HEARING DAMAGE
TEEN NOLA - CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN !

            QUITE SOME TIME HAD passed the group by since the day they had locked Coach Scott up in the animal pen. The weather had begun to shift, the leaves on the trees were beginning to change colour and cascade down and the once balmy air had started to cool exponentially. Though their coach was their bridge home, keeping him alive had yet to become fruitful. Now, they bundled up more, donned more clothing and had started to pad out using mud and leaves to close any gaps in their huts to stave off the cold that seeped in more and more with each passing day.

It seemed likely they would be spending another winter out there.

News that Coach Scott had stopped eating any of the food they had been catching, preparing and giving him reached the group that morning after Mari had relayed the awful stench that permeated from just behind the blankets they had hung around the man to keep him warm. Unfortunately for Mari she had been forced to feed him this morning after Natalie had given up speaking to him and therefore the Ibarra girl had no choice but to lay eyes upon the mass of rotten, mould infested, fly swarmed food.

And so everyone had come to the conclusion that they needed to get the man eating again. After all, they couldn't have him dying on them, not if he was going to help them get back home. It was clear pretty quickly that they would need to take extreme measures.

While Misty took it upon herself to begin mashing up food into a smooth paste that could easily slide through a tube, Nola decided to go and speak one on one with the man.

"Hi Coach." Her voice was sweet as she pushed open the little gate into the pen. She closed it behind her quickly to avoid freeing any of the animals, then slowly walked towards the man. She smiled down at him as she said, "Heard you haven't been eating."

He looked rough. His cheeks were gaunt, his eyes lacking any life and his lips were cracked and dry. No doubt he felt as awful as he looked.

A surge of sympathy for the man rushed through Nola as she shot him a look that she hoped conveyed that very feeling. "Wanna tell me why?" She questioned him. She sounded like she was speaking to a toddler that was being reprimanded for pushing another child.

"Are you my court appointed therapist now, Nola?" Coach Scott snidely responded to the girl, sneering tiredly up at her. "Are you gonna hold my hand and pray to the fucking trees to make me better?"

Nola didn't take his words to heart. She knew he was simply projecting because he was afraid. She lowered down until she was kneeled in front of him, a pleasant look of understanding painted upon her face. "I know that you don't understand how things work with all of us. You didn't believe back then but that doesn't mean you can't learn to believe. If you would just open yourself up to the It, let It bless you with the knowledge It has so graciously given to us."

His eyes narrowed. "You really believe that, don't you?" He asked in disbelief. He knew Nola, knew them all. They were smart girls. How could they have actually fallen for such nonsense? How could they have let it get this fucking far?

Nola nodded with another smile, this time her teeth sparkled back at him. "I do." She had misunderstood the true meaning behind his question. "We don't want to lose you, Coach."

Ben scoffed, a scoff that swiftly shifted into a series of coughs. "Only cause I'm this so called 'bridge." He sniped back once his coughing subsided.

Immediately Nola rebuked his assumptions. "No, not only because of that. You're our coach, we need you." She earnestly said to the man. "We can forgive you for trying to kill us."

            To prove her words truthful, Nola reached out a hand towards the man's leg, only to grimace slightly when she caught sight of his messily bandaged ankle where below the stained fabric lay his sliced Achilles's heel. She shifted her hands trajectory up slightly and placed her hand upon his calf. She saw his attempt to slide away from her hand, most likely assuming she was trying to hurt him, but he gave up when his small bout of strength depleted.

To hide his fear, the man acted tough by scoffing once again. "You know what's really fucked up?" Hurt haunted his soul as he stared up at the Rilke girl, eyes beginning to swarm with anger. "I saw you crying. That day. I saw you. You don't think I set that fire anymore than Natalie does, but you still spearheaded the attack against me."

            Nola's gaze slowly grew harder. Her body stiffened. She stared over at him, her fingers flexing against the fabric of his track bottoms, gripping tightly enough to cause the man to wince. She hated that he knew this, that he had noticed her tears when no one else had. She didn't bother to wonder why he hadn't told anyone, she didn't care.

             A tight-lipped smile was sent his way as Nola retracted her hand from his leg. "None of that shit really matters now, does it?" She now sounded emotionless as she spoke. No longer would she coddle him. "If you won't accept the Wilderness for what It can give you then fine. But we need you, they need you so grow the fuck up, get over yourself and eat."

            The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to glance over towards the gate. Her eyes landed upon those of the group that would be needed for this next task if he refused to conform. She turned to look back at him with a frown. "I won't ask again, Ben."

            The man didn't respond.

             Nola tutted in disappointment. "Suit yourself." She muttered as she rose to her feet. She sent the man one last shrug before stepping back just in time for the group to come barrelling into the animal pen, donning masks made from scraps of fabric to conceal their faces.

            "What the fuck?" Ben cried out at the sight of them.

            The Rilke girl turned around as the sounds of struggling filled the air. As she left the pen, Ben began to gag as the tube was shoved down the back of his throat, all the while Misty yelled at him that everything would be okay.

           She fell into place next to Akilah, who clutched a bunny tightly to her chest, using the animal to provide some comfort as she listened to the pain her idea was currently inflicting.

           "I hope that you're fucking sure about this." Natalie hissed over at the girl.

            Akilah said nothing. She just ran her hand over the soft fur of the bunny, her fingers carding through the fur, as she kept her head low and walked away. Natalie and Nola remained quiet, neither girl speaking. Instead they listened as the group finally began to pull away from the man, a harsh mixture of gagging and coughing left in their wake as they stepped away from his little bed one-by-one.

           "That was fucked." Travis huffed as he whipped the mask off. His gaze jumped between both girls stood outside the pen for a second before walking away.

           Van was out next though she left without a word. Then came Shauna, who breathed heavily as she stopped beside Nola, her lips turned into a frown.

            "Do you think that he kept it all down?" Misty asked the Shipman girl while stepping out of the pen, her eyes wide with desperate hope that he had. She really didn't want to do that to him again if she could help it.

           Shauna looked about helplessly for a moment. "We'll get better at it." She finally uttered, trying to bestow some semblance of comfort upon the curly-haired blonde who looked ready to cry at any moment.

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AFTER A LONG, RESTLESS NIGHT of tossing and turning, her body unable to stop moving and her brain unable to stop thinking long enough to allow her a moments peace, Nola sighed a deep sigh as she pushed herself up from her bed. No matter what she did, she just couldn't stop fussing. The weirdest sensation kept her on edge. Everything felt off, like something bad was about to happen and truly, it scared her.

Far in the deepest recesses of her brain, Nola assumed that awful feeling was actually a strong sense of guilt over what they were doing with Coach Scott, though she would never admit this lest she endure the horrid experience of allowing her more negative emotions to bubble to the surface.

She had just emerged from her hut, her tired eyes squinting at the morning sun that was creeping over the trees above, with Shauna not that far behind as the Shipman girl had permanently relocated herself inside of Nola's hut. Nola had joked that Shauna was doing it to conserve heat as the air grew colder but Shauna had just outright stated it was because she didn't want them to be apart. It had been quite a sweet moment and had certainly warmed Nola's heart to know just how much Shauna wanted her back.

"What did you do?" Misty suddenly screeched at the top of her lungs, the fierce anger in her voice capturing the attention of those up and going already and rousing the others from their slumbers. "What did you do?"

The group quickly made their way towards the violent cry, stopping in shock at the sight of Natalie, hands covered in blood as she stumbled out of the animal pen. One could only guess what she had done. Suddenly all of that underlining guilt Nola had been feeling vanished without a trace and was replaced by contempt.

"Holy shit, Nat, are you hurt?" Nola heard someone ask the catatonic looking girl. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was obvious that it wasn't her own blood currently staining her skin.

            Natalie's head shook just the smallest bit. She appeared lethargic, like what she had just done had sapped all of her strength in her body. "No...yes, I'm sorry." She breathed out.

            "Murderer! Murderer!" Misty suddenly began to hurl the title at the Scatorccio girl, a spark of pure rage beginning to flow through her eyes. "Arrest her!"

            Travis tried his best to calm the girl. "Let's just talk about this."

            "She killed him!"

            Taissa's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Holy Shit, Nat, what did you do?"

            "I kept a promise." Natalie hoarsely told the group. Reasonings for what she did came spewing from her mouth then. "It was the right thing to do. I'm sorry but it's true. He was suffering." She declared tearfully.

            Melissa's brows furrowed in frustration. "Shut the fuck up." She snapped at the girl.

            "Yeah, shut the fuck up!" A slam of hands came crashing down upon Natalie's back, the sudden push sending the already weak-legged girl tumbling face first to the first blow. Gen stood above her, glaring down at her in anger.

            Tears that seemed permanently pooled into Robin's eyes came flowing down her cheeks as she demanded, "How are we gonna get home now?"

           "What were you thinking?" Van shouted down at Natalie while lowering herself to her knees. She brought her face up close to Natalie's, real close and personal, as she vehemently barked out, "You do not get to make that decision for all of us!"

A great sense of betrayal washed over the group at Natalie's actions, her selfish actions that had just stripped them of their bridge back home to lives they once knew. Even those who understood why she had done what she had done still felt betrayed by how she hadn't even ran it by them first. She was constantly making decisions to benefit Ben regardless of how they affected the group.

            Taissa looked flustered by the surge of emotions washing over the village. She steeled herself with quick speed. She cleared her throat to centre herself, then she spoke up in an attempt to take charge. "Okay, we're gonna have another trial."

            "No. More. Trials." Shauna was quick to shut down that idea. A trial would do them no good. After all, they knew Natalie was guilty since she literally just confessed, what use would a trial be?

             Nola couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, come on, Tai. Like the last one turned out so well. Our last defendant is currently dead in the animal pen, thanks to Natalie here." Her folded arms broke free as she gestured down to Natalie, still on her knees, her head hung low and her hair curtaining her face. "A trial isn't going to accomplish anything."

           "She's obviously guilty. She just confessed." Shauna continued on for the Rilke girl while nodding in agreement with her words. She now spoke directly to the group. "We put her in charge and instead of doing what was right for us, she did what she wanted to do."

            Again, Nola agreed. It was like a tennis match. Each girl spoke up, hurling reasons for why Natalie had fucked them over and why the trials were a terrible idea at the others. The irritation radiating from both girls clung tight to the group, surrounding them like a black shroud of darkness, seeping in through their skin and creating a thick mass deep in the pits of their stomaches.

            It was though their rage was becoming the groups.

            "She's right. How many times has it been now that we learned Natalie did something that went against the good of the group? How many times has she chosen to help him over her own team?" Nola spat out, her words leaping from her tongue like they were acid.

            She had had enough. She was fed up. Once again, Natalie had chosen Ben over them. Even when they were so close to finally getting home, she went behind their backs and killed him to 'keep a promise.' Nola knew it all along, of course, that Natalie didn't appreciate leadership she had been given and thus she wielded her power for her own benefit, to aid that arsonist bastard in evading punishment for what he had done and then ripping away their first smidgen of hope since crashing in this forest.

            There was a silence now. Only the birds overhead and the occasional bleat of the animals still locked in the pen could be heard. Nola found her gaze wandering over towards Lottie, who stood nearby, a pensive expression on her face. As if sensing someone was staring over at her, Lottie glanced up and met Nola's eye. Their words went unspoken but both shared the same thoughts. Right back to when Lottie had promised to be in Nola's corner if the time came.

            That time had come.

             With a faint nod, Lottie stepped forward. "Nola will lead us." She announced with conviction. Her movements and voice catching the groups attention.

            Multiple sets of eyes wandered between the two girls, sizing them up. Some felt a little sceptical by the Matthews girls words. After all, she had crowned Natalie as their leader and look how that has turned out. On the other hand, they all knew Nola to be level-headed and someone who took their interests into account before jumping into a plan of action. But could she lead them better than Natalie had? Would she be a better leader?

            Though a modicum of cynicism still lingered in some members of the group, they didn't speak up.

            Nola felt elated. This was exactly what she wanted, what she believed had to happen. She could do this, she knew she could. She could be a good leader to them all, she could guide them on their path to home. She hated that this had to happen for her to finally take leadership but shit happened. All they could do now was move forward and prove themselves worthy once more.

            She regarded everyone with a look of sympathy. "Listen, I'm mad, and I know you are too. But we can't let this—" she searched her brain for a word to best fit what they now had to bear the consequences of. "mishap get the best of us. We're stronger than that."

            A small smile began to crop up on her face. "The Wilderness provided a way forward once and It'll do it again." She preached earnestly.

            She truly believed that given time and a little more show of their devotion, they would be rewarded once more. They could come back from this display of insolence and win the Wilderness's favour back.

            The matter at hand then reared its ugly head and smacked her across the face causing her smile to slip away. "Now, when the people we love die out here, we honour them. And that's exactly what we're going to do. For their sake and for ours." She uttered with finality seeping from her voice.

            "We will give the Wilderness what It wants by honouring Coach Scott and finally forgiving him for his past transgressions against us." She missed the brief glances of disbelief from a few of the group, those of whom had sided with Coach during the trial.

            "What about Natalie?" Misty suddenly piped up. Her arms were folded across her chest. She looked like she was vibrating with barely contained wrath. She looked over at Nola expectantly. "She's just gonna her away with it?"

            In all fairness, Nola had barely even considered Natalie. But she supposed the girl couldn't get away from her crimes free of punishment. No, something had to be done with her, but what?

            "Natalie will...." her voice trailed off as she attempted to land on a suitable enough punishment. She glanced around herself, hoping to find something to inspire an idea because she was drawing a blank.

            Her eyes then landed upon Shauna, who was looking over at her with an expression one could only describe as positively titillated. They shared a brief smile before Nola's eyes wandered down as the sun caught the blade of Shauna's knife at the perfect angle, causing a glint of light to beam outward.

            Immediately, Nola knew what to do. She stepped forward and swiftly retrieved the knife from the belt loop of Shauna's pants. "Natalie will prepare the feast. Won't you, Nat?" She rhetorically asked the girl as she turned back to face the still cowering girl, her hand gripping the blade as she held out the handle for her to take.

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            AFTER SOME LESS THAN gentle coaxing, they finally managed to pull a numbed, daze Natalie to her feet and get her to work. The knife was quickly shoved into her hand and with the guiding of Shauna, she was led over to where the now stripped bare body of Coach Scott lay upon the butchers table, his dirtied skin having been wiped clean with some water so as to not spread disease.

            Natalie felt sick to her stomach as she sliced deeply through the layers of skin, the tip of the blade coming through to the mass of crimson tissue and muscle. Every now and again, the tip of the blade would scrap against bone, setting Natalie's teeth on edge. The blood from the slit in this throat to bleed him out continued to slowly drip down onto the ground, creating this disgusting pile of blood soaked leaves and dirt. It clumped together with such ease as it carried on dripping.

            Drip, drip, drip.

            Just when she believed it to be done, when the last droplet fell quite some time again,

            drip.

            It drove her nuts. Even the vibrations of the knife tearing through the chest cavity of the man she had called Coach, who she had considered a good friend and confidant, even those vibrations rumbling up through her hand weren't enough to distract from the incessant dripping that acted as a reminder of the man she had killed as an act of mercy. A man she now had to butcher up and serve as punishment for her long time coming good deed.

            She actually found herself welcoming the pad of footsteps heading in her direction, only for her head to lift and her gaze to land upon the very person who had doled out this punishment for her. Natalie's head quickly lowered again to avoid catching Nola's gaze.

            The Rilke girl stood silently for a moment, taking in the scene before her. Tossed to the side was all of Ben's belongings, crumbled up into a pile on the ground. His hands and feet had been removed and placed at the end of the butchers table, lined up with care. He had been completely flayed at his point in time, leaving behind only the reddest of flesh. His head was still attached and the very piece of fabric Shauna had mentioned that she'd placed over Ben's eyes to make it easier for Natalie.

Not that it mattered. Natalie's eyes looked completely glazed over, a white film atop her eyes. As though she was trying to dissociate from her reality. Trying and failing if the deep set frown was anything to go by.

            "It didn't have to be like this, you know?" She finally spoke up with a frown as she gestured towards the very act Natalie was forced to do. "You could have just listened to It and not taken fate into your own hands. Now look at you."

            Natalie didn't respond. She didn't even react. Not a twitch, not even a single cursory glance in Nola's direction.

            Nola knew that Natalie resented her now. Why wouldn't she? She had taken Natalie's place as leader within the group, taken away the power she held to hold them back from doing the things Natalie hadn't wanted them doing. That power was gone now and all that was left was this version of Natalie.

            The version forced to carve up her friend. "I hate seeing you like this, Nat."

            The knife in Natalie's bloodied hand met the table with a clang. Without even looking up at her, the Scatorccio girl spoke lowly. "Unless you're here to help then I don't wanna talk to you."

            "Fair enough." Nola shrugged, not taking offence to what Natalie had said.

            As she turned on her heel to leave the girl to her slaughter in peace, she left her with some parting words. "If some of them had it their way, this punishment of yours would be a lot worse. Just some food for thought."

            Drip.

            Natalie's body jolted at the sound. She looked up as Nola walked away, the heat in her glare barely enough to create a small plume of smoke much less a burning blaze. She didn't understand it. She should hate Nola after everything that has happened but why did she just feel sorry for her?

            By the time Natalie had successfully carved up the man they once all looked up to, the sun had officially set for the night and the village torches were glowing beautifully across the ground and the group had donned their robes from the day of Solstice. They all sat sparsely around in groups of two or three, some on their own, plucking hunks of cooked meat from their plates and chowing down, enjoying the delicious meal.

Since Javi, this was their first time eating something other than animal.

Nola sat at the table, gathered with a group of the girls. They laughed and told jokes with whimsical ease while she sat there, silently chewing on the flesh.

Finally someone took notice of her silence. "You okay?" Stevie quietly asked her, not wanting to draw attention to the Rilke girl. She had seen the smile on Nola's face earlier, the glee in her gaze when Lottie declared her as their new leader, where had that gone?

"I don't know." Nola breathed out. Her eyes flickered up to the trees above. They blew in the faint, nightly wind yet nothing. She looked over to the McClane girl with a frown. "Everything's so quiet. Like deafly quiet."

Then with a lip quivering fear, she admitted, "I can't hear anything."

Before Stevie could even furrow her brow in concern, a scream that pulled right from the gut came hurtling from across the way. Everyone looked over in surprise as Lottie practically howled into the echoing night.

As the screeching faded away, a faint humming then came from the Matthews girl as she rose up to her feet and moved with a skip to her step towards the billowing fire. Her hands, which clutched a meaty rib bone, lifted to her mouth. She bit down, her teeth ripping into the flesh.

After swallowing, she faced ahead and uttered, "Sing." She was met with some confused glances that she paid no mind to. Instead Lottie tilted her head back and sang a melodic 'ah' to the breeze.

Her little tune had barely begun to die on her lips when it was met with the familiar cacophony of unnatural screeches, warped baby cries, and guttural animal sounds resonated around them, coming from all directions. What they had once been unnerved by, now brought a grin of relief to Nola's face as her fear, the fear of being shunned by the Wilderness so soon after gaining leadership, had been put at ease.

As the sounds faded, Lottie smiled. "Sing."

She proceeded to sing once more which was quickly followed up Nola who wasted no time in singing out a response to the Wilderness. Soon everyone was singing, some more yelling in catharsis at the top of their lungs while others sang with all their might. They came together as one to form a beautiful chant that got their blood pumping and their hearts racing. Within seconds after beginning to sing, they all moved to their feet, plates of food forgotten, echoing warbles still continuing around them. They danced and swayed around the campfire, the embers crackling in time with their foot stomps that acted like the beats of a drum.

They were lost in the rhythm, welcoming the music they had created as a collective.

The sudden patter of shoes upon the forest floor stopped Nola in her tracks, the sound crunching loudly in her ear, taking over the sound of her friend's melodic song. Her eyes darted over towards where she had heard the sound as the others continued to move around her, bar Travis and Akilah, both of whom had also seemed to notice the arrival of strangers.

"No!" Lottie violently cried out. The scream was enough to halt everyone in place.

Nola stepped forward, stepping into place alongside a stunned Natalie, their mouths hung open and jaw slacked at the sight of three people.

One of the strangers, the one in glasses, took a single step forward. His hand raised up into the air as he spoke. "Hello." He uttered slowly as if he was speaking to a group of people native to this specific area of the forest. In a way they were.

As his hand fell down to his side, he glanced about the camp before his gaze moved over to his right. Instantly his eyes landed upon the sight of a severed head.

"What the fuck?"

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author's thoughts.
chapter fifty seven, not proofread
the researchers are here and Ben is dead. I love this episode and the one after a lot so I'm excited to get writing for it. Anyway I hope you enjoyed :)