So, yet another chapter that took me longer than I intended to get out, but real life has been kicking my ass lately. I had to move out of my apartment and back home because I became unemployed at the end of March, and have been unsuccessfully trying to get hired ever since.
But for having you wait so long, you're getting another meaty chapter. Not as long as Field Day, but still 12,700 words. So, here's Melanie vs. Nature, Round Two!
All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games or the anime
Chapter Fifteen: Team Building, Part Two
Sunday, June 22nd, 1997
Despite getting less sleep than the other two, Melanie was the first to awaken to find the only adult of the group gone, along with all his gear. Her reaction was surprisingly calm. After all, she was used to being abandoned by grown ups. But usually, it was within walking distance of a store or a fast food place, or any man-made structure, not surrounded by trees.
So, her first impulse was to shake her two tent-mates awake. "Okay, girls," she said while they were rubbing sleep from their eyes. "Joke's over. Where's the sarge?"
"We don't… know what you're talking about," grumbled Zoey.
"Well, look outside, sunshine. He and his gear are gone."
The other two girls stuck their heads out through the flap, saw that Melanie was not lying. So, the small blonde repeated: "This is a cute prank you're all pulling. But you can tell me where he's hiding now."
They turned to face her again, and Layla had genuine worry on her face. "We… don't know."
Melanie reached out and grabbed her by the collar of her nightshirt. "Don't fuck with me on this! Where is the sarge hiding?"
"We don't know!"
"Stop lying!"
Zoey stepped in, then, and pried Melanie's hands off her friend, shoving her to the other side of the tent in the process. "We're not lying, you stupid runt! Why the hell would we?"
"Gee, I dunno. Maybe because the three of you are working together to try and scare an apology out of me? Well, guess what? It's never gonna happen! Get the fuck over it!"
Layla rolled her eyes. "Who cares about that right now?" She then opened the flap and stepped out into the slightly chilly morning air. "Come on!"
"Where are you going?" Melanie asked, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"To see if the sarge is nearby, obviously."
"Good thinking," said Zoey, who also stepped outside. "Come on, new girl!"
Melanie sat pretzel-legged on her sleeping bag, arms folded in front of her chest. "Oh, no you don't. I'm not falling for this. I'm staying right here!"
"Come on, Zo," Layla said. "Let's just forget her." With that, the two girls went off to do a quick sweep of the area surrounding the camp site. They found no trace of Hartman, not even footprints. When they arrived back at the tent, Melanie was still pouting, but they shared the news anyway.
"Very funny," Melanie said with a laugh. "Where's he hiding?"
Layla finally lost her temper at hearing that remark. "For the last fucking time, Mel, we are not pulling your leg on this!"
"Yeah!" Zoey backed her up. "You think we want to be out here in the middle of nowhere with you? If we were gonna prank you, there's easier ways."
"Yeah, we wouldn't have wasted a whole day hiking to do it. We would rather have gone to Burlington!"
This made sense to Melanie, though it didn't do much to improve her mood. "Well, let this be a lesson," she grumbled. "You can never trust a grown-up! They're all liars and hypocrites."
The other two ignored her, and began to change out of their nightshirts and into clean clothes. "What are you doing?" Melanie asked them.
"Breaking camp," said Zoey. "We don't even know if the sarge is coming back, and we can't wait around for him. So we'll need to find our way back to civilization ourselves."
The small blonde definitely didn't like the idea of hiking with these two, but she liked the idea of being in this god-forsaken wilderness even less. She'd rather not have to spend another night listening to those hell-birds that the sarge had called "loons." So she quickly changed, and started packing her gear in her field pack.
"We need to make sure the fire's completely out," Layla said. "Mel, can you start breaking down the tent?"
Melanie made no movement to follow this direction. Instead, she glared at the other blonde and asked: "Who made you the boss?"
Layla glared back, unflinching. "Someone's gotta take charge. And based on the quiz yesterday, you don't seem to know anything about these woods." She then reached into her pack, pulled out a familiar-looking object in its leather sheath. "And I'm the only one here who's earned a knife."
Zoey had just finished pouring what was left in the large water pot over the ashes of the fire, and then started on the tent. "She's got a point, Mel. So just shut up and get to work."
Melanie did so, but only because she was anxious to get out of those woods. But even then, she didn't work as fast as the other girl. When they were finished, Zoey handed her the bundle and said: "Here you go, new girl. You're carrying it."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because it's your…"
"Oh, stop saying it's my fault we're out here!" Melanie snapped at her. "If you and Layla hadn't been such giant fucking babies about it, Landy wouldn't have made a big deal either!" She stepped forward until her face was only inches from Zoey's. "Next time one of you says it's my fault, I'm gonna break your fucking teeth!"
Zoey did not even blink. "It's your fault."
The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back from Melanie pouncing on her. Zoey managed to block several blows that Melanie tried to rain on her face, and then the small blonde was being pulled to her feet by Layla, who slammed her up against the trunk of a tree. "Will you knock it the fuck off?" She snapped. "Who cares whose fault it is at this point? Let's just focus on getting out of here! The sooner we get out of these damn woods, the sooner this will be over!"
Melanie took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "Okay, fine."
"And also, Zo is right. You're carrying the goddamn tent!"
Those seemed like fighting words, but Melanie was at least smart enough to realize she probably couldn't take both of them in a fair fight. So she simply said: "I hate you both so much right now!"
"We don't want you to like us," said Layla. "Just do your share of the work!"
"Whatever," Melanie growled and shoved the tent into her pack. But if we run into more bears, I'm using them as a shield.
A short time later, the camp site more or less looked like no one had been there. The fire was out, and the non-organic trash had been collected in a plastic bag, which was also shoved into Melanie's pack. The three girls shouldered their burdens, and then Layla pointed in the opposite direction of the lake. "This is the direction we came from yesterday. So we'll start by heading that way."
"What have we got to eat?" Melanie asked.
"Right now, whatever provisions the sarge packed for us yesterday." After rooting around in her pack for a moment, Layla handed each of them an apple and a protein bar, and then they started off, eating as they went.
"So what are we gonna do about dinner?" Melanie asked, after they'd been hiking for about a mile.
"We'll have to catch something," said Zoey. "So I guess Layla and I will handle that."
"What? You don't think I can?"
"Duh-doy!"
Melanie was almost ready to rush her from behind. The other girl was right, as Mel had never been camping before. But she didn't like it when other people knew her weaknesses. Especially when she didn't know theirs.
"Zo's probably right, Mel," Layla said, defusing the situation. "So just relax. We can find other things for you to do."
"Yeah, the easy stuff that even a five-year old can do?" Melanie scoffed.
Layla rolled her eyes. "How does Kim put up with this?" She muttered under her breath. Or so she thought.
"We have an understanding," the small blonde snapped at her. "And word to the wise: I'm good at hearing people when they whisper or mumble. Comes in handy when you spend a lot of time surrounded by grown-ups that you can't trust. Besides, wait until nightfall, then I'll show you how 'useless' I am!"
"Whatever," said Zoey.
So they marched on. Or they tried to. It seemed like every few hundred yards, Melanie would find something new to complain about, and the other two had to tell her to shut up. The small blonde didn't know how long they'd been hiking when Layla raised her hand and told them to stop.
"Let's take a quick break," she said. "I need to look around and see if any of this looks familiar.
"What for?" Melanie asked.
"Because once we get back on the trail, I know which way we should be going if we want to stand a chance of getting to where the sarge parked the car. But I won't know if we're back on the trail if I don't see something familiar."
"Oh, like you can tell!" Melanie rolled her eyes.
"Actually, she can," Zoey spoke up. "Lay Lay is pretty good at this stuff. She's probably learned more from nature hikes than any other girl at the school."
"Well, if she's so good, what's taking so long?" Melanie grumbled.
"I don't have a compass with me," Layla explained. "The sarge must have taken it."
"We don't need a compass," Melanie insisted. "When night falls, I can figure out which way to go."
"Well, I don't feel like sitting around waiting for night," Layla said. "I wanna go home. You may not know the meaning of that word, but some of us still do."
Melanie's large amber eyes narrowed into slits and she let her pack slip from her shoulders. "Oh, that's it. You're fucking dead!"
Zoey took that moment to step between them. "Now is not the time for this, Mel! Also, you keep going on and on about running into people in these woods who will make us… um… squeal like pigs. Well, the more you shout, the more likely these people you're so afraid of will hear us!"
A few tense moments went by, after which Melanie opened her fists. "I gotta go," she said, then pulled a roll of toilet paper from her pack and went to go find a tree that would give her privacy. The other two thought a bathroom break was a good idea, and went to go do the same. A few minutes later, Layla pointed them in the direction she thought they should go, and they set off again.
A few hours had passed, and nothing looked familiar to Melanie. But then, it was the woods, and all the evergreens looked the same to her. But she felt like they should be out of it by now.
Layla was starting to think the same thing. "Okay, this doesn't look familiar. Maybe I miscalculated."
"What do you mean?" Melanie asked her.
"I mean, that I thought we might be back on the trail, but… maybe I misread the landmarks."
"Oh, great fucking job! You mean it's gonna take us longer to get out of here?"
"Well, I'd like to see you do better! The trails in this area don't even have blazes."
"Blazes? What the fuck are those?"
Layla blew out a frustrated sigh. "Don't you know anything? They're little marks of paint that go on the trees to let you know what trail you're on. Technically, this area isn't part of any state or national park, so these trees don't have them!"
Melanie shook her head. "In other words, you don't know what you're doing, and never did! I think we need a new leader."
"Step off, runt!" Zoey snapped, once more standing between her friend and Mel. "She did the best she could. We just need to double back now!"
"No, you can double back! I'm finding my own way! Without you!" With that, Melanie turned to the right and started walking as fast as her small legs would carry her with so much weight on her back.
"Are you crazy or just stupid?" Layla called after her. "We need to stick together!"
Melanie responded by flipping the middle finger over her shoulder as she walked. Layla seemed ready to go after her, but Zoey put a hand on her shoulder.
"Just let her walk it off, Lay Lay," she told her friend.
"But… she is carrying our tent," Layla argued.
"True. Okay, but let's be discreet."
And so the two girls set off after her, staying back just enough to stay out of her sights, but to also keep her in theirs.
Had Melanie been less angry, she might have been able to see how wandering off was a mistake. Especially since her young mind was still conjuring up scenarios involving predators, or hillbilly rapists, and even that nightmare bird. She didn't care what Hartman said about loons, anything that screamed bloody murder in the dead of night like that had to be dangerous.
Besides, he left us anyway, so why the fuck should you trust him? You can't trust anyone, remember? Well, Kimberly maybe, but she's not here. So you're in the woods, and not the city streets. So what? You'll do fine on your own, like you always have.
Of course, the streets she actually knew something about. The woods, she most certainly didn't. But she was too angry to think rationally. So right now she decided that if she kept walking in one direction, eventually she'd run into something. Or someone. And if it was a group of Deliverance hicks, she still had Nikolai's present.
Good thing I didn't use it on the bear yesterday, she thought. "I can find my way myself," she then said out loud. "How hard can it be? I'm smarter than little miss 'I Should Be Leader Because I'm a Tree-Hugger and Think I'm Better Then You Because I Actually Have My Knife'. And I'm smarter than her fucking sidekick. Who are they to lecture me? Why can't more girls at this school be more like Kimberly? How can she be the only cool person out of forty-nine other students? Well, Niko is pretty awesome, but still… fuck Layla!"
She was so busy ranting, she didn't see the tree root protruding into her path until after she'd tripped over it, and sprawled forward, hitting the ground face-first. "Son of a bitch!" She cried after spitting out some pine needles and dirt. She then turned and gave the trunk of the offending tree a hard kick…
...And then found herself hopping on one foot, clutching the other in pain. "Mother fucker!" She cursed as loud as she could. She then put both feet on the ground, and began to scream into the pine canopy above: "I fucking hate nature! As soon as I find a way out of here, I'm coming back with a goddamn flame thrower!"
Melanie then continued stomping through the forest to… she still didn't know where. All she did know was that the ambient sounds of mosquitoes and other wildlife were drowned out by the sound of the blood pounding in her ears. It took a few minutes to die down, and when it did, the small blonde heard a snuffling sound coming from behind a large red cedar tree to her right.
She stopped and faced the tree. "You again?" She snapped at whatever was making that noise. "Well, come on out. I'd love to smack you with my yo-yo some more. Come on! Come and get it, Smokey! Unless you're a pussy!"
Had Melanie not still been flying on anger, she might have noticed the noises sounded a bit more guttural than the snuffling from yesterday. But a moment later, the creature that was making them stepped out from behind the tree's trunk… and it was definitely not a black bear. It was larger. Much larger, even on all four legs. Its shaggy fur was light brown, with paws that looked big enough to easily crush Melanie's head, and the claws were each the length of her hand.
Melanie began to take cautious steps backwards, but unlike her encounter yesterday, the grizzly was not shy about moving forward. "Uuuuuhhh, I'm guessing you don't like picnic baskets?"
The bear responded by rearing up on its hind legs, and giving a small roar. It was now almost twice the small girl's height, which froze Melanie's feet to the ground in fear. She was thankful that she'd been ignoring her canteen for most of the day, since it meant that her bladder was already empty. But fear also meant that she again forgot the flash-bang. The fight or flight response kicked on, but it was in overdrive, making coherent thought quite difficult. The first thing Melanie could think to do was remove her pack and toss it in the grizzly's direction. "Here, eat that!" She snapped, then turned and ran in the direction of the nearest tree. Thankfully, she did not have far to run, and when she reached it, began to scramble up the trunk towards the boughs.
She thought she read somewhere that they could climb trees, but still, she stood a better chance up off the ground than if she tried to outrun it. She was halfway up the trunk when she risked a glance over her shoulder. The bear seemed to be ripping into Melanie's pack, and took no notice of the small blonde. It had the tent in its jaws and was shaking it like a rag doll.
Then without warning, the ground in front of the beast seemed to shoot upwards in a small explosion of dirt. A second later, the unmistakable sound of a gunshot echoed through the woods, sending multiple birds into flight all at the same time. Melanie did not have time to wonder where it came from, instead she kept climbing.
She kept going even after she reached the lower boughs and found a sturdy branch halfway up. By now, the bear had tossed the tent aside and was lumbering towards the tree, moving faster than it had before. Melanie could see its fangs glistening faintly even from where she stood, saw the foamy saliva on its jowls, heard it giving off small, grunting roars.
It got almost to the trunk of the tree when the ground directly in front of it seemed to explode upwards again, followed a second later by the echo of another gunshot sound. The grizzly paused, and then started forwards once more. Its front paws were now on the trunk of the tree. Melanie started to dig through her pocket for the flash-bang.
The sound of another discharge reverberated through the trees. The small blonde looked down at the bear and saw that its left fore-paw was dripping blood onto the spongy volcanic soil of the forest floor. This time, it gave a small cry of pain and then slunk off into the woods, heading north from where the tree stood. Melanie waited a very long time, and then finally came down from the tree and started towards her pack. She'd seen enough movies to know someone had been shooting at that bear, but first she had to check her stuff.
By the time she got to her pack, she saw Layla and Zoey approaching her. Though they looked annoyed, their eyes also showed signs of true relief. "You look okay," Layla said. "How's the gear?"
"Um… why were you following me?" Melanie asked them.
"Because you have our tent," was the answer she got from Zoey. Her amber eyes then flicked down to the pack on the ground, and some of the scattered supplies. Then she noticed the bag that the tent was stored in, raked by teeth and claw marks. An examination from her and Layla was quick to confirm that the grizzly had rendered it unusable.
Zoey then turned her wrath back onto Melanie. "Well, that's just great, new girl! What the hell are we supposed to sleep in now?"
Melanie shrugged. "I dunno. You're the experts on camping, you figure it out." Neither girl seemed amused by this response, so Melanie went on: "Look, all I care about right now is that monster ate the tent, and not me! I dunno if you saw it, but it was at least twice as tall as me! And I'm sorry that I left my bazooka back at the school!"
"Well, if you hadn't run off, you wouldn't have bumped into a grizzly!" Layla snapped.
"I wouldn't have run off if you actually knew what you were doing!"
"She did better than you, runt!" Zoey shouted at her. "Will you stop being a goddamn brat and get it through your head? Our best chance of getting out of here right now is to stick together!"
Melanie stood there for a minute. She still looked like she wanted to deck them both, but the truth was that encounter with the bear had rattled her. So in the end, she picked up her pack and shouldered it again. "Okay. But I'm only gonna follow you. I'm not helping you with anything, so don't ask!"
"Fine," Layla said with a shrug. "Let's leave the tent. It's useless now, anyway." Her eyes scanned the area, and it was then she noticed the speckling of red at the base of the tree Melanie had sought refuge in. "Hey, Mel," she asked. "Is that blood?"
"Yeah," the small blonde answered. "Someone was shooting at the bear. I don't know who. Put a bullet through his paw. That's why it ran off."
Zoey rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
"God, will you use your head, runt? Maybe whoever was shooting at the bear can help us find a way out of here!"
"Yeah, or they might make us..."
"Oh, don't even say it!" The other two snapped at her in unison. Then Layla asked her what direction the bullets seemed to come from, and Melanie pointed it out, albeit reluctantly. She and Zoey then started off in that direction, with Melanie following at a safe distance, making sure the flash-bang was still in her pocket. She may not have liked her current companions, but what happened in "Deliverance" was not something she'd wish on anyone, including her enemies.
As they hiked, they looked for any sign of Melanie's "savior": tracks, trampled underbrush… but after thirty minutes, they found nothing. When it became clear they weren't going to meet whoever had fired those shots, Layla took a moment to get her bearings. "I'm gonna need your help, Mel," she said. "Can you climb that tree?"
"I can," she said. "But why would I?"
"Because I need to see what's nearby," Layla said with a roll of her eyes. "So I can maybe figure out which way we're supposed to go. And you're the best climber out of the three of us. Now are you gonna help or not?"
"It'll help us get out of here faster," Zoey added. "You can get back to your bed at the school, and we can get away from you."
Now it was Melanie's turn to roll her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But so we're clear, I can still find my way out of here without you."
"But we're sticking together in case that grizzly does come back. Just so we don't have to explain to Landy and the sarge why you wound up in its stomach."
"You're actually still gonna talk to him after this?" Melanie asked as she unstrapped her pack again. "Well, you are idiots." With that, she started up the tree Layla had indicated until she was as close to the top as she felt like getting, which was still high enough so that she had a decent view of what was over the evergreen canopy.
"Can you see the lake we were camping by earlier?" Layla called up to her.
"Yeah, I see it," Melanie called back.
"Which direction is it from our current position?"
"Um, that way," Melanie pointed with her finger.
"Kind of hard for me to know what that means, Mel. You do remember compass directions, right?"
"Fine, then. Assuming I'm facing north, then it's north east."
"Okay, come down now."
The small blonde was eager to shimmy back down, and actually looked forward to donning her pack again. After she did, she was told that they would be heading in the direction that Mel had indicated, towards the lake, and from there they would look for any other recognizable landmarks. "We may want to hurry," Melanie added. "I noticed the sky was getting cloudy."
This made the other two do a double take. "I can't believe you're sharing that with us," said Zoey.
"Yeah, well, if it starts raining, I'm gonna get wet too. And I'd rather not be stuck out here with you when that happens. Especially since our tent's gone."
Melanie spoke those lines rather quickly, which someone like Kimberly would have picked up on. But now, it went unnoticed. Instead, Layla simply said: "Good eye, Mel. Thanks." Based on this news, it was decided they should eat while they hiked, so they found some protein bars in their packs, and then set out.
Over the next few hours, Melanie was less verbal about their current situation, but she was certainly thinking a lot of black thoughts. Most of them involved both the sarge and the school. Her current companions, she was indifferent towards at the moment. But she did believe them when they said they weren't in league with Hartman.
By the time they got back to where Layla estimated the original trail was, Melanie's watch said it was around four in the afternoon. After taking a few moments to look around, Layla pointed to two small, rounded mountains that could be seen on the horizon through the trees. "Okay, girls," she said. "I think those mountains were to our left when the sarge led us off the trail yesterday." She then pointed to the left. "So we probably wanna go this way."
"Fine with me," Melanie said. "Any chance we could get something more to eat?"
"We don't have too many snacks left," said Zoey. "We should probably save what we've got until we stop to make camp."
The small blonde heard a growl in her stomach, and glanced at their surroundings, before her gaze settled on a clump of golden-looking mushrooms close to her feet. "Well, maybe we can just find food. Like these." She started to reach for them, and then felt a stinging slap on the back of her hand.
"Don't touch those, Mel!" Layla snapped at her.
For a moment, she looked ready to slap the other girl back. "Look, Layla, I told you…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't like being touched. But this was kind of an emergency. You can't touch those mushrooms…"
"Why not? Didn't the sarge cook mushrooms last night?"
"Not all mushrooms are the same, new girl!" Zoey grumbled impatiently. "The ones we had last night are safe to eat." She pointed to the clump at Melanie's feet. "Those are galerinas, which are poisonous. Try to pay attention, okay?"
"If I had a knife right now, I'd make you eat it," Melanie grumbled.
"Okay, okay, let's just drop it," Layla said, eager to avoid escalating things. "But remember what we said earlier, Mel. If we do have to stop for the night, we can set a trap for a squirrel or rabbit or something. Or if we're close to a body of water, we can try fishing."
Melanie remembered the rabbit from last night, and her mouth would have watered had it not been too dry. She unshouldered her canteen and took a sip of sterile water from it. "That actually sounds pretty good."
"Let's keep moving, then." So the girls set off down the trail in the direction Layla had indicated.
But they'd only been marching for about an hour when the dark clouds which had been gathering all day finally released their payloads. It started out as a sprinkle, but then the droplets increased in number and size, forcing the girls to stop and dig into their packs for their rain ponchos.
"At least this survived the bear attack," Melanie said, after finding her own poncho and slipping it on over her damp clothes.
"Too bad we can't say the same for the tent," Zoey grumbled.
"Better than that than me winding up in its stomach."
"It might be drier there."
Before they could go on, Layla stepped between them. "Come on, girls, we still got some ground to cover." So they set off again, though the rain did not appear to be letting up. Which meant the ground became muddier as the day wore on. So finally it was suggested that they stop for the day and try to seek some shelter. Since there wasn't any lightning, Layla told them they'd be able to hunker under a tree.
Off the trail, they managed to find a large evergreen with a wide enough canopy, but its needles only provided some slight protection against the rain. Nonetheless, they huddled as far underneath it as they could, doing their best to stay dry under their ponchos and waiting for it to stop.
The only reason Melanie wasn't bored was because she couldn't spare any energy towards that, as she was too busy feeling miserable. Finally, she asked the others: "So… are we gonna try to trap dinner or something?
"Not while it's raining," said Layla. "There won't be any animals out and about."
"So… what do we have to eat?"
"Soggy trail mix," said Zoey. She reached into her pack, pulled out a plastic bag with an assortment of granola clusters, almonds, M and Ms, dried dates and raisins, and a few other things, and after taking a small handful, offered it to Melanie.
Melanie took some and stuffed it in her mouth, but found it didn't do much to placate the hunger pangs that gnawed at her. Which didn't bother her much. When she ran away from foster homes to live on the streets, there were times when she'd only get one meal per day. But at least in the city, she could still find shelter from the rain. Having to sit under this stupid tree, feeling the large droplets of water spatter on the hood of her poncho, was far less ideal than a homeless shelter or a condemned building.
Time ticked by. Still, the rain came down. They passed around the trail mix, but it wasn't enough to satisfy them. Melanie considered apologizing for the whole stabbing thing, but decided against it. Too late now, right? She thought. It's not like it's gonna magically teleport you back to the school, and your bed.
Finally, when it looked like they might be starting to lose the light, Layla spoke up: "Well, I guess we're gonna have to hunker down here for the night. So, is there anything we could use to make a canvas or lean-to over our heads?"
Melanie shrugged. "I dunno."
"Well, let's turn out our packs and find out," Zoey said, sounding only slightly annoyed this time.
A quick search of their packs turned up little that was useful except for their sleeping bags and a blanket. They used the blanket to make a canopy in the lowest hanging branches of the evergreen, and then they huddled underneath it and tried to keep warm.
"Much as I hate to say this," Layla said through chattering teeth as the sky grew darker. "We can't sleep lying down, because it's too wet. We'll have to lean against each others' backs."
"Great," said Melanie. "This trip just keeps getting better and better."
"Look, new girl, we're not thrilled about it, either," said Zoey. "But staying close together is also our best bet for keeping warm, since we can't make a fire."
"Why?" Melanie asked. "Don't we have a covering over our heads?"
"Yeah, but good luck finding dry wood," Layla explained.
"Well, shit," the small blonde said. "Anyway, you girls have fun leaning on each other. I'll be fine on my own." With that, she folded her arms inside her poncho and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.
"Suit yourself," Layla said with a shrug, and huddled up to her friend, their backs resting against each other. Both girls then tucked their knees up under their chins, and then no one spoke for a long time, simply did their best to sleep.
But it turned out that not every animal was seeking shelter from the rain. They must have been near a body of water, because every time Melanie tried to shut her eyes and pretend she was back in her familiar bedroom, she would hear the blood-curdling cries of the loons. It also didn't help matters much that she was directly underneath a thin patch in the blanket, so water kept dripping onto the hood that was pulled up over her bright blonde hair. And she was shivering quite a bit, holding her arms to her chest to try and keep her blood circulating.
Finally, after an hour of listening to the loons and attempting to keep warm and dry, Melanie lost it. "JESUS FUCK!" She screamed as she leapt to her feet, bringing the other two out of a half-sleep. "We have got to get out of these goddamn woods now!" She would have made a run for it, but Zoey got to her feet and grabbed her arm before she could take off.
"Calm the fuck down, Mel!" Zoey screamed at her. "We can't go running off! It's too dark! Even with flashlights, we won't find our way. We gotta wait until morning!"
"Maybe you can wait!" The small blonde shouted, struggling against the other girl's grip, and putting up some decent resistance despite their size difference. "But I'm not gonna sit around here while those nightmare birds are out there! What the hell is that cry? The sound they make when they're about to feed on human flesh?"
This earned her a slap from Layla, which at least got her to stop struggling. "Will you can it, Mel?" She shouted. "Loons eat fish! They will not hurt us, unless we try and get close to one of their nests!"
Though she was no longer trying to run, Melanie still was far from calm. "Well, there's plenty of other shit that can hurt us! That fucking bear might come back for revenge! We could still get raped by rednecks! Or we could get raped by the goddamn trees! Ever heard of a movie called 'Evil Dead'? And even if the trees don't rape and murder us, something else might. 'Friday The 13th', anyone?"
Now Zoey slapped her. "Will you knock it the hell off, Mel? There is nothing in these woods that wants to rape us!"
The second slap restored some of her senses, to the point where Melanie stopped struggling in the other girl's grip. After a minute, Zoey felt the arm go limp, even when another loon cry echoed through the trees. Another minute passed, and then Mel said: "Maybe we should huddle for the rest of the night."
So they sat back down, staying as close to the center underneath their makeshift canopy as they could. The three girls were back to back, listening to the drumming raindrops, the wind, the occasional call of the loons. They did not speak much for the rest of the night, and somehow, they eventually nodded off to sleep.
Monday, June 23rd, 1997
Melanie did not know how long she'd been sleeping. All she knew was that as she very slowly crawled back to the realm of consciousness, the rain appeared to have stopped, and she heard what sounded like a low growling noise.
"Mmmm, turn it down, Kim," she muttered, and tried to fall back to sleep. However, the growling continued… and seemed to be coming from more than one side. Melanie sat up and blinked rapidly, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. Both that and the stiffness in her bones vanished rather quickly as she came awake… only to see a white and gray wolf standing about ten feet from her, lips curled back to expose its fangs.
The small blonde gave a small yelp, and the wolf responded with a snarl, but otherwise it remained crouched. Behind her, she felt Layla and Zoey starting to stir. "Mel?" "Layla muttered half-awake. "W-what's wrong? Why are you…" Her voice died off too, as she had her own wolf facing her, its lip also flipped upwards. Melanie's large amber eyes flicked around and counted about ten animals surrounding them.
Zoey was awake now too, and managed to avoid crying out in alarm, knowing that would only agitate the pack. "Stay calm, girls," she whispered. "Try not to make a sound, and slowly… slowly get to your feet."
Melanie was an expert on sneaking, so moving slowly and without noise was old hat for her. But she was used to doing so without a snarling wolf so close she could almost smell its rancid breath. "Nice pooch," she whispered, one hand raised in front of her. "Do you like Hershey bars? I think we've got some left."
"Don't talk, Mel," she heard Layla, also whispering. "And most importantly, don't let them see any fear in your eyes."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Melanie kept her own voice just as low.
"Just be calm. Keep breathing, and think of something else. They're more afraid of us than we are of them."
Melanie rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure that's bullshit." Then she remembered the flash-bang, and started to reach inside her poncho. "But I've got something that will scare 'em."
The wolf nearest to her looked ready to lunge, and then as with the grizzly from yesterday, the dirt at its front paws exploded upwards, which was followed a second later by the echo of a gunshot through the branches overhead. With a whimpering yell, the wolf turned and ran.
The shot only seemed to agitate the other wolves, who were now running in circles around the three frightened girls. The stood huddled together, trying to stay as calm as they could, even as the wet ground around them kept exploding upwards, always followed a second later by that familiar echo of gunpowder combusting in the chamber of a rifle. Even though it kept the wolves at bay, so far only two or three of them had run away. Melanie could see that they needed more of an advantage, and knew she could provide it.
Her hand went back inside her poncho, down into her front pocket, where the flash-bang was still intact, having stayed dry through the night. "Girls, I need you to do something for me," she addressed the other two. "When I tell you to shut your eyes, shut them. And plug your ears too."
"What?" Both girls answered almost in unison.
"Just do it, okay?" Melanie snapped over the cacophony of growling, snarling, and weapon discharge. "I have something that can help us. But you have to do as I say. I know this sounds crazy, but… trust me."
"Yeah, right," Zoey scoffed. "You've been a bitch this whole trip. Why should we trust you?"
The small blonde rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry I stabbed you during Capture the Flag, okay? I'm sorry, it was stupid of me. I can make it up to you now, but… you have to trust me."
"Well, that's all I needed to hear from her," said Layla. "Let's just do what she says, Zo. She's in the same deep shit we are, and it's not like she can run. What have we got to lose?"
It took a split-second of soul searching, and then Zoey answered: "Fine. I'll listen to her."
Melanie pulled the small disc from her pocket, pressed the center twice, as Nikolai taught her. Counted silently in her head, ignoring the chaos all around her. When she reached five seconds, she threw it at the wolf nearest her and shouted: "Now! Do it now!"
As one, all three girls squeezed their eyes shut tight and stuck their fingers in their ears. A second later, the device went off, though they were spared its ill effects due to their precautions. The wolves were not so lucky, and even with their ears plugged, the girls could still hear several loud whimpers of terror, and when they opened their eyes again, they saw the pack of wolves running in all directions, emitting shrill barks of fear.
The forest was silent now, an eerie silence that was almost deafening. But when it became clear that the wolf pack was gone for good, the three girls allowed themselves a huge sigh of relief. "What did you do, Mel?" The small blonde heard Layla ask.
"I got a present from someone the other day," she answered. "I used it."
"A present? From who."
"Sorry, but that's my secret." Melanie was not prepared to rat Nikolai out, as he'd just become the coolest grown-up at that school, as far as she was concerned.
With the excitement winding down, they started to view the situation with cooler heads. Melanie felt her bladder finally unclench, and ran behind a large tree to void it. When she came back, she helped the other two try and assess the situation.
"Whatever you did, Mel, thanks for doing it," said Zoey.
Melanie shrugged. "Hey, you think I want to be puppy chow next to you two?"
"Well, I'm glad you didn't use that thing on the bear yesterday," said Layla. "But speaking of which, do you think whoever was shooting was the same person who did it yesterday?"
"Yeah, probably."
"Think we should try to look for them, whoever they are?" Zoey asked.
"Don't think it'll help," said Layla. "It can't be a coincidence that the same thing happened twice. Someone is watching over us."
"So why shouldn't we look for them again?" Melanie asked.
"Probably not," Layla told her. "If we do have a guardian, money says it's the sarge. And trust me: if he doesn't want to be found, we'll never find him."
Melanie scowled at that. Even if he was watching, she was still bitter at him for abandoning them to the mercy of the wilderness. But she remembered that Kimberly was always talking about his level of expertise, and she'd grown comfortable trusting her roommate. "So, what's the game plan?" She asked.
"Well, first, let's check our supplies," said Layla. After a quick examination, they found their field packs untouched, but they had little food, save for one protein bar which the three of them split.
"We need food," said Zoey. "And we need to give our supplies a chance to dry off before we continue."
"We're close to the lake, right?" Melanie asked, remembering the loon sounds from the night before. "Why can't we go fishing?"
Layla shook her head. "It's a nice idea, Mel, but we need a hook."
The plucky blonde girl reached into her hair, pulled out one of her lockpicks, showed it to the others. "Will this do?"
Layla quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think this could work. Zoey?"
The other girl nodded, her own expression just as shocked. "I think so too. We… just need to bend it a little, I think. But we would still need some line."
Without any snide remarks, Melanie took her yo-yo from her pocket and unraveled the string to its full length. "Here, cut this."
Again, both girls were taken aback. "You sure?" Layla asked her.
"Yeah, it's a cheap toy. I can buy another one at the dollar store in Burlington. And anyway, I'm as hungry as you."
"Okay." Layla pulled her knife out and cut through the end of the string. "Just be sure it's secure around the hook, so it doesn't slip off."
"You'd better do that. You probably know more about knots than I do. But you can't lose it. See?" Melanie slipped the other end of the string, which was in a loop, around her finger.
"How'd you get so smart all of a sudden, new girl?" Zoey asked, only slightly wary.
"I spent a lot of time on the streets, whenever I ran away from foster homes," Melanie explained. "I learned how to use what I had. I hate the woods even more than the streets, but I can still improvise."
By now, Layla had finished tying the line to the hairpin, which had been bent into more of a reliable hook shape. "Okay, then, let's go!"
As much as the girls wanted to get out of the forest, they were starving, and didn't want to hike on an empty stomach. So they marched back in the direction of the lake, where they found a clearing in the trees to lay out their ponchos and packs to dry, and then they set about giving each other tasks. Zoey would look for worms in the soil and fish, Melanie would locate dry wood for the fire, and Layla would dig the pit, and also scale and gut whatever fish they caught. Each girl set to their task without complaint.
It was slow going finding wood that was suitable. Most of what Melanie did find was close to the waterline, as the sun was shining most brightly there. She did also find a few sturdy twigs, which Layla started whittling into skewers. The foundation of a campfire was slowly taking shape, but both girls were still having better luck than Zoey. Most of what was biting was too small for a meal, and eventually she was forced to take off her shoes and socks and wade out into the water a little ways. She tried to stand as still as possible, but mosquitoes were making that difficult.
It was an hour before she caught a decent-sized rainbow trout, and then Melanie offered to spot her. She found it harder than Zoey to resist swatting mosquitoes, which was why it took her a little longer to catch a small walleye. By this time, the girls decided that they could split the two fish between the three of them, and it was decided that they'd cook faster if Layla simply cut fillets off them.
It was messy work, but finally they had cut enough meat off the fish and dropped it into their skillet, which was placed over the fire. It wasn't seasoned, but Melanie still ate her portion without complaint. "I can't believe we pulled that off," she heard Layla say with her mouth full.
"Pulled what off?" Zoey asked before Mel could.
"We actually hiked here, and did our parts to catch some food and cook it, all without anyone complaining," was the answer.
"Take it from me, you'd be surprised what you can accomplish when you're hungry," Melanie said. "Kind of wish the sarge hadn't taken his herb tin with him, but hunger is also the best seasoning."
The other two actually laughed a little at that. "Well, our next trip into Burlington," said Zoey. "I am getting a double order of Egg Foo Young from that Chinese place in the mall."
"I'm getting a Western Whopper from Burger King," said Layla. "Maybe two. What about you, Mel?"
The small blonde shrugged and popped another morsel of fish in her mouth. "I'll probably go to that new chicken place and get a bucket of their wings with Dante's Inferno sauce."
The other girls started to laugh, then stopped when it became clear Melanie wasn't joking. "Um… you know that's their hottest sauce, right, Mel?"Layla asked. "The menu even says 'no refunds.'"
"I'm aware. But I can take it. I mean, I ate a burger laced with scotch bonnets, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," said Zoey. "You know, since we're out in the woods and no one else can hear, I wanted to say that it was pretty funny what happened to Regina at the cookout."
"So there are other people who don't like her," said Melanie. "That's a surprise. Was starting to think Kim and I were the only ones."
"We're just smart enough to keep it to ourselves," Layla explained. "She and her crew are all the best fighters at the school. Not to mention that she runs that racket with Des. If someone were to knock her off her throne, there's no guarantee that Des would want to do business with whoever takes over."
Melanie did a double take at hearing that. "Wait… does that mean Des has a crush on Horse Face?"
"That's the rumor," said Zoey.
Melanie began to laugh hysterically. After a minute she was able to calm down and turn her attention back to her plate. "I can't believe Kim never told me that!"
"She's never been big on gossip," Zoey explained. "But you already knew that about her."
"Oh, yeah," Melanie said with a nod. By now, they were more or less done with their fish, so the small blonde got up and went over to where her pack lay. "Hey, you girls interested in dessert?" She reached into the pack and took out the s'mores ingredients from the other evening. "Some of the graham crackers got crushed in the bear attack, but enough of them survived."
Layla and Zoey fixed one another with an incredulous stare. Layla was finally able to speak first. "Where… did you get those, Mel?"
"The other night when we were cleaning up after dinner, I lifted them from the sarge's pack and hid them in mine," she explained. "Now I'm glad I did. I wasn't gonna share them at first, but… I think we all deserve this."
"Now I'm glad I made the skewers," said Layla. "Thanks, Mel!"
"Yeah, thanks!" Zoey chimed in.
So the three girls capped off their meal by making s'mores. As they were sitting around the fire afterwards, letting their food digest, Layla surprised her by saying: "You know, Mel, I kind of envy you."
She raised one golden eyebrow at hearing that. "Seriously? Like, you're not yanking my chain?"
"No. I'm serious."
The look on her face matched her somber tone, so Melanie believed her. "Okay. Um… why?"
"Because Kimberly is your friend. She's a pretty neat person. Disarmed me almost every time during our knife lessons. I probably could have been nicer to her before you got here. I never actually joined in with Regina and her crew when they ganged up on her, but I did turn a blind eye to her, and what she went through."
"I did the same," Zoey chimed in.
Melanie shrugged. "Hey, you did what any person in your situation would do. It's called a survival instinct for a reason."
"Well, anyway," Layla went on. "I've been meaning to apologize to her, but it… seems kind of pointless now."
"Let me tell you something about Kim," Mel told her. "I know from experience that she's not the type of person who lives in the past, or holds grudges. She's got more important things to do. If you did apologize to her, then I think not only would she forgive you, but she'd also really appreciate it."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Kim's my…" She faltered for a moment, then spoke rather quickly: "Well, I like her. I can stand being around her, even when she annoys me."
The other two girls exchanged a brief glance. "Why can't you just say she's your friend?" Zoey asked.
Melanie ignored the question, and instead went for an abrupt change of subject. "So, anyway, um… I am sorry for stabbing you girls. I know you probably didn't believe me earlier, because we were fighting for our lives when I said it, but… it was true."
Even though they didn't know as well as Kimberly did, they were aware of the small blonde's tendency to dodge questions. So they just went with it. "Yeah, we know, Mel," said Layla. "Being in situations like that just makes you more honest."
"Right," said Zoey. "We appreciate it. Just maybe… next time don't wait so long?"
The three girls shared a laugh over that. Then Zoey asked her: "Mel, I was just curious. Yesterday, you said that you'd be able to tell which way was north, but only after it was dark?"
"Yeah," said Melanie with a nod. "Except, it was raining, so I couldn't."
"Oh… what did you mean by that?"
"Well, then all you have to do is find the Big Dipper in the night sky. When you're looking at it, you're facing north."
Zoey glanced over at her friend, who nodded. "She's right. I'm actually kind of impressed, Mel. Where'd you learn that?"
She gave a small shrug. "Saw it on TV."
"You watched a lot of TV, didn't you?" Layla pointed out.
"Before I got here, yeah. Landy's a bit more controlling, but she's also cooler than any other fake parent I've ever had. I preferred TV to most of them. And I really don't wanna say any more." In fact, she was a little surprised she'd already said that much.
Another glance passed between her hiking companions, and then they nodded at her. "Well, anyway, that was a good idea with the Big Dipper," said Layla. "But now that we've got a small, sharp piece of metal, we don't need to wait until dark. Hey, Zo, do you still have that hook?"
"Yeah, right here." Zoey passed it to her friend, who wiped it clean on her sleeve, then bent it into a straight shape and began to rub it a bit more rapidly against the fabric of her shirt.
"What's she doing?" Melanie asked.
"Making a compass," Zoey explained.
"Wow, she really does know her shit." Melanie couldn't help but laugh a little.
Once the makeshift compass was complete, it became easier to figure out which general direction they should be moving in. So after extinguishing their fire and doing a sweep for trash, they set out.
The rest of the trip was blessedly uneventful. The three girls did not encounter any more danger, and also did not argue. It was mid-afternoon by the time that they emerged from the trees into a clearing, but they did not see any sign of the Hummer.
"So now what?" Melanie asked the others, without any sarcasm, her tone suggesting she was actually looking for guidance.
Layla was rubbing the hairpin on the fabric of her shirt-sleeve to magnetize it again. "Now, we figure out which direction the road is from here, and we follow signs to a gas station or some place we can call the school."
"Sounds good to me," said Melanie. And she meant it.
It turns out they never made it to the road. After a short break where they drank what water they had left, followed by a little more hiking, they spotted a familiar black vehicle riding through the tall grass towards them. It stopped when it was several yards away and Hartman emerged from the driver's side.
Despite their size, age and skill difference, Melanie still found it hard to repress the urge to take a swing at him. He seemed not to notice and waved to the trio. "Outstanding work, ladies!" He called to them. "You passed the test."
At hearing that, Melanie avoided getting physical, but she could no longer hold back her razor tongue, detention be damned. "What are you talking about, you fucking maniac? You just dumped us in the fucking woods! We could have been killed!"
Hartman, to his credit, maintained his usual poker face. "You were never in any danger, Melanie. This whole trip was a team building exercise designed to help you learn to work better with others. The headmistress felt it was necessary after the events of Field Day, which is why she asked me to organize it. You got off to a shaky start, but you three learned to work together to find your way back to our starting point."
The other two were surprisingly calm. At least, Melanie thought so. "So, this… was all a test?" Zoey asked.
"Affirmative. And you ladies passed with flying colors!"
"Well, that doesn't change the fact that we nearly died!" Melanie growled.
"I told you, you were never in any danger," Hartman replied calmly. He then opened the back door and pulled out an M40 sniper rifle. "I was always watching from a distance."
"We had a feeling that was you," said Zoey. "Shooting at the wolves."
"And the bear," Melanie added, her voice calmer now, but her amber eyes still fixed him with the iciest glare she'd ever given.
"That's right," said Hartman. "And now it's time to go home. Though we'll stop along the way. I gather that you ladies must be hungry."
Layla and Zoey moved towards the Hummer without hesitating. Melanie shut her eyes for a moment and thought to herself: think of the knife, think of the knife. But she was also hungry, so she moved forward and tossed her pack into the trunk along with the others, then climbed into the back seat. It took a few minutes for Hartman to disassemble his rifle, stick the parts inside of a case, and lock it with a key around his neck, then they were off.
A few hours later, they were sitting in a Burgerville en route to the school. After their ordeal, their appetites were way beyond the kid's menu, so they each ordered a Colossal Burger, some waffle fries, and shakes. Hartman didn't mind, and simply placed the orders, as well as his own dinner, putting it on the business Visa he'd been issued.
For a while, there was silence as the girls chowed down on their food. When things were starting to wind down, Hartman looked up from the remains of his fish sandwich and side salad and cleared his throat. "You girls did some good work out there. I would like to arrange meetings with each of you individually over the next few days to get a clearer idea on the lessons you all learned, what you felt worked and what didn't."
"Sure, sarge," the other two girls said quickly. Melanie was silent, stirring at the remains of her chocolate shake with her straw.
"Melanie?" The gym teacher asked her.
The small blonde started a little, but did not make eye contact, still focusing on her food. "Oh, uh, yeah right, sarge," she said absently.
Layla and Zoey exchanged a worried glance. Then Layla popped the last bite of burger in her mouth and asked: "Hey, sarge, can we go to the bathroom?"
"Go on," said Hartman. "I was just about to ask you two to excuse yourselves for a few minutes, because I need to speak to Melanie in private."
"Yes, sir," both girls said, and got up from the table. As soon as they were out of earshot, Hartman wasted no time.
"I know you don't like me, Melanie," he said. "And I'm aware that you probably like me even less now, if such a thing were possible."
She did not respond, other than to shrug and pick up a bottle of hot sauce, which she dabbed on her last bite of burger. After stuffing it in her mouth, she began to shake it over what was left of her fries.
"I want you to know," Hartman went on, "That there will be no disciplinary action when we return home. I will be leaving those… colorful outbursts of yours out of my final report to Ms. Landy."
Melanie did respond to that one. "Thanks," she grumbled around a mouthful of fries.
"I have a lot of professional respect for Joan," he continued. "After our careers, I don't believe such a thing will strain my working relationship with her. But I'm also not doing it to try and curry any favor from you. Simply that I think you took some very big steps out there these last twenty-four hours. And I'm honestly impressed. I thought for sure we'd need to do this again. But you learned to work with your classmates. And you stood your ground and helped them to make sure all three of you escaped danger. A good soldier never leaves anyone behind, Melanie. I saw that in action today."
She stopped now, and actually started to make eye contact with him. His expression was as gruff as ever, but he gave her a small nod. "I'm going to continue to train you, Melanie, because you have potential. More than you know. I'm confident that you could have your blade this time next year, if you work at it, and continue to listen to what myself and Kimberly have to teach you. I trust that what happened today won't put a damper on that." He then reached across the table, held his hand out to her.
Melanie found herself remembering the knife "mantra" she'd recited in her mind earlier. After a moment, she wiped the grease and the restaurant's "signature spread" from her fingers with a napkin, then took her teacher's hand and shook it. "I'll do what it takes to work towards my goals, sarge," she said. "You can play your games, I'll play mine."
The faintest hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth for a split-second. "Good talk, Melanie," he said.
"I guess so," she replied, and went back to eating the rest of her fries. But in her head she thought: Joke's on you, asshole. After I've used you to get what I want, you won't have me to abuse anymore.
Meanwhile, Layla and Zoey stood at the counter of sinks in the Ladies Room, washing their hands. "Hey, Zo," the taller girl asked. "Think we should tell her the truth? That… before we left the school, the sarge told us he was gonna leave us?"
"Don't be an idiot, Lay-Lay," Zoey answered. "Mel has enough problems. Let's not give her one more. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"I guess." Layla shook her wet hands and than moved to the paper towel dispenser. 'But I feel kind of bad. Kim was right. Takes a lot for her to open up, but when she does, she's okay."
"So we can be sure to tell that to the other girls when we get back, who ask how the camping trip was. We get a little extra allowance at the end of the week, maybe things will go a little easier for Mel. Everyone wins. Let's not ruin that."
Layla crumpled the damp paper towel and tossed it into the wastebasket. "Yeah, you're probably right."
It was the evening by the time they rolled back into the familiar setting of the Clemency School. The girls were tired, but managed to get a second wind when they saw the gate slide open… and Joan Landy standing on the other side of it. Hartman gave her a nod and moved the vehicle slowly forward, rolling down the window as he pulled up alongside the headmistress.
"Good evening, sergeant. Girls," Joan said with a crisp nod.
"Hello, Ms. Landy," the three of them muttered, somehow managing to sound enthusiastic.
"I hope your trip was a learning experience, more for some than for others." As she said this last thing, her steel-blue eyes were fixed on Melanie, sitting in the middle of the back seat.
"Yes, ma'am, it definitely was," the small blonde said with a nod. If anything, it only reaffirmed what assholes adults were, but she kept this to herself. Besides, she had also learned that Layla and Zoey were… pretty cool, after all.
"I'm glad to hear that," Joan said. "I'm sure your teacher will give me more of a report later." But in the meantime, you girls must be tired. I'm afraid dinner is over, but… I trust you fed these children, sergeant?"
Hartman gave a curt nod. "Affirmative, ma'am."
"Excellent. Well, as soon as the camping gear is returned to storage, you girls have free time until lights out. I gather you'll want to get cleaned up for bed."
"Thank you, Ms. Landy," all three girls replied, then Hartman put the Hummer into gear and drove it back to the garage. Once the gear was stored again, the girls were told by Hartman that he'd be in touch with them regarding meeting times, and then they went their separate ways. When Melanie, Layla and Zoey reached the dorms, Mel surprised herself when she actually shook hands with the other two. "No offense, girls, but… I hope I never have to do that with you again," she said.
The other two laughed. "None taken, because the feeling's mutual," Zoey said.
Layla nodded. "But you did good out there, Mel. You're not such a bad camper after all."
She blushed a little at hearing that. "Thanks. Well, I'm… gonna go to my room and finally take these shoes off. Assuming they haven't attached to my feet."
The three said good night to each other, and then Melanie started off in the direction of her bedroom.
She entered to find Kimberly seated on her bed, reading one of the books Ms. Kelly had assigned for their summertime reading list. This one was "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." Melanie had seen the movie they'd made out of it, and thought maybe she could get away with watching that and basing her book report in the fall off of it, but she was halfway through the book herself, and saw the plot was too different.
Kim closed the book when she saw Mel in the doorway and sat up on the bed. "Welcome back, Melanie," she said with a smile. "I was starting to worry you'd be trapped out there forever."
Despite her growing fatigue, Melanie couldn't help but return the smile. "That nearly happened. Kim, don't ever go camping. Because nature hates our guts and will go out of her way to kill us." She then kicked off her shoes to the other side of the room, moved to her bed, and flopped backwards onto it.
"Well, I at least hope you got to see the sarge in action," she heard her roommate say.
Reluctantly, Melanie sat up and said: "Yeah, a couple times. Still don't know if it was worth it, almost getting eaten by a grizzly."
Kimberly's dark eyes came open wide in alarm. "Shit, Mel… you're all okay, right?"
"Yeah, we're all fine. Layla and Zoey got back alive, too."
She relaxed a little after hearing that. "Well, that's good. And it sounds like the sarge has still got it. Told ya he had skills."
Melanie cocked one eyebrow. "Yeah, but… did you know he was gonna take us camping?"
The dark-haired girl shrugged. "I know he's taken people camping before, but I didn't know that's why he wanted to see you. And don't forget who you're dealing with: if the exercise was easy, then he'd have known someone told you…"
"...And he'd find out who blabbed, yeah," her roommate finished for her. "And anyway, something happened on this trip that might actually be useful." Melanie then jumped from the bed, knelt by the bottom drawer of her dresser, opened it, and fished out her black and white comp book from Solitary. From her own bed, Kimberly leaned over and saw Mel scribbling some lines, as well as a crude drawing of what looked like a yo-yo.
"What is that, Mel?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"I dunno yet," was the answer. "Just writing down an idea. Maybe I can do something with it, maybe not. I'll just have to wait and see." Done writing, she snapped the book shut and put it away again, then stood up, peeled off her dirty clothes, grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her torso. "But I'll have to tell you more later. First I need to spend the rest of the week getting clean. So I'll need you to cover for me in Language Lab tomorrow."
"Okay, Mel, I'll hold you to giving me more details about the trip. But if you miss your combat training tomorrow because you're still in the shower, I'm telling the sarge you didn't show."
"Fuck you," Melanie retorted, and then they both laughed.
Her roommate then reached over a hand to her. "Good to have you back, Mel."
"Great to be back." The two exchanged a high five, and then Melanie started off down the hall to grab what would probably be the best shower of her young life before lights out.
Tuesday, June 24th, 1997
The following evening, Nikolai received two visitors he was not expecting. The first came an hour before dinner and entered his kitchen without knocking. The scarred man looked up from his work to see Hartman standing on the other side of the cold metal prep table, looking impassive.
"Sergeant," he said with a nod. "This is unexpected. To what do I owe the honor?"
"On whose authority are you arming the students?" Hartman snapped at him.
Nikolai set his knife down by his cutting board and gave an almost bored yawn. "Don't know what you're talking about," he said. "The direktrisa hired me to cook, and so I'm cook."
The gruff gym teacher slammed both hands down on the table in a rare loss of composure for him. "Don't play dumb with me, Nikolai! Melanie used a flash bang on our outing! I know that those are your specialty! Who said you could give one of those to her?"
The kitchen manager picked up his knife again and resumed chopping onions, their normally tear-inducing properties having no effect on him. His focus was on the knife and the board, not making eye contact with Hartman. "No one."
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, damn it!" Hartman growled. By now, a few of the kitchen staff within earshot exchanged glances with each other, but Nikolai looked up from the table, and waved them away, then resumed chopping.
"Why?" He asked. "I hear you just fine."
"Do you really?" Hartman shot back. "The combat training of these girls is my responsibility, Nikolai! They get weapons when I think they're ready to have them, not before."
Another bored shrug. "I thought it would come in handy for her. I know what your camping trips are like."
"Those girls were never in any danger! I was watching them from a distance with my rifle."
"Da, da, I know. You were big shot sniper in Marine Corps. I'm sure was cushy compared to what I had to do for Mother Russia."
Hartman shook his head. "We're not getting into any of that right now. We are both professionals. I respect that. Which is why as a courtesy, I came down here to warn you never to go behind my back like that again. Otherwise, I'll have to report it to Joan."
Once more, Nikolai paused in his cutting, and this time he looked up at the stony visage of Hartman. "You know, I once met Melanie's mother."
"I met her too."
Nikolai laughed at this. "Yes, you saw her handiwork from a mile away through the scope of your rifle. I knew her as a colleague. Back when she was only few years older than Melanie. She spent a year behind the Iron Curtain learning information extraction techniques, using the… guests of Lubyanka as her test subjects."
"I don't have time to swap war stories," Hartman growled. "Just listen…"
"No! You listen, comrade!" Nikolai's flinty gray eyes smoldered like the dying embers of a fire. He pointed the tip of his chef's knife at the USMC tattoo on Hartman's right bicep, the bottom of which was just sticking out past the sleeve of his shirt. "You earned your ink, same as I did! I respect this. But you think just because you have your fancy code of Unit, Corps, Country, God…"
"That's Unit, Corps, God, Country…"
"Whatever! You American Marines are not the only ones with code of honor. I understand it, same as you. The Spetsialla'noye Naznayacheniye have their own code, their own bonds of brotherhood. As I said, I knew the Skorpion, I saw firsthand her work in Lubyanka, and I developed great respect for her. Which is why I took this job when it was offered, to keep eyes on her daughters. Any help I can give them is an honor and privilege!"
Hartman found he had no response to that. But after a moment, Nikolai shrugged again and resumed his work, the steel gone from his gaze. "But, if it's that important, I give you my word that I will not hand Melanie, or any other child in this school, a weapon ever again."
Hartman nodded, and offered his hand to the other man. "Thank you." After they shook, the former Marine turned and left the kitchen.
The second visitor came after the staff had left but before lights out, and this time, they knocked first. Nikolai answered to find Melanie standing there. "Can I help you, devochka?"
"Um, yeah," Melanie said, withering a little under his gaze, but otherwise retaining her composure. "I just… wanted to, um… thank you for that thing you gave me."
"You put it to good use?" He asked, but once again, Melanie sensed it wasn't a question. So she simply nodded. Nikolai gave her a smirk. "I knew you would. And I was happy to help, devochka."
Melanie stood up a little straighter, then. "Look, dude, can you not, um… call me that? I looked up what it means."
He shrugged. "So? It's what you are."
"Yeah, okay," Melanie retorted. "So, I'm small. But I don't like to be reminded of that. I mean, you can't cook for shit, but do you wanna be reminded of that? How would you feel if I started calling you the Russian word for 'shitty cook'?"
Right after saying that, she took a step backwards, thinking she'd crossed a line. Nikolai eyed her for a long moment, almost too long. Then he started to laugh. "You have fire in you, Melanie. I like it. Very well, then."
Melanie seemed taken aback by all the laughter. She simply gave a nervous chuckle of her own and said: "Okay, then. Guess... I'll go now."
She was about to turn away when Nikolai asked her: "Wait! Melanie! I have proposition for you."
She paused, wondering again if maybe her intuition about him was wrong. "Um, what?"
"You want to learn how to make your own flash bangs?"
Melanie quirked a golden eyebrow at that, but Nikolai's expression was stone cold. "I'm serious. I can teach you to make them, using items you can legally obtain from any corner store in this country. Not just flash bangs, but other compact explosives. Smoke, tear gas…"
She still did not seem convinced. "But… why? Why do you wanna teach me?"
"Because you're good worker. I respect that. And you have potential in you. More than I think you know."
Melanie had heard that before, but everyone who'd ever said it to her only seemed interested in making sure she could read and write. And the stuff she was actually interested in learning, she had to work towards. Now, someone was offering her real knowledge without any of the training that went with it. But she was still wary. "What do you want in return?" She asked. "I know nothing's free in this world."
"Smart girl. But I don't want much. Just sign up once a week for kitchen chores. Like I said, you're good worker."
"Only when I see something I want."
This earned more laughter from Nikolai. "Do we have deal?"
After another moment of consideration, Melanie extended her hand to the chef. "Sure, dude!"
They shook on it, and then Nikolai said: "Your first lesson will be in my quarters, Saturday after lights out. You will have to sneak over there yourself. I can't intervene, and if you get caught, I will deny that you and I ever spoke of this."
The small blonde gave him a smirk, remembering the notes she'd taken in Solitary about the searchlights on the Quad. "Don't worry, dude. They won't catch me. I've got a way around the searchlights."
"I've no doubts about that. Spokoynoy nochi."
"Um… ditto," Melanie said, then turned and started towards the dorms, to get back before lights out. Nikolai shut the door and went through the remaining motions of closing down his kitchen. But the smile never left his face. He was a man of his word, and technically he was not handing her any weapons. Just showing her how to make them herself, and what she did with that knowledge was none of his business.
I'm sure she can find a way around Landy's security, he thought as she switched off the lights. She is spitting image of her mother, outside and in. With that, he locked the kitchen doors and then started the trek back to his own rooms, for a soothing glass of vodka, and then rest.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Free astronomy lesson. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major. Using the stars in the "cup" of the Dipper, you can locate the North Star in the constellation Ursa Minor, which mark the North Pole. So Melanie was right.
And speaking of lessons, here's another on the Russian language:
"Direktrisa" – Headmistress.
"Spetsialla'noye Naznayacheniye" – Soldiers of special purpose. Better known in the West as the SPETZNAZ, which I've already hinted Nikolai belonged to.
"Spokoynoy nochi" - Good night
And "Skorpion" means… Scorpion. For some reason, it was spelled with a K when I looked it up. Boy, Melanie's mother seems to have more than one code name, doesn't she? Hint hint.
And Lubyanka is the name of a facility in Moscow that is both the headquarters of the KGB and also a prison. And yes, Mel's mother practicing interrogation techniques on the inmates is a Metal Gear Solid reference.
Speaking of military stuff, the M40 was the rifle used by Marine snipers until 1996, which was after Hartman retired.
Burgerville is a fast food chain I found out about (both through Google and my friend Illyrilex) that is exclusive to the Northwestern United States. According to what I've researched, they're only located in Northern Oregon and Southwestern Washington, but this is fiction, so I decided to stick one in the Seattle/Kingston area. And the Colossal Burger is an item on their menu.
Well, that's all for now. I'll try not to take six weeks with the next chapter, which should be a fun one. Until next time, remember: bears are the number one threat to our country! ( ;
