Head Full of Ghosts

Chapter 23 - Some Kind of Hate

"Ever been to summer camp?"

Eli blinked in surprise and turned to face Sarah with a blank expression. Despite the clearly broken spirits of most of the people in the camp, conversation wasn't really that uncommon as everyone prepared for bed. From the snippets he could catch, though, it almost always seemed to just be business, either the work for that day or plans for work for the next. Nobody anywhere at any time seemed to be particularly willing to hold what could constitute a "normal" conversation. It had been two days since even she had last spoken to him, and that had just been to say the single word of her first name. So her sudden question really hit him hard.

She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring at him, and in that moment she appeared very young to him, and he realized that in actuality she probably was younger than him. Probably by several years. Even if the apocalypse had prematurely aged everyone.

She hadn't spoken again, and Eli realized she was waiting for an answer.

"Uh, no," he replied, finally.

Sarah nodded thoughtfully, as though she were weighing the response with all the gravity you might give to understanding the wisdom of ancient proverbs.

It seemed like she wasn't intending to say anything more, so Eli returned to pulling up the top sheet and climbing into his bed.

"I used to love going to camp," Sarah continued, as though there had never been any break in the conversation. "The people, the activities. Being out in nature. Sleeping in cabins with your friends. We used to sing this version of the Superman song with lyrics about Jesus. It was fun."

Eli frowned, weighing possible responses in his head before finally deciding to simply go with the truth.

"Sounds awful."

Sarah gave the faintest hint of a smile. "It wasn't," she said, her tone distant with nostalgia. "It was a lot of fun."

She paused and Eli watched her, waiting to see if she would go on. She had been staring off into space, but now dropped her gaze to her knees.

"This place is nothing like camp," she added, then quickly pulled up her covers and laid down facing away from him.

Eli watched her for a time, but she gave no further evidence that she intended to talk, and so he rolled over as well and soon drifted off to sleep.

He woke in the middle of the night with a start. Something was off in the room, and for a moment he couldn't place it. Then he remembered where he was, and dismissed the unease as being part of still not being used to being at the camp.

Then he realized what was happening. For the first time in about a week, the vampire was back.

It was sickening how tangible his presence was in the air. You could hear it, smell it, taste it, and feel it, even though logically there wasn't anything there for any one of those senses to actually detect.

It was still on the far side of the room. It hadn't detected his startled waking, or if it had, it gave no indication. The room seemed to grow colder as it drew closer. Slowly, slow enough that he hoped the movement would prove undetectable to all but the closest, most careful observer, Eli turned his head toward Sarah.

She was lying on her side, facing him, just as she had been that first night. But this night, even in what dim light crept into the room, Eli could see she was crying.

Tears were pouring down her face, and every now and then there was the smallest of shrugs as her upper body shook from a sob. She was biting her lip, attempting to hold it all in, but there was no stopping it now.