Desperado: A Holes Fanfiction

Ty

After the D-Tent debacle my duties were changed. From now on, I would no longer be allowed in the laundry room. That station would be taken over by one of the armed guards, much to their dismay. I was now responsible for keeping the mess hall and showers clean, which typically took all night given the filth. Lou's instructions were clear, "Once you finish your chores, you are to return to your room and stay there until the next day."

What Lou didn't know was, Hector and I made plans to leave Camp Green Lake for good on the next full moon. Pendanski's mouth just shifted things. Had Hector stayed after the assault, he would have been severely punished, and we wouldn't get anywhere. Our plan was simple, pack up as many canned beans and Coca Cola bottles as possible and walk away for good. The moonlight would guide us through the dark. A protection spell, pulled from the mysterious diary, would shield us from being seen by the guards and predators. If we kept a steady pace, we could make it to the next town by sunrise, fully hydrated. We would then hitchhike East to Louisiana, where our grandmother was last seen working as a medium in the city. We've been homeless our entire lives, leaving Camp Green Lake into the unknown was child's play.

I was stuffing a pillowcase with supplies in the mess hall kitchen when Stanley appeared in the doorway, illuminated by the moonlight. He scared me half to death. Had anyone see him, seen us, I'd never make it out of there undetected. By now, Hector would have been in the desert alone, without food or water for four days. There was no room for error.

My eyes widened at the sight of him. I let out a hasty whisper, "What are you doing?"

He brought a finger to his lips as he approached me slowly, careful not to make any noise. "I have an idea," he whispered back.

"You need to go," I said sternly. I took back to the kitchen to finish packing, ignoring him as he followed me.

"I've got it all figured out," he spoke quickly, "That new kid, Twitch, he's good with cars. I mean, I only have my permit but I bet I can figure it out – are you listening to me? You're not going to be able to run with all of that. Here, let me-"

"I got it!" I snapped, shaking his hands off the pillowcase, before bringing my voice back down to a whisper, "You're not driving the water truck anywhere. That's a stupid idea." His thoughts grew louder over the months. Louder than anyone else's at camp. Stanley couldn't keep a secret from me if he wanted to.

"How did you know –," he shook his head, ignoring the impossible. Stanley anxiously trailed behind me as I darted around the pantry, avoiding eye contact, a juvenile attempt at hiding the tears. If I ignore him, he'll go away, I thought. "I want to help," he continued. Leaving Stanley was harder than I expected it to be. I missed him already.

"I'm not coming back. Don't you get it? I'm going to meet Hector, just like we agreed. I'll be gone by morning."

"Why wouldn't you tell me? How long has this been going on? You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"What does it matter?" The tears made their way down my cheeks without my consent and I stopped packing, furious with my own weakness. "This isn't some summer camp you come back to every year, unless your name is X-Ray. You were never going to see me again anyway." Stanley blushed with embarrassment because he knew I was right. He'd fantasized about holding hands between classes, much to the envy of the jocks. If only, he'd think to himself as we lay side by side on the laundry room floor. Hearing me speak our reality out loud roared through his beating heart like thunder. So, this is love. I hate it already.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, "And how are you and Hector going to survive in the desert? Humor me. You heard Mr. Sir. There's nothing within 100 miles of this place." After all this time, Stanley still thinks he knows everything. It's adorable.

"We were homeless," I reminded him, "You have a family. People who love and miss you. You're going to finish your sentence, go back home and never look back." I saw it clearly when we held each other at night. Stanley didn't belong here. He was one of the good guys. I continued to rant as I furiously packed the pillowcase to its capacity, my hands shaking with fury.

Stanley placed his calloused hands on mine, holding them steady. The doubt vibrated from his finger tips like tiny jets erupting from each pore.

"You're my people too," he said.

I sighed in surrender, "Can I show you something?"

From the pantry, I pulled a white candle and a cannister of salt. We sat across from each other on the kitchen floor, hidden from anyone else who may wander into the mess hall after hours. The candle sat between us with a circle of salt sprinkled around it.

"It's called a twin flame," I explained before letting a quick burst of air leave my lips, lighting the candle in front of us; Magic. Stanley looked like he had seen a ghost. He held his sunburned, and badly bruised, face in his hands. I continued the tutorial, unbothered by its obscurity, "When the flame is steady, like so, a twin is safe and sound. And when a twin is in harm's way," I hovered a hand over the open flame, pulling away just as my skin started to sear. The candle flame sparked violently, sending Stanley to draw back and duck for cover. I quietly giggled at his artlessness.

"But how did you-," he started.

"Don't tell anyone?" He placed his hands in mine and promised he wouldn't.

He stayed a while longer while I showed him other workings that I learned from the mysterious leather journal; Aura reading, lie detectors, protection spells, astral projection. I performed a simple protection spell on him before he left for his tent. I also sent him with the candle, salt, and a small box of matches for his own peace of mind. "Wherever we are, you'll be able to see us," I promised him.

He kissed me on the forehead and whispered, "Good luck out there, champ."

I finished packing and closed down the mess hall around midnight. As I prepared to walk away from Camp Green Lake for good, the pillowcase hanging over my shoulder, a tall shadowy figure appeared at the exit. "Going somewhere?" he asked.