Ruin and Revival

Chapter 12: Fire and Ice

COLE

My heartbeat pounds in my chest, regretting that Arika caught me staring at her. I promptly help Michelle set up her tent, wanting to take my mind off her. I am constantly pushing these feelings away, knowing she wouldn't ever return them until she got over Calvin, which was evidently not happening anytime soon. I let out a loud sigh, a ton of emotions boiling inside me till I thought I was going to overflow, like my mother's signature chicken soup. Mom. Damn, I miss her.

"Dude are you okay? Why are you acting so weird? And why have you been ignoring me for that vulgar girl over there. You know when she went to highschool with me, she was sooo annoying. I mean we should just kick her out-"

"CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP!" I bark, so exasperated by Michelle's constant whining. How did I get stuck with her again! Oh right, because I always judge a freaking book by it's cover? And of course when I finally learn my lesson, the girl is stuck on her previous, not to mention dead boyfriend.

Michelle stomps away, leaving me with the satisfaction of setting up camp peacefully. The sun had begun to set and breathtaking strokes of vibrant pink and oranges, blending flawlessly with the blue of the remaining day. I glimpsed at Arika, her face also staring up at the heavens. Her features are emphasized by the shadows of the sky. Her silky hair flows in the cool breeze, her lips slightly parted under the yonders. Why is she so beautiful? When I look at her, the rest of the world blurs together and all I see is her, Arika. My mind goes back to the nights we spent alone, just two teens gazing at the stars. Jacob's greeting snaps me out of her spell over me.

"You're really in love with her aren't you," a wistful smile touches his face. I turn a shade of scarlet, unable to deny it. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"I remember when I first saw Bri. I had a girlfriend at the time but her blond hair and gorgeous eyes caught my attention. We became friends for a while, bonding over the randomest stuff," He gives a light chuckle.

"My girlfriend got really mad at me but even more Bri and began treating her badly at school. Jealousy really is a deadly sin. We broke up eventually and I finally mustered up the courage to ask Bri out. Best decision of my life. Probably tired of hearing about my corny love story so point is, don't deny your feelings and just go with the flow. Life will take you to where you want to go as long as you allow it," Jacob finishes. He pats my back before walking away, leaving me with my thoughts. I run my hands through my hair. I knew I could not let her go, no matter how hard I tried but as of right now, I simply could not be around her or else I would experience inevitable pain.

The sun had gone down for good by now and everyone had crashed into their personal tents for the night. Except for me. I was in a dilemma of whether I should deal with Arika or Michelle. I wanted so badly to go with Arika but my emotions would overtake me. I tapped lightly on her tent.

"Ugh, Cole get out and find your own tent!" Michelle's obnoxious voice dismisses me as fast as I was falling for Arika. I punch her tent wall before reluctantly dawdling over to Arika's tent, tense as ever. I lift my hand to tap on her tent door but it won't budge. I try again but my body seems like it isn't capable of doing it.

"Want to just crash in our tent for tonight," Bri gives me a slight grin before beckoning me to come over. I nod desperately, knowing I needed to grow a pair but also needed to get some sleep. At last, I agreed and slept in their tent for the night.

I was awoken by a cool breeze, the first sign of autumn finally rolling in, despite it already being November. It's been a long, grueling month since the earthquake struck, triggering all of these crazy events, shaking up my whole world. I couldn't sleep any longer so I decided to head out of Jacob and Bri's tent, who were cuddled together, fast asleep. I crawl out and stretch my cramped limbs to see Arika also awake. Her back was towards me as she scouted the mass of sleeping bodies around us. I notice, startled, that the empty space behind us previously was now filled with another hundred refugees like us. Taking a deep breath to calm my already accumulating nerves, I stroll over to Arika as casually as I can before tentatively saying "Hey," as our shoulders lightly touched. She edged to her right a little, which hurt my feelings but I understood the reasons behind her actions. It was a long time before she said anything.

"You know, that day, when you told me to leave you alone, I was so hurt and terrified that you would leave me, like Calvin did," Her voice cracked. I turned, sympathy touching my eyes.

"I'm scared, you know so you can't just leave your friend by herself like that. You hear that, I considered you my friend. We were friends," She is pointing at me now, her voice slightly trembling. I grab her hand and gently urge it down. I embrace her, gently caressing her back. What are you doing? What are you doing!

"You won't leave me like he did right? We are actually friends now," She looks up at me expectantly, with gleaming eyes. Fire and ice fight for dominance inside of me as she tells me this. Should I tell her how I really feel and potentially ruin what we have? Or should I not tell her but never progress to more than just being her friend? Conflicted, I decide to keep it a secret for now. I'll tell her someday, I have to.

"I won't leave you," I stick out my fist for her to bump.

"Promise?" She says, all hopes and dreams again.

I hesitate, knowing how promises tend to end, but seeing that beautiful smile on her face I forced myself to say it.

"Promise,"

"Well that took you an awful long time, Cole," She sticks out her tongue.

The rest of the day is a bore. Our gang wakes up and we gather, eating the last morsels of our beef jerky. My tongue is dry as I twiddle my thumbs lifelessly, in desperate need of water and entertainment. We see soldiers passing out bottles of water. A sturdy, middle aged man approaches us, a friendly smile lighting up his otherwise intimidating face.

"Y'all teeagers look very thhiiiirssty," He says in a thick southern accent. I have my hand clamped over my mouth, desperately attempting to suppress a laugh but failing miserably. Arika keeps glancing at me adds to my pleasant astonishment, the sides of her mouth were twitching slightly. Seeing her try not to grin makes me laugh harder and she gives me a dirty look that doesn't reach her eyes. Jacob smacks me on the arm. Glad someone responsible is still in our group.

"Annnyywaaayys, that's the pllaan for this caamp so here's your waattterrr. Haavee a jooollly daayyy!" And with that, he's onto the next group of survivors.

Unable to hold back any longer, I let out a large guffaw which is greeted with a giggle from Arika. We glance at each other, dying in the good kind of way. I revel in the sweet sound of her laughs.

"Y'all are sooo immature," Bri tries to imitate a southern accent as well but is unsuccessful, causing her to join us. Tears are rolling down our faces as Jake gives us disappointed looks.

"Did you guys even hear him? He said tomorrow in the morning, buses sent from the federal government are coming to pick us up and help us. We have to be packed up by tomorrow morning," The corners of my mouth suddenly drop. What, that doesn't make sense? What's the point of coming to a refugee camp if we have to get picked up? Arika and Bri seem to think something is off as well. We exchange knowing looks.

"Where could we be going?" Bri questions, reading my mind.

"This was definitely planned. Think about it. They gathered us all on purpose by telling us to come to this camp, which obviously hasn't served any purpose except to assemble as many people as possible," Arika explains, her eyebrows furrowed as I see the gears in her brain turning. I can't help but grin.

"No, it can't be," Bri's face is white.

"What?! Just say what you were going to say?!" My eyes suddenly dawn in realization.

"They're building an army. It's the only reason. But why would they need one?" I am thinking to myself now, my mind racing. Is there so war going on that we don't know about? The government is hiding something. Or maybe I am just overthinking and they just want to transport us to another place? But this is an awful lot of work for something as trivial as that?

"I think that's a huge possibility. We should warn the others and no matter what, we have to stick together," She gestures for us to go spill the news.

Jake gives us a skeptical look at first but agrees to keep an eye open for suspicious activity. Michelle, on the other hand, who being as unpleasant as ever, shakes her head in disdain, blabbering on and on about how that would never happen and how she would never fight in the army anyways.

Guess we would just have to wait and see the truth.