Chapter 6
My eyes fluttered open slowly, and I could feel my senses waking up to the chaos around me. The smoke permeated the air and infested my naval cavity with its thick blackness. The yells and cries from the crowd of people surrounding us pierced through the air and reverberated back to continue shaking my ear erratically. What’s happening?
I tried to sit up, but the second I began to move there was a searing pain in my side. I didn’t even try to fight it; the pain weighed me down like a thousand-pound dumbbell draped over my body. It was a nerve-splintering throb; an agony that burned so deep inside of me that I could feel the shock and numbness of its wrath touching my core.
I felt a bead of sweat drip down my side and fall into the pit of boiling hot pain that pulsed like a river of torment through my body. I looked up and, for a second, the blackness combined with the smoke and the heat emanating from the fire created the illusion that I was about to be burned in hell. But then I turned my head and I saw Hunter sitting down in the dirt with a look of terror on his face, and I instantly knew I wasn’t in hell.
I’m alive. My body was tense and I could feel my vision go blurry as the shock numbed all my senses. Something didn’t feel right. My body had already conformed to the will of death, and surrendered to the stabbing and merciless pain of this world. I should be dead.
I tried to move my head up and glance around, as the ringing in my ears dulled to audible words.
“They are all hitmen!” A boy screamed at the top of his lungs, and despite the features of his face being invisible in the darkness, I could still feel the energy of his accusatory finger pointing at us.
“No, dumbass.” Ethan shook his head and narrowed his eyes at him. There was an arrogant tone to Ethan’s voice, despite the fact that the five of us were all surrounded by dozens of angry people. “No, we fucking aren’t!” Ethan had to scream to make his voice audible over the chatter of the eager, and scared people in the crowd.
“Then why were you on the hitmen database on your ICL?” The boy had long, curly, black hair, a large nose, and a forehead that looked massive in proportion to the rest of his face. I could feel my whole body shiver at the sight of the boy throwing Ethan’s two ICLs on the ground and smashing them beneath his feet, and then the look of pure exasperation across Ethan’s face. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, and I could see his clenched fists desperately trying to hold back the urge to charge forward and sucker punch that kid in the gut.
I could see Ethan’s whole face quiver as he battled between the fear and anger that raged inside of him. “I . . . ” Ethan paused, and I could see him try and stifle a scream that threatened to roar out of him. “I just wanted to see if my friend was on there, or if they were dead.”
The confidence in his voice was replaced by a wary tone.
“Bullshit!”
There was an eerie silence as the whole crowd watched the stare-down between the two boys. I could feel the energy between them suddenly snap, as the fire behind me suddenly creeped closer to the back of my head. I still laid, unmoving, on the cold dirt, and I winced as another wave of pain coursed through my body as I shifted my head to get a better view of the scene.
I watched as Hunter slowly stood up, and my chest ached as I took a deep breath in and watched him stand by Ethan’s side. Who the hell are these people?! The adrenaline being released into my veins was beginning to alleviate the pain temporarily, like wispy clouds that block out the sun on a hot day.
“That’s it.” The boy’s cold voice suddenly snapped. “Kill them.” The crowd watched on in silence as he uttered the words. “Burn them now.”
An older lady instantly grabbed onto me and pulled me upward, my body too weak to protest her force. No! The panic exploded inside of me as I felt the sharp nails of a cold hand dig into my shoulder, and pull me back even closer to the flame. The flames tried to pull me inside of their wrath and swallow me whole as their warmth began to penetrate through my first layers of skin. I could feel a gust of wind blow the flames past me gracefully, almost as if whispering for me to join them in the pile of ashes.
“Stop!” A girl jumped out and screamed so loud that I thought my ears would just give up and fall off. I glanced over at Dulce, who began to cry hysterically with the flames tickling her back enticing her to fall back and embrace their warmth.
“Will, you can’t just make the decision to kill them!” The girl looked at him, absolutely disgusted. Her glowing red hair matched the brightness of the fire and the intense glare in her eyes. “You have to wait until John gets back!”
“They can call in more of them, and kill us before John gets back!” The boy’s voice was full of paranoia, and he glanced at us like we are row of insects awaiting extermination rather than actual human beings. I felt tears start to stream down my face, as the magnitude of emotions that included confusion, anger, and horror all began to overload my insides and just begin to spill out of me.
They think we are hitmen! I almost laughed at the allegation. I looked at the people gathered around, that ranged from kids to older adults, and finally realized where we are. I thought this place was supposed to be a haven. Why don’t they understand us?
“You gotta believe us! We aren’t hitmen!” Ethan now screamed apoplectically, as the frustration inside of him poured out like magma. “We all just want to live! We just want to be a part of here! Please give us this chance!”
The crowd started to speak in a low buzz that sounded through the night sky. Up above, the sparks that emanated from the fire floated through the blackness, and glowed brightly like the several dozens of stars already visible in the night sky.
The boy rubbed his chin inquisitively, seemingly wanting to just stab Ethan’s patience in half.
“And how are we supposed to know that you guys don’t work for the government? Prove it to us.”
“You fucking idiot!” Ethan tried to charge forward at Will, who narrowed his eyes at Ethan, almost trying to uncover his true identity. “You ignorant piece of shit! How could you even say that?! You don’t even know who the hell we are or all the shit we have been through, so I suggest you shut the fuck up! You are such a goddamn―”
“John!” The voice of the girl from earlier interjected just in time to stop Ethan from losing his mind from the madness, and the whole crowd grew silent as a figure emerged from the darkness and into the rays of light emanating from the fire.
“Excuse me, someone tell me what the hell is happening here?” John glanced at all of us confused and worried. His hair had long turned gray despite the thick wavy hair pushed to the side on his face. He looked to be a rather tall guy, with a scruffy beard and short, stubby ears.
“Gary and Simon found them out on the saddle of the mountain while doing their nightly patrol.” Will’s voice was much calmer now. “One of them was carrying a rifle, and another one was looking at the hitmen database.”
John eyed us suspiciously. He paused for a moment, and the tension in the air grew so tight that I could feel it pressing down on my skin, and weighing down my lungs. The night was silent, except for the faint gust of the wind blowing in my ear and causing the thoughts in my brain to swirl around madly. I could feel the fear coalescing into a lump in my throat that attempted to jump out of me in a hysterical scream. My entire body wanted to collapse under the magnitude of anxiety and hysteria that shook my body erratically with its shockwaves, like a catastrophic earthquake suddenly being released from within me. I felt my heart stop and my whole body freeze, as John laid his hazel eyes on me.
I could see something on his face change as it went from cold and stern to surprised. He turned his head, and then looked back at me for a long second, almost as if doing a double take to make sure that I was real.
“Don’t be silly.” John looked around at the anxious people, who had the look of complete terror in their eyes whenever they glanced at us. “They aren’t hitmen. The government would already have dozens of other agents here if they were.” H
e eyed the people who stood clutching our arms, the woman holding onto me, still digging her razor-sharp nails into my skin. “Let them be free.”
We are gonna live! A rush of excitement coursed through me as I exhaled, letting the tension release from my body. Simultaneously, the tension holding my muscles in place contracted, causing my whole body to relax and fall to the ground. I could hear a few cries from the crowd as they watched me helplessly twitch on the ground as another wave of pain crashed over me. The fire behind me only made the pain worse as both my insides and outsides began to burn incessantly.
“Welcome to Camp Camel!” I heard a voice shout, as people began to clap emphatically. What’s happening? I tried to close my eyes as the exhaustion fought with the adrenaline inside of me to create a sick feeling in my stomach.
“Guys, she needs medical attention!”
I could tell just from the feel of the warm hand against my chest that it was Hunter.
I opened my eyes, and through the haze of tears and smoke, I could see Hunter’s bright blue eyes with thin, green waves emanating out from their core.
“Don’t worry,” Hunter said, trying to keep his expression calm as he looked at my face that winced with the searing pain in my side. “You will be okay.”
I could feel the vibration of the earth beneath me as an older woman and young man knelt by my side. The woman had dark circles under her eyes, and pale white skin that sharply contrasted with the darkness around her. The boy wore jeans and a stained plaid shirt, and his dark skin was so soft that it almost glowed in the moonlight.
The woman pulled back my shirt to reveal the mess beneath it.
“Bruised ribs and a bunch of scrapes.” The woman pulled something out of the bag at her side and held it up above my body. “No fractures, but there is some serious inflammation.
Well, great. I exhaled, figuring that the inflammation was the source of my pain. I could actually feel the emotions inside of me beginning to clot in my brain and swell into a massive ball of pain that throbbed in my head.
“On a scale from one to ten, how bad does it hurt?” The boy took a weird looking bandage and placed it on my side. I could feel a cold rush burn on my ribs as my entire side went numb.
“It hurts like a bitch.” I gritted my teeth as the icy feeling crawled up my spine and caused my whole body to shiver.
“This should help.” The woman placed a tablet in my open mouth that instantly dissolved at the touch of my saliva.
“I would normally place bandages to dissolve your cuts all over your body, but since these are hard to find, I’m only going to use it on your ribs.” The boy gave me a sympathetic look, as he gazed at my legs that were bound to be covered in a countless number of scrapes.
“It’s okay.” I mumbled, and I groaned as they lifted the icy bandage off my ribs and placed a different type of bandage onto it that lifted the numbness from the area and caused a dull pain to return to my side.
“Are you feeling any better?” Hunter’s hand tensed on my shoulder, but his voice was level.
“I guess.” I sighed, and felt a bit of relief as the blinding pain was alleviated from my body. The stars in the night sky glimmered up above, providing my mind with a new sense of hope for the future. The shock and fear were beginning to leave my body like the dreaded aunt, who always overstays her welcome, and I felt my brain suddenly relax as the excitement bubbled up inside of me. We made it to the refuge. The exhaustion, hunger, and thirst that dragged my body downward, and that were now close to pulling me beneath the earth, would finally stop. We can live. I inhaled, letting the crisp, dry, mountain air full of smoke and a rugged, earthy smell flow into my lungs. We have our lives. I placed both hands on my chest and let them rise and fall with every breath, my body finally feeling like it was my own. Life that I so desperately clung to for weeks, was now in my hands, like a withering orchid that had come back to form upon the first rainfall of spring. The sense of relief, upon realizing that the cold hands of death were for once not wrapped tightly around me, cascaded through my body, and it helped to dull the pain that throbbed in my side.
It felt like being released from jail. Finally, liberated from the confining bars of death, I could walk with a new sense of freedom, a new sense of hope. But still, I felt a flare of anxiety rush through my veins as the future ahead of me still appeared dark and ominous.
At least I still have the only thing I have left. I took a deep breath and stared up at the night sky and the few stars that glowed. At least I have still the one thing that matters most.
“Do you think you could try and sit up?” the boy asked in a soft voice, his northern accent coming through a bit.
“Yeah.” I groaned a bit, but managed to almost painlessly sit up. My eyes, instead of wandering the night sky, gazed at the base of sorts that was set atop the mountain.
“How is it feeling now?”
“Not too bad.” The blinking light of a cell phone tower caught my eye in the distance
“That’s good. It should be better in a few days.” The boy brushed a hand through his dark, thick, curly hair. “We gave you some pain medicine and a bandage to stop the swelling.”
“Thanks.” I looked out of the corner of my eye at Hunter, who was looking at my messy, dirty, blonde hair that appeared brown in the darkness of the night.
“Well, my name is Carol if you ever need anything.” The lady shook my hand and began to pile all the medicine and bandages that were scattered across the dirt back into her bag.
“And I’m Jordan.” The boy shook my hand and smiled.
“Natalie, I’m very sorry about all this. Are you okay?” John interrupted, an anxious tone to his voice. He pushed past the two of them and kneeled so he could look right at me.
“How the hell do you know her name?” Hunter shot John a dangerous, confused look.
“Uh, uh,” John stuttered, and I could see his gaze fade away from me. “Your friend Ethan mentioned it to me.”
“Right,” Hunter said in a halfway sarcastic tone.
What is up with this guy? I felt a chill crawl up my legs, causing every hair on my body to stand up as John placed an oddly warm hand on my thigh. He had hairy arms and a layer of wrinkles on his forehead that only added to his creepy vibe.
“Anyways, Natalie.” John stared me right in my eyes, and I couldn’t help but awkwardly look away at the ground. “I’m very sorry about this. This is no way to welcome any of you guys to Camp Camel. They can get crazy sometimes. The fear just sometimes gets to them.” He paused. “But my name is John, and it’s nice to meet you guys. I wholeheartedly welcome you all to Camp Camel, a place where the unwanted in the population can live happily and safely. I hope that you both can find your way here, and make yourselves happy.”
There was another long pause after he finished talking, as Hunter and I both waited for him to say more. I stared at him with a blank expression. My mind was too in shock that this was actually happening to register what he was saying.
“Thanks, I hope so, too,” Hunter finally said.
“Good, good.” John smiled, and I could see a warm glow in his eyes when he looked at me. He glanced at me like I was a long-lost friend, or a person he knew from a past life that he was shocked to see. That’s weird. I could feel an uncomfortable feeling rise in my stomach.
“Well, have a nice night, guys. I’m headed to bed. If you have any questions, find me in the morning.”
“Sounds good.” Hunter plastered a fake grin on his face as John slowly walked away, but the second it was certain that he wasn’t turning back around, Hunter looked at me with wide eyes.
“Well, that was weird.” I exhaled, letting him wrap his arm around me as we both sat in the dirt. I could feel the heat of the fire slowly dwindling as the embers cooled in the chill of the desert night.
“Yeah.” He sighed, and with his beautiful eyes, looked up at the stars above. “Yes, indeed it was.” He paused, before his tone grew more serious. “But he better stay th
e fuck away from my girl. He’s literally three times as old as you.”
“I don’t know.” I looked at all the tents shrouded in the darkness arranged in a messy formation atop the mountain. “I didn’t get that vibe from him.”
Hunter pulled me closer, and I could feel the warmth and comfort of his body press up against mine.
“Well, I certainly did.”
“Eh, I’m not sure.” I paused and stared up at the night sky above. It almost rivaled the beauty of the shine to Hunter’s eyes and face when he laughed. Except the night sky looked dead, unlike Hunter, who was clearly vibrant and alive. There wasn’t many clouds or stars due to the light pollution, which created a landscape devoid of anything except the vast emptiness that covered the sky.
“What do you think about all this?” I asked.
He glanced at me with a slightly confused expression.
“Like everything?” He motioned with his other hand toward the huge yet small world that surrounded us.
“Yeah.” My voice was frail, and I could feel my body capitulating to the exhaustion.
“Well, we are alive, so that’s good.” He smiled, and I could see a glow of excitement in his eyes.
“But does that even matter if we have nothing?”
“We don’t have nothing.” He looked at me, and I could feel his body inch even closer. “We have the most important thing: our memories.”
“Our memories.” I could feel my brain begin to rewind through visions of better times: times of innocence, times of joy, times when I was truly happy. I could feel a rush of emotions flood through my body as I tried to immerse myself in the visions, and then the cold, hard regret hit me as I realized they weren’t real. This was then followed by sheer desperation, and then anger, as the emptiness in my heart longed to be filled.
“Yes.” He smiled, and my body relaxed at his warm, soft voice. “Those are the only things we will have with us forever. Memories are the one thing that no one can take from us, no matter what. They make us who we are.”
Control Freakz Page 9