Page 52 of Ring Around the Rosie

“An arrow?” Before she could even fully say the word, an arrow landed directly at my feet. We all looked back to see the plague doctor holding a bow. “Run!” Kaila shouted.

Solomon helped Wolfe to his feet while Rodney assisted them. Kaila, Sandy, and I all ran, and the six of us headed back towards the center of the camp. The plague doctor shot another arrow, but thankfully, missed. I looked back and noticed Wolfe limping and struggling to run. His thigh was drenched in blood, and Solomon was equally struggling. Within the blink of an eye, Solomon fell.

“Sol!” I stopped and rushed back. Rodney held Wolfe and tried to get him to keep running, but he refused, calling after Solomon. I fell to my knees and tried to help him up, but he pushed me back.

“No!” Wolfe yelled. He shoved Rodney off and limped towards Sol.

Sol grabbed my arm. “Get him out of here, Aster! Now!”

I shook my head and grabbed his arm. “No! We need you Sol!” Wolfe dropped down next to me and grabbed Sol’s arm. Together, we tried to help him up. But he was too heavy.

Sol grabbed me by my hair and yanked me close. “Get him out of here, Aster. Now,” he growled. I nearly fell back as he released me and stared at him.

He’s given up.

“Now!” Solomon shouted.

My hands shook as I grabbed Wolfe by his arm and forced him away from Sol and onto his feet. He screamed and foughtme, shouting for me to let him go while he cried out for Sol. Hearing the pain in his voice shattered me. I knew he wanted to stay and help, but we had to get away before we all died.

“Let go of me!” He clawed my skin. “Let go!”

“Get out of here, Wolfe!” Solomon shouted. “Go!”

Wolfe cried and reached for Sol as I forcefully pulled him away. Rodney, Kaila, and Sandy were shouting for us to hurry. The plague doctor was slowly inching closer as they readied their bow and aimed for Sol. Wolfe screamed, and we all watched in horror as the arrow landed in his back. Sol’s eyes bulged and his body jolted. Wolfe shoved me back and reached for Solomon.

“Sol!” he shouted. “No!” You could hear his heart breaking as he screamed.

Solomon shouted for Wolfe to run, but he could barely speak and began to cough up blood. The others screamed and shouted, and I watched as the plague doctor released another arrow. Only this one landed straight in Wolfe’s chest.

“No!” I screamed. His body wobbled, and his eyes looked at me. I tried to run to him, but Rodney held me back. “No! Wolfe!” My throat burned from my screams and the pain I felt in my heart. I kicked my legs and tried to break free of Rodney’s grasp as we helplessly watched Wolfe fall to the wet ground next to Sol. “Wolfe!” My hand hit a lingering branch, and I winced as blood slowly dripped from the small cut.

Wolfe felt the arrow in his chest. Blood was seeping through his shirt and jacket like water, and I knew he wouldn’t survive. He then looked over and reached his arm out to Sol. “I l-love you,” he spat as blood poured from his mouth. Solomon, despite how weak he was, slowly did the same and grabbed his hand.

“I love y-you too, Wolfe.”

“Aster!” Kaila screamed.

I looked up and noticed the same plague doctor now had an arrow aimed directly at me. My heartbreak boiled and turned toanger. “You,” I growled as I reached into the pocket to grab the very thing I found earlier. I didn’t know if it would work, or even how to use it, but I was done with this fucker.

My hand raised the Sapling out in front of me while my blood trailed down the tiny twigs. The plague doctor noticed what I held. They tilted their head as I roughly snapped one of the twigs in the figure’s leg. The ground trembled and a large redwood root shot from within it. Rodney and I both gawked as we watched the root curl around the plague doctor. The root creaked and threw the masked person against another tree, knocking them out. Their body fell to the ground as the root slowly returned to its natural stillness. I had to blink a few times to process what just happened.

It worked. It fucking worked.

The plague doctor remained still on the ground. I looked down and sobbed. Sol and Wolfe were dead. “Aster, we need to go.” Rodney grabbed my arm. “Aster!” I tried to push him off me, but we then both noticed on the path behind us, there was a second plague doctor. Their mask was all black and they were standing still and watching us. Watching me. I glared straight at them as I clutched the Sapling figure and screamed. The plague doctor remained still and tilted its head. “Aster!” Rodney tugged my arm again. “We need to go!”

As much as I hated it, he was right. Rodney dragged me back to the others, and I took one last look back at my friends. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

FOURTEEN

ASTER

Rodney,Kaila, Sandy, and I all ran like hell in the opposite direction and towards the cafeteria. We passed Cabin Six and just kept running until we had no choice but to stop and take a breath. I leaned against a tree off the path and tried to calm my breathing. Rodney leaned forward and used the axe to rest his head while Sandy began to panic.

“Why are you guys stopping? We have to keep going!” she shouted. “We can’t just sit here! Did you not see what just happened to Solomon and Wolfe? They’re dead!” She started to hyperventilate. “They’re fucking dead!”

I mean, she wasn’t wrong.

Kaila rushed to her friend’s aid and tried to help her relax. “Hey. In and out, okay?” Sandy listened and did as Kaila said. “Good. Just like that. Just, take a minute to focus on your breathing, okay?” Sandy nodded, and Kaila looked back at me. “Sandy isn’t wrong. Even if we did make it back to the cafeteria, then what? Those people are still out here. And two of our friends are dead.” The words stung.

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