CHAPTER 10:
--Jackie--
By the time we made it back to camp, I was beyond tired and I had feeling I didn't smell too good. Nasty!
Zigzag threw our shovels into a pile of them next to the 'Library' and then lead me too the tent. When we got inside I crawled onto his cot and groaned.
"My body hurts everywhere!" I croaked, dramatically. He smirked at me before reaching under the bed and pulling out a towel. I watched carefully as he pushed the front of his jumpsuit down and peeled his shirt off.
"What're you doing?" I quipped, sitting up on the cot.
"Goin to take a shower," he said, rolling his eyes. My own eyes got wide and I jumped up to grab his arm.
"Where is it!? Where's the shower!?" I said, frantically. All the dirt and grime of this place was getting to me and I needed a shower.
He looked at me as if I were crazy before shaking my grip off. "They're right outside," he huffed, heading towards the tent flap. Reaching under my bed I grabbed my knapsack and headed after him. Did he say outside?
I followed him outside and halfway across the camp till we came to a row of stalls that I'd never noticed before. The side's were made of wood and there were only there of them, leaving the back part of it completely open. A pipe ran over the top of them with little nozzles hanging over each stall. These were the showers?
"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on a second!" I said, jogging to stand in front of Zigzag. "I can't shower in there! My whole backside would be on display and the walls only go up to my armpits!"
Zigzag glanced at the 'showers' and back at me a few times before shrugging.
"This is where we shower everyday," he mumbled, glancing around, "I don't know where else you can go."
I clenched my fists around my bag and set my jaw in place. This was absolutely ridiculous! As the only female here I deserved a little privacy! Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a leather cowboy hat and ugly teeth.
"Mr. Sir!" I called, taking off after the man. "Mr. Sir I need to talk to you!"
"Whatchu want?" he huffed, not pausing to let me catch up. I fell into step beside him and had to catch my breath before speaking.
"I wanted to talk to you," I gasped, "about the shower arrangements."
"What about em?" He spit a sun flower seed into the dirt and I scrunched up my nose.
"Well I can't very well take a shower where the guys do," I stated confidently.
"Why not?" He spat another seed out and glaring at me side ways.
"Well…because I'd be visible to every single person here!" I huffed in annoyance. Can he really not see my problem, or is he just mean?
Stopping finally he looked back at the showers. I did the same and blushed before turning away. From where I stood I could see Zigzag scrubbing his soaking wet hair in the streaming water. His bare chest was covered in water and I had to say that I'd never seen him look hotter. Focus Jacqueline!
Mr. Sir looked around carefully, before gesturing for me to follow him.
"Come on," he ordered quietly, picking up the pace. I did the same and followed him through the different turns of the camp until we came to a cabin. It was built from wood, just like the rest and had a stunning old model Mustang sitting in front of it. A few of the campers were busy scrubbing it down and every now and again they'd glance at the closest window. Who lives here?
As if reading my mind, Mr. sir open the front door of the cabin and let me in before saying, "This here's the warden's cabin."
I nodded in understanding and took in the inside of the cabin. All in all it was pretty nice. A fan sat in the corner, next to a nice old couch. All the stands, desks, and tables were carved from what looked like mahogany and everything was neatly place. The only weird thing about it was the hundreds of posters and newspaper clippings framed on the wall. Every inch of it was covered!
"Hobby of yours?" I asked Mr. Sir, nodding my head towards the nearest cut out. His only reply was a short grunt before pushing me ahead of him. He pointed off to a nearby hall.
"The bathrooms down that hallway and to the left. Be quick about it."
He stepped out of the front door again and slammed it behind him as he left.
"We're really starting to connect," I scoffed sarcastically. Turning back into the cabin I started towards the hallway, looking over all the newspaper clippings.
They were all really old so they had black and white pictures and the edges were turning yellow. They all seemed to be talking about bank robberies and finally I came upon a wanted poster.
"Kissing Kate Barlow," I said allowed. I'd never heard of her before, but glancing around quickly I realized all of the reports were about her. Pretty impressive for just one woman.
Shrugging, I continued on to the hallway and followed it down till I got to the bathroom.
It was small but at least it was clean. There was a tiny tub/shower in the right corner which I immediately skipped to. Flipping on the water I turned the nozzle all the way to hot and threw my bag to the floor. Stepping out of my jumpsuit, I took off everything else before jumping into the shower.
The water was scalding hot, but I knew it'd wash away all the filth I'd built up over the last two days. I grabbed some shampoo from my bag and started washing my hair until I felt like it was good enough. After I shaved I stayed in for another fifteen minutes until the water started getting cold.
Turning off the water I stepped out and grabbed a towel from the hook on the door. I wrapped it tightly around me and then picked up my bag. Taking it over to the sink I pulled out a comb and started to yank out all the knots in my hectic hair.
That took about twenty minutes but when I finished I had dried off I searched through my bag for a change of clothes. I didn't see the point of putting on my other jumpsuit since I'd probably fall asleep in these clothes later on. Finally I pulled out a clean pair of under wear, a bra, a black tank top, and some blue shorts.
I smiled at the clean, soft fabric and slipped them all in a rush. I pulled my hair into a pony tail and then slipped on some flip-flops. I packed all my dirty clothes into my bag and grabbed my sneakers off the ground before stepping out of the bathroom.
I felt all new and shiny as I walked down the hallway. Amazing what a hot shower can do. I checked the window before sneaking out the front door and headed off to the tent. I glanced over to the shower as I passed it, but Zigzag wasn't there anymore. Damn.
I stepped through the tent flap and looked around. Except for Magnet and Squid the tent was empty. No Zigzag, Caveman, or Zero. I sighed and tossed my bag into the corner. Turning to leave I noticed Squid and Magnet watching me with mouths open.
"What?" I snapped at them. They were making me uncomfortable.
"Where'd you get those clothes?" Squid asked after coming back to earth. Rolling my eyes I crossed my arms over my chest.
"I had them from before I got here," I huffed. "Have either of you seen Zigzag?"
Squid shook his head and went back to the card game he and Magnet were playing.
"I think he went to the rec room," Magnet said, shrugging. I nodded my thanks and jogged out of the tent. Rec room, rec room…where is that?
I heard a group of loud, male voices coming from one building and decided to make a guess. Scurrying over to the building I creaked the door open and stuck my head in.
Inside dozens of campers stood around doing various things. There was a pool table to my left and a tiny TV sat blaring static in the center of the room. Mostly it was just a bunch of couches and tables. There was a radio on the pool table but it wasn't playing anything. Big surprise.
Looking to the back of the room, I spotted Caveman and Zero playing pool with Armpit and a few other boys. I headed over, ignoring all the hungry eyes that followed me as I went. Coming up by the table Zero smiled at me and Caveman waved.
"Hey have you guys seen Zigzag?" I sighed, leaning on the table. There weren't a whole bunch of places you could be in a place like this!
"Uh he just left, but he'll probably be back in here soon," caveman replied, scratching his head beneath his hat.
"Really?" I asked, perking up. I could hang here till he got back instead of walking around in the hot sun looking for him.
"Yeah, he's always messin with the TV so you can wait over there," Armpit offered, trying to set up his next shot.
"Ok, thanks guys," I called as I headed towards the couch in front of the TV. No one else was there so I plopped down right in the middle and bounced. Staring ahead I watched as the TV flashed black in white with static. It was probably the oldest bit of equipment I'd ever seen. It still has antennas for Christ sake!
Sighing, I stood up and walked over to it. I fiddle with the right antenna, trying to improve the image but it only got worse. I put it back in place and started to wiggle the left one. Slight improvement.
"Ugh!" I dropped into a crouch in front of the stand and grabbed both antennas. "Come on," I grumbled, wiggling them about. Left? Worse. Right? Way worse. Back? Nothing...
Suddenly a rough hand came down on my butt and squeezed hard. Yelping, I jumped and spun around, letting my hand fly.
Slap.
The sound echoed around the room and everything grew quite. Only the static of the TV was in the background.
I looked up and found myself face to chest with a very tall, very angry boy. His hair was slicked back and he glared down at me. The cheek that I had smacked was turning red and the outline of the back of my hand could be seen in it.
"What the hell?!" he yelled, pushing me roughly. I staggered back and knocked the TV off the stand. It smashed to the floor and the static cut off.
"Look what you did!" he growled, pushing me again. Now I bumped into the stand and tripped backwards over it. I landed hard on my butt and groaned in pain. Glancing behind me I saw Caveman whisper something in Zero's ear before the small boy ran out the front door as fast as he could.
"Get up!" the boy hollered at me. I glared at and did just that. He was way taller then me and about three times thicker. Just one of his arms looked like it could snap me in half, but I wouldn't back down.
Brushing myself off I stepped to him and did my best to get in his face.
"Don't touch me!" I hissed. "Just cause I'm the first girl you've seen in months doesn't mean you get to put your hands on me!"
"Shut-up!" he shouted, raising his fist up. Oh my god, he's gonna hit me!
Let him! If he does then you're gonna hit him right back!
What?! Have you seen this guy?! He could eat me!
Do it!
Ok!
I clenched my eyes shut, waiting for him to throw the first punch. Instead I heard heavy footsteps, skin smacking against skin, and a loud grunt. Snapping my eyes open, my vision was blocked by a white shirt. Looking up I recognized an insane head of blonde hair. Zigzag!
Moving to his side I smiled brightly at him, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were set on the other guy who was trying to balance himself on the couch. Zig must've punched him. Ha!
"What the hell you doin?" my blue eyed hero growled at the brown haired boy.
"What's it to you, sicko?" snapped the other guy. I glared at him and clenched my fists.
"You stay away from her," Zigzag warned, meeting the other guy eye to eye.
"Why?" he sneered. "She your little girlfriend or something?"
"And what if she is?" Zigzag grumbled, lacing my hand with his. The big ape threw back his head and started laughing hysterically. Luckily no one else joined in. I gripped Zigzag's hand tighter as my glare deepened. This guy was asking for it! Of course Zigzag would take him, not me.
The boy finally got control of his self and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Smilingg evilly at us he snorted and stuck his finger in Zigzag's chest.
"Why would she be with an insane, paranoid, pyro maniac like you?" He poked Zig with each negative word. "You're a freak!"
"Go to hell!" I snapped. Turning to me he opened his lips and spit right in my face. There was a room wide gasp as Zigzag's head snapped to the right to face me.
"Ugh!" I shrieked, wiping at my face. "You nasty bastard!"
Zigzag dropped my hand and launched himself at the other boy. His fist landed the first punch and the guy went down. Zig knelt over him and threw punch after punch, wailing on him. Good!
Someone touched my shoulder and I turned around to see Zero and Caveman. Stanley used his sleeve to wipe the spit off my fate as Zero watched the fight like his life depended on it.
"Thanks," I sniffed when Caveman pulled away.
"You alright?" he asked, eyeing the fight as well. Zigzag had come to a slight disadvantage and the other guy had landed a punch on his right cheek. Bastard!
"Yeah, fine," I mumbled as the other campers pushed me around, trying to get a better view of the fight. Turning to look down at Zero I shrugged.
"Where'd you go?" I asked curiously.
He shrugged also and glanced over at the crowd. "To get Zigzag."
I nodded and then grabbed their hands to pull them through the other boys. We finally reached the center of the circle and I saw the Zig was winning again.
"Go Zigzag!" Caveman yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. Zero whistled loudly and I joined in.
"Kick his ass Ziggy!" I screeched. The boys rolled slightly and the other boy punched Zigzag across the face. Damn! I winced and covered my eyes while still peeking through the slits. Oh Zig's winning again!
"Go Zigzag!" me and Caveman yelled together. Suddenly there was a gunshot and everyone scattered away from the fight. I screamed and threw myself to the ground with my hands covering my head.
"You hoodlums break it up right now!" Pendanski hollered from his spot at the entrance. He was aiming a shotgun just outside the door and his eyes zoomed around. Once I realized no one was trying to kill us all I stood up and went to help Zigzag up.
He draped his arm over my shoulder and winced as I pulled him to his feet. His lip was bleeding and his right eye would probably be black by the next day. I threw a glare over my shoulder at the other guy and saw he was in worse shape.
His lip was cut open and his nose was so obviously broken. Both of his eyes were starting to get swollen and his left cheek was purplish. Ha! That's what he gets!
I helped Zigzag as he limped slightly and went to stand by Caveman and Zero.
"Jacqueline! Ricky!" Pendanski yelled, as the other campers started filing out of the room. I brought Zig over to him with Zero and Caveman's help.
"Who started this?" he asked when we reached him.
"That guy," I grunted, nodding towards the other boy who could barely stand. "He was about to knock my lights out when Zigzag got here."
Pendanski didn't look convinced and I fought the urge to choke him. He nodded as move campers exited until it was just me, Zigzag, Caveman, Zero, and Armpit who hadn't been far away the entire time.
"I think we need to have a sharing circle tonight D-Tenters," he said finally. I scrunched my face up in confusion.
"A what?"
"Theodore will explain it to you," he said too loudly for my liking, "now I suggest you take Ricky back to the tent and get him cleaned up. He will be required to attend the circle. Bleeding or not."
I sneered at him and readjusted my hold on Zigzag's arm.
"Fine," I grumbled, "come on guys," I called over my shoulder.
We exited the rec room last, me and Zig in front while Caveman, Zero, and Armpit followed behind us.
Ok so that was chapter 10! It was all in jackie's POV and I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be all in Zigzag's POV. I was going to upload it last night, but the submission part of the website was down! Gr! I want to update again tonight since the next chapter is super important, but I don't know if ill get the chance. Either way I hope you liked this chapter!
Reviews make me smile!
Thanks for reading!
~monie