Casper was standing over by the
woodpile; unawares that Logan was watching him. He was stacking the twigs that
he’d found next to their single orange-and-black tent, devoid of anything to
do. Saraha, Flo P, and Ji-Ji had gone “hiking”, but in truth they were doing
something or other in the nearby town. It was trashy had lots of sketchy
shawarma shops, but it was better than hanging around Snitch’s Camp Ground all
day. Logan was tired and bored and most importantly deeply, deeply suspicious.
What
he was suspicious about was mainly Casper. Casper was acting oddly lately, and
to the common eye, it might not have seemed so, but Logan knew that his hunch
was either freakishly correct or totally insane. For now, he was going to stick
with insanity, because the truth curdled his blood.
Life
was again boring but now it was smelly, too. The trailer park was trashy and
reeked of cigarettes all the time, and garbage and aerosol spray and if the
wind was blowing the wrong way, then piss. Besides himself, he noticed the
spirits of the group were low, and he thought they should be leaving soon. Far
away, maybe to that place in the northern Llewellyn Range Simon Alecsik had
mentioned… And fast. The only problem was Casper.
He
was being quiet, sullen, and refused to leave camp and travel to other places,
no matter how much Flo P threatened and Ji-Ji nagged and Logan brought it up.
Saraha just glared at him, apathetic. Casper was harsh and angry a lot of the
time as well, and nothing Ji-Ji could do would relieve it. Sometimes she’d get
angry at him too, and they’d silently cheer her on. Saraha and Ji-Ji and Flo P
noticed it all right – after all, Casper had at one point sort of led the Quad Squad
– but it didn’t seem so anymore.
Disengaging
himself from his thoughts, Logan walked over to where Casper was. He didn’t
know what to say, so he cleared his throat to give his mind a second.
“What
is it?” Casper asked, cutting off Logan.
“I
– um – hi, I guess.”
“Is
that all? Are you just here to waste my time?”
“No,”
Logan retaliated, defensive. “I’m not wasting your time so much as you’re
wasting ours. When are you going to leave? I’m not so stupid, Casper; the
others are just blind to it. You’re jeopardising our time and our safety, and
we shouldn’t be staying here much longer, no matter how safe Ban-Mek is.”
Casper’s
eyes widened. “I never said I was leaving.”
“I
hate to tell you, but it’s kind of obvious.”
“Alright,
then, I am – and so what? I’ve got some things to do, I can’t drop everything
and run, y’know? I actually have someone to look after and worry about and make
sure they haven’t been killed because of my foolish actions, unlike you. You
four ditched yours when the chance came to run away, so technically you have no
family.” He spun on his heel and marched off, enraged.
Logan
trotted after him in disgust. “You knew the consequences well enough when you
joined, and you’re forsaking them now just because the going’s getting tough.
You’re short of temper and character, it seems, and you have a false shell on
the outside that we all idolised.”
Casper
swung back around to face Logan so abruptly that he nearly scraped his face
off. “Yeah, and you didn’t think the consequences through. The only
thing that I’ve learned is that the Government’s evil, and that was from some
sketchy teenager on the street. You tell me lie after lie, and the most
probable version is probably that the Government’s after you, because you all
screwed up and you can’t take your punishment.
“So don’t lecture me about responsibility
and shit like that – the biggest mistake I ever made was coming with you. I
have a responsibility to make sure the people I know are alright, not mental
kids who pop out of nowhere.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. What happened
to him to make him so bitter? He wondered. “And who are those people you have
to protect, then? I thought your family had abandoned you.”
“I have a grandfather.”
“Had a
grandfather. We’ll see if he’ll be unharmed, waiting for you when you get
back.” Logan turned away and ran off, angry tears spilling out of his eyes, and
Casper shouting curses towards his retreating back. He knew it was a low thing
to say, but he couldn’t help it, and he couldn’t help wonder whether he was
right. Let Casper leave and make his own decisions. If he was like this, then
the Quad Squad didn’t need him at all.
“Please, no, don’t,” Ji-Ji said, trying
not to cry, but it was in vain. “Why are you doing… W-what have we done so
you’ve be-become so – so angry?”
Casper didn’t answer, but continued
loading his car with his short supplies, looking no one in the eye.
“He’s a fucking coward,” Flo P swore,
stomping her foot angrily and glaring at him so furiously you’d’ve thought he
should have caught fire.
“I can’t believe this. You’re leaving
us? This is ridiculous… I can’t even say… Who the hell do you think you are?”
Saraha asked, hardly coherent in her anger.
“What do you want, an apology? I can’t
give you one, but I know this is the right decision. Stop crying,” he added to
Ji-Ji angrily, as if ashamed he’d caused her tears. He obviously would never
admit it.
“You should give us an apology,” Logan quipped.
“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.
Goodbye.”
“Please, no; you don’t know what you’re
saying, Casper… No! Don’t!” Ji-Ji cried, brushing her tears away. “This can’t
be happening! IT’S NOT FAIR!”
“To think I actually gave you a nickname. What was I thinking? Snuggle Boy?
Remind me never to make that mistake again on leeches like you.” Saraha turned
and stomped off into the distance, and soon disappeared. Logan felt savagely
pleased that she didn’t even stop to say a goodbye.
Casper stepped into the car and revved
the engine. “Good luck, I guess. See you.” Then he drove off. Logan watched
sadly as the car turned the corner and passed behind Snitch’s Camp Ground
billboard, and then dwindled into the trees. As soon as he’d gone, Ji-Ji lost
her composure and began to sob; Flo P hugged her and patted her back.
“I – I didn’t think he was serious. I –
I never thought that – that he’d ac-ac-actually do that to us. W-what happened
to hi-him?”
