back to Aries at a moments notice.
But apparently Eve had still been able to get in.
Aries followed Jack and Joy up the rocks towards the shoreline. They’d had a rule about pitching tents this close to the water. No one was supposed to do it. But one lone tent stood off to the side, hidden beneath a massive pine tree. Not overly visible, but still more in the open than Aries was comfortable with.
How had Eve done this and no one told Aries?
“She moved it here a few days ago,” Jack said. “Most of us didn’t know about it. I tried talking to her yesterday, but she told me she just wanted to be alone for a bit. We checked it out from the water and it was well hidden. I figured it was okay. I mean, Eve’s been hurting. She took Nathan’s death really hard. And I think all of us want a bit of alone time now and then. I meant to tell you, but I guess it slipped my mind with everything else happening.”
Yeah, everything else. They’d all been preoccupied. And look what it cost them.
Aries walked around to the front of the tent to find Larissa waiting. The twenty-something girl looked up at Aries as they approached.
“How long has she been dead?” Aries asked.
“Not sure,” Larissa said. “My guess is it happened during the night.”
Larissa stepped aside and Aries paused at the slightly opened entrance. She didn’t want to go in there. She still had nights when she woke up in cold sweats, the memory of Nathan, and the way he looked right at her as the Bagger snapped his neck. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she saw all of them, the people she’d lost. Looking at death was never easy.
Even worse, were the nightmares where she found herself seeing the bodies of her friends that were still alive. Mason beaten to death. Clementine stabbed and bleeding out. Michael lying on his back, gazing at the sky with dull, unseeing eyes. Was it really a dream? Or was she having premonitions of what was coming?
Aries took a deep breath and entered the tent.
Eve lay on her side, her sleeping bag in disarray and pushed down over her thighs. One hand still clutched the empty bottle of aspirin. Although her hair had fallen across her face, Aries could see the open eyes, staring at the grey tent walls. The smell of vomit was heavy in the air. Overpowering, Aries swallowed the bile that rose into her own throat before rushing back into the open air.
“We’ll have to dig a grave,” she said. “Quickly. Jack? Can you get a few of the others to help?”
“I’m on it.”
“We need to get someone to watch the tent. I’m okay with people coming to pay their respects, but I don’t want a bunch of others gawking at her.”
“I can do it,” Joy said. “I can get someone else to deal with the breakfast crowd this morning. In all honesty, I don’t really want to be around food anyway.”
“Where should I dig it?” Jack asked.
Aries paused. If only they could put Eve next to her brother. But Nathan was buried in a back yard across the harbor, several miles away. They’d have to go straight through the downtown core to try and make their way over to Shaunessey. And that would place them right in Bagger territory. No, they couldn’t take that kind of risk.
Lighthouse Park might be scenic and beautiful, but it was mostly rocks and hiking trails. It would be difficult to try and dig a hole big enough to place a body. They would have to go further out, find a nice yard where they could lay Eve to rest.
“She liked the blue house,” Joy said, referring to one of the mansions about half a mile away. “You know, the one with all the pictures of the celebrities on the walls. She went there a few times to think. She told me. It has a huge yard facing the ocean. I’ll bet she’d like it there.”
“Done,” Aries said, thankful that she didn’t have to make the decision.
“What about a funeral?”
Aries paused. She knew that Clementine and Michael would be upset if they didn’t get to pay their respects.
But apparently Eve had still been able to get in.
Aries followed Jack and Joy up the rocks towards the shoreline. They’d had a rule about pitching tents this close to the water. No one was supposed to do it. But one lone tent stood off to the side, hidden beneath a massive pine tree. Not overly visible, but still more in the open than Aries was comfortable with.
How had Eve done this and no one told Aries?
“She moved it here a few days ago,” Jack said. “Most of us didn’t know about it. I tried talking to her yesterday, but she told me she just wanted to be alone for a bit. We checked it out from the water and it was well hidden. I figured it was okay. I mean, Eve’s been hurting. She took Nathan’s death really hard. And I think all of us want a bit of alone time now and then. I meant to tell you, but I guess it slipped my mind with everything else happening.”
Yeah, everything else. They’d all been preoccupied. And look what it cost them.
Aries walked around to the front of the tent to find Larissa waiting. The twenty-something girl looked up at Aries as they approached.
“How long has she been dead?” Aries asked.
“Not sure,” Larissa said. “My guess is it happened during the night.”
Larissa stepped aside and Aries paused at the slightly opened entrance. She didn’t want to go in there. She still had nights when she woke up in cold sweats, the memory of Nathan, and the way he looked right at her as the Bagger snapped his neck. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she saw all of them, the people she’d lost. Looking at death was never easy.
Even worse, were the nightmares where she found herself seeing the bodies of her friends that were still alive. Mason beaten to death. Clementine stabbed and bleeding out. Michael lying on his back, gazing at the sky with dull, unseeing eyes. Was it really a dream? Or was she having premonitions of what was coming?
Aries took a deep breath and entered the tent.
Eve lay on her side, her sleeping bag in disarray and pushed down over her thighs. One hand still clutched the empty bottle of aspirin. Although her hair had fallen across her face, Aries could see the open eyes, staring at the grey tent walls. The smell of vomit was heavy in the air. Overpowering, Aries swallowed the bile that rose into her own throat before rushing back into the open air.
“We’ll have to dig a grave,” she said. “Quickly. Jack? Can you get a few of the others to help?”
“I’m on it.”
“We need to get someone to watch the tent. I’m okay with people coming to pay their respects, but I don’t want a bunch of others gawking at her.”
“I can do it,” Joy said. “I can get someone else to deal with the breakfast crowd this morning. In all honesty, I don’t really want to be around food anyway.”
“Where should I dig it?” Jack asked.
Aries paused. If only they could put Eve next to her brother. But Nathan was buried in a back yard across the harbor, several miles away. They’d have to go straight through the downtown core to try and make their way over to Shaunessey. And that would place them right in Bagger territory. No, they couldn’t take that kind of risk.
Lighthouse Park might be scenic and beautiful, but it was mostly rocks and hiking trails. It would be difficult to try and dig a hole big enough to place a body. They would have to go further out, find a nice yard where they could lay Eve to rest.
“She liked the blue house,” Joy said, referring to one of the mansions about half a mile away. “You know, the one with all the pictures of the celebrities on the walls. She went there a few times to think. She told me. It has a huge yard facing the ocean. I’ll bet she’d like it there.”
“Done,” Aries said, thankful that she didn’t have to make the decision.
“What about a funeral?”
Aries paused. She knew that Clementine and Michael would be upset if they didn’t get to pay their respects.
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