“Okay,” Rachel squeaked. I rolled over onto my side, trying to get a glimpse of her through the rows of bunk beds. “The princess was in terrible pain—terrible, terrible pain—”

“Oh God,” was Ashley’s only comment. “Next?”

Macey picked up the loose story threads the best she could. “While the princess was locked away in her tower, all she could think about was the prince.”

I missed how the story ended, my eyelids too heavy to keep them open.

If there is a single thing I’ll miss about Thurmond, I thought as I edged toward sleep, it’s this. The quiet moments, when we were allowed to talk about forbidden things.

We had to find a way to amuse ourselves because we had no stories—no dreams, no future—other than the ones we created for ourselves.

I swallowed the two pills one at a time, the taste of chicken broth still on my tongue.

The cabin lights had been off for three hours, and Sam had been snoring for two. I unsealed the bag and dropped the little pills into my hand. The clear bag went back into my bra, and the first pill went into my mouth. It was warm from being so close to my skin for so long, which didn’t make it any easier to swallow. I popped the next one in before I lost the nerve, and winced as it clawed its way down my throat.

And then, I waited.

FIVE

I DIDN’T REMEMBER FALLING ASLEEP; only waking. Of course I did—my body was shaking so hard that I rolled right out of bed and hit my face against the next bunk over.

Vanessa must have jumped out of her skin with the sudden bang and movement of her bed, because I heard her say, “What the hell—Ruby? Is that you?”

I couldn’t get up. I felt her hands on my face, and registered she was now screaming my name, not just whispering it.

“Oh my God!” someone said. It sounded like Sam, but I couldn’t open my eyes.

“—emergency button!” Ashley’s weight settled over my legs; I knew it was her, even as my brain came in and out of consciousness, and a white hot light was burning behind my eyelids. Someone shoved something in my mouth—rubber and hard. I could taste blood, but I wasn’t sure if it had come from my tongue or my lips or…

Two pairs of hands lifted me from the ground, dropping me on some other surface. I still couldn’t open my eyes; my chest was on fire. I couldn’t stop shaking, and my limbs felt like they were caving in on themselves.

And then I smelled rosemary. I felt soft, cool hands pressing against my chest, then nothing at all.

Life came back to me in the form of a hard slap across the face.

“Ruby,” someone said. “Come on, I know you can hear me. You have to wake up.”