Tent City (23 page)

“How is that possible?” I ask. “We have hoards of it.”

“We did,” he continues, “but it’s dwindling now that we have more and more kids coming because of the safety camps. With winter coming, we’re going to need a lot more. We’re lucky the new cabins are almost finished, but there’s still a lot to do and we’re losing manpower with the perimeter runs.”

“I’d like to go with you,” Jack says to Bentley.

“Nah, I don’t think so, baby bro.”

“Ha. Still using that joke. You only got me beat by 12 minutes.”

“Twelve minutes?” I ask, although the answer is clear to me as I say it.

“You’re twins?” It’s still hitting me that they are brothers.

They look nothing alike for one thing, but they do have some of the same mannerisms. They both run their hands through their hair when they are nervous or upset, but Bentley is really the opposite of Jack. They couldn’t look more different.

“Fraternal,” Bentley adds. “But I can’t have you with me.” At this, the good mood of the evening is over and he stalks back to his cabin, Callie following shortly after.

Beth has reached a bad stage. Her fever is around 105 degrees and as Jack predicted, she has become mentally unstable. He explained that she might have symptoms of confusion, agitation and paranoia.

“What can we do for her?” I ask.

“Nothing, but try and keep her comfortable. I was looking for something that we could restrain her arms with because she’s beating herself up, literally.”

“Is there any chance she can recover?”

“No.”

“Can’t we maybe try to take her to the hospital? Surely, there must be something we can do?”

“No, there’s not. Don’t you think I would do something if I could? This is a fatal disease. She will die; sooner rather than later, if she’s lucky. She’s suffering.”

“How can you be so cold?” I’m annoyed with him and I get up to leave and go check on her.

“Where are you going?” he asks as he steps in front of me.

“I’m going to see if she needs anything.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want you anywhere near her. Brody either. That’s an order.”

“Why? You can’t order me around! I want to help,” I say, trying not to feel hurt.

Why is it always this way with them? I should have known they were related by how hot and cold they can both be.

“She could hurt you. She’s not really Beth anymore. There’s nothing you can do. I’ll take care of it.”

“So? Why is my life more important than yours?”

“I never said it was. Just leave this to me. I don’t want you in there. Leave it be.” 

He walks away and I’m happy to see him go. Right now, the only thing I feel like doing is hanging out with Brody.

I swing by Kit’s and take him home for the night. When we get there, I find Bentley waiting on our porch.

“Can we talk?” he asks.

“How about in an hour? I’d like to get Brody to bed first.”

“Sure, I’ll come back.”

I’m not sure how I feel about Bentley coming over. It seems like we’ve got a lot to talk about, but I don’t feel as comfortable asking my questions now that I know how much he has lied to me. Besides, I’m not sure if I can get any information out of him unless we are running.

I almost fall asleep with Brody as we read his favorite Dr. Seuss books, but I remember that I have Bentley coming over and I get up. I run a comb through my hair and change my clothes. When I come out, he’s already waiting for me.

“I have something for you,” he says.

“Really?”

“Yes, I made it. Come, I’ll show you.”

He takes me to the side of the cabin and there is a swing with chains attached.

“It’s for your porch.”

“Really? Thanks,” I say, feeling awkward.

Since when does Bentley give gifts, and why? I feel myself thinking instantly of Callie. They seem like they have become pretty close lately and I can’t help but wonder what she would think of this.

I help him hang it up and it’s actually nicely built. It swings well with only a hint of a squeak that Bentley says will go away with use. I smile thinking about what Brody will think of it when he sees it in the morning.

“Now all we are missing is the lemonade,” I tease.

“Yes,” he agrees. “I could go get some from Callie.” Just the mention of her name brings me back to my questions.

“That’s okay. I’m good. So what’s the deal with you and her anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean,” I say, as I give a more forceful shove with my feet causing us to swing closer to the cabin wall.

“We’re good friends, if that’s what you mean.”

“Is that what she thinks you are?”

Already I am regretting starting this conversation. Not only is it none of my business, I don’t really want to have this conversation. It seems like by me asking, I’m interested in him and I’m not sure I want him to think that.

All this stuff that has been happening with Bentley and Jack is making my head swim. Then to add to it, is the fact that they are brothers. It’s making it almost unbearable.

The only thing that’s really clear to me is that both of them might be more trouble than they’re worth. Strange how I have to keep reminding myself of that. Romance really should be the last thing on my mind. I don’t even know how I got myself into this situation.

“I don’t know what she thinks.”

“That’s a line of bull.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he admits, “but I don’t feel that way about her anymore.”

“Anymore?” I feel a story behind this.

“Didn’t know that either?” He smiles and I’m burning with the memory of being foolish enough to run into the woods with sick animals lurking.

“Yeah, we used to be kind of a thing,” he continues, “but that was a long time ago. We’ve always been good friends and she seemed okay with it until just recently…..about the time you got here, now that I think about it.”

“So what’s the deal with you and Jack?” I ask. I might have been shyer to ask this question in the past, but considering what we are talking about now, I’m eager to change the subject.

He seems bold too, so he actually answers me…sort of.

“A lot of really bad things happened to us, Dani. Too bad to talk about, ever. He and I sort of disagreed on some things a long time ago and agreed to go our separate ways. It’s wild how we both ended up here of all places. We don’t talk about it because it just brings it all back. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not.”

I don’t know why it bothers me that Bentley won’t tell me the truth. Just the other day, Jack was ready to confess it all and I turned it down. I think Jack just seemed so vulnerable and hurt and I didn’t want to make him feel worse.

With Bentley, he seems more angry than sad. Even as he said the little he said to me, his fingers were clenched and gripping the side of the swing. I feel hurt that he can’t talk to me about it and it just magnifies the gap between us.

“Does Callie know your story?”

Immediately after I’ve asked, I feel like a pitiful loser. Here he’s telling me that he has a story too painful to talk about and the only thing I want to know is if he’s closer to Callie than me.

“No…No one does, but Jack. God, do you think I go around advertising it?”

“I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry. I’m going to go in. I’m pretty tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He tries to stop me, but I don’t listen and I just shut the door. What is it with these two? I’ve decided, they
are
more trouble than they’re worth. I don’t even know who I am anymore. My head is in the clouds.

I snuggle in beside Brody and do my best to shove any thoughts of Jack or Bentley out of my head and resolve to restart my training tomorrow.

Bentley has gone on his raid. Jack is busy with Beth. He says she may have gotten a little better in the night, but I can tell he doesn’t have high hopes for her.

I’m eager to get away from camp for a while to clear my head. I leave Brody with Kit and decide to take a good long run, maybe even out to the waterfall. I almost escape without eating breakfast, but Kit catches me. She is watching me, true to her “mothering” duties, and forces me to eat. She even packs me a lunch.

“I’ve got my eye on you!” she says, as she shoves another apple in the backpack.

“Okay, Mom,” I say, trying to sound irritated, but truthfully it feels good to have her looking after me. I put on my old sneakers, attach my backpack, and take off.

Instantly, I feel a little lonely, as I am used to Bentley being on these runs with me. I put that aside and focus on all the training I am going to get in today.

The run starts off great. It’s August, so it’s still warm and immediately I start to soak through my tank top. Gross to most, a goal attained for me. I’m already daydreaming about making it to the waterfall and anticipating the thrill of the jump.

The six miles it takes to get there goes by in a flash. I feel content and the endorphins have soothed my anxiety. I haven’t thought of the word rabies in at least an hour.

I can hear the crash of the water and I unlatch my backpack as quickly as I can. I’m starting to strip since I’m the only one here today, but stop when I hear voices.

My first thought is that it could be Bentley, but he’s already gone on the raid. Besides, he wouldn’t take someone else here, would he?

I sneak off behind some trees so I can get a better look. I can’t be sure from this distance, but it looks like a man and a woman treading water in the pool beneath the falls. I’m thinking about my options, when out of nowhere steps a little girl who looks to be about Brody’s age.

“Hello,” she says plain as day, seemingly unafraid of me.

“Well, hello,” I respond. She’s caught me. I could still take off and hope they don’t pay attention to the direction I run. Or I could stay and find out who they are.

They can’t possibly be dangerous if they have a little girl with them. But I know the rules of outsiders. No one is allowed unless Bentley gives consent. I can’t just bring them in. But I could just stay for a chat. There’s no reason they need to know where we live. I could just stay to figure out who they are and then leave. That sounds reasonable.

“What’s your name?” she asks. I hesitate with this. Should I tell her my real name?

“Avery?” I hear what must be her mother calling.

“I’m over here, Mom!”

“Should we go find your mom?” I say as I stand, now fully aware that I’m hiding in the trees.

“Sure,” she responds, and startles me by taking my hand. She obviously hasn’t seen much of this world to be so trusting. I hesitate because I don’t want to alarm her parents, but she’s leading, so I don’t let go.

We arrive at the very same clearing Bentley and I sat on last time. As we come in to view, I see the surprised look on the man’s face, but they don’t seem to be too alarmed by me yet.

“Who ya got there, Ave?” the man asks.