Silent Rebellion

Chapter 20.) To the Rescue

I felt something on my hand. I shook it away, but it stayed. I heard a faint sound, but I couldn't make out what it was. Gradually, it got louder and louder.

I shot upright, screaming. I looked around me. Elliot, who was holding my hand, rushed closer to me and wrapped his arm around me. I flinched from pain in my shoulder.

"Sorry," he said, moving his arm. "Are you okay?" I shifted on the cot. I was still cold, even though I had a large blanket wrapped around me.

"Yeah," I said, suddenly finding I could hardly talk. "What happened?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Elliot sighed before he began speaking again. "Alan realized you weren't with Nick as he came back, so he went searching for you."

"And Nick? Where is he?" I inquired, fear, anger, and a ton of other emotions bubbling inside of me.

"We're supposed to keep him away from you." He replied. Just then, Alan came running back in the tent.

"Evelyn! You're awake!" I sat up and swung my legs around the side of the cot. I stood up and wobbled, but Alan helped me stay upright. Elliot ran out of the tent.

"Can you walk?" Alan asked, loosening his grip on my arm.

"Yeah, I mean, nothing's broken. Not in my legs, at least," I told him. He let go of his grip completely. I took a small step, then another, just to test myself. I began walking around the room, marching in a circle like Alan and I would do as kids. Luke came rushing into the tent, followed by Morgan, Noelle, and Elliot.

"Evelyn, I swear, the next time this happens to you," Morgan laughed. Everyone began bombarding me with questions about what happened, what hurts, what he did, etc. I couldn't take it. I covered my ears with my hands like a child would and sat back down on the cot. Elliot looked at me, his eyes widened. He understood. He walked over and sat next to me.

"Guys, she's not ready to talk about it yet." He said. "We need to give her time." Everyone slowly scattered. Carolynn joined us back in the tent and we all made ourselves as comfortable as we could.

"Eve, you've grown up so much!" He said. "I'm so proud of you." He beamed. I just stared at him. "Where are you? I miss you, Dad."

"I'm nearby. You will find me, I know you will. Say hi to Alan and Luke for me, okay? I love you, Evelyn."

"I love you too, Dad." I say, right before he disappears. Everything is black now. I see a tall tree in the distance, and without thinking, I sprint towards it. In an instant, I'm at the top, where I can into a lake, which was alive with all these small kinds of fish. I thought back to a time when Dad took all of us on a camping trip. Mom didn't go because she was still pregnant with Alice. There was a like, kind of like this one, with small fish swimming around frantically. He called them minnows. Minnow. Minnow's a county! That's right next to us! Dad is nearby! I leaned forward, trying to get a better view, but I fell down, down, down for what seemed for forever. Just as I hit the ground, everything turned black again.

I shot up immediately. Thank God it was just a dream. I laid back down in my cot, trying to find a comfortable position before falling back asleep.