Chapter 23

                “You okay, Kit?” Aiden put his hand on my shoulder. My skin was sensitive, forcing me to shrug his arm off.

                “I’m fine… Just trying to sleep,” I explained.

                “You’re on top of your sheets and you’re sweaty. Whoa, why are you shaking like that?”

                “Aiden, I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

                “Was it a dream?”

                “No.”

                “Are you sick?”

                “I don’t think so.”

                “Do you -----”

                “Aiden! Just, please, go back to sleep.” I turned from him and closed my eyes. I couldn’t see his response and a part of me regretted not explaining everything to him. Still, I was grateful that I fell asleep.

                In the morning, Aiden didn’t bring up what had happened that night. He held me during breakfast and occasionally ran his fingers through my hair. I cringed from my sensitive skin but grudgingly let him continue.  At the end, our commander decided to meet us inside the cafeteria. He glared over the crowd of people to find our group.

                “Where is my group?!” The commander yelled over everybody. Aiden, Evie, Harriett, I and some others raised their hands. We watched as he stomped over to us.

                “This is your fifth day here so I have a different drill prepared. My group, follow me!” My group followed close behind him. He led us outside the camp gates and in front of the forest.

                “Okay, I’m going to split you all into two groups. Group one is going to go inside the forest, wait to hear a gun shot, and run out of the forest to capture this flag.” Our commander stuck a yellow flag in the ground, “Group two is going to try to stop them using combat. If any member of group one is knocked down they have to stay down. Any questions? No, good. Once you get your number, leave and don’t look back. You will not know who is on your team.”

                He started with me at the front of the line. The commander whispered the number one in my ear. I walked to the trees and, as instructed, did not look back. Would Aiden be on my team? Evie? Or Harriett? If I saw them, could I trust them? I could hear someone to my right so I moved farther into the forest. The trees blocked the sun from my view, leaving everything beneath the leaves and branches dark. From where I was, there was no possible way of locating where sounds were coming from. I thought back to the times I thought dodge ball was hard. My heart pounded as I realized the situation I was in. A rifle was shot and millions of birds flew noisily out of the trees. Suddenly, though, it went quiet; not even a breath or snapping twig could be heard.