Lazaretto (Camren)

T W E N T Y

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." –Helen Keller

AUSTIN

When Normani and I made our way out of the prison, in which I managed to clear my entire magazine in the first five minutes, we waited with Ally and Keith. We fell into small talk while we waited for the other groups to finish. I had been so upset with Camila that I ran through the prison, leaving Normani by herself...something you should never do in a situation like that. My mind was so preoccupied with other things that I didn't care. I didn't care about the cameras or the lasers. I just ran and shot at anything that moved.

Once I was at the end, I waited for Normani to catch up. She walked past me with a scowl on her face and shoved her gun against my chest while taking my empty one in her other hand.

"In case anyone asks, I was the one who ran out. Don't put me in this position again," she threatened. She pushed the door open and the sunlight illuminated our faces. I squinted from being accustomed to the dark for some time. I followed her out into the field and walked over to Derek who awaited us. Normani handed the muscular man her gun, never meeting his eyes. He clicked open the magazine and found that it was empty. He raised his head to look at her, but she was already walking over to Keith and Ally. He shook his head and laid the empty gun in a bag by his feet. I handed him my gun and he did the same, opening it to find four bullets instead of none. I started to walk away when he called out for me.

"Austin..." I stopped when I heard my name, but I didn't turn around. I knew that he knew what had happened. When he didn't say anything more, I continued walking until I met up with the others.

About fifteen minutes later, I turned around when I heard the door opening again. It was Camila and Lauren walking side by side, smiling at each other like they just had an intense make-out session in one of the holding cells. I rolled my eyes. It was getting out of hand. I watched silently as they walked over to Derek and handed them their guns. Lauren went first. Derek checked the magazine and smiled.

"Three bullets. Not bad, Lauren." He threw the magazine in a separate bag from the guns. Camila handed hers over, along with something else. "Four bullets and you found the flashlight. That's five minutes taken off of your time," he said. I saw Camila smile from ear to ear at the news. Lauren looked over at her and did the same, gazing at her like she put the sun in the sky every morning. They nodded and made their way over to the group. Upon arriving, she enveloped me in a hug that I surprisingly reciprocated.

"How did you do?" she asked, pulling away slightly. I turned my head and eyed Normani who was standing with her arms folded across her chest.

"I had four bullets left," I lied, returning my gaze to Camila.

"That's good! I'm proud of you." She leaned up to kiss me, but I turned my head at the last second and she kissed my cheek instead. Looking at me with a hurt expression and growing red with embarrassment, she dropped her arms from around my waist and took a step back, thinking she crossed some sort of line.

"How did you do, Normani?" she questioned, trying to act unflustered. I could feel Normani's stare burning holes in the back of my head, but I didn't turn around.

"I ran out," she said. "I got a little too carried away."

I looked to Camila to see her nodding sadly in understanding. Lauren was talking to Keith with exaggerated hand movements about how Camila found the flashlight and the strategy they had used throughout. I found that anytime Lauren was talking about Camila, it was with such a passion that went unmatched by anything else. Like the way Newton talked about gravitational forces, or the way Einstein talked about physics, or even the way Galileo talked about the stars...it was the same way Lauren talked about Camila.