𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄 - 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

after their riveting conversations, the gang eventually succumbed to sleep, surprisingly finding it not too difficult despite the less-than-ideal sleeping conditions on dirt and rocks. the day's events had taken their toll.

in the middle of the night, however, the slumber was shattered by the spine-chilling screams of coyotes. the gang, now startled and vulnerable in the open, felt an unsettling fear. the howls grew louder, sending shivers through the group.

in response to the sounds, vern proposed the idea of taking turns to stand guard throughout the night. teddy volunteered to be the first.

teddy stood by a tree, overlooking the sleeping group, gripping the gun with a sense of duty.

he declared, "twenty-three hundred hours. corporal teddy duchamp stands guard."

he then scanned the surroundings and announced, "no sign of the enemy. the fort is secure."

chris, already awake, shot a glance at teddy, advising, "shut up teddy, and keep your eyes peeled."

lowering the gun, teddy couldn't resist a playful moment.

he put his hand over his mouth and sang, "tututuu! tututuu!"

the unexpected wake-up call annoyed everyone, causing simultaneous complaints of, "hey, teddy, cut it out!"

teddy went silent momentarily, but a few beats later, he said, "the dogfaces rested easy in the knowledge that corporal teddy duchamp was protecting all of what scared them."

"teddy.."

as teddy handed over guard duty to vern, the atmosphere shifted. unlike teddy's dramatic approach, vern approached the task with a noticeable sense of fear. holding the gun with both hands, he pointed it in the direction of the eerie sounds. every rustle of leaves and nocturnal noise set him on edge.

unlike the corporal before him, vern remained quiet, only with his breath being audible in the stillness of the night. however, it had a benefit of allowing the rest of the gang to get in some sleep.

after vern's watch, it was chris's turn. he casually sat in front of the same tree, holding the gun with a more relaxed vigilance. he recognized that the fire was slowly starting to die down, so he went back to the group to poke at the fire with a stick.

gordie then began to experience a nightmare, shaking and moaning in his sleep. he woke up with a small screech, and chris urged him to go back to sleep. he returned to the tree to resume guard duty.

despite what he said, gordie joined him. under the moonlit sky, chris opened up to gordie about the challenges of his reputation in town. after the conversation unfolded, gordie's gaze remained on the sleeping girl who was fast asleep. he was lost in quiet contemplation.

chris noticed gordie's gaze and commented, "so you still like her, huh?"

"yeah."

in his eyes, chris could see the traces of love for caroline. 

chris was the only person in the gang who knew of gordie's love for the girl, as he was the one lachance trusted the most.

"you should tell her. what do you have to lose?" chris encouraged, offering a supportive nudge.

gordie then looked at him as if he was crazy.

but chris, with a mischievous look, added, "she may even like you back."

after a few minutes, caroline woke up and was unable to fall back asleep. she approached the duo sitting by the tree.

chris asked, "couldn't sleep, huh?"

caroline shook her head, admitting her restlessness. she then suggested the idea of replacing chris on guard duty so he could return to the toasty fire and get more sleep. the boys didn't let caroline stand guard alone, but with gordie there with her, chris agreed. the two watched chris walk down to his sleeping bag.

in the quiet night, with the symphony of crickets, gordie and caroline sat in silence for a few moments. still reeling from his nightmare, gordie quietly cried. he buried his head between his legs.

caroline noticed, and the sight of gordie crying pained her, but she couldn't understand the reason--whether it was the taxing journey to find a dead body, the memories of his brother, or something else entirely. 

she gently placed her hand on his back and softly asked, "gordie?"

his tears continued, and she pressed further, "gordie, are you alright?"

"why did you have to die?"

his unexpected question caught caroline off guard, but the realization dawned on her that he was speaking about his dead brother.

as gordie lifted his head, his tear-streaked face carried the weight of sorrow as he asked, "why did he have to die, cals? why did denny have to die? why?"

tears continued to stream down gordie's face, and caroline's heart shattered witnessing his pain.

she replied delicately, "i don't know, gordie."

"it should have been me."

"don't say that."

but gordie repeated, "it should have been me," and caroline couldn't bear the thought.

"don't say that, gordie," she sternly insisted.

"i'm no good. my dad said it, i'm no good," gordie confessed, his voice was heavy with the weight of his father's harsh judgement.

the girl harbored deep resentment for the man, who even when dennis was alive, showed little care for gordie's passions, focusing solely on denny and his football career.

"don't listen to him, gordie. he doesn't even know you," caroline reassured.

"he hates me."

"he doesn't hate you."

yet, gordie's voice began to break, and tears continued to stream down his face as he sobbed, "he hates me, cals. he really hates me."

caroline moved her hand from his back and placed it around his shoulders, providing some empathy.

"no, gordie. he just doesn't know you," she insisted.

despite caroline's attempts to reassure him, gordie remained fixed in his belief, repeatedly saying, "he hates me."

the girl began to tear up herself.

empathy welled within caroline as she understood the pain of having a father who refused to connect with his own child. 

caroline sat quietly beside gordie. as gordie continued to express the pain of feeling unloved by his father, caroline listened attentively.

she continued, "you landed in a family that doesn't see how amazing you truly are, but trust me, one day everything is going to change."

feeling the burden of his struggles, gordie leaned his head on her shoulder. in response, caroline embraced him, hugging him even tighter.

with genuine warmth, she whispered, "you're gonna be a fantastic writer some day, gordie. the world's gonna fall in love with your stories, and i'll be the first in line for your autograph."

caroline even joked, "who knows, you might even write about our gang if you ever get hard up for material."

her joke sparked a laugh from gordie.

"guess i'd have to be really hard up, huh?"

"yeah."

as gordie wiped away the lingering tears from his face, they sat in a comfortable silence, with his head still resting on her shoulder.

"gordie, you are not hard to love," spoke caroline, "not by a long shot."