Camp Mendinghell Part 8/?
AN: Sorry for the delay to those of you following this story. The writing of this chapter just didn’t come as easily as the others, and I’m still not really happy with it. I’m posting nonetheless, I don’t like having unresolved stories, and won’t let myself start something new until this is done. Hopefully the muses will be back with a vengeance for part 9.
Also, wtf is up with fanfiction.net? A few people commented on my stories, so I was going to post the next part of déjà vu, but now you need to have someone else send you the stories? Maybe I was just tired last night and read it wrong, but if not, I’m confused as to why they’ve changed the way documents are uploaded.
Rated: T
Disclaimer: I don't own the O.C. characters or actors. This is a work of fiction and not meant to infringe on any copyrights.
Summary: This is an AU in which Ryan meets the Newport kids at a tough love wilderness camp.
Unbetaed: (Because I don’t have one.)
A.J. blanched at the sight of Ryan, as if he had seen an apparition. The night before was fuzzy with whiskey, but he knew Ryan hadn’t been in any condition to walk, let alone climb when he had last seen him.
He was indifferent to this turn of events; the boy’s reappearance did free up some time, and he hadn’t much fancied a return trip to the well to haul his carcass back to the surface. He didn’t anticipate further problems with his stepson- the boy wasn’t that stupid.
Ryan was a hindrance, but he was also a steady pay check for Alan James Junior, and he wouldn’t soon forget that fact; if all went well he’d be receiving his windfall in no time.
Once that was ascertained, he could ditch the kid.
The Lions packed up their camp and doused the fire, with only Ryan sitting on the sidelines and Oliver off doing God-only-knew-what. They had expected a later departure, but were getting used to plans changing with little warning.
Seth, Luke and Anna went down to fill the canteens for the journey, the boys still shivering at the memory of finding Ryan.
“Maybe you should have left him in there… tipped Bob off, obviously…” Anna thought aloud, scratching a mosquito bite on her elbow.
“Are you crazy? We didn’t want to leave him down there while we got help, we wanted to get him out,” Seth said indignantly.
“I know, I know… it’s just, if Bob found him he’d be in the hospital right now, and A.J. would probably be arrested, or at least under investigation… Ryan’s parents are going to have the biggest fucking lawsuit against the Camp…”
“Yeah, maybe…” Seth answered, awkwardly.
He didn’t want to betray Ryan’s confidence, on the other hand, Anna couldn’t really understand Ryan’s predicament unless she knew about his family. Luke saved him from answering, whispering something in Anna’s ear.
Anna looked shocked, and the three of them lugged the canteens back to the site.
The others were sitting around the extinguished fire pit, their journals on their laps.
“A.J.’s off on some last minute mission, so we’re writing for the day’s prompt, ‘what are your regrets?’” Summer filled them in, with a roll of her eyes.
The task seemed as useful as scrubbing the decks while the ship was going down.
“Umm… I regret coming here?” Seth ventured.
“I regret eating my chocolate so quickly,” Anna volunteered.
“I regret asking you to talk to A.J.,” Luke said quietly, going to sit beside Ryan.
“It’s not your fault, man, you couldn’t have known… I actually thought Bob would believe me,” Ryan said honestly.
He shivered in the warm breeze, and Taylor leaned over to zip up his sweater.
“I don’t regret meeting you,” he said, as she leaned in for a kiss.
…
A.J. paused and took a moment to think before placing the envelope on Bob’s desk. It was visible, but likely wouldn’t be found right away, which was just what he wanted.
Exiting the office, he saw an unfamiliar truck parked just inside the main gates of the ranch.
It was definitely time to be going.
…
Seth mentally chastised himself for drinking his water so quickly. The group had been hiking up hill after hill all morning, and the extra weight in his pack made his shoulders scream. His arms were scratched by brambles, and his socks were covered in fuzzy burs- he had never so desperately needed a wardrobe change.
He tried to distract himself by reciting every teacher he had ever had, chronologically, starting with preschool.
When he finished doing that, he thought about Chrismukkah, the holiday he had invented as a six year old, which combined the best parts of Christmas and Hanukkah to create a super holiday that had yet to take the continent by storm. Eight days of presents followed by one day of many presents, mu shoo pork and Stallone movies sounded like heaven on earth at the moment.
A.J. was in the lead, and although he referred to a map, he sure wasn’t sticking to the trails- leading them through miles of dense brush and over a winding stream via fallen logs.
No one was talking much, but they had unconsciously surrounded Ryan. Flanking their wounded comrade, the pride walked in formation, trying not to read the boy’s face for signs that he could go no further.
…
At noon they stopped for a ‘lunch’ break- kind of a misnomer, as it was basically a pause from hiking in which to remove rocks from shoes and empty bladders- there was no actual food; rations were low and conservation was vital this early into the trip.
Taking a piss in the baking heat with a hundred pounds strapped to your back is hard, so Luke left his bag next to the stream, and went behind some bushes for privacy. He didn’t mean to overhear, although in retrospect if he had known what was being discussed he definitely would have made a point to listen in.
A.J. made his demands with confidence into the phone; he mentioned money and hostages, and said that they were taking a different route than the one on the map.
“If that money isn’t wired to my associate by tomorrow morning, one of the seven dwarfs is bear meat.”
Luke stifled a squeal as his zipper pinched his manhood in his haste to do up his fly. He had been a hostage for six hours without his knowledge, and the others were still in the dark.
…
They didn’t tell Oliver, figuring he was erratic enough without knowing he was basically being hiked for ransom.
Taylor felt bad about it, but had ultimately agreed that it was better Ryan didn’t know about A.J.’s plan until absolutely necessary.
Playing the hero was dangerous in his condition, and none of the Lions could picture him passively allowing the group to be led to their possible doom.
They had numbers, but A.J. had a hunting knife, and outweighed the heaviest, Luke, by at least fifty pounds... they hadn't been following any of the trails on the map, and it was doubtful they could even find their way back to Mendinghell alone.
They hiked until it began to get dark, no one bothered to check their watches- time was just a notion out in the middle of nowhere.
Taylor tried to get Ryan to eat a bit of oatmeal, but he refused, his jaw had swollen tremendously giving him a chipmunk-like appearance, which hadn’t helped his mood. He conceded to drink, after Taylor pointed out that he wouldn’t be able to continue if he got dehydrated. The idea of holding back the group- and pissing A.J. off further- was not an option.
...
Summer and Seth held a whispered conversation as they erected the tents, keeping a weary eye on Oliver who was roasting some sort of carrion over the newly made campfire.
“I don’t mind if one of the ‘seven dwarfs’ is bear meat, as long as it’s Creepy, over there,” Seth muttered, as Oliver turned the spit a fraction of an inch.
“Listen… I never told you why I’m here,” Summer said, pounding in the final tent peg.
“It doesn’t matter. If Taylor Townsend is here, it can’t be hard to get in,” Seth joked, but his eyes betrayed his curiosity, and he had to admit he had been wondering what Summer Roberts could have done to get sent to a place like this.
“My dad got remarried a few years ago… some chick he met at a bar while he was at a conference in Seattle. She was closer to my age than his, and a total bitch. She would get my dad to write scripts for her ‘back pain’, and spend most of her time fucked up beyond belief on painkillers.”
Summer's eyes were glassy, and she stared straight ahead as if watching the whole thing play out again in front of them.
Seth nodded, listening to the anger in her voice, and quietly slipped his hand into hers. She flinched a little at the contact, but continued speaking; as if the touch had reminded her she was in the middle of a story.
“Then she started cheating on him. She’d steal my clothes and go trolling the bars, come back and fuck a stranger in my dad’s bed. Things went on as usual- my dad worked crazy hours to make money for her to spend on drugs and guys, and I went to school, and hung out with my friends and tried to stay the hell out of the way.”
Seth nodded again; drug addiction and adultery operating under the guise of an opulent suburbia- good old Newport Beach, home sweet home.
“My dad loved her; he didn’t see how screwed up she was, and if she was happy then he was too. I told her to quit bringing guys home, or I would tell my dad… I wouldn’t have; really, it would have killed my dad, I just wanted her to be the wife he needed… I just wanted him to be happy. She didn’t like being threatened; she turned into an even bigger bitch, and tried to get my dad to send me to boarding school. They had a big fight and my dad went to work. The step monster was in the bathroom for an hour, swallowing the entire medicine cabinet. It was one of those manipulative, ‘cry for help’ suicide attempts… a quick call for an ambulance and they would have pumped her stomach, and I wouldn’t be here. But I didn’t, I dragged her ass into their bed like I did at least once a week.”
Summer started sobbing, and Seth held her close, unsure of what to think of her words.
“I knew what would happen, but I let her fall asleep anyway. I let her die.”
TBC