Campfire

by Shawn Sarles

  “Get down,” Nicholas ordered. “And don’t say a word.”

  Sadie crouched and hid behind Dr. Hagen’s desk as Nicholas frantically searched the room for something heavy, something he could wield in case Rick found them. His eyes fell on an umbrella and he grabbed it. He held it above his head with both hands like some kind of sword and waited right beside the door.

  He could hear footsteps stumbling down the hallway. Nicholas closed his eyes and prayed they’d pass.

  But they didn’t.

  They stopped right in front of Dr. Hagen’s door.

  The knob turned and then caught on the lock. Nicholas heard an exasperated curse under someone’s breath, and then a ring of keys jangled. One ground into the lock. Nicholas re-gripped the umbrella. His heart pounded in his ears. The doorknob turned and someone burst into the room.

  Nicholas only had a second to react. He recognized Dr. Hagen’s shock of gray hair just in time. The umbrella came down but thwacked against the nearby bookcase instead of Dr. Hagen’s head.

  “My God!” Dr. Hagen nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked right through Nicholas, red streaks of blood running up his temples and into the edges of his gray hair. Nicholas quickly pulled him inside and pushed the door closed, locking it again. The doctor staggered to his desk, hands shaking. He sloshed some scotch into his glass and threw it back. He went to pour himself a second but accidentally knocked the bottle over, spilling it across his desk.

  “Damnit,” he shouted and threw his glass at the wall, where it shattered into a hundred little pieces.

  “Dr. Hagen, calm down—”

  But the doctor went on right over Nicholas, babbling to himself.

  “Damnit! I was going places. I could have been the next Dr. Oz, for Christ’s sake! What’d I do to deserve this? Wasn’t coming to this backwoods hellhole penance enough? That kid overdosed on his own. I only wrote the prescription. I didn’t force the pills down his throat.”

  “Dr. Hagen.” Nicholas grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. The doctor’s eyes snapped around and he saw Nicholas for the first time. “What are you talking about?”

  “Didn’t you see?” Dr. Hagen spoke more calmly, though there was still a wild look in his eye. “He’s snapped. Gone completely mad. He’s going to kill us all.”

  Not the most official of diagnoses.

  “But what happened? What changed?”

  “He must have gone off his meds,” Dr. Hagen sighed. He plopped down in one of his office chairs. “Red Raven is taking over.”

  “Red who?” Sadie piped up from behind the desk.

  “It’s from when he was a boy. He fell through an abandoned mineshaft and got lost. He wandered underground for two days all by himself. They’d given up hope, but then, miraculously, he found his own way out. But he wouldn’t stop babbling on and on about someone named Red Raven.

  “He was delusional. Dehydrated and starving. Traumatized. He swore he’d unearthed some spirit down there. And that it had led him out. But he had to repay it. Red Raven wouldn’t rest until it got blood.”

  The storm howled outside and Nicholas jumped.

  “He cut himself before they got him on the right drugs,” Dr. Hagen explained. “But I guess now… now Rick’s blood isn’t enough. He needs ours to appease his inner demons.”

  “But that’s crazy,” Nicholas exclaimed.

  “Not to Rick,” Dr. Hagen replied. “To him, Red Raven is very real. We can’t reason with him. And he won’t stop until—”

  “Until we’re all dead,” Nicholas finished for the doctor.

  “Well, how are we going to get out of here?” Sadie asked.

  “We’ll have to run for it,” Nicholas said. He looked longingly at his phone, knowing full well it was no help. But even if it could pick up a signal, no police car could get through this weather in time to save them.

  “We can take my truck. It’s parked just out front.”

  “Are you sure that’s the best plan?” Dr. Hagen asked, nervously running his hand through his hair. “Rick’s still out there. He’ll be looking for us.”

  “It’s the only chance we’ve got. We get out now while it’s still dark, or we’re dead.”

  The other two nodded in uneasy agreement, and Nicholas took the lead. He peeked his head out the door, straining to see both ends of the hallway. There’d be no flashlights on the way down. Absolutely nothing that could give them away.

  Everything clear, Nicholas motioned for Sadie and Dr. Hagen to follow him as he slipped out of the office. They crept down the hallway, holding their breath every time their wet boots squeaked. They shot glances back and to the sides, expecting the possessed killer to jump out of every doorway they passed. They made it to the stairway, though, and started down.

  In the tight stairwell they could do nothing to mask their steps. Each footfall rang out a hollow, metallic bong, like a clock tower tolling noon. Nicholas picked up his pace and hoped the storm would drown out the noise.

  They made it to the third floor. Then the second. So close to freedom.

  But as they rounded the second-floor landing, a clap of thunder shuddered through the building and the stairwell door flew open. A flash of lightning illuminated Rick’s face, a bloody kitchen knife, at least eight inches long, gleaming in his hand.

  Where had he gotten that?

  Nicholas froze, fear rooting him to the spot. He’d never seen any emotion on Rick’s face, but now the man looked down at him with the red eyes of a demon, his lips cracked wide in a mad smile. Rick’s free hand reached out and he grabbed for Sadie.

  Her scream jolted Nicholas into action. He kicked out, connecting with Rick’s elbow and knocking Sadie free. He pulled her up and they started down the stairs, running now. But as Nicholas shot a glance back, he saw that Rick had managed to grab hold of Dr. Hagen.

  The man struggled with his patient, but then Rick’s hand darted forward, found purchase in the doctor’s belly. The knife came out easily, dripping with fresh blood. Dr. Hagen looked down at his slick hands. Then he keeled over. Rick knelt quickly and pulled the doctor’s head up, tugging at his thick mane of hair. His knife swooshed and a long slit opened up in Dr. Hagen’s throat.

  “Hurry,” Nicholas shouted. It’d only taken seconds for Rick to dispose of Dr. Hagen, and now he was after them. Nicholas and Sadie rushed down the last flight of stairs and burst into the lobby. Sadie headed toward the front door, but Nicholas paused. He flung his back against the stairwell door just as Rick ran into it from the other side. The door banged, opened a crack, but then Nicholas managed to push it shut.

  “What are you doing?” Sadie had stopped. “We’ve got to go. Come on.”

  Nicholas looked at her with a sad smile on his face.

  “Here,” he said. “Take my keys.”

  He tossed them to her as the door shuddered again. Nicholas’s boots slid on the wet floor. He almost lost his balance, but he managed to stay upright and push the door closed.

  “I’m not leaving you behind.”

  “Go. It’s the only way. I’ll hold him off.”

  The strain was evident in Nicholas’s voice. His face squeezed in on itself as he combatted another assault from the other side of the stairwell door.

  “Go! Goddamnit. I can’t keep him back much longer.”

  Sadie didn’t argue this time, but scurried up to Nicholas. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she was gone.

  The stairwell door banged against Nicholas’s back. It felt like Rick had a battering ram. Nicholas’s feet slipped. He couldn’t get any kind of leverage on the slick floor. Rick rammed into the door again and Nicholas felt his boots slide right out from under him. He toppled to the floor and Rick pushed into the hallway.

  At first, the madman didn’t see Nicholas. But he did see Sadie and started after her.

  “No!” Nicholas roared as he leaped up from the floor and tackled the man. He had to save Sadie. He
had to buy her whatever time he could.

  Rick slammed into the wall, but managed to stay on his feet. He turned and leered at Nicholas. He brandished his bloody blade and sprang forward. Nicholas spun out of the way, but Rick grabbed his arm with his other hand and pulled him in close.

  The hospital walls spun around them as they grappled. Nicholas clawed at Rick’s wrist and tried to beat the blade out of his hand. He kicked blindly at the man’s legs, knowing that he couldn’t lose sight of the knife. He heard the front door bang open and sneaked a glance over Rick’s shoulder. Sadie met his gaze for a second, tears running down her cheeks. Then she blew him a kiss and disappeared into the night. That’s when Nicholas felt the sharp pain in his side.

  He coughed, choking on the pain. He hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. His hands flew to his side and he felt the blood, warm and wet. He stared down at his stained hands and then back up at Rick. The man’s maniacal grin filled his vision. He watched as Rick stabbed him in the stomach twice more.

  Oddly, it didn’t hurt as much the second and third times. It almost felt good. Like a release. Nicholas’s head grew light and he could feel his mind starting to detach from his body. He wanted to let go and float up and away.

  But he couldn’t. Not yet. He had to make sure Sadie got out. He shuffled forward and wrapped his arms around Rick’s leg.

  Rick peeled him off easily, though, and threw him back to the ground. Nicholas managed to crawl forward, using his last strength to block Rick’s path, but Rick reached down and yanked his head back. His knife hovered for a moment and then sliced across Nicholas’s throat.

  As blood poured into Nicholas’s mouth, he strained to see past the hospital doors, to hear the sound of a truck engine revving.

  Nicholas’s eyes blinked. He tried to fight the drowsiness, but he could only hold on for so long. As the world went black around him, he thought about Sadie. He prayed she’d gotten away as he watched Rick racing forward, pulling open the front doors and sprinting headlong into the rain.

  EIGHT

  PAIN STABBED INTO MADDIE’S SIDE, BRIGHT and sharp. She kneaded her hand against it and kept going. She breathed in and out, focusing on the rhythm, gritting her teeth at the same time.

  Her lungs seared in her chest, the high altitude air so thin she couldn’t get enough oxygen. Maddie’s body begged her to stop, but she pushed herself forward, her feet flying underneath her, the forest a green blur around her as she raced through the trees.

  She peeked over her shoulder and her heart jolted into her throat. It was still there, just a few strides behind her—the bear, tattered tutu flapping, bells jingling, teeth bared and dripping blood. She turned back around and sped up. She veered to the right and Bambi’s claws left slashes in a tree instead of her back.

  That had been close. But she couldn’t let up now. She couldn’t let it catch her. She had to get away. She had to run for her life.

  Another minute passed and Maddie glanced back over her shoulder. She blinked and the bear was gone. But now a man ran after her. He had a mad gleam in his eyes and a long, sinister knife in one hand. Blood covered his pale face and shirtfront, stained his fingers. He moved quickly for such a large man, almost as if he had wings, skimming across the forest floor. Maddie squinted and could see them now, sprouting from his back, slick and red, spun from the blood of his victims.

  She broke into a flat-out sprint, leaping out of his reach at the last second. His knife cut through the air right as her wristwatch started beeping.

  She glanced at the time and started to slow down. Her sprint became a trot and then a jog. Then she was walking, feeling the ache in her lungs, the side-stitch needling into her stomach. She took deep breaths and paced in a small circle, letting her body cool down, letting it start its recovery. She bent over and stretched her calves and quads. She looked at her time again. Not too bad. Especially given the altitude.

  Looking back the way she’d come, she saw the phantoms of Bambi and Red Raven glaring at her. It was a game she liked to play with herself during her training runs. She’d imagine some monster chasing her, and it’d trick her brain into giving her an adrenaline boost.

  Fight or flight. But in her case, flight always won. No one could catch her.

  Usually she imagined herself running from zombies or something she’d seen in a scary movie—like Freddy Krueger or Ghostface—but this morning she’d had even better material.

  She stuck out her tongue at Bambi and Red Raven. Better luck next time. They snarled and then evaporated. Maddie laughed to herself—they’d make good additions to her monster gallery—and then continued on her way.

  As Maddie walked back toward camp, the sun streamed through the trees beautifully, lighting everything in a warm and wonderful glow. So different from the night before, when Abigail had nearly scared the piss out of her and Chelsea. But Maddie wasn’t too mad about that now. She liked that feeling—at least she did when she knew her life wasn’t actually in danger. She enjoyed the way fear crept up her spine and blew its icy breath against the nape of her neck, the chills that shivered through her whole body as her heart beat faster, as her pupils opened wider. It was kind of like runner’s high, adrenaline flushing her system, intensifying all her senses.

  There was nothing like a good scare, and her aunt and Charlie had certainly delivered with their stories last night. The real question was, would anyone be able to top them tonight?

  The trees started to thin out, and Maddie could just see the sun’s shimmer off the valley lake. She’d almost made it back to camp. Her stomach grumbled, and she wondered what they’d fix for lunch. She couldn’t wait to pig out. That’s when she heard voices, hushed and urgent, coming her way. She slid behind a particularly fat tree just as Charlie and Dylan broke through the tree line.

  “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about this.” Dylan’s words trailed after Charlie as he stomped through the underbrush. Even anger couldn’t dampen the girl’s natural prettiness, her effortless beauty. She looked nothing like her devil of a younger sister, Abigail. But that might have been Maddie’s own bias coming through.

  “Can you stop and look at me? Please?” Dylan grabbed for Charlie’s hand but missed.

  “You don’t know why?” Charlie spun on his heel and faced his girlfriend head-on. He spoke loudly now, abandoning whatever need for caution they’d had before. Maddie peeked out from behind the tree and watched them, knowing better than to interrupt. Her brother looked pissed, his face as red as a stop sign under his Giants cap. “You just told me you want to break up… how did you think I’d take it?”

  “That’s not what I said,” Dylan tried to clarify, but Charlie talked over her.

  “That’s exactly what you said.”

  “No!” Dylan shouted back, stunning Charlie into silence. His mouth hung open, but he didn’t argue.

  ”You never listen,” Dylan went on. “I said that we should think about what’s going to happen in the fall—you know, when we go away to different schools.”

  She sighed and crossed her arms. Then, seeing the sad look on her boyfriend’s face, uncrossed them. She reached out and put her hand against his chest.

  “I’m not saying that we should break up—just that we should think about where this is going.”

  “You and your thinking,” Charlie said miserably. “You’re always worrying. College is months away. We still have the whole summer together. Can’t we worry about the future later? Can’t we just enjoy today and tomorrow and next week? Together?”

  “Oh, Charlie. I wish things were that easy.”

  “Why can’t they be?”

  Dylan closed her eyes and leaned into his body, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

  “Because the future is coming whether you like it or not,” she whispered.

  “But that doesn’t mean we have to worry about it.”

  “No. But we should prepare for it. Or at least talk about it.” Dylan pulled away from Charlie and
crossed her arms again. She sank into her shell as she continued talking. “You know I have a thousand things on my mind. My mom’s been riding me for weeks now. I thought getting into her alma mater would get her off my back, but now she’s telling me which classes to take and where I should live. She keeps trying to get me to meet up with her old sorority sisters. She wants me to be like a mini-Kris—majoring in business, coming to work with her at the real-estate firm when I graduate. She’s already assuming that I’m going to intern with her this summer.

  “I can’t stand it. It’s not me at all. I’m not her. And I don’t want to be. But you know how she is… never lets anyone get a word in.

  “And then there’s you,” Dylan rushed on before Charlie could get a word out. “You know, you’ve always been so good at living in the moment. Even when we were kids. That’s something I’ve always loved about you. You make every minute worthwhile.”

  “You can’t waste a single second,” Charlie leaped in. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last eighteen years, it’s that the future is unpredictable and will mess you up the first chance it gets.”

  There was a bitterness to Charlie’s voice now, and Maddie knew he was remembering their mother. The fire. All the time he hadn’t spent with her while she was alive.

  “But I need to start thinking about the future,” Dylan said. “About where I’m going. Where you’re going. Where that leaves for us to go… I can’t live in the moment forever.”

  “But Dylan,” Charlie fished for the right words and came up empty.

  “I’m not saying that we should break up,” Dylan said. “I just want you to think about the future. To think about what you want. Whether we can make this work long distance.”