Lara looked at what Julia was pointing to, about 100 feet away. They couldn't make out what it was, but it looked like a pile of leaves standing up. They walked over to it, and the closer they got, the more it revealed itself.
"It looks like a tent." Lara said.
Lara picked it up, and indeed it was a tent, mangled up and disassembled. It was colored with camouflage, making it difficult to see from a distance.
Lara sorted out the pieces and laid the tent out over the ground. It was hexagonal in shape. Two of the three support rods appeared to be in good condition, but the third was broken, snapped in half.
"Can we still use it?" Julia asked.
"I think so. One of the rods is broken, but I think it'll still stand up."
Lara began assembling the tent. All it took was to slide the two rods into the sleeves of the tent, and secure them into the pegs along the side.
"Well, here's our shelter." Lara said.
Lara crawled inside and found it dusty and full of leaves and other debris. Julia peeked inside.
"Nice, looks cozy!"
"And if it rains, it'll keep us dry too!" Lara added, tossing out a handful of leaves.
Julia crawled inside, sat down, and looked all around.
"Is this waterproof?"
Lara nodded her head. "Yup, it should be."
She zipped up the door.
"And see, it zips up."
"Too bad we're not closer to all those blackberry bushes."
Julia remarked. Lara thought about it for a moment.
"Well, maybe we can fold this back up and just keep walking until we find a place with food."
The two girls exited the tent, disassembled it, and folded it up. Julia carried the tent while Lara carried the rods, and they continued walking through the forest moving deeper into the area more thick with trees.
It was only another forty-five minutes later, and another couple miles of walking, that Lara slowed down to a stop. She turned her head upwards. Julia turned around to look at her.
"I hear something." Lara spoke.
Julia remained quiet. Seconds later, Julia replied, "I think I hear it too."
"It sounds like a helicopter." Lara whispered.
As the sound grew louder, it became apparent that it was indeed a helicopter. Lara and Julia walked up to a large oak tree and stood next to it, trying to conceal themselves under its branches.
A minute later, they could see just a spattering glimpse of the helicopter about a 1/2 mile away as it passed by, and then finally flew out of view.
"It's getting late, I doubt they'll be back tonight."
"Maybe we can set up the tent here? If they won't be back?" Julia asked.
Lara looked around. She had hoped to get deeper, using up all the available light the tree canopy would allow.
"Just a little bit more further." Lara said.
