Chapter 280
WILLA
I woke up the next morning, madder than hell. I was sore, stiff as a board and shivering in every limb.
I pulled up the sweater I had slept in then the one under that. Every inch of skin that I could see was covered in ugly, inflamed looking bug bites.
Underneath my sleeping bag were squashed bugs I had rolled over during whatever had passed for sleep last night.
I was so angry I felt like crying.
And who was the cause of all this? Lucian, the asshole of course.
None of this would be happening if it were not for him. Naomi kept attacking me and making my life a living hell because of him!
'And he didn't even insist on getting you out of that tent last night," an interior voice told me.
"I didn't want him to," I said to myself. "I wouldn't ever have gone with him. Ever."
I got carefully to my feet, not sure if they would support me. After stamping some feeling back into them, I discovered they would.
Outside, the other students were just waking up, calling out to each other. I inspected the slashes in my tent.
They much larger now. The wind blowing hard through the cuts had made the tears worse.
Worse still, I had four more miserable days to spend on the stupid field trip. I made a mental note to myself to sew up the tears as best as I could before nightfall.
A steaming cup of hot chocolate made me at least feel a little more like myself. I nibbled on my sandwich, not hurrying my meal along because my teeth still chattered every now and then. I also had a pretty bad case of the sniffles.
"Hurry it up along, people!" one of the boys called. He was jogging along to his tent. "Lucian says we have a busy day ahead today."
I glared at him, at all of them as they started to sped up whatever it was they were doing. I burned with resentment. It was easy for them to face the day when they had gotten a decent good night's sleep.
Frowning into my cup, I took another sip.
I only went up to join the others when there was no one else hanging about. My joints protested with every step I took as I walked to the spot where Lucian had already begun giving his routine address.
For once Naomi wasn't at his side. She stood apart from everyone else. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she stared off into the distance.
She didn't seem to be paying any attention to Lucian and Lucian also didn't seem to be paying any attention to her.
"... Another busy day today," Lucian was saying. "Drew spotted a few plants at the foot of the waterfall, partially hidden under some rocks. I would like a group to check that spot out..."
I tuned out the rest of Lucian's five minute speech. It wasn't hard.
All I had to do was focus on the aches and pains ravaging every part of my body and I would immediately forget anything else.
As the students split into two groups with Lucian leading one to begun yet another task of sample collection, it occurred to me I could tell Lucian I was sick and wouldn't be able to join in today.
But then I imagined how he would gloat. How he would go on and on about me never listening.
I decided then I would go along with the others even if it killed me.
I avoided Lucian's group, stuck with the other one. Eventually I drifted away from that group too.
I went in a whole other direction, tramping along, kicking loose stones out of my way, cursing Lucian as I went. Today the beauty of the day was lost on me.
I got deeper and deeper into a part of the woods I had never been to before. The sun was coming up. I was considering resting a little then going on when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
"Who's there?" I called out and spun around.
I half expected to see that one of the others students had followed me in here. I saw no one.
The woods were still and quiet. I caught a flash of movement, turned and exhaled in relief.
It was only a baby squirrel climbing nimbly into the branches of a tree.
"Get a grip, Willa," I said and walked on.
Far up I could hear the gentle gurgle of a brook. I swallowed, realized I was thirsty.
I imagined plunging my hands into the still clear waters and taking a drink. I walked faster in that direction.
The moment I turned my back, that feeling of being watched and followed returned. It was worse than before.