Tent City (11 page)

After work that night, I find myself at the front door of what should be my cabin and there are other people waiting there as well. I don’t know these people, even though I am sure that I have met everyone that lives here by now.

I can tell they don’t live here though. They have hollowed cheeks that lead me to believe they haven’t had a decent meal in weeks. When they make eye contact with me, they immediately stare at the ground.  

Just as I am about to knock, Bentley opens the door and looks a little startled as I stand there among the others.

“Dani, what are you doing here?” he asks.

“I just need to talk to you about having tomorrow morning off. Apparently, Callie says permission has to come from you,” I say eager to demonstrate my annoyance.   

“Why?” he asks, seeming in a hurry and then interrupts himself. “Never mind, just do it. We can talk about it later. I’ve got important stuff I have to take care of right now,” he says, as he runs his hands through his hair.

He shoos me away, but I linger out of sight to see what’s going on.

He motions for the new people to come in the cabin. There are six of them and I can’t tell if they came as a group. I imagine they came in similar to the way Kit and I did and that he has to decide if they can stay. I know I shouldn’t, but my curiosity is too high, so I slink around towards the back window. To my relief, it’s partially open. If they talk loud enough, I should be able to hear what they are saying.

I can’t catch all of it, so I slide a cement block that is nearby and prop it next to the side of the cabin. It makes a dull thudding noise as it connects to the cabin and I pause for a moment. I lift my head up to peek in, careful not to be seen.

“So, where have you come from?” he asks a girl, who must be at least six feet tall.

She is speaking quietly, so it is hard to understand what she says, but I can tell Bentley is annoyed at the newcomers.

“I don’t really have room for you,” he says in his usual cold manner, “but if you can convince me of a reason to keep you around, it’s open for discussion.”

This perks the tall girl up and she says, “We would be willing to do whatever you need us to do. Please just don’t make us go back there! I’m strong and so is my brother. These others, we don’t really know them, but I’m sure they would be willing to do whatever needs to be done. Please sir, if you send us away, they’ll find us and we’ll be dead for sure!” I scoff when I hear the word sir. Remembering the window is open, I bite my lip, hoping I wasn’t heard.

“How much Intel do you have?” he asks.

She looks confused and he asks again, “How much do you know about our enemy?” He pauses and waits for her answer, but there isn’t one.

“You and your brother stay, everyone else out.” He then tells the others he will feed them. I see him get up and go towards the door and I rush back so I can get there before he comes out. I am waiting there expectantly and when he sees me, he tells me to take them to Callie. I blush slightly as he eyes me suspiciously.

Right away, I can’t wait to start asking questions, but they are all stone quiet. I don’t know if he’s told them not to talk to anyone, or why they won’t speak. I do get them to follow me to the kitchen area. They seem hesitant to sit down at the outside picnic tables.

When I bring them their food, no one touches it at first, but then finally one of them makes a move. He’s a small boy, maybe not more than 12 or 13. He looks terrified, always searching the woods for something. Finally, he starts jamming bread in his mouth. It appears he’s swallowing without even chewing. I can almost see a chunk protruding at his Adam’s apple as it slides down. The others watching him, follow suit.

I’ve never seen anything like it. It reminds me of wolves in a pack. The small boy even snarls at a girl eying the last of his water. Water for goodness sake!
  Within a minute, all of the food has been cleared, which was substantial due to Callie’s generosity.  I probe with more questions, only to be met by silence. Why won’t they talk to me?

I leave them with Callie, who is dumping more food on the table, and head back to Bentley’s cabin. I wait out there for about a half an hour before I finally hear the door open and the tall girl and her brother exit. He tells them to go to the kitchen to get something to eat and that someone will find them a place to bunk for the night. He then gives an order on his walkie-talkie and waves me to come in.

“Busy day?”  I ask, trying to keep it light.

“You have no idea.” 

“So what’s that all about anyway?” I ask, hoping he can shed some light on our new visitors.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Dani. So why do ya need tomorrow morning off anyway?” He’s rubbing at his eyes in a sign of fatigue.

“Why are you being so secretive?”

“Dani, good leaders don’t leak information to just anyone who asks.”

“Where did you learn that? Military Camp?” He doesn’t reply and I can tell that’s getting me nowhere, so I try a different approach.

“Anyways, I need tomorrow off because it’s been a few days since I’ve had a good run. I’ve been so busy with the kitchen and I know how you feel about us being out after dark. I was thinking maybe you might even want to join me?”

At this, he looks surprised. “I thought you preferred to run alone?”

“Well, I do, but I could make an exception for you.” I smile to try and seal the deal and it sickens me that I have stooped to this. I see him studying me to see if I’m playing him, but finally he relents.

“I suppose I could take a little time off. Wes can take care of things around here until we get back. See you at sunrise,” he says, and I can tell he’s in a hurry to get me out of there.

So my plan just might work. The last time I was out on the trails with Bentley, I got the most information from him since I’ve been here.

It’s something that just happens when you run with a partner. My old track coach called it diarrhea of the mouth. For some reason, running brings out some endorphins that make you feel more at ease. The person you happen to be with just so happens to be on the receiving end. And hopefully for me, I can finally get some answers.

Getting out of bed this morning is easier than most mornings, knowing I’m going to get out on the trails.

I leave Brody sleeping in the bag beside Kit and slip out of the tent. Just as I step out, I discover Bentley is already waiting for me.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to get up,” he teases.

“Hey, you said sunrise,” I say, a little miffed he has gotten the best of me again. I make a mental note to myself that if we do this again, I’ll be sure to be the first one up and waiting for him.

“I didn’t realize you were so crabby in the morning, Dani, but then again, I guess that matches your attitude most of the time.”

“Maybe, I’m having second thoughts on partnering up this morning. I’m not in the mood for this,” I say, as my good mood is souring.

“Oh come on, Dani, I’m only kidding.”

“Can you stop saying my name all the time?” I lean over to double check my shoelaces and I’m practically seething for reasons I’m not entirely sure.

“You
are
surly this morning,” he says with a devilish smile, and as I am deciding on my comeback, he has already taken off.

“Think you can keep up this time, Dani?” And then he jogs backwards and gives me a wink!

I decide to keep my cool and not respond, but deep down I know I’d rather die than let him beat me again, so I take off hoping he will continue to talk and waste his breath while I save mine.

We spend the entire first mile in silence. Judging by the pace, we are running a six minute mile. I don’t know if it’s the altitude here in the Hills, but I’m winded, and not feeling good about how this is going. We are on a different route, so I’m unsure of my footing and spend most of my time making sure I don’t break my leg. My throat is dry and itching, and coughs out a request for some water, but I’m not about to tell him I need to stop. This goes on like this for at least five miles and I am reaching exhaustion, when he finally slows the pace down.

We clip along for another mile or so and I finally feel like myself again. I’m ready to go for another ten, if that’s what he’s up to, when he stops. I look up in the nick of time before bowling right into him. Then I see one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

It’s a waterfall in the middle of all these trees. Hard to believe I didn’t hear it, as loud as the water crashes down. It goes up at least 50 feet and pools down into crystal clear water that appears to have never been touched.

My legs are humming from all the exertion and I just plop down to enjoy the view. For the first time since being with Bentley, I don’t find myself scrambling to ask him questions about our camp, who he is, or what he’s up to. I find myself just in complete peace. I don’t know if it’s the waterfall, or the exhaustion of every muscle in my body, but I can’t escape this feeling of utter happiness.

It has to be at least 20 minutes before either of us say anything.

“How did you find this place?” I ask, finally breaking the silence.

“Oh, I have been all over this land looking for natural resources. I found this place about a year ago, but I have to admit, I’ve kept it all to myself…until now.”

I’ve lost all the fight in me against Bentley and simply state, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I thought you might like it. Now comes the fun part. You ready for a swim?” he challenges, as he gets up and starts stripping off his gear.

I could feel my eyes bulging as I watch him and wonder where he was going to stop. Thankfully, he leaves his boxers on, but that didn’t mean I didn’t see the full spectacle of his body.

Every muscle on his body is toned and lean. The word on repeat in my head is sinewy.

Every movement he makes showcases muscles in the body I didn’t even know we had. He’s not bulky, just lean. When they came up with the saying “pound for pound”, I think they were talking about Bentley. I look away feeling embarrassed and not sure how to respond.

Thankfully, he doesn’t tease me and just says, “What are you waiting for?”

I can’t bring myself to take anything off, as he has, and I’m feeling grateful the tank top I have on isn’t white. He climbs all the way to the top and without hesitation, he hurls himself off the rocks. He seems to drift in slow motion before he hits with a thunderous splash.  I watch and wait for him to pop up and after what seems like minutes, he does.

“It’s safe!” he yells, and I make myself climb to the top. I close my eyes, taking in the breeze that brushes across my face and plays with my ponytail. For a moment, I pretend I’m not here, but floating in the clouds where it’s peaceful and safe.

For one tiny moment, everything is as it should be. It takes every bit of courage I have, but I finally take the leap. I don’t know if it’s just because I haven’t done anything like this before, but I feel more alive than I’ve ever felt in my life.

I feel myself having feelings for Bentley and I'm not sure if I should. I mean, I know he’s probably every girl’s dream, but I’m not here for that. I’m trying to remember the promise I made myself that I am only here to keep Kit, Brody, and myself safe until it was time to go home.

If I get involved with him, my judgment could get skewed. Plus, there is so much I don’t know about him. He’s so evasive and moody. One minute he seems like he is really into me, and then the next, he acts like I’m the greasy, smelly kid who no one wants to sit by.
 

Finally, after a few minutes, we crawl out of the water and I’m shivering since the only clothes I brought, I’ve just drenched in the water. I lie down on a rock, hoping to steal some of its warmth when Bentley struts over and covers me with his jacket.

“You know, it would have been smarter if you had just taken your clothes off. You could be sitting in dry clothes right now.” He must not have noticed that they had actually been drenched in sweat.