Gleemrose Camp - The Crew (Draft)

Echoes in the Mist

The following morning, everyone from the tents decided to meet up in the cafeteria, while Raph, Marcus, Arwa and Alexis were in the kitchen, being the only ones knowing how to cook, prepared the breakfast with whatever they could find. I slided the door of my tent, half awake and quite tired. I barely slept last night. My mind was full. This morning was beautiful, there was a bit of fog, the warm sun slowly moving in the sky, the grass was wet, it was mesmerizing. I noticed Reagan sitting on a rock when I looked over The Cabin. I walked up to him.

"Hey Reg, what's up?" I peeped.

"Oh, hey Will, umm... Nothing much, I was just... About Derek, y'know?..."

"Oh..." I looked away. "Yeah..." My throat tightened when he mentioned Taurus. I already miss him so bad. I wish we could hear him play guitar around the fire one last time. I stopped thinking about it soon after because otherwise I would've start crying. Boys don't cry, as they say.

(...)

In the cafeteria, "Hey, sleepyhead!" Raph called, flipping a pancake with a flourish. "We saved you some food. You're lucky we didn't eat it all!"

"Thanks, I needed that," I replied, forcing a smile despite the weight in my chest.

As we gathered around the table, the conversation flowed more easily. We joked about the cooking disasters we could have had without Raph's expertise and shared stories about our favorite camp meals from previous summers. It was a welcome distraction, but Derek's absence was always hovering in the background.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" I asked quietly, glancing at Reagan, who looked pensive.

"I don't know, Will," he replied. "But we have to keep moving forward. He wouldn't want us to dwell on it."

I nodded, appreciating his attempt to comfort me, even if it didn't fully ease the ache. The others were deep in conversation, laughing and teasing each other, but I felt a bit detached, like I was watching from the outside.

"Hey, let's not let this ruin our time here," Marcus said, catching my gaze. "Derek wouldn't want that either. We need to honor him by living our lives, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," I replied, my heart lifting slightly at his comment.

Thinking about it, I wondered where Rayan was. I asked Theo, he said she was still sleeping. I shrugged.

"She's probably exhausted," entered Alexis, sitting beside me. "We don't know what happened from her side. Maybe she'll tell us one day..." He thought, Theo raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think about it too much. She's leaving us soon. Because no way we're gonna let her stay. Right!?" He exclaimed.

Alexis and I looked at each other.

"Yeah-... Sorry Theo.." Alexis finally sputtered. We both knew what would probably happen, if Arwa appreciated or saw the potential in Rayan, she would most likely join us. I glanced over at the others, Mila and Arwa were chatting, Reagan on the couch in the center of the cafet'. Then a door opened, it was Rayan, entering the room.

"Hi! Did you sleep well?" Asked Arwa, trying to start a conversation with her.

"No." She answered.

Arwa sighed and turned around.

"She just need a little more time... Right?..." She muttered under her breath to Mila, as she simply shrugged, unbothered.

But a few minutes later, we heard a banging sound, like a tray had fallen loudly. We all got silent to listen more carefully.

"Someone else is here..." Whispered Alexis. "Probably one of the zombies."

"Zombies?!? Let's not exaggerate th-" Started Reagan, before Arwa placed her hand on his mouth to shut him up. Reagan looked surprised then softened. He frowned, mumbled something and moved away.