Page 112 of One Killer Night
I’m not sure how long we’ve been driving, maybe twenty minutes, before my sister comes back and sits down.
“Hey,” she says excitedly, my face meeting hers. “So, here’s some interesting info I just got out of the driver. We’re in New Hampshire.”
My brows furrow. “I thought we were going up north?”
Maybe it’s the mention of New Hampshire that’s making the sinking sensation brew in my gut. Or maybe it’s the tall heavy oaks in the forest that are so dense they’re impossible to see through. Either way, I’m already shaking my head.
She grins. “Apparently, we’re heading to some abandoned summer camp not too far over the border. How cool is that?”
As she says it, we turn onto a desolate dirt road fairly hidden by a bank of trees. If I weren’t so scared, the fleeting thought that I’m supposed to be running away from Noah instead of closer to his memory might find root, but it can’t because my heart’s starting to beat too fast.
“No ... not cool ... Evie ... Are you telling me that we are being delivered to the most popular scene out of every eighties horror movie, minus any cell phones ... to a man who refers to himself as an ‘experience purist’? And don’t tell me there’s a landline because I bet you don’t even know how to use one.”
She chuckles. It’s the maniacal kind.
“Evie ...” I press, feeling like I might actually be losing my mind. “We’re going to be hunted or ... or ... This is like that movie you love. The one where all the people kill each other.”
She shrugs, smiling. “That’s like every movie I watch. Specificity is the key to communication, Golds.”
My eyes fix to the window again, straining to see out because it almost seems darker out here, as if the stars can’t even shine down. I look back at her.
“We’re gonna die. And the headline will be, ‘A bunch of dumbass bitches got on a bus.’”
Her lips press together actively trying to hide her smile as she stares back at me before she says, “Language.” She’s enjoying my panic. “Relax, Golds. There’s a paper trail ... tickets sold, and event employees everywhere. Masterminding killers don’t do that.”
I pull the sleeves of my hoodie down over my hands as I hear someone in the front of the bus do a drumroll on the leather seats. The bus bounces over the dirt road, and the sound gathers before everyone starts to celebrate, erupting in howls and clapping just as an arched sign comes into view.
Evie cranes her neck, trying to see, as I tilt my own. I cup my hands around my eyes so I can see out the window better before I miss it.
A giant branded wood sign with carved eagles on totem poles stands tall as we pass underneath. It readsCamp Weonoke, with the taglineAdventure Awaitsbelow it.
I turn my face to Evie, who smiles back.
“‘Adventure awaits,’” she says, wagging her brows.
But something about it makes me shiver. Damn, I think I’d like to sit this one out, but something tells me I won’t get a choice.
As soon as we were ushered off the bus, we were led directly to the bonfire, but not before being handed our camp T-shirts.
“Counselor,” I whisper to Evie as she mouths “Purist” back to me, making me roll my eyes.
I can’t help but keep some part of my body semi-attached to hers as we walk through the darkness toward ten or so logs fashioned as benches and placed in a circle around a firepit that’s already raging.
“Welcome, campers,” a voice bellows, drawing everyone’s attention.
There’s a guy standing on top of one of the makeshift log benches, wearing a red sweat suit with the camp’s name on the shirt. He even has a whistle around his neck.
What the fuck have I agreed to?
Evie starts giggling under her breath as if she’s heard my thoughts.
She takes my hand, grinning at me. “Look, it’s one of your people.”
It’s then I notice that the guy bears a striking resemblance to Ed Sheeran ... only in hair color.
“My people?” I chuckle.
She smiles wider. “Maybe you guys are related. From the same four-leaf clover bush. He could be your long-lost brother.”
