6 Weeks Without Wifi (Facebook Collab)

Chapter 24 - Billie

Day two without my baby Axel was drawing to a close. I'd snuggled up in bed, my swiss army knife curled in my palm, when I heard a floorboard creak behind me. I twisted around, flipping open the knife so that the blade pointed directly at - Phoebe? Her startled eyes were barely visible in the dark room. 

I lowered the knife. "What are you doing up?" I hissed at her.

She sat on her bed, pulling her shoes off. "I was out looking for our stuff."

"No luck?"

She shook her head. "None." I sighed. One part of me wanted to go out and search endlessly for our stuff, but the other knew that Will would return them eventually. He was like an online troll; he found enjoyment in other people's misery, and revelled in their anger and frustration. Getting angry at him would only fuel the fire.

After a few minutes, Phoebe fell asleep. The house was silent. I laid back down against my pillow and closed my eyes, only to be woken by a noise from downstairs. I stayed silent, listening for a moment, before pulling off my quilts and treading carefully to the bedroom door. Blade in hand, I crept down the hall and came to the bottom of the stairs. I looked around; nobody was in the common room.

"Good evening." A male voice said. I turned to the kitchen door - Will leant against the doorway in his pyjamas. I vaguely noticed what he wore on his feet.

"Nice bunny slippers there, pal." I joked, folding my arms across my chest. He raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down. I felt extremely self conscious; I only wore a white vest top and blue shorts. I remembered that I'd forgotten to grab my dressing gown when a chill swept down my back.

"Cold?" He sneered, taking a bite of the slice of pizza he held.

"Hungry?" I returned, hugging myself more tightly. He shrugged.

A moment of silence passed between us before Will spoke.

"Aren't you going to ask me where your guitar is?"

It was my turn to shrug. "I figure that you'll return it to me eventually." I fiddled with the knife in my fist, running my thumb along the blunt side of the blade. For some reason it made me feel secure.

"Well, that's new." He shook his head and slipped past me, towards the sofas. He collapsed onto one of them then gestured at the other. "Would you like to join me?" He asked.

I hesitated before answering, "No. I'd really better get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." I climbed the stairs without waiting for a response. In truth, I'd really wanted to take up his offer of the seat, but Amélie had said that we'd be doing a more demanding activity the next day. I wanted to be in tip top condition for whatever it might be. Still, I couldn't help wondering what we might have talked about if I'd stayed.

* * * * *

I woke the next morning to some kind of trumpet. It took me a few moments to realise that it was Phoebe playing some kind of military wake up call recording on her phone. Luckily I'd dispensed my swiss army knife on the bedside table before sleeping otherwise she'd be a Phoebe kebab. She told me that we'd need to wear boots, a hat, and long trousers.

I pulled on some worn and ripping jeans, an orange checked shirt, and my riding boots - the only boots I'd thought to bring - grabbed my slightly crumpled stetson - again, the only hat that I'd brought with me - and convened in the common room. Everyone looked as tired as I felt.

Amélie stood at the front of the room. "Right everyone, today we're going to do an activity with just our cabin. It's a surprise, but you'll want to bring a packed lunch with you. We're leaving in ten minutes." She turned and left the room.