Chapter 8

Mariyam was furiously tying on her phone which pretty surprised me since we didn't have any network.

"Jams, we're gonna die out here. I have this gut feeling - a very bad one about all this," She said.

"I told you all, but no one believed me." Sarah said, shivering.

"Oh please. Don't start. I just want to rest out here." I stretched furthermore on my back, looking at the light blue sky. I have been binge watching Kųrt Sevit ve Şura, one of my favourite T.v. Shows on my laptop, to the point that my eyes became watery. I decides to rest for a while, under the coldness that the tent we pit provided. The weather today had been more cooler than usual. Hence, we seized the opportunity to rest outside, admiring the wonderful nature.

Sarah continued blabbering and I zoned out not wanting to listen anymore. She had become more and more paranoid since Peyton went missing. To top it off, the figure I saw two nights ago made her go completely insane saying we needed to leave at once. She even began having weird dreams about the whole situation.

I opened my eyes as I sensed a presence near me. Hanna, Michael, and the twins Alex and Alexa were standing in front of me, all standing on different positions as if they were models. I threw back my head, laughing. They looked all set, as if planning to go somewhere. Alexa had a hippie look, as usual with her black jeans, a tight white shirt, and a jacket on top. She wore a black high heel to match, further looking like a pop star by wearing a black eyeshadow, and eyeliner, while Alex wore a simple denim jeans and blue shirt. Micheal wore an armani trouser with a red shirt. Hanna, however, looked chick with her strapless blue dress and a white high heel.

"Where are you guys going?" Mariyam asked them.

"Just for a walk to ease our minds and who knows, maybe see Peyton. I'm still optimistic that our girl is out there and will be found pretty soon." Hanna answered.

"InshaALLAH." I added. "Alexa, I'm loving that look. You look like my girl, Avril Lavign."

"Yea. High five, girl." Alexa shouted. We both clapped our hands, laughing.

"Ugh. What about me?" Hanna asked.

"You look...nice." Alexa and I both answered.

"Really?" Hanna began.

"Guys, be careful please.  You never know what may be lurking in the shadows." Sara started panicking.

"Don't worry, Sara. We will be very careful." Alex smiled.

They bid us goodbye and went into the dense forest.

***

UNKNOWN POV

Alex, Alexa, Hanna and Michael had been walking for five minutes. They removed some thorns from their path, and continued waking. Now and then, they would hear birds chirping but never saw one. They didn't mind walking on, even though they had no destination. They just wanted to feel free. Hence, they talked about their homes, funny things that happened back at school and  their dreams in life. They refused to say anything about the present because they didn't want to feel scared especially in the forest.

Hanna pulled out her phone and put her favourite song on speaker. They sang along and danced to the tune. Just then, Micheal started tickling Hanna. She was furious at first, and told him to stop. But later on, even the twins joined in and they began laughing. Hanna ran deeper into the forest and Micheal followed her. The twins thought it would be funny to scare both Micheal and Hanna, so they decided to take a shortcut. They saw a path at the right side, and decided to take it.

The twins ran straight and took a left. They saw Hanna caching her breath. 

"I don't see Micheal." Alex told his twin.

"Well, maybe he stopped to rest. Or is still looking for us. We shouldn't waste any time. Before she sees us," Alexa said.

They walked slowly making sure not to make a sound then jumped at Hanna shouting BOOM!

Hanna screamed, and fell. For a moment, she wasn't herslf until she realized who scared her.

"Alex! Alexa! Im coming to get you!" She shouted at them. They ran and she followed.

"Wooh! Im tired," Alex said

"Me too." Hanna confirmed. 

"Where is Micheal? Haven't seen him since," Alexa said.

"Maybe he found something interesting. Or probably went back to the camp," said Hanna.

"Yeah. Maybe. I want to rest. There ain't any nice place to sit on here. Maybe we sould go back." suggested Alex.

They all agreed and began walking back to the camp. 

***

We took pictures and videos desperately trying to feel happy even though in our hearts, we felt nervous. After hours of eating snacks and drinks, Mrs Sana informed us that lunch was ready. It was at that time, that Hanna and the twins came back from their little adventure.

"Where were you? You missed all the fun." Ade enquired when he saw them.

"Na. You should have come with us. We had fun. On the other side, it's more cool and dense. Much better than here," Alex said.

We trooped to the main room. Each of us took a seat and began putting varieties of food on their plates. We discussed, whilst eating.

"Jameela, what course are you planning to study in college?" Dan asked me. After this camp,  we would go to classes for 3 weeks and then take our final exams. By then, we would have a specific course to study.

"I'm going for Criminology. What about you?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe Psychology or something else." He shrugged.

"You? Psychology? Pfft. Please, I can't imagine you studying something like that." Nina told him.

"Well, believe it or not. I'm rooting for psychology. It makes the most sense." He raised his voice.

"I'm going for Fashion. I've already spoken to my mom and she has agreed. There's this amazing fashion school in New York. She knows someone there. So, that's it." Carrie said.

"That's great Carrie." Hanna smiled.

"I want to just do my ballet. Must we study?" Nina whined.

That was how our afternoon went on. From one topic to another. We decided to have our siesta later on. I checked the time. It was three fifteen p.m.  and I decided to pray Asr prayer. After praying, I hopped on my bed and rested.

I must have slept off because the sudden noises bolted me up from my bed. My head began to ache. The plan wasn't to sleep, just to rest, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and became more aware of my surroundings. The sun was setting, which gave the room a dim glow. I turned back and forth and noticed that I was alone in the room. Where could the others have gone, I thought. I noise that woke me up became more louder. I tried to hear what it was about, but couldn't get anything. I said aloud, "I guess I have to go and find out for myself."

As I was trying to get off the bed, Jane entered clearly shaken.

"What is happening? All that noise. What is it?" I asked her all at once.

"Jams, I'm done. I'm tired of all this! Seriously!" She shouted.

I felt dumb and enraged at the same time. How can someone just barge in and begin shouting at you for no reason?

"What do you mean? You just barged in here, without any clear explanations and say you're tired?"

She started sobbing and fell on her bed. Just then, Drew barged in too.

I rolled my eyes, "what is the matter with you all?"

"Jams, you need to come to the main room." He looked scared and the way he said it made me feel anxious to know what the surprise was.

For a moment, it dawned on me. What if I couldn't bear to see or hear whatever this is about? For all I know, it could be something horrifying. Jane is clearly not herself. And Drew, the tough guy who always protected us at school, is scared.

I gulped and got off from my bed. Taking my dupatta, I followed him to the living room.

******************************

Omg! What could the surprise be?

Thank you very much for reading. Don't forget to Vote, Comment and Share.

See you in the next chapter. Till then,

Ciao.