All Roses Have Thorns

Sierra XVII

The sound of a pot banging in her ears was the first thing she heard. "Get up, daisies! We've got stuff to do!"

"Jesus christ, Erin!" Safiya yelled, "Shut up!"

"Well, you need to get up!" The banging stopped. Erin sighed and stepped out. "I let you oversleep for twenty minutes, so you have to get moving." She left the bedroom and shut the door.

Sierra sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ouch." She got out of bed, and hurried to get ready with the others. Erin had left the hotel room to grab food. After about forty-five minutes, they were all assembled outside and sluggishly moving into the van. She groaned and slumped over in the seat. "Why are we here so early?"

"Uh... it's ten o'clock?" Erin turned to face forward again. "Let's get going."

The drive was about fifteen minutes long, and Sierra took the opportunity to try and trick her body into sleeping. It did not work. She arrived feeling as dead as ever. They all got out of the car. "Where are we?"

"Horses!" Safiya yelled and pointed at a field where there were, indeed, horses.

"Horses!" Maggie echoed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Erin put her arms out and stopped them from running to the horses. "You'll get to the horses in a minute."

After a brief explanation, Sierra knew what was going on. They were there to go horseback riding. They had split into two groups, and Sierra was in the second one. The first group had already left, so she was left standing next to the other four. Sebastian and Safiya were talking quietly between the two of them, as were Jake and Reese.

She felt out of place.

A slight wind ruffled the bare branches around them. Despite it being winter, there was no snow on the ground and it was oddly warm.

She looked around at the two... couples?

I don't belong here.

She stared at the sky and got lost in the wind.