ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ || Zig-Zag

Chapter 23| One Last Final Dig

Tara's P.O.V

             I stayed on my spot on the ground, having woken up a little while ago but was in no rush to move just yet. My body glad for the rest despite me wanting to be up and moving. One of them walks by, but still I don't move, too lazy to acknowledge their presence at the moment.

"Rise and shine on you, man. Been farting all night. Her too, but don't tell her that." My brows furrowed.

"I can't sleep." He adds, his mouth sounding full of onion, his jug of water sploshing by his side, hopefully from the stream and not the muddy water.

"I think you guys overslept." I almost agreed with his next statement, but then remembered the feeling from yesterday, that God awful sick feeling, the exhaustion and dying of thirst.

"How long have I been sleeping? She's still sleeping too?" I feel their eyes shift to me while resuming their conversation.

"A long time. Figured to let her sleep, ya know.." I hear the bashfulness in his voice.

"She needs it. I felt horrible, and you had to carry me.. She forced herself to climb." I looked at the dirt in front of me as they spoke, most certainly not choosing this moment to reveal I'm awake.

"She did it to make sure you made it to the top.. And for Zig-Zag." Stanley dropped his voice some in the last bit, as if the mere mention of the boy back at camp would wake me up. I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress any sort of reaction, almost thinking they knew I was awake as it had gone silent.

"Stanley, I got to tell you something." Hector suddenly says, his tone regretful.

"What?"

"It's my fault you were sent to Camp Green Lake." My brow perked up in curiosity, wondering if he was going to tell him it was his family blood that had cursed his.

"I stole the shoes." My eyes widened, not expecting that twist.