He closes his eyes and grits his teeth. "Go away."

"Please, it's not safe Colton!" I plead, shivering in my thin pyjamas.

He says something else but it's unheard over the loud bang that echoes around the woods, a strike of white alive in the sky. I jump looking at the other girls who huddle together.

"Maybe we should let the counsellors deal with him?" Edna shouts barely audible over the wind.

No. No one is left behind.

I hunch my shoulders, clutching my fist tightly and with new found determination, march over to the edge of the cliff despite my friend cries.

Colon peers up at me through his hair that is flat against his forehead. My hand reaches out and I give him a small smile trying to hide my chattering teeth.

When he doesn't more or say anything, I bring my hand back to myself, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

Finally, Colton sighs. "Go back to camp it's not safe."

"Why are you out here then?" I squeak out.

He stares up at me, water trickling down his cheekbones. "Because it's safer for me to be here."

I frown. Sure Colton wasn't very nice and a bit of a bully... and maybe sometimes he took things a little too far, but he didn't deserve to sit here all alone, soaking wet and sad. Nobody did.

"Well, I'm not going back if you don't go back."

He scrunches his nose. "Are you stupid?"

"Just as stupid as you."

He glares at me and I glare back. It's a pathetic one compared to his but give me a break, I didn't have much practice standing up to others.

"Would you not be happy if something happened to me?" he asks eventually.

I stare at him funny. "Why would I be happy?"

"Because I... you know... bully you." Oh.

"Right... well you're not bullying me now are you so that means you're only mean sometimes."

He shakes head. "That doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does." I put my hands on my hips and state matter of factly, "If you're only mean sometimes that means you're nice other times. You have to only be horrible to be a bad person."

"You dont think I'm a bad person?"

"No, I think you do bad things but that doesn't make you a bad person."

"Oh—"

"Guys! You need to come back now! There's not even one mississippi between each crack of thunder — it's too dangerous, there's trees everywhere!" Vivian shouts, wiping at the water on her glasses.

And so it is. Trees were swaying far more violently, the wind cawing loudly to the barking thunder before a large fork spikes a tree to our left with an almighty boom. It's splits the tree right down the middle and we let out a shriek, watching it topple over the sharp edge with a thud.

Oh. This is actually dangerous and not just like on the tv dangerous.

The wind picks up and pushes against my body, swooping my hair and clothes in the other direction of the girls. Struggling, I try to gain more distance from the edge to no avail. A frightened eek escapes from my lips when Colton links arms with me, both of us trying to battle the storm.

"It's not working!" Brooklynn cries.

What gave it away. I glare at her.

"We need to form a chain!" Ashlynn chokes out.

Natalia shakes her head. "There's not enough of us, it wont be long enough!"

Peyton's stare hardens and she moves forward, walking easily into the wind before she reaches a tree near the carcass of the other one. She starts stripping off until she's in only her vest top, panties and bunny slippers, tieing her garments together and around her waist.

I watch her carefully, shaking my head silently at her. Does she realise how dangerous she's being?

"Here, take this!" A jumper flies past us and over the cavern, the wind now holding it hostage and blowing it far away. We all look at Natalia incredulously and she blushes looking away.

Peyton finally secures the ties, yanking on the knot around the damp trunk of the tree for good measure. Slowly, she takes a step forward with one eye closed. And then another until she can finally touch us.

"Use the rope to pull you along and then pull me back in?" She tells us.

  "But what if something—"

"Just do it Alexis!" she snaps.

Nodding, I reach onto the makeshift chain and use it to scale back to the tree, Colton close behind me. With a lot of panting, I arrive back at the tree somewhat safe and rub my sore hands together. Colton hot on my trail, does the same before we both pull on the rope with effort. I puff out, blowing my hair away from my face for it to be thrown back by the wind.

Peytons squints through the downpour walking back to us slowly. After an eternity of worry, she makes it to the tree and I'm quick to hug her. She lets out a jagged breath and the tension leaves her body as she shivers against me.

We start to untie her when thunder strikes a tree nearby once again. My heart speeds up and I wrestle with the knot more feverishly. Peyton tries to undo the knot around her waist too; it doesn't matter which is undone first as long as it's undone... and fast.

The wind roars louder laughing at our useless attempts and I shudder again, hearing my heart in my throat. Peyton gulps, with each added second becoming more worried, the water running down her no longer from the rain.

Colton pushes me out the way and tries tugging the rope off the tree before looking at me with sorrow in his eyes. "It's not working, we need to go get help like the others."

I turn and notice all the girls gone, only an empty, dark forest in sight. Probably trying to meet Gianna halfway on the trail.

"I'm not leaving her." I stomp my foot.

Colton looks distraught, chewing at his lower lip and not knowing whether to ditch us or stay here. He's dead if he leaves.

Peyton starts to say something but it dies in her throat, a large, electrifying bolt shooting into our tree. We jump back in shock and listen to it fizzle, smoke lurching out of its leaves and branches burning.

Panic shoots through me and I tug at the rope harshly. Please! No!

A deafening creak echoes around us and I start to tremble.

"Colton, pull harder!" I screech.

"I am Alexis!" Colton yells from behind me, fear in his voice.

Dread sears through me. H-he-help! S-someone help!

A sob bursts brought my throat silenced by the loud crunch of the tree's roots snapping. My mind goes cloudy and I can't think, only watch frozen.

Watch Peyton shoving me into Colton's arms and out of the way. Watch the almighty tree fall over and spread its flames. Watch it yank Peyton like a rag doll as it rolls off the edge with no remorse.

Hear the tree racket off the sharp stone.

Hear her endless wails and scream.

Until they stop. Her silence far louder than her cries.

Gianna came not a few moments after and ordered us to follow her back to camp and not to look. Albert sorted out a harness and proper equipment to scale down the side of the cliff unlike the flimsy clothes we used. The wails and flashing lights passed us on the way back, ambulances, fire brigades and mountain rescuers charging after one another, and unforgettable scene.

That was all I saw after it all went south. I never did see her again that night, only the terrified look on her face flying over the cliff. But it was enough to be locked in my mind and shown in a repeated nightmare for years.

Stories surfaced around camp but no one knew what actually happened that night. Not how she had landed haphazardly at just the right angle on a small ledge. Her only small victory against the tree that landed on one leg completely that had to get cut off above her knee. Or about the many fourth degree burns that she suffered and the skin grafts the doctors took many years perfecting till it was hardly noticeable... hardly noticeable.

She was beaten and bruised for months and in and induced coma for many of them. My heart physically hurt to see her so broken and when she woke up and refused to see me, I eventually stopped trying. I didn't want to see her like that and she didn't want to see me like that. It worked for a while for both of us: I ran away from my problems like I always did and she shut the world out. Resulting in us changing, physically and mentally, not our old selves anymore.

My visits were few and far and I missed many of the important appointments and surgeries. But we were surviving.

Maybe one day we'd start living but for just now it didn't matter. Surviving was our story, living would be our sequel.

And that's all we cared about.

and there you have it. the night is over but it will stay with them forever.

perhaps now we realise why alexis was so mad at colton? he was easy to blame although he wasn't always entirely at fault. colton blames himself because well... you'll find that out in the last chapter.

brooklynn and ashlynns mixed opinions make sense now too: should she have retaliated or shouldn't she have
given the situation?

lastly, what did you think of the chapter? and what do you think will be revealed about colton next chapter?

i love you all so much and i can't thankyou enough for supporting me—it blows my mind!!

(also i'm on holiday abroad [arrived last saturday] so that's why the updates a little later! i'll try update again in the next few days if i find wifi!)

xox,
jessie.