The Camp

Chapter 18

In the yard there was a line of celebrities, dressed in black tuxedos with combed hair and freshly shaved faces, I like the four other girls who had exited their lodges all dolled up descended the steps and headed for our bachelor. Jack smiled as I reached him, he held out and arm for me to take and I took it, holding on tightly as we turned to the side and set off. We stayed in line, Finn and his chosen girl first, then Jack and I, Jaeden, Wyatt and finally Chosen. I could already feel the cameras on us as we headed to our transport, no one spoke, I was still afraid that it was forbidden. 'Do not speak unless spoken to' Ma used to insist and right now I abided by her rules. Finn and his guest peeled away, and my eyes settled on the long black car in front of us, it shone in the sun and I'd never beheld anything quite so magnificent in my life. I felt Jack looked at me then heard him chuckle as he led me towards a side door. He let go of me temporarily to open the door then helped me in and closed it after us. "Did you bring that ribbon for any reason?" He chuckled and I frowned at him in utter confusion, "The one your holding in your hands." He pointed and I felt my face heating up, "I didn't want them to take it." I admitted and he laughed out loud. His hands found mine and removed the ribbon, I let him take it, "Here, you can wear it as a bracelet and then no one can take it." I smiled contentedly at him as he wrapped it round my wrist, his tongue poking out in concentration. "There." He muttered, shuffling back to look at his work then making eye contact. "So..." I didn't dare remove my eyes from his, I had no idea whether that would be wrong or not and I'd already sensed the camera watching us from the far corner. "You ever been in a limo?" He asked, dropping his eye contact and leaning back into the seat. I glanced round the tiny room that we were in, "A what?" I replied, slightly embarrassed that I had no clue about his foreign words. "A limo...this, its like a long car." He gestured around himself and I smiled, I barely knew what a car was and the ones I'd seen were run down or not usable. "Please tell me you know what a car is!" He cried and I found myself laughing and patting his shoulder for being so naïve, "Of course I know what a car is, its just that we don't get many working ones in Oregon." He made an O shape with his mouth then smiled at me weakly, "I guess I'm a little out of the circle with places like Oregon..." He admitted and my eyes drifted up to the camera before I leaned a little closer, "Its ok, one day I'll show you everything you need to know and then it'll be like you've never lived anywhere else." He laughed; he liked that one. "Ok, then."

A brief moment of time passed before the door opened again and we were allowed out, I hadn't even realised that we had been moving but the setting outside was much different to the dull beige of Camp. The theatre where we would see the production was a huge white building made of marble that had survived the war well, a few chips and cracks here and there but otherwise it was still as magnificent as the day it was built. Jack climbed out behind me and placed a secure arm around my waist before leading me inside. I marvelled at everything, it was so alien, so strange, so wealthy. The carpets were red velvet and the lights shone white and brightly over the foyer. Finn and his companion were just ahead of us, gliding elegantly through a double door, I put the brakes on, digging my feet into the red carpet and stopping. Jack looked back to see if anyone was directly behind us then swung round to address me, "What's wrong?" He asked, frantic in the way he spoke, he kept glancing over my shoulder. "What's through there?" I muttered, my throat felt tight, my lungs were squeezed closed. It suddenly felt very stuffy in here. "Enola?" Jack asked as I leaned against him. Jaeden was gaining on us now, he reached us, and Jack pulled me aside, allowing them to go past and through the doors. He leaned closer in, "You alright?" He asked and I saw my pale complexion reflecting back in my eyes. It was too much like a cinema, "Herbert..." I muttered, seeing his pale face and foaming jaw flash in front of my eyes, we never should have gone to that cinema in the first place and here I was reliving my pain. "What?" Jack now had me by my arms and was looking worriedly into my eyes. He looked over my shoulder again, that must be Wyatt entering. "He got rabies, we never should have gone there, Jack!" I was suddenly frantic, trembling and yelling. I looked deep into his troubled eyes and he looked back into mine. He looked terribly confused. "It was an old cinema, there were people in there, we didn't know, there was rabies everywhere when I was a child, Ma told me not to go there..." Tears threatened to pour down my face and then Jack was doing something that was against the rules, he was pulling me into a hug and holding me tightly against his chest. "I understand but its ok, there's nobody in here that's going to hurt you, we're just going to see the play and then we'll go back. I promise." I nodded against his chest, allowing a couple of ears to flee my eyes before pulling away. He wiped a finger across each cheek to remove my tears then smiled at me, "Now look, my shirts a mess." We both chuckled, he was right though, there was a nice stripe of pink blush and two wet patches where I'd been crying. "Now are you ready?" He asked, holding his hand out for me to take. I hesitated for a minute as I caught my breath then took it confidently, "Let's do this."