Chapter 15
577words
Director Aida stepped up to the front, her sharp bob swaying, lips pulled tight in a thin, forced smile. Her eyes scanned the room—stern, unreadable.
“Campers,” she began, her voice amplified but hollow, “in light of recent… tragedies, we’ve decided to bring the program to an early close. The day after tomorrow, we will host a small send-off gathering before everyone returns home.”
A collective murmur rippled across the room. Relief. Confusion. Paranoia.
Lucas sat rigid beside Zee, his jaw clenched, every muscle in his body coiled tight. Though he'd been cleared in most eyes—for now—the heat hadn't fully died down.
“He shouldn’t be here.”
“She was with him the night it happened.”
“I don’t care if he didn’t do it—something’s wrong with him.”
Voices rose like smoke, some subtle, some pointed. And Lucas heard every damn word.
Ben’s voice cut through the noise like steel, “Back off. You didn’t see what we saw.”
Alex nodded, stepping up beside them. “And if Lucas was in the hall with everyone else, how the hell would he kill someone across the camp?”
Zee stood, spine straight, voice calm but biting. “Unless he has a twin or can teleport, it wasn’t him.”
A few campers looked away, ashamed. Others still glared.
Lucas leaned close to Zee. “This is getting out of hand.”
She whispered, “Then we find whoever the hell is doing this. Before another body drops.”
As if summoned by her words—
A scream ripped through the air.
A shrill, wet scream—not the scared kind, but the soul-breaking kind.
The hall shattered into chaos. Campers rushed toward the exit, some frozen in fear, others stumbling over benches and trays.
“Everyone, STAY INSIDE!” Director Aida barked, her voice thunderous now, but no one was listening. Panic had cracked the dam.
Lucas grabbed Zee’s hand, yanking her behind him, Ben and Alex at their heels as they pushed through the crowd, heading toward the source of the scream.
They skidded to a halt outside Cabin 9.
Blood pooled beneath the doorway. Thick. Dark. Still warm.
Zee’s breath caught.
Two bodies. Alex’s cabinmates.
One was slumped over the edge of the bunk bed, neck snapped clean like a twig.
The other—half his torso was missing. His intestines snaked out onto the floor, spelling a grotesque trail that ended in a blood-soaked note pinned to the bedpost.
“Well, isn’t this fun.”
Alex stumbled back, a hand over his mouth. “What the fuck—”
Ben looked like he might be sick. “This… this was meant to taunt us.”
Zee’s fists clenched. Her mind flared with voices. Shock. Fear. Accusations. But nothing from the killer—he or she was long gone. Silent. Smirking in the shadows.
Her voice was quiet but solid. “Alex, you’re staying with me, Ben, and Lucas now. No arguments.”
Lucas didn’t question it. He just nodded once, firm. “We watch each other’s backs from now on.”
Alex still looked pale. “But why me?”
Zee looked him in the eye. “Because whoever this is… they’re not just killing. They’re sending messages. And they’re getting bolder.”
The rest of camp was already erupting again—some kids crying, some whispering about rituals, cults, curses. But something had shifted now.
For the first time, everyone believed Lucas.
And that terrified them even more.
Because if it wasn’t Lucas…
Then who the hell was next?
