The rooms we are given are in a large house, the largest in the camp. We have trailed behind Phyllis for ten minutes on the camp road to the general amusement of the public. The kid Olly glared at has followed us with a couple of his friends in tow. We have heard their laughter and not-so-subtle remarks about our appearance.

“Are they beggars?” One says.

“Not beggars. Must be tramps. Toby didn’t come home last night. Ma says he must have found one,” supplies another helpfully.

"It must be the blonde one," the third one sniggers. "She looks like she's had some fine banging last night."

Olly stiffens at this but I grab her hand.

“But they can't be tramps, Jacko. Phyllis won't let them in here.” This was a petulant complaint.

“Could be witches then…," Jacko says hopefully. "The blonde one looks like one. They say Adam’s got a scent…”

Olly turns to them, foaming at the mouth, looking like daggers. Our procession halts abruptly as an irritated Phyllis calls out.

“Alright boys, that’s enough. Go back to the training grounds now or I’ll be having a chat with your parents.”

The boys run off sniggering. Olly somehow controls her temper and we start again.

We arrive at a large intersection where a house looms ahead. Phyllis takes us in through the backdoor, no doubt to avoid us soiling her floors with caked mud. We are taken straight upstairs, but I get a glimpse of the house.

It’s four storied, with the ground floor obviously containing a living area, dining and kitchen. I can't see much, but the place is spacious and clean. Dinner is cooking and we are greeted with a tantalizing aroma of lasagne. I give Olly a look and see her smacking her lips.

Soon… I pat my rumbling tummy as we follow Phyllis upstairs.

We enter the first floor. The design is like a student hostel, with a large sitting area in the middle. On each side of it is a corridor with entries to different rooms.

This floor is for guests. Mine and Olly’s rooms are on this floor. The second and the top floors is out of bounds, as Phyllis tells us, smiling nicely.

“Mind you, this is a temporary arrangement. We will relocate you once we have more information. We have strict rules of hierarchy, and everyone must follow them. I hope you don’t mind.”

I do not mind, but then I do not understand. We are not exactly here to join the military. We are here as guests. Surely the rules of hierarchy should not apply to us?

“Of course,” I nod with a smile, deciding to keep my big mouth shut. Phyllis does not look like a woman used to being second guessed and I do not want to make a negative impression. “I am sorry for being a nuisance. We would have called in advance, but we did not have any contact number.”

“No problem,” she smiles as she gives me and Olly a key each. I am in room 9, the last on the corridor on the left. Olly is in the second room on the right.

I frown. What is this, a hostel?

“I have six children,” Phyllis says as if she read my mind. “The eldest is Adam–he is away on business. Gabriel–you met him last morning. He informed us you were here. Jeff and Billy you have met. They are twins. Then are Tamara and Tina. Tina is the youngest.”

Wow, it must be amazing to have a large family. Yet it did not justify so many rooms, but then it was none of my business. This is a military camp after all. Maybe the rooms are for visiting officers.

“I hope to meet them soon,” I smile. Phyllis nods.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Freshen up and come down. I’ll introduce you to everyone. And yes, I have left your suitcases in your rooms. The boys retrieved them from your car yesterday.”

*****

I enter my room. It’s small with a window looking out over the campgrounds to the forest. A double bed lines a wall, laid with clean white sheets. There is a single wardrobe and a writing table with a chair. It’s all I could ask for at this moment.

I see my suitcase neatly standing next to the wardrobe and let out a sigh. There is an order to this place. Things are falling into place by some miracle, and I am not complaining.

I pick out some clean clothes and head to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, I come to see Olly sitting on my bed.

What the hell?

“How did you come in? I had locked my door!”

She shrugs. “The locks do not work. I checked mine the moment I entered. Now yours doesn’t work either.”

I frown, thinking. Then make a note to use the door bolt from the next time.

“So, what do you think? Do you think this will work out?” I ask as I start drying my wet hair. The welcome is not what I expected. John Steven seems a bit…off. Phyllis is nice enough, but there is something about her I can’t put a finger on. She seems to be hedging her bets. And their boys... well, they are boys.

In fairness to them, we were not exactly invited. It makes me uneasy.

“It depends, I guess,” Olly shrugs. “We'll see how it goes when we go down.”

*****

An hour later, we are sitting at a large rectangular table. The entire family is there, minus one. John Stevens sits at the head, flanked by his wife on the left. The chair to his immediate right is empty. I take it’s for their eldest. They really do follow rules of hierarchy in this family.

Next to the empty place is Gabe-the-handsome, talking to his parents in a low voice. He gave me a nod when we came down, but hasn’t spared a word since. Olly is quite disappointed with him. She has put on her tight black top and miniskirt, but so far, the only people she has attracted are Jeff and Billy.

Jeff stretches lazily, sitting opposite Olly. His gaze is trained on her cleavage. I can see her getting affected. Her face is tinged pink. Next to her is Billy, watching her moony-eyed.

“I can’t believe you drove all the way from Los Angeles!” He says with a voice full of admiration. “It’s incredibly brave for hu… girls!”

“It’s nothing.” Olly shrugs. “It’s not that great a distance. I have done longer trips.”

Billy swoons.

I raise a brow, but Olly avoids my gaze. It seems like she is on a mission to impress at least one guy tonight. Possibly more.

“And yet you crashed. It was quite funny!” This is from Jeff, as he eyes her with a smirk. Olly colours.

“It was not me. It was Danny.” She snaps. “Danny was driving and got spooked. She gets flustered easily.”

“Oh, is it?” Jeff’s gaze turns to me. “And why is that?”

Now it’s my turn to colour. My eyes drop as I silently pray for Olly to stop. Sometimes she does not understand when she’s crossing the line.

“Yes.” She hammers on without noticing me. “Yesterday, Danny was in one of her moods, sweaty, and jittery and what-not, practically pissing herself when we asked for directions in the motel. She could not even eat a bite and when we neared that clearing in the dark…she just completely lost her marbles.”

I am horrified. The table has gone quiet. Everyone is listening. Everyone. Including a new girl, that joined midway through Olly’s speech. She is a mirror image of Phyllis and frowns at me as if I am some piece of shit myself.

“What do you mean by ‘moods’?” she asks, helping herself to salad. “You mean some kind of attacks?”

Olly shrugs. “Not attacks, as in the physical sense…but close. Danny gets panicky whenever the situation is tense. She goes all sweaty and jittery, like it’s the end of the world. Yesterday too, she was like that. In fact, she was like that right from the start of our journey. That’s why we crashed.”

The last sentence is for Jeff, as she gives him a glare. That absolves her completely. He nods, then turns to me. My face is flaming, eyes sting. I do not know why I feel humiliated.

Every word Olly said is true. I cannot deny any of it. I was on the edge, and I crashed. I am responsible.

“You know the boulder you crashed into last night was my brother?”

My eyes snap up.

“Wh... what?”

“It was my brother, Adam. We were there patrolling the area. Adam found a fox caught up in a bush and was trying to get it out. Your car crashed straight into him.”

“But…it was not a human shape!” Colour drains off my face. “I saw in the car lights in the split second before crash…it was definitely a boulder. It had no head or arms or legs!”

And for god’s sake, it was pitch dark. Why was he not carrying a torch if he was rescuing an animal in distress? I would have seen it from miles.

Panic starts building as I feel my palms go clammy. My face is flushing as a heavy weight builds in my chest. They are all looking at me in shock. John’s face is unreadable. Phyllis looks mildly disgusted. The new girl looks plain hostile.

“Oh, stop it, Danny! You clearly thought so because you were in a state!” Olly accuses me, looking horrified. “You didn’t even realize you were hitting a human because of your panic. You really need to see a doctor. And don’t forget to take your meds tonight.”

The dinner finishes on that note. I leave before Olly and bolt my door before gulping my tablets. The night is quiet and a howl pierces the air like a cry of desperation. I stand at the window, gazing at the dark jungle. I feel the pain of that animal.

***** *****