A Week Away

Chapter 5

Jasmine's P.O.V.

A scream.

At least, that's what I think it was. I wasn't quite fully awake, and frankly, I didn't care. The sleeping bag I had brought was half decent and I could actually sleep on it, so the fact that some bitch was outside screaming her lungs out didn't please me in the least.

Groaning, I got up, feeling an obligation to see what was happening. Or at least an obligation to punch whoever was screaming in the face and tell them to shut the hell up.

I unzipped the flap of my tent to find that it was so early the sun hadn't even risen yet. What was someone doing up this late? And why were they screaming as if they were dying?

I noticed I wasn't the only one disturbed by the horrendous and unnecessary screeches, as nearly everyone in the camp site was up and yawning and mumbling profanities to themselves as we headed towards the source of the noise. The crowd of us gathered around the source of the noise, and as usual, I shoved my way to the front.

I was about to run my mouth but stopped as I took in the sight before me.

A tree, not a large one, but not a small one either, just big enough to wrap your arms around it, and that's exactly what someone had done. Pinned to the tree with a spear through the heart was one of the boys that had come with us on the camping trip. Blood trickled down his chest and out of his mouth. Someone had dislocated his shoulders and elbows twisting them back around to tie them behind the tree, and from the colour of the bruises it had done before he had been killed.

Above his head were three letters carved into the tree: RUN.

I took a step back, only now noticing the screaming had stopped. I looked to find Ada on her knees in front of the corpse, her face buried in her hands. A few people from the crowd stepped away to vomit up the little dinner they had had the evening before.

A billion thoughts were running through my mind at that point but there was only one I could grab onto, and that was that he shouldn't be left like this. I walked up to the tree, earning many stares from the crowd as I walked behind it. They had pinned his hands to the tree with nails. My stomach turned, but it appeared I was the only one going to take him down and cover him up. Everybody else stood there, staring at me.

It found my grip on the first nail and tugged it, finding it slid out easier than I would have expected. I did the same to the second and watched his arms fall to his sides. At this point I noticed his eyes were still open... wide open. I hated to admit it, but he freaked me out.

What had even happened? Who would do such a thing? And why him? Why a random teenage boy on a camping trip? Why?

"Fuck..." That was the first word that had been spoken for a while. I look up to find two new additions to the crowd gathering around the tree: Joseph and Lizzie.

"How nice of you two to finally show up." They looked at me as I spoke those words, their emotions a mixture of disgust, confusion, anger, and horror.

"Jasmine, there's no need to be a bitch." I turned to the boy who had said it, his brown hair in a mess over his face and his body covered in blue plaid pajamas. No matter how disheveled he looked I could still tell who it was.

"Shut up, Connor," I snarled at him. He held his hands in the air as if to surrender. I turned to look at Lizzie and Joseph, of whom were both covered in blood. Wait... blood...

"You two did this!" I screamed at them. It took them a moment to realise what I was talking about, but as soon as they put the pieces together they starting shaking their heads, denying the plain facts. "You disgusting par of assholes! What the fuck is wrong with you!? I knew we were a bunch of juveniles, but murder!? OF ALL THINGS!"

I didn't give them time to explain, the reality had already hit me. Two of our own had murdered him in cold blood. He was young, youthful, and those two went and rid him of his life. I noticed everyone in the crowd of teenagers putting the pieces together as well, and most of them stood in shock. Ada rose from her spot on the ground and stared at them, her eyes red raw, her face bright pink and wet. She had run out of tears, and it looked like she had snapped.

"I knew you shouldn't have come." Her voice was hoarse and croaky, and it appeared the two had run out of things to say. Their faces were pale as they watched Ada, her fists clenching at her side. She was ready to fight.

"Please, just listen to us..." Lizzie begged. She was on the verge of tears, her face ghastly white. Joseph wasn't saying anything, his eyes watching the ground intensely, like he was solving one of the most difficult puzzles in front of him.

"You two sicken me. You two are the most revolting and horrible kind of people there are. What could even possess you to do such a thing?" Ada's voice went from mad to questioning, and every emotion in between. "How many more of us would you have killed had I not found him like this?" She pointed to the corpse of which was hanging to the tree by only the spear, body slumped forward, red and blue and bruised and bloody.

"Stop! Please! It wasn't them!" At the sound of the voice the entire lot of us turned around to see the source. Coming out of the woods, dirty and with leaves through her hair was the quiet girl who had sat across Joseph and I at the campfire.

"Please..." she begged, "I know what happened."