by Wendi Wilson
Maybe too solid. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. Trapped.
My eyes darted to Levi as my heart raced to dangerous speeds. “Are we…?”
“In the bunker. Yes.”
“Oh God.” Panic dug into me with cold fingers as sweat broke out down my back, and my vision tunneled. We were underground. Just like the crawl space.
“Piper, listen to me.” Levi’s voice came to me as if from far away, yet somehow the tone and timber soothed me. “Slow down. Take deep breaths.”
When I didn’t seem to heed him, he took a step closer and crouched down until he was at my eye level. “Squeeze your hands into fists.”
“Huh?” My heart was still galloping out of control, my breathing erratic. The blood. Dad.
“Squeeze them.” Carefully, he reached for my hand and curled it into a fist.
I did as he said, not knowing what else to do. Dad. The footsteps.
“Good. Now inhale through your nose for five seconds.”
Nodding, I followed directions, realizing, in my terror, that he was following techniques similar to some Dr. Whitely had tried.
And it was working.
“Okay, now hold your breath for five seconds,” he said, his voice perfectly calm. “As you exhale, release your fists.”
Slowly letting out my breath, I relaxed my hands. The panic and terror ebbed away. Blinking, I wiped my face before I placed my hands on the blanket on either side of me and stretched out my fingers. “Thank you.”
He nodded, his expression still full of worry. “I’ll get you some water.”
He strode out of the room, his footsteps echoing on the floor. I watched as he went, still dazed. Levi had been there at the mess hall, I remembered now. Just as the cinder blocks shifted and I fell, he’d arrived. Something else about him and our interaction was bothering me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
More importantly, I remembered what I’d seen. Sarah and Chef Chloe had Johnny in a storage room, and they were doing something to him. He needed help!
I stood up, the metal bed creaking underneath me. Quickly, I crossed the little sleeping area and made it to the doorway where Levi met me, a water bottle in his fist.
“You should drink.”
“There’s no time. There was a boy. Sarah and Chef Chloe were doing something to him.”
Now that the words were past my lips, my accusation sounded ridiculous. I scanned Levi’s face for his reaction, but his expression remained full of the same concern he’d shown earlier. Concern for me, not Johnny.
“Levi, did you hear me?”
He nodded then held out the water bottle. “You should still drink this. Then we can go see the dean.”
“We should see the dean now.” I tried to step around him, but he moved to block my path, the water bottle still in his fist.
“Drink first.”
“Fine.” I snatched it and unscrewed the cap, taking a big gulp.
As I did, Levi began talking. “Look, I brought you here because it’s not safe for you at camp. You can see that now, can’t you? You should go.”
This was the last thing I was expecting. I lowered the water bottle and stared into his captivating gaze. “What? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“I did, which is exactly why you shouldn’t be here.”
I blinked again. “I just told you that I think Sarah and Chloe are up to something and you come back at me with ‘You should go home’? What the hell, Levi? We need to do something right now.”
His jaw clenched, as did one fist. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
But I wasn’t down for some macho man bullshit right now. “Take me to the dean.”
“I don’t think—”
“Fine, then get out of my way.” I stepped around him, brushing against his shoulder as I went, ignoring the tingle in my skin as it touched his. Part of me expected him to stop me, but he didn’t. Instead, I heard footsteps behind me as he followed.
But when I got to the end of the narrow concrete hallway, the large, rusty, metal door was shut and locked. I yanked on the large handle, but it didn’t budge.
“How do you open this thing?” I demanded, my heart pounding wildly again, but my determination would not let the panic win. No, I was going to stay in control this time.
Levi stared for a second before shaking his head and stepping beside me. In the small entryway, our bodies were nearly touching as we stood face to face. His eyes never leaving mine, he reached for the large metal handle and yanked it up like it weighed nothing, releasing three huge bolts in the process.
“If you come down here, you push this lever down. It will lock you in and keep… anything out.”
He stared at me, his eyes willing me to accept his help. Begging even. Somehow, he was always protecting me, saving me, yet not happy about doing it. Maybe he did worry about me and wanted me to leave, but it seemed as though it was more for his convenience than anything.
He simply didn’t want to be bothered.
Despite how he felt about the situation, I owed him. Again. He’d found me, carried me here, and tried to keep me safe, though from what, I was still unsure. Sarah? Chloe? You didn’t need a bunker to ward off either of them. They probably weighed one hundred and ten pounds each.
“Thank you,” I said, staring into the depths of his gaze, unable to help myself. “You saved me again, and I should be grateful.”
He shrugged, though his posture seemed anything but casual. “It’s my... job.”
For a moment, it seemed as though he might have said it was his pleasure, but then that was probably wishful thinking. Yet, True seemed to think—
“True! We left her!”
He didn’t share my panic. “The dean took care of it.”
I stared at him, confused. “How did he know?”
Levi nodded toward the depths of the bunker. “I have a line to his office.”
“You do?”
He shrugged again, seeming not to wish to say more on the subject.
We were burning precious time, anyway. I pushed the door, feeling the weight of it and the age as it squeaked on noisy hinges. Twilight met me as I stepped out, and I was thankful I hadn’t lost more than an hour or two, judging on the height of the moon. The sky was brilliant with stars, giving me just enough light to see as I picked my way through the rocks and weeds.
Walking as fast as I could, I headed out of the trees. I found the path easily enough and hiked back, Levi close on my heels. When I glanced at him, he seemed to be on high-alert, his eyes scanning for threats like we were crossing a battlefield and not a summer camp. What could have him so concerned? He was usually so confident, not scared of anything.
It felt like an eternity until we made it to the dean’s office. I didn’t know what I’d do if I saw Sarah or Chef Chloe now. Accuse them? Attack them? Neither of those options seemed viable. Thankfully, we didn’t see anyone on the way there, since according to the schedule, it was campfire time in the amphitheater.
My moody sidekick didn’t stop me as I tromped up the steps to the office and yanked open the door.
Badass Piper, you got this.
“Dean Purty?” I called, but it was unnecessary.
He was already there waiting for me at the front desk, his arms folded and his expression… What was it? Concerned? Worried? Or was it annoyance that folded his brow?
“Piper, come in. I hear you have something to tell me.”
“Yes, I do.”
The door thwacked as Levi stepped in behind me. The dean’s eyes darted to him. “Levi.”
“Dean, Piper hit her head. She should probably see the nurse.”
I glanced back, wondering why he was suddenly inserting himself in this. Was he implying I didn’t see what I saw?
“He doesn’t… I can tell you what happened. Levi didn’t see.”
“I saw you fall. I saw you hit your head.”
I glowered. He was implying that my brain was addled. Jerk.<
br />
“Come in, both of you.” The dean gestured to the back of the small cabin.
We strode the length of the hallway to his office, the three of us cramming into the room with a desk, bookshelves, filing cabinets, and chairs. The walls held photos of Camp Shadow Lake, both past and present. Black and white pictures faded with age were hung next to colored photos of more recent times. I wondered, in passing, if I might find my dad in one of those.
“Now, Piper, please tell me what it is you saw.” Dean Purty sat in the cracked leather chair behind his desk and steepled his fingers as Levi and I settled rigidly in the two chairs across from him.
I took a deep breath before letting it all out. I told him what I’d seen in the mess hall, Sarah and Chloe conspiring, the dark storage room, and the strange way they were treating the boy. He listened with impassive seriousness until I was done.
“And then you fell,” the dean added.
“Yes, but—”
“And hit her head,” Levi added.
Dean Purty nodded.
I glanced between them, anger flaring. “I didn’t make this up. I swear.”
As I was speaking, the dean got up and opened the door. He called to someone down the hall, “Can you come in here?”
Footsteps headed in our direction. I turned, expecting to see Chloe or Sarah and wondering what I would do if they arrived and started lying. I steeled myself, ready to stand my ground. Badass Piper doesn’t back down.
Instead, Johnny walked into the office, looking chipper and healthy.
The dean put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Hello there, son. Having a good time?”
The boy stared up at the big man, his eyes round. He nodded before answering. “I was just going to go to the campfire.”
The dean smiled. “That’s nice. Can you tell me about dinner tonight? Did anything happen that you’d like to talk to us about?”
The boy dropped his eyes and shook his head. “The hotdogs were kinda gross, but I liked the peaches.” Then his eyes darted back up. “Did I do something bad?”
The dean patted the boy’s shoulder. “Oh no. I was just wondering if you had a talk with Chef Chloe today? Or the counselor who goes by Sarah?”
The boy shook his head slowly. “Are you gonna tell her I didn’t like her hotdogs?”
“Of course not.” The dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate candy bar. “This is for you. Don’t eat it before bed, or you’ll have nightmares. You can go.”
The boy palmed the bar, his eyes going wide with excitement, before turning and running down the hall. I heard the door thwack as he exited.
I sat stunned, not sure what to make of what had just happened. The boy seemed fine with no recollection of being with Chloe or Sarah, and, if they had done anything to him, I didn’t see a single mark. Had I really hit my head and imagined it all?
Reaching up I touched the bump on the back of my skull and winced.
“Sir, I think Piper should be sent home.”
I whirled around, realizing that Levi had stood. He towered over me as I sat, but his eyes were on the dean as he continued.
“She shouldn’t be here. She’s fainted twice. Frankly, it’s getting too difficult to protect her.”
“I don’t need your protection,” I barked, but he ignored me.
“She should go home, sir,” he repeated, his voice firm with conviction.
Well, no room for equivocation there. He wanted me out. He’d wanted me out since the moment he saw me, and it seemed that he might actually get his wish.
The dean sucked in a deep breath before his kind brown eyes found mine. “Piper, do you want to go home?”
That was a good question. Did I want to go home? Things had been weird. Hard. Even dangerous. But did I want to run home with my tail between my legs and just give up? Did I want to let Levi drive me off? Did I want to just forget something I was almost sure I’d seen with Sarah and Chloe, curl up in my bed, and watch bad TV all summer?
No. That wasn’t who I was anymore.
“No, sir, I don’t want to go home.”
The dean nodded, but Levi wasn’t done. He lurched forward, the calm gone from his voice. “She’s going to get hurt!”
But Dean Purty remained calm. “I spoke to her doctor when you told me what happened, Levi. She assures me Piper can handle it. And you can, right, Piper? Can you handle it?”
I took a deep breath and let Badass Piper answer.
“I can, sir. I’m staying.”
Chapter Fifteen
It wasn’t until after I’d returned to Saka’am, convinced True and the girls I was fine, and climbed into my bunk that I remembered the images that had flashed through my mind after I hit my head.
The hard floor, the dark laugh, the pain.
My hand slapped against my neck, my fingers probing the delicate skin for where I had felt the bite. There was no wound. No pain. Nothing. And yet, my heart was pounding double-time as fear gripped me in its icy talons. It had seemed so… real.
But it couldn’t have been. I hit my head. I had the bump to prove it. I’d imagined the whole thing. I was alive, for Christ’s sake, and I’d definitely been dead or close to it in that dream, or whatever it was.
So why was every nerve in my body screaming with terror? Why were my muscles locked up, keeping me immobile?
Remembering Levi’s nifty trick, I forced my hands into fists and took a deep breath. I held it for five seconds, then slowly released it as I relaxed my hands. It helped. I felt better, and I could move my limbs again.
I rolled over onto my side and tried to clear my mind, but the images kept returning. The blurry, distorted face. The ripping sensation at my neck before I floated up and out of my body. The feeling that it was a memory, not a dream, even though I was positive it hadn’t actually happened.
Was I going crazy?
I’d been so sure Chloe and Sarah were hurting little Johnny, but he was fine. I was sure I was dead and floating up in the air while some… one ripped my freaking throat out, yet here I was, whole and unharmed—other than the goose egg on the back of my head and my inability to sleep.
I thought Levi might like me, a little, but he was determined to see me gone from this place.
Yep. Definitely going crazy.
“Piper?”
True materialized beside my bed, waving me out of it and pointing toward the door to the cabin. I extricated myself from the tangled blanket and slipped out, careful not to shake the bed and wake the camper sleeping on the top bunk.
I joined True on the porch, and she motioned for me to sit next to her on the steps. Cool air caressed my skin as I stared into the darkness. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I was looking for a certain dark-haired boy who seemed to show up whenever I needed him.
“Talk,” True hissed, her voice pulling my attention from the woods.
“What? I told you everything.”
“You told me you fell and hit your head, and Levi found you and took you to the nurse.” She paused, giving me time to nod. “We both know that was bullshit, Piper. It worked to calm the girls, but I know you better than that. And you’re a terrible liar. So spill.”
I looked into her eyes for a moment, knowing my decision was already made. I trusted True, and I really wanted her input on everything that had happened since I left her at the dinner table with the lie that I was going to the bathroom.
So I told her all of it. Seeing Chef Chloe approach Sarah, and how their leaving together made me suspicious. Spying through the window and fearing for Johnny’s life. Falling and cracking my head. The dream. Waking in the bunker. Levi. His argument to the dean that I should be sent home after they showed me Johnny was unharmed.
True remained quiet through the whole story, which was, in itself, a miracle. My skin tingled with anticipation as I waited for her to speak. Did she think I was insane? Would she turn her back on me like most of my friends back home after my dad died? Maybe I shouldn’t have
told her.
“Did I ever tell you I had relatives in New Orleans?” she asked.
The random question threw me off-kilter, and my face screwed up with confusion as I answered. “Uh… no.”
True nodded, her dark eyes glazing over as a faraway look crossed her face.
“My mom is from Orleans Parish, and her two, much-older sisters used to live on the outskirts of the city.”
“Okay,” I said, drawing the word out into a question.
“They’re gone now, but when they were alive, they believed in… stuff. Like, supernatural stuff.”
“Like ghosts and spirits?” I asked, still unsure where this was going and what it had to do with my crazy night.
“Yes, and other things, too. Demons, shapeshifters, and things that go bump in the night,” she replied, her voice holding no evidence she was joking. She sounded dead serious. “But also magic. Second-sight. Visions of the future.”
Her voice lowered on that last bit, emphasizing it. My eyes widened as I stared at her. She was serious.
“So, you think I had a vision? Of the future?”
I couldn’t help it. My voice was laced with skepticism, making it sound like I was mocking her. I flinched as her facial muscles tightened, then shot her an apologetic look. I didn’t intend to ridicule her or whatever belief system she held. But, come on. Visions of the future?
“According to my aunties, the gift of second sight runs in our blood. They knew I was coming, even though my mother had been told by multiple doctors she could never have a baby. They told her they’d both had the same vision of me, at the same time, so I had to be true.”
The corners of her mouth lifted, and I smiled back. “That’s why your parents named you True?”
She nodded, and her expression turned serious again. “My mother didn’t inherit the gift, so she didn’t believe them. Even when they were kids, she thought they were trying to prank her or something. She was so mad that they’d teased her with the one thing she wanted more than anything—a baby. When a doctor confirmed she was pregnant, her opinion of her sisters and their claims completely shifted. She finally believed.”
“That’s really cool, True, but what does it have to do with me?”