The soldiers are marching again, with the heavy sound of drums quick to follow.
Everyone in the town who knows what is coming stays silent and tries to hide, praying that they won't stop here, in Woodson.
And it's every week now that they pick a new...
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Before leaving me at my tent, Kade and Camillo tell me to ice the bruise on my cheek where I was hit so that it will be better in the morning.
And as I wake up, it turns out that they were right - but without salve, it still stings painfully. It is easy to pretend that what happened last night wasn't embarrassing for me, but internally I am still pretty shaken up about how helpless I was, all alone.
I will never go out alone in the woods ever again, I promise myself, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
Although nothing too serious happened, the encounter was very scary for me. More than that, I keep remembering the way it felt to have foreign hands on me. Last night, I wanted to scrub every inch of my body raw just to get rid of the shadow of that feeling, but there is no water around.
I wonder if I should go and find my brother to tell him about what had happened, but I don't want to worry him.
He has enough on his mind today.
He shouldn't worry about me.
Throwing the events of last night out of my head, I rise from my tent sheets hungry and on a mission to get some food in my stomach. From the vague noise coming from outside, I can tell the women are making breakfast.
Dressing in my nursing uniform, I decide that I am ready for the day, relieved that the bruise on my cheek is not too noticeable. I tread out of the sleeping tent area and into the daylight, squinting my eyes at the brightness of the sun.
There is a lot of commotion around - women gossiping by bonfires, generals discussing war plans, and soldiers drinking fresh coffee. I'm not sure where to go first.
But then, I see Beatrice by a bonfire, and she waves me over with a plate in her hands.
Eggs and bacon, just made for breakfast.
I accept the warm dish she hands me, which silences my growling stomach. Then, once everyone finishes eating, women gather supplies and take down tents in preparation to head out.
It only takes half an hour for me to take down my sleeping tent and designated medical supply bag. So finally, after my part is done, I sit myself at the edge of the woods alone on an isolated rock. Some people are still finishing up, so I watch on while the birds sing their morning song.
From the slight overhead view I am given, I notice that Beatrice seems to be the busiest and most energetic person on the camp - everyone greets her warmly while she cooks, cleans, and takes care of anything she sees needs fixing, as if she were the mother of the camp.
"Hey," Says a smooth voice, bringing me out of my thoughts.
With my hands rested on my elbows, my head droops and then snaps back up to look at the person next to me. I hadn't realized that I was dozing off until the voice woke me up. To my surprise, Camillo, the brunette who helped me last night, sits down next to me on the flat rock.
