THE THINGS I NEEDED TO SEE

The stars

It was still dark outside. I would say only 5 hours had passed. The couch was still comfortable, but I got up. There was no way Lev could still be cleaning up the man's body. I wasn't the most patient person in the world. People were talking outside, so I peaked through the window curtain. I could see a campfire with people sitting around it and I noticed Lev's shaggy brown hair. He was talking to a couple of people next to him. They were all laughing, Lev looked happy. A girl sat on his lap and he started to hold her waist. I don't know why, but my heart dropped to my stomach. Jealousy started filling my body. It was stupid. I knew nothing about Lev, but I wanted to be around him. It hurt to think that I was somehow putting him in danger by just existing or possibly getting him kicked out of the camp. I didn't belong here. I don't know anyone. I didn't want to stay in his trailer anymore. A feeling of guilt filled my body, so I looked for a window that wasn't facing the campfire. I climbed out as quietly as possible. The trailer was right by the chain-linked fence. My hands and feet slid through the holes in the fence as I hopped over. It wasn't as loud as I thought it was going to be. The stars had my attention now. No one cared that I was there. Amy didn't want me to stay. I walked into a grass field while I looked up at the sky. I was only going to have myself in my life. My parents were not real, all the moments where I thought they loved me were a lie. A random person wouldn't help fill that empty spot that my parents left inside of me. I could leave, maybe go back home. All I want is my family.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Amy screamed.

I turned around and she had a flashlight shining in my face from behind the fence. The flashlight started moving up the fence and the realization that she was climbing over hit me.

"GO BACK!" I yelled at her.

She ignored me and came sprinting towards me. I didn't want her to get hurt, so I ran to her.

"Please go back Amy, I'm leaving." I said.

Again she ignored me and grabbed my arm, then started pulling me to the fence. We both climbed back over, but before I hopped down I looked at the field.

"ARE YOU DUMB, DO YOU WANT TO DIE!?" she yelled.

I started laughing,

"I can't stay here" I said

She didn't say anything for a minute.

"Yes you can." she told me.

I felt one of her hands patting my back like my dad used to, which made me cry more.

"Let's go back to the trailer, okay?" she advised.

I got up from the ground and we started walking to the front of Lev's trailer. The people at the fire pit noticed us and I looked away before I could see Lev. We went inside and sat down on the couch.

"You remind me of my older sister, she was always so strong, but you could always tell in her eyes she was afraid of the world. I have been trying my hardest to be like her, but it's difficult," she confessed.

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say.

Amy looked at the ceiling and sighed.

"Do you want to do something fun?" she asked out of nowhere.

It seemed like she wanted to switch topics now. I understand why.

"Like what?" I laughed.

Amy smiled and pulled four vibrant blue leaves out of her pocket. I wasn't sure why.

"The camp is protected and has a decent number of people, so the bodytakers don't come inside here often. They hunt by themselves. So I do this every now and then."

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. What do they do?" I asked.

Amy rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Just eat them with me, you'll love it" she insisted.

She handed me two of the four leaves. I hesitated at first, but they eventually made it into my mouth. They were the grossest thing I ever tasted, and I struggled to swallow them. Amy got up and opened a box that had some water bottles. She handed me one, and we washed the leaves down as much as we could.

"What do we do now?" I stuttered.

"We just wait." she told me.

An hour passed, I think. Amy and I were lying on the floor. We couldn't stop laughing. The ceilings moved like ocean waves and my body felt like I was moving with them. Everything seemed so much brighter. The colors were more vibrant. I have never felt this good in my life.

"Amy, I want to go outside so badly." I giggled.

We both sat up at the same time, which only made us laugh more.

"I feel like we're connected and I don't even know your name", Amy chuckled.

My mind went blank after she said that. It took me a second to remember my own name.

"It's Sable, I think." I mummbled.

Amy started laughing even more and we both got up together to go outside. The air made my skin feel like it was being hugged. I couldn't help myself from smiling. Me and Amy made our way to the campfire. There's not that many people here now, so we were able to sit on a log together.

"Sable, look at the fire." Amy whispered.

Immediately, the fire caught my eye. It was telling a story to me with the flames, but I couldn't understand. I started to move my head back and forth like I was listening to a song. My body felt like it was falling backwards, which made me look up at the stars and I was surprised. I could feel my eyes become wide and my mouth drop. It looked like the earth was spinning so fast that stars were moving. I'm not sure how long I was looking up, but it felt like forever.

"Amy, look up, the stars are spinning." I yelped. I didn't hear her respond so I went to look at her, but she was gone. I became confused and started to panic. My eyes started searching around the campfire, but I didn't see her. I saw people I didn't recognize.

I got up and went back inside of Lev's trailer. No one was inside, which only made me feel worse. My whole body started to feel sick. I started searching for a bathroom in the trailer. Once I found it, I went to the toilet and began puking. The feeling felt horrible and all I could do was hold onto the toilet.

"are you okay?" a man's voice echoed.

I couldn't move.

"Yes." I said, gasping for air.

I felt two warm hands lift me up by my waist.

"I can't move, please don't" I whimpered.

Quickly, I was picked up by someone, one arm under my legs and the other on my back. They carried me to the couch and put me down gently. For some reason I didn't want to open my eyes. I could feel a blanket cover my body and the person began to tuck me in.

"You're gonna be okay, I'll stay by you", the voice told me.

I could hear the person start to lay down on the floor near me. I wasn't by myself. I can sleep now.