Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Everyone in the tent jolted awake, murmuring in protest. 

"Hey guys, sorry." Dave said, his voice sounding shrill with anxiety, "I thought someone was walking around our tent, but it looks like it was just an animal." 

Kasem rubbed his eyes, mumbling, "Dude what the hell."

"I said sorry," Dave started to apologize but Kasem had already flopped back down and fell asleep. The others looked dismissive as they too rolled over to get some more sleep. Adanna had rolled over off his shoulder and was now fast asleep beside him. He tried to shake off the feeling he had and laid his head down, closing his eyes tightly and praying for sleep.

By the time he woke up the next morning, it was just him and Kasem in the tent. Adanna was outside next to the fire, cooking sausages and toasting bread over the fire. 

"So… you and Dave got cozy last night, eh?" A sly smile spread across Nessa's face.

Adanna blushed, "Oh God, please don't start with that."

"I thought you didn't want to date him because you didn't want to get hurt?" Kate asked.

"Whenever Adanna is ready to date, she can date whoever," Nessa said, "She doesn't need to announce it to everyone."

Adanna waved away their remarks, "Dave is very special to me and that is all I'm going to say about that, now, Does anyone want butter on their toast?" 

Dave shook his head, not knowing if he had heard correctly, or if he was still dreaming. A huge smile crossed his face at her response to them. She wanted to keep it private and let it happen, and he was all for that. He just wanted to be by her side. 

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He stayed still for another few minutes, hoping to himself that maybe they'd coax her to talk more about him, but as they ate and chattered, his stomach growled. So he decided to wake Kasem up and go eat some breakfast. 

Stepping out of the tent, he gave the girls a half grin, "Good morning ladies!"

Adanna smiled, but inside she was wondering if he had heard her talking about him. While she was comfortable taking it slow, she was still very shy around him, not wanting to lead him on, but also not wanting him to stray away.

Dave added a couple logs to the fire and threw some food on for himself and Kasem, who had just stumbled out of the tent. He wasn't one to wake up on the right side of the bed, and even though he didn't drink, he looked the most hungover.

"Looks like someone didn't get their beauty sleep." Kate teased. 

Kasem just glared, "Well, if lover boy over here would stop randomly yelling in the middle of the night, that would be fantastic."

Everyone but Kasem laughed. He was not a morning person, and would need his coffee and at least 2 hours to wake up and acclimate himself to everyone else's energy levels. While the guys made their breakfast and sat in silence, Kate got her bathroom bag and let everyone know she was going to go shower. The other girls said they'd be right behind her, but they needed some quarters for the shower. 

Kate trudged to the bathroom alone, excited to be the one who got first dibs on a hot shower. Back in the dorms, girls would wake up ridiculously early just to have warm showers in the morning. She was not qualified for the hour they woke up at, so she usually got a sad, chilly shower. 

Walking into the shower room, the hair on Kate's arms rose. It was dark and dank in the outdated bathroom. Only three bathroom stalls and two showers in the back, it was already cramped inside. The lights were a dull yellow, and it took her eyes a couple minutes to adjust to the dreary lighting. Her flip flops lightly tapped up to the first shower. There was a changing stall in front of the shower so you could change into and out of your clothes in privacy. Then there was another shower curtain separating the shower from the changing stall to keep your clothes dry.

Kate stepped into the changing station and started taking her clothes off. She went to turn the water on to preheat it, and realized she needed to pay a quarter for 20 minutes of shower time. She rifled through her belongings, grabbed the quarter, and set the shower. It creaked and then sprung to life as she turned to get in.

Flinging open the shower curtain, she stopped short at the sight in front of her. Standing in the corner with her head down, was a girl with dark brown hair. She was fully clothed in an older style, shivering and crying with her back to the wall.

Kate screamed as the girl suddenly shot forward, coming nose to nose with her. Her skin was a pale blue with pieces of dirt stuck in her short hair. The girl smelled like lake water and death, her breath was freezing cold as she spoke to Kate. 

"Leave." 

Kate trembled as tears sprung to her eyes, backing into the wall behind her. Her eyes… she had none. 

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