Red As Roses and Black As Night

10. Hang On

When I woke up, everyone was huddled close to me, holding on to my arms and waist. Henri on my right, Patty on my left, Illea holding on the tightest on top of me. I closed my eyes again, trying to enjoy the moment, but I felt like something was off. Very off.

We all jerked awake at the sound of symbols through the morning. Illea was the fastest to get off me, which was amazing because Henri and Patty were quick as lightning. I sat up, shaking.

"You have a bruise." Henri pointed out, drawing a line around his own neck to show me where it was. I frowned. "How bad?"

"Purple and red. Little bit of blue and green. Not hickey looking."

Patty and Illea shot him a glare, which he ignored. "Let's go see why they decided to hire a horrible drummer." he said, unzipping the tent and heading out. We followed him, and I looked around for the other campers. They were all coming out of their tents, though none looked as scared as us.

The teacher began to call of names, and I only half listened.

"Tent Rattlesnake?"

"Present."

"Tent Raccoon?"

"Here." Henri replied, raising a hand.

"Tent Squirrel?"

"Hi."

"Tent Timber Wolf?"

No response. The teacher looked over at the tent, cocking her head. She looked to the other teacher beside her, who shrugged his confusion. They went to the tent, but a scream pierced the air.

"What is that?" Oliver cried, pointing up above our heads. We all looked up, and my heart plummeted. The corpse from last night was hanging from the trees...right next to four students I recognized to be those who witnessed the boy die a couple days ago, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were supposed to be the ones up there.

The teachers looked up and shrieked. Ms. Perrin decided to finish role before calling the police. "Tent Deer?" she rushed, the clipboard in her hands trembling with her.

"Present."

"Tent Black Bear?"

"Here."

"Tent Brown Recluse?"

"Here."

"And tent Coyote?"

"All here."

She let out a breath before shoving the clipboard to the other teacher, Mr. Halloway. She took out a walkie-talkie and muttered things into it frantically. I didn't bother listening as she waddled into the edge of the forest, I already knew she was saying students were hanging from the tree. I bet the police will say it was a suicide.

At the same time.

Mr. Halloway let out a breath. "Okay, students. We're going on a hike while Ms. Perrin handles things here. Bring water and put some boots on." he told us all in his loud teacher-voice. Henri snorted and ducked back in the tent, throwing out boots. Patty picked up her now-muddy neon pink ones, Illea caught her black rain boots before they hit the muddy ground, and I caught mine. They were steel-toed, a gift from my dad. He had said if I were to be a construction worker I need to keep my feet safe.

I yanked them on, blinking quickly so I wouldn't start crying.

Illea put a hand on my shoulder, putting a finger to her lips. Don't tell anyone what happened.

After I nodded, she sagged in relief. Patty handed me her pink scarf--what is it with her and pink?--and I wrapped it around my neck. I shuddered as I remembered how the rope felt just like the coarse wool of this scarf. But I didn't take it off, so not to make questions arise.