by Shawn Sarles
“My husband had his weaknesses,” Kris admitted, the words clearly sour in her mouth. “At least if he was going to sleep with someone else’s wife, he could have picked one whose husband wouldn’t try to murder him.”
Maddie’s dad nodded absently, his mind still thinking.
“But that still leaves those kids.”
“I don’t know, Mitch,” Kris said, exasperated. “I’m not a detective. Maybe he murdered them to scare us. Or to make sure we couldn’t get help. Their radio was gone. And their ATV.”
She rubbed her forehead and shut her eyes.
“What if…” her dad started, a new theory at work.
“What if we’re trapped in some terrible, B-horror film come to life and there’s a serial killer out there stalking us, waiting to pick us off one by one, probably tonight while we’re all sleeping?” Kris finished, out of breath and panicky.
“It’s not impossible,” Mitch said grimly.
“Damnit, Mitch!” Kris let loose her frustrations. “Why’d you have to bring us up here? Why’d you have to get us all killed?”
Maddie’s dad cleared his throat and stared out across the water. It took him a moment, but he finally answered Kris’s question.
“Charlie wanted something special for graduation,” he said quietly. “I thought it was the least I could do, getting everyone up here for one last trip together.”
Mitch dropped his head and gazed into his lap.
“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean that,” Kris apologized, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I know what’s happening isn’t your fault.”
“Isn’t it?” Mitch said. Kris looked at him, a new, deeper fear rising in her eyes. “A bit like karma—”
“Shut up,” she snapped. “Shut your mouth right this second. We swore never—”
“How are you holding up?” Caleb surprised Maddie, coming up next to her to fill his water bottle, and she missed the last words of Kris’s conversation. She kept her gaze on Kris, though, watching as the woman jerked her bag up on her shoulder and then walked away from her father. Maddie wanted to scream. What had her father meant? And why had it spooked Kris like that? Did it have something to do with Ed and the money her dad owed him? They’d already argued about that once this weekend. Or maybe it had to do with the murders.
“I guess I’m okay.” Maddie’s voice came out rough and tired as she turned to face Caleb. “As good as can be expected.”
“Don’t lose hope,” Caleb said, trying to lift her spirits. “The Mustang Maddie I know would never give up. She’d ride that horse to the end of the plains—”
Caleb cut off as a smile bubbled up on Maddie’s lips. What she wouldn’t give to go back to that first afternoon.
“You’re gonna have one hell of a scary story for your next campfire—if we—” Maddie had tried to keep things light, but realized too late that she’d failed. Caleb’s smile flitted away, his one dimple disappearing.
“We’re going to get off this mountain,” Caleb said, his face set, determined.
Maddie nodded, wanting to believe him, but finding it hard to in the face of everyone they’d already lost.
“Hey,” Caleb said, pulling her back out of her grim thoughts. “I saved you once, and I promise, I’m going to keep you safe again.”
Maddie stared into Caleb’s blue eyes and saw them change, saw a steely gray wash over them.
“I know you will.”
TWENTY-THREE
AS THEY WALKED BACK TO THEIR makeshift camp, Maddie couldn’t stop her thoughts from racing. She couldn’t get the image of Mark’s lifeless body out of her head. And when she finally did, a picture of Jason and Tommy’s shredded camp filled the void.
Blood and bodies.
She couldn’t think of anything else. She was going to have a nervous breakdown.
“You okay?”
Her brother’s voice penetrated Maddie’s thoughts, a life buoy pulling her out of the black hole before it could crush her.
She snorted, even though there was nothing funny about Charlie’s question. But how could she not laugh? What a ridiculous thing to ask.
Of course she wasn’t okay. None of them were.
But what other way did he have to put it?
“I’ve been worse,” Maddie replied. “How about you?”
“Same,” Charlie agreed. He sounded tired.
“Actually, I have a question for you.” Maddie winced as she remembered what Tommy had told her the night before. But she pushed through, trying to block out the boy’s face, his broken body lying there on the ground. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to ask, but she needed something to distract her. “Did you lose your baseball scholarship?”
Charlie’s shoulders stiffened. His jaw clenched. Maddie thought he might freeze up like the Tin Man, but then he nodded. Once. Twice. And his shoulders slumped back down, his chin buried in his chest.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Maddie said quickly. “What happened?”
“They picked someone else to fill my spot.”
“They can do that?”
“Apparently,” Charlie said. “They told me I could try out in the fall, maybe get a walk-on spot. But I don’t really see the point.”
Maddie could see that Charlie didn’t want to talk about this, but she pressed on anyway.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Charlie shrugged.
“Does Dad know? Did you tell Dylan?”
“Dad knows,” Charlie said. Was that a bitter note Maddie picked up in his voice? “But I haven’t told Dylan yet, so don’t say anything. Why would she want to stay with a college no-show.”
“But you can still go to college—”
The words left Maddie’s mouth before she realized they might be wrong. She’d never thought about money or not having it—until that morning. But now she knew they were poor. Or, at least, struggling. Maybe they couldn’t afford to send Charlie to college.
“Just—don’t worry about me,” Charlie said. “And don’t tell Dylan. This might be the last summer I have with her. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“Okay,” Maddie said even though she didn’t agree with him at all. She watched as Charlie sped ahead of her and caught up to his girlfriend. He slid his hand into hers and kissed her on the cheek.
Dylan wouldn’t judge him for losing his scholarship. She wouldn’t break up with him just because he couldn’t afford to go to college. Would she?
When they got back to camp, the tents were all set up in tight rows. Maddie’s aunt had pried open several cans of baked beans, each with a spoon sticking out of it. She’d also opened up a couple of bags of hot dog buns. Maddie’s stomach grumbled. Dinner wouldn’t be much, but at least it’d be food.
As they ate, gone was the chatter of the previous night. Everyone had closed ranks, each family circling up and casting a suspicious eye on everyone else.
Because who could they trust?
As much as Maddie wished it weren’t the case, she knew the likelihood was that one of them had murdered Mark. And the boys.
Ed. Kris. Her dad. Even Caleb.
They were all suspects. They all had motives. And these people around her, these people who bullied their friends and had affairs—they were all capable of terrible things.
Her spoon scraped against the bottom of the can of beans and Maddie looked down, surprised to see that she’d finished it. She looked over and saw that Chelsea had finished hers, too. Above them the sky had turned a bruised shade of purple. Night wasn’t far away.
“Okay, we should be turning in soon.” Caleb stood up, taking the lead again. “We need to set up a watch. I figure we should split into three shifts.”
Bryan and Charlie volunteered to go first. Maddie’s dad and Kris accepted the second shift alongside Caleb. And Aunt Julie and Uncle Ed said they’d take the last.
“Here.” Caleb handed Mark’s rifle over to Charlie. He’d made sure to grab it when they’d broken camp in the valley. “Do
you know how to use it?”
Charlie looked uncertain.
“It’s easy. The safety’s here. Then just point and shoot. It’ll give you a kick in the shoulder. But nothing you won’t survive. It’s already loaded.”
Charlie took the gun. It weighed heavily in his hands.
“We’ll wake you all in a few hours to switch out,” Charlie muttered nervously.
“No flashlights. No loud noises,” the guide reminded them all. He gazed out into the woods. Maddie felt the back of her neck prickle. Was someone watching them right now?
Charlie and Bryan nodded.
“Okay, everyone. Try and get some sleep. We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.”
Maddie didn’t think she’d get any sleep, but she followed Chelsea into their tent. The sun had almost disappeared below the horizon, and the stars were coming out. Maddie hovered at the tent flap and looked out into the woods one last time.
“It’s going to be all right, Maddie.” Charlie’s voice surprised her. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”
“Thanks,” Maddie mumbled. Even with her brother and Caleb looking out for her, she didn’t feel so safe. She let the tent flap close and crawled into her sleeping bag.
TWENTY-FOUR
“PSST,” MADDIE HISSED ACROSS THE DARK tent. “Are you still awake?”
A sleeping bag rustled, and Chelsea turned over to face her best friend.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll get any sleep.”
“Me neither.”
The two girls lapsed into silence. They could hear the crickets chirping outside, the soft murmur of voices and the rustling of a tent. It sounded like Charlie and Bryan had traded off watch. That meant it’d been, what—three, maybe four hours since they’d turned in? It seemed like an eternity. Maddie didn’t know how she’d make it the whole night, especially if she couldn’t sleep.
“Look, I wanted to tell you that—” Maddie began. She realized suddenly that this could be the last time she and Chelsea spoke. “That I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Yeah. For inviting you on this trip. If it weren’t for me, you’d be safe and sound in your own bed. Instead… who knows if we’ll even make it off this mountain.”
“I’d never want you to face this alone,” Chelsea said, her voice low and warm. “You changed my life, too, you know. If it weren’t for you, I’d be that same bitch who made your life miserable back in middle school. Hell, I’d probably be worse than Abigail.”
They’d never talked about this before, though Maddie knew it all. Still, she perked up as Chelsea went on.
“But visiting you in the hospital that day—I don’t even know why I went—but I’m so thankful I did. Getting to know you—it did more good than you’ll ever realize.”
“You changed my life, too.” Maddie could feel her tears bubbling up. She wasn’t going to cry, though. She didn’t want to turn this into some sappy after-school special.
“And for the record,” Chelsea went on in a firm, resolute voice, reaching out to take Maddie’s hand and squeezing it hard, “we are going to get off this mountain. Look at everything we’ve already gotten through. Nothing has stopped us. We’re survivors. Don’t forget that.”
Maddie nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. A few tears slid out and plopped against her sleeping bag. She let go of Chelsea’s hands to wipe her eyes.
“You’re right,” Maddie squeaked out. “We’ll fight to the end.”
“Pinkie promise?”
Chelsea held her hand out, her littlest finger crooked. Maddie reached out and their fingers intertwined. A renewed strength welled up in Maddie. They weren’t dead yet.
“Okay. We should probably try and get some sleep,” Maddie said, reluctantly pulling her finger back from Chelsea’s. “We’re going to need it tomorrow.”
Chelsea agreed and pulled her hand back, too. They stared at each other for another moment and then both rolled over in their sleeping bags.
“Good night,” Chelsea said.
“Good night.”
Maddie felt better as she closed her eyes. Safer. They’d never broken a pinkie promise to each other. Her shoulders relaxed and her breathing slowed. She began to dip into sleep. In and out, hovering along that fine line between the dream world and reality. Her head sank into her pillow and she was out. Still and peaceful.
TWENTY-FIVE
A SCREAM BROKE THROUGH THE NIGHT, long and shrill.
In her tent, Maddie jarred awake, her dreams shattered. She jolted up in her sleeping bag, a cold sweat breaking out over her entire body. Her heart pounded away in her chest. She felt like she’d just woken up from a nightmare. But she knew better. Her dreams had been a haven. She’d just woken up into the nightmare.
She scrambled out of her sleeping bag, relieved when she saw Chelsea doing the same next to her. At least her best friend was safe. But who was out there screaming? Maddie shoved her feet into her running shoes and rushed through the tent flap.
Chaos reigned outside, everyone struggling to get out of their tents, terrified. Ed had the rifle in his hands, nervously checking the safety over and over to make sure it was off.
“What was that?” Kris shouted as she came out of her tent. She had her flashlight in her hand and flicked it on. It lit up the night, falling on Julie first, her hands balled into tiny fists, her face flushed pink. “Did you see something? Why’d you scream?”
Julie’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
“Spit it out,” Kris yelled.
“It—it wasn’t me.”
Kris’s face fell. She whipped around and stared at her daughters’ tent. No one had come out of it yet. She took a quick step toward it but stopped when the zipper moved. Everyone got very quiet and watched as it slid down and Dylan tumbled out, her hair a tangled mess, her eyes big and worried.
“Mom,” her wild eyes found Kris first, and everyone immediately knew what was coming next. “Abigail’s gone.”
“Gone where?” Kris asked, unable to process it.
Another scream tore through the night in answer.
No one waited for a discussion, to make a plan of action. Kris bolted into the forest first, Charlie a second later, heading in slightly different directions. Maddie dug her feet into the ground and then took off running, too, following after Charlie. She heard her father shouting at her to stop. That it wasn’t safe. But she ignored him. She’d made a promise to Abigail that day. She’d never let Chelsea go without a fight, and she couldn’t abandon Abigail now.
She tore blindly through the forest, praying she wouldn’t trip on anything. She could hear Charlie’s footsteps crashing through the underbrush ahead of her. She picked up her pace and tried to catch up to him.
Another scream carried through the trees, and Maddie corrected her course, plunging to the right. She felt a little like a bat, flying blindly through the night, using Abigail’s cries as a guide.
Another scream and Maddie knew she was close. She slowed down and listened.
“Let her go!”
She heard her brother’s voice and spun around in time to see him lunging at a figure hidden in the shadows. The two crashed to the ground and started wrestling. Maddie made a beeline for them, nearly running over a squealing Abigail in the process.
“We have to help him,” Maddie shouted, desperate. But Abigail didn’t listen. She didn’t even slow down as she shot off in the opposite direction.
Maddie wasted a second watching her go, but a grunt pulled her back around. She saw her brother there sprawled on the ground, thrashing with the figure. The man wore all black. He even had a ski mask covering his face. But there was no mistaking the glint of metal as it flashed against the moonlight, the long hunting knife he held over her brother.
“No!” Maddie raced forward and shoved the man, using all her strength, every ounce of momentum. He stumbled backward and fell. Maddie immediately bent to help Charlie up. They had to get out of there. They coul
dn’t defend themselves against that knife.
“Hurry,” Maddie shouted, grabbing Charlie’s hand, trying to pull him up. “We can outrun him.”
“Maddie!” Charlie leaped up, wrapping his arms around his sister as he spun to put his body between hers and the attacker’s.
Maddie yelped as she felt the blow. As the knife stabbed into Charlie, it pushed her back, almost sent her toppling over. Charlie gasped and let go of her. He turned and kicked at the attacker, managing to knock the man down at the knee but stumbling over in the process.
“Go!” he yelled. But Maddie couldn’t move. She stood there, stunned, unable to lift her legs.
“Run!” he tried again, his voice weaker this time.
“I’m not leaving you,” Maddie whimpered.
“It’s too late.” Charlie locked eyes with his sister. She knew that look, but she reached forward anyway. She pulled his face to hers, tried to get him up onto his feet. She’d drag him behind her if she had to. She couldn’t go without him.
“You have to go now,” Charlie said, pushing her hands away. Her fingers trailed through his hair and pulled his San Francisco hat off.
“But—but—” Maddie stammered.
Charlie wasn’t listening to her, though. He’d staggered awkwardly to his feet, and turned to face the attacker. The man had recovered from the kick. He had his knife out, pointed dangerously at Maddie. It no longer flickered in the moonlight, though, as blood swam across the blade.
“Maddie,” Charlie said between heaving breaths. “Remember what you promised. You have to run. You have to save yourself.”
Maddie shook her head, not wanting to believe the words coming out of her brother’s mouth. He smiled at her and touched his forehead in a final salute.
“I love you.”
Then he turned back around and lunged at the attacker.
“No!” Maddie screamed.
But she didn’t move. She couldn’t. Tears streamed down her face as she watched Charlie fight—as she realized he was going to lose. She could hear it in his strained movements, his exhausted panting, how his feet crashed clumsily through the underbrush. Blood seeped from the wound in his back and pattered on the ground in drops like rain.