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In the subsequent days following Hutch's enthusiastic proposition, Reece did precisely as he said he would and a vacation request had been promptly approved by the end of the week. It took them another two days to gather the gear and materials required for such an excursion, as the equipment they currently owned was not nearly substantial enough (not according to Hutch's meticulous checklist, anyway), and then a fourth to transport it all down to Milo's dingy condominium within the central cluster of Kankakee County. Traveling back and fourth between their home and Milo's condo in Hutch's ailing '89 Impreza had greatly tested Reece's level of patience, Hutch could tell, and it didn't help in the least that Milo lived almost two counties due south with damn near an hour's worth of drive time each direction. The exasperation became even more apparent when Milo had so fervently taken to helping with the gear as scarcely as possible upon its delivery, leaving Reece and Hutch to the heavy lifting and lugging required to separated provisioning and double-check equipment. Somehow though, by some blessing, his dear friend, Reece, managed to keep his broiling thoughts to himself the entire way through, enduring the initial irritants much more graciously than Hutch could have ever hoped. 

Honestly, he'd been anticipating a bit of tension between Milo and Reece, if only because the respective lifestyles they each led so vastly differed from one another, but Reece seemed to keep himself impressively composed around their long-lost companion, even if he truly felt an enraged wreck on the inside. In any case, Hutch was grateful for the effort and he'd always be happy to let Reece vent some time later in private—assuming it became necessary. He was confident his mate already knew as much. 

Upon the day of their formal reunion, just one night to go until their scheduled departure, Milo offered the pair to crash in the clutter of his living room space, which they reluctantly accepted, and, by the end of a long afternoon, they found themselves exhausted of packing, collapsed on the sofa. The case of beer Milo had brandished in treat proved to be far too enticing for both Hutch [i]as well[/i] as Reece to decline and, in spite of bodily weariness, they all three spent an even longer night catching up on lost time, learning to laugh like schoolboys once again while the alcohol loosened their adult-like predispositions. 

Say what you will, but there was a reason they'd spent so many years latched to one another, even despite geographic inconveniences. Life caught up with everybody, Hutch solemnly reminded himself as he climbed wearily beneath the quilt on the sofa, and he hoped that maybe Reece would feel the same come the end of it all. Reece and Milo may have had their inarguable differences every now and again, sure, but, knocking back all the fluff and bullshit, their friendship always seemed to prevail. [i]Good friends and many laughs,[/i] Hutch found himself thinking fondly through the haze of his buzz, rolling heavily onto his side to see Reece situating himself on the floor within his sleep mat. He'd meant to make a point of asking Reece if he truly enjoyed his night before drifting off—really, he did—but the pull of booze ultimately proved to be too much for Hutch and it conclusively coaxed him into a hard and fast sleep, as it customarily did. 

The following morning, they all rose late, somehow failing to set a godforsaken [i]alarm[/i] on—not one, not two, but—[i]three[/i] separate counts. [i]It's okay, it's okay. It's just a few hours, nothing detrimental. The island's not going anywhere,[/i] Hutch reassured himself, checking his wristwatch impatiently for probably the hundredth time—[i]Almost 11 a.m.[/i]—as Milo unrepentantly wedged the final sleeping mat into the trunk, giving Hutch's poor car a rattling jar when he slammed the lid shut. They had an eleven-hour drive ahead of them, which put them into Manhattan well into the night after the time zone change. Thankfully, they didn't plan to break waters until the following afternoon though. [i]So, relax,[/i] Hutch's brain soothed. 

With his hangover still pounding in his skull, synched perfectly to beat of his pulse, Hutch squinted his eyes as he skimmed over their list of essentials one closing time. [i]Tents, windbreakers, torch lights. Canteens, toiletries, sustenance. Cameras, lenses, lights, filters... Respirators, first aid, gloves... What else? What else?[/i] What else might they be forgetting? With the northern island retreat being so vast and expansive, it required them to stay a night or two on the deserted property if Hutch was to gather any [i]meaningful[/i] stockpile of photographs to work with (and, yes, he was hell-bent on collecting as [i]many[/i] as possible for this miserable spread—that went without say). During his research, Hutch had learned that neither the National Park Service nor the Wildlife Refuge bothered to frequent the densely-forested sanctuary much further past their annual fowl computations. So, as such, he and his helpers would need to be prepared for the very worst. They'd quite literally be on their own the moment they anchored to the shore of North Brother, exposed to the elements and left to their own devices. 

Hutch finally looked up from his list to the weathered Impreza, puzzlement and uncertainty in his eyes as he wracked his brain for other trivial necessities. Standing in driveway beside him, Milo watched Hutch scratch a mindful tick-mark beside each item. “Man, [i]come on[/i]!” Milo finally exhausted himself testily, slouching his weight against the open door to the vehicle, “You've gone over that thing six times, H. I'm pretty sure we got everything but the [i]kitchen sink[/i] in here and—I'm sorry—but that's just [i]not gonna fit[/i], so we'll have to make do without. I could hardly get my fuckin' case in there.” 

Hutch sighed a long-suffering sound and rubbed his brow, swiping the thin film of perspiration that had accumulated beneath his dark frock of hair. Tucking his pencil behind an ear, Hutch at last folded his checklist into a small square, figuring this would likely be as good as it got for now. It's not like they couldn't always [i]purchase[/i] any forgotten items from the city before they cast off anyway, he reminded himself, glancing over his shoulder towards the open door to the condo. Hutch ceded after a pregnant pause, straining to acquiesce with a convincing tone of indifference, “Fine,” he said, “Get in the back. I'll drive first.” In return, Milo sighed with melodramatic relief before tossing his house key to Hutch and hollering, “[i]Thank you![/i] Now, go grab 'im, lock up, and let's get this show on the road!” 

Turning wordlessly on heel, Hutch tucked the paper into the back pocket of his jeans before scampering into the house one last time to gather Reece. He rapped his knuckles on the entryway frame to the living room when he spotted his friend and huffed, “You ready, mate? I think we've got the last of it. Time to shove off.”