INTERIM · BEN PARISH | ✓

Fifteen + NO MORE UPDATES?

MY MOMENT OF victory lasts a good four seconds before another gunshot rings. I feel the bullet bury itself deep into my arm. I crumple to the floor in exhaustion.

"Security breach!" Bramble shrieks.

"Oh, how I wish I'd killed you when I got the chance!" I scream.

She cackles, still holding her position. "Ah, Red. First to rise. The first to fall. Long may her blood spill."

"Bramble," I cough out bits of red. I can see my vision getting blurry, but I manage to still keep conscious. "Are you... are you high?"

"What-no!" her grip falters for a split second before she tightens her grip again.

"Come here, please, it hurts."

She grumbles and stomps over to me, hovering over my body. "What!"

"Four....four..." I cough some more and try to pick myself off the floor. "420... blaze it, bitch." I swipe her from the right and watch her fall to the ground.

Her head hits the ground with a satisfying SMACK.

Ah.. I never realized her falling to the ground in defeat was my aesthetic.

I take her gun with my good arm and try not to stumble everywhere. I've lost blood, but not too much where I'll leave an obvious trail.

Then my adrenaline is gone. I know it because I can barely see where I'm going, and I feel my knees buckling.

I know that I've reached the main corridor. And uh that's kind of it.

I can feel that I've bumped into a few people, because as soon as I touch clothing, I fall and two strong arms catch me. But those arms are shaky, nervous, unsure.

"Help me..." I murmur.

"You're late, Ben. I expected you much sooner."

"Fuck," I say out loud before I can catch myself.

That's when everything goes black.

•••

All I know is that little Nugget and I are in the safe room where we'll be evacuated with the other kids. I don't know why I'm with him, seeing that I kind of went Dorothy myself.

Maybe they're sending me there because I literally came in here just to tell Ben that plans change, and then I was going to leave.

Sorry, Ringer. Plans change again.

Stiletto told me around the first month I met her that there was a safe room in each building, and that they were only a door or two away from the first room we'd gone into the first day we were at Camp Haven. And I'll bet my aloe vera plant that Ben and the chick he was next to are there right now.

Camp Haven.

Ha. More like...

I can't think right now.

"More like... Camp Death," Sam says.

"Whaa?" I reply.

"You were talking."

"Oh."

"Does it hurt?"

"A lot, no," I lie. 

AHAHAHA fuck, it hurts.

"Do you know where Dot is?"

"Who?"

"I- never mind. Do you know if we'll be evacuating soon?"