Page 49 of Dollface

“Aster.” Kaila motioned to me. “We have a problem,” she whispered to me.

I stepped closer. “What is it?”

She tried to keep her voice down so Wolfe wouldn’t hear. “The boys said when they woke up, the power was out, and the cabin door was left wide open. Sabbath and Foster were gone.” The color drained from my face. “They said Solomon showed up and was helping them back to the cafeteria, but something caught his attention, so he sent them ahead.” Shit. “They never saw Willie.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but somehow, I knew Willie was involved in all of this. He had to be. Which meant Nurse B probably was as well. Fuck.

“What do we do, Aster?” she asked. Without Sol, we don’t stand a chance.

“What about Sol?” We turned to find Wolfe standing next to us. “Well? What about him?” Kaila dropped her eyes and neither of us spoke. “He’s not coming, is he?” He shook his head. “No.”

“We don’t know that, Wolfe.” I tried to reach for him, but he only slapped my hand away. “Wolfe, please.”

“Solomon is out there with those killers.” He slowly looked out the front doors of the cafeteria. “I’m not going to leave him. I’m not going to let him die.”

“Wolfe, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Aster, but you know I have to help him.”

No.

Wolfe sprinted from the cafeteria and shot through the front doors. Kaila and I both screamed for him to stop, but he didn’t listen. “Fuck!” I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t let Wolfe go out there alone. Rodney and Sandy crowded me, and I shoved past them. “I’m going after him.”

“What?” they all shouted.

I stopped at the cafeteria door. “I can’t let him just wander these woods alone!” I looked around and noticed an emergency axe on the cafeteria wall. I ran to it and used my elbow to smash the glass and rip the weapon from the case. It felt weird in my grasp, but the idea of having something to protect myself eased a little bit of my fear. “I understand if you guys choose to stay here, but I can’t. I’m going after him.” They all looked at one another.

Rodney cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I’m coming with you.”

“What about Doug?” I asked.

Rodney laughed. “That fucker isn’t going anywhere. Besides, Beatrice is weirdly taking care of him, just like the campers.”

“I’m coming too.” Kaila stepped up next to Rodney with her flashlight. “No one deserves to be left alone. Especially not Wolfe or Solomon.”

Sandy also stepped forward. “If Kaila’s going, I’m going.” The two smiled and held hands. “Plus, Willie is still missing. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the three of them will be together somewhere. The campers are pretty settled, and with Beatrice and Doug sticking back, they should be fine. It’s us those masked psychos want. And the best way to protect these kids is by getting far away from them.”

I couldn't agree more.

We all took a deep breath and exited the cafeteria. Together.

I don’t know where you are, Sabbath. But for your sake, you better stay the hell away from me.

THIRTEEN

ASTER

The five ofus clung together as we made our way from the cafeteria towards the direction of Cabin Six. Each of us jumped and reacted to every little sound coming from the woods, knowing we weren’t alone out here.

“Anything?” I shouted through the rain.

Kaila’s flashlight panned in every direction. “Nothing!”

Shit. There was still no sign of Solomon or Wolfe. Or even Willie. And the storm was in full force. We could barely hear ourselves talk, let alone think.

“Maybe we should head back!” Sandy shouted. “I mean, they could’ve already returned!”

Rodney shook his head. “No! This is the only path you can take in this weather! We would’ve seen them!”

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