Peter Scarbrow engaged himself in the tedious task of searching Erika's bags.
"Did you use today?" he asked as he went through her belongings, assuring they didn't contain something destructive.
Erika looked away from him. "So what if I did? What's it to you?"
"Erika, this is my job. I'm trying to help you, you can make it easier on the both of us if you'd just let me."
"I don't need help. I don't need anybody! I can help myself just fine."
"You can't live shut out like that."
"Well it's my fuckin' life. You know this is really lame, and a serious waste of time. You can't brake me."
Peter listened to what she had to say. "Let me ask you something, Erika. Are you happy with your life now? Do you like the direction it's taking?" after she failed to respond, he continued. "The rules here are simple. There's no drugs, no sex, no inappropriate touching and no violence. The key to horizon is that it's a safe place. It's a place where you can go to take a break from all that crap that's going on outside in your life and learn to feel what you really feel. Anything you say to me or tell me or one of the other counsellors stays between us unless you give me permission to say it to others. The only exception is if I suspect violence towards others or self-destructive behaviour, and then I'm bound by law to notify outside authorities. Any questions?"
"Yeah, why aren't there any bars on the windows? This is a school for the fucked-up youth isn't it?"
"It's a sanctuary, Erika, not a jail. There's no fences, no gates, and especially nowhere to run. You're 25 miles from the closest town. To get there, especially at night, you've got to make your way through a forest you've never seen before in the dark, fighting off carnivores the size of minivans, so if you're even thinking about it, don't bother. And by the way, profanity isn't tolerated here either." Peter said, looking over at his newest admit.
Erika seemed to merely brush aside his words. "What, I'm supposed to care? I live on my own terms."
"And what's that?"
"It doesn't include you."
Peter stopped a moment what he was doing. "Erika- do you understand why you're here?" he asked.
"Why am I here? Because I refuse to take crap from my sorry-ass excuse for a mother and my sorry-ass excuse for a father. Because I refuse to take crap from anyone. And I refuse to take crap from you. I'm never going to be walked on. No one's EVER going to take advantage of me.. not like.." her voice dimmed.
"Go on." Peter urged.
"There's nothing more to tell! Why won't you let me be my own person?! This is who I am. You want to weaken me. You want to brake me. It's not going to happen. You're wasting your time, every minute you spend with me. How many times do I have to tell you before it registers?!"
"Maybe until you convince me that you're right. Do you honestly believe the direction you're taking is healthy? You didn't answer me the last time."
Erika held a blank stare.
Peter went back to searching Erika's bags, convinced he wouldn't get anything out of Erika just now. "If ever you want to talk, I'll be right here," he said. "It's time for your physical. When you're finished, since the cliffhangers on currently on a quest, I'll get Sophie to show you around, and to your dorm. I'm assigning you to the Cliffhanger's group. Sophie will be your counsellor."
"I can't believe my fuckin' mom resorted to bringing me here," Erika said to Sophie as the counsellor gave her a tour of the campgrounds. "She's always held me back. This place looks more like a campsite than a rehab. And I guess it was intentional to completely isolate this place off from the rest of the world."
"That's right," responded Sophie, a tall woman with shoulder-length blond hair and piercing, crystal blue eyes. "It's located where nothing else can affect you. There's nothing but mountains surrounding this place."
"Picturesque, but completely pointless. We can't isolate our feelings where we're shipped back off to the real world."
"Maybe not, but it's a great harbour for now, when you're just regaining control of your life. There's no distractions here, just mountains."
"That's so lame. "
"You've got something better?"
"Maybe I do."
The two had reached the Cliffhanger girl's cabin. Sophie opened the door for her new admit. "You'll be expected to keep this space clean," she explained as they walked through the doorway. The room was empty, but roomy. There was a row of beds lined in identical ruby-red bedspreads. The room was void of anything extravagant or striking, but plain and warm.
"I've assigned your bunk number three, over here."
Erika threw her bags on her assigned bed, and subsequently sat down. "Now what?"
"Now you'll have some supervised quiet time and just get accustomed to this place."
"Are you kidding me, supervised quiet time?! What are you on?"
"I'm dead serious, Erika. The cliffhangers should be returning soon, and I'll assign one of them to be your first-week buddy."
"Yeah, whatever."