My Summer in Cabin 9

Chapter 7

I opened the door to my cabin, still in disbelief. Jackson stared at me with confusion in his eyes.

"Where were you?" He asked. Jackson scratched his head. "What happened last night?"

"You were drunk, so I left." I said absently. I sat on the platform by the window and stared out of it.

"What's up with you? Are you sick?" Jackson said in a mocking voice. "Your not staring daggers at me, so there has to be something wrong."

I took a deep breath and ignored him, still deep in thought.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Jackson said, waving his hand to get my attention. "And I thought I wasn't a very good listener."

"For your information, my only friend I had here just was murdered in the middle of the night." I snapped. "The police came and said she was stabbed in the heart with a dagger, but it's not like you give a shit. Your main objective is to just get drunk and drive me out of the cabin, and possibly pick up a few chicks on the way." I raised an eyebrow. "Am I right?"

Before he could answer, a voice came over the loudspeaker outside our cabin.

"Listen up kids, I have an announcement." A gruff voice huffed. "You have to stay in your cabin the remainder of the day due to a little... incident. Have a good day!" The loudspeaker crackled, then there was silence.

"Well then, he was very vague." Jackson commented. "This is probably because of your friend, right?"

I nodded in response. Jackson used his fingers to comb through his hair.

"I'm sorry." Jackson whispered, his voice barely audible.

"It's not your fault." I sighed. "Last night, well last was your fault, but not this." I shook my head. "Who could have done it though? The only people in the cabin last night was Violet, me and..." My voice trailed off, a sudden realization hitting me.

"And?" Jackson said expectingly.

"Amara, at least, that's what I think Violet said her name was. She was the only other one in the cabin. It had to be her." I jumped up and ran to the door. "I need to go talk to her."

"Hold up, Tawny." Suddenly, a big hand gripped my arm. The contact sent shivers up a spine, but I remand calm and faced Jackson. "Did you not hear the announcement? We can't leave the cabin."

"Since when have you listened to the rules?" I shot back.

"Me? Never. Never in my life." Jackson flashed a bright half smile. "But you do, don't you?"

"I can break the rules too you know." My hand hovered over the door handle, just about to open it when Jackson let go of my arm.

"Okay, if you say so." He shrugged. "But if you leave, the staff could catch you,and then possibly send you back home. Then you'd never find out who killed your friend."

I bit my lip, processing Jackson's logic. I retracted my hand from the handle and returned to the window.

"I hate it when your right." I grumbled.

"Then you must hate me all the time." Jackson said smugly.

I threw him daggers and sat down, picking up the book I had left on one if the pillows.

"There she is!" Jackson exclaimed. "There's the Tawny I know!"

"Can't you just shut up?" I growled.

"Do you know me?" Jackson smiled. "Never."

"Good to know." I muttered under my breath.

The day went by as slow as a snail. Every time I would look at the clock, only 5 minutes would pass, even though it felt like forever. Finally, night came around and relived me. It would give me time to think.

I jumped into bed and shut my eyes, hoping good dreams would wash away my worries.

I looked around the landscape. It was just white every where you looked. Suddenly, my surroundings changed. I was back in Violet's cabin. Violet's back was turned to me.

She turned around, her skin seeming even paler then usual. There were no signs of blood on her. She looked alive.

"I don't have much time Becca." Violet said, staring at me intently.

"What... What's going on?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"I can't talk for long. She'll wake up any moment now." Violet looked really scared as she said this.

"Who is she? Who are you talking about Violet?" I took a step forward, but Violet's form shimmered and was replaced with her dead body. Expect, she wasn't dead.

Violet approached me with a knife in hand, a creepy smile playing at the edge of her lips.

"It's time for you to join Violet." The body's voice sounded inhuman, almost like a wild animal.

'Stop! This isn't real. Snap out of it!' I thought.

I jolted out of my dream, sweat pouring out of me. I was panting, suddenly short of breath.

"It's okay, it was just a dream." A comforting voice came from the side of my bed. I turned and saw Jackson, staring at me.

"Are you okay Becca?" There was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite place.

I didn't answer, still too spooked by my dream. I swept my hair away from my face, a few strands sticking to the sweat trickling down my face.

"You were mumbling and twitching in your sleep." Jackson said softly. "So I woke you up."

I looked at him, finally placing what he was expressing. It was worry.

"Yeah." I panted. "Fine."

Jackson nodded and headed back toward his bed.

"Jackson?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

"Could you... could you stay by me? At least, until I fall asleep." I peeped.

"Sure." Jackson came back and took my hand as I settled back into bed.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"Anything for you." I could just barely see him smile in the dark.

I closed my eyes and tried falling back asleep. Only then did I realize that Jackson hadn't called me Tawny, he had said Becca. I had never realized how much I missed him saying my name until then.

With that thought, my mind slipped into unconsciousness.