Episode 123: Camptime (Part 14)
Fateful trip - the Accident (2)
4:48 p.m. After Robin and Joe couldn't find much fresh firewood in the nearby woods, the two unanimously decided to look further afield. Whenever they found something, they brought it to a specific spot and put it all in a pile to take back later. "Hey, look, is that a gem?"/"Yeah, there are plenty of them around here. You can take it."
Robin looked at the stone and then pocketed it. "That was a moonstone, by the way, it looks really precious when polished"/"Okay, and why is it called a moonstone?"/"Because it shines just as brightly as the moon at night…"/"Wow… Must look great, I'll definitely have it polished at home. Now let's move on. There's sure to be some more here, this isn't nearly enough…"/"Okay." Actually, Joe didn't really feel like looking for any more wood
At the campsite, Alexander has now finished his little cover song session. "Well, you can play really well, then the band thing will definitely work out later on." / "It'll just be a hobby for us anyway, a side job… I'm going to write books." / "Wow, and have you written one yet?" / "Yeah, it's already finished, I just need to find a good publisher." / "I think I know one. He lives here and writes stories himself, Chauncey Grimm, a little crazy, but really nice."
"Grimm? And he writes stories? He's not related to the Brothers Grimm, is he?" / "Heehee… People here suspect he is." / "He likes reading new stories himself, he's such a bookworm." / "Well, mine is less of a story and more of a summary of experiences… I processed my mother's disappearance and her return in it." / "Well, I'd like to read it." / "Yes, sounds interesting."
Some time has passed again. The search for suitable firewood continues. They ventured further and further into the forest. And Robin noticed that Joe had become quite quiet. "Oh man, you're really hard to talk to, aren't you? You were pretty talkative before, so why not now?" "We can talk… But… how about the truth for a change?"/ "What are you talking about?" Robin asked, pausing.
Joe slowly turned around and looked at him challengingly. "Well… about you and Alex? I know you're not just best friends." Suddenly, Robin felt uneasy in his stomach and tried to stay calm. "What… How, how did you figure that out?"/ "I'm sorry, but… Oh man, I saw you guys, okay?"/ "When?"/ "A few days ago in the woods… I followed you… I know I really shouldn't have done that, but…" Then it dawned on Robin… "Shit…".
Here was the moment Robin had been dreading all along. He didn't want the whole thing to come out like this, and it made him incredibly uncomfortable. "Why the hell don't you two tell the truth? That you're together? Okay, it's none of my business, but…"/ "Why did you follow us anyway, Joe?"/ "Because… I've had this weird feeling about you two the whole time…" he said honestly, pressing his lips together.
"Weird feeling, hh-h, and that gives you the right to spy on us? I can't believe it!" / "Come on, should I have just confronted you about it? You've been messing with us the whole time, man!" Joe had finally said what had been bothering him so much the whole time. And that was the only thing that bothered him, namely that the guys weren't being honest from the start.
"Don't you think the others should at least know that?" / "No, not now, and you're not going to run up to them and tell them, do you hear?" / "What's the problem? Are you afraid they'll make fun of you?" / "I… we'll make it public, okay, but not now and you shut up!"/ "I just don't understand you… And all your back and forth,"
Robin had to pull himself together first. And Joe continued speaking more calmly this time. "You never said what your actual problem was, only that you and your father had some kind of disagreement. Is it… because you're gay?" There was a brief silence in the air. And Robin knew he had to face it all now. Then he told Joe his whole story so he could understand it better. "But… everything's okay now… isn't it?" / "Yes, and I'll come out sometime later, okay? But can we keep looking for now?" / "Yes… and I'm sorry."… a little annoyed, but also almost a little relieved about this bombshell, the two continued looking for wood.
As they continued their search for wood, they didn't discuss the topic any further. And then, after leaving a tiny bit of way behind them, they came upon a remote and rather overgrown property… "Hey, how cool, an old building, must have been a factory or something," said Robin, curiously examining the building. "I've honestly never seen it before, I haven't been this far out yet…" / "I want to take a quick look…" / "Seriously?".
Robin continued walking toward the building. He was just too curious. Joe followed him with slow steps. "Well, I don't know, it looks pretty dilapidated…" / "Look around, there's lots of old wood here, right?" / "Well…" Joe took a step back and looked up at the old walls. "Oh man, if you're too scared, stay outside and look for something flammable." Then Robin turned around and looked briefly through the open door…It seemed as though no one had been here for a long time.
While Joe looked around outside, Robn cautiously walked into the old house. "Well, I don't see anything flammable here," he heard Joe call out at some point. Then Robin remembered that he had seen something else outside. "There were some wooden pallets, chop them up… Hey, this must have been a woodworking shop or something, there are just no workbenches anymore; they seem to have stolen everything." Joe answered him indifferently. "Well then…"/ "I'll gather a few things together, the more we have, the better." Inside, it smelled very musty; the wood had been corroded by the weather over the past few years…
Joe continued looking outside for wood… And he found a few of the old wooden pallets Robin had mentioned. These were also pretty decomposed, but they were still usable. The boys were still able to talk to each other in loud voices. "I'm just going upstairs for a minute." But Joe was too engrossed in his search to really hear Robin's last words… And then, just a few seconds later, an incredibly loud crash and bang came from the house, as if something had collapsed. Joe froze. "R-Robin…"
A thick cloud of dust billowed out of the house, causing Joe to cough. After it settled a bit, he could see again and went inside despite his growing fear. But the sight that greeted him made it hard to breathe. "Shit… That's… Robin." Once he was upstairs, he must have taken a wrong step, and the middle of the rotten wooden floor gave way, crashing down to the ground floor, along with the boy.
Joe recognized the seriousness of the situation but was almost overwhelmed. Nevertheless, he went over to him. "R-Robin, hey, can you hear me?" But he didn't answer. There were lots of large and small wooden beams lying on top of him. Joe came a little closer and listened… "Oh man, he's still breathing… how do I get these giant beams off? I can't do this alone, I… I'm going to get help, you hear, please hold on." And Joe ran—faster than he'd ever run in his entire life.
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