Survival Of The Fittest

It was almost 3 o'clock in the middle of the night, and Beau was waiting for his older sister to finish in the restrooms. The cold air drifted alongside him as he realized his mistake of wearing his pajamas, consisting of a short-sleeved shirt and basketball shorts, outside his tent. And unfortunately, wearing a fleece jacket didn't bring him enough warmth. But as he looked up to the clear starry sky, he could remember why he was here.

Just a few months ago, Beau had finally graduated from his middle school with flying colors. Along with his sisters, they were on break for the summer. It had taken the family several hardships this year, including everyone else during the pandemic, but this was finally time for everyone to relax. After hearing potential news of the lockdown lifting, his dad saw the opportunity to celebrate by camping. To be honest, it's been a while since he had been in the outdoors with his family, and after a while, he'll set foot back at school.

...After a few weeks, he'll be a high school freshman. Who would've thought?

His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He looked over to see Yazmin out of the restrooms.

"Hey knucklehead, what are you staring off into??" She said, teasingly. Beau smiled as he responded. "I was waiting for you to finish up, slowpoke!"

"You know you didn't have to wait up, I take too long in the bathrooms anyway," Yazmin said. Beau then lifted the flashlight he was holding. "Well, who else was going to light the way??" The only response he got was Yazmin reaching towards him for a nougie. "Awwww, such a caring brother I got!"

"Ahhhh! Noooo!!" Beau playfully resisted his sister's head scratches. Soon enough, he was able to escape her grasp. "But for real, we gotta head back before our sisters notice we're gone!"

Yazmin nodded as she followed him to their campsite.

The two siblings walked along the dimly lit dirt path with the help of the flashlight. They passed a few other camping spots out in the open as they walked through the cold air. Some of the campers had RVs while others used standard tents, but most of them still had an open fire pit due to the very cold night. Beau couldn't help but stare into the beauty of how the campfires had lightened the campgrounds in an orange hue. Yazmin notices her brother staring off again and tries to make small talk.

"So, how are you feeling?"

Beau looked at her, quizzical. "Ummm, what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she replied. I'm talking about school. It's going to be your first year in Red Rock, and the only year when we're all going to be together." She was right. It was going to be the year he and his sister were going to be in one school, all of them in different years. After the end of his freshman year, his sister Myah will graduate.

"I, um... I don't know what to expect..." Beau said. "I haven't really been in school for a while, and I don't think I'll recognize anyone from middle school."

Yazmin looked at him confused. "What about your friends from that one rock climbing class? " Beau's face was swollen with pain. "We don't talk anymore."

His sister soon caught onto the message and changed the topic. "Well, do you at least have a plan after graduation?"

Beau looked at her sister, shocked. “Huh?! I have to think about that very early?!” Yazmin was unimpressed by her little brother’s surprise. “Well did you?”

Soon, he looked down at the ground in shame. It was very clear he hadn’t thought about his graduation plans. However, the only thought in his mind was the backpacking trip their parents had planned when everyone was out of high school.

“Not really, no… But I’ve been thinking about pursuing rock climbing…"

“Maybe you can win some Olympic medal for that!” Yazmin joked. Beau laughed alongside her, but the joy didn’t last for long as he was still plagued by his graduation. Would he be up for making rock climbing his only priority? There are other things that he could be doing that would benefit not only himself but also his family. He looked at Yazmin for advice. “Do you think that’d be a good idea?” Yazmin looked back at him. “Hm?”

“Like, being an athlete… I’m not really that strong, and I’m physically jacked either… I might have a ton of work ahead of me, and there’s only so much I can do…”

Yazmin had gotten a sense of Beau’s inner conflict as he explained things further. She could only place a gentle pat on his head. “That might be a question for mom and dad, but my only advice is that if it’s worth it, then do it.”

Beau was relieved to hear Yazmin share some wisdom with him. He was about to say something when the two siblings heard a familiar voice off in the distance.

“Hey!! Let go!!!”

It was Myah, and it sounded like she was in trouble.

"Uhhh... W-was that-?"

Before Beau could complete his sentence, Yazmin was already sprinting back to their camping spot.

"Ahh! Wait up!" Beau exclaimed as he ran to his sister. The two passed by the sleeping campers as their running awoke them. As they both approached their tents, they immediately saw what was wrong. Beau's other sisters, Myah and Nicolette, were fighting against a masked individual over a water jug. Looking over to his and Yazmin's tent, it looked like it was in the middle of being raided from their supplies.

"I said, let go!!" Myah yelled at the stranger. Her hands tightened at the plastic water jug.

"No! It's mine!!! You let go!!!" The stranger yelled back. Nicolette retorted back at them. "It was in our tent, it's not yours!!"

Beau tried to gauge what was going on, but Yazmin rushed by him and tried to push the stranger away. The stranger lost their grip on the water jug and let go, causing Myah to fall to the ground after retrieving it. Just then, the stranger angrily tugged on Yazmin's hair. "You damn brat, I'll kill you!" Yazmin screamed as the other sisters rushed in to pull her away from the aggressor. It was enough for Beau to break out of his frozen state.

"LET HER GO!!" Beau ran towards the figure and forcibly pushed them away. Yazmin was freed from the grasp, but the stranger was still standing. Before anyone else could react, Beau felt an elbow hit his chest, almost as if his ribcage rattled. He stumbled backward until he lost his footing. Beau then tripped on a loose rock on the ground and landed his back on the firepit.

And then, the world was set on fire.

He felt his clothes ignite into a powerful flame that engulfed his body. The scent of burnt skin lingered in his smell as parts of his back began to char. The fire started to reach his neck; the burning sensation searing off his jacket. Beau screamed as he flailed around, only for his arms to catch fire. He couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't breathe. He just needed to put out the fire, but it kept spreading. He fell onto the dirt floor, rolling all over the small pebbles that punctured his opened wounds. He didn't know what he was doing, and all his senses felt numb.

And then, he finally felt water hit his body, and the fire stopped.

Beau lay motionless on the ground, looking up from his surroundings. He saw Myah holding an empty water jug as she looked at her sisters, frightened. He looked at his other two sisters; Yazmin rushed over to him, yelling his name, while Nicolette pulled out her phone to call someone. The stranger was nowhere to be found.

He didn't have the strength to process what was going on, but the cold air made his burning wounds more painful. The numbness around his body was too much to bear as his eyes lulled behind his head, falling unconscious.