New Twins in Town Pt. 02 Ch. 08

First and foremost, apologies for the long delays. Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, and helped proofread the story thus far. Big props to AuroraIncident, Boots, and adub for sticking with me through the multiple iterations of each chapter. 
As always, I believe it's best when the story passes through several sets of eyes before I hit that submit button. The more feedback I can get, the better. So if any readers have an interest in helping refine the story (or even if you're sitting on ideas that you think would be fun to see fleshed out) hit me up on discord and we can see where things go from there.

All characters involved in sexual activity of any kind are at least 18.

Part II - Second Week of Band Camp

8 - The Most Interesting Day in Belews Lake History pt. 2

10:17 AM, Interstate 65

A black Denali roared down the interstate, occasionally straying from its lane just enough to pass a car failing to pull over far enough. Lights and sirens are only able to do so much to waken groggy drivers from the 'case of the Mondays' that infects them. Ahead, a 2014 Intercepter guided the way. It's recommended that for every five miles per hour the speedometer reads, a driver should give an additional car length buffer between themselves and the car in front. While pushing 90 MPH on the freeway, Bonnie Bergman kept the distance between the SUV and the marked police car at only three.

"I'm glad it's you behind the wheel and not me," the Forsyth County fingerprint specialist, Danica Chapman, said from the passenger seat.

Before she could receive a response, the Chief Deputy's car slowed just enough to stay on the pavement as it turned onto Pine Hall Road. Bonnie was forced to pump the breaks, swerving to keep from rear-ending the smaller car. Neither woman could fully comprehend the impressive display of reactionary timing she'd just displayed. Still, they were forced to embrace the shoulder for the officer ahead just as they had for the late-rising drivers who didn't understand how to maintain their lane. Kicking up loose gravel at the point where the two roads converged, they miraculously stayed on the road.

Once she'd regained control of the vehicle, as well as her own composure, Bonnie yanked the radio-mic from its mount on the dash and barked, "Jeez, Ry. How 'bout a little more warning next time?"

It took Danica an extra second before she could exhale. She made a mental note to say an extra prayer before going to bed. Unlike the officer they were following, neither she nor Bonnie had jobs that required "Advanced Driver Training", and while the woman behind the wheel was competent, they both knew the only thing that kept the top-heavy vehicles tires on the asphalt was Divine Intervention and a lack of four-wheeled congestion.

"Where you think he learned to drive like that? Bowman Gray?" Bonnie asked, her irritation replaced by her normal, jocular, tone.

Danica put a non-trivial amount of effort toward unclenching her teeth to reply, "I'd like to think our tax dollars aren't spent sending uniformed officers to a NASCAR track for training."

Bonnie let out a frustrated sigh, "It was one thing to drive like that back on the highway, but these rural streets? I have no idea what's up ahead."

The answer was near instantaneous. What they'd expected to be an empty road out in the sticks more closely resembled Santa Monica Boulevard on any day ending in a Y.

"My Stars, wha'dja think this is about?" The driver asked as she took in the scene.

"Gotta be the eclipse," Danica said, only remembering the event herself.

"Right!" Bonnie said giddily. "I was so sure I'd be stuck in the lab, I plum forgot it was even happening today. You know what time this whole thing 'spose to kick off?"

"Afternoon I think," try as she may, Danica wasn't able to match her coworkers enthusiasm.

"Now, what's got your bee in a bonnet?" Bonnie asked. "Oh, lookie, seems Ryan isn't trying to pull a Moses and decided going around the traffic is the proper course of action. This'll probably be a bumpy ride. Hang on."

She steered the SUV onto the shoulder and resumed the pursuit.

"Got dangit," Bonnie muttered. "If he don't watch out, he's likely to clip the arm off whatever soul is unfortunate enough to have chosen to stick it out the window. This ain't no amusement park Ryan, we're stopped, and no rules warn ya of stickin' yer arm out the window if yer stopped."

Danica decided to respond to the question the driver had directed at her, "If I received a call like that from Lucy, I'd be hauling ass too."

"You still got a while before... wait, when does Lucy enter high school?"

"Oh, no. We're not there yet. I hadn't even been thinking about the additional fears when she'll go off to high school," Danica shook her head.

"Oh, rubbish, there ain't nothin' ta worry about," Bonnie smiled. "It may have turned my hair grey, but my boys all made it through without a scratch. Maybe some bumps n' bruises. But certainly no scratches."

"Things are different than when your boys were growing up. Now, it's pretty much mandatory that you send your child to school with a phone starting in first grade. And then when they get to class, they get in trouble for having it."

"It's probably for having it out, dear," Bonnie chuckled. "Though I understand. Can't say I agree with a child that young having a phone, but I understand."

"They never warn you the peer pressure of being a parent is worse than what you used to get in college and... ugh, High School," new fears surfaced in Danica's mind.

"Oh hush," Bonnie took her hand off the steering wheel long enough to bat at the air in her passenger's direction. "You know that's all a normal part o' growin up. Gotta let 'em make mistakes. Gotta pick 'em up when they're down. You wanna keep 'em safe but ya gotta let 'em live a lil."

"She does. Nothing too bad, but she's willing to step outside her comfort zone," Danica shrugged. "It's my comfort zone that's the issue."

"Well, obviously," again, Bonnie brought her hand off the wheel. This time to pat Danica's knee in a comforting manner. "But again, it's all just normal parts o' growin' up."

Danica dare not pout, lest Bonnie took offense to it, but she felt the driver wasn't seeing how much things had changed in recent years.

"I'm not even sure I want her in band anymore..."

"Don't be like that. You know, my boys all graduated from Carter. I'm still involved in that community and this is the first time I've ever heard of something like this happening," Bonnie assured. "I'm confident this is just a one-off event and not something you or your little girl need to be concerned about."

"A one-off?" Danica scoffed. "Weren't your boys there that year those kids got driven off the road by a classmate?"

It had been quite the scandal. The initial thread pull needed to unravel a local corruption ring. Danica had been working for the County Forensics team for less than a year. It was the most interesting event of the decade. And because it was among her son's classmates, Bonnie was a source for questionable gossip in their nearby town.

"That got blown out of proportion," Bonnie lied. "If it was as bad as people want to remember it, you think Ryan would have stayed there?"

Chief Deputy Ryan Goldstein, the very officer whose car they were following to the campground, had initially been reassigned to the Stokes County Sheriff's Office in order for them to maintain some semblance of order as the depth of debauchery unfolded in the tiny community. Despite the tarnished reputation of the area, including its law enforcement, the single father saw enough unique charm in the town that he committed to ensuring its recovery and eventual prosperity.

Had he been a lesser man, Danica would never have gotten to know him. But he remained in constant communication with their precinct. Not only through the convenience of modern communication, but also frequent visits throughout the years. Equal parts ambassador as he was headhunter. His Utopian description of the small towns they serviced, and the liberty of having a larger area to look after, often resulted in newer recruits requesting a transfer. If it had been busy enough to merit its own forensics lab, Danica would have succumbed to the temptation herself. It was because of these visits that Ryan had been in their station when he'd received the call from his daughter. The look on his face, the color draining as his daughter's words exited his phone to kiss his ears, was all that was needed to send everyone in within eyesight into a frenzy. Cases that already existed on their docket were the only things that prevented every soul in the building from volunteering to assist with the one that wasn't within their own district.

"He stayed because it provided him opportunity for advancement," she claimed.

"It cost him his marriage, you know?" Bonnie stated.

"Don't even joke about that."

"It's true."

Danica lingered on the revelation, "But he never complains or-"

"Course not. He's in love with the town. Why else would he regale us with tales of its splendor whenever he comes to visit?" Bonnie snickered.

Danica was on the losing side of the argument and she knew it.

"Are we sure Ryan knows where he's going?" She deflected.

"He's been going there at least once a year for... is his kid a senior now? Yeah, pretty sure he's got it down."

"Looks like we might be there," Danica said upon seeing a turn signal on the lead vehicle. "Give him some room so you don't-"

Still hugging the side, the interceptor kicked up a shower of rocks as the tires transitioned from smooth asphalt to the loose gravel of the campground. Flashing lights could do nothing to part the queue of vehicles they needed to cross.

"What's up?" Bonnie spoke into the radio's mic.

"Road forks ahead," Ryan explained. "All the other site's are on the right. The band's is on the left."

In his haste, Ryan hadn't noticed an older gentleman attempting to direct the influx of automobiles lined up to enter the wooded area. The civilian, not able to differentiate the roles of the two vehicles with blinking blue lights, approached the SUV and rapped on the window.

Instinctively, Bonnie rolled it down.

"More of ya, eh?" The Wiley-haired gentleman scratched his scalp. "Didn't realize wut happened wuz so bad. I s'pose yu'll be needin' me ta move the barricade then?"

"You got a barricade?" Bonnie asked.

"Eh, nothin too fancy," he shrugged. "Knew we'd see a flood o' visitors today. Wasn't anticipating law enforcement or medical. Was I supposed to hire security or-"

"Are you a park employee?"

"Call me Fish," he extended a hand through open window. "An' I own this 'ere campground, s'well as take care of most of the day-ta-day operations."

"You know anything about what happened?" Bonnie was no detective, but if the man had information they could remind Chief Deputy Goldstein to question him before leaving the scene.

"Nah-much," he shook his head. "Patrol and aid car I let through a bit ago let me know somethin' wuz up. Been standing here since. Wife is down yonder tryin'a pack 'em in tight, but I think we mighta just hit capacity."

"Things like this ever happen before?"

"Well, I reckon I dunno. Seein' as I don't know what this is exactly. Sure, on o-casion someone'll do a dummy and we'll 'ave to come help 'em out. But almost never need no authorities involved. Swear I do my best to keep these grounds in tip-top shape. Lord Almighty, if something happened ta one of those kids because I- Well, I'd never forgive myself."

"Let's not go jumping to conclusions," Bonnie reassured. "We don't have much information either yet, but until we have reason for you to be concerned, you probably shouldn't mind us much."

"Eh..." the man looked as though her words brought little comfort. "Right, I guess. If ya'll need directions to their spot, it's real easy. Just-"

"We know where we're going," Bonnie nodded. "Officer in the car ahead of us is a regular here. At least for the past few years since his daughter-"

It was Fish's turn to cut her off, "That was Ryan wasn't it? Not used to seein' him in uniform so I didn't... Say, it wasn't Cleo who ya'll'er comin' check on, izzit?"

Bonnie turned and raised an eyebrow to Danica, who merely shrugged.

"We- can't go into much detail," she said loudly without being overly dismissive.

"Understood," he answered as officially as his slack-jawed tongue allowed. "Imma move the barricade n' put up signs to ward off the incomin'. Once I got those up, should I- I don't know, be helpful in any way?"

"Giving us some space and ensuring no one from the other sites comes snooping around would be for the best. It looks like you're gonna have your hands full already. We'll come find you if we need you."

"Sounds good. Oh, and 'fore ya go," he reached into his satchel and produced a few items for them. "I don't suppose yer planning on stayin' long enough to catch the big event, but in case you do wind up here for it..."

"Thanks, Fish," Bonnie said as she handed off the dark lensed frames to her passenger.

"Lemme see if I can get you folks on your way," the older gentleman scurried ahead. Within seconds, the break lights on the interceptor faded and the car proceeded forward, extending a courtesy wave to Fish who was pulling the gate open for the branch of the road leading to the bands site.

"Thanks again," Danica called out as they rode past him.

"Should be a dock right up here," Ryan's voice calling out over the radio startled Danica.

Pull yourself together, she told herself. This is just another case. You've done this hundreds of times.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she caught sight of the Stokes County patrol vehicle and the EMT standing outside their ambulance instead of loading someone in it. Ryan parked far enough to the side that another car would easily fit around his. Bonnie did the same.

She was right. Everyone's fine, Danica tried to convince herself as she removed her gear from the back of the SUV. She looked upon the group mostly huddled together. Standard issue EMT blanket around the tall girl, that's our victim. There's Cleo. Those two must be chaperones. Maybe they're a couple? Though why is he dressed like the students? That girl is smaller than Cleo, she could be theirs. The others all look like female students.

"Danica," Bonnie said with a tone that denoted it wasn't the first time she'd called out.

"Yeah," the fingerprint specialist shook her head to clear it of the thoughts she'd been having.

"Are you ready to do this?"

Her gaze fell upon the tall girl in the group. The one being comforted by the rest. Her beauty couldn't mask that something awful had transpired. The number of scenarios that careened through Danica's head at that moment made her nauseous.

"Yeah," she lied, forcing herself to speak as though her heart wasn't racing. "I'm ready."

Monday, August 21, 8:35 AM, Belews Lake Field - (just under 2 hours earlier)

"C'mon pretty boy, if you start slacking Tanner's gonna think he's actually got a shot at taking his spot back from you," Seph jeered. Even at her most sardonic, her comments carried with them a friendly tone that let Miles know they were offered in jest.

Unfortunately, he'd felt off all morning. And the teasing only confirmed that it wasn't merely in his head.

He hadn't been aware of the cold when he and Pixie had climbed out of the water in the dark of night. But when he climbed back into bed, he'd instantly felt as though his body had been plunged in ice. He'd spent nearly the entire morning shivering.

Maybe this is what everyone was sick with the other day? He stole glances to the other sections going through their normal morning exercises, but was still too new to be able to identify if there were any absences. No one ever went over what the symptoms were, but Pixie had been sick. Could have got it from her. Cold. Sore. Ankles and wrists feel tight.

"Hold up a sec," Seph announced when she reached what they'd designated the sideline.

Miles took the opportunity to check his heart rate.

Elevated.

With how often he was active, the moderate amount of sprinting they'd done shouldn't have affected him in the slightest. It was then that he realized how afraid he'd felt all morning.

"What's up?" Seph asked.

The question sounded strange. Too loud considering he was standing at her side. He turned and realized it wasn't directed at him at all but instead at Cleo heading toward them, with Amber, Judy, and Lindsay in tow.

"Skipping breakfast?" Seph chuckled once the girls neared.

"We need to talk," Cleo said in a hushed tone.

"What? Are you breaking up with me?" Seph's laugh quickly disappeared once she realized the seriousness with which the other girl spoke. "Wait, what's the ma-"

"Cleo," Miles asked, fear consuming his voice. "Where is my sister?"

_____

It took only moments to wrangle Pixie and Mel away from their sections. A little bit of convincing was needed, but Chris agreed to take charge of their combined sections for the morning.

"And remind them they'll need their instruments after breakfast," Seph called as they waved him off.

"He gonna be alright?" Judy asked as they stepped away.

"Chris?" Seph glanced over her shoulder to see her old friend stepping up to the challenge. "He'll be fine. I know it's a lot to ask, taking charge of almost all of the wind instruments, but he's a leader. Trust me. He just needs the opportunity for people to see he won't buckle under the pressure."

"Uh..." Amber raised an eyebrow. "I think she meant him."

Seph spun around to find Miles hadn't kept up with the group.

"Miles?" She tentatively asked.

The girls grew concerned as he stood, unfocused on anything, muttering under his breath. Seph stepped closer, but even then she could barely make out what he said. His words caused her heart to race. She had to snap him out of it. She repeated herself with more assertiveness. "Miles?"

"Huh?" He looked at the group in front of him as though he hadn't realized they were there. "Um... Cle- Cleo? W-where is-"

"Right," she caught his eyes for only an instant before staring at the ground. "We don't know."

"How can you not know?" Seph asked.

Cleo swallowed hard, "She- her bunk- gone. This morning when we woke up."

"Didn't you say she gets all dolled up before you guys get out of bed?" Joe asked. "Anyone think to check the restrooms?"

"Yeah, that's not it," Judy scoffed.

"Yeah, no. Like, her bunk was gone. Her entire cot was missing," Amber added, then pantomimed the motion. "Mattress, up, out."

"Well... that is a bit unusual," Seph glanced Miles to see if she could gauge his thoughts before turning her attention back to Cleo. "What'd your chaperone say? Where is she? You've got Tam's mom right?"

"She blew us off," Judy steamed. "She and Tam were having some discussion with a few of the other girls in the back of the cabin. Just said Zo was probably in the bathroom and didn't even listen when we mentioned the missing mattress."

"Seph!" Cleo pleaded. "Kristina had threatened Zoe that she'd do something today."

"Shit, I hadn't even thought of that," Seph wiped her brow. "Miles, do you have any thoughts on... Miles?"

"Right. Shit," he shook his head to clear it of distracting thoughts. "We gotta go to Boon about this."

"Fat chance that'll amount to anything," Mel shrugged.

"What? Why not?"

"Miles, you gotta remember, things are different here," Cleo explained. "Zoe told us how football was a 'big deal' where y'all were from."

"Yeah, and?"

"Okay, well, from what she said, football was like... here," Cleo held her hand up to her shoulder. "But round here, football is waaaay up here," She rocked up on her tiptoes in order to exaggerate her point.

"She's right," Judy agreed. "I mean, she's not tall enough to really get the point across, but she's right."

"Not helping," Cleo rolled her eyes. "Football and religion are just about the only things people 'round here get really worked up about."

"Okay, Cleo..." Miles stammered. "I know you have a point but-"

"The next thing, after football and religion, way down here," Cleo lowered her hand to her hips. "Is music. Or basketball. Depending on the town. We could go to Regionals or maybe even Nationals."

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"Your band does well in those competitions, you're pretty much guaranteed to get into one of the better colleges," Amber added.

"Remember when I told you guys that camp would be like Lord of The Flies?" Seph asked. "It's cause they know the only way we make it to those competitions is by bonding and having to trust your bandmates."

"Okay, have you guys not actually read that book? Because things get real bad for Ralph and Piggy when they didn't kowtow to Jack and his group."

"We can get into the themes of the book later, Miles," Judy stated. "The point is, they want the weak links to break during camp. And that won't happen if they step in. So the chaperones aren't going to help us. And neither will Boon."

"Boon's the one who gives the chaperones the order not to intervene when it comes to section leaders and their members," Seph explained. "And unless we can prove she's in actual danger, he'll assume that it's building camaraderie, traditional hazing, or some other malarkey."

"Have I mentioned how completely fucking stupid that rule is?" Miles snarled.

"Noted," Seph sighed. "And agreed. But that doesn't help us now. Are there any chaperones who won't think of this as 'part of the band experience' and write it off?"

"No. Wait, yes!" Cleo suddenly remembered. "Mrs. Page loved Zoe after she helped with the sizing."

"She should be in the cafeteria right now," Judy added. "Let's go get her."

"Separate her from the other chaperones," Seph warned. "If they hear you, they might try to talk her out of helping."

"I'd like to see 'em try," Pixie remarked. "I'll unleash on anyone who tries to stop us."

"They can handle it. And regardless of how serious the situation is, Pix, no biting."

"Aww, still?" Pixie whined.

"What about Mr. Young?" Amber asked, ignoring the tangent.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Cleo said, tentatively.

"If this is a hazing thing, it might be best to only have girls on the lookout," Seph said.

Miles cursed under his breath.

"Alright," Seph looked around their group. "Pix, you can't go with them because we need to cover more ground. That mean's splitting up."

"Jinkies," Pixie said in leu of confirmation.

"I'm gonna give you each an area to search," Seph directed. "Get your phones then head over. Text me when you're sure your spot is clear and we can reassess once that's done, got it?"

They answered her question with series of nods and verbal confirmations.

"Good," Seph exhaled and then barked her next order. "Amber, you take Judy and Lindsay, get Mrs. Page up to speed, and double check the cafeteria while you're at it."

"On it," Amber said as she led the other girls away.

"Joe, you take Mel and search the washeteria. Be thorough but be quick too. Whole building. Inside and out."

"But I-"

"You're going with Joe," Seph insisted before Mel could fully voice her protest.

"Right," Mel said sheepishly before heading off with her partner.

"Pixie, Cleo, uh.... you guys go check the docks?"

"I was worried you were gonna say roofs," Pixie nodded. "Docks are perfect."

"We got this," Cleo gave them a confident nod then headed out.

"So that leaves us," Miles frowned.

"Yeah, head to your cabin. Grab your phone. I doubt she has hers but if she can get access to one I'm assuming yours is the only number she's got memorized."

A tinge of guilt struck Miles as he found himself in awe of Seph's coolness and leadership abilities in spite of the situation.

"Then what?"

"You and I are checking each and every cabin."

_____

The warmth of the sun on her skin was Zoe's first indication of the amount of time that had passed. The bandanna they'd used not only succeeded in covering her eyes, but also forced her to hyper-focus on everything her other senses could perceive. First, the dismissal of her assailants, leaving her tied to the tree. Naked. And alone.

But she wasn't alone.

Every unseen insect, she could feel tap its way across her flesh. The occasional brush of leaves from a branch above her that occasionally dipped down as some animal applied weight to it. Even the wind was personified as it built up speed across the calm surface of the lake to bite on every inch of her exposed flesh. The experience was amplified by the fact that she'd never gotten the opportunity to properly dry off.

With the sun, so too rose other creatures that dwelled in that region of North Carolina. From above, whistles and tweets catcalled the girl on full display for the world. Closer to the ground, honks and jeers from web-footed onlookers. Though the girls who had brought her here had left, she was far from alone. And further from feeling anything close to safe. The birds had become her new tormentors.

What other life awakens around the lakes in North Carolina? She searched the recesses of her mind for any mention of alligators or crocodiles in the area. Then thought of bears and big cats. Even deer posed a significant threat in her current condition. Even if no one has mentioned them, that doesn't mean they aren't there. She knew she was just going to cause herself to panic more, but that knowledge couldn't prevent her from correcting her own internal monologue, that doesn't mean they aren't here.

The thought caused her to involuntarily attempt to scream. It was pointless, as she'd discovered previously, the rope holding her head against the tree was fastened at her mouth. The moisture which should be coating her tongue and throat was instead being absorbed into the fibers wedged between her teeth. Her jaw was tired from staying open so long. For every attempt she made at emitting an audible sound, she received an unpleasant taste as her tongue inevitably struck the rope. She could only wonder what its original purpose had been.

Lacking any true means of monitoring the time, she could do nothing but replay the events in her head. Refusing to remove her clothes when her assailants had demanded it of her, attempting to push them over and run past them. She'd been somewhat successful until they swung the board at her. It mostly clipped her rear but with enough force for her to lose her footing.

Had she not been so far outnumbered, and unarmed, things likely would have gone different. They likely had thought she wouldn't put up a fight. Hadn't thought that, starting from the age of seven, Zoe had demanded her father train her how to defend herself. That she needed to get good at it quick in order to keep up with her brothers who had gotten a head start in their self-defense training.

Six against one wasn't a fight she had a chance of winning, but she had no intention of letting them walk away unscathed. And they didn't.

Unless she was mistaken, she'd broken someone's nose, given a fat lip, a black eye, and had scraped some skin off one as well. The first person to attempt to tie her legs had received a full kick to the ribs, which knocked them down. Zoe was fairly certain she'd broken a bone or two. They weren't quick to get back up. She had no way of determining whether she'd inflicted most of her damage upon only one or two individuals, though she suspected each of them received at least a bit of pain from her.

When the scuffle ended, she'd received an additional swat from the oar to her chest, and the hands groping to fasten the rope around her limbs incidentally scratched her as well. All in all, she was confident she'd dealt out more than she was given. Once she was fully bound to the tree, she suspected they'd take the opportunity to beat her until she either passed out or died. Even with that bleak thought in mind, her spirits fell when she saw the knife in the hand of one of her aggressors.

Its cold steel was pressed against her neck, which she instinctively withdrew until it was against the oak behind her. They took this opportunity to secure her head to the tree. She made the mistake of opening her mouth to scream, and they shoved the rope with it between her teeth before tightening it. She feared that they would plunge the knife into her skin at any second. Instead, they brought a bandanna down over her eyes. It took a bit of effort since her head was already pressed against the tree. But the others weren't concerned about her comfort or if they yanked out any of her hair.

She considered that the knife may only have been brought out as a means of intimidating her and getting her to comply as she was tied up. Then a hand took hold of the collar of her shirt, pulled it away from her skin, and the blade bifurcated the cotton tee she'd slept in. She heard her own muffled screams before realizing she was making them. Had panic not overridden logic, she would have understood how futile the gesture was. No one standing in front of her was suddenly going to come to her aid. She could do nothing but whimper as her body was exposed for all to see. It would probably have been easy for her attackers to just pull down the shorts she'd been sleeping in, but something about having them cut off brought forth more fear as well as a sense of shame.

They stood in front of her. None of them spoke a word. Though at least a couple of them were failing at stifling groans from the pain she'd inflicted. Tears formed in Zoe's eyes, rolled beneath the makeshift blindfold, and were absorbed into the fabric before they were able to see. If not for her sniffling, they might not have even been aware of her crying. She knew that what happened next would either confirm or refute her earlier conclusion that the people doing this to her were all girls. None of them approached her. They seemed to stand in front of her forever. One by one, she heard them leave the vicinity. She counted as each moved. The sound of their feet against the pathway each had a unique cadence. One sounded like they were limping. Zoe suspected it was the person whose ribs she'd crushed, until she heard a girl ask one of the others for assistance getting back to camp because "That cunt busted up my ribs."

Despite everything, hearing that would have brought a smile to Zoe's mouth if the rope wasn't preventing it.

The whole ordeal likely took no more than a few minutes. But with nothing else to view, Zoe could only replay the events in her mind. Slower each time. Trying to note everything she could. With her adrenaline finally starting to subside, she grew acutely aware of how tired she was. And cold. Somehow, she didn't feel much pain. She suspected her thigh, ass, and breasts would bruise where she'd been struck. Her wrists and ankles itched from the scratches she'd incurred while being bound.

They thought I'd comply, she realized. They weren't trying to leave marks anywhere that would be seen. She wondered what would have happened if she'd just stripped when they initially ordered it.

With that new thought in mind, she couldn't help but run that scenario in her head. Then another where she didn't put up as much of a fight.

She remembered hearing that every time a person replayed a scene in their head, they alter it. That a memory isn't of an event but of the last time they remembered the event. If she was going to explain the situation to someone, the best thing she could do was keep her mind sharp. She visualized the Rubik's cube on her nightstand and began twisting it in her head.

It wasn't enough. She instead thought of when her dad brought home the mangled frame of a Plymouth Barracuda. How disappointed he was when neither Miles nor Jason took any interest in helping him restore it. The hours she spent watching him work in the garage while the rest of their family occupied themselves with other things. His surprise and joy when she expressed interest in watching him repairing the vehicle. The elation that overtook his face when she told him she wanted to help. The hundreds of hours they spent together restoring it to its original glory. The car shows they brought it to. The friends they made as a result.

God, I miss him.

Her thoughts finally made for a decent distraction from her fears and throbbing body.

Until the birds stopped chirping.

In their place, gravel being displaced as something trampled through it. Distant at first, but drawing nearer with every step. As it grew closer, Zoe could make out the distinct sound of footfalls. Louder and nearer with every second, there was no mistaking it. They were headed towards her. Louder and nearer still, she was certain it wasn't two legs approaching, but four. Don't they say that alligators are faster out of water than people expect?

As the sound of the stomps became so loud she questioned whether she would find herself underneath the foot of whatever creature was charging her, it changed slightly. It not only changed, but it separated. Instead of a four-footed creature, Zoe could now picture two bipedal animals running nearby. One raced right past her and the other stopped just feet away.

"Cleo!" Pixie's voice was unmistakable and an unexpected relief. Instantly, Zoe's eyes were overwhelmed with the brightness of the day as the blindfold was lifted away. It took several seconds for her to make out the details of her friends. Her saviors.

When her eyes were finally able to focus, she saw the horrified look in each of the other girl's eyes. She could only wonder what she looked like.

"Zoe, I- Wha- Um- Cleo! Help me with the rope," Pixie pleaded as she took in the sight of the girl bound to a tree.

"Wait a second," there was an uncertainty to Cleo's voice. "Zoe, can you hear me?"

Zoe was so overwhelmed by the situation, she again forgot about the rope in her mouth and attempted to respond. The unpleasant taste wasn't as noticeable as when she'd first tried screaming. The lack of moisture on her tongue had that single saving grace.

Cleo was able to surmise that Zoe had indeed heard her.

"Do you know who did this?" Cleo seemed more calm about the scenario than her friends would have imagined.

Having learned her lesson about trying to respond with actual words, Zoe managed to give her response as a simple, indignant hum.

"Cleo, what-" Pixie began.

"My dad's a cop, remember?" Cleo answered the question that never got vocalized, "When someone gets tied up, sometimes hairs or other things get caught in the knots."

Zoe watched as the idea took root in Pixie.

"Zoe?" Cleo continued, "I'm sorry, we can't untie you. Pixie is going to call Seph and have her bring something to cut these ropes, a change of clothes, and some water for you to drink, okay?"

"Oh, right!" Pixie said as she yanked her phone out of her pocket. "Shouldn't we cover her up first?"

Zoe hoped the whimper she let out didn't sound as pathetic to the other girls as it did to her own ears.

Cleo looked down Zoe's feet, "They... cut her clothes. I doubt there's a piece large enough to cover anything with. And again, we'd risk compromising the fingerprints."

"Okay, then take off your bra."

"I'm all for solidarity, but us getting naked too isn't going to help anything."

"No!" Pixie rolled her eyes. "To give to her."

"Oh, uh... can't you give her yours?"

"Cute that you think I'm wearing one at all, or that one that fit me would remotely fit her."

"Right," Cleo said as she reached back to undo the clasp between her shoulder blades.

As Cleo removed the undergarment, Pixie tapped the screen on her phone, when she brought the device to her ear, she pointed to Cleo's hips. "Panties! What? Oh, no. Sorry. We found her and-"

"Pixie!" Cleo interrupted while struggling to remove the underwear without taking off her shorts. "Miles doesn't need to see this, got it?"

The shorter girl nodded before stepping away to fill Seph in.

Unable to speak, Zoe grunted to get Cleo's attention.

"I know, I know," Cleo sighed. "The panties."

With Pixie's back turned, she looked around to make sure no one else was within eyesight, before dropping her pants and removing her undies. Again, Zoe grunted.

"Don't worry. I know it's a weird thing to share, but they're a fresh pair. And I've only had them on for like an hour so-" Cleo's eyes went to the ropes constraining Zoe's ankles. "Oh... right."

Zoe gave as confirmatory a grunt as she could manage.

Cleo walked over, and placed the cups of her bra over Zoe's exposed chest. The way her arms had been pulled against the tree, there wasn't room for Cleo to reach behind and hook the rings to the sliders. With gravity working against them, the brassier gradually slid away from her body.

Zoe sighed, knowing that was the best they could do until they could remove the rope.

"You just have to wait a couple of minutes, okay, Zo?" Cleo grimaced as she spoke. "Then we'll get you all taken care of. I'm gonna call my dad and see if there's anything else we should be doing before the police get here, m'kay?"

Cleo stepped away, her fingers punching at the screen of her phone but before she could commit the call, Zoe made another guttural sound that distracted her. Phone in hand, Cleo turned to see eyes rapidly scanning the length of her. It only took three passes before Cleo realized Zoe was trying to remind her she'd been so disheartened realizing she wasn't going to be able to cover her friend, she'd forgotten she was standing without anything covering from the hem of her shirt to the top of her socks.

"Yikes!" Cleo scrambled to get herself clothed properly again while the speaker rang in her ear.

Even from a few feet away, Zoe could hear when the ringing stopped and a man's voice came through on the other end.

"Dad... No. One of my friends is hurt. No, no. Someone... She's tied to a tree... Yeah... I don't know. I made sure we didn't untie the knots, we're going to cut the rope as far away from them as we can, right?" There was a long pause as her dad processed what he was hearing and gave her a response, "We don't know. They took her whole bed in the middle of the night. They've even got her gagged, so we don't know-"

Zoe could hear the man on the other end interrupt and start asking more questions. Cleo made eye contact with her, shook her head and wandered away until the other end of the conversation was out of earshot. Zoe wasn't sure if it was Cleo's standard phone etiquette or if she was intentionally trying to prevent her from hearing.

"I don't know... they took her clothes... Dad, I don't know," she tried to whisper. "Dad, there are bruises... Yes. Please, yes. Thank you, please hurry."

Zoe looked helplessly at the other girls after each had hung up. The last thing she wanted was for them to just stare at her. Pixie seemed to pick up on this and began reassuring her that everything was going to be fine. Cleo did the same, though neither girl was able to speak with much conviction while they waited alone.

Their uncomfortable solitude was brought to an end as Seph came stampeding down the pathway, followed closely by Amber. A short ways back, Mrs. Page was trying to keep up with Judy and Lindsay.

"Over here!" Pixie called out, though there was no way the group would have missed them.

"Jesus Christ!" Amber exclaimed as she took in the sight. They had no idea what the two girls had discovered.

Pixie's message had solely consisted of, "She's at the dock. Bring a sharp knife, a change of clothes, and water. Don't bring Miles."

_____

Cleo didn't think it was likely that they'd be able to get fingerprints from the rope, but she would rather not rule out the possibility. With that in mind, she took the shirt Seph had brought and used that in place of a glove so she could handle the ligature while cutting it and not worry about adding her own prints. Once it hit the ground, she instructed the others not to touch it.

What was more difficult was not touching Zoe. They each wanted to hug her, but Cleo pointed out that, though difficult, it was indeed possible to get fingerprints from skin, and that her assailants would have needed to make contact while constraining her.

Zoe had been tied up for hours. The marks around her wrists and ankles left significant impressions. She'd also cried a few times during her imprisonment. But she realized that all of her tears fell upon the rope. She listened to everything Cleo said, and when she had a shirt and shorts on, she braced her hands against a tree and looked straight down so any more tears that would fall wouldn't wipe anything from her face.

Joe had been burdened with keeping Miles occupied while his sister was in the state she was in. Once she was fully clothed, they relayed the message to bring him down to the dock.

Seph had been one of the leaders of the band almost the moment they entered high school. Mrs. Page was a full on adult who had actual experience doing adult things, including taking care of kids. In Cleo's mind, they were much better suited to take charge in nearly every scenario. She was simply the child of a single father who happened to be a cop. Though she didn't like it, that was the exact experience required in the moment to be the leader they needed.

Carefully, she distributed information to their group as they waited for people with actual emergency training to arrive.

With every thought she conveyed, Cleo studied the faces of their new friends. The twins. Their unblinking eyes staring through her. Expecting her to bring words of comfort? Answers?

"Dad said some officers from his precinct should get here soon, but that he was coming personally," she spoke with as much conviction as she could muster. "And he's bringing help from Winston."

_____

"Daddy!"

Danica couldn't help but smile as Cleo ran up to hug her dad. He didn't bother hiding his relief as he took her in his arms, all the while surveying group in front of them.

"Bonnie," there wasn't the same enthusiasm as Cleo let go and looked at the women, "And... I'm sorry, I know we've met, but I don't remember your name."

"Danica," she provided with a smile. It wasn't often that Cleo would be in tow when Ryan got around to visiting their station. And typically the time was spent socializing with the men and women who'd been there when he'd called that station his home. Danica took no offense to having her name forgotten.

"I know most of the group over there," Ryan declared quietly. All of them looked upset, but one person was noticeably more disheveled than the rest. "The tall girl, she's the one who was attacked? Is she new?"

No way she'd been going to Carter the past few years, Danica reflected. Unless she grew a foot or so over the summer, she stands out too much for him to have not noticed or been aware of her before.

"Yeah," whimpered Cleo.

Officer Goldstein took another second to reflect upon the group, then spoke loudly enough for them to hear, "Where the hell is Boon?"

The female chaperone spoke up.

"I called him when we found her, but he was so preoccupied with something, I'm not even sure he realized what I was telling him."

That son of a bitch. What could possibly take priority over the safety of his students? Danica could see the expletives running through her mind were apparent on the Chief Deputy's face.

"He'd better unoccupy himself right damn now!" Ryan muttered under his breath, before regaining his composure before asking the only woman not in any sort of uniform, "You're the chaperone then?"

She merely shook her head at Ryan's question. "I'm a chaperone. But not for these girls. They're with... uh..."

"Mrs. Taylor is the chaperone for the cabin," one of the girls spoke up. "Cleo tried telling her this morning, but she said it was probably just standard new girl hazing."

New girl confirmed.

Danica watched the Chief Deputy's face with amazement as he processed the information and seemed to tuck his rage away with a huff before speaking softly to his daughter again.

"You wanna introduce me to your friend?" As the words came out, the red drained from his face.

She nodded, seemingly oblivious to her father's anger, and led him to the group.

"Dad, this is Zoe White," She spoke calmly. "Zoe, this is my dad."

He took off his sunglasses and clipped them to his shirt pocket, then removed his hat and held it between his hands as he greeted her.

"Miss White, I'm sorry we're meeting under these circumstances." he nodded at her, then gestured towards the women accompanying him, who each gave a friendly wave as they were introduced. "This is Bonnie Bergman and Danica Chapman. Have your parents been notified of the... incident?"

"Not yet," the lone male of the group stepped forward as he made his statement.

He's not a chaperone, Danica admonished herself for making such a poor observation earlier. He looks much too young, like he's barely out of High School himself. How does he fit in?

"Who are-"Mr. Goldstein's eyes studied the boy, and he reached his conclusion while Danica continued searching. "You're her brother?"

Brother?

The young man nodded.

"Twins!" Cleo contributed.

Of course.

Ryan glanced over at Danica with a raised eyebrow. She subtly shook her head, assuming he was inquiring if their being twins might complicate any fingerprint collection.

C'mon Ry, you know that one, she had to acknowledge it was a fairly common misconception, but even identical twins would have different fingerprints. Regardless, the likelihood of having different-gendered identical twins was astronomically low. These two were just fraternal. She was fairly certain Ryan knew these things already, but he was the type of person to defer to her expertise if he questioned it.

"Alright," he directed his attention back to Zoe. "Bonnie here is going to take you to that ambulance over there and give you another look over. She'll take some photos and collect some samples."

No one likes it when you tell them you're going to 'collect samples,' Danica rolled her eyes then saw Bonnie give another friendly wave and start to turn towards the ambulance when Ryan's voice stopped her.

"Would you feel more comfortable if you had someone accompany you?" He looked over at the girl's twin.

There ya go, Chief, Danica let out a small sigh she hadn't realized she was holding in.

"Cleo!" Zoe called out, and the smaller girl ran over to join them at the ambulance.

Not her brother? Danica questioned. Don't assume because they're twins that they're close. Or maybe something happened that she doesn't want him to know. Heck, it's possible that Cleo is just the daughter of a cop.

"Chapman," he almost always addressed Danica by last name. "I have a feeling your attention is needed over there?" He pointed to an oak with ropes scattered about.

"Sure thing," she brought the containers she'd fetched from the back of the Denali and strode to the spot he'd mentioned. The crowd made sure to give her plenty of space as she came over. Instantly, her eyes fell upon the cut-up pieces of clothing that lay discarded on the ground.

"Chief?" As was her custom, Danica omitted the qualifier. 'Chief' had a more authoritative connotation to it when it wasn't followed by 'Deputy,' and unless Sheriff Bradford was going to assert himself into the case, she didn't see reason for anyone to think they had anything less than the best officers looking into the situation.

"Chapman?" He answered as he walked over. She pointed to what caught her attention.

"Sir," she whispered, feeling queasy as the thoughts raced through her head. "Are we dealing with a SA case? Possibly with a minor?"

Ryan flagged both the Stokes Patrolmen as well as the EMTs to join them by the clothes.

"When I pulled up and saw y'all standing around, I assumed that meant things weren't as bad as I conjured in my head. You wanna clarify it for me?"

A female EMT, who looked like she could be a classmate of the victim, stepped forward to answer.

"I checked her out earlier. No sign of concussion. Scratches where they tied her up. Some bruising. All confined to her breasts and posterior, with a single mark on her right thigh," the woman's delivery rolled off her tongue as though she'd been doing this for years. "She seems very aware of everything that happened. First, she was dumped in the lake. When she climbed out, they tied her to the tree and cut her clothing off her. She couldn't provide many specifics because she was blindfolded until her friends there showed up."

"We need to get her to the hospital? Get an SAE kit for her?"

"From what she told me, no sexual assault occurred. Could be trying to hide it. Though I doubt it. I'd be curious if your girl... Bergman, was it? Doesn't agree after checking her out."

"You said there was bruising?" Danica spoke up without realizing it. Ryan was more than capable of leading his own investigation, and her interrupting only stood to question his role. She attempted to turn her attention back to her own work, but her ears stayed tuned in on the conversation happening.

"Yes, ma'am," The EMT proclaimed. "Wasn't fists neither. Something like an oar. Sun wasn't up yet so that's her best guess. Nothin' broken. Said they just knocked the wind out of her."

"You sure about that?" Ryan's voice had a gruffness to it that Danica hadn't heard before.

"Can't be positive without a scan. But I'm as sure as I can be without one."

The answer seemed to satisfy Ryan's curiosity. He shifted slightly as he processed all the information he'd just been given.

"Someone ties her up and cuts all of her clothes off, but doesn't do anything sexual?" He spoke softly so his question wouldn't fall upon the ears of the larger group. "When was the last time you saw that happen?"

The two patrolmen shrugged and agreed that it was out of the ordinary. The two male EMTs also conceded that they thought Ryan's suspicions were accurate.

"She said there were six attackers, and she thinks that all of them were female," the lady EMT interjected.

"She thinks? I thought you said there was no sign of concussion?" Ryan looked around the area as if he were expecting to find something he'd missed.

"They were cloaked."

"Cloaked? Great, not this is starting to sound like some weird forest ritual sac-"

"Don't say it!" Danica warned. Her own mind had gone there too, but having it said aloud would have made it more of a possibility.

"She said it was dark," the EMT emphasized. "I'm sure it could have just been hoods."

"Of course," he cursed under his breath. "So, they go through all of this. Why?"

"That part I don't know, Sir."

"Did any of y'all actually look at the girl?" Danica asked.

The group turned and gave her a questioning look.

"Chief. That girl got dunked in the lake and then tied to a tree for hours. When she walked by me earlier, she looked like a centerfold. Can you imagine what she looks like on any other day?" Danica saw Bonnie, Cleo, and Zoe step out from the cover of the ambulance. "You wanna hurt a girl like that? You humiliate her and let everyone see it."

"You might be right," the female EMT nodded. "I'd be mortified if I was put in that position today. I can't imagine what it would be like at that fragile age."

"Sounds too simple," Ryan uttered.

"Simple's what we got, Chief. And I'd take that over Moriarty any day of the week," she gestured over to the ambulance. "I think Bonnie is ready to go over her findings with you. Maybe when you get everyone's statements something else will come to light, but for now... I think that's what we work with."

"It's better than nothing. Nice work Chapman. And you," he looked at the talkative EMT. "I'm glad you were here for her."

The young woman tried to hide her blushing cheeks as the Chief Deputy made his way over to the ambulance.

Danica went back to labeling her findings when a voice interrupted her.

"Excuse me, ma'am,"

She turned and found herself face to face with the short girl who had been standing next to Cleo when she arrived. Danica took a second to study her.

Poor girl. Face like that should be on the cover of every magazine. Maybe she'll grow into it in a few years.

"Is there something I can do for you?" She was used to kids having questions when she worked a scene. She could usually give a few quick answers and not have it set her back any. She hoped this would be one of those times.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss that," the girl pointed to a blue bandanna that was in a bush behind the tree. "I took it off Zoe when I found her. Cleo said we shouldn't touch it again since we didn't have gloves.

Girl might have just saved my ass. Danica smiled at the short girl. "Nice work, kid."

"You want to print me since I touched it?" The confidence with which she spoke gave Danica pause.

"I don't think I can legally," the forensics expert sighed. "Gotta be eighteen for me to print you without a parent present. And even then, it needs to be recorded, so everything's on the up and up."

The girl conjured a small item and offered it to Danica, who took and studied it. She looked at the girl's face again, the facial features were the same, but the hair was longer and without the blonde. She looked at the issue date and expiration, then brought her UV light over and tried to shade the item as she shone the light on it.

"Sorry about that, Charlotte," Danica did genuinely feel bad that she had misjudged the girl so much by her small stature. "And happy birthday."

Shit, I felt bad when I hadn't developed by 13. If she still looks like that at 18 she'll probably never grow into that face.

"It's alright," the girl sighed. "You'll believe me if I say it's not the first time."

"You know, technically this expired on Saturday."

"Oh yeah," the girl grimaced. "Camp is two weeks, so I'm expecting the horizontal copy to be waiting for me when I get home.

Danica suppressed a chuckle and handed the ID back to the girl. As she went to replace them, another card fell out and onto the ground. Instinctively, Danica reached for it to hand back. Before it had the chance to exchange hands, Danica realized she was holding another ID. The picture on this one looked as though it could have been taken in the last couple of days. But it was definitely not an accepted pose for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"Usually when people have a fake ID made, they change the age, not the picture." Danica admonished, "But... this is still a picture of you. What's the point?"

The girl cursed under her breath. "How much trouble am I in?"

"Charlotte, I'm not a cop. But my job is to hand over my findings to cops," she could see the discomfort on the girl's face. "How about you tell me what exactly I'm looking at, and I'll give you an idea of how much trouble you might be in."

"I don't want to get anyone else in trouble," she stated sincerely.

"I get that, but forging government documents is a big deal," Danica looked over at the group of high schoolers standing next to the pathway, waiting for the Deputy Chief to take their statements. They don't look like a bad bunch. But you can never rely on looks alone.

The young lady frowned as she mulled over her best course of action.

"I didn't feel like that one was an accurate portrayal of me. I... know someone who works at the DMV. And I convinced them to let me take a silly picture since I was just about to turn 18, and it would expire in a few weeks. So, they agreed under the condition that I get rid of it when the new one showed up."

"So wait... they were both issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles?"

"If I'm in trouble, then I can take it. But I'm not gonna snitch on someone who wasn't hurting anyone or even doing anything really wrong."

It was Danica's turn to sigh as she considered the young woman's words. She looked at the ID in her hand and placed it in her pocket.

"I'd rather focus on helping your friend right now, Charlotte. But this way I know how to track you down when I decide what to do."

"Okay," she said, considering Danica's words. "One condition though."

She's in no position to start making demands, the fingerprint specialist raised an eyebrow and let the girl continued. Ballsy.

"Don't call me Charlotte," the young woman declared proudly. "I'm Pixie."

Danica looked at the picture again and smirked, "Yeah, I can see that. And hey, thanks again for the heads-up on the bandanna. I'll be around in a moment to take your prints. Should probably get them from everyone over there over 18."

Pixie smiled and nodded. "I'll let them know."

Cute kid, Danica thought as she turned her attention back to her work and scowled at the tattered clothing. Now, what the hell was this all about?

_____

"What's going on here?"

Chris winced, despite knowing the questions inevitability.

"Um, we're working on marching in unison," he answered without altering his pace.

"I can see that," Kristina grumbled. "Why are you leading all the wind instruments?"

"Well, y'know, once I was working with most of 'em, Toph and I just kinda shrugged and said 'hey, why not?'"

"Why were you leading any of them?"

"Well, y'see, at the end of last year, when Moira graduated, we thought it wouldn't be right if she came back this year just to continue as first trombone. So what we did was-"

"Can it!" Chris wondered which dated film Kristina stole that from. "Why were you leading more than just the bones?"

"Because the other section leaders had a problem they needed to deal with," Chris had never realized how much joy he'd get from antagonizing the Drum major. He couldn't determine if it was primarily from his non-answers or the fact that she was scrambling to keep pace while they marched on.

"Stop!"

"Yes?" Topher answered warmly as Chris called for the other musicians to take a break.

"Is there a problem?" Chris smirked. "We're working on keeping time across sections, figured that'd be better than not being productive or leaving some sections out."

Kristina quickly looked over the group. The halved trumpet section was the easiest for her to target. "You're missing people. Where is Joe? What about the new guy?"

"New guy?" Topher shook his head. "There's no shortage of new guys? We got tons of greenies. You want me to call the freshmen over?"

"You want me to make the rest of the year a living hell?" Kristina glowered. "They need to be here. Otherwise they're going to stand out, and we can't have that when we're marching."

"You're worried that Joe is going to let herself stand out?" Topher laughed at the notion.

"Shut your damn mouth," her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

"He's right though," Chris admitted. "Joe's not going to have any trouble blending in. And Miles..."

"Are you kidding?" One of the other boys from that section piped up. "K, you should see him. Day one that guy had it down better than most of us veterans. He can march. Pretty sure that's how he came out of the womb."

"Jerry, nobody needs that visual," Topher admonished.

"I swear to God, O'Hara, if Seph wasn't your sister, your ass would be out of here."

Glancing over, Chris couldn't tell if her words struck a chord with Topher or he was struggling to keep another remark from escaping his lips.

"Chris!" Kristina asked through gritted teeth "Where did everyone go?"

He couldn't help but smile as he answered in full honesty, "I don't know."

_____

Ryan dismissed the County officers and the EMTs once Zoe signed a refusal form for further medical attention. The next hour was spent recording statements, documenting the scene, taking photos, and collecting fingerprints of everyone over 18. Everyone's stories seemed relatively consistent. When Cleo recapped the events, she mentioned the altercation on Saturday and how Kristina had reacted. Ryan made sure that all the others, including Mrs. Page, had similar accounts of Kristina's words from the other day.

"Alright," Ryan sighed. "We've put it off long enough, Miles, you should call your folks, let them know whats happened."

"Sir, I'm sorry. I, uh.... I just can't do that. Not right now, Sir," he scowled at the notion and shook his head. He'd been cagey about the suggestion earlier, but it wasn't until that moment he outright dismissed the idea.

"Son," Ryan frowned, torn by the respect he was being shown and the blatant disregard for the suggestion he'd made. "Legally, you two are adults, but as a parent, you need to know about something like this. Unless... is there a situation at home that would preclude you from wanting to call?"

"Sir. No, Sir," Miles waved off the idea. "It's just that... uh-"

He looked at his sister, her face void of emotion, eyes looking past the people in front of her into the infinite void of the universe.

"... We'll tell her," Miles assured. "Just... not today. I... We can't."

Ryan tilted his head, "So special about today?"

Miles sighed. "She's been working so hard. Getting us settled here."

His comment piqued the interest of all within earshot.

"Even before we left," he continued. "She was studying harder than I think I ever have in my life."

"Studying for what?" Cleo asked without putting any thought into interrupting.

"It's called, um, the CLE?" He looked Ryan in the eyes, hoping the officer might recognize the abbreviation. "Yeah! Continuing Legal Education. She had to make sure she knew all these differences so she could practice here."

"I'm so confused," Judy admitted. "Practice what?"

"Law," Ryan said as Miles's words sunk in. "So, what makes today unique?"

"They're doing that, um, Oath of Admissions Ceremony. Down in Raleigh," Miles explained. "We found out she was approved for an Admission on Motion a week ago. Er, I guess a few weeks ago now. She's probably getting sworn in right now. And then this afternoon she said they'll probably have a reception where she can network. And... I-" He looked at his sister for support, but received nothing but a blank stare in return. "We don't want to do anything to diminish today for her."

"Chief," Danica said softly. "As much as it tears me up inside, what's she going to be able to do if she drops everything and rushes over here? It's their call. The med techs said nothing was broken. She's 18. An adult. She'd say something if she wanted us to get ahold of her mom"

Though unsatisfied with the place it brought them, the deputy chief knew no amount of arguing was going to convince them.

_____

"There any spare bunks in your cabin?" Ryan asked Cleo.

"I think so," she tried to visualize the layout of the room and who had been sleeping where. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure there were a few in the back... maybe?"

"Good, 'cause we're keeping this one," he pointed to the cot still flung across the beams at the dock, "Chapman can nab some prints off it now, but we'll go over it with a fine-toothed comb back at the lab."

Zoe squirmed at the suggestion.

"Don't worry. We'll just move one of the ones from the back to your bunk," Cleo suggested, and the other girls from their cabin supported the notion. "We're not gonna let anything else happen to you. Dad's on it now, and he'll figure out who did this."

Kristina had to be behind this, Cleo told herself. But why does that not seem right?

An exchange of glances seemed to confirm the others were having the same internal debate.

"So, I get that you can get the fingerprints from the fabric," Amber said, bringing them back to the moment at hand. "But aren't there going to be like... a million fingerprints on the cot?"

"Yes and no," Danica answered. "There's a certain amount of degradation that occurs naturally over time. It won't be like someone washed it or anything, but we'll have an idea of which ones are new."

"Woah, so like, carbon dating?" Mel asked.

"Not a comparison I'd be willing to make if I was presenting this to a jury, but I think it's a similar concept," Danica nodded. "But, y'know, way shorter timespan."

"And that concludes the question portion of the tour," Ryan waved. "You kids are probably good to head back. I'm sure everyone is wondering where y'all have gotten off to."

"One can only hope," Mrs. Page shook her head.

"I'll see you at the end of the week?" Cleo asked.

"I'm not heading back quite yet," her father answered. "I wanna check out the cabin. And have a few words with Boon and Mrs. Taylor."

"Loud words?" Cleo asked.

"When have I ever needed to be loud to get a point across?"

Cleo nodded to confirm the accuracy of the statement, while Judy voiced a question of her own. "Curse words?"

"I'll see you all back at the camp," he waved them off.

"Thats a 'yes'," Judy snickered.

Her reprieve was short lived, as those around her were still too concerned about other things. They bid a temporary farewell to Cleo's father and the women assisting him before heading back toward camp. Their sullen mood juxtaposing the warmth of the late-morning sun beating down on them.

"Miles?" Pixie's voice carried its usual exuberance, catching the others off guard.

"Yes, Pixie?"

Cleo couldn't help but notice a peculiar smirk flash across Miles's face as he answered.

"Could you tell us more about what it was like in Seattle?"

As the two shortest girls in the senior class, Cleo and Pixie had a unique bond that almost no one else knew existed. With that bond, Cleo had been privy to a handful of conversations she doubted the other girl would have shared with even her closest of friends. It was a friendship she'd always felt guilty about. It wasn't just the fact that a few inches kept Cleo from being the shortest girl in school. Other aspects of Pixie's figure made Cleo grateful for her genetics. A little bit of teasing about height could never cut as deep as the criticisms uttered about a lack of some curves. Stupid fat deposits had saved Cleo from being referred to as a '12-year-old-boy' by some of the assholes in their class.

It wasn't merely physical traits that Cleo felt sorry about. Though she wasn't in the running for valedictorian, she'd seldom struggled to maintain decent grades even after agreeing to take on an AP course. As far as she knew, Pixie had long since given up on the idea of getting straight As. Or straight Bs. And with how she spoke on certain things, Cleo couldn't be positive her friend received passing scores on even half her tests.

Though she'd never admit it out loud, Cleo often felt sorry for the shorter girl.

Yet as they trod the dirt path back to the cabins and the field, even walking in the shadow of a giant like Miles, Pixie carried herself with a confidence Cleo had never seen before. The explanation came almost instantly as she realized everyone else in their group was fixated on Miles's description of his old home.

Instead of walking back dreading what was in store for them, or speculating on things well out of their control, with a single sentence Pixie was able to distract the whole group from what had troubled them the entire morning.

Attagirl Pix, Cleo smiled. Get our minds onto something else.

It was at that moment that Cleo realized there was an opposite side to that coin of sorrow. She envied Pixie.

For everything people could possibly find fault in, the girl was stronger than anyone else Cleo knew. Braver too. No matter what anyone else said, she never let it hold her back from being herself. She never doubted herself. She never fueled the flames of self-resentment by parroting the denunciations made in the hallways of school, or the worse ones made in locker rooms. The things Cleo felt most self-conscious of, everything Zoe had called Cleo out on at the start of the week, Pixie had an abundance of.

With that thought, Cleo glanced at the female twin. Gone was the stoic image she'd seen before leaving her father and the forensic specialists. In its place, anger. For reasons Cleo couldn't fathom, Zoe was upset with Miles.

_____

"You two want to head back to the station? Sgt. Bradford probably needs you back. Not sure he expected me to have you out so long when he said I could borrow you," Ryan felt obligated to ask, though was fairly certain he knew their answers. "I'm gonna hang out here for a bit and figure out why the hell the people in charge aren't doing their damn jobs."

It was no secret that a large reason he'd been sent to Stokes County was his ability to remove himself from the situation. His even temper and analytical mind had made him the perfect choice for someone to restore public relations. As Internal Affairs tore the department to shreds, Ryan was there to maintain the peace.

It came as no surprise that when an assault case hitting so close to home was placed in his lap, neither of the women accompanying him wanted to miss how he'd handle it.

"Not on your life, Goldstein," Bonnie cackled. "An' we only seen where the incident ended. Still need to check where things started."

She had a point. The girl didn't bring her own cot down to the dock to sleep out under the stars. According to her statement, a half-dozen people were involved. And with that many, someone left evidence somewhere. Fingerprints found within the cabin would be useless, but they couldn't rule out discovering something else that could make some sense of why Zoe was singled out.

"And who are we kidding, you don't even have a forensics department, so you'd be sending everything to us to process anyway. This way, we're getting ahead of the game," Danica stated.

"And from how things look, I'd say that man is due for a whooping, and I kinda wanna see that," Bonnie added.

"Much as I'd like to stick my size 12 up his hindquarters..." Ryan smirked. "No, can't do that. But, we do need answers."

"And," Danica furrowed her brow as she spoke. "Lucy is just a few years away and if she's gonna be in band, I'd like to know why this man didn't deem the safety of his students a priority."

"Hey! Just because my kids aren't still in high school doesn't mean I'm not as invested in this as either of you," Bonnie shook her head. "'Sides, whatever he deemed too important to leave while we were out here might involve another crime scene."

"Alright, alright," Ryan put his hands up. "You're right, you don't need to head back. See you at the parking lot."

The girls gave him a nod before stowing their gear in the SUV.

While they climbed into their vehicle, Ryan secured his own supplies before completing the short drive around the campground leading to the small parking area. On the far side of the field he spotted his daughter along with her friends emerging from the trail. To his relief, Boon looked to be en route to intercept them as soon as he caught sight of them.

"Things good, chief?" Danica called out through the open window as the Denali settled into the parking space adjacent to the one he'd chosen.

He flashed the girls a subtle nod and brief smile. While he missed the camaraderie of a larger precinct, working along side a handful of officers to delve into a case, he appreciated the autonomy afforded to him working in the county. The majority of his time was spent less than a handful of stops away from his daughter. Occasionally, there might be a case in the unincorporated area outside the actual town limits, and in those rare circumstances he'd supervise the officers assigned to it. But the majority of the time, he didn't even need to leave the precinct itself. Instead of having his time spent hunting down a murderer or rapist like he'd inevitably have to do in a bigger city, Ryan was able to work with the community to ensure it remained a safe and cohesive environment to raise a family in.

"Any sign of our man yet?" Bonnie asked once she'd retrieved her satchel from the back seat.

"Yeah, he was heading over to-"

The image across the field caused his heart to plummet. The students who should have been praised for their actions earlier that day were being publicly reprimanded. They were too far away to be heard, but there was no mistaking the hostility and accusations in the gestures coming from the oafish band director.

"Oh boy," Danica muttered, hoisting her gear from the back and slamming the door shut.

"Yeah," Ryan shook his head, sighed, and sprinted to the other side of the field.

_____

"The rules are clear on this, Cleo. I've got to send you home," Boon stated after he'd gained a bit of his composure back. "You might be able to plead your case to Owen and Pennington, but you're looking at maybe... I don't know, a week? Maybe more... suspension."

"But she didn't do anything," Amber cried.

Boon knew he'd amassed at least a small group of witnesses to the heated exchange, and spoke softly in an attempt to not draw more attention.

"I realize that this feels like normal high school behavior. It's normalized in movies and TV shows, but that doesn't mean I can just look the other way," Boon sighed. "And I get it, it's not fair, in a few years this wouldn't be a problem. No one would pay any mind to it. But at this point, what you did was both illegal and a violation of school policy. My hands are tied."

"Whose hands are tied?" A voice called from behind the band director.

To Boon's surprise, one of the county officers was approaching. He looked familiar, but with a town as small as Walker's Cove, even someone passing through once a decade feels recognizable. The women accompanying him, on the other hand, neither looked familiar by face or uniform. Though he didn't recall tasking one of the chaperones with alerting the authorities, the morning had been such a whirlwind of information to grasp, their presence confirmed that even in his most bewildered, Boon was capable of taking charge.

"I, ah... Good you're here," he nodded to the trio approaching. "I was just informing these students that anything illegal that occurs on the band retreat has a specific course of action that follows. First and foremost being informing the police."

Boon smiled at the uniformed officer like a dog waiting to receive his reward for following a basic command.

"O-kay?" The patrolman questioned. "Which student? And what did they do?"

"Right! Sorry, thank you. It's been... a morning," Boon shook his head and extended an open hand toward the student in question.

"Hang on a second," the officer interrupted. "Mind if we sidebar, give you the opportunity to speak more openly?"

Boon exhaled. He'd never been much for confrontations. Especially when it came to students he built years of rapport with. The buffer was greatly appreciated.

"So," under the brim of the police hat, the man's eyes darted from Boon to the students and back. "You tell me what's going on here."

Ed Boon fluttered his lips, "Afraid it's a bit of a cliché actually. Kids want to be treated like adults, then at the first opportunity they sneak some booze and make some bad decisions."

"Uh-huh," cliché as it may be, at least a little bit more surprise could have been put into the response. "And which student did you say it was?"

"The short one there. With the curly hair," he gave a vague gesture to the group. "That's not to say it wasn't the lot of 'em, but, well, she's the only one we have evidence."

"Evidence?"

At least an eyebrow was raised at that notion.

"Right," Boon swung his arm widely at the row of cabins. "Her bunk there was-"

"You should probably show us."

Even though he wasn't the one at fault, the stern tone caused Boon to gulp.

Heaven have mercy on that girl.

"Danica, you mind rounding up the kids?"

"Sure thing, chief."

Chief, that must be why he looks so familiar.

"I realize this shouldn't be so shocking to me," Boon rambled, more to hear his thoughts out loud than for feedback from the other adults. "But it's frustrating. You feel like, y'know, like this is a good kid. You work with them for years. See them develop into young adults. They're such good students and then, wham, just... out of no where..."

The feeling of an authority figure at his heels made Boon uneasy. His brief responses provided no reassurance that Boon wasn't also going to be penalized for the infraction.

"You two mind waiting outside with the students while Mr. Boon here shows me what all this is about?" The officer said as they came to the cabin. "Keep an eye on the kids."

"Sure thing, chief," the one he called Danica answered.

As the lights flickered to life, Boon strode between the bunks until he came to the one that had been pointed out to him earlier. The duffle bag resting atop it so filled with bottles it nearly clinked with the shift in air pressure from the cabin door opening.

"This is the problem," Boon pointed. "All the bottles appear empty. No way she could have downed them all herself. But it's her bag, I wouldn't know who else helped her with 'em. And she's denying the whole thing, so I wasn't going to get her to name who else partook."

"You've got suspicions though?"

Looking to the doorway, the students and adults accompanying them filled the otherwise open frame. Neither the shortest, nor the tallest, Judy was the face his eyes were drawn to. The rumors that surrounded that girl went well beyond standard high school gossip. Even among teachers, she may as well have worn a red A. Quick with a flippant remark but not with a legitimate answer to anything classroom related, her reputation was anything but positive.

"I've got nothing to prove it, but that girl in the middle there has always been a trouble maker."

"Oh, I'm familiar with Judy."

A chortle escaped Boon's throat, "I'm sure you are."

"She was held back a year, wasn't she? Gotta be at least 19. Don't need her guardian or a lawyer to question her. You want me to give her a little shakedown? See if she'll fess up to the booze?"

For a split second, Ed was tempted to agree to the suggestion.

"Like I said, sir, I've got nothing to link her to it. And I don't like the precedent it sets if we treat her like a guilty party just because of her history."

"You surprise me with that answer. I thought you were looking to out the bad seeds."

The band director considered these words, "No. Not out the bad seeds. Provide a healthy environment for the good seeds to flourish. If this wasn't so cut and dry, I'd even want to hear Cleo's reasoning for choosing to bring liquor to camp."

"You mentioned 'good students' earlier, that how you view her?"

"Cleo? Up until now I would have said one of Carter's best. Can't say how she does in other classes, but in band she's always pushed herself. Stayed after school to work on her patterns. Even asked me to tutor her earlier this summer. And now that all feels like some big ruse."

"Well, you said you'd like to know her reasoning, maybe we can find out, mind calling her over?"

As the man spoke, Boon grew aware of the ease at which they were talking. He wondered if they'd had a previous interaction which he was failing to recall at the moment.

"Cleo?" Boon spoke up loud enough for those in the doorway to hear. "Could you join us here?"

Tentatively, the girl ambled toward the two men.

"Is this your bag?" The officer asked once she was in front of them.

"Y-yes," She answered as her eyes fell upon the bottles. "But I don't know-"

"Did you bring another bag?" His curt response caught her off guard.

"N-no," she looked back and forth between them in a slight panic.

He pointed to the stacked chest of drawers next to the bunk.

"This one yours?"

She pointed to an identical chest on the opposite side of the bunk, "That one."

He ignored her answer as he walked over to the chest he'd pointed at, opened a drawer, and removed one of the T-shirts. Even without unfurling it, it was obvious to Boon the garment would be much too large for her. Regardless, he draped it in front of her as a parent would when taking their child clothes shopping. Seemingly satisfied that the top wasn't hers, he patiently folded it back up and placed it back in the drawer.

Mr. Boon shifted his weight, the unease creeping up on him as he waited for the officer to complete whatever he was up to.

The process was repeated, this time with the small cabinet she'd claimed as her own. To no one's surprise, the shirt was a much better match to the girl's dimensions. With no sign of impatience or irritation, the officer folded the shirt as diligently as he'd done the first, but instead of placing it back in the drawer, he pulled everything else out and set them gently on the cot next to the duffle.

"This too?" He pointed to a smaller top drawer. Her cheeks burned red as she nodded. He pointed to the adjacent drawer, "And this?"

Again, she nodded.

We've got her.

Ignoring the contents of the top drawers, the policeman spoke again.

"What happened to the bottom bunk?" this question was instead directed at Mr. Boon.

"I- what?" Ed had been expecting the officer to make the girl pack up her things and leave. "I don't know anything about that."

"Are the girls alone in the bunks? You don't let the boys and girls share bunks, do you? It seems a chaperone should be present, surely you're not the chaperone for this cabin."

Something in the cadence of his questioning triggered a spot in the recesses of Boon's mind, but he was too flummoxed to parse out why.

"Uh... um... ah... Of course we don't let the boys and the girls share a cabin! The chaperone for this cabin... left this morning," Boon said, attempting to hide how insulting he found the accusation.

"I see," he covered the lower half of his face with his hand as he debated the next course of action. "That's all for now, miss. Could you step outside and send Mrs. Chapman in?"

Cleo did as she was told. Danica approached and gave each man a look of confusion.

"Chief?"

The way she said it made Boon's hair stand on end.

"Mr. Boon here is claiming that student brought all this with her, in this bag," the uniformed chief gestured to the various items on the top bunk, "Plus whatever is in those two drawers."

Hearing the facts while looking at the overstuffed duffle, Ed Boon suddenly realized he'd made a huge mistake.

"Well, Chief," Danica set the hard shelled-case she'd lugged in with her on the bed opposite Cleo's, popped it open, grabbed a fresh pair of gloves, took hold of the duffle, and attempted to zip it shut. "I gotta say I don't think that's too likely. Is there a second bag?"

"Girl said no."

The discomfort Ed had been feeling already was now starting to boil over.

"I got the girl's prints right here, chief," Danica withdrew the card book from her bag, "You want me to check the bottles?"

Why does she have Cleo's prints?

"Think you can get a clean one?"

"You kidding? I can see a couple patent ones right here," she pointed to an exposed part of the bottle. "And I bet I can get a few sets of prints from every one of these. Nothing prints better than glass."

With unblinking eyes, both men stared in silent admiration of the deftness with which the fingerprint specialist went to work. After pushing aside a foam divider, she pulled out a camera as well as a laptop, then tethered the devices together with a cable before snapping a few shots of Cleo's duffle. With every click of the shutter, a new image appeared on the application that had loaded up on the laptop screen. As the machine processed what was on the display, Danica extracted several bottles from Cleo's bag. After a thorough photo session with each long-necked individual, she pulled out the foam false-bottom to her case, revealing brushes and jars underneath.

"This is the fun part," the police chief whispered enthusiastically.

With no need to check labels, she twisted the lid off one of the jars, dipped the feathered end of a brush in its powdery contents, and applied it to the glass bottles that moments ago resided in Cleo's duffle. Within seconds, the smooth transparent containers were leopard-printed in ovals composed of near microscopic lines.

A wide-eyed Boon looked wearily at the man standing next to him, who responded with a small but deliberate nod.

Seemingly satisfied with her results, Danica returned the brush to its clip and brought the camera back to her face. Again, she snapped away. The new images that populated the monitor were quickly accompanied by lined indicators circling the prints and attributing details to each.

"Incredible," Boon whispered. "I thought that was all Hollywood gimmickry."

"That's what they said about video calls when Star Trek first aired," Danica said, her eye still pressed to the viewfinder. "They've been showing off this kinda tech for... what? Twenty years on TV? Maybe more? Meanwhile there are security cameras processing facial structures and comparing them to international databases, but nobody bats an eye at those."

"Pretty sure he wasn't intending it as a criticism, Chapman," the officer chuckled as they watched her apply tape to each of the visible prints and pulled off the black powder.

"Right," Boon affirmed. "I think."

"Well, I can tell you one thing," Danica said as she cataloged her pulls. "None of these look like Cleo's prints. At least not her dominant hand. Not sure about the ND yet."

"How?" Boon shook his head. "How can you be so sure? You haven't even looked at anything to compare them too."

She briefly glanced at the images on the screen as he spoke. "Yeah, no way they're hers. Here, lemme show."

Danica quickly tabbed through a few screens until she had one with white boxes. Within each, a detailed fingerprint of varying sizes nested with a fair amount of padding between it and the border. The mental image that lived inside Boon's mind of what a fingerprint looks like was distorted as the ones in front of him had similar, yet distinct lines breaking their flow from one end to the next.

"What am I looking at here?" Boon asked.

"She's got unusual prints on her right hand," said the scientist as she pointed to the screen. "Scar goes across each of her fingers. I even double-checked when I printed her to make sure nothing was contaminating them. She told me she drums as a stress relief and sometimes gets so into it she doesn't realize when her stick splits in half. I imagine that must have been a sight with her flinging blood all over the room."

"You're telling me that's-"

"Scar tissue," Danica provided. "It's pretty distinct on her right hand. But her left has a bit too."

A slightly sick feeling came over Boon as he recalled evenings when the girl had stayed late to wail on the set kept in one of the practice rooms at school. Something she started doing her Freshman year. She made such a habit of it, he never paid much attention. The part he found suddenly alarming was the occasions she insisted on getting some products from the janitor's closet to sanitize the room. After nearly two decades in his position, Boon was familiar with the changes young people go through at that age. Some students weren't able to stay on top of their hygiene. He'd simply written it off as the girl being embarrassed of leaving a funk behind. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined a student, through trying to better themselves at a sanctioned school activity, might inflict permanent damage to their body because of his neglect. That was something for the science labs and the shop classes.

As he processed the information, Danica went back to printing more contents from within the duffle.

"While Miss Chapman is working," the officer turned his focus back to Ed. "You mind telling me what else might have had your attention this morning?"

"Am I... in trouble?" Boon asked incredulously.

"Just trying to figure out what happened to this bunk," he said, gesturing to the vacant space below Cleo's sleeping area. "Anything else happen or was it just the liquor bottles?"

Boon let out a heavy sigh and, with it, escaped the remnants of color from his face.

"I had some students quit today," he said weakly. "Nine students. All veterans of the marching band. Including the daughter of this cabin's chaperone. Which means I'm also short a chaperone."

The others exchanged a glance.

"You've had students drop out of marching band before though, right?"

The question felt more earnest, less accusatory than the last.

"Never like this. Never my section leaders and Drum Captain. That's unheard of. We haven't even had our first rehearsal yet, and this is likely a three-month setback. My only saving grace when I heard the drum captain was quitting was that I thought I could push Miss Goldstein to take on the responsibility. But then her chaperone... or former chaperone... informed me of the contents of that bag."

"About that," Danica interjected. "There's a lot of prints on these bottles. Now, I haven't got 'em all yet, so I haven't been able to do a comparison on every single one. But some things are looking apparent, like, everyone had their own."

"What do you mean?" The police chief's curiosity made the question sound more childlike than commanding.

"I think whoever had these bottles knew their favorites," She clicked on a folder in the app processing the fingerprints, "See this? These are all from the Smirnoff, five clean prints like they were holding it like this."

She mimed holding a bottle for the men to see.

"Plus some partials. And a couple other prints, but they match the initial five. Y'see? Like one person was holding that bottle. Either they were bogarting it or pouring it into something for others to drink. Then look at the Jack."

She opened another group of photos, and again they filled the screen as the previous set shrunk away.

"This person favored grabbing the bottle with their thumb, pointer, and middle finger. They're all over the bottle. These smudges here? I bet ya dollars to doughnuts, they're from the knuckle of their ring finger."

"Chapman, does this get us anywhere?"

"It does, and it doesn't, Chief Goldstein," she looked over at the doorway and saw the faces of students looking back at her. "First, except for a few errant prints, almost every bottle has only one set to them. Second, not only have I not found any matching Cleo's prints. So far, none have matched our small group of onlookers we spent the morning with."

Boon followed her gaze to the door as the words she spoke sunk in. Though he hadn't thought to question why Danica had her prints on hand at first, now he was really considering things as they were coming to light.

"Spent the morning with? I don't underst-" Another thought caught him before he finished his sentence. "You just said..."

His eyes fell on the brass nameplate on the man's uniform, GOLDSTEIN was clearly visible for him to read. The father of the very girl he'd insisted on having escorted off the premises. A man he'd seen sporadically throughout the past several years at various school related events. He'd been so fixated on associating the face with the uniform, he'd failed to consider that it might be someone he knew in more casual wear.

"So, you... you're not... you were already..." His knees buckled slightly at the realization. "I think maybe I'm the one who needs to be brought up to speed."

Ryan stood upright and straightened out his uniform. From his shirt pocket he removed a small notepad.

"Ed, you may want to sit down for this," Ryan said, addressing him as more of an equal. "Do you have any idea what has been going on here the past couple of days?"

1:30 PM, Belews Lake Cafeteria

Cleo gave Danica permission to commandeer her bag once it was pointed out how many prints might be on it. Ed Boon had been informed of Kristina's outburst over the weekend and Zoe's abduction. The students decided to get Zoe some nourishment as they awaited hearing what either Chief Goldstein or Mr. Boon's courses of action would be.

"That's wild," Chris exclaimed after he was mostly brought up to speed. There was an unspoken understanding of the group that neither Miles nor Chris needed to know how exactly Zoe had been put on display that morning. "Dude, that means y'all didn't even know Tamera quit?"

"We kinda had other things we were dealing with," Seph stated emphatically. While she spoke her eyes tracked Zoe, who had yet to sit. She couldn't determine if it was from an emotional high or if the morning's assault made sitting an unpleasant act.

"Yeah, yeah. No doubt. But that means we don't have a drum Captain. How's that gonna work?" Chris inquired.

"I dunno, who else is even up to par?"

"Cleo is," Lindsay stated softly.

"It's true, Cleo was already the best drummer we had even when Tamera was in band," Judy agreed. Pixie and Amber nodded enthusiastically.

Seph's eyes left Zoe as she looked over at Cleo and felt another pang of guilt for having overlooked her for years.

"Ugh, can you imagine having to work that closely with Kristina? No thank you," Cleo stated to everyone's surprise.

"Besides, if she was one of the girls who attacked Zoe last night-"Miles offered.

"Zoe said she wasn't," Cleo interjected defiantly.

"Right," Miles responded without conviction. Neither he nor Seph had heard Zoe actually confirm this, but she hadn't refuted it when Cleo and Pixie had made similar remarks earlier. "But if she was behind it-"

"Then that's why Cleo should be the new Drum Captain," Zoe stated bluntly. It was at that moment that most of the table realized they hadn't heard her speak since telling Officer Goldstein she wanted Cleo to be there when she got examined.

_____

"Are you serious?" Inquired a bewildered Cleo. "It'd be like sleeping with the enemy."

"If she was behind it. And the bottles in your bag. Then it'd be the perfect place for you to be," Every eye on the table was on Zoe as she spoke. Her words came out cold and calculated. They didn't see things like she did. For Zoe, it was simple. She'd been attacked this morning. The enemy had made the first move, and though she hated thinking of her friends in this manner, now was her opportunity to place her own pawns into position for the counter attack.

Seph looked at Chris, then Pixie, and finally Mel. "We should find Topher, get Tune, and see how soon we can hold an audition for the open spot."

The other section leaders looked at each other and nodded. Before stepping away from the table, Pixie leaned in and took hold of one of Zoe's hands. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

Zoe, for the first time, realized what pretty eyes Pixie had. Eyes that she felt were looking past her own, either the girl had the ability to gaze right into her soul, or she was trying to look through Zoe entirely and really ask the question to Miles.

"Thank you, Pixie," for the second time that morning, the sight of Pixie brought the first sensation of happiness to Zoe after hours of dwelling in the dark and bitterness. She gestured towards the others sitting at the table. "They'll keep me safe."

Seph nodded, "they better."

"If you guys are taking care of that, you think we're good to take Zoe back to her cabin?" Cleo asked.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Seph looked among her friends and received silent confirmations to the suggestion. "We'll come meet up with you after we talk with him."

_____

Ed Boon had no idea what the day would have in store for him when he awoke Monday morning. His Drum Major left a bit to be desired, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd worked with such capable section leaders. Seph in particular had a knack for chiseling away at those around her until the strongest aspects of their character shone brightest. She didn't choose to befriend the most talented musicians in their ensemble. She silently pushed her friends to become the best versions of themselves until that's what they were.

And he wasn't sure any of them realized it.

Between that knowledge and Cleo asking for private lessons over the summer, he'd had much to look forward to. Chiefly, hearing what the whole band would sound like when they came together. They'd start off strong but over the course of the year he was going to refine them into one of, if not, the best in the state.

Had it been any other year, the morning would have provided him that opportunity to finally hear the band for the first time since they'd let out for the summer. Then after lunch, they'd take to the field, and he'd have a real idea of how they compared to previous years.

It was nearly unfathomable, what the actual start of the year would turn into. So much for his dreams of going to state. All things considered, he wasn't confident he'd still have a job by the end of the week, let alone that the retreat wouldn't be terminated early.

There wasn't anything he could do if they decided to bring the kids home. That was out of his hands. But if he was to lose his job, the least he could do would be ensuring his replacement not inherit a band in shambles. That involved two things, the first would be filling the vacancies from the deserters, the second and more crucial was to rejuvenate moral. Despite the officer's wishes, there wasn't a way to keep the distressing truth about the morning from getting out. He'd worked in education too long to believe that students could keep quiet about something like that.

The majority of empty spots in his band roster were percussionists.

Damn Kristina. He scowled at past memories. She's never been one to play well with others, and unfortunately, she has even more trouble playing on her own.

He knew it was unfair to place the blame solely on the girl. Had he a spine, she never would have the authoritative position she now held.

Offspring, siblings, and, to a lesser extent cousins, tend to hold certain expectations when they enroll to a place where their kin were living legends. Had her cousin's Senior Year been as unremarkable as the ones prior, no one would have given her a second glance. But it wasn't unremarkable. His near meteoric rise of influence, both on and off the field, made him a local celebrity before he even graduated. In the subsequent years, there was no hint of him slowing down. Rumors of retiring his Demon Deacons jersey started circulating before his time in college was fulfilled. Him being a first-round pick for the professional league was merely a foregone conclusion to anyone with even a passing interest in the sport.

Both teachers and Carter High alumni could be heard bragging "I was there where it all started." His fame was so palpable that his cousin became an overnight celebrity by association.

Boon didn't know how she manipulated this influence with the teachers, but he knew she did. As much as he hated it, there was validity to the notion "you can't say 'no' to a star." And he had neither the fortitude nor integrity to challenge it.

Unfortunately, Kristina Adams shared few qualities with her cousin other than the ability to intimidate others.

The girl had done everything short of carrying a sign around announcing her relationship to the linebacker. It had gained her popularity with the athletes, especially the varsity football team, from her first year of high school. By the time she was a senior, her notoriety among her classmates was unmistakable. She was a mediocre student, but halfway decent percussionist. Her brazen attitude, coupled with her status as a local icon, led to no one challenging her for position.

In the middle of her Junior year, when the question came up of who would be the next Drum Major, no objections were raised.

Had the decision fallen solely on Ed, he would have had Tamera and Cleo go head-to-head for it. They both had the skills as musicians and enough passion for the band to lead. As events unfolded, he saw Kristina give her support to Tamera and Cleo didn't even attempt to voice an interest. Instead, she stayed after school let out, went to a rehearsal room, and played for hours.

Often she played along with a stereo that didn't have a volume loud enough for her to not drown out as she wailed on the skins. In other instances, he heard her play to nothing more than her own internal metronome. He tried not to make a habit of listening in on his students as they rehearsed in private. But he also had to ensure no students were using the practice spaces for anything unsanctioned by the school. He'd stand there and wonder how she came up with such intricate rhythms. He'd nearly asked her to share some of her influences so he had an understanding of where she drew her inspiration from.

Such a simple interaction could have been all that was needed for him to see the gnarly injuries she inflicted upon herself. He couldn't shake the realization that such a thing happened right under his nose. And likely more than just the one time.

Too many.

That was the conclusion he could draw from the knowledge.

It had been too many.

Once was too many.

And it was just the tip of the iceberg. There had been other things he'd chosen to look the other way on when it came to his students. His 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality was a sham of an excuse. He couldn't continue to turn a blind eye to things like sex and drugs no matter how interwoven they'd become with rock and roll. He couldn't continue deluding himself into believing they made for healthy expressions of passion or inspiration. Had he taken a less lax approach with his students, things could have turned out different for many of them. Cleo and Zoe. The four veteran percussionists who left that morning? The Trombone player? The three color guard? Perhaps they were only the first of this year's students to fall prey to his neglect. He couldn't be sure they'd be the last, but he could use whatever time he had left with the school to work toward that.

How had they not come to these conclusions earlier in the summer before spending one of the last precious weeks doing paramilitary drills under the hot sun?

Ed Boon contemplated these things as he'd talked to Officer Goldstein and the scientists accompanying him. They showed him a leniency he wasn't sure he would have offered had their roles been reversed.

It was leniency he didn't deserve. He hadn't earned. The mornings revelations forced him to question his best judgment, but he couldn't help but feel as though kind words from Cleo over the years had softened her father's heart and spared Boon the brunt of his wrath. Another thing he'd feel indebted to her over.

His next course of action was an unpleasant one.

I need to contact the school, He told himself. They're going to want to inform the families that one of the students was... attacked? Assaulted? Doesn't matter. They'll want to pull their kids once they hear. And if more students quit, what happens to the band? What happens to my position?

Something about the last thought didn't sit right in his head.

You ignorant fool, His inner monologue scoffed. They'll reprimand you for that White girl before they do anything about the students quitting. You don't even know if you'll still have a position when you get back. Well... Maybe you will.

He tried to think of any instances where a colleague had something similar come up. What happened to them?

He was still lost in his thoughts, staring out into the field, when a small gaggle of students walked right up to him.

"Mr. Boon."

His eyes snapped into focus, and he realized they weren't just any students, they were the majority of his remaining section leaders.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes?"

"We were wondering," as Seph spoke, she lost a bit of her bluster. "When can we hold auditions for the open Drum Captain spot?"

"We're not," he said to the astonishment of the students. "Cleo Goldstein is our new drum captain. She's it until she graduates or someone outplays her."

_____

"Is it bad that I'm disappointed by how smoothly that went?" Mel asked as they walked over to the girls' cabin.

"After how this morning went?" Seph scoffed. "Yes. Bad. We've had enough to deal with for... some increment of time. Way more than what I'm comfortable having condensed into one morning."

"Yup," Pixie chirped. "I, too, could go for my excitement a little more... watered down."

Miles gulped at the sly smile she snuck him.

"Day's not over," Topher boasted. "Heck, the exciting part is only like an hour or two away."

"Speak for yourself," Seph groaned. "If you guys knew the details of what our morning's entailed, you'd agree that way too much has happened for... I'm sorry, did you say an hour or two?"

Miles glanced at his watch, "It's just past 2:10, we've got about 15 minutes."

"See," Chris chuckled. "Miles is probably more invested in what happened than the rest of y'all and he's still on it. Didn't even have to look up when the thing is."

"Yeah, well, you try living with Zoe and not having significant astrological events stamped in the crevices of your mind."

Topher exhaled loudly, "Sister swap? I'm down. But I gotta warn you Miles, you don't wanna be in the room next to Seph's when she's asleep. Even when our other sisters moved out, I kept the distance because I knew anything less than three rooms apart and her snoring would keep me up all night."

"Stop!" Seph growled through bared teeth.

"And-"

"She might murder you," Joe whispered.

"I mean..."

"Dude," Chris shook his head.

"I have a wonderful sister," Topher hung his head as he spoke.

"Can't argue with that," Miles said. "Now, let's see how wonderfully mine is doing."

As they came to the cabin, another group of students crossed their path.

"Not again," Miles groaned softly to his friends upon realizing who was fronting the on comers. "Why is it that every time I go check on my sister this group of a-holes shows up."

Seph opened her mouth to speak but something prevented the words from forming. Chris instantly recognized the hesitance and spoke up.

"Just leave them be, if we don't mess with them they've got no reason to mess with you."

"Screw that. We're going in," Pixie scoffed. "Miles included."

Unable to wipe the frown from her face, Seph looked over at Miles and nodded, "Yeah."

He didn't anticipate her seizing him by the hand and dragging him through the crowd.

"Hey," Tanner said as they approached. "I heard about your sister, but don't think that means-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Miles abandoned Seph's hand to take hold of Tanner's shirt and slam him against the rustic building. The other boy could only grunt as Miles held him against the horizontal logs.

"Listen dick-nose!" Miles barked. "You've been giving me shit ever since I got here. And when it doesn't affect anyone else, fine. I know I've had it coming. But not now. I let you talk me out of being there for Zoe the other day and it was a mistake. One I'm sure as shit not going to make again today. So this is your one warning. Fuck the hell off!"

The crowd stood in silent terror as the color drained from Tanner's face, pinned against the wall, too petrified to have anything other than wide-eyes to plead for his own safety.

"Miles," Zoe said softly from the door no one heard open. "Let him go."

Fuck. Miles realized how horrible he must look to everyone. Even those he'd grown close to had only known him a week. He was mortified at the thought that the school year would continue exactly where his last one had ended. He did as his sister instructed and turned to make a shameful exit.

Before he could step away, Seph retook his hand. He jolted to a stop, turned, and his gaze followed the path from their connected hands to her face. She gave him the most subtle of head shakes. As he contemplated his next course of action, Seph intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed morse gibberish he could only interpret as assurance. Pixie appeared on his opposite side and took hold of his free hand. Together, they corralled him beyond the threshold of forbidden territory.

The occupants of the room, having expected company, made no observable reaction to the boy's presence other than Judy hollering, "Fox in the hen house."

A few snickers escaped the lips from her friends, but most were still too concerned to embrace the humor.

"Toph says he's gonna hold up at the door," Joe said as she scurried to rejoin the group.

"Too scared to get caught in the cabin?" Seph asked.

"Definitely."

"And Chris?"

"Said he was going to smooth things over with Tanner," Joe whispered.

"Thats..." Seph sighed. "Not the worst idea."

"Yeah, I mean, anyone with half a brain is going to see that Miles is just concerned for Zoe, but..."

"But they haven't seen the friction that's been building over the week. I get it."

"Didn't you say your chaperone intervened when you were picking bunks?" Cleo asked, ignoring the other girls hushed tones.

Miles gave a non-committal half-shrug. His focus was less on their words, and instead directed at his sister, the vacant space where the cot beneath her should be cluing him in to where she'd slept the past week.

"You sure you're alright?" He reached out to graze her arm with the back of his fingers. She flinched upon his touch.

"No, Miles. I'm not fucking alright," she groused. Her eyes, which had been staring vacantly off in the distance, now targeted his own with pinpoint accuracy, even as they began to well.

Something in those eyes, ones he could recognize better than anyone else's in the world, held something from him. He knew her anger was more than justified, but it was more than anger. And she was directing it at him.

"You..." He lost focus as he identified the sense - resentment. "But you told the medi-"

"Someone!" She sat up sharply. "No, not someone. A group of people. Abducted me in the middle of the night. While I was sleeping. Tossed me in the lake. Beat me. Tied me to a tree. And cut off my clothes. And none of us have any idea why. So, who here thinks I'm going to be anything close to 'alright' anytime soon? Maybe ever?"

As she finished, the dam finally burst and Zoe allowed herself to weep openly. No one had the words needed to comfort. The lies guaranteeing that things would get better, that her attackers would be caught.

Any inclination to console her with a hug was almost immediately dashed. Her position on Cleo's bunk meant whoever attempted such an action would do so, awkwardly, from the ladder. Seeing her reject her brother's gesture of comfort further dissuaded the girls.

"Zoe," Cleo said softly. "Miles, we- we didn't tell him the full extent of what happened. He knew you got taken, dunked in the lake, and tied up. But we didn't think he should know about the bruises... or that we found you naked."

"I don't care, Cleo," if not for the vibrato that came from her bawling, Zoe's voice was void of any sort of inflection. "I just have so many questions. Why me? Why single me out? Why leave me naked? What if you guys hadn't found me? If some guy from some other campsite had-"

"But we did find you," Cleo inserted. "And for the rest of camp, we're always going to have eyes on you."

"Great, just great, so now I'm going to be that girl that all my friends need to watch over," Zoe held up her shaky hands in exasperation.

"Not need," Seph clarified. "Want. We want to watch over you."

"Will," Cleo said firmly. "We will watch over you."

"And not just when you're practicing," Pixie added. "When you're eating. When you're sleeping. Showering. Doing things girls do but would never admit to."

"Not helping, Pix," Seph interjected. "And besides, I don't think it'll need to come to that. Boon said he's going to have the chaperones sleep in shifts."

"Why weren't they already?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, but here's the really big part," Seph looked around. "He's gonna tell them to be more hands-on. No more standing on the side while some kids get treated like shit. No more Lord of The Flies. No more... I don't know. All of it, maybe?"

"It just sucks that it came to this for them to realize it needed to be done," Joe added.

"Yeah, but it's something," Amber acknowledged. "I never thought it would happen. At least not while we were here."

"Hey guys," Judy said tentatively. "I realize we're in a bit of a discussion here, but it's almost time for the thing, and I know someone sure wouldn't want to miss it."

Miles frowned and nodded, "I gotta get my glasses from my cabin, but I'll meet you guys out there."

"C'mon girls," Seph nodded toward Joe, Pixie, and Mel. "We don't wanna miss it either, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind a few moments of peace before heading back out."

Miles kept a step ahead of the girls as they exited the cabin. He knew he wanted to say something, explain his earlier actions, but the right words evaded his lips. He stood to the side and let them pass once they were out the door.

"We asked her," Seph said. "But... are you alright? I know it was kind of shit of us to not tell you about-"

"You don't have to worry about that," he gave them each a weak smile. "I get why you did and I'm sure, if I were in your shoes, I probably would have done the same."

"Okay, then why are you waiting for us?"

"Cause that wasn't cool of me before. Going for Tanner like that. Threatening him. The last thing I wanted was to have everyone thinking 'when did Miles get so scary?'"

"More like 'when did Miles get so hot," Seph muttered under her breath.

"Yeah right."

"No," Joe said. "I'm pretty sure it checked a lot of people's boxes for Bad Boy. And a lot of girls do go for that."

"Really? Didn't it come across as... I dunno, unhinged?"

"I dunno. At least, that's not how I saw it," Pixie admitted. "He's been gunning for you since you stepped off the bus. Plus, if someone was trying to get in the way and my brother was hurt? I wish I could do what you did to Tanner."

Seph nodded, "Same with Topher or one of my sisters. I mean, yeah, we don't always get along, but if someone did something to them, I would mess up anyone who tries to stop me from being with them."

"Uh... I don't have siblings," Mel shrugged. "But Pixie's been my best friend since I moved here. I get it. That connection, concern for someone else, I can only imagine how intense it is for siblings."

"For twins," Pixie reminded.

"Yeah," Joe nodded.

"I think what we're all saying," Seph said. "We get it."

"Thank you guys," Miles released the a long breath as well as the anxiety he'd been holding. "And not just for that. Everything. Today. The whole week. Just, thank you so much."

_____

Amber was the first to clip the arm of her glasses to the collar of her shirt. Cleo had a temporary panic when she thought hers might have been in one of the pockets of the duffle her dad confiscated earlier. She was relieved when she found it pressed against the wall of the drawer she was storing her bras in. As she mimicked Amber's action and clipped it to her top, she realized her concerns hadn't been fully assuaged.

"Cleo," Amber whispered at little more than a hiss.

Meeting her friend's gaze, Cleo instantly realized why her misgivings remained. Zoe hadn't moved.

"What's with her?" Judy asked as she came to stand with the others. Without hesitation, she grabbed Zoe's shoe and shook gently. "C'mon girl, we didn't let you keep us up an hour past curfew talking about this thing the other night just so we could miss it."

"Judy!" Amber swatted the other girl's arm away.

"I'm just saying..."

"Sweetie," Cleo stepped over to be by Zoe's side. "What's up?"

Zoe let out a grunt that the others could only interpret as a cross between "I don't know" and "leave me alone."

Amber rolled her eyes, "My mistake. Judy, continue."

Without need of further encouragement, Judy resumed shaking Zoe's leg until Cleo gently pushed her away.

"Knock it off, ladies. This isn't good," Cleo said. "They're right though. There's no way we're going to let you miss this."

"How are you not ready yet?" A voice called from the door.

"Pix, come help," Cleo called over.

The flautist wandered over tentatively, "What seems to be the problem?"

"She ain't moving."

"Cramps? I get those sometimes and I feel like I'm down for the count."

"No, Pixie. Not Cramps!" Amber exclaimed.

"Oh, well, we can probably imagine whats up," Pixie said as took hold of the railing and climbed the short ladder to the top bunk. "So, you're not feeling up for the eclipse?"

Zoe exhaled, "Let's just say, today isn't exactly as I had imagined."

"Yeah, I don't buy it," Pixie shook her head. "Sure, today isn't going like you planned, but most don't. You gotta move on. That's how we show strength. Now, I don't know you all that well, but I think I've gotten to know Miles a bit. And Lordy Be, does he have some strength."

Cleo smirked at Pixie's approach, and climbed the stack of drawers to get to the other side of the bed, "And you figure, since they're twins?"

"'Xactly, apples and trees n' all that."

"Well, she is fast," Judy remarked. "But I don't see her lifting Tanner off the ground-"

"Not that kinda strength, wench."

Cleo had never fully comprehended the subtleties to Pixie and Judy's relationship, but she knew they each gave as good as they got.

"What I mean is, y'all just moved to town. And Seph said she and Kristina stood there, mouths open, fixin' to fill a pool when they first laid eyes on him. But he didn't flinch, he put on a show for them that she was still clamoring about when I talked to her the next day."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I am here for it," Judy grinned.

"Then, Chris tells us Tanner has been throwin' a fit every time Miles is around. Then Seph let her lady-boner get the best of her and kissed him. Sure that couldn't have made his week easier. Then I- uh, think he had the most impressive turnaround when he played for us the other night."

Out of the corner of Cleo's eye, she noticed Judy move, but by the time she turned her head the other girl had regained her composure.

"My point is," Pixie continued. "Miles had a rough week, and he never let it get to him. He kept doing what he was always going to do, and people are taking notice. Yeah, you're different. But you're also the same. So, I don't think you're going to let what happened this morning keep you from catching the eclipse."

Cleo could hardly believe the gamble Pixie was making. Instead of placating to Zoe's ego, she played up her brother's and reasoned that Zoe should imbue those same qualities.

Zoe propped herself up on her arms, "Miles isn't..."

"He is though," Pixie insisted. "He is strong. And I think so are you."

Cleo couldn't help but flinch at the words. Just hours earlier, she had made a revelation about the strength Pixie had. With that taste still fresh on her tongue, she hadn't anticipated Pixie then praising the strength of another.

"I think you are too," Cleo said. "For years we've all been too scared to stand up to Kristina. And you were doing it after only a few hours of putting up with her."

"Hey yeah, that's right," Amber said while silently encouraging the other girls to embrace the positive outlook.

"And just the other day," Cleo thought back. "You said something to me that you realized might be controversial, and when I told you why it wasn't like that, you admitted you made a mistake and said you'd be more open minded. That takes strength too."

"You two had a disagreement?" Judy asked. "What was it about?"

"Anyway," Cleo said, dismissing the inquiry. "This morning, you didn't just comply when you were outnumbered. You said it was six on one and you still got a few good licks in."

"Musta been a sight," Pixie nodded.

"Both you and Miles are in this position where it'd be natural to be scared. But you haven't been. You didn't back down to Kristina. And Pixie is right, you're not going to back down now, right now, when something you've been looking forward to for years is minutes away."

"Don't let them take that from you," Pixie added, reaching out and taking hold of Zoe's hand as she spoke. "No matter what anyone does, they don't have the ability to ruin your outlook and your future happiness. You're in control of that. If you choose not to watch the eclipse, then that's your choice and you don't get to blame them for that. That's a choice you're going to be making, so at the end of the day, you'll wind up blaming yourself."

Cleo could tell that Zoe was mulling over what Pixie said, so she too took inspiration from their friend and decided to take a gamble as well. Climbing next to Zoe on the cot, she took hold of Zoe's other hand and made a declaration. "I wouldn't be nearly as interested in this eclipse if you hadn't been hyping it up all week. Now, it'd be too weird to go watch it without you. So, if you're going to miss it, I'm going to as well. And since this is basically a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's going to suck to miss it. But I will if it helps you know how much you mean to me."

Zoe pouted, "So, not only will I be ruining it for me, now I'll be ruining it for you too?"

"That's right."

"Uh," Pixie stammered. "I guess, technically, you can't ruin her experience either. Cleo, you missing it is your choice, just as much as Zoe missing it would be hers."

The correction proved to be the missing ingredient of bringing Zoe out of her funk. She laughed. Cleo could only wonder what she found quite so amusing, but laughing was good, and that was what mattered.

"So... we good?" Cleo asked.

"Yeah. I mean, Pixie is right. This morning is in the past. And it's dumb to let that ruin future things. I've even tried to explain that... y'know. If I miss this, yeah, I'll regret it later. And Cleo will resent me for it too, even if it's her decision. And... basically, I'm going to remember this forever regardless. I can either be happy I saw it, or sad I missed it. Why choose to be sad?"

That that, Cleo stole a glance at Pixie, and gave her silent thanks.

"C'mon," Judy said. "Everyone is gathered on the field. We gotta find your brother."

"We gotta?" Zoe asked.

"Uh..." Judy blushed at her insistence. "I mean, he said he'd meet up with us on the field. So, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

"I suppose that's true."

Cleo was fairly certain Zoe was disappointed she wasn't able to have more of a 'gotcha' moment at Judy's expense, but they knew there would be plenty of opportunities for that over the year.

"Oh, and Cleo," Zoe added. "If we did miss this one, I think the next one is supposed to be less than ten years away. So y'know, we've got time to prep for that one."

_____

Emerging from the cabin, Zoe shielded her eyes from the early afternoon sun. A few cirrus clouds freckled the sky, none dense enough or near enough to threaten the big event. Ahead, on the field, each of their classmates, along with the adults, amassed to witness the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even among a sea of over a hundred people, Miles was quick to spot.

"There?" Cleo pointed.

Zoe nodded.

As they trod over, the five-some joined hands before serpentining through the crowd to meet up with Miles and the friends he'd made in the past week.

"Hey," she said once she found herself beside him.

"Hey," he repeated, looking up from the camera he'd mounted on a tripod. "I was starting to get worried."

"Nah, I had my girls looking out for me," she shook her head then held up her hand coupled to Pixie's. "And one of yours."

"Hi friend," she smirked.

"Hey," Seph rebuked. "Didn't you say you were headed to the bathroom."

"Uh oh."

"No, it's not that big of a deal. It's just... if you were going to fetch Zoe I would have come with you."

"That's not the uh oh..."

Zoe chuckled and tightened her grip slightly, "Too late now girl. We're too close to showtime and I'm not letting you miss this either."

"Dude, y'all are gonna need to let go if you wanna see this," Chris pointed out.

"Not for long," Zoe said proudly. In one swift motion, she let go of Cleo, brandished her glasses, fixed them to her face, then resumed her grip of the other girl's hand.

"If you'd given me a heads up, I would have also tried getting mine on," Cleo frowned.

"If you really cared, you would have found a way," Pixie smirked, glasses somewhat askew on her face.

"How did-" Amber looked at their hands, then to Lindsay to make sure they hadn't colluded in some way. "I never let go. You never let go. Zoe did you?"

"Nuh uh, after our little conversation back there, I'm not letting go of her anytime soon," Zoe boasted. "But I'm also curious as to how you pulled that one off."

Instead of providing a verbal defense, Pixie merely smiled wider.

"They warned us not to ask those kinds of questions when it came to you," Zoe playfully squeezed the smaller girl's hand as she spoke. "As for you, Cleo. I gave you a half-second to get your glasses on. Guess you'll have to use other hand to get your protective eyewear on."

"Who says I'm letting go?" Judy asked, having just adorned her own set, and seized the opportunity to take Miles's hand while everyone was making a show of locking up.

"Fine," Cleo resigned. "Guess I'll just go blind."

"Then I'll be your eyes," as Zoe spoke, her brother reached over, plucked the object in question from the crook of Cleo's top, and carefully adorned her with it.

"Thank you, Miles."

She couldn't be certain, but Zoe thought she detected a hint of a brag in her friend's show of gratitude.

"Mind if I take this spot?" Seph asked Miles.

"Sure," Miles beamed. "Just let me make sure the camera is set first."

Despite the fact that Judy had already claimed one of his hands, the sight of Seph taking hold of the other was enough for Zoe to become acutely aware of the vices tightening around her own.

"You kids ready for the show?" A familiar voice called from behind the line of students.

"Yes, dad," Cleo said, feigning annoyance at her father's reappearance.

The tint of the lenses kept Zoe from seeing the faces of the people who now stood behind her, but she had no doubt that Chief Goldstein hadn't parted ways from the women who had been accompanying him.

"Hope you don't mind," Danica said then quickly followed it up. "Y'all said you'd look after her. I assumed that meant you'd keep an eye on her, not necessarily hands too.

"Have you seen her?" Pixie chuckled. "Who could keep their hands off?"

"Okay," Zoe feared even the eclipse glasses wouldn't be strong enough to prevent her friends from seeing how bright her cheeks turned. "No need to encourage that. Last thing I need is someone thinking they have permission to-"

"Look," Lindsay whispered from opposite Amber.

_____

From nearly 240 thousand Miles away, the planet's lone natural satellite fell into perfect alignment between it and the sun. Shielding it from the cosmic rays and casting an eerie shadow over what would normally have been a luminescent period.

Every soul gathered on the field at Belews Lake Campground drew in a collective breath. As if exhaling would cause enough turmoil to disrupt the spell that befell the land. It wasn't just the students, parents, faculty, law enforcement, and scientists who were mystified by the awesome display of the natural universe. Birds stopped their chatter. Deer stood, frozen in their tracks. A fox abandoned its hunt for a particularly chubby cottontail. And no less than three squirrels misgauged fumbled the trapeze act they'd perfected over the course of their brief lives.

_____

Zoe became acutely aware of the thunderous drumming of her own heart against the unfathomable silence around her. The instant the shadow fell upon their region, she and her cohorts forgot the task they'd bestowed upon themselves and released their grasps.

Knowing the risk of staring directly at the occlusion, she pulled the frames further down the bridge of her nose. Peering around the borders, stars that had no normal business being observable in the middle of the day came to view. Familiar patterns emerged in the twinkly orbs above. Though they were light-years away, they provided her with a warmth that she hadn't felt in years. Reminding her of when she first took interest in the skies. The connection with her dad when he taught her the names of the constellations.

She looked over, through the supernatural haze that presided over the campground, at her brother. The smirk on his face told her he was also feeling, and missing, that same connection.

"Thanks dad," she whispered to herself as a tear fell from her eye. Content, she resumed gazing at the welkin, marveling at the way it could transport her to not only another place and time, but an emotional state she would have thought unobtainable in the hours prior.

The minutes passed, and so did the miraculous moment.

"Thank you guys for making me do this," Zoe whispered to the girls at her side.

"Of course," Cleo whispered back as she resumed her grip from before.

"Yeah," Pixie said, also returning her hand to Zoe's.

Without the need to focus on the sun, the eclipse lenses turned from necessity to nuisance.

"I really should have taken these things off when I had the chance, shouldn't I?" Zoe snickered. "Miles?"

"I've done my good deed for the day."

She didn't need to be able to see him to picture the grin on his face. Then, without warning, the glasses were gently taken from the bridge of her nose.

"Why, Pixie," Zoe couldn't help but chuckle. "That's the second time today you've cured my blindness."

_____

"That was something, wasn't it?" Seph asked as people disembarked from the field.

"Whole day has been something," Joe answered. "At least it's gotten better, right?"

"Yeah," Seph nodded, realizing Joe was making no effort to abscond with the rest of their friends. "Something up?"

"Just wanted to ask you about something."

The two girls stood as the space around was vacated, and once she was certain no one was around to overhear, Seph raised an eyebrow to her best friend.

"You were gonna do something earlier, when Miles clammed up around Tanner, but you stopped. Since when do you second guess yourself?"

"I- hey, I second guess myself all the time," Seph shirked.

"Not when it comes to giving your friends the motivation they need."

"He said something," keeping Joe's gaze was uncomfortable. "It was weird. He said 'not again'."

"Okay? Why did that throw you off?"

"Because that's what he kept whispering to himself when Cleo told him Zoe was missing."