Dawn Hollow

XVI

PJ stared out the darkening window on the bus on its incline to the final stop for the night. His head was spinning from how fast it moved with no signs of apparent stopping. His stomach wasn't the happiest either, on a roller coaster of emotions and acids that was sure to come out if he wasn't careful. The words of his friends would not leave him alone, ghosts floating in and out of his ears constantly, ringing louder until they were fighting for his attention, but there wasn't anything else to hear.

It'd been a few days since PJ's return to the mountain, especially after his fight with the boy who should've been his best friend. In his time away, his cast was removed. Not only that, but he had a lot of time to think about everything. Both things that Noah and Joseph said as well as his own thoughts. It was much to process, and though he hadn't completely swallowed it, he wanted a break from thinking about it.

By the time he was at the top, his belongings were in his hands, and the doors were getting closer. It was the same bus driver as the other day, the picture of her son still on the vent of the AC unit that was blowing Antarctic air at the two of them.

The bus whipped around the circular drive and parked, the doors swinging open, "You got a lot of guts coming back up here, kid. I gotta admit, I'm impressed," She huffed oddly.

"I don't know. It's just kinda my happy place, I guess. An escape from the world. When I see the world down there, all my problems....they don't seem big anymore."

"To each their own, kid. I simply prefer a glass of wine."

"I-I'm not old enough to drink," PJ couldn't tell if the woman was merely kidding. Avoiding bathing in his own awkwardness any longer, he exited the bus. He didn't even wait for the bus to leave before hiking deep into the woods.

The old footprints had been washed away in the rain, but he generally knew where he was going. Sunlight cast his shadow out before him, which he treated as his own companion. He stared at the version of him affixed to the ground and sighed, clutching the straps of his backpack. The visual shot a reminder of his favorite picture of himself and his friends. During their 8th grade camping trip, it was the first time he ever went outside of town without his parents. Just him, his friends, and the rest of his classmates that he had known for years. It was back when Joseph was really into photography and sought the opportunity to take a picture of the three's shadowy silhouettes in the ground. He smirked a little at the fond memory, a weight on his chest slowly hovering away with a slight snicker.

Carefully, he stuck his sneaker against a deep tree root and climbed down the small hill towards Kane's hut. His eyes were constantly scanning the ground, going left and right, back and forth, to not miss anything or make a wrong step.

But it almost didn't matter. PJ's foot slid more than he anticipated in the mud and got stuck under a root. His other foot slipped out, and before he knew it, he was tumbling down at a rapid rate. The fall wasn't long when he crashed down flat on his back. Nothing seared in pain like when he broke his leg, but the wind was knocked out of him as he gasped for air. He laid there with his eyes shut while he willed himself to not vomit or cry, but he did anyway. His hand rested against his chest, just feeling his spiraling heartbeat.

He bit his lip angrily, hot tears rolling down his face. He gripped the mud in between his fingers as he began to slowly rise up from the ground. His back felt like a pretzel. One foot at a time, he made his way towards the road. He was done. His friends were right. But he hated this. This...feeling of giving up. The brain in his head refused to make his feet go any further. This wasn't right. This wasn't him. He didn't know who was in control of him anymore.

"PJ?" The voice of Kane asked from behind him. He still didn't move, only his head tucking itself further down into his chest, "Where are you going? What's the matter?" He spoke no words but did find his legs again to turn around and face the forest boy with wet eyes and mud-soaked skin, "PJ, what happened to you?"