The Girl at Camp Green Lake

Untitled Part 10

I bolt up, gasping for air like a fish out of water. My breath is shallow and rapid. Blinking my eyes, I search my surroundings. I am on a bed like last time, except this bed has a white frame. 

What was last time?

My vision focuses in on the yellow stains of the fabric of the sheetless mattress. I aggressively blink a few more times. Then, I look down at my body. I don't know what I was expecting myself to be wearing, but it wasn't a hospital gown. At least that's what I thought it was. I had on a loose white shirt and baggy white pants. There was no hospital bracelet though, so I wasn't sure. I really couldn't be sure of anything at this point.

Where am I?

My eyes wander around the small room I'm in. It's about twenty feet long and wide, with concrete walls, ceiling, and a carpeted grey floor. Besides the bed I lay on, the only other things in the room are a door and an old radiator heater attached to the wall to the left of me. It lets out a brief flurry of clicks and creaks, as if it senses that I'm watching it. The door is across from me. It's been painted gray, which sort of matches the theme of the whole room. Dull and grey.

I sit up and rub my eyes. When I move my hands away and open my eyes again, there was a man standing in the doorway. The open doorway. I hadn't heard the door open, had I? But I didn't think long about that because my attention was pulled straight from the door to the man. As my eyes adjusted better to the lighting, however, I realized to my shock, that the man was a woman. 

She looked somewhere near forty and was extremely buff. And no, I don't just mean fit. I mean that she looked like a retired body builder. But I couldn't find her intimidating, because her face was creased with smile lines. She was wearing faded black tank top, which made her biceps seem to budge in an almost unnatural way. She was holding a walky-talky in one hand and a cup in other. A ceramic cup with a painting of an octopus on it. She noticed me staring at her and offered a gentle smile. 

"Your awake, I see." She had a surprisingly soft voice. I did not say anything back to her. She came around to the side of the bed and sat down next to me. She closed the door behind her. I got the feeling she'd locked it somehow, too. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked me as she reached a calloused hand out to stroke my hair. I expected I would recoil at the touch of this stranger, but it felt so... so normal to have her close to me like this; motherly almost. But this woman was surly not my mother.... Right? 

"I know this must be a shock for you, Citra, waking up here, of all places. The Docters tell me you will have trouble remembering at first. But it will all come back soon, I promise." 

"Who are you?" I ask blankly. 

The woman dropped her hand and a hurt look seeped into her eyes. But it was quickly replaced with an intensely sad yet understanding expression. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn't figure out where I was, or who I am. I needed answers before I try to help this stranger. Calling her stranger felt wrong. 

"I am Bryce. And you are Citra. I wasn't aware your memory would be so deeply tempered with. Do you know where you are, Citra?"

I took a mental step back and considered the question. Where was I? I tried to reach down, down into the shadowy depths of my mind and pull the answer out of my head. Suddenly, there it was. I smiled uncertainly and said, "I'm in the Hunt."

Bryce grinned proudly at me. It was such an obviously used smile that it made me trust her instantly. 

"That's right, the Hunt. You're starting to remember?" 

I nod, even though I have no idea what she's talking about. I don't know where I gotten 'the Hunt' from, or how I'd come up with such a thing and actually been right about it. But it felt good to be appraised by Bryce, so I kept trying to remember. 

"And-" I continued hesitantly. "And you're the General?" 

"Yes. Yes! You're getting there!" She was pleased with me. Or perhaps more with my progress. "Do you remember Cerulean and Widow?" The sudden change in her tone made me feel that she didn't favor Cerulean or Widow too much. But the sound of those two names brought up such a strong emotion within me, I had to close my eyes. 

Yes, I remembered them. Of course I did. 

They were practically family.

My family.

"Yes," I told Bryce as I opened my eyes again. She nodded as if she had expected my answer. She handed me the cup she was holding and told me to drink up. I glanced at her suspiciously as I took the cup from her weathered hands. When I looked into the cup though, it appeared to be just water. 

"You'll need it." She explained patiently to me. "Someone will come in a while to bring you something to eat. Until then, you should get your rest. I understand this must be a lot for you, but don't worry. I 'll be back tomorrow morning to get you out of this dull room. Would you like that?" She sounded like she thought the same way about it as I, which made me like her even more. I gripped the cup in both hands and chugged it down in a few seconds. Bryce laughed heartily. It was even better than her smile. 

"You really took that to heart. Looks like you're not the only one in here with memory loss; I'd forgotten how persistent you are, Citra." She sighed and shook her head. "Some things never change, I guess." 

Bryce stood and took the cup back from my hands. She still had a smile playing on her lips as she walked back to the door and opened it. It creaked on its rusting bronze hinges, which sent a shiver of unease down my spine. Before she closed the door behind her, she turned around and looked at me. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Citra."

I smiled in response. I was excited to see her again. 

As she closed the old door, I caught a glimpse of red the shoulder strap of her shirt. A spot of red in the shape of a tear drop. 

I lied back down, placing my head on the white pillow of the bed. Thought about that red teardrop. That same red teardrop that had been on the shoulder of my shirt, the last time I'd been here. 

With a sigh of exhaustion, I closed my eyes, and let the memories wash over me.