The Camp (3 page)

“Nice to meet you.” I lied, hoping my smile would make up for it.

“I’m sure it is.” Chelsea turned to take me in, and I can say without a doubt the stare she gave me was far worse than anything the guys on the plane could’ve come up with. “How old are you anyway?”

“I’ll be eighteen in a week.” I shoved my hands in my hoodie pockets and found myself
skimming the group for Liam.

“Looking for someone?” Steph teased.

“Nope,” I crinkled my face at her as she rolled her eyes. Steph was probably only a couple years older than me, and if we
had happened to have met at college, instead of here, I’m sure we would’ve become fast friends.

“I’m out. I don’t need to
stick around for this,” Chelsea grunted.

“Actu
ally, you do.” Steph placed her hand on Chelsea’s shoulder. “Sorry. Those are the rules.”

Chelsea
pulled the sleeves of her shirt down over her hands, but not before I caught a glimpse of some pretty gnarly scars. I forced my glance away quickly once I realized what the gashes in her skin meant. I suddenly felt bad for the girl hiding behind her rough exterior.

I spotted a log and decided I’d much rather sit than stand. I plopped on the end and unfortunately made myself too easy of a target. Three guys made a beeline for me
and shared the log with me.

“
We heard about you,” one of them whispered. “Someone’s got a plan for you.”

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Justin,” he whispered.

He slowly slid his hand down my back and rested his fingers between my waistband and skin. My
flesh crawled with this skin-to-skin contact.

I looked over coolly at
him. He was wearing a torn black sweatshirt that appeared older than he was. He looked really twitchy and nervous. His fingers began sliding lower, and I turned quickly to face him, forcing his hands away from my back.

“And what did you hear?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
He looked to be sixteen, maybe seventeen. It was really hard to tell. He was a lot bigger than I was, even sitting down. His dark blonde hair was shaved short, and his eyes were as pale as ice. There was nothing kind behind them.

“Than
ks everyone for joining us,” Dan began, interrupting our conversation.

“As if I had a c
hoice,” I heard Chelsea mumble behind me.

“This is it,” he continued.
“Look around at everyone because these are the people who we’ll all be spending the summer with. The last flight of campers arrived this afternoon so let’s welcome Emma, Luke, Justin, and Mark. The majority of you have been here a week, already making friendships, but please make sure you welcome everyone. These are the people you’re going to learn to trust. Out in these woods, you’ll be finding yourself in many situations where you’ll need a partner. It’s crucial bonds are built and never broken. I’d like to think we won’t encounter situations of life and death, but we must always be prepared.”

I looked at Dan and knew there was no way this was how
stern he acted in his off hours. There was something really carefree hiding behind those eyes. His hair was as long as Steph’s, and he looked like he belonged on a surfboard, not here.

“Caleb’s go
ing to go over the rules,” Dan said to a crowd full of groans. “It’ll be a good refresher for everyone. And judging by what happened yesterday, apparently some of us need reminders.”

What? What happened yesterday?

I looked at the guys next to me
, and they seemed pretty oblivious; but then my eyes landed on a guy across the way who looked like he got beat up pretty badly. His lip was sliced and the skin around it was swollen. I explored the rest of the group, wondering who might have beat the poor kid up, and found someone whose injuries looked even worse.

Ugh.
Seven days and I can get out of here. I can make it seven days.

Caleb ha
nded a stack of red paper to circulate through the group. When I got my copy I looked down and began reading the list.

ReBoot Rules

1)
     
No illegal activities

2)
    
NEVER leave food or garbage out

3)
     
No fighting. Be respectful of others and nature

4)
    
Never leave your partner

5)
    
Travel in groups or, at a minimum, in pairs.

6)
     
Don’t leave the camping area at night

7)
     
Never go into the woods or tall grass alone. Ensure a CL is with you at all times if you must leave the immediate premises

8)
    
Report any misconduct to a CL immediately

9)
    
When completing forestry duties always obey the CL in charge

Caleb read the list out loud, and I stared line by line as he went through the rules. A chill ran through me as I realized someone was watching me. I felt the person’s gaze slink along my body and I froze. I didn’t know if it was better to acknowledge it or ignore it.

I folded the list and stuffed it in my pocket.
Caleb continued talking, but I didn’t hear any of it. My blood was pumping so quickly I only heard a ringing in my ears. Everything else was muffled.

I
finally brought my head up to see Luke staring at me, licking his lips. His hands were pushed deep into his pockets and I swore I saw movement, which only churned my stomach more.

C
hapte
r
T
hree

Most of the group disbanded, but I stayed on the log wondering if there was any possible way to get out of here sooner. Everyone had introduced themselves and as their names rolled off their tongues, so did their rap sheets. There was Shane who was busted for both robbery and assault. Then there was Luke, who enjoyed setting fires, a little something I’d like to call arson. And he got in a brief argument with Jake, who apparently shared the same passion. The CL stepped in to move the conversation forward. Everyone else was a blur. I didn’t care anymore. The wind was really beginning to pick up, and I wondered if I should head back and put the tarp over my tent before it started to rain.

“Hey, pretty girl.
” Luke’s voice crawled up behind me.

He placed his hand on my shoulder as he climbed over the log to have a seat next to me.

“What do you want?” I snapped, turning my face to look at him head on. “I thought I made things pretty clear on the plane.”

Luke
scooted closer to me and my stomach became nauseated. He placed his hand on my knee and began gliding it up toward my thigh. I clamped my hand on his and threw it off me. There were a few of the guys around, but they didn’t do anything but stare at us.
Why was I not surprised?

“Don’t touch me,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Come on, baby,” he hovered closely to me, “give me a chance.”

I stood up quickly, but not before he grabbed my
wrist and tugged me toward him, anchoring me on his lap. He began pressing himself against me, holding me tightly. His lips slowly grazed my neck, landing near my ear.

His mouth parted
. “You’re making me crazy. You know what I would have done to you already back at home?”

The fear swirled in my body creating a
n explosion of adrenaline as I quickly slammed my palm into his nose, startling him enough so I could break free.

“Oh. Y
ou never should’ve done that.” Luke stood up and reached for my hand.

“And why’s that?” Liam’s voice boomed through the air as he jumped over the log and landed on
Luke, taking him to the ground.

It only took one punch from Liam’s fist and
Luke was completely out. I’d never seen someone land a punch with such incredible force. I’d heard of hits like that but had never seen one up close.

Liam jumped off
Luke and rushed over to me.

“Are you okay?”
His eyes were still blazing from taking Luke down and my heart rate was off the charts.

No. I wasn’t okay. I wouldn’t be okay until I got to college
and away from anything to do with my stepfather, including this. He’s the one who put me here. He knew what this place was. But then I realized that going home would be just as horrible as being here. I had no idea what to do.

I stood
and stared at Liam, saying nothing. His expression softened as he took me in.

“We’ve gotta talk to Steph and get you out of here.” He glanced over his shoulder at
Luke who was still groggy and then his gaze landed back on me. “It’s just not safe.”

The guys who had been around gawking completely disappeared.

I shook my head and reached for his hand. “I’m fine.”

His left brow shot up and he watched me carefully.

“No. Seriously. I’m fine. I was gonna pepper spray him,” I confided.

A grin
surfaced along Liam’s lips. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really,” I replied, feeling a little less shaken.

“I still think we need to talk to Steph. She’s in the break room,” he said, pointing to the yurt she’d shown me earlier.

I nodded and kept my fingers intertwined with his as
we headed for the CL’s safe haven.

The door opened slowly
, and Steph stepped out onto the deck catching Liam and I traipsing over to her.

“What’s up?” she asked, her eyes dropping to our hands.
We’d made it to the deck and were standing in front of her.

“We had a situation that I had to take care of.
Luke went after her,” Liam’s tone was sharp but quiet.

Steph became wide-eyed and shook her head,
quickly leading us into the yurt.

“Is there any
way we can get her off the island?” he started.

“The next plane isn’t coming for a week, but I’ll call
and explain the situation. See if we can get her off quicker. Is that what you feel comfortable with?” she asked me.

“
Yeah. I was planning on leaving as soon as that plane returned,” I told her.

“You’ll be eighteen in a week?” Liam interrupted. “Why would anyone send you up here
for such a short amount of time?”

“It’s complicated,” I replied, knowing that was the same answer I’d given him earlier.

“
It sounds like it,” Steph confirmed.

I looked up at her quickly
realizing she was treating Liam as an equal and felt a little safer divulging a little bit of information.

“It’s my stepfather. The uncomplicated version is that he hates me. He tricked my mom and
me into thinking that this was a conservation and forestry camp because that’s what I’m hoping to study when I get to OSU in the fall,” I explained. “And I actually fell for it.”

“
So Kroy is your stepdad?” she asked.

I nodded.

“He’s the one who filled out her admission paperwork, citing ‘problems with authority’ but that’s about it,” Steph confirmed to Liam.

“Brutal,” Liam
said, but I saw a glimmer of something behind his eyes, and I wanted to find out more.

Steph reached
for a phone-like contraption that looked like it was from the eighties.

“What’
s that?” I questioned.

“Satellite phone,” Liam answered. “It’s all we’ve got in remote parts out here. It’s crazy expensive.”

“So if that goes out?”

“Then we’re screwed,
” he muttered.

Stephanie was already
talking to someone on the phone, and I began feeling better already.

“We’d always camp where we got
cell service,” I said, dipping my gaze to the floor. “This is so unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“It’s like that for most people,” he agreed.
“I grew up here so —”

“
You’re from here?”

He nodded. “Well not
here
, here. I grew up in a village on the island though. We have electricity,” he joked.

Steph hung up the phone and turned to us.

“I’ve got some bad news.” She grimaced. “A storm’s on the way. They wouldn’t be able to come for you for at least two days, and that’s still not a guarantee.”

My heart plummeted.
I had a way off the island and then a storm’s coming. Why did I feel like this was a pattern in my life?

“If I call them when the storm’s over, they’ll see if they can schedule an early attempt. We’re really at the mercy of the weather.”

Liam glanced at Steph. “I don’t think she should be in her tent alone.”

“I bet you don’t,” Steph laughed.

Liam threw his head back and began laughing. They seemed really comfortable around each other, like they’ve known one another forever. A tiny bit of jealousy swelled, but I pushed it away. What does it matter anyway?

“I’ll move my tent next to hers,” he stated.
“And if a storm’s on the way, I better do it fast. It sucks setting up in storms.”

Steph agreed and I followed Liam out
of the tent. I was definitely not looking forward to the storm. Forget the fact that no planes can get to us, I’ll be stuck in a tent in the middle of Alaska with the rains pounding and winds blasting. Things just kept getting better.

We stepped onto the deck
, and I noticed a group congregating where we’d left Luke. Mike, who was one of the CLs, looked over at Liam and nodded. He must have figured out it was a worthy KO.

“Why don’t you stay inside with Steph while I go move my tent?
I’ll put your tarp up too. I think it’s a nasty system, whatever it is.”

“Yeah. It’s freezing.”
I nodded and went back inside the yurt.

“Doing okay?”
Steph asked.

“Been better.”
I sat on a camp chair while she messed with the stove.

“I can imagine
… did you want to talk about it?”

I felt bad. I actually
didn’t
want to talk about it. There never seemed to be much to say. I was pinning everything on escaping.

“Just looking forward to going away to college and putting everything behind
me,” I said at long last.

“I completely un
derstand that one,” she agreed, taking a seat next to me.

“What made you sign up for this?” I asked.

“Volunteering with ReBoot?” she paused. “Well, I’m studying Psychology, and I thought it would be interesting exposure. Liam heard they were looking for a woman camp leader because of Chelsea and you so I applied. It’ll look good for graduate school, I suppose.”

“So you live up here too?” I questioned.

“No. I’m from the lower 48. I just visited Liam during the summers.” Her eyes smiled as she looked like she was remembering some happy memories. I recognized the look from when I thought about my dad.

She slowly kicked her legs out.
“Liam said that this was going to be his last year here so if I wanted to do it, now was my shot. There’s no way he’d let me be here unless he was around. He’s very protective that way.” She laughed and turned to me. “But I think you saw that about him already.”

So
she and Liam had to have dated at some point or maybe still were. A tiny bit of disappointment grew inside.

Steph must’ve caught the look in my eye
s because she began laughing.

“We’re cousins, Emma.” And she kept laughing. “I
’d recognize that look anywhere.”

“What look?” I demanded, feeling my face flush.

Steph watched as I fidgeted in my chair and finally gave up. I’d been caught.

“It’s not like that,” I insisted. “Besides,
the criminal life isn’t really my thing.”

Steph was now completely rolled over
in laughter, and I just felt myself getting more frustrated and embarrassed.

“Well, Liam will be disappointed to hear you say that,” she said finally calming down a little.
“On that note, I think it’s time to go get dinner. Dan was grilling salmon and some vegetables last I saw. The quicker we eat, the sooner we can hunker down before the storm hits. I’ve only been through a few summer storms, and they’re never enjoyable.”

I followed her lead and walked out the door
, not realizing my life would never be the same after tonight.