Holly slipped in and out of consciousness, the pain from the hole in her chest knocking her out and then bringing her back into wakefulness in a never-ending cycle of suffering. In the distance, she heard shouts, or were they close by? She couldn’t tell. Suddenly she saw a bright light and heard the wail of a siren. All the sounds and the bright light overwhelmed her senses and she slipped back under, black swirling across her eyes until her eyelids fluttered shut…

TWO DAYS AGO…

Holly awoke with a start, her alarm blaring from her phone. She quickly silenced it, hoping she hadn’t woken the entire cabin just yet. She wanted to go check on Alex and make sure that she was ok. She rolled out of the top bunk and peeked in at Cathy, who was sound asleep. Holly quickly changed into some jeans and a t-shirt, then put on her shoes.

When she walked outside, she realized she wasn’t the first one up. Madison was standing outside the cabin, leaning on a support beam as she watched the sunrise. “Good morning,” Holly greeted her, receiving a silent nod in reply. “Did you sleep well?”

Madison’s short ginger hair caught the sunlight and turned a beautiful amber color as she answered, “Yes, thanks for asking. What’s the plan for today, Holly?”

Holly grinned, “Guess you’ll have to find out! I’ll see you and everyone at the mess hall for breakfast in about an hour, ok? Will you make sure everyone gets there?”

Madison nodded and then turned back to the sky, watching the purples turn into pinks and oranges, painting the clouds with their vibrancy.

Holly made the short walk to the small counselor’s cabin and knocked gently on the door. A minute or so later, the door opened and Alex’s sleepy face greeted her with a yawn. “How’d you sleep?” Holly asked her.

“I slept alright. Thank you again for letting me use your cabin.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Holly said then asked, “Is there anything I can get for you? Anything you need?”

Alex shook her head. “Ok, then,” Holly continued, “You’ve got a little less than an hour before breakfast, so get ready for the day.”

Holly then turned and walked over to the boys’ cabin, where she found everyone already up and moving to get ready for breakfast. At the sight of Holly, one of the boys, Hope was his name if Holly was recalling correctly, asked “What time is breakfast? I’m starving!”

At this the whole cabin voiced sounds of agreement, which made Holly giggle, “Breakfast will be at 7. I expect all of you will be there on time? Seeing as how hungry you are.”

Bob cut in, “We’ll be there. Before you leave though, can I have a word with you outside?”

Oh boy, here we go again, Holly thought to herself, but out loud she said “Of course!” She walked outside and closed the door behind Bob. “What’s up?”

“How did everything go last night?” Bob asked, motioning with his eyes towards Holly’s cabin.

Holly cleared her throat then told him, “Everything was fine. Alex seemed more than happy to have a room to himself and the girls all slept soundly. It all worked out.”

“Good,” he replied, “I just wouldn’t want anything to happen is all – “ He was interrupted by the door flying open and Hope and another boy, Silas, tumbling out of the room to run off towards the open field that separated the cabins from the dining hall. Hope had a Frisbee tucked under his arm and the two sophomores started tossing the disk back and forth.

Holly turned back to Bob, “Well I’d better go check on the girls, make sure they’re getting ready. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

Bob looked like he had more to say, but she turned and walked towards the girls’ cabin. Inside, she found them all getting ready like she had hoped. She looked down at her watch: 6:42. Just about time for everyone to eat. She helped a few of the girls get ready, then she walked them all towards the dining hall. On the way, Holly noticed that the Frisbee game had grown to include Jorge and the freshman boy Taylor as well. Taylor took off like a shot after a long pass that was heading towards the edge of the clearing. Right as he reached up to grab it – SLAM. Taylor ran right into a tree and crumpled to the ground.