Around the time "Holes" started to end Gail was coming down from the high of the pot laced brownies. And as the world started to come back into focus around her she felt suffocated in the cafeteria full of light murmuring and giggling. While Holly was distracted with April and Emily, Gail snuck out the front doors and onto the wrap around porch of the cafeteria building. Rain was still pouring down from the pitch black sky above but the thunder and lightning had subsided. Gail sat on a bench near the door and took a deep breath of fresh air. Fresh, cold air.

The cool air washed over her as she closed her eyes and listened to the heavy fall of the rain. Her brain was still fuzzy and she was sure time was still slower than it should be but everything was slowly coming back into focus. Well, everything except her memories. It was like her brain couldn't hold on to the past hour. Not that Gail wasn't already used to the occasional memory lapse from a night of drinking.

Gail stood up and stretched trying to shake away the fuzzy edges of her brain. Looking out into the dark campgrounds around her she froze when she saw something flickering in the distance. So far during the high she hadn't hallucinated so she didn't think any would suddenly pop up at that moment but she shook her head all the same. Trying to focus she saw the flicker again. It was light. It was someone running with a light. For a second she figured maybe it was Andy but Andy would have been coming in from the parking lot which was in the opposite direction. Whoever was running up was coming from the woods.

Then she saw the form stumble and heard the young voice cry out over the pouring rain.

Without a moment's hesitation Gail was out in the rain running toward the light. It was hard to push the fuzzy edges to the side but she tried to put her brain on autopilot. No ridiculous thoughts of bears. No superficial thoughts of being drenched and cold. One foot in front of the other. She slid to a stop and reached down with her good arm to grab the arm reaching up for her and as she helped the kid to his feet she looked at his face and froze.

It was Jarred Mackey. Beaten, bruised, and now covered in mud but it was him. Gail's brain caught up with the moment as quickly as it could and she remembered he was running and looking at his face he was running for a reason. She looked behind him into the dark and strained against the dark backdrop of the woods and campgrounds.

"We have to go. We have to…," gasped Jarred between breaths.

Sure enough her fears were realized in form of flickering lights far in the distance. Two of them. As she pushed Jarred to run ahead of her she tried to gauge how far off they were. Five minutes maybe. If they were slow and if the muddy patch that Jarred had slipped in got in their way. As she caught up with Jarred she helped him move faster as best she could. He was limping but he pushed himself as best he could. Gail was just worried about time. She needed enough time because whoever this kid was running from was probably armed and more dangerous than anyone at this camp was equipped to deal with.

As Gail and Jarred made it through the cafeteria door everyone who was still awake jumped up to look at them and their very sudden, very loud, intrusion. Everyone seemed to just be frozen and trying to process what they were seeing except for a few of the adults who were immediately up and headed to Gail. Holly took Jarred from Gail's arms and helped him into a chair. She tried to ask Gail something but Gail wasn't processing any of her words.

"Gail, what happened?" Gail?" asked Holly.

"Jarred? Where have you been? Are you okay?" Tonya grabbed a towel and began helping Jarred clean up a little while Holly turned away from Gail and tried to focus on taking stock of his injuries.

Gail shoved the double doors behind them closed and locked them. She was completely focused, fighting against the cloudy edges of her thoughts. For once in her life she was thankful for her parents constant training because for the most part she was completely running on instincts and all the police training that had been ingrained in her since she was six.

"Help me close these windows," shouted Gail as she smacked Morgan's hand away from the light switches. "Keep the lights off."

No one moved to help her so she stopped and her brain managed to catch up with the moment. Through the slight haze still clouding her mind she had been completely running on instinct but no one in the room knew what was happening. Only Jarred really knew and Gail only had a basic idea.

"I got away. Kept me in the woods. They're chasing," struggled Jarred.

"Who are they?" asked Tonya. "Are they...are they armed?"

Jarred nodded and Gail's stomach dropped. It didn't matter that she had been running on the assumption that they were armed, knowing they were sent a shiver down her spine. She had brought her taser with her to camp but it was back in the bunk in her backpack and even then a taser could only take out one of them. Gail's mind raced.

"We have to close these shutters. We need to lock all the doors and get everyone into the kitchens, away from any windows," said Gail. "Doug, call the police."

Frozen faces stared back at her.

"Now!" shouted Gail.

Everyone shot into action. Doug immediately pulled out his cell phone to dial emergency services. The older counselors started getting all the kids up and herding them through the darkness into the kitchens the only illumination from the handful of cell phones among the teens. Dov, Chloe, and Morgan worked on checking the doors and locking the shutters closed over the windows. April and Tonya helped Jarred back to the kitchens with the others. While Gail worked on the shutters with Holly she pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial for her brother.

No answer.

She dialed again.

Still no answer.

"Fuck," huffed Gail. She dialed her mother.

Gail was about to give up on an answer when at the last second the line picked up.

"Abigail, do you realize what time it is?"

"Jarred Mackey, the missing kid, we have him but there are people chasing him. We're barricading ourselves in the cafeteria. Doug is calling the police but I just figured you and Steve might want to know." Gail hung up the second she was done and gave her full attention back to her task. The last thing she wanted to deal with was her mom asking for specifics while she was trying to fight the remnants of being high and dealing with a dangerous situation.

"Gail, we finished the windows and the doors are all locked with tables in front," said Dov as he came hurrying over to her. "What's the plan?"

"We hold out until the police get here."

"Are you sure they have weapons? That kid could just be scared."

"No, I'm not sure. But I'd also rather not take the chance."

Dov nodded and hurried off to help Chloe double check that everything was secure. Gail peeked out of one of the slats at the lights growing closer to the building. She could see them slowing down as they converged. Gail could feel Holly's presence next to her even though the brunette stayed quiet. Gail wasn't entirely sure what Holly's silence meant in the face of everything but she would hopefully have time to worry about that later. As the light of the flashlights shined toward the building Gail ducked down, pulling Holly with her.

"Gail." Holly's voice was small and quiet. "Are we going to be okay?"

This brought Gail out of Elaine Peck Mode and back into the moment rather than trying to think six steps ahead. She turned to look at her girlfriend. Holly looked absolutely terrified and this made Gail's heart ache in a way she'd only felt the time Steve talked about almost getting shot. Gail took the moment to give Holly a small but careful kiss while she took her hand into her own. A police officer is never supposed to promise anyone in a situation like the one they were in that everything was going to be okay or that everyone was going to make it out unscathed. They're supposed to keep control of the situation, keep everyone calm, and plan their actions accordingly.

But this was Holly.

And Gail wasn't a cop.

Yet.

"We're going to be okay, Holly," said Gail with another kiss. "I promise."

a/n: Metal illness is a serious motivation killer. I hope you like where the story is going. Let me know what you think.