“This will all work out!” I stared back at my best friend with a look of doubt. “Just trust me!”
We’d been gone for two weeks. Out in the woods all alone. Why you ask? We were left behind. Our camping group left us behind as if we were fat from a steak. Unwanted and alone.
“Cassie, we’re almost of out of food. We only have enough for one more week. Then, that’s it. Caput. We’re done.” I pushed my short blond hair away from my face and yanked it back in a rough ponytail. I continued. “Think about it. Once it’s gone we’re goners.”
Cassie Hillis was the kind of girl who never thought ahead. She only thought about how to get through at that moment. Nothing more. I, Gina Smith, always think ahead. It’s just the kind of person I am.
“Gina, please.” She rubbed her temple with her thumb and forefingers. Her face was so pale she looked like porcelain. “I need to sit down.”
Cassie sat down on the cool ground and leaned against a tree. The hot sun beat down on us and sweat trickled down my back. It was the hottest day in weeks. Cassie was silent. Her face turned whiter still. This wasn’t Cassie. It was a quiet ghost.
I started to walk towards her. She fainted and fell forward. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she was still. I rushed towards her and she jolted awake.
“Cassie! Cassie!” I shouted. My feet seemed to be moving in slow motion. Cassie threw up. I lifted her halfway up and poured the remainder of my canteen in her mouth. “Cassie, come on! Please!”
I felt her arm. No! She had to have a pulse! I felt her arm again. No pulse. I must be imagining it. She just got sick. There is no way she was…
“Cassie, please!” I shouted in vain. I knew I was too late. Cassie Hillis was dead. Later I found out that it was from heatstroke. But at that moment, I though that universe was just out to get me. Me and Cassie.
The headlights of the car beamed in my eyes, momentarily blinding me. I was being rescued. I didn’t care. I just cared that Cassie Hillis was dead.
Nothing else mattered. All was over. All was lost. I saw my mother rush to me. I saw my father rush to me. I didn’t care. Nothing else mattered
Cassie Hillis was dead.