Dead Inside

36.

The campfire was warm in the cool weather of the night. The pale smoke was drifting upward towards the dark cobalt-black sky which was speckled with glimmering white stars, a half silver moon slowly climbing across the sky. The fire crackled and spit near Sabre's feet and sent sparks flying to the grassy ground. The group were roasting marshmallows together; Alex had returned with roasting sticks stacked in her arms a few minutes ago, but Sabre stated he didn't want to. He was too busy thinking about a plot; a plot he had been planning ever since the start of the trip. He glanced over to StarLord who had lifted up his stick to find his marshmallow burning in flames while the others laughed. He thought back to his nightmare, and it struck him. He hid a smirk before letting out a fake yawn. 

"Anyone else tired?" Sabre asked. 

The others glanced at him in confusion. 

"Tired?" Blue Steve asked. "We just got started."

"Yeah," Sabre replied. "I guess I really didn't get very much sleep the other night." he hoped his lies would work. He hated lying to his friends. 

It's for the greater good, he told himself. StarLord- or should I say, Forest Steve- could be dangerous. 

"If you really are that tired," Rainbow Steve told him. "You can go to your tent to sleep a little early. We'll keep it down."

Sabre wanted to argue, but he knew that would just cause more confusion so he kept his mouth shut and nodded. He told his friends goodnight before going into his tent and curled up in his sleeping bag. He decided to lay awake but be sure to fool his friends he was asleep. He couldn't fall asleep, not tonight. As the hours passed, he began to grow impatient. He peeked carefully out of his tent and saw the others were still awake. They were laughing somewhat quietly, their roasting sticks tossed in the fire. It sounded as if they were telling jokes and silly stories. Before he knew it, Rainbow Steve turned and blinked at him. Sabre quickly made himself look groggy, he couldn't let his friends know he had pretended to sleep. 

"Sorry, Sabre," Rainbow Steve said. "Did we wake you up?"

"It's not a problem," Sabre replied, forcing his voice to sound tired. "I've slept through worse." 

"We'll be quieter this time," Rainbow Steve told him.

"It was all Galaxy Steve," Alex said. 

"Wha-" Galaxy Steve blinked. Sabre then realized why he looked so tired, he had fallen asleep laying his head in his hand. "Oh, right, totally."

"I think we're all a little tired, too," Blue Steve said. "Why don't we head to bed so we can do some fun tomorrow?"

"Alright," Rainbow Steve let out a small yawn. "Let's go to bed."

The friends said their goodnights before parting and heading for their own tents. Sabre was thankful they were about to go to sleep, even though he would have to wait a few more hours before doing what he had been planning. He lay back against his pillow and stared at the roof of his tent. Before long, his eyelids drooped and he fell into a short doze. 

Moments passed before Sabre blinked awake. He felt tired for a few seconds until he remembered everything and quickly peered out of his tent. He saw the fire had gone out and everyone else were asleep. Then he saw him. StarLord was sitting beside the shore of the lake, staring out at the star-filled water. Sabre smirked slightly and pulled out a knife from his backpack. 

This is it, where it all ends, right here and right now...