PLAY
SUNDAY MORNING -ON THE TRAIL TO BRIDGE LAKE RIVER
"One, two, one, two." Mr. Whitaker chants happily. Behind him, a group of sweaty, out-of-breath kids follow complaining about the hot sun and applying a million layers of insect repellant.
Carlos and Adrian walk along with another kid name Joseph. Twin brothers James and Lennox walk together. James holds a crystalline rock and says how amazing it will look in their rock collection. Lennox agrees with him but secretly seems bored of talking about rocks.
Chris, Suzanne, Tom and Sebastian walk in a cluster. Sebastian and Tom compare scars trying to impress Suzanne. Suzanne fans herself with her hands and rolls her eyes at the two boys.
Chris discretely looks back at Courtney and feels her glare bore holes in his back. He tries to figure out a good way to start a conversation with her. Thick drops of sweat roll down his brow and back. Not that it is as desperately hot as the others describe it but that he's so nervous.
The wind blows; twigs crackle with every step; a piney fragrance floats in the air, drifts to their noses and mingles with the flower's sweet scent. The mid-morning
sun warms their skin lightly as the outdoors club heads to the Bridge lake.
The Bridge lake is not really a lake but a river. Its whole name would actually be Bridge Lake River. The river's actually a funny little thing.
There were many legends, myths and strange beliefs about this particular river. None of which were scientifically proven and therefore not true according to Mr. W.
The legends include a gigantic worm that lives at the mouth of the river. It is said that the cave where the river started was actually the mouth of the worm and the river's water it's fluid drool.
Everybody laughed at that one, no way drool would be so loose, not ever. And besides, how would the worm drool for so long?
Chris bites his lower lip, closes his fists tightly and turns around.
"Hey, Courtney. I heard you made friends with Brooke."
"Who?"
"Brooke."
Courtney rolls her eyes, "Brooke who?"
Chris laughs, "You know, her." He points a stiff finger to Brooke.
Courtney puffs and huffs. "Oh for Christsake, I just wanted her to shut up."
Chris smiles nervously wondering if this is the start of a flowing conversation.
"That never works. Try punching her, it does the job for a couple of seconds…till she starts moaning that is."
"Maybe next time."
"So are you two having fun being the only two girls in the girls' dormitory?"
"Are you having fun being the only idiot in the group?"
"Yeah kind of." Chris jokes.
"Look, if you go back to your friends. I'll consider not killing you in your sleep… or at least leave you for last."
"How about I go back to them and take you with me?"
"No deal."
"Fine, then I'm not leaving."
"Suit yourself."
They walk silently. Chris expecting an oral beating from Courtney and Courtney lost in some daydream.
Seeing that Courtney's not going to say anything, Chris tries to restart their little chat. "Ever bungee jumped?"
"Whatdaya want from me? First your little girlfriend won't leave me alone and now you? Can't we go back to our ignore-each-other relationship?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"To have you leave me alone."
"I just want to talk, be friends with you. You know, the works."
Courtney sighs, "Are you doing this because you think I'm into drugs and I could sell you some cheap? 'cause I don't know where you heard it, but I'm not so you might as well knock it off."
"It's not that Courtney, God."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know, I just thought I should try to make a move while we're in this mashed-potato-tray-free environment."
"It's not a rock free environment." Courtney mutters.
Mr. W wipes his forehead with a blue hankie and warns. "Kids, be real careful now. This is a narrow trail." They are crossing to the other side of the mountain. To get there, they have to cross a very narrow track. There is a rail they can hold on to but it's just an old rope tied to each end of the cross-through.
The rope rail is on one side only and the other side there's the mountain's jagged wall. The track is wide enough for two people to walk side by side though Mr. W keeps screaming to do it one by one.
Sebastian and Tom fight to go next to Brooke. "C'mon Sebastian, you already count for two people."
"Yeah, and your stupid ego counts for three."
Brooke slips from between the two boys and they don't even realize it as they fight.
Chris holds on to the rope rail with his right hand and Courtney drags her hand along the wall.
"Watch your step real closely now. Don't want no parent of yours suing me or the school."
"So I was thinking we could be friends. You know copy each other's homework, go to the mall, that kind of Ahhh!" Chris's foot slips and his leg hangs from the side of the mountain.
"Oh God, help me!"
Courtney grabs Chris's arm and yanks him up. In one swift motion, she had him back on track without even breaking a sweat.
Chris gasps for air. His heart feels like it's about to drill a hole through his chest and run for it.
"Er'thing okay back there?" Mr. W. asks.
"Yeah, sure." Courtney says calmly. She pulls Chris to his feet and keeps walking.
"Oh my God! You saved my life girl."
"Don't exaggerate, I did no such thing."
"Yes you did. Courtney, you saved my life." Chris says catching up to her. He looks down to the cliff's edge and his eyes open wide.
"Jeez, if it wasn't for my stupid maternal instinct I would have lost you already."
"You have a kid?"
"Whatdaya care?"
"So you do?"
"Oh, shut up."
"Who with? How old is he…or she? How?"
Courtney abruptly turns to look at Chris. "If you don't shut up right now. I could undo what I just did."
"Sorry."
They keep walking and finally come past the narrow track. Relieved, Mr. W takes out the blues hankie he keeps in front pocket and wipes his whole face. He takes off his straw hat and scratches his sweaty brown hair.
"Kids, behold the Bridge Lake River." He says, his hand sweeping through the view of a paradisiacal oasis.
No matter how many awful stories they had all heard about the Bridge Lake River, little could keep them from being awed by the beautiful sight in front of them. It was like staring at the most perfect painting at the Louvre.
Some mouths dropped open and some eyes opened wide. Mr. W laughed at the kids' reaction. They might be rich, but not even them had seen anything like this. And it was not like watching it through a high definition, million dollar TV in the discovery channel. It was a thousand times better.
The water trickled through the rocks splashing and spattering around the rocky shore. A dam-like rock formation pooled the water making the illusion of a lake the size of a soccer field.
"Wow!" Carlos says.
"How deep is it?" Adrian asks.
"'bout twenty feet at deepest I think. Which brings me to the swimming issue. If there's anybody here who can't swim I would prefer for you to stay on shore and fish from the rocks."
A silent nod goes around and Mr. W immediately knows nobody's actually listening to him. "This is real important now, if anybody can't swim I want you to raise your hand right now."
Courtney's hand shoots up, she's the only one in the group with her hand up.
"Very well sweetheart, you stay here with this rod and the rest of us will walk closer to the middle. Anybody want to stay here with Courtney?"
"No," Courtney says a bit too fast. "I can stay here by myself."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
Chris shakes his head, "Oh no, that's not necessary. I can stay here with her."
"No, you really don't have to." Courtney argues not wanting to say I don't want your noisy ass with me in front of Mr. W.
"Oh but I want to."
"But I… oh crap."
SUNDAY MORNING -AT THE BRIDGE LAKE RIVER
"My God! My God! What is that?" Chris screams.
He and Courtney pull their feet out of the water. Black botches stain their legs and suck their blood.
"Ah! Get off, get off!"
"They're just leeches rich boy, relax." Courtney says ripping the bloodsuckers off her legs. Chris's already leaping through the middle of the river screaming his head off.
"Get back here!"
"Get them off! Get them off!" He trips over a rocks and slashes his arm with a jagged rock. Blood stains the water.
Chris's in the water half drowning screaming and scared.
"Jesus Chris," Courtney sighs impatiently and follows after Chris.
Mr. Whitaker sees them and runs to Chris through the rocks with a line of kids with tangled fishing poles following close behind.
Courtney gets as close as she can walking, then jumps into the water and swims to Chris.
Chris screams as he's being dragged down stream and coughs out water. The stinging pain in his arm and the scare of the leeches got him way too far out his mind for him to remember the swimming lessons he took as a little boy with his personal swimming instructor.
He splashes water as he struggles to keep his head afloat.
"Stop splashing me! I'm trying to help you, idiot." Courtney screams. She wraps one arm around Chris's waist and uses the other one to lead them to shore.
Mr. Whitaker comes running from upstream. Sweating as if he had jumped into the river himself and screaming out. "What's happening? What's wrong? Oh my gosh! Hang on!"
Courtney closes her own mouth because she felt like she was swallowing the whole river. Chris begins to come back to his senses and starts helping them get to shore.
Water splashes on Courtney's face and hangs on to her long eyelashes giving her almost zero visibility, yet she knows where the shore is, so she swims toward it.
Finally, Courtney's hand meets with a gigantic rock. She grabs it hard and pulls herself along with Chris toward it. The water pushes their body away but Courtney hangs on stubbornly.
Mr. W arrives at the scene of the events and gets so hysterically useless that it is Carlos who ends up pulling Courtney and Chris back to land.
At first Adrian had tried to help, but he resulted to have very little upper body strength so Carlos pushed him aside and did the job himself.
After that incident Mr. W was so scared he made everyone walk back to camp and back to their rooms.
Chris insisted that it was just a scratch and it could wait to be nursed. Mr. W however wouldn't hear of it, he began to talk about all kinds of infections and even gangrene.
So that was that, the fishing trip ended in less than an hour in the magical Lake River with a bleeding arm, a wet cursing girl, a bunch of angry kids, and one pissed teacher.
SUNDAY NIGHT -BROOKE AND COURTNEY'S ROOM
"Didn't you say you couldn't swim?" Brooke asks back in their room as they get ready to sleep. After coming back from the fishing trip and after Mrs. Whitaker nursed Chris's wound. She made them chocolate chip cookies and put on a movie to entertain them. Then she took a selected group out for a walk. Mr. W locked himself in his office and stayed there for the rest of the day.
"I lied."
"Why?"
"I was hoping for some alone time."
"Funny how that's what's always in your mind."
"Funny how there's nothing in your mind."
"Ever get tired of being an ass?" Brooke asks impatiently.
Courtney looks up from her book. "Yeah, when I stop." She shoves the book aside and pulls open the drawer in her bedside table. With as much gentleness as you'd have handling a premature baby, she takes out the duck-taped cookie jar and places next to her on the bed.
Brooke looks at her from the corner of her eye. She doesn't want Courtney to think she's watching her.
Courtney pulls up her book bag and empties its contents in a pile next to the cookie jar. Out roll two pairs of faded black socks, a dark green pair of slacks and two tees.
Covering her belongings with the bedspread, Courtney then places the cookie jar inside the bag and closes the zipper. She swings it over her shoulder and walks out the room.
"Hey, where are you going?" Brooke asks.
"Out."
"We have a curfew you know! You can't just go anywhere you want anytime you want."
Courtney flashes her the finger and walks down the stairs coolly.
"God, all I wanted was a nice getaway. Why is my life so hard?" Brooke complains to God looking up.
She follows Courtney out the room and down the stairs. "Come back here. You can't just go out. What are you doing?"
Courtney sighs choosing not to say anything, opens the cabin's front door and walks out right in front of Mrs. W's eyes and almost slamming the door on Brooke's face.
"Mrs. Whitaker did you just see that? She can't do that, can she? You said curfew was at nine PM unless we were doing something organized in a group with previous approval." Brooke complains reminding Mrs. W of the well-set rules.
"I know," Mrs. Whitaker says sipping her cut of tea. "and she has my approved permission to go out."
"By herself?"
"Obviously."
"What if something happens? What if she tries to do something stupid?"
"She'll be just fine Brooke. I didn't know you cared so much for her."
"I don't, I'm just saying it's unfair she can go out and we can't."
"Well where would you like to go missy?"
Brooke shrugs realizing she can't just tell Mrs. W she wants to follow Courtney. "You know, just out to see the stars and stuff. I've never been out of the big city."
"By yourself?"
"No, I would go with the guys."
"Fine."
"You mean it?"
"It's only fair." Mrs. W says unconcerned. She knows they're too scared of the forest to get in any real trouble.
"Great! I'll go get them." Brooke says turning around from the door and already scanning the room for Chris, Sebastian and Tom.
Her eyes stumble upon Carlos and Mr. W. They're both talking and looking as
if the leaning tower of pisa had just straightened. Soon, Brooke finds why.
"Anybody seen Adrian Carson?" Mr. W asks. Not one answer comes. Instead, an eerie silence fills the room.
"Did you check the bathrooms?" Mr. W asks.
"Bathroom, kitchen, under the bed, everywhere." Carlos answers.
"Did Adrian mention anything about going out to any of you?" Mr. W asks hopefully.
The room is quiet.
"Is there anybody else missing?" Mr. W asks wiping his head with the blue hankie and cracking his fingers nervously.
"Coutney just went out." Brooke blurts.
Scared, Brooke runs to Tom, Sebastian and Chris as soon as she spots them playing poker at a table in the far corner of the living room.
Mr. W speaks nervously, "Alright, I want three voluntaries to come with me and we'll go search for him." He turns to Mrs. Whitaker. "Laura, stay here with the walkie-talkie, call if he shows. And also, call Dr. Flint." He says.
"Dr. Flint?" Chris repeats in a whisper only audible to his friends around him. "As in Courtney's shrink?"
"She just went out." Brooke says. "This might be the night."
"Well some night she chose." Tom says almost angrily. Adrian's missing and Courtney might be (and probably is) about to jump off a bridge. But what bridge? The poem did mention one, but he hadn't seen one today. Unless it meant the Bridge Lake River in which case she was about to jump to a river.
"What does the poem say about this?" Sebastian asks Brooke.
She takes it out of her purse.
Sebastian reads it over and over without being able to extract any missed information or hidden meanings. And what does the constant her slash him mean?
"Let's go," Chris says getting up.
"Go where?" Sebastian asks.
"Find Courtney and Adrian."
"Yeah, Mrs. W said we could all go out." Brooke throws in.
"I think that was before she found Adrian was missing."
"So? It still applies." Chris and Brooke walk to the door. Neither Tom nor Sebastian want to go, yet Brooke is so, so are they too.
They step out the door to the crisp night. Wind whips fiercely and flashes of lightening illuminate the otherwise dark night.
Brooke cups her hands around her mouth and positions her lips to shout out Courtney's name. Chris slaps a hand to her face and places a finger over his lips.
"If Courtney and Adrian just disappeared it possible neither of them wanted to be found. Our screams will just scare them off."
Brooke pushes his hand away. "We should have brought flashlights."
"I'm two steps ahead of ya sistah." Chris takes out a flashlight from his saggy pants' pocket.
"Didn't you read the entire permission slip form? We were all required to bring a flashlight. In case we were lost, we were supposed to turn it on and off in fixed intervals of threes."
"Geek,"
"Freak,"
"Stop! Lets find Moody Loony and get out of here." Tom growls and Sebastian agrees.
Chris flicks the flashlight on and begins to walk in the direction Courtney probably went. Deciding it was a good idea to hurry since Mr. W's search party might come out the door and kick them right back in.
Twigs crack underfoot and visibility is limited to the dying flashlight and
moonlight. The moon's glow turns the forest into a blue wonderland. Little drops of water on the leaves glitter flashing a million tiny reflections of light and forming a milky way of their own down here in earth.
Chris bites hard at the flashlight's handle and uses both hands to open way for his body through the thick bushes. He and the others are walking right next to the trail and yet not on it. Giving away their position right now would not be a good idea and using the only trail up the mountain would be deadly stupid.
"You know? I don't even like that Courtney girl, heck, I don't think anybody does. Why should we even help her?" Tom asks.
"Same reason we hang out with you." Chris answers pulling the flashlight out his mouth.
"Because she's filthy rich?" Tom asks knowing she's rather filthy poor.
"Because we have to." Brooke answers for Chris.
Her comment stops both Tom and Sebastian from complaining any further.
"God! Did you hear that?" Brooke says stopping them in their tracks.
Chris's ears perk up as he listens for any sound other than his own breath and the beat of his quickening heart.
In the distance he hears crackling leaves and muffled squeals. Somewhere,
someone was struggling to get away from something big, big and scary.
A lound thud sounds off followed by a shattering noise and a terrified scream.
"Noooo!!"
"Courtney," Chris whispers.
"Oh my God, there's someone out there. Lets get out of here." Brooke squeals scared.
"No," Chris grasps Brooke's arm, after all, if she stayed the others would too. "we have to find her." He says in a quaky voice.
The flashiligh shines brightly on Brooke's face. Her eyes are bobbing out and tears seem to be hidden behind them ready to jump out at any minute. She looks back at Chris's eyes.
The sound of someone running to them, twigs breaking, branches snapping and leaves falling.
"Chris! Someone's coming, let me go!" Brooke cries out. Tom and Sebastian are ready to run the other direction.
Chris turns from Brooke afraid to look. His breath is heavy, sweat rolls down his forehead and his whole body quivers.
Sebastian's breath becomes wheezy. He takes out an inhaler with a shaky hand
and takes a deep breath.
"No!" Brooke screams shakily, "please."
Chris lights up the side of the forest from where the running noises are coming. His heart about to explode.
He sees between flashes a dark shape approaching him at an amazing speed. It collides with him.
"Ah! No get off!God!" Chris screams.
Brooke and Sebastian scream. Tom takes off running."Fuck everything, I'm out of here." He says in his mind and goes mute screaming.
Chris kicks and fights the dark figure. "Get off! What do you want! Leave me alone!"
Brooke and Sebastian try to run with Tom. Sebastian trips and falls to the floor. His dangling legs send Brooke to the floor as well.
"Get up! Let's go!"
Chris screams, "Wait for me! Get off!"
"Shut up!" Courtney's voice screams.
"Courtney?" Chris asks, he stops kicking her and shines the flashlight on her
face.
"Stop, you're blinding me idiot." She grabs the flashlight from his hand. She sweeps the flashlight over Brooke and Sebastian.
Brooke's crying, her whole face's bright scarlet. Her hair's messy and sweat-stuck to her face.
Sebastian is breathing heavily and sucking at his inhaler like a leeche to a blood bag.
"Get up freaks! We've gotta get outta here." Courtney whispers running past them.
"Why? What's wrong?" Chris asks following her.
"There's somebody after me." Cortney says leading the way with Chris's flashling.
"Who?"
"I don't know, let's just get outta here. Now!" Courtney starts to run.
"Wait! Sebastian can't breathe." Brooke says kneeling next to Sebastian and shoving away an empty inhaler.
Courtney considers running away. Knowing that her consciense wouldn't let her get away with it, she stops, turns around, and goes over to Sebastian."Why can't you breathe? What's wrong with you?"
"He's got ashma." Brooke explains.
"Shit!" She curses grabbing Sebastian's arms and running it around her shoulders. "Hey rich boy, get over here and help me."
Chris grabs Sebastian's other arm and hangs it on his shoulder.
"I could just go get his inhaler and come back with it." Brooke offers.
"No, we have to get out of here right now, damn it!" Coutney insists.
"Who…?"
"Just move it!" Courtney says already dragging Sebastian's heavy body through the forest.
They all hear loud stomping behind them.
"Hurry!" Courtney screams, panic creeping in her voice.
Seing (or at least hearing) tough, always-in-control Courtney scared terrified Chris even more than the bear-worthy stomping he heard getting closer and closer.
Sebastian coughs, huffs and puffs. Brooke runs in front of Chris and Sebastian. She pushes the branches and twigs out of her way slamming them back on Courtney's and Chris's faces.
Courtney shoves the flashlight aside and takes hold of Sebastian's hand
focusing hard on moving as fast as her scrawny body will allow her.
Chris's amazed by Courtney's strength. She was almost leaving him behind and he was constantly tripping on his feet. In fact, Coutney was almost dragging both of them through the forest by herself. She was probably terror-driven, whatever she had seen had scared her good.
"I can see the cabin." Chris says.
"Where?" Courtney asks.
"There! Don't you see it?"
"God, just keep running."
Courtney trips and falls yanking Sebastian's arm.
"Courtney?" Chris asks worried.
"I'm fine, Brooke take my place."
Brooke jumps over Courtney and slips under Sebastian's arm. Coutney gets up for a second. When you're running so hard, it's hard to start over after you stop.
She slams a hand to a tree and grasps her chest gasping for air. Her whole body feels drained, her lungs like they're about to explode and her face and arms sting and are soaked with blood.
With the last meek drops of energy left in her body, Courtney starts off running
again. Her eyes catch a flutter of light, the cabin's some twenty feet away. She wonders if she's going to make it.
Brooke's a lousy paramedic. She keeps tripping and whatever branches she pushes away from her face go slamming forcefully to Sebastian's face.
He gasps and gags. Tears and sweat roll down his face, the only conscious part of his brain begs for safety, the cabin, and an inhaler.
"Were're almost there!" Chris announces eagerly.
"Hurry up!" Coutney presses. She can almost feel her persecutor's warm breath on her neck. A chill goes up her back despite the warm weather.
Chris reaches the door first. A wave of relief sweeps over him. "We made it."
"Get in!" Coutney screams. She runs over to the door and knocks on as if she was a wild horse kicking a stubborn trainer. "Let us in! let us in!"
Brooke joins in the screaming frenzy. "Help us! Let us in! hurry!"
Mrs. W hears the loud knocking and runs to the door. She pulls it open without thinking and a herd of kids explode in.
As soon as their scared-to-death butts get in, Courtney screams. "Close the door."
She slams it shut herself and walks as far away from it as she can. Then, she collapses on the floor and holds her chest.
"Kids are you alright?" Mrs. W asks.
"He needs his inhaler." Brooke gasps.
Mrs. Whitaker runs to the office and brings one out. "What happened?" She asks urgently handing it to Sebastian.
"We…, we were out looking for Courtney." Chris says, he takes a deep breath and continues. "Somebody was following her, so we ran back here."
Mrs. W turns to Courtney. "Who was following you?"
Courtney shakes her head. "I don't know, I was just walking and then a man jumped me." She puts her hand over her bloody slashed jeans. "He had a knife, he tried to kill me, said he would too but I got away."
Courtney looks around gasping. "Where's everybody else?"
Mrs. W grabs a walkie-talkie from her apron's pocket and punches a button with her thumb. "Brandon, honey?" She asks using Mr. W's first name. "honey where are you?" She looks up from the walkie-talkie and calmly commands. "Joseph, darling, call 911."
Joseph darts off to the office and punches 911. The first time in his life he ever punches that number.
To be honest, Chris's glad Mrs. W is the one to have stayed. Mr. Whitaker is a nice guy, but he would be freaking out so bad he wouldn't know what to do.
Mrs. Whitaker is a tall woman. She looks strong and warm at the same time, her mere her presence summons respect and order. One word from her could bring order to a no-parents-at-home-teen's party. She was the kind of leader you'd want in a situation like this.
Mrs. W smiles nervously and motions for Chris, Brooke, Sebastian and Courtney to go sit on the sofa.
"Laura, we got lost, I think we're somewhere on top of the Lake River. No signs of Adrian yet." Mr. Whitaker's voice comes out the walkie-talkie in Mrs. W's hand. "What did you…"
His voice is suddenly shut off. There's a noise like the walkie-talkie fell to the floor. A mortifyingly long time goes by and then the unmistakable sound of crackling leaves and twigs under a heavy foot.
"Brandon?" Mrs. W calls a hint of worry darkening her usually bright face.
More strange sounds come of the walkie-talkie.
"Brandon?" Mrs. W asks again.
"No Mr. Brandon here." A deep, raspy, manly voice answers.
Courtney's heartbeat quickens as she recognizes the voice on the other line. Whomever that is, it's the same person who stabbed her in the forest and robbed her of her most precious treasure, and he's got Mr. Whitaker now. The voice echoes in her head, she's heard that voice somewhere before tonight in the forest, she just doesn't know where.
REWIND….
….STOP...
PAUSE
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