Triple Point

Chapter 87: Denial

Camilla

Based on what Elsie had told her, Camilla knew a lot had changed over the few missing months of her memory. What she hadn't realized was how much she had changed herself.

The first noticeable difference was how frail her body had gotten. She quickly noticed how she struggled with the simplest actions such as holding a cup of water to drink or sitting up on her own, and her scrawny body would tremble at the exertion as if she had run a marathon. It was obvious that Camilla hadn't been mobile for a while and that it would take her some time to build up her strength again, and the inconvenience irritated her.

Then there were more minor changes, such as her pale complexion and the partially-healed burns covering her body. She had a narrow burn circling her neck, forming a perfect ring of blemished skin, where Camilla would have much rather had the key to Elsie's balcony still hanging around her neck. And there were the scars on the back of her head, right in the middle of a three-inch tall section of buzzed hair, where a constant weight seemed to incessantly press against her brain.

While she could ignore it for the most part, there were times when it gave her an irritating headache. The healers had mentioned that Hester had put something in her head, and they didn't want to remove it until Camilla was healthier. Just the thought of having something of Hester's in her mind made Camilla disgusted, and it served as her primary inspiration to regain her strength.

All in all, Camilla knew that her body would heal eventually. But what frustrated her was that no matter how hard Camilla tried, she couldn't remember how she ended up like that, and her mind seemed determined to remind her that something was wrong without ever revealing the entire story.

Camilla knew that her own mind was hiding things from her; she just couldn't get it to cooperate. It was obvious in the way that she had faltered over random things for seemingly no reason.

The smell of cleaning products made her freeze and panic, her mind and body deciding between fight and flight with no explanation as to why. The mere thought of food made her stomach turn, and Camilla's bouts of nausea usually ended up getting the best of her and her appetite. And on more than one occasion, Camilla would find herself startled awake, her nightmare leaving nothing behind except for a racing pulse and sweat-covered skin.

Being surrounded by people that she perceived as enemies didn't help much either. While the healers were surprisingly friendly, and they only were aggressive when Camilla would blatantly ignore their advice, Camilla couldn't stay in their care forever. A week after she regained consciousness, she was deemed healthy enough to join the rest of her friends as they did their best to get by in a place where they weren't welcomed.

There were a few Exodos members that didn't seem to outright hate Camilla and her friends, but most were determined to shun them at every opportunity. It wasn't that Camilla was bothered that they didn't like her—she didn't like any of them either—but it was taxing to constantly distrust everyone around her. Camilla thought she should've been used to that lifestyle after years of not trusting anyone, but she supposed being with Elsie left her out of practice.

Along with the presence of unfamiliar people, Camilla found herself constantly on edge with the unfamiliar environment. Evidently, Exodos had a habit of inhabiting national parks, only this base was much colder than Yellowstone had been. The caves that winded within the mountains at Lake Clark were filled with the chilly summer air, and feeling the cold was the closest Camilla was allowed to the outside world.

As if her group's mandatory confinement wasn't enough, being surrounded by bleary gray rock made their situation even more stifling, and the maze-like configuration made Camilla feel trapped. The design was a constant reminder that they were essentially Exodos's prisoners, and the only thing that was keeping them alive were the Song brothers placed on the outside, providing a few survival essentials to Exodos in exchange for evidence of their friends' safety. It left Camilla in the role of a helpless victim held captive under someone else's mercy, and she wasn't sure how long she could tolerate that feeling.