By Little Kitetail
Copyright 2025 by Little Kitetail all rights reserved
[2,811 words]
* * * * *
Chapter 5:
Location: Sparkhaven Ranch Infirmary
???:
He looks really bad, but most of those cuts are fairly shallow. We
think they were made with the home-made birching rod near where he was
found. The biggest risk is infection. We'll monitor his temperature
overnight and take him to the hospital if he develops a fever or if the
inflammation hasn't gotten better by morning. Hate to think what would
have happened if she had gone on even a moment longer though...
---
???: Alright, ma'am, here he is.
???: Cody? Cody is that you? Oh my gosh, are you ok? … What's going on? Can he see me?
???: Yes ma'am. Your video is coming through clearly.
???: But he's staring like he doesn't know who I am!
???: I doubt he knows who he
is right now. We gave him some pretty strong hypnotics to help him
through the pain. He should be back to normal by the time you get here
on Saturday, though.
???: He'd better be!
---
???:
You girls are very lucky. Hornets are not something you want to mess
with. You seem fine, but I still need to keep you here 45 minutes for
observation.
???: But there's someone already in here...
???:
The Petal Picker? He won't bother you. He's barely conscious. I'll be
right outside. If anyone starts to have trouble breathing, come get me
IMMEDIATELY. And please try to be more careful in the future.
???: Ugh, this sucks. What are we supposed to do for 45 minutes?
???: Grinning I think I might have an idea… watch the door and give me a signal if you see the nurse coming back.
---
???: What I'd like to know is how she even found out about those images of her sister.
???: Well, Cody's file has been available in the admin office to anyone who wanted to look at it…
???: I recall I only agreed to that policy on the condition that all names be redacted.
???: They were, but it was a pretty unusual situation. Not hard to figure out who was being referred to by context.
---
???: Have you informed the boy's mother yet?
???: We did. We tried to let them talk, but the boy was in no condition, obviously.
???: This is a total mess…
???: We're going to have to send her home, aren't we?
???:
Are you crazy? Sparkhaven Ranch's entire reputation is built on the
fact that we put girls first. If we're seen choosing some little creep
over Becca Green's sister, everyone's going to think we sold out!
???: How is that worse than them thinking we can't protect our guests from each other?
???:
You know, we really should have seen this coming. If you think about
it, it's more surprising that something like this HASN'T happened
before.
???: Look, this is my responsibility.
Both of them are in programs that are under my direction. I'll figure
something out. Just leave it to me, ok?
---
???: Here he is. You can talk to him if you want. He probably won't be able to say anything back, though.
???: Um… no, I'm not making that mistake again. Can you just give him this note when he wakes up?
It's hard to describe the sensation of coming out of a hypnotic trance.
It wasn't like waking up exactly, because I'd technically mostly been
awake the entire time. It was more that I started to remember things.
How to move my body. How to form words with my mouth. What I said five
minutes ago. And, unfortunately, how to register how much pain I was
in. It didn't all happen at once either. The nurse told me I was saying
some weird things about being in love with Ms. Heather toward the end.
I was bruised and sore all over, especially on my backside which, I was
told, she . There was a thick purple gash shaped like a ring wrapped
around the base of my wiener. My torso was covered with red and black
marker drawings. The nurse said she tried to wash them off of me, but
they were in permanent marker and would take a little while to fade. So
for now, I was stuck with the word "LOSER: on my chest, the words
"SIZE: SMALL" with an arrow pointing downwards on my pubus, and "SPANK
ME" on my bottom.
My memory of what happened came back slowly.
How she had bent me over a log and hit me with a bundle of sticks over
and over. How sure I was that I was going to die when I saw her tie
that noose out of parachute cord..
There was also a letter
sitting on the nightstand. I didn't see it until a few hours after I
started to come to my senses. I asked the nurse to open it for me when
she came to check on me. Here's what it said:
---
Dear Cody,
I wasn't sure if I should tell you this, but I really need you to know
how sorry I am. I'm the reason why Melissa saw your file. I was reading
some of the Petal Picker files from the office just for fun, and that's
how the other girls found out you could do that. They made it a game,
trying to find out who had the most pathetic story.
Auntie
Amaya keeps telling me it wasn't my fault because the files were in the
office for anyone to check out, and everyone should have known that
because it was in the orientation packet we got when we checked in, but
I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who read the whole thing.
So…
I don't know if it was my fault or not. Either way, I'm really, really
sorry. I felt so scared and bad when I found out what happened. I don't
know if you can forgive me, but if you do, I promise I won't let anyone
hurt you again. I'll walk with you whenever you have to go to or from
your campsite. I'm not very strong, but maybe I can at least distract
them long enough for you to get away...
But I'll also understand if you just don't want to see me ever again. That's ok too. Just tell me and I won't bother you.
~Nyx
---
It was hard to describe how I felt reading the letter. Of course I
wasn't angry with her for what Melissa did. But until Nyx brought it up
in her note, I hadn't thought about how scary I would be the next time
I had to walk down the lonely path where I had been attacked. My blood
ran cold. More than I ever had been since arriving at Sparkhaven, I was
aware of how vulnerable and helpless I was. I would definitely have to
take Nyx up on her offer to walk with me.
And maybe, I
thought, this experience was something I could use during my next
session with Auntie Sabrina. How would I do it… I suppose I would say
it made me think about how easy it was for Nyx to make me feel safer,
and how that lead me to think about how I've been making the girls in
my life feel. Yeah, she would eat that up, and the best part is it
wasn't really a lie.
Elliot, Max, and Bobby came to visit me
too. They were more rattled than I was. And angry too. Especially Max.
Kept talking about how we need to "make them pay." It gave me a bad
feeling at the pit of my stomach. I didn't want any trouble. Maybe
Hailey was right and I was a wimp. To their credit, the boys seemed to
pick up on my discomfort and changed the topic after awhile. The nurse
told me I could go back to Moon Village with them if I felt well enough
to leave. I agreed, mainly so I wouldn't have to walk back alone. I
didn't have any way of getting back in touch with Nyx after all.
My body ached as I took the first few steps. Max and Elliot stood on
either side of me to support me if I needed it, while Bobby went ahead
to make sure the path was clear. Slowly and carefully, I took a few
steps and then stopped to lean on Elliot. A few more and I stopped to
lean on Max. Growing more and more confident, I started shuffling at a
more steady pace towards Moon Village and home.
Interlude
Location: Auntie Sabrina's Office
Melissa: hyperventilating and sobbing I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorrrryyy!
Auntie Sabrina: Remember what we practiced in class, Melissa. Deep breaths. Visualize.
Melissa: I am calm… I am safe… I am present… I am calm… I am safe… I am present...
Melissa's breathing slowly returns to normal.
Auntie Sabrina:
I wish I could tell you that you're not in trouble, but we can't ignore
that this is a very serious situation. Let me start with the good news.
First, Cody is going to be ok.
Melissa: Thank goodness for that…
Auntie Sabrina: nods solemnly Yes. The nurse said that he was seconds away from serious and permanent damage.
Auntie Sabrina:
Second, I spoke to his mother. She told me she doesn't intend to press
criminal charges against you. Says your family has been through enough.
She trusts us to handle it ourselves. She is, however, understandably
reconsidering her son's involvement in this program.
Melissa: puts her face in her hands I guess that's one upside to having the whole world witness the worst day of your life…
Auntie Sabrina:
Finally, while I am obliged and have every intention to hold you
responsible for your actions… I want you to know that I don't... that I
understand.
Melissa: You do?
Auntie Sabrina:
Heightened reactivity is not uncommon in trauma cases. Your body senses
that you're not in a safe environment… it tries to give you what you
need to fight your way out. We're used to shouting matches, broken
property, even the occasional black eye from someone wakes up their
yurtmate the wrong way… but this is a bit of a unique situation.
Melissa is silent.
Auntie Sabrina: *sighs* Maybe I'd better start by asking you to explain your side of it. Can you tell me what happened, in your own words?
Melissa: I… I wasn't going to… I didn't plan on hurting him. It wasn't even supposed to be about my sister at first.
Auntie Sabrina: What do you mean?
Melissa:
There's a girl at my campsite, from the social skills program. Nyx.
I've… I've been trying to look out for her. She's so innocent… She
reminds me of Becca.
Auntie Sabrina: So you wanted to keep her safe.
Melissa:
Yeah… and she's been talking a lot about the Petal Picker boy, Cody. I
just don't think she knew what she was getting into. So I wanted to
talk to him. Not to hurt him. I just wanted to scare him a little, you
know? Like one of those sitcom dads. Tell him he better treat her right
or else.
Auntie Sabrina: Sitcoms have a lot
to answer for when it comes to gender roles. But didn't you feel
anything when you found out that he had Becca's picture on his device?
Melissa:
I was furious about it, but if I beat up everyone who disrespected
Becca's memory… do you know there's a whole conspiracy group that
claims the whole thing was fake? Do you know how many strangers have
tried to convince me it was aliens or the Vatican or Mossad who took
her?
Auntie Sabrina: Point taken. So what DID happen?
Melissa:
I went to talk to him like I said. Told him who I was. He started to
panic as soon as he heard my last name. He was terrified of me… I
enjoyed it to be honest. But I still wasn't going to hurt him. I was
just going to use it. The fear, I mean.
Auntie Sabrina: But something changed.
Melissa:
He… said he missed her. Like he knew her. He was just trying out every
possible excuse, but when he said something like, "I know she was a
sweet girl… I was heartbroken when she wasn't found… I miss her too,
you know!" something in me just snapped. In that moment I wanted to
make him feel every bit of suffering I watched Becca go through in my
darkest nightmares.
Auntie Sabrina: How did you even get the idea to do what you did?
Melissa: Sometimes it's all I can think about… hurting the people who hurt me and my family. Making them feel what they made us feel.
Auntie Sabrina: Why didn't you tell me you were carrying around so much anger? We could have worked on it together.
Melissa:
I was ashamed! I've been putting on this poor innocent girl facade for
the cameras for months, trying to stir up pity from whoever was out
there that could help Becca. If they knew I had these dark and violent
thoughts in my head… they'd say we deserved it. More than they already
do.
Auntie Sabrina: But you did stop, right? The nurse said you cut him down yourself and called her over. What happened to make you do that?
Melissa: You're going to think I'm crazy…
Auntie Sabrina: smiles weakly Melissa, you tried to hang a boy from a tree by his genitals. I think we're a bit past that...
Melissa:
Point taken. I thought I heard my sister's voice… she said, "What are
you doing? This isn't you!" And then I took at look at myself and I saw
how much he was crying and begging and scared and I knew it wasn't what
she would have wanted.
Auntie Sabrina: sighs
No one should ever have to go through what you've survived, Melissa.
I've said that so many times to you girls, but I really do mean it. I
hope you can appreciate how difficult it is for me to do what I have to
do.
Melissa: I know… whatever you have to do… I'm ready to hear it.
Auntie Sabrina:
It's what I'm constantly trying to make those boys understand. The
social context matters. We live in a sexist world, but here in
Sparkhaven, you are the one with power. And what you do doesn't just
affect you. Or your victim. This has already become far bigger than the
two of you.
The Petal Pickers are scared, Melissa. And it's
fear that makes them what they are. Thinking that they're not safe
unless they're in control is what makes Type Ps. Thinking that women
are out to get them is what makes Type As. This could undo weeks of
progress. I have to show them we will take a serious assault on one of
them seriously.
Melissa: Are you going to kick me out?
Auntie Sabrina:
There are a lot of people who think that would be the prudent thing to
do. But I don't think I can. Those cameras you mentioned… they're
watching us too. There are a lot of people out there hoping to see us
fail, one way or another. Choosing Cody over you, or you over Cody…
either one will bring the wrong kind of attention. And besides, after
everything we've been through together, I don't think I could bring
myself to throw you to the wolves.
I've been thinking a lot
about what I'm going to do, and here's what I've decided. First, I
don't want you to have any more contact with either Cody or Nyx. So I'm
transferring you to the Mossy Hollow campground.
Melissa: That's fair. I can't imagine Nyx wants anything to do with me at this point anyway.
Auntie Sabrina:
While there, you'll be living under the same restrictions as the Petal
Pickers, with one exception. You will be allowed to wear clothes when
leaving the campsite. But, you'll only be allowed to leave with
explicit permission. For now, that will mean only our private sessions.
You're suspended from all other activities. Some of the girls there are
in the Honey Bees, they'll know how to take care of you. Someone else
will be in charge of bringing you your meals from the cafeteria.
We're going to focus our sessions on this aggression issue of yours we
just uncovered. If it turns out to be something we're not equipped to
handle here, I'll have you transferred to an appropriate clinic. But it
has to be the right one. I'd hate for you to end somewhere that would
just pump you full of Prozac and Puericil-G and send you back to school.