Chapter 36

Deborah woke up in a hospital bed. As she looked around the room, she noticed she was entirely alone. No doctors. No nurses. No family. No friends. No Tiffany. She laughed lightly and spoke aloud to no one but herself. "Stupid. Why would she be here? It's not like you're friends. So you spent a few nights at camp together. So what?"

As she sat and tried to decompress from all that she had been through, she started to cry. She couldn't get Kenny out of her mind. What had happened to him after he left to get Chad? But the real tears started to run as she thought of Vanessa and Adam. They had given their lives for her. She could never repay them for that. And what would she tell their parents?

Her thoughts were interrupted, which she was a bit thankful for. The door opened and in stepped her mom and dad who both ran over to her bed with tears and smiles, and hugged her gently. "We're so glad you're okay!" Her mom cried.

"We heard what happened." Her dad added. "We're so happy you're okay." He echoed his wife's words.

"Am I going to be okay?" Deborah asked her parents.

They both nodded, but her father spoke. "Yes. The doctor said your ankle is crushed and will require quite a bit of surgery." He took his daughter's hand. "He said that you'll be able to walk again if the surgeries are successful. But, he also said that you'd always have to take it easy. No running. No aerobics. Nothing like that." Deborah let the news sink in. She wasn't really a runner or anything, but the idea of never even having the option was a bit saddening to her.

She forced herself to shrug and smile. "Oh well." She began. "After what I just went through, I'm just happy to be alive."

"We know you've been through a lot, and we'll never force you to talk about it. But, know that we are here if you ever want to." Her mother comforted her.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Her dad asked.

"I'm hungry." She laughed.

"You got it." Her dad said, springing out of the room to get his little girl a decent meal.

"And..." She said quietly to her mom. "I lost several good friends tonight." Her eyes began to tear up again, which her mother noticed immediately and gently embraced her. "Can you please make sure that..." She trailed off. "That those of us who survived can have a proper service for them all?" She cried aloud in her mother's arms.

"Oh, honey..." Her mother kissed her on the forehead. "Don't you worry about that right now."

"Please, mom." She spoke quietly again. "Some of them died just to save my life. They gave up their lives specifically for me to live." She couldn't hold back her tears. "I have to say good-bye to them and thank their families."

Her mother, clearly floored by the news that her daughter was only alive because of someone else's child's sacrifice, took a deep breath. "I'll make sure." She promised her daughter.

Her father entered the room again with a bag of food from the hospital's cafeteria and a smile on his face. "Someone's here to see you." He announced.

Behind him entered Tiffany with puffy eyes and a sad smile. Deborah gasped loudly. "Tiffany!" Her voice filled with relief and excitement. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Tiffany crossed the room with her arms already out in the air for a hug. Deborah embraced her more tightly than she had even her own parents. Nearly dying together built up a bond unlike she had ever had with anyone. "Mom, Dad..." She said looking at her parents over Tiffany's shoulder as they continued to hug. "I'm only alive because of this girl. She dragged me to the boat and got me here."

"You were the one who fixed the boat." Tiffany laughed off her own accomplishments, trying to remind Deborah that she was just as responsible for their escape. "And you were the one who shot him in the face."

Deborah's parents looked at each other dumbfounded. Fix a boat? Shot a man in the face? They looked at their daughter with shock. Her father finally came out of his stupor and turned to Tiffany. "Then I guess we owe you a sum of gratitude I don't think we can ever truly pay you. She's our everything."

Tiffany blushed and insisted that it was no big deal. Deborah's parents stepped back as they watched Deborah enjoy the company of someone that truly understood what she had gone through. They didn't feel neglected. They were just happy that their baby girl was still alive.

Deborah's mother gestured for her husband to step outside with her. Once she had latched the door closed as quietly as possible, she spoke to her husband. "We have some kids' parents to call, and it's not going to be easy." Her husband nodded in understanding.