ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ || Zig-Zag

Chapter 25| The End of Camp Green Lake

Tara's P.O.V

            We at long last made it back to the camp, The Warden and Stanley's lawyer arguing heatedly along the whole way. The Warden was insistent on getting the chest, saying it's her property, it belongs to her. Despite Stanley's name engraved on the name plaque. The woman was growing frustrated and irritated with the Warden, ordering Stanley to gather his belongings. He hesitates.
"I can't leave without Hector and Krystara." He pipes, gesturing towards us. I looked at him, surprised to say the least. Look at him, he sure has stepped up a lot since I first got here.
"I'll be okay." Hector assures. I give him a reassuring nod too.
"Stanley. There's nothing I can do about them anyways." She almost sighs, but knew our cases weren't hers to touch.
"I'm not leaving without them." Stanley held his ground.
"Earl, would you get me their files?" She breaks, one of the men nodding. He made his way up behind the Warden and asked for them. There was a hesitation hidden in her stiff posture, evident as she looked to Mr Sir, telling him to get them.

          My focus on the Warden and Mr Sir's pending shitshow was put on pause as I heard a noise from behind. I turned back curiously, peeking around Stanley to see Squid walk out, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw the gathered circle of adults. His terror was instantly replaced with bewilderment, his eyes dropping from the adults to the three of us. His mouth hung open, a hand pointing at us like he had seen a ghost. His voice trembled as he struggled to tell if this was real or not. As quickly as it all happened, he ran back inside just as quickly, his voice sounding out loudly as he announced our presence, before running right back out. Behind him, the faces I've grown to love and missed incredibly so, hot on his trail. My eyes locked with the boy with crazy hair, my anger I so badly wanted to express when I returned vanished almost completely as all I could do was smile at the bunch. At the same time I was almost breathless, everything happening meant that everything was real. Everything we went through, everything we survived, we were back at Camp Green Lake. Where all our fates and destinies intertwined once again in our family's histories.

          The boys flooded out of the mess hall, their overlapping voices overstimulating my ears as they drew in closer to surround us in their excitement. As they all started to hug Hector and Stanley. I grinned widely before stepping forward.
"Hey, guys. Want to meet my new friend?" I asked forebodingly as they all turned their gazes to me, the lizard hissing as they did. They yelled back and some fell backwards in a scramble to back away. I cackle, ignoring the ground now as I sigh. I walk to the edge of the deck, crouching down and holding my arm out long, as if to let him use my arm as a ramp.
"Well, see ya little buddy. It was fun scaring people for a while, but.. I don't think they'll let me keep you." I chuckled quietly as the yellow spotted lizard looked from the vast desert that was beckoning him, to me. His face close, he lets out a low hiss, his tongue slithering mere centimeters from my cheek. His soft movements came to an abrupt end, scurrying down my off and landing with a soft thud onto the sand below. The boys' astonishment loud as day as I waved childishly to the deadly lizard as if he were a long lost friend. And in a way, he sort of feels like so.I smiled sadly after him as I stood back up, finally turning back to the group I've been making wait. Least I could see, given the troublesome crap they put me through before-!