families. That didn’t necessarily mean much to Kathy, but she was eager to spend another week where she truly called home, the wild outdoors.

It was still early when Kathy arrived at the park’s main office. She was one of several guides who would be leading their clients out that day. There was another, older, and more experienced guide who would also be taking another group. Kathy was surprised, though, when her boss pulled her to the side.

“Kathy, you’re guiding that group of corporate big wigs, right?” He asked.

“I am.”

“The CEO of the company has been considering making a generous donation to the park. After all, his company arranges this trip every year. It certainly would be very helpful if you do an absolutely spectacular job this week. If you do, I might try to see about getting you a bit of a bonus on your next paycheck, if you know what I mean?”

Kathy drew herself up to her full height, “I’ll do my best!” She said, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

“I know you will. I’m counting on you, and remember, the future of the park depends on you, so have fun.”

“Can do!”

Kathy’s boss turned away, and she immediately frowned. She could already feel the pressure to succeed beginning to mount. More funding for the park was always a good thing, as recent budget cuts had really hurt the maintenance of the park. But the thought that she might have a major role to play was daunting, because it also dawned on her that if things go really poorly then she could easily be the one blamed if something were to go wrong.

Kathy tried to turn her mind away from those sorts of thoughts. She didn’t like thinking negatively, though she couldn’t shake the idea that one slip-up could wreck everything, and probably cost her, her job.

Kathy was roused from these unhappy musings when she was approached by Jason, the other guide.

“Why the long face? You usually look so happy to go on another adventure.”

“I was just lost in thought. Say, you’re setting out today, too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “My clients are a group of college kids who want to see the great outdoors. I bet you they’re really just bored and sick of dorm life, but you can’t blame ‘em for that, can you?”

“I guess not.”

“Our trails actually share a trail-head, so I’ll see you there at the start. Hopefully, you’ll have cheered up by then.”

“Hopefully,” Kathy responded, and she sincerely meant it.

Jason shuffled off to tie down any loose ends before departure, and left Kathy alone with her thoughts again. She didn’t feel as bad now, though, and busied herself with final preparations. Not that there was much preparation to be done at this stage. Still, she managed to do enough small things to keep herself distracted until it was time to go.

She arrived punctually at the trail-head to see Jason already waiting for both her and his clients. They made small talk until their clients finally started to arrive. They trickled in by groups of twos and threes, segregating themselves ultimately into two primary groups. One group contained a mix of people of varying ages, while the other clearly consisted of only college-aged individuals. Kathy assumed that the former was her group and sized them up.

The group consisted mostly of younger to middle-aged adults, though there seemed to be one teenager who seemed to be with her mother. They were all dressed in outfits that were typical of those who believed they were wearing the correct attire for an extended period of time outdoors. That is with one exception. One man had deemed it perfectly fitting to be donned in khaki pants and a polo shirt, both of which were covered by a long white lab coat. That was odd. Oh well, it wasn’t Kathy’s job to judge her client’s choice of attire, though she definitely did.

Kathy approached the group, a smile on her face. “My name is Kathy, I’m going to be your guide for this trip. It’s my job to help you have a fun and educational experience as you explore the wonders of nature. Once we’re sure that everyone’s here, we’ll head out.” Kathy then proceeded to match each person with her list of client names for this trip. Seeing that everything was in order, she led her group onto the trail like a line of ducklings following their mother.

Jason and his group departed at the same time, causing one massive group to flow down the trail. It wasn’t long, though, before the trail diverged into two. Jason would be leading his group into the valley between two rugged mountain ranges and then wind in-and-out of the mountains. Kathy and her group would be taking the high road, sticking to the mountains the entire time. Kathy waved goodbye to Jason as the groups split, taking care to not lose any members of her own group along the way.

The group made its way slowly up the mountain trail, there was no hurry. As they went, Kathy expounded to the group the wonders of nature and the characteristics of the various flora that they passed. It was all quite fascinating to her, however, she failed to see the eyes of her clients glaze over as she droned on and on. That is except for one person, the man in the white lab coat. He listened intently to what she had to say and even contributed the occasional inquiry. This only fueled Kathy’s intentions to educate her clients and subject them to still more frivolous details, much to the majority of her clients' chagrin.

Eventually they were granted sweet, sweet relief, and the group trudged along in relative silence. However, Kathy soon found this agonizing and, unable to bear the silence any longer, she attempted to strike up a conversation with various members of the group. First she posed a series of questions to a stocky middle-aged man, who rebuffed her with nothing but short, gruff replies to any inquiries she directed his way.

Seeing that she wasn’t getting anywhere, she instead approached a kind-looking woman who looked to be in her thirties. She seemed quite friendly. Her name was Susan, and she was there as a way to better bond with her fifteen-year-old daughter. They did not have the best of relationships, and the forced attendance to this outing didn’t seem to be helping. Her daughter seemed to be a quiet girl, who looked as though she would prefer to be at home reading a book rather than be here surrounded by strangers. Still, her mother had insisted she go or face reprisal, so she came. Besides, it was on the company’s dime.

Kathy learned a little bit about everyone present from Susan, who seemed to be on good terms with everyone there. That is, except for one person.

“What about the guy in the lab coat?” Kathy inquired. “I notice you haven’t said anything about him.”

Susan frowned. “Everyone here works sales including Mark, the guy who blew you off earlier. That guy, though, I’m pretty sure that he’s R&D. They’re a pretty tight knit bunch and don’t tend to have wide social circles, so I honestly have no idea who he is. All I can say is that I know he works for the company. Maybe you should try asking him about himself.”

Kathy honestly wasn’t sure what to think about him. He had left a good impression with his engagement, but something didn’t seem quite right about him. Besides the fact that he was wearing a white lab coat on a hiking trail, he always seemed a little too attentive. The way he looked at his surroundings and hung on to everything that was said, it almost seemed like he was memorizing everything that went on, saving it for later. That honestly creeped Kathy out. Besides, maybe he bites.

“You know,” Kathy proclaimed boldly. “I think I’m good.”

“Alright, that’s your choice.” Susan replied, laughing softly. “Though it might be good to know some things about him. After all, you are supposed to be our guide for an entire week.”

Kathy couldn’t say anything to that. It was her job, and she did need to provide a “spectacular experience” for her clients. The least she could do is show some interest, even if she did find the man to be somewhat off-putting.

Kathy resolved to talk to the man, and so hesitantly made her way over to him. He had segregated himself slightly from the rest of the group and was examining the trail intently.

“This trail is in poor condition. It makes it more difficult to navigate.”

Somewhat taken aback by this odd statement Kathy nodded, “But don’t you think it adds to the rugged feel of everything?”

“It slows us down and will make it more difficult to escape if something were to happen.”

“Well, hopefully nothing will happen to make that necessary, or maybe we can get some funding to maintain the trails. Why do you do that anyways, study everything, I mean?”

“My name is Dr. Forisch, and I am a scientist. It is my job to study things.”

“Is it also your job to not use contractions in everyday conversation? ... Sorry, that was rude. I thought most scientists were content with studying areas of interest, not studying every minute detail they come across.”

Dr. Forisch smiled slightly at this. “No offense taken, I understand my eccentricities. I am, though, what you might call a perpetual learner. I find many things fascinating and many things useful. You never know what you might need for the future.”

With that Dr. Forisch walked further down the trail, leaving Kathy by herself. She was somewhat baffled by the conversation that she had just had. She pondered it and the man she had just talked to for a while before shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind. She didn’t want to think right now, she just wanted to enjoy her job and do it well.

As evening approached Kathy brought the group to the camping site for the night. They had long since passed the treeline and were able to gaze over the vast valley formed by the range. The sight was breathtaking. Kathy and the rest of the campers all sat and contentedly watched the blazing orange sun as it disappeared below the horizon. Kathy sat back and sighed. That was one day done, she just had to last for six more days.