M A D E L Y N   G R I M E S

"I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best." -Benjamin Disraeli

I looked over at my mom just to study her face like I do sometimes. I compared it to how she used to look when we weren't in this camp with unknown faces. Her brunette hair still strung down to her chest, yet now it wasn't curly like she had liked to put it. It was distraught and unkept. I didn't really like it this way, but I knew there were worst things to think about right now than hair.

Amy, a sweet girl who I'm decently friends with, came to me and my mom with a bucket of worms.

"How do I know if they're not poisonous?" She asked cautiously.

"There's only one way I know," my mom mumbled, not sure of how to pick out the non poisonous worms.

"Ask Shane when we gets back?" Amy asked, and my mom nodded in response.

"I'm going to go look for other options besides worms," Mom said to me. "Why don't you go stay with Carl? Maybe teach him how to make a band aid out of leaves? He's been wanting to learn that for a while, and Shane hasn't been around too much lately."

I nodded. There's no other response I could say that would sound nice. I got up and walked over to Carl, who was practicing tying knots with frail ropes.

"Make sure to stay where Dale can see you two," Mom said as she walked off.

"Yes, mom." I replied, and then went back to looking at Carl's work.

In all honesty, he had definitely improved on his knot skills. I told him this, and he smiled. I loved making my brother smile, it lit up my whole world. I then asked him if he wanted me to show him how to make band aid leaves, and which he responded with a happy shout.

"First, we're going to need some leaves. Don't get the dry, crunchy kind. Only moist ones will do," I explained as we both stood up. "Why don't you ask Carol to take you down to the water? There might be some good leaves there."

"Okay.. what are you doing to do?" Carl asked.

I swooped up a small blue bucket in my hands. "Probably boil some water for the worms tonight. If not, then I may come and help you. It just depends on what Dale wants me to do."

"Okay." Carl replied in agreement. I watched as he rushed off to get Carol. I really trusted Carol, mostly because she had a daughter of her own and I knew she was very caring.

"Dale!" I called from the bottom of the RV, he stood at the top looking around.

"Yes, Madelyn?" Dale shouted back.

"Can I boil some water for the worms tonight?"

"Amy already has that covered. Why? What are you up to anyways?" Dale asked.

"I'm teaching Carl how to make bandages out of leaves."

"Well, you can start by getting sap from the tunka trees not too far from here. But I wouldn't recommend going by yourself. Andrea would probably go with you. She's a pro at getting sap. Besides, you might find some berries on the way. When Shane gets back he can tell you if they're edible." Dale responded. I could tell he was happy I was doing work. I told him thank you and went to get Andrea, who agreed to take me.

Andrea brought a gun in her back pocket, even though even I knew she didn't know how to use it. We walked for around half a mile when she stopped in front of a big patch of trees.

"This should be enough for the next two years.." Andrea said, almost in awe. "I've never seen this many tunka trees."

"So.. how exactly do you get the sap?" I inquired. Andrea handed me a small pocket knife.

"Be careful," she responded. "What you want to do is carefully remove a slice of bark with the knife. Be aware that this may cut the whole tree, which is most definitely not what we're going for. Simply just cut a piece and sap will pour out. Just make sure it gets into the bucket."

"Yes ma'am," I said. "Thank you, Andrea."

We cut small pieces until the sun was about to set. It began getting cooler, and we were already sweating enough so we decided to go ahead and head back to camp. I walked happily, now accomplishing a new skill. And I even became better friends with Andrea. So, two pros and one con. The one con being that my hands were covered in sticky sap.

Right when arriving at camp I went down to the water and soaked my hands until all the hazel mush was gone. I then walked back up and saw Carl sitting with Shane over by his knots. Shane was watching me with a sort of grin. I awkwardly walked over to the pair.

"I.. uhm.. got some sap for the leave band aids," I said, setting a full bucket of sap beside Shane.

"Thanks Madi." Shane replied, than begin picking out certain leaves that were held in a basket.

Carl didn't even look at me. Not even as I walked away. I was supposed to teach Carl how to make band aids, not Shane. Shane had never really been to nice towards me. He had always preferred Carl over me. Probably because Carl was just a young boy and I was a moody teenagaer. So I walked over to my mom, who was using a stick to poke around with the worms.

"Want to help?" She asked, causing my gaze on the worms to draw over to her.

"No.. that's okay. I'm going to go see if Dale still has those berries from a couple days ago.." I replied shortly, walking to the RV.

"Madelyn, honey.. you can't spend your life being a vegetarian when the world is like this." Mom said with a very strict tone I hated more than anything.

"I know, mom! I'm just.. not used to meat.." I said. And it was true. I had been vegetarian since I was eight. Four whole years. It was a big accomplishment for me. I hated eating animals.. it just felt so strange. 

I opened the RV door and there Dale stood, trying to fix his binoculars. "Dinner is almost ready." I said, and he looked up at me and smiled with a nod. "We're having worms," I added. Still no response from him but a meager mumble. "For God's sake, Dale. Do you have any fruits or vegetables?"

Dale then finally gave me a full look. He looked around the RV. "You ate the last of the berries yesterday." He said with an angry tone. "You need to stop thinking about yourself so much. Animals were put on this planet so we could eat them. Be greatful."

I suddenly felt overly embarrassed. Mostly because I knew Dale was right. I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry." I mumbled, and then walked out to my mom.

"Hey honey, did he have any berries?" Mom asked.

I grabbed a hot worm from the bucket and threw it in my mouth, chewing it meagerly and then swallowing. My stomach growled.

"You finally got some sense knocked into you, huh?" Mom said with a slight grin, I nodded slowly. "I told you Mads, that ol' Dale is a wise one."

To Be Continued