Silence Kills

~2~

(Everest's point of view)

I open the door to the staff tour bus and walk out into the night sky.

The bus is parked somewhere so the driver can get some rest.

I pull my big black hood over my head.

I look over and see the Slipknot tour bus.
Both busses have stopped so the drivers can sleep.

I walk out into the field of the rest station.

There's a small pond and some trees off to the side.

I rub my tired eyes. I couldn't sleep.

I try and ignore the negative thoughts swirling through my mind.

I decide to walk towards the trees.

I stare up at the big tall maple tree.

I look up into the clear night sky it looks peaceful which is how I wish I was feeling right now.

I crack my knuckles and then jump as high as I can, propelling myself up the tree.

I grab on to the tree and start climbing up.
I used to climb trees all the time as a kid.

I focus on pushing myself up the tree.

When the branches finally come into reach I grab onto a thick one and pull myself up.

I stand on the branch and reach for the thickest and most sturdy one.
I realize it's just out of my reach, I'm going to have to jump.

"Don't look down," I mutter to myself.

I jump and grab onto the branch. I swing my legs up onto it and pull myself fully onto it.

I sit down and let out a breath of relief.

I look up at the night sky. There's not a single cloud or breeze. The sky is completely calm. I would love to feel calm right now.

It's very beautiful up here, nothing but the tree branches and the sky.

The stars twinkle and the full moon shimmers.

I rest my back against the tree and sigh as I stare up at the sky and try and even out my thoughts.

So many things are going through my mind. I miss my mom and dad, as pathetic as that sounds. They're my rock, my security. There the only people that will never leave me.

I decide to stand up on the branch.

Once I'm standing I press my back against the body of the tree.

I resist the urge to jump to a lower branch even though it would be an adrenaline rush.

I hear something rustle and I accidentally look down.

"Crap," I mutter as I see how high up I am.

I quickly look back up towards the sky.

I stay up on the branch for a little while longer before I get cold.

I sit back down on the branch and prepare myself to climb down.

I take a deep breath and jump off the branch.

I land on the other one and my foot slips.

I fall backward but grab onto the tree branch.

I hold on for dear life, taking a couple deep breathes before swinging my legs.

I swing my legs toward the body of the tree.

Once I get enough momentum I let go of the branch and reach for the body of the tree.

I grab onto it and slide down.

When I land on the ground I brush myself off.

I let out a sigh of relief.

As I look over I notice a man staring at me.

I squeal and the man puts his hands up.
I suddenly realize it's Craig. He doesn't have a mask on which is why I didn't recognize him at first.

"Oh gosh. Don't scare me like that," I huff as I hold my chest.

Craig doesn't say anything just stares at me.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask him.

Craig shrugs.

Craig looks back up at the tree.

He then looks back to me.

He starts looking back and forth between the tree branches and me.
Then he points to me and then to the tree branch.

"Oh. Are you wondering how I got up there?" I ask.

He nods.

"I climbed," I shrug.

Craig chuckles.

"I should head back," I tell him as I start walking away.

Suddenly Craig grabs me by the arm.

I stare up at him and he looks down at me.

He then reach towards my hair and pulls a leaf out of it and throws it to the ground.

"T-thanks," I mutter suddenly nervous again.

He nods and lets me go.

I head back towards the bus.

I open the door and walk inside.

I wonder why Craig was watching me in the tree.

I climb into my bunk and try and get some sleep.

(Craig's point of view)

Earlier I had been asleep when I heard the door to the other bus slam.

I decided to get up and see what all the commotion was about.

When I got outside I noticed the girl from yesterday. I think her name is Everest.
She looked stressed as she walked towards the tall tree towards the corner of the rest stop.

I watched as she skillfully climbed up the tree and onto one of the higher branches.
I observed as she just sat on the branch and stared up at the sky. She seemed to be overwhelmed.

She closed her eyes a couple of times and mutter some stuff that I couldn't hear.

Eventually she jumped off the tree branch. I felt my heart jump into my throat as she slipped.

I braced myself so that I was ready to catch her. When she caught herself on the branch I let out a sigh of relief.

I watched as she swung herself to the body of the tree and slid down.

I find it so interesting that someone so shy can be so fearless.

When she noticed me I felt bad, I didn't mean to scare her.

I appreciate the fact that she seems to understand me even though I don't talk often.
Most people think it's awkward but she didn't act like that.

I watch as she walks back into her bus.
I sigh and kick a rock into the pond.

I look up at the moon and then decide to head back into the bus.

When I get inside I look at the clock and notice that it's three a.m.

I wonder what was keeping her up.

I sigh as I get back into my bunk and try and get some sleep.