The Trip to Raptor Bluff by Annie O'Haegan Page A

leave on foot!  Oh my god!  Oh my god! Oh my god!”  Her voice grew shrill as her sobbing heightened.
    “Stop it or leave!” demanded Brenda under her breath.
    “Andrea, I’m not going to warn you again!” hissed Lucy.  “Either calm down or get away from us!”
    “Calm down?  You two don’t get it, do you?  You don’t get it because both of you live on the outskirts of town and have nothing to worry about!”  Andrea rose to her knees and reached a hand towards Rick. “I need to use the phone, Rick.  I need to see if Joshua had a chance to check on Ron.  Just for thirty seconds, OK?  Joshua won’t mind.  He considers me family.  Please!  I am begging you!”
    “Even I can’t use the phone and I’m Joshua’s daughter!” said Lucy in a voice trembling with outrage.  “What is the matter with you, Andrea?  Why are you making this so difficult for everyone?”
    “I just need to know that Ron is OK!” Andrea wailed at the top of her voice. Her last bit of control slipped away and hysteria took over.  “I can’t lie here all night worrying about Ron!  Goddammit, Rick, give me the fucking phone!”  Teens rushed back to the fire as the commotion exploded and were standing in huddles when Andrea suddenly lunged for the phone lying on the ground in front of Rick’s crossed legs.  He barely had time to grab it before Andrea was upon him.  She knocked him onto his back and was lying on top of him, using her nails to pry the phone away. It took Brenda, Lucy, and Abby to finally pull her off.  Rick popped breathlessly to his feet as Andrea, howling with rage, charged again for the phone.  She grabbed his wrist with both hands and began to twist.  Rick used his free hand to try to break her hold as Brenda and Lucy attempted to drag her away.  In a craze of fury, she sank her teeth into Rick’s shoulder.  The phone flew from his hand and landed in a glowing pile of embers and ash. 
    Brenda shouted and shoved Rick backwards before he could plunge his hand into the coals.  The force of the shove knocked him off his feet, and he hadn’t yet hit the ground when spurts of blue flame shot from the location where the phone had fallen.  There was a ten second span of shocked silence before Andrea gasped.  “I am so sorry!  I am so sorry, you guys!”  Huge eyes looked pleadingly at Lucy when she cried, “It was an accident, Lucy!  I swear on my life!  It was an accident!” 
    “Get away from us, Andrea,” sneered Lucy, turning her back in disgust.  “I swear, I will kill you myself if you don’t just stay the hell away.”
    Andrea sobbed as she stumbled towards the area where she and Tara had spent the afternoon.  Tara, her eyes downcast, shivered once and followed her mother. 
    Rick’s temples throbbed with tension as he rubbed the bite on shoulder.  “She didn’t break the skin, at least.”  He went silent and stared glumly into space. 
    Lucy sat down with a sigh and put her face in her hands.
    Brenda watched the distraught teens with near despair. Expressions of deep anxiety, grotesque in the fire’s dancing glow, once again marked their faces.  She forced as much calm into her voice as she could manage when she said, “Listen to me, everyone.  We are going to get you out of here, we promise.  The phone was a convenience that we can live without.  Joshua Zeem will do everything in his power to rescue us as soon as possible.”  She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice devoid of anger. “You just saw what happens when worry and fear get the upper hand; it just makes things ten times worse.  You are going to have to put your fears to rest and trust us.”  She let her gaze touch every face and received slight nods of acquiescence before she said, “Lights out, everyone.  Let’s get some rest and deal with tomorrow when it comes.” 
    Abby lay down with the rest of the group, closed her eyes, and listened as the sounds of crying slowly diminished.