by Emma Moss
‘I just wish we’d got more done.’ Sassy sighed. ‘With the retakes, it all eats up more time than I’d thought. There’s so much left to do.’
‘We still have tomorrow night,’ reassured Abby.
‘I’m knackered,’ said Jessie. ‘I need to crash.’
They took off their make-up, brushed their teeth and were soon in their sleeping bags.
But Sassy found she couldn’t sleep. She lay in her sleeping bag thinking of all the shots she hadn’t managed to film and bursting with new ideas.
Then there was a low rumble of thunder from an incoming storm. Suddenly Sassy saw a flash of lightning through the opening of the tent.
This would be perfect for the film . . .
VLOG 6
FADE IN: Night-time. SASSY, wrapped up in a hoody, jeans, big scarf and hat, filming herself in the woods. She lights up her chin with a torch.
SASSY
Hi, guys. We’ve been filming our scary movie all afternoon, and now we’re about to do the night-time scenes, when things get really grisly, mwa ha ha. Not really; it’s all kind of ridiculous, actually! We’ll post the full video when it’s edited and we’ve added all the effects in and stuff, but in the meantime we wanted to give you a little sneak preview and take you along for some of the filming. No spoilers, though, I promise! So to clue you in . . . Jessie and Lucy are two ditsy twin sisters, Milly and Rachel. Their older sister, Flora, disappeared several years ago on a camping trip, and now that they’re old enough to investigate, they’ve returned to the place where it happened. Little do they know that Flora IS here . . . but not as they remember her. She’s not as sweet as she used to be, and she’s a LOT soggier! OK, Jessie, Lucy, here we go . . .
SASSY pans over the sky so we can see the full moon.
SASSY
Lights, camera, action . . .
She turns the camera to film JESSIE and LUCY walking through the woods.
JESSIE
(loud Australian accent)
I just know she’s still out here somewhere.
LUCY bursts out laughing.
SASSY
CUT!
LUCY
Sorry, but why d-did you do that accent, Jess?! You weren’t Australian in the earlier s-scenes.
JESSIE
Ha ha, no idea! It just came out. Must have been Razzy’s influence. Will try again.
SASSY
Take two.
JESSIE
I just know she’s still out here somewhere.
LUCY
(exaggerated sniffing)
I d-don’t know where this hunch is coming from, Milly. Are you sure? It’s fr-freezing out here tonight. And so, so dark . . .
JESSIE and LUCY both jump.
LUCY (CONTINUED)
W-what was that?
JESSIE
Just an owl. Trust me, OK, Rachel? Everything’s fine. And we have to do this! Otherwise we’ll never know what happened.
LUCY looks up at the trees moving in the wind.
LUCY
F-fine, but there’s a storm coming. What if we get s-struck by lightning? It will p-play havoc with my hair!
JESSIE
OK, let’s shelter in the boathouse for a while.
LUCY
(sniffing)
Isn’t it s-supposed to be h-haunted?
JESSIE
You don’t believe those old tales, do you? There’s nothing to be afraid of.
SASSY
And CUT! Well done, guys. We’ll add the owl noise in later.
CUT TO: The boathouse. It’s pitch black so we can only hear their voices.
LUCY
H-hello, is someone there?
JESSIE
Hello?
(Silence . . .)
JESSIE
(screams)
What was that?
HERMIONE
OW! You whacked me in the leg!
SASSY
CUT! Hermione, we’re not meant to hear from you yet! In fact, we don’t hear from you at all – no lines, remember!
HERMIONE
Aghh, well, can’t we switch a light on so we can see where we’re going?
SASSY
(with a sigh)
No. Let’s take it from the top . . .
CUT TO: Outside the boathouse.
JESSIE and LUCY running away from the boathouse, brandishing a torch.
LUCY
I t-told you this was a b-bad idea!
Let’s g-get out of here before it’s too l-late!
JESSIE
AAAH! HELP! It’s behind us!
LUCY
RUNNNNN!
We see a figure dressed in black with a ghostly white face and damp hair running behind them.
FADE OUT.
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Comments:
miavlogs: when Jessie did that accent!
sami_rules: That make-up, guys!!! hahahaha
girlscanvlogfan: Can’t wait to see the finished movie! You guys are so talented xx
Sammylovesbooks: was that Hermione at the end?
queen_dakota: Lol this is super lame.
PrankingsteinCharlie: So cool. Can’t wait to see the real thing.
(scroll down to see 25 more comments)
Lucy was being chased by something very frightening that was just behind her. She heard heavy breathing . . . She fell to the ground, but managed to scramble up again and run.
Waking with a start, it took her a moment to realize that she’d been having a nightmare. Phew, that had felt so real. She smiled as she remembered the movie footage that they’d replayed earlier. It had been fun playing clueless twins with Jessie.
She glanced around the tent and saw three sleeping shapes. Someone was missing. Sassy. Maybe she’d got up to go to the loo? She checked her phone – 6.12 a.m.
After a few more minutes, Lucy carefully slid out of her sleeping bag, so as not to wake the others, and crept out of the tent. It was early morning and the ground was wet from rain. She vaguely remembered hearing thunder during the night. She put on her wellies and walked down to the toilet block, but Sassy wasn’t there. Weird.
When she got back to the tent, she shook Abby awake. ‘Do you know where Sassy’s g-gone?’ she whispered. ‘Sh-she’s not here.’
‘Gone? What do you mean, gone?’ asked Hermione, who had woken up too.
‘Well, sh-she’s not here or at the toilets. I checked,’ Lucy replied. ‘I walked around the campsite on the w-way back too.’
‘Could she have gone down to the lake? Maybe she forgot something there last night?’ suggested Abby.
‘Dunno. Let’s go see . . .’ said Lucy, feeling a bit panicky. ‘H, you s-stay here in case she comes back.’
Jessie was still fast asleep, so they didn’t disturb her.
But there was no sign of Sassy when they got down to the dock. Lucy had run out of places to look.
‘I think I’ve g-gotta tell my p-parents,’ Lucy said, her voice wavering. ‘I d-don’t know what else to do.’
‘What if something’s happened to her or she’s been kidnapped?’ Abby asked dramatically.
‘Shut up, Abs!’ said Lucy, feeling really upset.
By the time they got back to the campsite, Lucy’s parents were up and starting to make coffee. Maggie was jumping in puddles and greeted them enthusiastically when she spotted them. Lucy didn’t know how to break the news.
‘Morning, girls! You’re up early,’ said Lucy’s dad.
‘Dad, I’m really w-worried,’ said Lucy, starting to cry. ‘S-sassy’s m-missing.’
‘What? Missing? How?’ he asked sharply.
Mrs Lockwood emerged quickly from their tent. ‘Tell me,’ she said, turning to Abby because Lucy was sobbing and couldn’t speak.
‘Sassy’s not in the tent. We’ve also checked at the toilets and down by the lake – no sign of her,’ Abby replied.
‘Do you have any idea where she might have gone?’ Mrs Lockw
ood asked.
Lucy shook her head miserably. ‘What are we going to do?’ she said to her husband.
‘Why LucyLoo crying?’ asked Maggie, frowning with concern.
‘Don’t worry, sweetie,’ murmured her mother.
Lucy tried to smile reassuringly at her sister, but her heart was pounding.
‘We’ll have to do a thorough search of the entire campsite,’ said Mr Lockwood, running his hand through his hair. ‘Spread out, look everywhere and ask all the campers if they’ve seen her. We’ll need to alert the camp officials to get some help. If that doesn’t work, we’ll need to inform the police . . .’
Lucy started crying again. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
‘Shall I call her dad now?’ asked Lucy’s mum.
‘No, leave it for the moment,’ replied Mr Lockwood. ‘Let’s do the search first. We’ll need everyone to help. What about those boys you’ve made friends with? Has anyone checked with them?’
Lucy couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that. ‘I’m n-not sure where their t-tent is, but I’ll ask the others.’
Back in the tent, Jessie said, ‘Are you sure this isn’t just a Sassy prank?’
They all looked shocked.
‘I hope not,’ said Hermione seriously.
‘Look, her phone is here, but her vlog camera is missing,’ observed Abby. ‘Maybe she went off filming?’
Lucy felt a stab of hope. It would explain things . . . and Sassy had been keen to shoot some extra scenes last night. But why hadn’t she left a note or something?
Mr Lockwood enlisted the help of the campsite officials. The girls went from family to family asking if anyone had seen the girl with the purple hair. But no luck, and the boys and their families hadn’t heard from Sassy either.
*
An hour later, they regrouped at the Lockwoods’ tent. Lucy could hear her mother on the phone to Sassy’s father.
‘I’m sure it will be all right,’ reassured Mrs Lockwood. ‘I’m sure – yes . . . yes . . . Well of course . . . yes . . . I understand if you want to come.’
He was obviously angry and upset.
‘Luce, I think we may need to involve the police,’ said Mr Lockwood grimly.
Lucy was so worried, she felt sick to her stomach, and even Abby had gone quiet.
Finn and Leo appeared. ‘We’ve just come from the lake,’ Finn said. ‘The man in charge of the boats noticed there’s a kayak missing. We’re going out on the lake to help look for her, in case she went out in it.’
‘That could be a hopeful sign,’ said Lucy’s mum encouragingly. ‘Thanks, boys. Girls, why don’t you take the binoculars and see if you can spot anything on the lake?’
Lucy’s imagination soared. What if Sassy was at the bottom of the lake . . . ? Ghost Girl was no longer a laughing matter.
Down at the dock all the boats were deplyed to search the lake, the far shore and the island. Jessie insisted on joining the search party, but Lucy, Hermione and Abby stayed on the shore.
‘Would she have a-actually gone out in the b-boat on her own, at n-night?’ asked Lucy. It seemed so unlikely – she didn’t know Sassy all that well yet, but surely this was reckless behaviour by anyone’s standards.
‘Maybe,’ replied Abby. ‘I mean, she was pretty obsessed with this movie.’
‘But it would have been crazy to go out on her own, especially in a storm,’ observed Hermione.
Lucy secretly wished that Sassy hadn’t come. Maybe she was just too wild and impulsive for them to keep up with her. But she kept her thoughts to herself.
*
The search party was gone for a couple of hours, by which time Mr Lockwood had called the police to send help and put Maggie in the crèche to avoid her cottoning on to what was happening and getting upset. Lucy and the others returned to the campsite. Eventually Finn came back to report that they’d found a paddle floating in a distant part of the lake.
‘Is that . . . g-good?’ asked Lucy, feeling too anxious to make sense of anything.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Hermione, going green. ‘I mean, what happened to the kayak? Did it capsize?’
Lucy started to cry again, and they all hugged each other.
This can’t be happening, she thought. It’s a nightmare.
‘Girls, you must be starving. You didn’t have any breakfast,’ said her mother, also giving her a hug. She made them some sandwiches, which they ate despondently, in silence, and then went off with Lucys dad to speak to the police who had arrived.
Suddenly Jessie came running up from the lake. ‘They’ve found her,’ she shouted breathlessly, ‘on the little island.’
‘Is sh-she OK?’ asked Lucy, her mouth going dry.
‘Yup! She’s alive and fine – well, unless she’s got hypothermia. You won’t believe this, but she spent the night on that island. She was drenched from the thunderstorm and freezing cold. She’s wrapped in one of those silver blanket thingies,’ said Jessie. ‘You know the ones marathon runners get at the end of the race?’ She bent over, breathing hard.
‘It’s to regulate body temperature,’ explained Hermione. ‘Astronauts use them too—’
‘Who cares about astronauts! What on earth was Sassy doing on the island?’ interrupted Abby. ‘Let’s go down to see her.’
‘They’re bringing her here,’ said Jessie. ‘Let’s get a hot drink ready.’
Sassy looked exhausted and bedraggled when they were finally reunited. Her hair and clothes were wet, and she was shivering even under the thermal blanket.
Lucy anxiously thrust a mug of hot tea into her hand.
‘First things first, Sassy. Call your dad and tell him you’re safe. He’s worried sick and is about to get in the car to come here,’ said Mrs Lockwood, gently twisting Sassy’s hair to wring out the water. ‘Then let’s get you into some dry clothes.’
‘Tell us what happened!’ clamoured Abby once Sassy had called her dad. ‘And don’t miss out a single detail!’
Finally the story came out. Sassy had gone down to the lake around midnight to film the lightning and storm. On the spur of the moment, she decided to go out on to the lake to get a full 360-degree shot, with the lightning flashes reflected in the water, so she took one of the boats. Then the lightning came very close and started to strike the water. She knew she was in danger of getting hit, so she started to paddle towards the island in a panic. Somehow she managed to drop the paddle in the water and it floated away. She tried to reach it but couldn’t. (Lucy winced here, imagining how panicky she must have felt.) In desperation, Sassy paddled using just her hands until she reached the shore of the island . . .
‘Then I collapsed with exhaustion and fell asleep!’ she concluded. ‘And woke up stranded. The rest you know.’
The girls stared at her, still drinking in the story. ‘That was NOT cool to go down to the lake alone, Sass!’ exclaimed Abby. ‘But we’re so hashtag relieved you’re OK.’
‘W-we thought m-maybe you’d d-drowned,’ said Lucy quietly.
‘No fear of that!’ Sassy laughed. ‘And I did get some great footage.’
Lucy felt herself choke up and grow angry. Didn’t Sassy realize what she had put them through? Apart from frightening her friends, she had worried Lucy’s parents, alarmed the entire campsite, and the police had been summoned! Sassy hadn’t thought about anyone besides herself. It was all just about her film, her adventure. It was all about her.
Hermione grabbed Lucy’s hand and led her away from the others. ‘I know what you’re thinking, and I agree,’ she said. ‘It was totally selfish. She should at least apologize.’
Lucy nodded. ‘Exactly, I know sh-she’s had an awful time, but s-so have we.’
When the police had gone and everything was getting back to normal at the campsite, Lucy’s dad finally asked, ‘Sassy, what did you think you were doing? You were expressly forbidden from roaming the woods at night and on your own, and, furthermore, I specifically said no one was to go out on t
he lake at night. You broke every rule . . . Do you understand the trouble you’ve caused?’
‘Your father was frantic with worry,’ added Mrs Lockwood.
Lucy squirmed – it was weird watching her parents tell off one of her friends.
‘I’m sorry,’ replied Sassy sheepishly. ‘I didn’t mean to cause any trouble . . . I didn’t think anyone would ever know I’d gone out for a bit . . . It seemed pretty harmless. I didn’t know I was going to drop that paddle—’
‘That’s not the point!’ exploded Lucy’s dad. ‘You deliberately broke the rules. You’re our guest; we’re responsible for you when you’re with us. You showed no concern for that . . .’ He walked away. Lucy had rarely seen him so angry.
‘Sassy, I’ll be speaking to your father later,’ said Lucy’s mum gently. ‘I’m not sure what he has planned for you, but I’m sure there will be consequences. He was extremely worried, and I doubt he’ll allow you to stay on till the end of the week.’
Sassy apologized again, then walked off arm-in-arm with Abby, and Lucy crept into her parents’ tent and lay down for a bit. She felt tired and drained. She was happy that Sassy was safe, of course, but the whole thing had been a horrible experience. She wished Sam were there to give her a cuddle. She’d try to ring him later, but she knew he was working at City Farm that morning.
*
Dinner was awkward: everyone quite formal and polite, with none of the usual chatter and joking. Lucy’s parents said nothing until the end when Lucy’s mum spoke.
‘I’ve called your father, Sassy, and persuaded him to let you stay on.’
‘Yay!’ said Abby, and Sassy gave her a big smile.
Lucy didn’t know what to think, or how to feel.