The Goynooks

Prologue

The Goynooks
The clouds stayed stationary in the sky as the hikers ascended the peak. Clear, with clouds strewn about like a typical cartoon painting, the wind kept its steady pace in the stark desert heat.
Robert-tall, lean, and had a smile that melted hearts, started to take pictures of the landscape.
"To the Devil's chair we go, to the chair we go go go...." Robert started humming to himself rather loudly with a pirate-like theme.
Caitlyn ran up beside him and began to dance, she yelled, "To the Devil's Chair, degenerates to the chair!"
Ruby, fitting for her mane, laughed and walked ahead toward a lookout on the edge of the path. She gazed upon the obvious fault line damage to the rocks and the landscape around them as the rocks towering at least 100 feet or higher in the air cowering over the valley it resided in.
She leaned over the wood rail that looked like it had been freshly polished or stained. Closing her eyes and smelling the air, she pulled back on the railing and sun drenched her face.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Robert screamed behind Ruby.
Ruby let go of the railing and crash landed on her back onto dirt.

"You fucking asshole! That really hurt..." She grabbed her knee, a little embarrassed but trying to play it off, wiping her hands.

"I didn't tell you to fall." He snickered.
"You didn't tell me to do anything you dickhead, you scared me!" She sneered his way. "We're supposed to be having fun, you cunt."
"Whoa, no need for the harsh words young Miss." He lends her a hand and helps her on her feet.

"You cheesy fuck. Lets go guys!" She motions to both of them and waves her hand leading to the trailhead.

"The trail to the Devil's Chair is a day hike, at best." Ruby looks toward everyone trying to start a conversation. "But just make sure you drink a lot of water since we're going to be tripping tonight."

"Thanks Mom." Robert smiles.
Caitlyn catches up to Robert and grabs his arm and looks into his eyes smiling. Ruby glances at the two of them and pushes on.
The group continue walking on the trail, stop every now and then to get pictures of the desert wildflowers and even manage to see a jackrabbit in the middle of the road. It crossed, stayed in the middle of the trail, got up on its hind legs and tapped it a few times to the ground.
"This is a sign." Caitlyn whipped out her camera and managed to snap a few before he fled the scene.

The path meandered along and stayed sparse with hardly any view but plain old tilted rock. Trees are scattered about in the valleys but the hillsides are covered in long rocks that look like they're hanging on a thread. As they got higher the emerging landscape of the valley below exposed itself.

"Necessary beauty. I love the desert. It's just so clean and filled with nothing. It's the perfect place to do mushrooms, in my opinion." Robert smiles toward the valley.

Caitlyn shrugs her shoulders, "I've never done it in the desert, so this will be new for me."

"We should probably start in the daytime right, so we can experience natural light at first and have it ease into darkness, rather than just take it at night? Right? What if we get lost?" Ruby looks at both of them concerned.

"I mean we came up here to trip balls on shrooms and stare at the stars and revel in the pagan lifestyle by being in the wild and shit! We're not going to wander too far, believe me."
Robert places his hands on both of the girls arms and strokes them simultaneously.

They both shrug his arm off at the same time.
"Get off perv!" Caitlyn rolled her eyes and swished her blond hair behind her as she strolled further up the trail.

"I'm just messing around! We're going to have a blast!" Robert catches up with the girls in a jog.

Robert ties a bandana to his head to catch the sweat. The sweat glistens and drips from the hikers as they ascend the Devil's Chair. They grab onto some ropes strung along the path to the top of the peak. They had arrived at their destination.