Desperado: A Holes Fanfiction

Stanley

I woke up just before the alarms blared for breakfast.

I had a dream I was walking through the old town of Green Lake – everyone was cheerful and kind. Children laughed and chased each other through the streets. Women flirted and the men tipped their hats – Then suddenly, a dark cloud creeped over the blue sky and casted a dark shade on the old town. The comfortable air took on a chill. The children ran away in fear from a dark figure that floated weightlessly over the lake's surface. As I got closer, I realized that dark figure was a young girl with wild curls, tied to a wooden stake. Her hands were wrapped in rope behind her. Her feet were bare and bloody, presumably from running. A ring of fire surrounded her and the men of the town gathered around it, cheering.

I pushed my way through the crowd, anxious to get a better look. When I got to the front, I came face to face with Tyler, helpless her mouth sewn shut. The residents of Green Lake chanted "Burn the witch!". Through the flames, I reached to touch her face. She let out a high-pitched groan through her clinched lips, eventually tearing her mouth open. Thick blood dripped down her chin as she screamed in agony. She couldn't see me. She couldn't hear me. But she called for me.

I almost jumped out of my cot, reminding myself it was just a dream. "When a twin is safe, the flame is steady," I repeated Tyler's instructions to myself, with a sigh of relief. I looked under my cot for the candle and salt she left with me, hoping I had at least a few minutes before the rest of the guys woke up to try the trick. Wishful thinking. Before I could form a circle of salt around the candle, the morning alarm rang through the camp. The others got up quickly and got dressed. I followed, as if I hadn't been sneaking around all morning.

I dug my hole as quickly as I could that day, nearly starting an altercation with Armpit.

"Aye man! Watch where you throwing that dirt!" He barked at me. I didn't pay him any mind.

"What's the rush, Stanley?" X-Ray jeered, "Got a hot date?"

"Just hot that's all," I lied.

"Hot for baby warden, that is," Squid added, "Where she been anyway?"

"Shut up," X hissed.

When I finished my hole, I headed straight for the D-Tent, while the others made way for the Wreck Room. I made up a lie about having to write my mom. With the tent to myself, I sat on the hard foundation with the candle in front of me. I generously spread a circle of salt around it, just as Tyler showed me.  I took a deep breath and repeated, "When a twin is safe, the flame holds steady," before striking a match. The candle's flame held steady for a moment then sparks flew from the wick. Hot wax splattered on my hands as I hurried to extinguish the chaos like a mad man. The last thing I wanted to do was burn down the D-Tent. A twin isn't safe. But which twin?

I cursed as I paced the tent alone and afraid, searching for a solution. I thought of every possible bad case scenario: Hector bitten by a yellow spotted lizard, Tyler passed out in the dry heat, dehydrated and exhausted, the possibility of Tyler getting caught on her way-out last night. (Actually, that would be the best-case scenario.) But, if she was caught, I would have seen her at breakfast or around camp today, at least. We're not coming back. Her voice repeated in my head like a broken record. My own thoughts were making me nauseous. I couldn't let them go.

If a twin isn't safe, I need to do something, and quick. The next morning, I pulled Twitch aside at breakfast.

"Buddy," I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said in a low tone, "I need your help with something – A car-related something."

As expected, his ears perked with interest and his hands started to twitch. "I need you to play it cool though," I reminded him.

"Yeah. Yeah – sure thing!" He was giddy like an addict ready to get his fix.