by Amy Cross
“I'm trying to save everyone at this camp,” he said firmly.
“I've seen your social media profiles,” she continued. “You're a conspiracy theorist. I should never have hired you in the first place but, well, with your history you were the cheapest person going. Plus, I like to help the more unfortunate members of our society.”
“I know this land,” he told her.
“And I know the way the world works, and this type of thing is completely impossible.”
“So what's it going to take to make you see the truth?” he asked. “Does someone have to die?”
“Stop being so melodramatic,” she told him. “No-one's going to die. Apart from the ones who eventually succumb to their cancers, of course. But this thing...” She stared at the tendril with an expression of disgust. “This is lunacy. You can't possibly expect me to believe such a wild story.”
Taking out his phone, he brought up the video he'd shot earlier and played it for her. She watched, horrified, as the injured deer staggered into shot, with its flank bulging.
“I have no doubt there are sick animals from time to time,” she said finally, “but -”
“Keep watching,” he said firmly.
As the video continued, a black tendril could be seen bursting out of the animal's side.
“Impressive special effects,” Crystal muttered, regaining her composure, “but this doesn't prove anything except the fact that you've had plenty of time to practice putting your little videos together.” She finally managed a smile as the video ended. “Do you seriously want me to snuff out the dreams of twenty-four cancer sufferers, just because a raving madman bumped into a sick deer and decided he wanted to liven up his life with a hoax? What's next, Mr. Freeman? Are you going to find the Loch Ness Monster down in the lake? Am I going to find Bigfoot sitting on the loo?”
“I'll call the authorities,” he replied, taking a step back. “I'll call Environmental Services and get them involved. I'm sure they'll be very interested, especially when they find out about those sacks of illegally dumped medical waste. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of connection. In fact, I'd stake my reputation on it.”
“What reputation?” she asked with a smile.
“You've gone too far,” he told her. “I see right through you, Crystal Wallace. All this talk of caring about sick kids is just a cover.”
“So this is blackmail?” she asked. “I should have known. How much do you want in order to keep your grubby mouth shut?”
“I don't want your money,” he told her. “I want this camp evacuated.”
“That is never going to happen. There's simply nothing wrong here, apart from an over-excited man wearing too much khaki.”
“Come out to my truck,” he replied. “I'll show you the rest of the body.”
“In this rain? Heavens, no. Listen, Mr. Freeman, I'm sure you've done a very good job here tonight, so why don't you go home?” Stepping toward him, she took her wallet from her pocket and pulled out a bundle of notes. “Relax. Unwind. I'm sure you're just stressed.” Slipping the money into his top pocket, she smiled. “I'm convinced that an evening off will do you the world of good.”
He pulled the money straight back out and pressed it into her hand.
“You can save the blackmail money for the authorities when they get here,” he told her. “Who knows? Maybe they'll take it, but I figure there's at least a small chance that they'll do their job and shut this place down. And if they don't, I've got enough to go to the media. With the video and my experience, plus what I already know, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to work with a journalist to expose the truth about Camp Everbee. And that's one conspiracy theory you'd better take seriously.”
“And there's nothing else I can offer you?” she asked, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his waist. “Perhaps something other than money?”
“As if,” he replied, pulling away and heading for the door. “You'd better find yourself another landsman, Crystal, 'cause I quit.”
“But Mr. Freeman -” she began, as he stormed out of the office and made his way back out into the rain. Sighing, she watched the empty doorway for a moment, staring at the rain that continued to fall outside and listening to the sound of his truck pulling away, before reaching into her pocket and taking out Freeman's phone, which she'd managed to lift from his coat during the final attempted hug.
Bringing up the video of the infected deer, she watched it one more time before swiping to delete, and then she grabbed her own phone and brought up Marlowe's number.
“It's me,” she said as soon as he answered. “Listen, I know it's late and the weather's lousy, but I need you to do something for me. Don't worry, though. I'll give you your usual reward as soon as you get back.”
***
“Jesus H. Christ,” Freeman muttered a few minutes later, as he drove his truck slowly through a large muddy puddle that had accumulated on the only road leading away from the camp. His headlights shone through the driving rain, but the dirt road was already becoming impassable, and he knew he couldn't risk going any faster than walking pace.
Reaching into his pocket, he searched for his phone. Not finding it in its usual spot, he checked his other pockets, before checking them all again until finally he stopped the truck for a moment and thought back to the moment when Crystal had tried to put her arms around him.
“Oh that's good,” he said finally, unable to stifle a faint smile. “I knew you had a few tricks about you, but pickpocketing... That's a pretty specific skill. I wonder where you learned it.”
Putting the truck into reverse, he began to back along the muddy road until he reached a spot where he was able to turn. His wheels spun for a moment in the mud, struggling to gain traction on a surface that was rapidly turning into a river, and despite his attempts to put the truck into a forward gear he felt the vehicle slowly sinking back into a ditch. Cursing, he revved the engine for a moment and pushed the pedal all the way down, but now the wheels spun hopelessly, spraying mud through the driving rain.
“Damn it!” he shouted finally, slamming his hand against the wheel.
He paused for a moment, trying to decide what to do next as he leaned back in his seat. The thought of going back up to Camp Everbee filled him with dread, but at the same time he didn't like the idea of trying to walk all the way to his apartment down by the main road. After one final attempt to rev the engine and get his truck out of the ditch, he cut the power and climbed out. In the process, his boots sank deep into the mud, some of which bubbled over the top and ran down to soak his socks.
“Lovely,” he muttered.
As he headed round to the back of the truck, he paused for a moment, worried that the deer carcass under the tarpaulin might yet pose a threat. Lifting the edge of the tarpaulin, he saw a patch of blooded fur with a black tendril on the side, but there seemed to be no sign of life. Finally, as the rain seemed to intensify, he got to work trying to push his truck out of the mud.
Chapter Fifteen
Opening the door to his cabin, Todd couldn't help but smile as soon as he saw Kirsty standing outside in the rain.
“Hey,” he started to say, “do you want to -”
“Go for a midnight swim in the lake?” she asked, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him out, before leaning past and pulling the door shut. “Sure thing, chicken wing. We've got a date, remember? I was waiting for you.”
“It's pouring with rain,” he pointed out.
“So?”
“So it's gonna be cold.”
“No it's not, and anyway, that's half the fun. We can warm each other up when we're done.” She bit her bottom lip for a moment, staring at him with excited eyes. “You promised, Todd. Come on, it'll be just the two of us. Where's your sense of adventure? I had you pegged as a guy with a romantic soul. Besides, we had fun last night but I think we could have more fun this time. You only live once, right?”
Smiling, he reached out to open the door. “Let me get
my stuff.”
“You don't need anything,” she replied, grabbing his hand. “Just you and me.”
***
“Oh my God!” Kirsty shouted a little while later as she ran into the lake and threw herself underwater, emerging a few meters further along and turning back toward the shore. “It's freezing!”
“And that's supposed to make me want to come in?” Todd asked. He was standing at the edge of the water, his silhouette barely visible, with the moon having long since disappeared behind thick storm-clouds, and rain was falling all around.
“You'll get used to it,” she shouted back at him, turning and swimming a little further out before stopping to tread water for a moment. Staring straight ahead, she saw nothing but pitch darkness, and for a few seconds she allowed her mind to empty completely. All the worries that usually filled her head were gone, or at least much lighter, and as she felt the cold water against her skin, she realized that she'd be quite happy just staying in the lake forever.
Looking up, she felt rain falling onto her face.
“It's beautiful,” she whispered. “I wish the world was always like this.”
“Hey!” Todd shouted from the shore. “Why don't we skip the swim and just get warm?”
“You have to come in!” she shouted, turning back to him. “Don't be a chicken! Chickens aren't hot, Todd! Chickens are lame and unsexy!”
“But -”
“But nothing! Get your butt in here!”
She waited for a moment, and finally she smiled as she heard him making his way cautiously into the water.
“Not like that!” she shouted. “Just crash in, like I did!”
A couple of seconds later, she heard him starting to swim out to her. As she waited, she felt something long and thin brush against her foot, but she quickly kicked it away. Figuring that it must have just been a weed, she watched the darkness and finally she saw Todd swimming closer. When he reached her, they immediately began to kiss. Feeling him pull her even closer, she let the kiss linger for a moment before pulling back just a fraction.
“See?” she said with a smile.
“See what?” he asked, his face just about visible in the darkness. “I was right, it is cold.”
“But you're warming up, aren't you?”
“I can think of better ways to do that. Why don't -” He paused. “What the hell was that?”
“What was what?”
“Something hit my foot.” He looked around, as if he expected to be able to see something in the dark water. “I swear, something brushed against the sole of my left foot.”
“It was probably just a weed,” she told him. “I felt it earlier.”
“No way. It was moving. I felt it touch me, it had kind of a sharp tip.”
“Todd -”
“You thought you got bitten last time, remember?”
“And I was wrong!”
“What if you weren't?”
“You're imagining things,” she said with a sigh. “I don't think there's anything in this lake at all, except you and me and a whole load of water.” She waited for him to see things her way, but after a few seconds she realized he was completely preoccupied by what he thought had happened. “You're not scared, are you?” she asked finally. “Please don't be scared, Todd. That is so not an attractive quality.”
“Let's go back to the shore,” he told her. “We can have way more fun up there.”
“I want to swim.”
“But there -”
“You go,” she replied, turning and moving away using a gentle breast-stroke. “I like being out here. It's so peaceful.”
She kept going for a couple of minutes, making her way further and further out into the darkness, unable to see more than a few inches ahead. Having seen the lake before, she knew that it was a couple of miles across, but the placid water felt beautifully calm, and despite the light rain she was already starting to warm up. Stopping eventually, she turned and looked back, but there was no sign of Todd. With darkness all around, she felt almost as if she was treading water in a void.
She listened, but she couldn't hear Todd at all.
“Hey!” she shouted eventually, feeling a pang of disappointment. “Todd! Stop being lame and get over here!”
She waited, but all she heard was the patter of rain hitting the water all around her.
“Todd!” she yelled. “Come on, don't be a goddamn baby!”
Again she waited, but before she could open her mouth to call again, the rain intensified with surprising suddenness, and within a few seconds she found herself caught in a torrential downpour, as if the heavens had opened above her.
“Jesus,” she muttered, tucking her wet hair behind her ears. “Todd! Come on, get over here!”
Realizing that the sound of the rain might be drowning out her voice, she began to swim back, but after a moment she stopped and looked around, trying to work out which way she'd come. She turned again, but whichever way she looked, she saw only the same thing: darkness.
“Todd!” she shouted. “Where are you? I need to hear your voice so I know which way to -”
She let out a gasp as she felt something brush against her foot again, and this time it definitely felt like more than a weed. She looked down instinctively, but as she continued to tread water for a moment, she saw only darkness. A moment later, she felt her foot being touched again, and this time she could tell it was something long and thin that seemed almost to be trying to wrap itself around her ankle. She kicked it away before swimming a few meters in the direction she thought – or at least hoped – was the right way, but then she stopped again as the rain became even more intense.
“God damn it,” she muttered, looking around again. Glancing up at the sky, she hoped against hope that there might be a hint of moonlight soon, to help her find her way. Seeing only darkness, she sighed and decided that her best bet was just to pick a direction and get going, figuring that eventually she'd hit the shore and then she could work out her next move from there. “Fucking guys,” she whispered, starting to swim through the darkness.
***
“That does not sound good,” Laura whispered, looking up at the cabin's window as rain came driving down. “Is that lunatic idiot still down at the lake?”
Lizzie couldn't help but smile in the darkness. “She's living the dream.”
“Yeah,” Laura replied, “that's my dream, alright. Being in a large body of cold water, in total darkness, during a rainstorm. Oh, and with a brain-dead beef bimbo guy for company.” She shifted on her bunk. “Mind if I turn on a light?”
“Sure,” Lizzie muttered.
“Sorry,” Laura said once she'd switched on the light by her bed, “I woke up when you and Beth went to the toilet, and I haven't been able to get back to sleep since. Did you hear Kirsty creeping out of here, like she actually thought we couldn't hear her?”
“She was probably just worried we'd try to tag along and cramp her style,” Lizzie pointed out. “Which we totally would have done, I guess. What do you think she's doing right now?”
“I hate to think.”
Lizzie smiled, but a moment later she felt a sharp pain in her gut. Letting out a gasp, she reached over the side of her bed and dipped her hand into her backpack. After fumbling around for a moment, she pulled out a packet of pills and popped two out.
“Is it bad?” Laura asked.
She shook her head.
“Bad enough for pills, though,” Laura pointed out.
“I don't even know what good and bad feel like anymore,” Lizzie told her. “It's all merged into one.”
“Tell me about it. I don't know if I'm genuinely pain-free right now, or if I'm just so used to being in agony, my brain filters it out. Some days I get a little jabbing sensation in my leg, or my arm, or pretty much anywhere else in my body. Bone cancer is just the gift that keeps on giving.” She paused. “Do you ever wonder if you've got a really high pain threshold and you're being all tough and strong, or if you've act
ually got a really low pain threshold and you're just being a wimp? I wonder about that a lot.”
“The worst thing is all the needles,” Lizzie replied. “I swear to God, if I ever feel another of those damn things...”
“I'm with you there,” Laura muttered, before turning to look toward Beth's bed. “How about you? With that hairy cell leukemia you've got going on, are you...”
She paused.
“What the fuck?” she muttered, getting out of bed and heading across the room.
“What's wrong?” Lizzie asked.
“She's not here,” Laura pointed out, pulling the duvet off Beth's bed.
“She has to be,” Lizzie replied, looking around the cabin. “She came back from the toilet with me. We'd have heard her leaving again.”
“She's definitely gone,” Laura continued, turning to her. “Is she gonna make a habit of disappearing at inopportune moments? Where the hell would she go at this time of night, in a goddamn storm?”
Looking over at the window, Lizzie watched as beads of rain ran down the glass.
“There's nowhere to go,” she pointed out, “not at this time of night. Not unless...” She paused, before turning back to Laura. “Not unless she went to the lake with Kirsty and that guy.”
***
Feeling the muddy lake-bed beneath her feet, Kirsty scrambled out of the water and dropped to her hands and knees. Having swum for almost half an hour, she'd finally reached land, although torrential rain was still driving down, turning the soil to mud. She took a moment to catch her breath, before turning to look back out at the darkness.