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The great beyond by Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work contains underaged content. You have been warned.

"A journey of a thousand miles,

begins with a single step."

Lao Tzu

Life's journey begins when we decide that it is time to take action to deviate from the norm. Of course as custom would have it, normal is only what the eye beholds it to be. For each person, it is different and altogether a different experience entirely. But the mundane, in itself, should never be entirely self-fulfilling. Living a life of repetition leads to more of the same. We must be willing to unleash the shackles of the ordinary and to try something new. This is even more true in our childhood when we are young and more open to change.

Sammy and Remi were young cubs who had grown up knowing nothing but the stagnation of near city life. The allure of Milwaukee was mere minutes away and the bright lights served as an all too alluring feature of what was just in their grasp. The two boys were twins and very much enjoyed the high paced nature of Milwaukee. From bucks games to going to concerts, they were quite spoiled by their parents. But this summer, their parents planned to change this.

Regardless of how close the beagle family was, the mother and father agreed it would be best for their kids to experience time away from home. Both of them understood that every kid needed to mature and personally partake in the individualism that embodied the character of every American. It was almost the summer and they had already enrolled both of the boys in a summer camp. It was a 2-month ordeal, that would see the boys potentially learn survival skills while having the chance to socialize other cubs their own age.

When the mother and father shared the idea with the kids, they were none to happy. It took some coaxing, and even some promises of rewards before the two young cubs were on board. But it didn't matter. The deal was sealed and that meant in a few weeks time both Remi and Sammy would be off to camp Renegade. The place was highly regarded and remembered fondly by its campers and their parents alike. So both the mother and father alike were sure that their kids would enjoy the experience.

The weeks came and went with the wind. When the day came close the mother took care of Remi while paps took care of Sammy. Neither of the cubs was the best at packing and their idea of what was necessary and not, definitely needed guidance. It took several hours but eventually, both of the boys had their own duffle bag filled with an assortment of clothing and toiletries. Their final night together they had a grand feast to celebrate

Once the meal was over, Remi and Sammy were sent to bed to sleep before the first day of a much longer journey. In the morning, everything was a rush. There was no specific plan for when they had to arrive and yet both of the parents felt the stress of getting things together. Both of them decided to go on the trip to Renegade itself. Since they figured it would be easier than one or the other going. When everyone was ready, the cubs were goaded into the back seat and the truck was on its way.

The address on the invitation showed that Renegade was far into what Wisconsinites considered to be uncharted territory. The father made sure that his vehicle had an all-wheel drive because he assumed they would be going offroad. Being the more aggressive driver of the two, he took the wheel with his wife riding point to provide directions from her smartphone.

"Looks like its a little over an hour." The mother punched in the address into her phone.

The man turned on the engine. "Let's get going then."

They made their way to the camp. Neither Remi or Sammy were saying much as they were quite nervous. Eventually, the main roads gave way to off-road paths under a large canopy of trees. However, soon even those ended as the trek became more treacherous and bumpy.

"Hang tight everyone!" The father warned but it was too late for that.

The rest of the journey went much the same. Soon they came upon the entrance to the camp and the rocky road was replaced by a more smooth dirt one.

The man followed traffic into an area that appeared to be a parking lot. Despite it being pretty early in the morning, there wasn't much light getting beyond the tree above. It wasn't long before they found a place to stop.

The mother peered over her shoulder and roused the two cubs who were snoozing from being up so early. "We're here. Let's go, boys"

It took a few moments for them to come around but they roused before long. Slowly they made their way out of the truck.

Looking around them, the two cubs could see there were all sorts of people about. Most of them seemed to be furs, but there was an occasional human that popped up in the group. Signs spotted the area and showed them where they needed to go. The parents led to registration which was assorted by age. Each line having a small group of parents waiting to drop their kids off. It seemed to be pretty well organized and the line was moving pretty quickly.

Once they were registered, it was time to get settled into their temporary home. This meant it was time for the parents to leave. After mom and dad kissed the twins on the head, they were gone and Remi and Sammy were left to their own devices.

"Well, that's it. We're on our own now. Let's get settled in, I guess." Sammy patted his brother on the back.

Remi stood there for a moment seeming stunned. "Right...right."

The shorter beagle followed his brother into the cabin. It was a wooden longhouse that had a double door that led inside.

Inside the two could see there were other cubs were also unpacking into some dressers. None of them seemed to pay any heed to the twins when they entered. Sammy picked the two parallel beds closest to the door and began unpacking his stuff. Remi was slower about it and eventually, his brother had to help him with the chore, but, they were able to finish before long. Once they were done Sammy couldn't help but plop on the bed, feeling a bit lazy.

"Want to go outside and do something? Just sitting around is boring." Remi tapped his foot on the floor impatiently.

Sammy slowly got up from the bed and straightened his glasses. "Fine..."

The two brothers made their way outside of the cabin and back into the camp. Cubs were still walking to and fro as the registration process was far from over. The smaller beagle began to look from something to do. A wooden sign was fixated at the center of camp, showing where things were.

"Let's go to the fishing hole." Remi wagged his tail at the thought of getting to fish.

Sammy shrugged, not seeming as keen on the idea. "Sure."

Growing up, the two boys had fished quite a lot with their father. Both enjoyed it but of the two Remi was certainly the more passionate about it.

The twins followed the dirt road to the west. No one else was really around and they could hear birds chirping and the sound of the trees blowing in the wind. The breeze cascading over their fur as they walked towards the lake. It was about a 5-minute walk before the body of water came in sight. As they approached it, Remi could see the lake was fairly large. A wooden hut sat to the side of it with large red lettering on the roof that read "supplies." Upon seeing that the smaller cub began running towards it.

"Hey! Wait up." Sammy rushed and tried to catch up.

When they approached the little hut, there didn't seem to be anyone inside. Sammy peered over the counter thinking it strange that they would leave the window open but no one there to station the post. A small copper calling bell was situated on the desk. The cub smashed it a few times causing it to let out a few faint chirps.

Antlers poked up from behind the counter before a lanky deer approached. "Yeah, yeah. Stop ringing the bell. What is it?"

"Oh, we just wanted to rent some equipment." Remi smiled warmly, glad someone was around to lend the gear out.

The cervid tapped her face with her hands. "Normally we only lend gear out to campers with points."

"Points? Aww...come on. Please?" The beagle put on the best puppy eyes he could manage.

The deer rolled her eyes. "Fine...just bring back the stuff when you're done." She handed over to rods and a package of bait to both boys.

"Uhuh! Thanks deer lady!" The smaller cub took his rod and then both boys made their way to the lake.

The twins made their way to the lake. It was a serene day and there wasn't a wave to be seen anywhere on the surface of the water.

Eventually, they settled in near the shore of the water. Sammy set his rod down on the dirt before taking his shoes off. He loved spreading his toes out and putting his feet in the water seemed like a rather good idea right now. Once his socks were off the bigger beagle slowly extended his paws into the water. His brother watched and soon replicated the action. Both cubs felt rather relaxed and forgot about what they were there for a moment.

Remi was the first one to snap out of it, tugging the little box of bait and pulling a morsel of squid out before attaching it to the hook on the end of the fishing line. The smaller cub casting his line out before long. It took a few moments before Sammy followed suit, fixing his glasses so they didn't slump on his long canine snout. Soon he joined his brother in throwing his own bait out into the lake in front of him.

The two sat there for quite some time, without a word. Occasionally having to reel in their lines, only to have to cast it back out. It seemed to be a pretty lazy day overall. It wasn't until much later when fish started to bite. Remi having more luck and able to catch quite a few more fish than his brother did.

"No fair!" Sammy's face soured as he watched his brother's luck begin to overwhelm his own.

Remi set his rod down and carried his most recent catch to Sammy. "Here. Now it's yours."

"Thanks..." The puppy simply put the fish back in the water as it swam away.

The bigger beagle smiled at his brother before returning to fishing. Only getting a few more nibbles before starting to get bored.

Sammy stood up and picked up his rod and the tackle box. "Let's go do something else."

Remi reeled in and released his last fish before joining his brother. They returned the equipment to the station where they set the stuff on the counter before the deer fetched it to clean it off with a hose.

"Thanks, Mrs. Deer Lady." Remi chirped happily at her upon turning over the gear.

She nodded and smile. "You can call me Roxanne. Stop by anytime."

The two soon departed from the hut, heading back to the main camp.

"Why not go hike or something? It's still pretty early." Sammy suggested as he had something else in mind.

Remi looked back to his brother. "What do you want to do now?"

"Want to go on a hike?" The bigger cubs' tail wagged behind him slowly.

The cub's brother scratched his head. "Sure, but what if we get lost?"

"I'm sure there are trail markers or something. Come on." Sammy led back to the main camp which sure enough had a marker for a nature hike.

Sammy felt the excitement well up inside of him as he began to walk faster in the direction of the trail. Coincidentally enough it was off the beaten path in the same direction as the lake. In fact, it started by going around the same lake where they had fished. It was still rather breezing out, so it wasn't entirely miserable to walk around outside. The cubs found that not many bugs were swarming around. Little did they know, the place had recently rained so many bugs were still in hiding.

As they walked some of the leaves above were dripping with water. Some of the drops falling onto them. It was rather refreshing since the cubs had gotten a little hot from sitting at the lake for about an hour. Once they passed the lake there was a sign indicating two possible paths to take, one to the right and one to the left. A symbol of a mountain was featured on the left so Sammy decided it was working the risk to try it since the area didn't seem to be high in elevation.

Remi was a little less athletic than his brother but managed to keep up all the same. The two began trekking up the path, with it getting a little steeper the further they went. Some wooden steps fastened into the dirt flooring to make the travel a little less treacherous. Sammy was managing pretty well but by halfway the smaller cub was feeling a little frustrated.

"Can we go back?" Remi's ears folded, feeling as if he were defeated.

Sammy puffed out his chest. "We're almost there!" Sammy goaded his brother to continue.

They continued their path up the mountain. When they finally got to the top, they found it wasn't so much of a mountain and more of a big hill. At the top, they could finally see over the canopy below. It was a huge wooded area and there was nothing but trees as far as the eyes could see.

"Worth it?" The smaller cub huffed and panted.

Sammy nodded and hugged his brother. "A-yup!"

The two sat down for a moment to catch their breath. Enjoying the scenery as the sun began to rise to its highest point. There stomachs growling, reminding them it was almost lunchtime.

Going seemed much easier than going up to the cubs. In reality, their own hunger was driving them at a much quicker pace. Not to mention, they were pretty thirsty and looking forward to some water. Remi even went as far to ring out one of the leaves for some water. His brother doing the same with some moss from a nearby rock. It was something they had learned in scouts and they didn't want to become dehydrated.

The travel down took them about half as long as the way up. The familiar lake seeming welcoming to them when they happened upon it again. Remi thought about swimming but the pain in his stomach prevented him from indulging. When they finally arrived at the camp, the hubbub of registration had died down. There didn't seem to be anyone around. The sign showed a knife and fork showing the direction of the mess hall.

Remi and Sammy entered together to a room full of people. On one table was the camp staff and personnel but all the rest was kids and cubs alike. The place smelt of food and so the two cubs made their way to get lunch. Today was pizza, which was every youngster's favorite. Both of the boys taking two slices and large water to sate their thirsts. It had been a long and productive day, but they had overall enjoyed it.

Eventually, the twins made their way to a table with some space. It wasn't long before they made some friends. Chatting it up with boys and girls alike. It was strange, despite their initial unwillingness to come to the camp it seemed that they never really experienced homesickness. It wasn't long before they made friends, some of which ended up being in the same cabin that they had been assigned. Remi and Sammy seeming quite content with the change of scenery all of a sudden.

The same night the camp met at a huge open campfire. The camp counselors introducing themselves and then sharing scary stories. The entire time the whole group of kids and cubs congregating around to roast marshmallows. It was a rather large ritual that Sammy and Remi relished in. When it was finally time to go to sleep, they couldn't help but feel excited. They had a really fun day and couldn't wait to see what happened tomorrow...