Rune's POV

"We're going camping." My mother announces while I'm eating my breakfast.

"Like hell we are." I mutter back and continue eating.

"Rune, don't be rude. Pack one of your bags with enough clothes for a week. We're leaving in a few hours." My mother orders before walking out of the kitchen and going to her room to pack her things.

Huffing, I continue to eat my breakfast.

Once finished, I clean my bowl and then go to my room and pack my bag reluctantly.

***

Soon enough, my parents and I are on the road towards our destination camp site.

Yippee. Excuse me while I jump for joy.

Shifting, I turn the music on my phone up louder and watch the scenery out of my window.

Dear God by Hunter Hayes plays loudly in my ears as I watch the scenery change from grassy animal paddocks to a more closed in forest style environment.

I can't think of anything worse than having to be outside and in nature after everything that happened with Phoenix.

Nature feels like a cursed environment to me now. A place not for relaxing and exploring but more for dangers and death.

Grimacing at my thoughts, I change my music to Petrified by Saint Raven.

I watch out the window of the car until we come to a stop at the apparent campsite.

I turn off my music and sigh deeply before getting out of the car with my parents.

"It's so nice to be in the wide open air, wouldn't you agree, Rune?" My mother asks curiously with a bright smile.

"No." I huff and walk off to reluctantly look around. Honestly, anything to get away from my helicopter parents was a blessing.

***
A few unholy hours later

I've officially named myself lost.

That's right, lost. L-O-S-T: unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts.

That's me. More lost than my will to do mathematics at school. Which is very, very extremely utter and completely, lost.

Obviously, I'm making no sense because I'm panicking and it's getting dark. Darkness, outside and I do not mix very well after what happened with Nix.

With a shuddering breath, I wrap my arms around myself and try to keep warm as I continue to make my way through the thick undergrowth, which is filled with vines thicker than Dwayne Johnson's biceps along with other nasty little nightmare vines which are covered in sharp little prickles that kept breaking off and sticking in my skin and on my clothes.

My teeth start to chatter from the cold atmosphere and fear.Vine prickles dig into my skin and draw blood when I wrap my arms tighter around myself to try and conserve heat.

A T-shirt and shorts was a bad idea.

Suddenly, I hear my name being called from a distance and quickly make my way towards it.

"Ruuuuunnnnnnneeeeeeeee???!!!!"

It's my mothers voice, I can easily recognise that banshee screech anywhere.

I quickly make my way towards my mother and she rushes over once she sees me and hugs me tightly, causing more nightmare prickles to lodge themselves deeper into my skin.

"Oh my baby!" She pulls away and looks at my face, "you're freezing! Why would you wonder off so far?! Oh my goodness. Come on, we have a fire going!"

My mum pulls me towards the fire and makes me sit down before sitting beside me and wrapping her arms around me, providing more warmth to go with the fire.

Soon, my body starts to warm up and the goosebumps covering my skin fade.

"There's a bathroom behind the cabin over there," my father speaks up and points towards the cabin, "you can shower and change there, before you get your bedding ready for tonight."

I nod and stand up, grabbing my bag and quickly make my way to the bathroom behind the red shingled cabin with lights turned on in every room as well as the outside lights.

I quickly make my way into the bathroom and turn on the shower, before stripping out of my dirty, slightly bloody, and somewhat ripped clothes.

I go into my toiletry pack in my bag and get out a pair of tweezers and start to pluck out the nasty little parasitical thorns from my skin.

Blood drops onto the floor where I'm standing as I dig into my skin for the prickles and remove them.

Once I've got out as many of the nasty little bastards as I can, I step under the warm shower water and use the soap I brought and scrub my body.

I use my travel sized shampoo and conditioner to wash the leaves and dirt out of my hair.

Upon finishing my wash routine, I remove myself from the shower and dry my skin and hair thoroughly  before dressing in warm tracksuit pants, a long sleeve soft shirt and a hoodie. I also put socks and shoes on my feet to warm them and pack away my old clothes in a plastic bag and place it in my bag before walking out of the shower.

I pause by the hand basin and brush my teeth before grabbing all of my items and return to where my parents have set up their tent and sleeping bags.

I put my bag back into the car and get out my tent and start setting it up by firelight.

Once finished that, I set up my sleeping bag with a pillow.

I sit with my parents by the fire and listen to them conversing about the things they've done when they were kids and went camping with their families.

They talked about how my mother's brother put cockroaches (A/N: I fûcking hate cockroaches to the end of the earth) in their parents tent.

They also talked about the time my father's sister (who has a disability) picked up a harmless tree snake thinking it was a long stick to be thrown on the fire. - Yikes.

The entire time, I listened and thought about how much more fun camping with Nix would be.

We've been camping with my parents multiple times over the years, along with silly little backyard 'camp trips'.

A small, sad smile makes its way onto my lips as I think about the time Phoenix and I were camping in my background and a rouge dog appeared out of nowhere and started scratching at the sides of the tent, trying to get in because we had food.

We were terrified at the time. Screaming like little girls and calling for my parents.

Thinking about it now makes me chuckle softly.

What a traumatic but completely hilarious experience. We acted like little girls.

My smile fades as I stare into the fire, ignoring the way the light flickers and causes shadows to appear all around me, including in my face, making me look sinister.

I jolt and gasp when someone's hand is placed roughly on my shoulder. I tilt my head and look up to see my dad giving me a sympathetic look.

I nod my head slightly to let him know I acknowledged his sympathy.

He walks off to my parents tent to turn in for the night and my mother follows soon after.

Once again, I'm completely and utterly alone with my thoughts. Just what I don't need after already putting myself in a depressing mood by thinking about Nix.

Sighing, I add more wood to the fire before zipping myself into my tent and cuddling up deep into my sleeping bag.

Sleep doesn't come easily to me, just like most nights.

I lay awake and I think.

I think about how things could have happened differently that day. How I wish I could be with Phoenix instead of here, camping, living, breathing and awake.

It sucks. What's the point in living if the person I want to live for isn't even here?

Sighing quietly, I roll over in my sleeping bag and snuggle into it more, closing my eyes tightly.

I try to think of something else and eventually my body caves and I'm surrendered to the world of sleep.

***

(End of the Camping Trip)

Sitting in the car with my parents arguing is definitely not how I wanted to start my morning.

My phone ran out of battery and refused to charge in the car jack, so I had no music to listen to and drown out their stupid chatter, so instead I was force to listen and acknowledge they were talking.

"You were supposed to call your work and inform your boss we would be away from a week!" My mother banshee screeches at my dad who purses his lips to keep from yelling.

"I know! Damn it. I did call him but apparently that means nothing with my boss." He replies, a sharp edge to his words, warning her to choose her words more carefully.

I wind down my window and the back window opposite me to try and drone out their nonsense.

I poke my head out of the car window and look up at the sky.

"How are you today, Nix?" I think to myself before leaning my arm on the windowsill and then place my chin on my arm and watch the scenery.

Time passes by quickly as I get lost in my thoughts and the beauty of nature.

Soon enough, we arrive home and I get out my things and go inside, letting my parents deal with their own crap.

I put away the tent and sleeping bag and make my way to my room with my bag and start unpacking instantly and take my dirty clothes to the laundry and put away the things I didn't use, and also put my toiletry items back into the bathroom.

Once finished, I change into cozy pyjamas and curl up in bed with my phone on charge.

I close my eyes and end up falling asleep.

***

(Approximately 3 hours later)

I wake up to my phone ringing on my chest. Quickly I rub the sleep from my eyes and clear my throat before answering;

"Hello?"

"Hi Rune.." Phoenix's mum's voice answers.

I blink rapidly and sit up.

"Mrs Star, hi, uh.. why're you calling me? Has something happened?" I question curiously. Since she usually texts if she needs something.

I hear her inhale sharply before the sounds of quiet sobbing are heard.

I wince slightly.

"Nixy's funeral... it's tomorrow.." she announces quietly, voice thick with pain and filled with anguish.

My own eyes fill with water that gently flows down my cheeks.

"What...?" I choke out quietly.

Mrs Star sniffles and tries to control her sobs.

"He's been officially declared.. d-dead.." she replies, stuttering slightly as a new wave of pain filled sobs fill the phone.

My heart beats insanely fast and my tears rush down my cheeks, racing to see which will fall first.

"O-okay..." I stutter as my reply. "I'll be there... what time..?" I question softly.

"10:30am.. at North Park Memorial Park.. there will be a wake once it's finished at my house.. if you want to join for that.. if not, I understand." Mrs Star informs me.

"Okay.. I'll see you then... bye bye.." I reply.

"Goodbye Rune.." she says softly before the phone call ends.

I drop my phone on the side of my bed and burst into loud uncontrollable sobs, and bury my face in my pillow to muffle them, not wanting to alert my parents.

A funeral for Phoenix will make things so much more real.. he'll really be dead, and he'll really have a grave and a headstone.

He will really no longer be my greatest best friend in the whole wide world, because he'll no longer be a person.

He'll be really, truely, absolutely dead.

I feel sick to my stomach but can't stop the sobs from tumbling out of my mouth, nor can I stop the way my body shakes from the effort of trying to stay silent.

My world is shattering around me and there's nothing I can do about it.

My anchor is gone. The person who kept me rooted and sane is gone. The person who helped me when no one else could is gone. The person who was my shoulder to cry on is gone. The person who I could complain and bitch about anything and everything to is gone. The person who I love more than anything else in this godforsaken world is gone.

Entirely, positively, unfortunately, gone, and I feel like my heart is breaking into millions of tiny little unfixable pieces.

Everything hurts.

My head, my eyes, my nose, my throat, my chest, my arms, my heart, my stomach, my legs, my feet.

Especially the foot I broke while trying to save Phoenix.

My whole body throbs painfully and all I can do is sob. Which I do, for hours, upon hours, until I pass out from exhaustion.

My body goes numb and everything blacks out.

It's finally peaceful.