It’s raining, and the tattered roof of the bus stop does nothing to prevent my hoodie and backpack from getting soaked. I glare in the direction of where I just walked from. A twenty-minute walk in the rain that would have been easier if she had just driven me in her faded Honda. She didn’t even bother to come say goodbye. Clutching the straps of my backpack tighter, I refuse to cry.Why would I want to spend my life in that dirty trailer? No. I don’t want to end up like that flabby woman my dad married as a last resort. I’m not going to be trailer trash like her and just spend my life drinking and gambling.That woman is fifty shades of crazy as it is. I’m still reeling over the fact that she framed me. My hand flexes around the strap of my backpack. I knew she hated me but framing me for attempted murder is a bit of overkill.I know she had wanted to send me to juvie until I’m eighteen next year. I still remember the smug look on her face when she had been sitting in the court

I get a lot of snacks for us, and Beth eats ravenously. I had my doubts about the packed, cold sandwiches at the store, but with the way she devours them, they might just be okay.By the time, the other kids return, they look brighter. The bus has picked up more kids along the way, so the numbers have increased. A few of them have found their own buddies. My eyes flick toward the boy who had tried to come on to me. He’s sitting in the back with a bunch of other boys, including the one who had name-called Beth.All of them had seen the incident take place between me and their group mate so they’ve not approached me. Smart.But I do see them eyeing Beth, and I scowl at them, making them quickly look away.Maybe some of us do need this camp.“So, what do you know about this place?” I ask Beth, curiously. “It seemed like some weird juvenile correctional facility when I looked it up.”Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. But I do know that you can only send someone through a referral. You

I had assumed we would at least be allowed to rest, but Cheerleader Barbie has other plans.“Alright,” she clapped her hands in an enthusiastic manner, which did not match the expressions on the faces of all her ‘victims’. “Drop your bags in a corner and come here. You will be picking out a color from this bag.” She pointed toward the small, cross-satchel bag resting against her hip. “We have four colors which means four teams. Each team will have four people.”The next ten minutes are filled with shuffling sounds, sighs, and low-voiced complaints, but in the end, the groups are formed. Beth ends up in another group, but Quill is with me. Unfortunately, so is Anderson and another of his friends, Blythe.Anderson is still wet, and his upper lip curls in the appropriate mixture of fear and anger when he realizes we are grouped together.“The challenge is simple,” Cheerleader Barbie announces. “There are four trophies hidden in plain sight within the forest. Your goal is to retrieve t

The plan is to make a break at midnight when everyone would be asleep.But as the time approaches, now bathed and clean, lying in a clean bed, my eyes feel heavy. I can already hear Beth snoring from the bunk bed under me. I can’t blame her. I’m equally exhausted. However, I know this might be our only chance. Otherwise, who knew what tomorrow would bring?I can feel my eyes slipping shut, and I force them to stay open.My eyes are on the small, faded wall clock. Amidst the sounds of heavy breathing and snores, my own eyes flicker.I must have fallen asleep because when I jerk awake, the small needle is on two.Shit! I slept through midnight!I’m about to wake Beth when something catches my attention. A soft, scraping sound.I recognize the sound almost immediately. It’s the sound of the window being slowly pushed open.I go still.Someone is coming inside. Through the window, no less.Before I can decide between waking Beth or just straight up jumping the intruder, I hea

When I reach the barracks, I expect to walk into chaos, the same chaos I left behind. However, the place has been cleaned spotless, and for a moment, I stand in the doorway, staring at the dark barracks, soft snores reaching my ears.Did I dream everything?It’s Sam’s gentle tap on my shoulder that has me blinking. His voice is amused, “Go on. You can still catch a couple of hours of shut eye.”Hesitating, I make my way to my bed, and I can see Beth’s figure huddled under the blanket, her glasses on the side table, as she sleeps soundly. Even in the darkness, I can make out her face. She’s fast asleep.The exhaustion of the day finally catches up to me, and I climb up on my bunk and pull up the sheets. The moment my head hits the pillow, my world descends into darkness.***It’s the tugging sensation on my foot which has me jerking awake.“Wha—” Groggy and still desperate to go back to sleep, I half sit up, “What’s—”“Wake up, Taylor!” Beth is pulling on my foot, her voic