Survival: Part 2

Cavern

I stayed in the gym after the last work out of the day. It didn’t feel tired, so I made up a work-out of my own. Hitting the bag, I kept thinking about Alexander or Alex as he wanted me to call him. He was really nice and his body was gorgeous. I could tell he worked out, maybe even for a career. Trying to get out of my head, I hit the bag harder.

                “Wow. What did that bag to do you?” I hear a voice laugh from the doorway. I brush my hair out of my eyes as I look up; it was Alex. He was wearing a white tank top with black work-out shorts and was carrying a black sweatshirt. The tank top accentuated his bulging muscles. I stood up straight and pulled up my glove up; it slipped down a little while I was working out. I laughed and smiled at him; he really was cute.

                “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked walking towards me.

                “Sure. Why not? I’d like the company,” I said getting back into my stance. I punched the bag a few more times and felt him watching me. I looked up, not getting out of position.

                “I can teach you something that will really give you a good work-out,” he says smirking, “Are you up for it?” I smile back.

                “Of course I am. I don’t know if it’ll be that hard though,” I say laughing a little. He motioned for me to sit on the ground. I sat Indian style, waiting for his instructions.  A clap of thunder and a flash of lightning light up the dimly lit gym.

                “We’ll have to stretch you out first,” He said getting on the mat with me. I smile; I think I might know where he’s going with this.

                “Are you flirting with me?” I say lying back on the mat.

                “Me?! Why would I do that?” Alex says sarcastically. I laugh as he kneels in front of me.

                “Lift your leg up,” he says grabbing hold of my ankle. He pushes on my leg, stretching out my upper thigh. We end up inches away from each other. I smile into his calm face. He smiles back at me with a look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite figure out. He gets closer, and I figured out that he was going to kiss me. I lean up a little to meet his lips. A blood-curdling scream tears us apart. I jumped up, almost kicking him in the face.

                “What was that?” I muttered. I grab my sweatshirt and run out the door. Looking out into the dark night, I noticed a figure run into the brush.

                “Hey,” I yell after it, but my words get engulfed by the thunder. Alex passes me and heads towards the girls’ dorms. I sprint after him. Just then, another yell comes out of the night. I stop in my tracks, but Alex keeps running. I start to follow him, at a steady jog. Lightning flashes lighting up the common area. I see Alex fling open the door. I start to run a little bit faster, a little worried about him. I finally get to the door and see something that I hoped never to see again. Alex was comforting another guy who was crying. Next to them, however, was something I was unfortunately used to seeing. It was a young girl, probably in her early twenties, lying in a pool of her own blood. I instantly flashed back to my parents’ death. I was about ten or eleven and was just coming home from school. I don’t remember much else -- maybe because my brain didn’t want me to remember. The only images that come up are my parents, dead, on the floor, a sinister voice, and the cellar door slamming shut. I’m shot back into reality when the door flies open again. I look, and it’s the paramedics from Long Island. I move out of the way as they come barging in.

                “Alex?” I say putting my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me with a recognition that I unfortunately knew.

                “Let’s get Jerry out of here,” he says. Jerry must be the one Alex was comforting. Walking out of the dorms, I hear a sinister laugh. I whirl around, shocked and frightened at the familiar sound.

                “Are you okay?” Alex asks putting his free arm around my shoulders.

                “I’m fine. Let’s worry about Jerry,” I say leaning into his chest. Jerry looks up at me and smiles.

                “Thanks,” he says looking downright awful. I smile back.

                “You’re going to be okay,” I say grabbing a hold of his hand. I hope we will be.

Scorpion

She was an easy target. That red-head should be just as easy. Maybe I should befriend her first – make it more fun.

Roxy

                “I love walking in the rain,” I say to myself. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I start walking back towards the dorms when I see flashing lights and sirens. I pull my earbuds out and watch the chaos. An ambulance starts up its sirens and drives off. A group of people start to walk towards me. I start to move out of the way then I notice Cavern. I run up to her shoving my earbuds in my pocket.

                “What happened?” I ask her glancing over at the other two with her: it was the boy she was talking to before we got on the bus and his friend.

                “Jerry found his girlfriend dead in the dorms,” she says solemnly.

                “We should really get him dried off,” Cavern’s friend says to her. She nods and looks back at me.

                “Can I help?” I ask. She smiles and nods. We start walking again towards the main building. Just then, the other boy faints. Cavern’s friend catches him before he falls and hefts him over his shoulder, fireman’s style. We end up in the mess hall and lay him down on the floor. Cavern’s friend gets behind his head and lifts it onto his thighs, keeping it elevated.

                “Is he gonna be ok?” Cavern asks.

                “He’ll be fine. He’s just in shock,” he says back. Just then, realizing that someone else was in the room, he turned to me.

                “Ruby right?” he says to me. I nod, shocked that someone knew me.

                “Alex,” he says pulling his sweatshirt off and laying it on the other boy. All three of us fall silent, watching the boy, making sure that he’ll be okay. He had a calm face with jet black hair. It was cut short, with a much older hair style for his age. For some reason, I wanted to reach out to him. He reminded me of someone, but whom?

Survival: Part 1

Roxy

I pull up to the parking lot my aunt said to meet at. There were a lot of college kids there; I guess I wasn’t the only sucker. I get out of my car and pop the trunk. Most of the stuff I brought is art supplies. I take my suitcase out and slam the trunk shut. I stand there for a minute, taking in the crowd. “People watching” has been my favorite pass-time, besides art of course. Most of the crowd were carbon copies of each other, but I noticed a few looked out of place: A tall red head wearing all black, a taller, muscular guy, another guy who dressed like he was fifty, and a girl with something sleeping on her shoulder. I sigh a little: this is where I’ll end up if I’m not alone. I start towards the bus, wishing I didn’t have to do this. Lost in my thoughts, I wasn’t looking where I was going and bumped into someone.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. I mumble my response and bend over to pick up my bag. Looking up, I notice that it’s the girl with that thing on her shoulder.

“I’m Cavern. I’m really sorry,” Cavern says holding her hand out to me to help me get up. I take it. For a girl it was really rough, scratch that, it was really rough for anyone. I noticed little bumps and scars on the hand that helped me up. On the other arm however, was a long glove. It looks like it slipped from our encounter. From the elbow down, was something that I couldn’t fathom. Her arm was made out of rocks! She slides the glove back up her arm, a little ashamed about it.

“Are you going to Survival Camp?” I ask trying to stop thinking about her arm.

“Yeah,” she says starting to walk towards the bus. I hurry to catch up; her legs were longer so I almost had to run to keep up.

“What’s your name anyway? I feel like I should know because you know mine,” Cavern says smiling at me.

“It’s Roxanne. Call me Roxy,” I say to my shoes.

“Roxy,” she says emphasizing it, “Cool name.” We get to the bus and put our stuff on the ground. I was standing on her right side for the first time. I realized that that thing on her shoulder was a bat! I gasped and Cavern turned to look at me.

“That’s usually everyone’s first reaction to Edgar. He’s my pet bat,” she says patting its little head. I smile nervously at her; she’s a bit strange with her bat and rock arm. This’ll be a strange trip.

 

Alexander

I get over the hill and into the parking lot just in time. The bus hadn’t left yet and I was pretty tired. I hadn’t made a hike like that since…..well since I left. I throw my pack over my shoulder and head towards the bus. Making my way over, I notice a guy who looks like he could be about fifty with a girl on his arm. I shrug, maybe that’s his thing. The participants create a semi-circle around the bus and wait for the “councilors” to give the first orders. I follow suit, trying to find a spot in the circle. I pry my way into a spot next to the older guy. The girl was pretty, I noticed, but he looked a lot younger for his clothing choice. He was a little shorter than me, but carried a lot more confidence. Some other guys pushed their way into the circle, making the other people fall to the right. The guy bumped into me as I bumped into a girl next to me.

“Oh sorry,” he says trying not to fall over. I use my body as a shield and steady him.

“Thanks…um,” he says trailing off.

“Alex,” I say.

“Jerry,” he says putting his hand out to me. I shook it, smiling at him. Suddenly, I remembered about the girl I bumped into.

“I’m really sorry,” I say trying to get her attention; she was talking to the girl next to her. She turns and my heart stops. She was really pretty with chocolate brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wasn’t that much shorter than me, which I liked.

“It’s okay,” she says smiling at me. Okay, that really did it for me. I was hooked so to speak. Now there are two reasons to like Survival Camp. This’ll be great.

 

Scorpion

I get on the bus before anyone and take my seat. It really was my seat. Whenever I’ve been on a bus, it’s always been the same seat. In a few minutes, all of those kids will get on the bus and be stuck in a nature preserve for six weeks. I can’t wait.

Cavern

It’s been about three hours on the bus. Everyone is itching to get off. I got to sit next to Roxy and have been learning a lot about her. Well, maybe not a whole lot. All I know is her name and why she’s here; I guess that’s how she wants it. She keeps staring at my arm though. I knew this would happen. She’d be like everyone else, distant and revolted by my arm. I hope this doesn’t end our…..whatever you’d call this.

Jerry

I’m in heaven. I get to be with Jessica for three hours in a confined space. It’s wonderful! Even though I love talking to her, I keep looking at another girl. She’s beautiful, in a plain sort of way. She has crazy red hair, but it looks dyed. She’s only a few seats away. I really want to talk to her, but we can’t move until we get to the reserve. I need to meet her.

Roxy

We finally got there, but we had to go over a bridge which was kind of scary. It didn’t feel sturdy under the weight of the bus. I got off behind Cavern, but in front of the boy who talked to her. He looked like a nice person, but you never know. Stepping off the bus, I look at the place where I’ll be for the next few weeks. It looked really pretty, and the artist in me wanted to start sketching right away. I go to the back of the bus to grab my suitcase but got stopped on the way there. A girl stopped in front of me, blocking my path.

“Excuse me,” I mumble trying to go around her. I pass around her and hear “You’ll be first.” I whirl around, but the girl was gone. All I remember about her is her red hair against her pale skin. I noticed when I passed her that there was a tattoo of a scorpion on her shoulder. I shiver despite the hot air. Cavern comes up next to me and put her hand on my arm.

“Are you okay? Who was she?” she asks.

“Fine. I don’t know,” I reply. I grab my suitcase and start towards the cabins. This trip is getting weirder and weirder.

Scorpion

I talked to her. She looked perfect, not noticed and vulnerable. No one would miss her.

Alexander

Our first exercise is quite easy, for me at least. I noticed that the girl from the parking lot was the only other one not sweating. I walk over to her, hoping that she’ll talk to me.

“Wasn’t that easy?” I asked causally.

“Yeah. My mom taught me all this stuff before she died. Piece of cake,” she says wiping her hair away from her eyes. I smile and we start talking. I learned that her name is Cavern. That’s so cool. At the end of the day, I feel happier than I’ve felt in years.

Jerry

“Maybe this was a mistake,” I mumble to myself, massaging sore muscles I didn’t know I had. I really like Jessica, but this is too much. I can’t leave though. Sitting on my bed, I hear a clap of thunder and a crash of lightning. I love thunder storms, even more than women. I lay back just in time for the power to go out. I sit up abruptly, blinking in the new found darkness. I get up slowly, trying not to trip, and go to the door of my room. Suddenly, a scream fills the night with horror. I gasp, I would know that scream anywhere.

“Jessica,” I yell into the night. I get to her cabin, running at full speed. I tear open the door to find her on the ground, pooled in her own blood. Written in the blood is the word “Scorpion”.

Survival: Introductions

Roxy

“Survival Camp?” I ask. I press the phone closer to my ear, hoping I heard wrong.

“Yes. Survival Camp. It’ll do you good,” my aunt says from on the line. If you’re just coming in the middle of this, I’ll try to get you caught up. I’m Roxanne, but I prefer Roxy. My aunt wants me to go to some survival camp in the middle of nowhere to “make friends”. I have friends, she just doesn’t know them. I sigh; I can’t argue with my aunt. When she gets going, the real Italian comes out.

“I already signed you up,” she says proudly like she just got a medal from the President.

“Fine, I’ll go,” I sigh; at least I can get some sketches in. I might not have told you, but I’m an art major at some fancy smanchy college you’re probably never heard of. That’s trivial information anyways. I scribble down the information that my aunt tells me and hang up. I throw my cell onto my bed through the open door and sit down at the table. I stare at the piece of paper with the information on it and contemplate on crumpling it up. I put my elbows on the table and put my head in my hands. As I run my hands through my dyed-red hair, my roommate opens the door.

“Hey Roxy! You wouldn’t believe…. Are you okay?” she asks concerned. She sits down next to me. I hand her the piece of paper and slouch into the wooden chair.

“Survival Camp,” she reads. She looks up at me and gives me a pouty face.

“That sucks. How long is it?” she asks trying not to laugh.

“Six weeks,” I mumble. She starts to laugh and I stand up quickly.

“Oh come on! I’m just kidding,” she says trying to stop laughing. I get to my bedroom and slam the door. I pick up my cell from my bed and put it on the nightstand.

                “Come out please. I’m sorry,” I hear her say from the other side of the door. I ignore her and open my closet. I get on my tiptoes to reach the top shelf. While pulling down my suitcase, an avalanche of forgotten items falls off the shelf and onto the floor. I hear glass shatter and swear under my breath. Bending down, I turn over the broken picture frame. I straighten up and go to sit on my bed. The picture was of my family, right before mom died. I brush away the broken glass still stuck in the frame carefully and pull out the picture; we looked so happy. It was my first day of 6^th grade. Dad has me on his shoulders while Mom hugs him. I was leaning over and hugging mom’s head, the only thing within reach. My little brother, Rodger, was grabbing Mom’s jacket. Rodger is a few years younger than me. Rodger and I never really understood why she died; Dad never explained it to us. Maybe because he disappeared a few weeks after she died. What happened to us? We were such a happy family. It was all thrown out of whack so fast. I start to cry a little and I lay back onto my bed. I hug the picture and cry a little harder. What happened?

 

Alexander

I jogged up the path -- a little faster than usual. There was no real reason for the brisker pace or maybe there was.  Today is the anniversary of my friend’s death. I don’t like to talk about it, but running gets my mind off of the gruesome thoughts. I reach the summit of the hill and stop, looking out at the New York City sky line. It really was beautiful, contrary to a lot of other people’s opinions. Looking at the sky line, I start to think of my childhood. It was pretty normal to anyone who was a casual observer. My problems were deep, not usually seen right away by the untrained eye. I went into the Marines right after graduating from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I trained with the best for about two years. When I was twenty four, I made the hard decision to desert the Marines when I was ordered to kill innocent civilians. That was the last straw for me. I left as soon as I could and dropped off the grid. I haven’t lived anywhere permanently for more than three weeks. A gust of wind pulled me away from my thoughts. Trash creates a miniature tornado next to me. One piece of paper catches my eye. I grab it before it’s carried by the strong wind.

“Survival Camp,” I mutter reading the headline. The Camp was in this place called Mashomack Preserve on Long Island. I started back towards my camp. It couldn’t hurt to go. Right?

 

Cavern

                “Hurry up! We’re going to be behind schedule,” my mom yells up the stairs.

                “I’m coming,” I yell back. I pull my glove up over my rock-covered arm and zip my suitcase up. Looking in the mirror, I smooth my hair down a little and check to see if I still had my earrings in. They’re very important to me so I don’t want to lose them. They have sandstones in them. It was one of the only things I took from my first home. You might be wondering about the rock-covered arm and if that’s normal. Well, it is for me. For some reason, I can morph into rocks or precious stones to protect myself. As you can probably tell, I haven’t had a lot of friends. It’s been hard (ignore the horrible pun) living with this “disease”. When I was younger, my sisters and I were cursed by a horrible man who then killed my parents. No, not these parents, but my birth parents. My sisters are gone now, and I’ve made it my goal to find my sisters and find the man who killed my parents.

                “Hurry up,” my mom yells up the stairs again. I run out of my room and shut the door behind me. Edgar, my pet bat, flies off the rafters and onto my right shoulder. Yes, I have a pet bat. What did you expect? My name is Cavern!?

                “Yes you can come with me,” I say to Edgar. He squeaks in joy and shuffles closer to my head. I smile and pat his head. I jump off the last step and almost fly into my dad.

                “Are you ready for Survival Camp hon?” he asks hugging me. I smile at him and nod. Survival camp will help me defeat the man who killed my parents. Will it turn out the way I want it to?

 

Scorpion

                Wiping my mouth, I sit down against the cold brick wall. It’s been so long since I’ve killed anyone. Maybe I should change that. I pick up the piece of paper next to me.

                “Survival Camp huh? I’ll give them something to survive.”

 

Jerry

I put my cell down, smiling. Jessica had agreed to go out with me. I’m a pretty average guy, nothing really great to say about me. However, I’m pretty good with the ladies. Well, on that note, Jessica is going to be away at some survival camp for a little while. I of course said that I would go with her. I know I won’t have a lot of time to study, but I’ll bring my anatomy textbook anyway. If all else fails, I can use it as a weapon. Just kidding….or am I? In a way, it already has been used as a weapon – to tear my family apart. When I told my parents that I wanted to be in the medical field, I was immediately disowned. My father is from a long line of lawyers and wanted to keep the profession in the family. That’s when I took off. I haven’t seen my parents, or any of my family for that matter, since. That doesn’t matter though. What really matters is that I get to be with Jessica for six weeks on an island. What could happen?