an orange sun

An orange sun peeked over the mountain, like a child eager for early life. Dew hung lazily around the heads of the sleepers; the tents had failed to keep the moisture out. Their heavy breaths and snores filled the damp air.  Angel had been awake for quite a while, watching the dawn through the fabric of her tent. She made a point of always seeing the sunrise. This one could very well have been beautiful if not for the blue canvas shielding her sight. She slowly pulled her hand out of her sleeping bag and laid it on top, feeling the droplets on the cool fabric of the bag. She was quite warm despite the cold, hot almost, from the proximity of her tent mates.
         Angel began to slowly squeeze herself out of the bag, careful not to jostle a sleeper in her escape. She quickly unzipped her tent “door” and stepped out into the cold. She was wearing her pajamas, pink with white lilies all over them. The thin mountain grass managed to lodge itself between her toes. The dew was cold on the soles of her feet, it seemed to penetrate her with its chill. Angel crossed her arms and looked out at the scene in front of her. The Rocky Mountains loomed around her, surrounding her on all sides. Their enclosure was far more spacious and more tolerable than the confinement of her tent. She had always despised small spaces, she felt trapped, even maimed when captured like that. The mountains seemed instead to comfort her as if in a cold embrace. The chill of the morning was beginning to creep into her skin. She tiptoed over to what was once the fire and sat on a log next to it. The embers still warmed her and she added a little wood and blew till it lit again.
         A lot had occurred in Angel’s life recently, she began to reflect on it all with a sense of uncertainty. Her mother had recently died in a car accident, about three months ago; she was sad at first, but eventually became numb. She hadn’t honestly thought any significant thought for quite a while. This camping trip was supposed to be a type of psychiatric experience for her.
         It may be working, she thought to herself. She shifted her legs so one wouldn’t fall asleep. Recently her brother had been sent to a Juvenile Detention Center in Aurora. He had broken into a warehouse to get some food. Their father had left before they were born, since Jason was over eighteen Angel was put into her brother’s custody. However he was unable to find a job as a high school drop-out with tattoos on his fingers, resources were limited for him. She was now alone, her only friends were her journal and her books. She mostly enjoyed reading Edgar Alan Poe and thought it an insult when people asked who he was; which, although ridiculous, happened quite often.
         “That fire should have been out long ago.” The camp supervisor walked out of his tent. He was intimidating, six foot three with long black dreadlocks and almost black eyes against his very white skin. Angel believed he looked like a bad interracial mix.
         “I put more wood on the fire, no one was awake and I was cold.” She stated it matter-of-factly, as if she had complete authority over her actions. To accentuate her point a cold breeze blew over the valley. Despite his rugged appearance Lance shivered. He was wearing only black khaki pants and sandals. He crossed his arms over his chest and walked back into his tent. Angel took this opportunity to add more wood to her small but comfortable blaze.
         Lance again walked out of his tent, ducking under the over-cover. This time he was wearing the same khaki pants but with a black hooded sweatshirt included. He came and sat by the small fire warming his hands. It seems she had mistaken curiosity for malice during his questioning.
         “I don’t know what you are thinking about Angel, or why you are even here. As I can see it there is nothing angry or even depressed about you. The only difference I can see is that you are now looking into space more often, rather than paying attention to your surroundings. As far as I’m concerned you can turn back now and go home if you would like.” She needed a moment to think on this, and she decidedly took it. At last she answered him,
         “No, thank you, I am really quit comfortable.” She knew she would regret this when the other “campers” awoke. Many of them were irrationally angry, and all of her tent-mates were chronically depressed. However there wasn’t much to “go back” to. The trip was, in-fact, a comfort to her for all it’s struggles.
         “It is your decision, but soon we will be doing trust games and quit a lot of exercise. The others in the group will likely not be happy about this, besides maybe Skall; he seems more motivated than the others. I am sure they will be bitter, and angry, the company should be rather sparse and the work daunting.”
         “I can deal with them and the work if I want to.” She was bitter about the incessant questions and made it clear in her retort. Lance sighed and poked the fire lazily; now she confused concern for anger, not a good start.
         All of the minors here were given “forest names” as Lance had called them. They were supposed to make it so the kids could be whatever they wanted. Skall was one name no-one truly understood. Angel assumed it had come from a book but she had not talked to him about it.
         Lance kicked a branch in the fire and it issued a slightly bigger flame than before. The light was now beginning to illuminate most of their valley although the kids had not yet awakened. Birds began to chirp from their unseen nests and sounds seemed to be clarified by the new light. Angel closed her eyes to listen.
         “You know Angel I think Skall is motivated for reasons other than self-improvement.” Lance stated this dryly as though trying not to be too direct. She had noticed Skall looking at her lately also, although she had disregarded it as boyish fantasies, she still noticed.
         “I think you are right Lance, his eyes seem to pierce me more often then I would like to notice.”
         “He does indeed seem infatuated.” Angel was the only one there who dared call Lance Brunswick by his first name; more often than not a “camper got a good box on the ears or a climb up a tall tree if calling Lance by his first name. Angel truly thought he was frightened of her, and he was, she was the only one there he didn’t understand.
         One of the tents began to wiggle and the zipper became loose. The Flap fell open and a boy with long blonde locks stumbled out of the tent tripping over a fallen log.
         “FUCK!”
As this was proclaimed the other tents began to shake as well; spraying the fallen dew as mist into the air. Angel lifted the corner of her lips in an amused smile as boys came out of the tents yelling that they would kill the bear or whatever other creature they could think of. The girls in Angel’s tent stepped out into the air and solemnly looked trying not to have their fright recognized from the boy’s shouts. A failed attempt at life passivity she imagined.
Angel kicked out her small fire and retreated into her now empty tent. The sleeping bags were in general disarray but her bag could still be seen in the corner. It was a relatively small bag, black and red with three compartments. Angel unzipped the main compartment and changed into a pair of loose black cargo pants and a red tank top. It was still cold outside so she also added a large black hoody. She walked again out of the tent, minding her step until she found her boots. She slowly slipped them on, wincing at the cold dew still layered inside and the shiver it released from her legs.
Angel stretched her feet and ankles and popped her back before deciding her direction. Many of the young men were still yelling about nothing and two seemed to about ready to fight over nothing significant. Angel sighed deeply, tasting the air as she exhaled. She glanced over at the ensuing argument. Lance was trying to talk the boys out of their fight. One of them was a sixteen year old called “spear” and the other was Skall, the same age as “spear”. Skall was tall and lean his black hair was just long enough to cover his eyes but not long enough to tuck behind his ear. Angel couldn’t guess his eye color; they were often covered by his hair. She sighed at the stupidity of their chosen “names” and watched, amused, as the fight ensued.
He was, at the moment, threatening the other boy, spear, with a large blunted stick. Skall was not in any way muscular and would likely be beaten to a pulp if in a fight with “spear”. He looked as though he had just arrived out of prison as a bull, the fog issuing from his nostrils added to the effect. Angel half giggled half sighed at the deterioration of the argument. Neither of them even seemed to remember what they were arguing about in the first place. Skall glanced up at Angel over the yelling from the other boy and raised his stick. The movement looked as though it could be threatening and “spear” lunged for the attack. Within a second Lance had “spear” by the collar in one hand and Skall by the hair in the other. Skall dropped his stick with a thump and waved, laughing, to Angel. She didn’t honestly know whether his motion with the stick was threatening or just a gesture of greeting. It was stupid and rather hasty non-the-less. The small crowed that had issued around the two boys had dispersed and “spear” had gone violently into his tent.
Skall waved again to Angel smiling as though he had just witnessed a tiger kill a Carnie in a circus. That thought was extremely amusing to Angel and she inadvertently smiled in his direction absorbed in her fancy. He took that as an invitation for conversation and came bounding over. Before Angel even realized what was happening she was greeted by Skall. His hair bouncing wildly about his face, yet never seeming to uncover his eyes.
“Hello Angel” He said his mouth twisting into an amused smile.
“Skall” she said dryly as a type of greeting while breaking a branch under her foot. “What’s your real name anyway” she asked genuinely curious. Skall looked at her curiously, as though the question was just a mask for some riddle hidden in her eyes. She looked back challengingly.
“My name…is whatever you would like to call me, my fair lady.” He said this with a flourish and bowed low to her, another stick broke.
“How about: ‘one who is far too desperate for rational conversation’” She said with a raised eyebrow and a passive expression. He seemed to take no offense in this remark; rather he seemed to enjoy her reaction in his mocking smile. She was rather flustered by this, many of the other boys she could put into a rage by looking at them, and how frustrating Skall was any different.
“Why are you here anyway?” Angel asked regaining her passive composure.
“People become aggravated with my intensely amusing character.” He said this smiling at her waiting for a reaction. She gave him none and reflected upon his answer. She now remembered his facial expression throughout his confrontation with the other boy. Contrary to a popular reaction he seemed to enjoy the argument, almost revel in it; although she doubted his answer in the fullest. She believed he started the arguments to get off from them, it sounded right to Angel anyway.
“So what, you enjoy other peoples anger or something?” She asked without any trace of emotion.
“You make me seem so cruel my fair maiden!” He said this romantically as if he was Romeo. As if to accentuate his point the wind blew flinging her hair into the air in a dramatic way. She faltered under the wind and mentally growled at it, there were no more sticks left. It seemed to blow harder for a moment as if mockingly, then suddenly ceased entirely. At this moment Lance called Skall out of his romantic reverie to thoroughly douse the embers before they moved on for the day. Angel accepted the interruption gratefully and walked to her tent to pack it away.
*          *          *
“To begin the day we are going to go on a hike! After this mornings conflict there will be no talking allowed by anyone! There will also be no physical contact allowed! I don’t care if you are going to fall down a ravine, fall if u must!” With this the “campers” packed their bags and began the trek higher up the mountain. Lance kept the speed high but the elevation low so people would use energy while having the opportunity to adjust. The girls all moaned with the run, their physical activity had been stunted from their depression. The guys went about their activity with as much unspoken anger as they possibly could, kicking rocks and flinging dust in the air; which inevitable landed right into Angels eyes causing her to tear. In order to avoid this frustration she pushed her legs a little harder ignoring the pain issuing from her thighs, and sped past the boys. Expectedly they all quickened their pace also, looking at her with malice. Skall looked around with a ridiculous smile stretched across his face. Angel picked up the pace, accepting their naïve challenge. Lance also began to jog a bit to keep up with the tide of men and Angel. She began to run, smirking a bit as the men looked around in shock at her agility. Unlike most of them she ran when she was angry, which tended to be quite a lot when she still had emotions.
Soon enough the entire group was running up the mountain, Angel in the lead. Her black hair blew behind her like feathers on a raven. It took quite a while before she made it to the rest stop, a small area void of trees with several fallen logs to sit on. Turning around she noticed that she was completely alone. There was not a sound, only the chirping of the birds in the pines. She dropped her pack on the ground next to a log. And sat down, catching her breath and celebrating her victory. She laid her head back and looked up at the sky. The sun was close to an hour or so from setting and it lit the clouds with a dim yellow. She stared up at the clouds, deciding what the shapes looked like, most of them looked like animals. It seemed as though the clouds were looking down on Earth, as though they wished to roam the earth as the animals they mimicked. Angel’s hair blew over face but she didn’t do anything to change it. It soothed her and soon she drifted into the clouds…
*          *          *
         “ANGEL!” Lance called as night fast approached at the lower camp. She had gone far ahead of the group, many of the guys had slowed their pace to let the other girls catch up and lance could not leave them alone. After setting up camp Lance was forced to send Skall, who was more than willing to find her, up the trail. The lower based camp was not on the main road after all it was on a trail that wound to the left. There was no answer to his call but he was too deep in thought to have noticed if she responded anyway.
“OK, get a fire lit I want it big but not out of control!” A young boy of fourteen stepped up to the task immediately taking control, his lips curling upward. The others seemed to follow orders from him gladly even though his age was the least of all of them. His “name” was “blaze” after all. The others eyes seemed to twinkle at the thought of a large fire at last, hierarchy made no difference. Even the girls in their sorrow helped to gather wood.
*          *          *
Angel awoke some time later; her dreams had been empty of anything significant. As a matter of fact she couldn’t remember any of them; nor could she see, everything was dark! She sat up quickly, falling off the log with a scream.
“Oh yes I remember now.” She said to herself giving a sigh of short lived relief. Why had no-one woke her? She looked around panicked, unable to see through the curtain of night.
“LANCE!” she called into the night, the pines absorbed her call and no sound traveled back to her. So I am alone, she thought. She fumbled around until she found her pack. She picked it up and strung it around her shoulder; it seemed to weigh on her shoulders more than usual. She ignored it and found the road. Her feet ached immediately and her thighs burned just from the cold. She ignored that also as her eyes adjusted to the dark, her breath came out in grey clouds streaming before her as if to point the direction.
She had been running forever it seemed, her thighs stopped her from continuing any longer, her breath came out in ragged gasps. She found a log to sit down for a moment. She dropped her pack and looked at the sky, the stars winked above her, mocking her for her sluggish-ness. The moon was a sliver in the sky, emitting a silver haze to the landscape.
“Angel!?” a rough voice yelled from somewhere off in the distance. A shadow crawled over a stone which fell down to her feet.
“Hello?” She lightly yelled back getting ready to run without her pack.
“Oh thank god I found you; I would not have enjoyed slipping around in the dark all night. Do you have some water I have been yelling for you all fucking night and I am deathly thirsty.” She handed over her bottle of cold water. He took it roughly and pulled the top off taking three large swigs. He handed it back swiftly and started to catch his breath.
“So where exactly where am I Skall?” She said it slowly giving him the time to relax.
“I have no fucking idea where you are, it’s so fucking dark up here.” He said this shivering and sat next to her on the ground resting his arm on her pack. She noticed his muscles begin to relax and his shoulders begin to slouch a bit again. When he seemed thoroughly comfy she began to talk again.
“Are we planning on heading down to the camp or would you like to sit here all nigh here all night?” The question was put in a tone of general curiosity and un-caring. He looked at her scornfully, although it was difficult to tell in the dim light.
“Is it your role in life to make me work, I mean come on I just sat down!” She thought he was genuinely angry with her for a moment, despite his easy composure. “But… then again I guess I will do anything for a fair maiden.” He laughed and stood swiftly up. Angel attempted to hide her sigh of relief and took the first step down the silver road.
The walk was easier without the added panic. Angel felt more at ease now than before she became lost. In her personal reflections she wondered about her last experience. That had been a real scare, an extreme emotion.
“Man it’s cold, why couldn’t we go up in the summer. This fall crap is really…shit!” Skall stated this next to her. Angel smiled to herself as he flicked the hair away from his eyes. They seemed to shine for a brief moment, a trick of the moonlight for sure. His hair fell back in front of his eyes, defiant of his efforts.
“You know I am surprised you could see me at all with your hair in front of your eyes like that?” Her curiosity was peaked; his hair seemed to cover his face like a football visor. Then again she was also surprised football players could see.
“It always does that, it has a mind if it’s own.” He said laughing, then coughed from the cold. She saw a faint flicker in the distance, a light passing swiftly in and out of darkness.
“LANCE!” she yelled excited for the first time all trip. He came out of his tent as they approached the fire. The kids were leaning against trees and rocks enjoying the show of the seven foot fire.
Angel was ordered to go straight to bed, she would be first to wake and would do all camp cleanings in the morning. It was her own fault and she knew it, the only sympathies she got were from her tent mates who only told her that the world was unfair to everyone. She fell asleep as soon as they uttered this.
She awoke as early as usual, the sun not even peaking over the mountains. She took the same routine as the day before, being careful not to wake the others as she slipped out of the tent. Lance was already awake walking toward her with a grim look on his face.
“You need to douse the fire and clean our cooking supplies.” That was something she just thought of, hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast the previous day. The lingering smell of the hotdogs made her salivate. However she had brought this on herself, although it was hard to admit. She cleaned up everything as the others slowly awoke. Blaze walked out of his tent, glancing at the embers in the fire. His eyes mentioned a deep anger, unknown to the world; locked inside. Angel looked swiftly away as he gently kicked sand over the lasting embers while she brought a pan of water to thoroughly douse it. For all of his anger he seemed to treat the embers carefully, regretful for their temporary death. He dressed in his Silver baggy jeans and a black guinea tee and went about his business; his fists clenched in inward struggle. He pulled his long, straight red hair into a pony tail and sat by himself next to a large tree trunk.
Angel then noticed Skall come out of the tent, his hair in front of his eyes as usual. He was dressed casually, unworried of his clothes inevitable wear. He went about his task of folding his tent with calm certainty. Methodically folding the sheets and packing them away. He was wearing a loose shirt, as he bent over it fell over his back a bit. Angel looked curiously at his tanned skin, a white line traveled in a straight line down his back, pale as if un-alive. He stood straight again, the chains on his black cargoes reflecting in the rising sun and momentarily blinding Angel out of her thoughtfulness. She clambered back to her tent and helped her partners pack it away.
“We will not be traveling today” Lance yelled over the slight commotion. “As a matter of fact we will walk a total of ten minutes to our destination. Leave your packs they will not be needed. Today we will be doing a series of trust exercises.” At this new many of the juveniles groaned and complained.
“How can I trust these freaks!” A fat boy yelled at Lance.
“You will be going first I think” Lance calmly stated as though grateful for a volunteer.  A few of the girls giggled at ‘fat man’s’ distress. He attempted to stand tall through all the piercing eyes, but turned a bright scarlet despite himself; making him even more angry. At this they started on their way to the ‘judgment area’ as it was called by many of the campers.
Once they reached the site it was obvious the structures had been created for specific purposes, whether for theirs or for some other likely irrational cause was unknown. Angel found it all rather intimidating. It was a large wooden structure about forty feet tall it seemed. There were steps going up into a series of maze like ropes and ladders. In all it seemed like a large maze with no end.
“Ok ‘fat boy’ step up.” Lance said this as though the boy was supposed to know exactly what he needed to do.
“Umm exactly what am I supposed to do here?”
“Start on the ladder and work your way up.”
“What happens when I get to the fucking top ass hole!”
“Jump” There was an awkward silence for a time. It was well known that lance was mad at him, we just didn’t know why he was ordering ‘Fat Boy’ to kill himself. Of course that wasn’t his real intention.
“At the top of that maze there is a zip cord, you must pick a partner in order to help you get to the top, trust me you can ALL get to the top.” Lance stated the rules, he also guaranteed that the net under this huge thing would catch you if you fell. “The goal is to get to the top, you must all make it to the top and down the zip line by the end of the day. This certainly didn’t see to angel to be too complicated, she was sure there was some sort of shortcut.
‘Fat Boy’ stepped up and picked a hugely tall an strong boy for his partner. This choice was void of any kind of trust it was solely for tactical reasons. They both started up the ladder and made it to the first level, which seemed to be made solely of a large wooden deck held up by four large poles. It was difficult to see from Angel’s angle. At this point Angel sort of zoned out on the whole ordeal. The first group seemed to pass by very quickly, she could hear the grunts of ‘Fat Boy’ and his partner working their way to the top. To angel the time seemed to pass quickly as she left the world into herself, looking for hidden questions to even more hidden questions. She drew shapes in the dirt as she thought.
“Man they look like they are really struggling up there” Skall forced Angel out of her thoughts.
“How far are they?” she said rather annoyed with the whole ordeal.
“Well they are…at the top but they seem to be arguing over something?” he sighed and looked up shading the sun away with his hand. Angel looked up also, immediately conscious of the sun in her eyes. The two boys seemed to be arguing just as Skall said. She couldn’t imagine why, they were already at the top, all they had to do was fall. Maybe they are arguing about who will go first? It seemed like a rather pointless and irrational argument to Angel. She watched as ‘Fat Boy’ pushed the other, larger kid trying to force him off the horizontal log they were sitting on. He did fall, however he also caught himself on a lower level before he hit the net. At this ‘Fat Boy’ started to laugh and put the harness on. This of course infuriated the larger kid, who immediately began charging up the levels as fast he could. He made it up to the top before ‘Fat Boy’ fell down the zip line.
“Oh I don’t want to do any of that!”  One of the girls screamed sitting herself down on a rock and covering her face with her hands. Angel sighed and saw the two boys falling from the zip line attached to each other by a double harness.
“So who’s next?” Lance asked from his perch on the first floor of the structure. Skall was the first and only one who raised his hand. “So who’s your partner then?”
“Angel” Skall said this simply as though he had been preparing that one word for hours. She glared at him but stepped up regardless; ready to prove her strength to the other “girls” in the group.
AS soon as she took her first step on the ladder her stomach began to churn with hunger again. She sighed and continued up the ladder. It was just as she had expected a big wooden balcony about ten feet square. Skall came up behind her and continued forward not even glancing at her. He reached into his packet and pulled out a bag of jerky. He looked at it once then threw it to her, making it land right into her chest.
“Thanks” She said and began to stuff the jerky into her face. He didn’t say a word just looked out over the entrance. Finally after a matter of several minutes; 
“There is only one exit it seems, it already looks like a long way down.” He said as he glanced over the edge, she packed the jerky away in one of her pockets. The wood was uneven, made of logs; she found it frustrating just to walk on. She took her time walking over to him and looking over the edge herself. He was right of course there was only one way off of it, a net, seeming very military. Skall started across, Angel followed right after him. It angled sharply upward and shifted under their weight making the travel slow but not dreadfully so.  Once they made it that far it turned into a ladder type structure. The steps however were spaced FAR apart and were as wide as her hand across making it impossible to grip effectively. Skall immediately started climbing the support rope.
“Stay there for a second ok?” he said to her.  Angel just looked at him, certainly if he could make it up that rope she could too. She grabbed the rope with both hands but was immediately splintered by it. She let go biting the rope splinters out of her hand.
“Told you to wait.” He said this smiling.
“Well how did you do it then!?” He winked at her, intensely frustrating. Once he made it to the top of that pole he swung his legs around it and hung upside down. His shirt fell to his armpits revealing his chest. White scars, reflecting the sun, streaked his chest. Three of them ran diagonally down his chest like scratches from a terrible beast. Angel looked at them admirably, a new respect was grown toward Skall from this, and anyone who could endure whatever caused those deserved it. His hair fell below his head and swayed hypnotically in the wind. She tried to look into his eyes for the first time but they were forcefully closed. 
“Climb up me to the log.” It was more of a command then anything else but she followed non-the-less. She touched her hand to his stomach on top covering all three scratches. His stomach twitched as if in painful remembrance. She used his stomach to balance herself as she stood up. It was evident he was holding his breath until she released her pressure on his stomach. He let his air out and the wind seemed to blow at the same time. 
What happened to this boy? She reflected and the notions brought tears to even her eyes.
It was better when my emotions were separate from me! She quickly climbed up one of Skall’s legs and sat again on the next log. This process was repeated several times. Angel made a point to touch his scars every time, hoping she might be able to understand him for just a moment. No revelation made it’s appearance, talking was also limited unless needed.
Once to the top another platform awaited them they were at the highest point of the course. The next section was only another platform, separated from the present one by a large gap and a ten foot drop in elevation. Between the two was a rope attached to a protruding log. It fell directly between the two platforms leaving a four maybe five foot gap between the two platforms.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be challenging? I mean honestly all we have to do is climb down the rope right?” Angel turned toward Skall letting her hair blow behind her in the wind as the rope swayed back and forth.
“I don’t know there must be something challenging about it.” He studied it for a few seconds. “Ok, well I guess we’ll just start climbing down, you go first.”
“Wait, why do I have to go first?” She wasn’t actually frustrated by this, however she didn’t appreciate being used as a gerbil.
“Ladies always go first, besides, I’m scared.” He twisted his voice to make it sound like child’s and sneered at her.
“I hate you; I just want you to know that.” He gripped his heart in mock astonishment. She began her slow decent, wary of the large gap between her and the ground. Skall quickly followed her, keeping his feet right above her head. It took a total of five minutes for them to reach the two platforms, each a good distance out of reach.
“Well the platform on the left seems like the same as the one on the right, except it takes an obscenely long route to the next obstacle.” He actually seemed skeptical of which path to choose.
“So- we take the one on the right…right?”
“So I imagine. I’ll jump to it first this time, you went first last time.” Angel just sighed as he started to swing himself back and forth to get a good angle. She swung back and forth even more. Her hand began to hurt from the stress of gripping the rope she tried to fight off the pain as her hands started to cramp.
“Fuck? She whispered to herself. On the next swing she released her grip on the rope and flew through the air to the platform. Unexpectedly Skall jumped at the same time. As he flew through the air time seemed to slow, his face seemed to twist in sudden recognition. His hand stretched through the air toward her and violently gripped her wrist pulling her under his body, throwing her to the opposite side of the platform.
He’s throwing me off? That Bastard! How could he do that I thought we were partners. Her thoughts accelerated through her mind, until; finally, she landed with a crack against the wood of the other side. She landed on her back, her arm twisted over her head still in Skall’s vice grip.
“Don’t move” He seemed hard of breath, clenching his teeth in frustration. It took her several moments of intense concentration before finally realizing the stability of their platform. It was swaying from side to side with the wind.
“So I neglected to see it was attached to a rope while the other one was attached to a post.” He smiled gaily as he held her onto the platform grabbing the opposite side. His arms began to flex and she felt herself dragged up to his side of the wood. Slowly the platform began to right itself. The wind blew furiously and her hair caught in her eyes and blew into her mouth.
“I need a hair band.” But she settled for tying her hair in a knot. She moved her knees back and forth to settle herself as she did so. Without any question she headed to the end of the platform, looking closely for more tricks. The last stage loomed before her, another rope all the way up to the top platform. It was surrounded on two sides by walls, seemingly to block the wind.
“I thought this was supposed to be a team thing, some kind of understanding and cooperation exercise?” Angel asked to the wind skeptically.
“It is” Skall was sitting next to one of the walls reading a small engraving.
         Congratulation, you have made it the last step. As you can see there is a harness to your right. It is made for two people, you both must put this harness on and climb up the rope to the top. At the top there is a zip line, you must just attach the harness to the cold using the two key rings. Good luck.
                                                                          P.B.J
“I never knew there was someone named peanut butter and jelly.” Skall laughed at his own connection. Angel had already grabbed the harness by it’s shoulder pads and buckled herself in.
“Are you coming?” She smiled. Skall began to attach the harness to himself. The harness was connected at the belly, the two wearers barely separated, facing each other, their body’s barely inches apart. Skall was looking down to buckle the straps of the harness, his hair falling close to Angels face. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, breathing in his fragrance. He smelled musky, almost like an animal. Suddenly she took in his feelings, his thoughts, his emotions; they came flooding to her with his scent. She was assaulted with passion, he was angry, happy, caged yet free, they all came tumbling through, startling her inwardly, breaking her thoughts.
“What are you taking a nap?” He asked his face inches from hers. For the first time she saw his eyes, great yellow orbs rimmed with blue, burning with passion, and fury, feral but passive. And then they disappeared behind his curtain of hair. He breathed into her mouth and she faltered, her lips quivering with uncertain desire.
         He jumped anyway, to impatient for an answer, but she was lost, and couldn’t feel the wind as it blew his hair away again. He looked into her eyes and time sped up, and slowed down. The thoughts in her head moved so fast, and his eyes dug into hers as reality faded away. But the moment of pause ended too fast and she was back on the ground, looking around wildly as she was released from the harness. Reality found it’s way back to her and she stopped her stumbling instantly. They day moved by as fast as her thoughts.
















Chapter 2
“You all did exceptionally well today; I just want you all to know that I am proud of each and every one of you.” It was hard for Angel to believe he could be so full of crap. Most of the groups barely made it and only used their partner when they had to. Skall and Angel finished the course in the fastest time and thus were not required to clean up after dinner or in the morning. This did not include packing away their tents and other personal chores. Angel was grateful for the lapse in work but all it did was seem to make the rest of the group more angry then they had been previously. She reminded herself to talk to Lance about it. The group quickly began to make preparations for dinner, hamburgers this time, everything was included, pickles, onions, ketchup, and cheese. It would be a feast of sorts, to celebrate the completion of a task well done.
Angel approached Lance soon before the feast was to start. He looked tired but happy none-the-less.
“Aren’t you supposed to be making these people less angry?” She asked it in a truly curious tone.
“Excuse me?” he was confused by her remark and gave her a locking look.
“Many of them are more angry then they were before because of the reward me and Skall got?” She burned her eyes into his, not menacingly but powerfully, letting him know she was serious.
            “I want you to know Angel, that this is the first group to have completed that task on the first day. I also want to remind you Angel that these people have to know that there is something to work for, to try for. We all need something to work for Angel, if it’s more food or less work the reward means the same. A target to shoot at, these kids have never felt as though there was anything to shoot for. This lack of emotion makes them angry, violent, looking for something to try for, whether it’s an escape from the cops or a few extra dollars. They have to know there are other targets, less vulnerable but just as rewarding if not more so. You’re included in that too Angel, don’t think so highly of yourself, you’re not an adult yet.” With this he walked away toward the soon roaring fire.
“Not too high! This place is more flammable than polyester!” His words seemed to immediately calm the raging fire. Angel had not moved her eyes from it however, her sights were turned inward. She didn’t want to admit lance’s accuracy but her trivial desires turned against her in the end causing her to lose concentration and focus on warming her body. She walked back to her tent and pulled out her sleeping bag to wrap around her shoulders. The fire was blazing at a constant height, not too high and not too low. Blaze was in charge of it, or at least he acted to be. The other members were too preoccupied with their food to notice his intense fascination with it. Angel’s attention was quickly diverted as she began to smell the cooking burgers on a smaller fire close to the first. She walked into line behind a girl without a name. She had not talked since she arrived. Her blond hair fell straight down, almost to her shoulders, as if in need for contact. It’s movement seemed restricted, tense, unable to flow at the same rate as the wind. She was looking at the ground and held her arms to her chest, her feet seemed the only moveable part of her body. They etched little designs in the dirt around her. They were complex, with lines and curves and shadow added to each sketch. She often reflected one sketch onto another, giving a mirror effect in the dirt.
She’s had practice at that it seems Angel thought just as the girl in front of her rubbed it all away, more violently then she had created them but without much other emotion. She grabbed a plate and quickly filled it with meat and burger fillings.
At least her stomach won’t be empty. Angel thought as she grabbed a plate and followed the girl with her eyes until she disappeared behind her. Angel filled her plate with a good amount of food and headed off in the same direction. She found the girl sitting on the ground propping her back against a tree, in view, but solitary from the rest of the group. Angel approached her and sat opposite her looking in the opposite direction of the party. The fire illuminated the trees around her, making them move on their own, their shadows danced around her. She looked up at the sky, away from the party and the dancing lights. It was an almost moonless night, and the sliver had yet to rise. Stars twinkled above her, winking at her to show their undying knowledge.
“The sky is the only thing in this world you can rely on, that and time. But you can see the sky, and it looks back at you, and winks at you to let you know your secrets are safe.” Angel looked over at the girl; sure enough she was looking up at the sky. Her arms moved a small amount letting her to the ground so she could look up at them.
“This is the first time I have really seen the stars, in the city they hide from me.” As the girl said this she got quieter until barely able to be heard.
Her first words. Angel smiled inwardly and winked the moment to the stars. The girl quickly got up from her rest threw her plate in the fire and went to lay by herself in the grass a distance away.
Well that was a little of something I suppose.
She rested her hand on the ground and felt the cool earth, sighing she pushed herself upward again and sat against a tree next to her. Her eyes drifted to the fire, burning bright and orange it seemed to reach toward the sky then be pushed down again as if being denied access to heaven. It tendrils of smoke floated up away from it like memories of where it had been and what it had touched.
A couple of boys were walking around the fire poking it with sticks and sometimes causing a small break in the flame as they swung at the air around it. Blaze stared openly into the fire, obviously deep in thought; a small stick was in his hand and he was tracing the ground passively with it. The party was obviously dying down and each person went to their respective corners around the fire to stay warm as the temperature slowly dropped. Angel stood up and walked over herself, sitting on a log near Skall who was unusually quiet.
“Are you ok?” she asked him, genually curious.