Surviving

Chapter 27

After getting checked for bites, I was escorted to a large room where all of the other girls were being held. Sleeping bags and pillows had been stacked up against the wall, and I heard the door lock behind me. The room had decent lighting due to the two large windows, and it looked as if it had been a second grade classroom.

As soon as I had entered the room, people began to whisper. I stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to do. After a few minutes, Ingrid came up to greet me and led me to a corner in the back where Hayden was already sitting.

"Are you okay?" Hayden asked.
   
"I don't know." I sat beside her and put my head in my hands.
   
"I can't believe Travis. And you would've thought he would be more careful around adults after what happened last time." Ingrid frowned, thinking deeply.
   
"Well, Travis got what he was asking for."
  
"And what was that?" Hayden crossed her arms.
   
"A bloody nose and probably a few more bruises."
   
"That's nice," Ingrid said, sarcastically.
   
"I think we should try to get out," Hayden suggested quietly.

"Well, if you figure out how to do that then please share," Ingrid replied, and that ended the conversation.
   
We sat in silence as the other girls spoke in hushed whispers. Tension was high, and nobody seemed to want to speak to anyone outside of the small, tight groups they had formed. We were alone in the room until dinnertime, when canned food and water was brought to us, but then left again.
   
By the time the sun had completely set everybody had lied out in sleeping bags and were beginning to fall asleep. Except for me. Every time I would close my eyes Billy's death would replay in my head, causing agonizing pain deep inside my chest.
   
Eventually, my eyes drooped closed, and sleep overcame me. Though my body was at ease, my mind was filled with haunting dreams of Billy.