The moon shined down on the group of teens as they chatted with each other. The tense air had faded to a calm playful mood.

"Well, that was the dare of the century," Y/N chuckled, "You really stirred the pot, Kaitlyn."

After spending a few hours with the group she was beginning to hone in on their personalities. Kaitlyn was like the mother hen of the group but she wasn't afraid of causing some social disruption to push people in the right direction.

Dylan was the esteemed sarcastic joker who always made light of the situation. No matter what he always had something to say and nine times out of ten it was something funny.

The tinkerer smiled and took a sip of her beer, "Maybe it was just the push that Abigail and Nick needed."

"Oh here's a question," Dylan raised his beer, "Who is going to make the first move? Nick or Abi?"

"Good Q," she tilted her head, "My bet's on neither."

"I don't know," Y/N smiled and reached for another beer, "They seemed like they like each other a lot. There were definitely some sparks."

Kaitlyn chuckled and leaned back, "We'll just have to see."

"So, do you guys want to play another round?"

Dylan raised a eyebrow, "Just the four of us?"

"Why not?" Ryan gave a small smile to the group before turning his attention to his girlfriend, "I'll go first. Y/N, truth or—"

Suddenly, the sound of a sharp scream cut through the air.

Kaitlyn looked over in the direction of the shout, "That sounded like Abi."

"We should go help her!"

The four of them stood up and went to the origin of the sound. Kaitlyn grabbed the shotgun and the group approached the edge of the woods cautiously.

"Nick! He's hurt!" Abigail stumbled out of the woods before collapsing to the ground, "You guys have to help him!"

The artist's tights had been ripped in multiple places and scratches were visible on her face. 

Ryan furrowed his brows, "Are you okay?"  

"I'm uh— okay, fine," she sighed and allowed Kaitlyn to help her stand up, "Nick is still out there! We were attacked by some animal."

Kaitlyn tossed Ryan the shotgun, "Be careful it's got one hell of a spread."

The loner tightened his grip on the shotgun and nodded, "I got this!" he raced off into the woods. 

"Ryan, be careful!" Y/N called after him. She watched as he disappeared into the forest. 

Y/N turned her attention back to Abigail, "How are you feeling?" 

Abigail looked like she had seen a ghost and Y/N could only hope that Ryan wouldn't stumble upon whatever spooked the soft spoken girl. 

🦉

The artist had been shaking like a leaf since she returned to the group, Kaitlyn and Dylan were standing by her trying to console her. 

"What's taking them so long?" Y/N frowned at the woods with crossed arms, "Shouldn't he be back by now?" 

She mindlessly played with the zipper of her jacket.

Ryan had been gone for nearly ten minutes and she didn't know what to think. Nick hadn't screamed when he was bit, what if Ryan was bleeding out somewhere in the forest.

"Y/N, don't worry," Kaitlyn offered her a smile, "Ryan's tough. He'll be fine."

The writer sighed before sitting down, "I know." 

The chances of Ryan actually being hurt were slim but so were the chances of being attacked by some rabid animal. 

Moments later, Ryan stepped out of the forest with a bloody Nick, "We need some help!"

Dylan rushed over to them and helped Ryan lay Nick against a log. 

Y/N frowned and walked over to the trio. Her eyes widened at the sight of the large bite on Nick's leg, "What happened?

Blood covered NIck from head to toe and it was surprising to know that all of the blood on him was once in him. He looked like a protagnist in a horror novel, the one that makes it to the end but not without sustaining some damage.

"Animal... attack....bear," Nick croaked out. 

His eyes were shut tight and every few seconds he would release a labored breath. 

"We need to call someone," she turned on her phone and tried to dial 911. In bold red letters, the words 'NO SERVICE' was spelled out. 

"There's no signal," she muttered. 

"Guys! His— His leg," Dylan jumped back from Nick and stared at the bite in horror, "It's turning all black. We need to amputate it!"

Ryan frowned at his companion and tilted his head, "Why would we do that?" 

"Do I look like a doctor?" 

Kaitlyn stood up from her crouched position in front of Abigail and walked over, "We should get back to the lodge and clean him up. It's the best we can do right now." 

The sound of bushes rustling caused the group to turn to the vast woods. Ryan grabbed the shotgun and held it to the woods. 

Y/N frowned at the sight of Ryan's finger on the trigger, "Ryan, don't shoot," she whispered to him as she pushed down the barrel of the shotgun, "It might be Jacob or Emma."  

"Guys! Guys! It's me," Jacob stepped out of the bushes with his hands held high, "I uh, I heard Abi scream and came to help."

Blood was smeared all over the jock's face and he was standing there in his boxers. 

"Yeah, she and Nick were attacked by some animal," Kaitlyn pointed to Nick, "That animal did a real number on him, we're going to the lodge."

Ryan loosened his grip on the shotgun, "Where's Emma?"

Dylan cursed under his breath before running his hands down his face, "Oh my god! I left her back at the island."

Y/N shifted her weight and her mouth went dry, "The island?" 

Kaitlyn nodded and pointed across the lake, "Over there." 

The writer vividly remembered the glare that came from the treehouse window. 

Should I mention it?

Her eyes shifted from the island to Jacob. 

"I thought I saw something in the treehouse," she spoke up. 

"What?" Jacob exclaimed with an incredulous expression.  

"There was a glare in the window," she dug her phone out of her pocket and showed him the photo.

"I— I need to get back to the island and save her," he turned his attention to the shot gun and tried to yank it out of Ryan's grip, "I need this, she might be in danger." 

Ryan held onto the firearm tightly, "We need this to protect Abigail and Nick. You don't eve know if she's in danger."

After a few seconds of struggling, Ryan suddenly released his hold on the shotgun causing it to smack Jacob in the face. 

Jacob hissed before taking a swing at Ryan, the loner quickly moved out of the way and Jacob nearly fell. 

"Can you dilweeds stop acting like jerks?" Kaitlyn crossed her arms and looked at the two men like a disappointed mother, "Jacob, we're taking the shotgun because Nick and Abi are in serious danger."

Ryan chuckled and with a small smile.

Y/N sent him a sharp glare, "Now is not the time." 

He mumbled a quiet 'sorry'.  

"Well, I don't need your shot gun!" Jacob stomped over to the forest, "I'll save Emma by myself. Without any help." 

Jacob quickly disappeared into the woods without another word. 

Y/N looked over at her boyfriend, "Do you know any places in the camp with a phone?" 

Surely, the Hacketts had to have a way to connect to the outside world besides letters. 

"Yeah," he slung the shotgun over his shoulder, "There's a landline in Mr. H's office." 

Dylan walked over to them, "How are we going to get Nick back to the lodge," he looked over at Nick's bitten leg, "I don't think he'll be walking anywhere anytime soon." 

Silence surrounded the group for a few moments before Y/N spoke up, "We can use the wheelbarrow." 

Kaitlyn nodded, "That sounds like a plan." 

Dylan and Ryan worked to place Nick in the wheelbarrow while Kaitlyn tried to coerce Abigail out of her sitting position, the poor girl was paralyzed in fear.

Y/N frowned at the scene, something was happening in Hackett's Quarry. She couldn't wait to unravel the mysteries of the camp, it wasn't the same camp she remembered going to and she was determined to find out why.

Hackett's Quarry Summer Camp had a story to tell that wasn't there six years and someone need to uncover it.

In the end, nothing is quite like a good story.