Jessica
Camden, Ciara, Brandon, and I are sitting at the bonfire, people-watching.
There are some couples and friend groups out here that look like they’ve been drinking way too much.
This could be a disaster if so. I know when people get drunk, then bad things can begin to happen.
It’s too early in the night, so I hope nobody gets hurt right now.
We sit around for about an hour, then more people start to come.
I see a group of new people come in carrying what appears to be little shots.
I know I took Jello shots from people earlier, but now that I know what happens at the bonfire, I politely decline these shots.
I wonder if there’s something in those shots that causes that switch in people.
If they are laced with some type of drug, then I know I don’t want to become a victim of it.
To my utter surprise, Brandon takes a shot and throws it back.
Ciara, Camden, and I look at each other and shake our heads because we don’t know what this means for him tonight.
I try to put the thought that he will die or try to kill someone in the back of my head, but it’s a little hard, knowing the reputation of this place.
I snuggle closer into Camden because I’m not sure what’s going to happen next.
The fire in front of us gets bigger as more logs are placed onto it.
The manager of the campground comes by and hands out fireworks that we can use later.
I’ve never lit one before, so I hope I do it right and don’t harm anyone in doing so.
We all have an opportunity to go around and introduce ourselves to the rest of the group.
There’s another couple here named Emily and Devin that seem to be pretty chill, too. Maybe we’ll connect sometime this week. When it’s time to introduce some of the others around the fire, they try to get words out, but they end up slurring instead. Yup, they’re fucked up.
As the chatter gets a little louder, I see someone get a little too close for comfort to the fire. Their body is swaying to the imaginary music, and before I know it, someone comes out of nowhere and pushes them in.
This can’t be happening right now.
My body starts hyperventilating at the sight of a burning body.
Nobody is going to help pull them out. People are just stuck staring at what’s happening in front of them.
I don’t know how everyone is okay with this going on, but I sure as hell am not.
I try to get up and go closer to the fire, but Camden pulls me back.
“It’s not safe. You don’t know what these people are on. You could be next to go inside. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He’s right, it’s not safe. I don’t know if I can just have this sight in front of me and not do anything, though.
“Can we go? Maybe we can set off the fireworks instead. I need to take my mind off of what’s going on here before we end up getting hurt too.”
He takes my hand and follows me. I look behind me, and I see Ciara and Brandon.
He doesn’t look too good. He’s swaying all around and looks like he’s about to pass out.
I don’t know what was in those drinks, but whatever it is…
is strong. If it has him like this when he’s a bigger guy, then I can only imagine the impact it will have on others.
I really don’t know why they are following us at this point because we didn’t ask for them to come.
“Maybe you all should stay back while we’re doing fireworks. I don’t know if it’s safe for him,” Camden says, standing in front of me.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” Brandon says as he tries to punch Camden.
This is exactly what we didn’t need and why we often stay away from others.
People are just so messy and don’t always have positivity in their lives.
We want to use this opportunity for growth, but the way he’s acting right now is going to set us back some.
Camden does the right thing and dodges his punch.
“You need to chill before you hurt someone,” he says.
“Ciara, you need to get your man. He’s clearly not okay and needs to go back to the campground,” I say.
I can see the irritation coming across her face, as if what I’m saying is wrong.
“How about you mind your own business. He’s fine,” she says in a not-too-pleasant tone.
We definitely don’t want to associate ourselves with them, so we continue to walk away.
Before we know it, a loud boom sounds from behind us.
We both quickly turn around and see that Brandon has shot off not only a firework, but also his hand.
This shit is so unreal right now. I want to help him, but I’ll pass.
He put himself in this predicament, so he needs to figure it out on his own.
“Help,” Ciara shouts out.
Fuck that.
Camden and I quickly run back towards our camper and lock ourselves inside.
“What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”
“I have no clue. So much for setting off some fireworks tonight. We’ll be safe here. We should call 9-1-1, but I’m sure Ciara can take care of that. Let’s go snuggle up in bed and try to remember that tomorrow is another day.”
How the hell does he think I’m just going to put behind me that someone just got pushed into a fire and another person blew their hand off?
That’s not something that I can just get over.
This is something that can traumatize a person for a long time.
I go into the bathroom and find my Trazodone and pop a 100mg pill to hopefully allow me to fall asleep sooner than later.
“I’m scared that something is going to happen to us. Should we get out of here?” I say when I approach the bed again.
“I think we’ll be okay. Let’s try to sleep it off, and if you still feel like we should leave in the morning, then we can. How does that sound?”
He’s right. We should try to wait it out a little longer. As long as we have each other, I feel like everything will be okay. I guess we can only hope that’s the case. We both lie down, and after a few minutes of ruminating thoughts, I finally doze off.