• It was more than an overly boring day at church that morning. As we sat and listened to good ol’ pastor Hank, I found myself wondering the depths of my mind.
    I thought about how I might spend the rest of my day, about if my MP3 battery would last me on my way home. I also thought about Derek, and what his mind could be on…. And last but most thought of, was Anna. I couldn’t stop thinking of her. I hoped she was enjoying herself where ever she might be. Camping wasn’t her thing, but she seemed so eager to go.
    Someone shook my shoulder, and I jumped. Service was over and I had to pick up before we headed back home. It was Derek who came to pull me from my trance. I suppose I’d been out far too long, because Grandpa was telling me to get in the car already.
    I reached under the desk and hauled my bag up off the ground onto my back. I’m not sure if I’m crazy or what but it seems to get heavier every time I pick it up.
    The car was just off the curb, and took me seconds to walk out there. Car rides never lasted nearly long enough for me…. It was always over just as I came upon some vitally important thought, and then it was gone.
    We lugged our junk into the house and left it sitting in the kitchen chairs. Shuffling our way into the living room, Derek and I sat down in the large over stuffed chairs in front of the TV. I stole the remote from him before he could manage to flick on some brainless show of his. I grinned evilly at him as I turned on the news. Derek and I had planned a trip to the river in a few days, and I wanted to be sure it would be nice enough to swim.
    Grandpa settled himself into the computer chair, and started browsing through his many, many, MANY pictures. The news cast rambled on about other stories from last week, and the repetitive sound of the click of the mouse dragged me into my thoughts again. I heard grandpa mumble something about seeing a picture of Anna, Lettie, and I from a few days ago. I could only think of two pictures that I’d taken with Anna that day, and in both of them I was smiling like an idiot. I only did it because she told me too. So I smiled in a way that I knew I would make her mad. I love her most when she’s angry like that. She gets the most adorable squinted glare that freezes my insides, at the same time it sends the fire of passion shooting through my blood and her face flushes the most beautiful shade of crimson I’ve ever seen.
    Just as I was imaging her face progress from a smile to her wonderful anger, I heard grandpa jump out of his seat.
    “What is it Grandpa?” I asked now alert to a sense of desperation and fear in the air.
    “Pay attention to the TV boy! There’s been a mass shooting at that damned camp where Anna, Lettie, and your grandma are staying!” He yelped, getting back on the computer.
    “What!?” I yelled. “Grandpa what are you doing?”
    “I’m looking up directions to that camp. We have to get up there to make sure our girls are okay! They say that they haven’t found a survivor yet, but I’ll be damned if my girls are dead. They’re made of steal, they aren’t stupid… They made it…. They had to. Damned computer…. I never get it to work right….” He mumbled.
    I ignored the last part and nodded in agreement, and turned to find Derek gone. I went through the kitchen and down stairs, to the guest room. As I knew he would be, he had come down here to panic alone. “Derek, It’ll be fine. We’re going up to find them. It’ll be fine… c’mon.” I pulled him up by the arm and half dragged him up the stairs.
    By the time we’d gotten back to the living room grandpa was gone, and we heard a honk outside from the little mustang that my grandpa kept. It was his little muscle car to match his odd old man muscle.
    Keeping a good hold on Derek, we rushed out the door and past the gate, out to the curb. I made Derek sit in back, and I climbed up front.
    “Hold this, Vincent.” He said as he shoved a few papers into my hands. I looked them over, and found that they were maps to the camp site. Every one of them said the estimated time for the trip, would be at least two hours.
    The trip was the most anxiety ridden two hours of my life. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see what I might. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with it. Seeing Grandma, Lettie…… and –I forced myself to think the impossibly lovely name- Anna. We passed through the final town before the camp and I was on the edge of my seat. I went over our best memories together, willing myself to think that they would be fine when we got there.
    As we drove I saw two girls who looked quite a bit like Anna and Lettie. I guessed it was a trick of my eyes, because given the current situation they couldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere.
    The entrance to camp wasn’t blocked, much to our surprise. We made it was far as the makeshift parking lot before we thought it safer, to get out and find out way through on foot instead.
    We walked around the lake watching the police and medics run around wildly. They must have been busy not to notice us, but we were alive, so they must have assumed that we were survivors simply wandering about, not to be bothered with quite yet. There was a boat out in the middle of the lake; I came a little closer to the edge to find that they were fishing out bodies from the water. I backed away quickly in disgust.
    We quickly headed for the cabin the girls were supposed to have stayed in. We entered to see a bloody mess. There were people we didn’t even know that had been torn apart by a gun and thrown about the room. As was stepped farther into the madness the door slammed shut. We turned to face my grandmother, very bloody, with a murderous glare on her face. Grandpa hooted loudly in exclamation of his joy.
    It took a moment for her to realize who we were but the second she did, she had grandpa and I in her arms, muttering incoherently through her tears.
    After the glorious reunion we found that grandma was fine, the blood on her belonged to the others she had been helping, and the bodies she had been moving. Yet she hadn’t seen Lettie or Anna….. That one tore into me more than words can say.
    We searched the camp high and low, but not a single person, alive or dead, was the one I was looking for. After searching the whole day away, Grandpa decided to leave it to the authorities to find them.
    We were just about to get into town, a few more miles when I saw them again, the two who looked strikingly like Anna and Lettie. I didn’t know what I was doing, I was grasping at anything to see her now. To know she was safe. To hold her again.
    “Stop the car!” I said.
    “Why, Vincent? Do you feel alright honey?” Grandma asked.
    “JUST STOP THE DAMN CAR!” I screamed back.
    There was an audible screech as the car came to a halt.
    I hopped out and ran as fast I could to the two up on the road. It had to be them, I knew it was now, because both were running straight at me, the slightly shorter of the two much faster than the other. Just like Lettie and Anna. Anna. Oh Anna. I sped up knowing I would see her again soon. I hadn’t noticed until now, but Derek was racing just as eager as I was to see them.
    We met at middle ground, all four of us panting and smiling like you couldn’t believe. And there she was. My Anna. My dear, dear Anna. And I loved her dearly.