Hoodie pt.2

"Listen everyone!" says the mayor.

All the noise in the room goes silent.

"All those sick will sleep in the building, the rest will sleep in the tents outside for the night," says the mayor after which there are sounds of disagreement.

Eventually, people calm down and lower their voices thinking of the cold outside. One of the workers of the campsite sends extra supplies in the building. There are blankets to go around to everyone, one extra one for everyone. People line up to procure their blankets, there is a cheerful moment for everyone. Katie takes the blanket into her hands like a delicate piece of artwork. Its woven lines she cherishes for warms. Raul and Jessica sit with Katie wrapping their blankets around themselves. Occasionally they take breaks walking around. Jake is somewhere else, Katie last saw him with their parents talking on the bench behind them,but does not see Jake there anymore.

Later for dinner there is a small meal of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with applesauce. Jake turns up to talk to the three of them.

“I heard there was a lookout station nearby from one of the people who were camping here,” says Jake.

“Oh yeah?” asks Katie confused.

“To see if we are the only ones in the darkness,” says Raul thinking.

“Yeah kinda my thought,” says Jake.

They munch on the sandwiches in thought.

“How far is it,” asks Jessica.

“A five-mile walk from here,”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that. In the cold,” says Katie.

The shower in the bathroom was still working in the women's room. Katie and Jessica went inside lining up behind the other people to take a shower. Upon reaching the room there was a limit to the time allowed in the inside shower. Those quick minutes under the water with the cool grey tiles under her feet felt like refreshing. It would have been nice had it not been so cold. Even with the warm water the coldness of the air stole the warmth. Outside in the grey-tiled bathroom with green tree decorations, Katie put on her clothes. Her hair instantly hardened with the coldness of the air. She put it inside of her hoodie after straining the water from it.

The night came when Katie noticed her phone stating the time at 8:30 P.M. People inside of the building began to go outside to sleep for the night. They left with small steps clutching onto their blankets. Raul had the idea they have a sleepover at one of the the tents to keep more warmth.

“Won’t we be like sardines,” says Jessica.

“Yeah, but warm sardines,” says Raul.

Jake agrees at the end but he is the last to agree to spend the night with all three teenagers together. They decide to use Jake and Katie’s tent.

Outside they gather all the blankets from the other tents and they gather around the designated tent. The tent’s yellow opening flaps in the cold wind beckoning them inside.

Katie lays down a blanket on the floor. They lay on the floor the four of them. Zipping the tent shut the air inside the tent is warmed up with their bodies.

Raul is telling jokes for them to listen to he lies next to Jake at the end of the tent. Katie is next to Jake and Jessica is at the other end. Katie thinks she has one of the warmest spots of the arrangements. She snuggles deep in the blanket listening to one of Raul's jokes. Soon there is a consent to try to get some sleep and they stop talking. Katie listens to the wind beat against the tent outside. It is a constant whipping sound. The noise lulls her to sleep as she grounds herself on the bumpy ground of the floor of the tent.

There is a dream that comes to Katie within minutes of closing her eyes. There is a building of wood with old splinters in its logs. The logs are built on top of each other haphazardly as if they might topple at any moment. She stood in a wooded area with many pines around her. She walked inside of the building busing through the door which opened easily with a creak. Inside there was a bright light that diminished to show a room full of clocks. Large standing grandfather clocks, digital, and round clocks. The room sounded with a continuous and simultaneous tick tok. All the clocks were going at the same pace. Katie stared into one clock, the grandfather clock when the hand stuck twelve with its black hands. The wooden design opened from under the hand from which a man came out. Katie in her dream looked at the man who also carried a pocket watch he said, “You made it in time,” and the dream disappeared. Katie’s eyes shot open holding onto the blankets. In the tent, she waited for her heart to slow down. The dream replayed in her mind. Some minutes later Katie was able to close her eyes and soon blackness came with sleep.

There were loud noises of people shouting that came from outside of the tent waking Katie from her slumber. Jake was sitting up next to her his arm on the tent’s zipper. Jessica and Raul soon woke up too.

“What is going on?” asks Raul.

Jake unzips the tent to look out. He is out for a few seconds.

“Get out!” exclaims Jake into the tent.

Katie moved out of the tent with her friend close behind. The loud shouts are more clear in the night.

Men and women bang at the building of the main campsite. The doors appear to be locked shut from the inside. People stand with only their blankets wrapped around them for warmth. The cold air hangs from their breath and onto the window of the closed building.

People start to argue amongst themselves as the crowd pushes against each other. Mr. Heard looks at Jake and shouts, “Leave!” from near the crowd.

Jake takes Katie's hand and heads to the parking lot side of the building. Other people start to come out of the tents. Jessica and Raul follow behind Katie and Jake. As they make their way into the parking lot Jake bumps into a shadow by one of the cars. It's Roy smoking a cigarette.

“What’s all the noise?” asks Roy.

“The building is closed,” says Jake.

Roy takes a puff from his cigarette watching as the four of them go past the car and to the forest area.

“Wait where are you going?” asks Roy.

“To the lookout station,” says Jake turning around.

Roy looks back to the campsite building before following them into the path under the shadows of the trees.