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Nikki often fidgeted in her sleep. It came as no surprise to any of her bunkmates, all that residual energy from the day's adventures had to go somewhere. And more often than not it manifested itself as kicking Max's cot or rolling over and smacking Neil with a stray outstretched arm in the middle of the night. It didnt phase them much, nothing turning over or tiredly scooting away couldn't fix. But something had bothered Nikki all evening, she felt like the sky itself was tense and it bore down on her, leaving sleep fitful.
Max and Neil had spent the first few hours of that night dodging various jerking limbs, and having their blankets stolen from off their own backs, just so Nikki could coddle herself half-asleep. It only got worse the longer the night dragged on, trembling and shuddering until she finally woke herself up with all that fussing.
She opened her eyes to gaze around the shadowy tent, looking over at the silhouettes of her sleeping friends besides her. Something felt off, and Nikki strained her senses in the cold dark to try to figure out why. The wind whistled between the surrounding grove of trees, shaking their leaves and rattling their branches. With each new gust it grew stronger, until the cloth of their shared tent flapped wildly and the shadows of the trees casted overhead danced.
Nikki listened to it tiredly, blinking slowly and letting herself relax back against her cot. It almost felt like she could fall asleep again, her restlessness finally put at ease. But just as soon as her heavy eyelids fell shut, Nikki found herself startled awake when the sudden downpour started. Dense rain pattered at the canvas walls in drenching sheets. Thunder rumbled, sounding distant at first until the crackling of lightening and its resounding howl sent cascading tremors across the forest. Their little tent was momentarily lit with cool light as another bolt struck through the swarming clouds, casting harsh silhouettes of the trees bent with the force of the wind.
Neil shuffled in his cot as Nikki sat up, blankets pooling at her waist. Curiosity got the better of her, and she crawled forward out of her own bed and over to the entrance. Cold rivulets of rain drip from the tent's flap, trickling down across the opening as Nikki peers out. The sky is dusky, dark clouds gather, blotting out the moonlight to leave everything in shadows. She can hardly see past the sheet of falling rain, and her pigtails sway as their cought in the winds pull.
Suddenly, the air burns alight and thunder crashes overhead, a lightening strike carves through the sky and everything is shone in momentary brightness. But Nikki doesn't catch sight of anything before she's pulled back into the tent from behind, falling onto her bottom on the tent floor.
“You're letting water in–!”
Neil whispers harshly from besides her, hand still grasping her by the wrist. Just in front of Nikki's feet a puddle had began to form where water from the partially opened tent flap trickles in on a steady stream. “Oops,” She murmurs, tone unapologetic as she finds herself preoccupied with the overhead clamor of the thunderstorm.
Nikki can see Max's shadowed figure sit up, legs dangling over the side of his cot as he blinks away any remaining sleep. His hair is nearly twice its usual size from his untamed bed-head, disheveled coils and curls framing his scrunched face. He grumbles something about never having any peaceful rest since the two of them arrived, but its drowned out by another rumbling groan of thunder.
It feels like natural inclination as they tiredly shuffle to the center of the tent, attempting to escape the stray rain that leaks from the openings. They huddle against one-another, a silent gravitational pull to eachothers body-heat. Nikki crawls under the nest of blankets they've made, squeezing in next to Max, who shuffles to give her room. Yet the wind still manages to lap avidly into their little hutch, stealing away their warmth and leaving them to shiver amongst themselves.
Just beneath the rolling thunder and the heavy patter of the storm, Nikki can barely make out footfall inching closer. A shadow crosses past before the flap of their tent is pushed open by a pale hand. Neil makes an embarrassing noise of fear just before the figure awkwardly bends down to peek in. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, leaving little in the way of illumination, its made obvious who it is by his familiar silhouette. Nikki feels releaved at the sight of her, albeit quite drenched, camp councilor. David smiles warmly at them, and three tired faces stare back. Hes holding the curved handle of a large umbrella, awkwardly adjusting it in his hands to keep the cascading water from dripping onto his back as he bends down to fit into the tents opening.
Nikki shimmies free from their little cuddle-pile to dart over to him in excitement, but David places a hand out to stop her. “Careful! theres a puddle, dont get your pajamas wet.” Nikki scurts to a stop just short of the entrance, lapping water gathers at the divet of their tent, collecting rain in a pool nearly thrice the size it was before. “We've gathered everyone else in the Mess Hall to wait out the storm,” David explains, “Grab your stuff and we'll join them.”
Nikki hears the subsequent groan Max lets out at the prospect of being holed up with all his campmates for the rest of the night. Yet, she can feel her own excitement simmer, it'll be like a gaint slumber-party! Nikki is quick to tear her blanket free, stuffing it under her arm for safekeeping.
Neil hurries to grab his own, and with their respective blankets clutched close to their chests, they gather by the entrance awaiting Davids lead. The wind howled, low and melancholy, and the rain drifted in on heavy soaking sheets.
David reaches out to grasp Max from under his arms, carefully lifting him over the seeping puddle, and on to the ground next to him beneath the outstretched cover of the umbrella. One by one, their camp councilor deposits them safely and more importantly dry by his side until they're all huddled together. He looks down at them, taking a quick headcount. Its dark, the wind blows their already disheveled hair into their faces leaving them to blindly stumble into each other as they begin to walk.
But eventually, they find their sure footing.
David holds Nikki's hand with his free arm, and she clings to Neils sweater cuff who inturn keeps a firm hold on Max, towing them in a discombobulated line, like shuffling penguins in a snowstorm. Traversing past the conjunction of tents being pummeled by the relentless wind they walk, and soon the light seeping through the Mess Hall's dreary windows illuminates their path just ahead.
When they entered past the large double doors, Nikki squints, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. The light inside the Mess Hall feels blinding compared to the gloomy outdoors.
Hidden by the entrance, Gwen is there waiting for them. She drops a towel over Nikki's head, drying her hair vigorously. Nikki giggles as she's freed from the towels embrace, pigtails unkempt and wild but no longer sopped. Max made a noise of discontent from behind, unsuccessful in his attempt to escape Gwen's efforts to dry him off.
It was cozy in the large communal building. The lunch tables had been pushed aside to make room in the center of the floor where sleeping-bags and blankets had been piled. The chatter of their campmates is quiet compared to the patter of the rain on the slanted roof and against the windows.
SpaceKid sat near Nerris and Harrison (who bickered over some cards and dice laid out in front of them) wearing starry patterned pajama bottoms and clutching his helmet sat safely in his lap. He waved to them excitedly, gesturing the three to sit besides him. Neil and Max trailed over to join the boy, eager to soak in the warmth the group shared.
Nikki lingered near the door, still pulled by her curiosity to gaze out at the storm through one of the windows. Everything looked so alien, the once familiar camp bathed in a new, foreign light.
She could over hear Gwen and David's hushed conversation just besides her, their quiet voices nearly drowned in the noise of the storm and her excitable peers. “I'll get QuarterMaster to roll the television set out,” Gwen said. “I've got a few ideas for what we should watch.” Despite Gwen's muted excitement, David shuffled on his feet as he looked out across the sea of his campers, seeming antsy. “Im going back to the councilors cabin to grab more blankets and the space-heater,” David made to reach for the door but Gwen had snagged him by the vest.
“David, you're soaked to the bone. You'll make yourself sick going back out there so soon,” She stressed, sounding exasperated, like this had been an ongoing push-and-pull between them for some time. David looked sheepish.
“I'll be quick! Its just me under the umbrella this time,”
“Look, the kids are fine. You got them dry and warm enough already, its not like they're going to blow away in the wind if you stop doting over them–” Gwen's words were cut short as David stepped back out into the storm, the double doors swung shut behind him. Gwen sighed, defeated.
Nikki watched her walk over to the small kitchenette, dodging past the moving bodies of her campmates, before dissappearing behind the door.
“You're stepping on my sleeping-bag!” A shrill voice cried out in utter distress. It was Preston on the other side of the group with Ered, Dolph, and more importantly Nurf, who was currently standing on the corner of the boy's bedroll. Nurf huffed, amused as Preston attempted to tug it free from under him, entirely unsuccessful despite clearly trying his hardest. “Dont go blowin' your fuse, Shakespeare.” He lifted his foot just as Preston gave it another hard yank, causing him to flail backwards as it was freed from under Nurfs weight, who laughed loud and unkindly.
Preston scoffs as he haughtily smooths out the rumples from his sleeping-bag. “No decorum.” he tsk-ed, scooting away as Nurf flopped down onto his own makeshift bed without much care for the personal space of those around him.
Ered sat next to Dolph a little ways away, unbothered by the events transpiring between them, as usual. She's leaned casually on one arm, legs crossed as she sits in her own bedroll. Even after being woken up in the middle of the night and dragged through the rain and wind, her hair looks as styled as always. Nikki feels admiration (and maybe a healthy amount of envy) settle over her.
She looks out across the group for a place to nest herself into, she's half tempted to saddle up next to Ered, but didnt feel like competing for her attention all night.
That gravitational pull returned, and Nikki finds herself where Max and Neil had made themselves a pile of blankets to lay on in a quiet corner of the Mess Hall. They welcome her in their own way, making room for their friend to roll out her blanket and finally settle down.
From out of the kitchen Gwen re-emerged, DVDs tucked under her arm. Behind her, QuarterMaster pushed the large dated television set on its cart over to the front of the Mess Hall. The old wheels squealing against the wooden floor, its screen perpetually dusty. Excited murmurs erupted from Nikki's campmates as they eagerly shuffled among themselves.
Movies were a rare treat, usually reserved as rewards for good behavior or anytime Gwen didnt feel like entertaining them when David was busy. Even dispite never being allowed to pick out which movies they could watch–that was usually Gwen's doing, or when David had some educational documentary to share with them (always about trees)–they found themselves jittery with excitement.
Plugging the cord into the dubious looking outlet mounted on the wall, Gwen clicked the large power button. The TV's screen flickered to life after a few harrowing seconds, it seemed like it was always on the precipice of death, near moments away from keeling over like an expired dog, before fuzzy static hissed over its whiny speakers.
QuarterMaster slinked back into the kitchen, grumbling indecernably as the door swung shut behind him. Gwen shushes the crowd of increasingly restless kids. “This isn't going to be a reoccuring thing, so enjoy it heathens.” She points a threatening finger at them, “All of you better be conked out by the time this movie ends–or we're watching TLC.” A collective groan emanates from the campers as Gwen turns her back to them, inserting the disk into the TVs player and dimming the lights.
It seemed like an actual kid's movie this time, not the usual trashy noirs Gwen tortures them with. Despite this, Nikki finds herself too distracted to engross herself in it. She rolled over on to her back, looking up at the curved ceiling. She listens to the hushed whispers of her campmates making commentary, straining her senses to hear past it and to the sounds of the wind blowing rain against the roof. Will this storm ever pass? Inwardly, Nikki sort of hopes it wont.
She'd never say it aloud, but she wants to bask in the domestic warmth of her friends for as long as she can bare it. Despite her endless appetite for chaos and adventure, Nikki sometimes craves the feeling of these quiet moments. Its silly, she thinks, but she cant deny the soft-spot she has. Besides her, Max yawns widely, nuzzling into his hand as he rests his cheek on it, and Neil leans against her as he squints over at the television. "Thats not remotely possible!" He frets when their protagonist breaks yet another law in physics. Yes, this is exactly were she wants to be.
Something rattles loudly in the kitchen, drawing Nikki's attention to the pass-through window, where QuarterMaster's head pokes up. “Drinks,” he grumbles in a toneless deadpan. His hooked hand had been replaced with a wide ladle attachment, with which he uses to pour something steaming into a mug. The aroma is warm, familiar.
Gwen takes it into her hands with a skeptical look, bringing it to her face to sniff at it tentatively. Curious, she takes a tiny sip.
“Where the hell did you find hot-cocoa mix??” Gwen asks, sounding both incredulous and intrigued. But QuarterMaster dissappears from the counter without another word, pouring more cocoa into more mugs from a large pot sat over the stove.
Holding the mugs two at a time, Gwen makes steady work of handing them out to the campers as their filled and diposited onto the counter. “Dont spill them, or you're sleeping outside.” She hisses out a warning, tossing a sideways glance towards the door to make sure David hadnt returned and over heard it.
“Hey! Where'd you get those marshmallows from?” Nerris fusses, tripping over the word 'marshmallow' with her lisp. Harrison had his gloved hand hovered over the rim of his mug, currently overflowing with full-sized marshmallows. “Keep it down,” he grumbles, and with a sleight of his hand Nerris's mug had its own moutain of mallowy morsels. Instead of making any mean-spirited quips on her friend-slash-enemy's questionable magic tricks, Nerris busied herself with an eager mouthful of the sticky confection.
Soon it was Nikki, Neil, and Max's turn for their own mugs. Nikki excitedly held out her hands as it was given to her, curling her fingers over the warmed cheap ceramic. She looked down into the swirling brown drink, the top frothy and inviting. From besides her, Neil squeaked. “Ack! Hot!” He stuck out his burned tongue, holding the mug away from him. “Idiot.” Max scoffed, blowing at the coiling tendrils of steam before taking his own careful sip.
Calm settled over the Mess Hall. The campers finally seemed to wind-down, their bellies full of hot-cocoa and sugary marshmallows, the movie beginning to reach its final climax. Beneath the wood paneling of the floor, rumbling thunder traveled. A willful warning, low and yawning, quiet enough to go unnoticed. But Nikki felt it. Felt the building tremors, the air become fuzzy against her skin with an electric like charge. It waited, holding its breath, until the movie's final scene opened, until her campmates had let their droopy heads rest.
The windows, once darkened and cold, glowed almost cartoonishly, flashing light dancing overhead. Lightning crackled, sudden and loud like splitting open a shaken soda can that had been sitting in the summer sun. The only light in the building flickered, static creeped at the edges of the TV screen, akin to moss on a log, before everything went dark. The heads of her fellow campers popped up one-by-one. Curiosity slowly turning into that juvenile fear of the dark that every kid seemed predisposed to.
SpaceKid was the first to cry out, abandoning his helmet to dive head first into Gwen, into that familiar saftey only an adult could provide.
Gwen looked like she was still trying to catch up to what had happened. “Aw, geez.” Neil said as the Mess Hall erupted into the confused and panicked voices of their campmates. In the dark, Nikki could hardly make out what was happening, nothing but the shallow light of distant lightning to go by. Silhouettes of more campers running up to Gwen, tripping over themselves to huddle up as close to her as possible. She fought to keep her balance, having been nearly bowled over in their attempt to latch themselves onto her, as if her vary presence was a nightlight in a dark hallway.
“OK! OK!” Gwen appeased, all attempts to be comforting thrown out the window in favor of trying to regain any amount of control over the situation. She stumbled along the edge of the wall, attempting to find her footing in the dark before colliding with the cart of the television set. Yet the swarm of horrified children did not cease their blind trampling.
Across the hall, the hinges of the double doors screeched. A sliver of cool light broke open as the doors slowly swung wide. A figure bathed in shadow stood in the downpour, lanky and tall. The campers that hadnt abandoned their sleeping-bags to run to Gwens side squealed in fear, climbing over eachother in their effort to get as fast and as far away from the intruder as possible. Even Neil abandoned their little blanket pile to dive into the rest of the group.
The stranger took one long stride into the Hall, floorboards creaking with their shifted weight. The tension felt palpable, as thick as the swarming storm clouds. When the moment felt like it would never end, something loud buzzed from the back of the kitchenette before the overhead lights flickered back on.
“Powers back,” QuarterMaster grunted. He stood near the back of the room, by an old looking eletrical box with its door open, his metal hook hovered auspiciously over the various twisted wires and switches, completely unphased.
Illuminated in the dull light of the Mess Hall, David stood shivering in the open doorway, looking drenched. The umbrella's canopy had been turned inside-out from the force of the wind, leaving its inner ribs to jut outwards awkwardly as he clutched it in his fist. A comically large leaf had stuck to the side of his face, obscuring his vision, causing him to stumble forward blindly. “David! For fucks sake!” Gwen cried out from beneath the pile of terrified campers. “Do you realize what you did!? I almost had these little shits asleep before you ruined it!”
“I didnt mean too–!” David stuttered through his chattering teeth, peeling off the leaf from his face. He reached out with an apologetic look, but it was already too late. The damage had long been done.
With their composure regained, some of the braver campers walked back to their respective blankets, side-eyeing David as they passed. Gwen wanted to press as to why David hadnt returned sooner, or more importantly with the space-heater, but between his soaked clothes and his violent shuddering she took pity on him. “Stay there, I'll get you a fresh towel so you dont die of hypothermia in front of us.”
Gwen went to shoo the remaining kids away, but SpaceKid remained face-planted into her chest refusing to be seperated even as she attempted to coax him off. “Look–SpaceKid–the lights are back on and Davids back,” She pleaded but the boy made no sign of acknowledgement. “Fine, whatever.” Gwen digressed, letting the boy hold on to her in an awkward hug as she turned and hobbled to the kitchen. As Nikki looked on, It reminded her of the way sloth babies clung to the underside of their caregivers she'd seen in picture books.
Neil came running back over to Nikki and Max in their corner of the Mess Hall, looking embarrassed. “Definitely wasnt scared…or anything.” He mumbled, reflexively glancing behind himself. Max sniggered at Neil's expense from his place besides Nikki.
Gwen returned from the kitchenette to wrap David in a large towel, grumbling about ruining the hard-wood floor with all this moisture. But Nikki had a feeling she was more worried for David–who could do nothing but clutch the towel closer, sniffling miserably–than she let on. He looked sodden, but the longer he remained bundled up and in the company of his campers, the more David seemed to liven up bit by incrimental bit.
When his teeth no longer chattered with the force of his shivering and his body temperature returned to a more livable degree, David busied himself tucking the campers back into their bedrolls and taking their emptied mugs back to the kitchen for QuarterMaster.
And at last, quietness returned to the Mess Hall. All the energy from their sudden excitement finally died down, leaving campers to yawn and rest their heads tiredly. It was beyond late, the worst of the thunderstorm passed leaving nothing but the soft droning of rain in its wake.
Nikki could feel her friends settle in around her, and the weight of her own tiredness finally crashed down onto her like an embracing wave. She watched with heavy eyelids as David replaced the DVD in the television to one of his documentaries, setting the volume so low she couldnt make out the voice of the narrator. The light in the kitchen finally flipped off as QuarterMaster slunk back to his storage room (to do god knows what) leaving the Hall in cool darkness with nothing but the TV to illuminate it.
Gwen returned to David's side, SpaceKid still slumped stubbornly against her. They spoke in soft voices to each other, looking out across the mostly sleeping bodies littering the floor wrapped in blankets and sleeping-bags, nestled against eachother's warmth. Even despite this, Nikki still found herself fighting to keep her eyes open. That residual energy had gone, leaving a lanquid and sleepy longing in its place. For once, Nikki didnt want to give in to it, she wanted to stay for just awhile longer.
