There was no morning sun to come shining through the windows and signal the dawn of the next day. Tomiya jostled my arm lightly and gave me a kiss on the cheek waking me from a deep sleep. It appeared that her and Oshie's circadian clocks were still functioning just fine, for the clock on the wall showed 7 AM. I was groggy from my late night but the small couch on which I slept was surprisingly comfortable.

"You were up late last night huh?" She said, indicating that she was expecting a reason for my late night.

"Just talking with J-1 about some things," I said with honesty, avoiding the finer details.

"Well Oshie, is excited for your day, and so am I, assuming I can tag along," she mentioned playfully. "I don't remember getting an invite is all."

"Well, yeah. . . I was thinking it'd just be a father daughter thing." I said with the straightest face I could possibly muster.

Her face went white for just a moment and then she shoved me hard in the shoulder, once she realized I was only teasing. Her face scrunched up and she began to laugh.

"I thought you were actually serious! You know I've always wanted to see your and Jacob's famous childhood camp!"

"Of course I'm kidding, I'd never leave you out my love," I said and wrapped her in my arms before forcing myself off the comfortable couch.

Tomiya and I walked out to the large kitchen area to meet the rest of the group. Geraldo and his family sat at one of the granite bar top tables. Morales and Oshie sat together at another. They all watched quietly as our host humbly prepared a complex variety of fresh herbs, quail eggs, mushrooms and various vegetables. J-1 was wearing a simple white apron, making its appearance odd and somewhat comical. The robot really was an extraordinary thing. I walked over to Oshie who was watching the most intently of all.

"Maybe J-1 can teach you guys how to cook like that!" She said with a big grin when she noticed us.

"Good morning to you too sweetheart!" I said, laughing at her comment. "I'm sure J-1 could teach us all a thing or two."

It was truly a fine meal. Once we were finished the robot insisted that it had a lengthy encyclopedia of comparable dishes, of which it could continue to prepare for us, utilizing the ingredients on hand. A few of the others were adamant that they do their fair share of cooking as well during our stay. I was perfectly happy with J-1's meal but given that we'd be confined to this new place, I didn't doubt that cooking would be a nice distraction every now and then.

Once we finished our meals, Tomiya, Oshie, and I took our leave. I knew the others would find ways to entertain themselves while we were gone, at least on the first day here. We found a vast wardrobe of clothes to fit anyone of any age or style. Oshie had clothes she found to her liking that fit her well, as well as shoes suitable for our trek. I grabbed a day pack and brought along some snacks and water for us. It wouldn't be too strenuous of a hike, but I figured we could make a day of it while we still had the option of going outside.

We crossed paths with Morales as we were heading out, who was dressed in sporty attire and headed towards the gym. Tomiya had asked her to come more than once during breakfast, but she insisted we go and spend some quality family time together. The look on her face showed that she was still very despondent. Being the woman she was, I'm sure that grueling exercise was one of her coping mechanisms. She waved at us with a forced smile as we passed by, and proceeded down to the gym where she would try to work out her anxiety. J-1 met us at the entrance way as we left.

"The perimeter of the camp is being monitored at all times, so the three of you shouldn't have to worry about running into any issues. But please do be careful out there, these are troubled times." The robot bowed its head in a polite butlery manner and moved aside for us to pass through the large, reinforced doorway.

The bookshelf door was heavy, made of both metal and wood, but it swung open smoothly once unlocked. The light of the sun first greeted us as thin rays that came through the boarded-up windows, and then fully drenched us with its warmth as we stepped out of my old cabin door. It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue, and the clouds were scarce, but the ones that were in the sky were grand and shapely, not wispy like they are sometimes. These were the kind of clouds that were lovely to watch pass by on a sunny day. I had imagined bringing my family here many times in the past, or perhaps revisiting the place with Jacob. When I pictured us doing so it was always on a day like this.

"Come up here first!" I beckoned them to follow up a grassy hill that sloped gently and then more steeply upwards the further we got from the cabin. I remembered thinking this hill was so massive when we were younger and seeing it again it actually was nearly as large as I remembered it to be. We settled by an old-fashioned well at the top of the hill, all of us a bit out of breath. I turned to look back over the cabin and the rest of the camp that was now a good couple hundred feet below our eyeline.

"Wow, it's so big!" Said Oshie joyfully.

"Yeah hun, it's honestly just as beautiful as you described it." Added Tomiya.

I looked out happily over that grand view. The sun was half poking out from behind a white cloud and it sent a visible ray of light down towards the lake in the distance. There were cabins, gardens, ponds and all sorts of things in between here and that lake. I hoped that this would be a good starting point for us, and it was. I was tempted to just sit down right here and enjoy the beautiful day with my family, weighing out in my head if it was worth it or not to waste so perfect a day. In that fleeting moment, while we all stood together admiring the view, I was able to completely escape the ever-constant thoughts of what was to come, for the very last time.

I walked with Oshie and Tomiya along that tree line way up on the top of the hill, deciding to take them to the one other place in the camp that had a better view than this one. We passed a small building with a stone patio along the way. In the center of the patio was a large wooden hot tub that was most likely no longer working. The patio area itself was surrounded by a small grove of twisted weeping trees that swayed gently in the breeze. I remembered this place well. Whoever designed the camp had an eclectic taste for different cultures. Different buildings had different styles that sometimes mimicked those of other areas around the world. As a child I always imagined this particular spot was meant to give the feel of a Japanese hot spring, deep in the mountains of a far-off place.

We walked on, past a zipline that we would often use during camp activities. It was no meager thing either. The zipline platform where the counselors would help us harness in, was nearly 15 feet up in a tree at a highpoint on the long sloping hill. The zip line went on for hundreds of yards down to the very bottom. Near another camp building you could just barely make out the end of the line where it attached to a large telephone poll type structure. I imagined if everything was still in working order this would have been a thrilling activity for the three of us. It always was for me back then.

We walked on into the woods now, along an old path. The hill here began to slope even more upwards. To our right I could see the large open enclave where we would sometimes venture out to have fires. The wooden benches carved straight from large trees were all still there, circling a massive stone fire pit at the center. Further on we passed the old ropes course. It was in shambles now. The ropes looked old and decayed, not in a state I would trust anymore, but it was still a sight to see. Oshie, with her youthful energy, wanted to play on it all. It was like a giant adult sized jungle gym; I remembered feeling the same way as a kid.

A quarter mile of gradual upwards slope and we reached the place I was looking for. The trees thinned and the sun gave way to a lone cabin atop a steep cliff. This had always been my favorite spot in the camp. From the front it didn't appear to be anything overly special. I led the two of them up the stairs onto a large wrap-around deck and we walked around the corner towards the far side. The tree line disappeared, and the true view of this spot became visible as we made our way to the back part of the deck.

This side of the building was more impressive than the front. The deck itself was large with three picnic tables perched atop it. Here the face of the building was shaped almost like an A frame, a V-shape in the center but then leveling out on both sides, with windows covering nearly the entire face of the wall, reflecting the bright sun.

We walked towards the wooden railing at the edge of the deck and there we could see an endless sight of trees, lakes and mountains far beyond. The wilderness of Maine rushed over us like a welcoming breath of fresh air. It had been far too long since I've experienced this, I thought to myself. I looked down to my side where Oshie's little hands grabbed the top railing. Her chin rested on the edge as she peered out onto the vast landscape.

"Oh my god," said Tomiya. "You said it was beautiful here, but I had no idea!"

I smiled at her and Oshie, who continued to inspect all the things down below and far away.

"Is that part of your camp too daddy?" she asked, pointing down to the lake below.

"It is. Those are the camp docks," I pointed down to a large network of docks that jutted out into the water. "And that's the boat house next to it. You can't see it from here but beneath the trees there's a big barrel shaped sauna on the edge of the beach." She did her best to try and spot it beneath the canopy.

The slow-moving clouds cast partial shadows over the peaceful lake below us.

"The air smells so clean here," Tomiya said whimsically. She and Oshie both took deep breaths.

I laughed at the two of them. "Well, I'd say this is as good of a spot as any to have lunch, wouldn't you guys agree?" Oshie promptly nodded her approval.

We sat at one of the picnic tables and ate a variety of snacks J-1 had gathered for us. The smoked meats and dehydrated fruit were particularly good. Oshie finished her food and walked over to the large windows of the cabin placing her hands around her eyes on the glass so that she could get a look inside.

"There's bunk beds in here!" She said with excitement. "Did you ever stay in this cabin daddy?"

"A few times yeah," I answered. "Every cabin got a chance to spend a night here during the summer." I walked over and took a look inside as well. It was just like it used to be. A number of bunks, a lounging area with a hearth, and a small kitchen. If there was anything left of the world after this all goes down, this didn't seem like such a bad place to start over again, I thought in regard to the camp. I brushed away those thoughts as quickly as they came though. It didn't feel right thinking like that in this peaceful moment.

"Where to next?" Tomiya asked. Her dark hair blowing across her face.

"There's a path that leads down to the docks," I said. "It's a little steep but that's what makes it fun!" I brushed her hair aside and gave her a kiss. She looked exceptionally beautiful today, everything did. Maybe it was just that I was in such a good mood, happy despite the circumstances that they were finally getting the chance to see the place that had shaped so much of my life.

We walked carefully down that zigzagging rocky path. I held Oshie's hand tight in mine, but I could tell she wanted to run ahead of us. The path ended at the far side of the sandy and secluded lake beach. The camp owned the lake and all of the property around it when I was younger, so there was never anything but campers on the water and in the woods that surrounded it. Now that it was abandoned the place felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles from civilization. To be fair it kind of was. It felt like a place all our own, just like when we spent those days on the isolated beaches down in the Keys.

We sat on the docks with our feet dipped in the cool lake water, watching the clouds pass by, just like Jacob and I used to do. He would have loved to be here right now. I wished he was here, we all wished he was here. All I wanted was for him to explain why he was doing the things he'd done, and what he really thought was going to happen. There is still so much unknown, and I was never nearly as smart as him. Despite how many times I tried to rake through the information in my mind, I couldn't come to a clear conclusion about it. Why did he do all the things he did up until now? Why did he keep so many secrets, and where is he?

It was well past noon, so we started to head back to the bunker, taking a more direct path this time. This path brought us through the heart of the camp, passing by many of the other cabins and camp buildings. We walked along a main gravel road. The grass along the sides was overgrown here, and all the buildings were completely boarded up. For me it brought back fond memories, but for Oshie and Tomiya it must have been somewhat unsettling. Like walking through a ghost town. I figured as much, so we made our way through it quickly, stopping only momentarily at the old gardens and sports fields.

I told them a little bit about what I remembered of each building as we passed by. Most were cabins for the campers. But some had been buildings used for different activities and classes. A dance hall, a building for pottery, woodworking, and other arts, as well as a large gymnasium type venue that could fit all the campers at once. Those were just some of the ones we passed. We stopped at a large pond that had a man-made lazy river built into it. I always thought this was kind of neat with its crisscrossing stream and small archway bridges. That flowed between apple and cherry trees.

"The camp staff used to stock this pond with trout," I told them. "It's where I learned to fly fish actually." Now the pond was stagnant, and the water was still, but the bridges and trees gave it a natural beauty. We were almost back to the cabin now. I was glad to see that everything still remained as intact as it was. It was only about a few hundred more yards to the grassy enclave in which the cabin resided on the outskirts of. We passed a building just then, it looked old and blended into the others rather well. But it was out of place. A large cabinlike structure with a weathered garage door on the front, and windows boarded up on the side. I walked up to it.

Putting my hand on the garage door I gave it a nudge. It was solid, not even giving the faintest creak or sign of play when I tried to pull up hard at the handle near the ground. Tomiya looked at me confused.

"This is new." I said.

Tomiya gave me a strange look.

"It doesn't look new." She replied, glancing at the building.

"Feel this door." I proposed. She sighed, but when she did so she was equally surprised at its sturdiness. From the outside it blended in well, disguised as a slightly oversized single door garage. But no normal garage door was so fortified.

"There was never a garage here before." I stated. "Jacob must have had it built while they were working on the bunker. I wonder what's behind it."

"Maybe J-1 can tell you?" Tomiya proposed.

"I'm sure he can." I said, suspiciously.

It was clear to me now that the robot was not giving us every bit of information that it had. I wondered why. I thought again about how I still needed to bring Tomiya into the loop of all that we had learned from J-1, and how we needed to come up with a plan for what we would do next. After all there was still time, and we still had people out there close to us who needed our help. Today we stole away for ourselves. It felt like an unspoken thing between Tomiya and me. We weren't really selfish people, but for Oshie's sake we knew this day needed to be a happy one. Because tomorrow some of us would be leaving again. There were people that we just couldn't take with us the first time around. Tomiya's brother and his family, my parents, Emilia and her daughter. We couldn't have gotten them up here with us when we did. Not without a high risk of being tracked down in the process. But we could find a way to now with J-1's help, and the new resources at hand. I didn't have a single doubt that things were starting to get worse out there, and they would continue to get worse before they got better. There was no more time to waste.