Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The pacing isn’t helpful. Logically Abi knows this, but she also can’t bring herself to stop. The past few hours have been absolute chaos. All the running and the fear and the blood and death… and the cannibals. It feels crazy to even think it, even now, after everything. 

It all started when the sun was just beginning to switch from afternoon to dusk, about forty minutes before the golden hour. Camp had officially just ended. The kids had been sent off on the bus, the counselors all had their bags packed, but then their van had gone up in flames. Literally. The man who ran the summer camp, Chris Hackett, had peeled out in a hurry, telling them all to stay in the lodge. That restriction had gone out the window almost immediately, when one of the other counselors had suggested one last hurrah in the form of a party. It was supposed to be a way to make some fun new memories with each other before everybody said goodbye, but a game of Truth or Dare had led to everybody splitting up and half the group getting attacked. Abi had stupidly run off into the woods after her crush made out with somebody else, and Nick had followed after her. They’d been jumped by two hunters, Nick had been shot, and Abi had been forced to run. She’d left him behind, promising herself that it was only long enough to go get help. She made her way back to the firepit, rounded up Ryan and Kaitlyn and Dylan, and then the four of them had scoured the woods for Nick. By the time they found him, he’d been skewered on a pole and cooked over a ridiculously large fire like a pig on a spit. Some of his ribs had been missing, along with one of his legs and both of his ears. 

That was the moment everybody finally decided that maybe they should all stay in the lodge after all. They tried to use the phone in Chris Hackett’s office to call the local sheriff, but the power had been cut so they all moved to the radio hut to try again to get another message out. Then they ran into Laura Kearney, the girl who was supposed to run the nurse’s station all summer but had never shown up. She told them how she and her boyfriend had been kidnapped by Sheriff Hackett after they’d tried to come to camp a day early and caught Mr. H with his family enjoying a meal of filet au hikers. Max Brinley, the other absent camp counselor, had been served as the Fourth of July entree. Laura herself had only just barely escaped the same fate, but she’d come back to put an end to it all. She claimed to have already killed Caleb and Kaylee– there was proof of the latter floating in the pool across the way– but she needed help taking out the others. Ryan had agreed to go with her, and Kaitlyn decided she would head back to the lodge to take another look at the damaged van in case she could get it up and running again so they could have an escape plan. Dylan and Abi had gone with her, discovering Emma hiding in a van that was beyond repair. The vlogger had announced that she intended to wait out this crazy night by hiding in the storm shelter, and she’d wrapped her arms firmly around Abi and demanded that she wait with her. Kaitlyn, meanwhile, insisted that she should go check the scrapyard for another vehicle, and Dylan had gone with her. 

That had been several minutes ago, and while Abi is fully aware that it hasn’t been enough time for them to have even reached the scrapyard yet, let alone search around through all those vehicles, she still feels anxious. She doesn’t like sitting in hiding while everybody else mills around risking their lives. This whole night has shown Abi a side of herself she can’t stand: the side of her that uses her friends as human shields. She hunkers down in safety while Ryan and Laura face the cannibals, while Kaitlyn and Dylan brave the dark to find a car, while Nick’s body grows cold out there in the woods, and… Wait. 

Where the heck is Jacob in all of this? 

Abi stops her pacing abruptly. After they’d found Nick and returned to the lodge, she’d been frantic about going back out to look for Emma. Kaitlyn had promised her that the girl was safe, saying that she’d gone running after Jacob in the direction of the docks. But Emma is here with her now, in the cellar, and her ex-fling is nowhere to be seen. 

A sinking feeling hits her gut as she glances over to Emma. 

The vlogger seems amazingly chill given the current circumstances. After a moment or two more she notices Abi staring. A raised brow is the only invitation the artist gets to shatter the silence between them. 

“Hey, um, not to minimize how thrilled I am that you’re alive,” Abi tells her, anxiously wringing her hands together. “Uh, what happened to Jacob?” 

“He shoved me at one of the hunters and then ran into a bear trap.” 

Oh. 

Hmm. 

Not exactly the response Abi was expecting. In all fairness, she isn’t sure what she was expecting. But definitely not that. She frowns, maybe a little startled at the lurch her heart gives on behalf of the boy. Jacob was a total frat bro, the exact type of dude who used to make her life miserable in high school. He was also totally the wrong fit for Emma. But he could be sweet. Plus, Abi can admit he was pretty funny. And he never purposefully made her life at camp miserable. In fact, he was always willing to lend a helping hand, and he always invited her to the secret counselor meet-ups; she’d never accepted, because those always took place after dark when nobody was supposed to leave their cabins. He had never been her favorite to hang out with, but he didn’t deserve to die. 

“So, the hunters… I guess he’s–” 

“Do we really have to talk about this?” Emma says with a huff. “The old guy got him out of the trap, that big one smacked him over the head when he tried to run, and the two of them dragged him off somewhere. That’s all I know, okay? I haven’t seen him since.” 

Abi softens, noticing the hurt in Emma’s eyes even in the dark cellar. “Em, I–” 

“And for the record,” Emma continues, clearly not even hearing Abi’s attempted apology, “I didn’t want to go after him. I wanted to check up on you, but Nick was all eager to be your knight in shining armor and then Kaitlyn started saying how someone should go after Jacob which, like, obviously she was talking about me, and I sorta figured you’d rather get it on with Nick than have it out with me.” 

“You were gonna come find me in the woods?” Abi asks. She shuffles over to sit down beside her, giving her a questioning look as a swarm of butterflies takes flight in her stomach. 

Emma nods, pointedly not looking at her. She fiddles with her hands, staring intently at her cuticles. “I, uh, felt bad. Y’know, because of the game. I know you have a thing for Nick, and I thought if I could nudge you in the right direction… But it doesn’t matter. I went way overboard with it, and I didn’t mean to make you that upset, Abi. I-I’m sorry. Really. I’m so sorry, and I just really don’t want to lose you. Especially over something like this.” 

She does look at her then, and there’s such an intensity in her bright hazel eyes that Abi actually feels her heart skip a beat. All summer she’s been trying to work up the nerve to ask out her crush, but all summer she’s been waiting for a sign that never came. Nick had sent her plenty of signals that he was interested, constantly flirting with her and going out of his way to hang out with her alone. But Nick wasn’t who she wanted to ask out. He was sweet and all, but he just didn’t get her heart racing the way Emma does. 

It almost feels wrong to be having these thoughts telling her to go for it with Emma so soon after Nick’s death. He’d tried to kiss her when he’d found her in the woods, but Abi had stopped him and started to tell him that while he was a good guy he wasn’t who Abi was interested in. Nick had looked so hurt when he’d realized where the conversation had been going. He’d gotten up to head back to the firepit, and just as he’d taken the first step in that direction his leg had been torn apart by the hunter’s bullet. Abi had tried to run to him, but two shots had hit the dirt by her feet and a third had hit the tree mere inches from her head. That’s when she’d run, leaving Nick to die. She’d left him wounded and in danger and knowing she doesn’t care about him the same way he’d cared for her. 

Now she’s sitting next to Emma, ready to confess her feelings. Maybe if the vlogger rejects her, she and Nick will be even. It’s what she deserves. She knows it is, even as her heart flutters like a hopeful little idiot. 

Abi sucks in a deep breath. “Emma–” 

“I don’t want him to die,” Emma says suddenly. A tear slides down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away. “I should have tried to save him.” 

“What could you have done?” Abi questions, trying to reassure her. 

It doesn’t seem to work, because Emma shakes her head and looks agitated. “What are Ryan and Kaitlyn going to do? I found some bear spray. I have a taser. I could have done something! I should have, Abi, and now he’s going to die and it’s all my fault–” 

“What if we go get him?” Abi suggests. She instantly cringes at her own words. It’s such a dumb idea. She knows it is. 

They aren’t capable of carrying out some sort of rescue mission. They’re barely capable of surviving the events of the night that have already happened. She and Emma both have been relying on everybody else to save them. There’s no way they can go save Jacob and make it out alive. Abi is so sure of it, and she’s kicking herself for even suggesting it when it’s so obviously out of the question. 

But Emma starts nodding like she’s already onboard with it. “Do you think you can find the Hackett house or whatever? I know Chris mentioned his family lives on the property. I guarantee you that’s where they took him.” 

Abi decides not to mention the fact that Nick had been cooked alive over a pit dug in the woods just off the Rocky Road trail. It’s possible the family was too hungry to drag him all the way back to the house. Abi actually did stumble onto it once, closer to the start of camp; an older woman (who Mr. H had flippantly told her was his mother while holding back a laugh) had chased her away with her shotgun in hand. The place is quite a ways from camp, so maybe Nick was just unlucky enough to be the first one captured. Laura had said they’d kept her alive, trying to fatten her up for later, even after they’d eaten Max. So it’s possible they haven’t killed Jacob yet. 

Maybe this is how she makes it up to Nick. If she and Emma can save his best friend from the cannibals that killed him, then maybe his ghost will allow her some peace. It’s worth a shot anyway. Worst case scenario, they keep Jacob alive at least. 

Well, no. The worst case scenario is that all three of them end up dead. But it’s a risk Abi is going to take, because Emma is staring at her imploringly, and out of the corner of her eye she swears she can see Nick standing there in the dark giving her the same pleading expression. She has to do this. For Jacob. And for Emma. 

For Nick. 

“I think I can find that house again,” she says. “Or, well, I can try to anyway.” 

Emma gives her a grateful smile. “Good. Let’s hop to it then. We don’t want to get there and be late for dinner.” 

Abi shoots her a glare, wordlessly letting her know that it is still much too soon for jokes like that. Emma shrugs the disapproval off with a practiced air of indifference. Together they head up the stairs and start to walk towards the trees. Just before they leave the safety of the storm shelter Abi hesitates. She casts a glance around and spots a large stick. It’s sturdy enough to use for hiking, but it really isn’t the best weapon. Even so, it’s the only thing available for Abi and so she picks it up. 

Stumbling onto that house the first time had been a pure accident. Abi had headed off into the woods in a hurry, overwhelmed by all the demands from both the kids and from Mr. H, and she’d decided to take a minute for herself to try to clear her head before she had a meltdown. Then she’d caught sight of a gorgeous bird that she was sure she’d never seen before. She’d wanted to draw it, but it didn’t stay still long enough for her to observe the finer details. She’d followed it through the forest until she’d nearly crashed into the huge iron gate surrounding the manor. Then she’d been chased away by Constance Hackett. At the time, she’d assumed the old woman’s threats to skin her alive if she ever came back had been mere dramatics. 

Now she isn’t so sure. 

There’s warning bells going off in her brain as she and Emma trek through the trees. Self preservation is telling her to run the opposite way and leave Jacob to his fate. She won’t give into it though. Even if she turns around, she knows Emma won’t. The girl will get herself killed if she goes in alone. She acts like she’s confident and nonchalant, but a summer spent sharing a cabin has tuned Abi in for the truth: Emma is a massive people pleaser. She can’t stand seeing others upset, especially if she’s the reason for their sour moods. Right now she’s blaming herself for Jacob’s predicament, which means she won’t rest until he’s either safe or dead. Which, in turn, means Abi can’t back out now unless she wants Emma to die. 

Droplets of rain start to patter against the top of her head. It’s been raining off and on all night. Part of Abi wishes she’d brought an umbrella or a windbreaker. It’s dark and it’s cold. She doesn’t know if she can even find the house again. There’s no telling how long she and Emma will be out traipsing around. They might die from pneumonia before they ever have to worry about the cannibals again. 

But then the dense trees suddenly spit them out onto a dirt road, and looming in the distance Abi can see the pointed peaks of the manor. She’s back. She’s returning to the house that haunts her dreams. She sneaks a peek over at Emma to see how she’s faring. 

The vlogger has a deep frown etched on her face as she eyes the gate. Abi realizes she’d forgotten to mention that. Climbing it isn’t an option, and the posts are too close together for either of them to squeeze through. 

“What the fuck are we supposed to do here?” Emma growls, pacing back and forth as though looking for a weak spot. “Do we grab shovels and start trying to dig underneath it?” 

Abi knows Emma well enough to guess that she shouldn’t respond to that. Instead she walks down a ways, checking things out until she spots a large tree with one branch that hangs all the way over the fence. The branch looks thick enough to support her weight. She’s always enjoyed climbing trees. She’s good at it, and this time might actually prove useful. While Emma cusses out the gate, Abi gets a running start and then jumps up to grab the lowest branch. She kicks her heels into the trunk and pushes off it to sort of run her lower half up higher until she can wrap her legs around the branch, and then she swings herself onto it and slowly stands up. The next branch is closer to her, so all she has to do is hop up to it. 

By the time Emma notices her plan, Abi is already inching towards the branch that will drop her onto the property. 

“Abigail!” she yelps, hurrying over to her. “I swear on Jenna Marble’s fucking ghost, if you get hurt–” 

“Please don’t yell at me right now, I’m trying to concentrate,” Abi grunts, scooting along to the end of the branch. As she gets closer to its edge, the thing starts to sag. Technically that’s a good thing. The more it lowers, the less she has to fall when she jumps down. But then she hears a sharp crack! and she’s dropping straight down until she hits the dirt below. 

Luckily the rain has softened it into mud. The wind hasn’t been knocked out of her, nor is she seeing stars or experiencing any other cliche. It still hurts though. She lays there for a second and breathes in through her nose. Wet, slimy mud gets sucked into her nostril and she lets out a groan. 

Something sharply pokes her in the side. She sits up quick enough to make her head spin, emitting a quiet squeal as she turns to see what’s touching her. She glares when she sees it’s just Emma, using the walking stick she found earlier to prod her into movement. 

“Great plan,” the vlogger scoffs. “Now how am I supposed to get over there?” 

Abi glances at her branch. It’s snapped almost in half, the useful end dangling freely towards the ground. The half closest to the tree extends close enough to the top of the fence that Emma could still use it to get over. She’d just have to be more careful than Abi was. It’ll be riskier for sure. She’s more likely to get hurt that way. 

“I can try to catch you,” Abi offers. “If you lower yourself down, maybe. I think you’re tall enough I’ll be able to grab your legs. Then you just drop–” 

“Yeah, whatever, let’s just get this over with.” 

Emma hops nimbly onto the lowest branch, pulling herself up with ease. It isn’t the mad scramble Abi had to do. Emma is much more graceful with it. She’s on the broken branch in seconds, and Abi suddenly realizes that it isn’t just how lithe she is. It’s that she’s fearless. Whereas Abi herself was inching along, clinging tight to the trunk most of the time, Emma strides across the branch like she’s an experienced funambulist on a tightrope. 

Stretching her arms as high as she can, Abi tries to help guide Emma down as she swings her legs over the side and eases herself down. The trouble starts when her feet accidentally land on Abi’s shoulders, and evidently she thinks she’s on solid ground, because she releases the branch all at once and drops her full weight onto the artist. They balance like that for maybe one-to-two seconds before they both tumble to the ground. Emma’s landing is probably way more comfortable than Abi’s, because she finds herself once more in the mud whereas Emma lands directly on top of her. She’s not entirely sure how that happened. Maybe her foot slipped just as Abi started to go down, or else maybe it was Abi who grabbed the vlogger subconsciously and pulled her onto herself. Either way, they land in a somewhat compromising position that leaves Abi breathless for two reasons. 

With both hands placed on either side of Abi’s head, Emma pushes herself up like she’s going to stand. But for some reason she doesn’t. She just stays there like that, staring down at Abi with an insufferable smirk that makes her feel all squirmy. It’s worse when she tries to swallow down the lump in her throat and accidentally makes a noise suspiciously close to a whimper. 

“You have a little bit of mud right there,” Emma murmurs, lifting one hand to wipe her thumb across Abi’s cheek. 

Her heart is beating so loud. She can feel how wide her eyes have gotten, and she’s sure the heat in her face is now a visible blush. She needs Emma to move. She doesn’t want this moment to end. 

She clears her throat. “Maybe we should get out of here before, y’know, the cannibals try to…” 

“Mmhmm,” Emma hums like she agrees. Only she still doesn’t move. Her eyes flicker down, trailing her body, and then they flash back up to meet her gaze once more. With a sigh, Emma finally relents and springs back up to her feet. She offers out her hand to help pull Abi to a standing as well. 

Or at least she tries to. Abi’s legs feel like jelly, and she has to fight to not fall immediately back down. She mentally reminds herself of the immense danger they’re in, commanding herself to snap out of it and stop making heart eyes at Emma so they can focus on the important stuff. Like not dying. And, of course, rescuing the boy who is still in love with Emma. The one she actually dated and is currently risking her life to save. 

Clearing her throat in an attempt to clear the awkwardness, Abi retrieves her stick and then joins the vlogger in her crouched position as she duck-walks across the front lawn. It makes her grateful for the stormy weather. There’s a full moon tonight, so without the cloud coverage they’d be in pretty plain view from the wide windows stretching across the front of the house. 

As they inch a little closer the driveway curves and becomes a cement stream that flows alongside them. Emma holds out her hand as a silent command to stop, and Abi follows her gaze to where the awning over the house extends to protect a car from the pelting rain. Only, it isn’t just any old car. It’s an SUV, one the counselors have been looking at all summer. It belongs to Chris Hackett, the man who ran their summer camp. He’d left earlier that evening, telling them all to sit tight in the lodge. Luckily nobody had listened, because it wasn’t too long after that the hunters had swarmed the place in search of their next meal. But more importantly, Mr. H had driven away in this SUV after the van had caught fire. It’s functional, unlike the van, which means it can get everybody out. Even if Kaitlyn and Dylan don’t find anything at the scrapyard, they can still get everybody out in one piece. 

“Do we look for the keys first?” Emma whispers. “Or should we be more worried about Jacob?” 

Abi shrugs. “Keep our eyes out for both? It’s not like we know where either of them are.” 

Emma nods like she thinks that’s reasonable and then silently clambers onto the front porch. Her hand reaches up, going for the handle, and Abi instantly ducks down into the bush while violently shaking her head at the vlogger. The door opens with a loud creak, and Emma peeks her head in. 

She turns to give Abi a quizzical look. “It’s okay, nobody’s there. I can’t believe they actually left the front door unlocked.” 

“I don’t think cannibals need to worry too hard about break-ins,” Abi replies. She still can’t believe Emma did that. They’d have been screwed if even one person was walking by to see that door open. She takes a deep breath and counts to three to try to calm herself down. It doesn’t work, so she takes another breath and tries again, this time counting to seven. It makes the blood stop roaring in her ears and she calls that good enough. 

The porch steps groan as she sneaks across them. Each sound makes her want to curl into a ball with her hands clapped over her ears, but she can’t shut down now. Aside from the fact that this would be the worst place to do it, Emma is depending on her. She needs an extra set of eyes, and even if the stick won’t do as much damage as a taser, it can still work as an element of surprise. If it buys them even a few seconds then it just might make all the difference. 

Stale air hits her tongue as soon as she steps across the threshold into the dark house. She hates this. She wants to leave, but she tamps down her terror and follows Emma down the hall. They’ve taken maybe eight steps when Abi hears sounds of a scuffle and flattens herself against the wall. Emma is beside her in an instant, and she stretches her hand across Abi’s stomach as if it’s enough to hide her from the sight of anyone who comes into the hallway. Luckily no one does, and a few minutes later the two feel brave enough to venture forth. 

Animal skulls decorate the walls. It’s eerie, seeing how skilled these hunters are. Surely if they can take down so many bears and moose then six kids won’t be a problem. She has a hard time wrapping her head around this. She knew Kaylee Hackett. She saw Mr. H everyday. Even Caleb, awkward and skittish as he was, had never caused a problem his entire time at camp. But Laura Kearney is sure she saw all three of them around the table eating a hiker presumed missing by the media, is sure that the three of them all ate Max after killing him. And Abi doesn’t want to be next. That’s not a risk she’s willing to take, so even though it seems crazy she’s willing to believe for the moment that even those three are part of all this. 

Hackett House turns out to be a maze. At the end of this hallway there’s a door that leads to a small room. That room has a flight of stairs that houses a small desk at the bottom landing and another door. That door takes them to yet another hallway with several doors, each one leading to a series of small rooms with their own doors at opposite ends and some with stairwells going back up. The one that they enter, however, has a piece of the floor loose and a red light flowing through the cracks of what appears to be a hidden trapdoor at their feet. Emma taps her on the shoulder, silently letting her know that she thinks the hidden room is important. The red light feels ominous, but ultimately Abi agrees that a secret door is likely exactly what they should be looking for. 

Careful not to make a sound, Emma crouches down on the floor and peers through the crack. It must be clear, because she gets her fingers under the hatch and heaves it up, gently setting it down before swinging herself onto the ladder below. Abi is next, and she gets a hold of the handle on the underside of the hatch and pulls it slowly down after her so that it appears undisturbed. When she hits the ground she notices that they’re in a concrete tunnel dug out underneath the house. She glances over at Emma, hoping her doubts will be reflected. 

“Hey, are you holding up okay?” Emma asks her. 

Abi frantically shakes her head, too scared at this point to worry about lying. “I-I feel like we’re going to get caught,” she admits, trembling now as she hugs the stick to her chest. “And this, fuck, Emma, this is so much worse than breaking into a cabin. If we get caught in here then we aren’t getting out. I mean, this is it. We could die down here a-and I don’t feel ready to die or, y’know, or to watch you die because I really care about you and I want you to live a-a long happy life, so… Yeah.” 

“Well,” Emma says, letting out a sigh. She walks over and takes Abi’s hand, softly rubbing her thumb across her knuckles. “If it’s any consolation, I care about you too. Deeply. And I don’t plan on either of us dying. So there’s that.” 

Abi tries to scoff at that, but when it comes out it’s a genuine laugh. She shakes her head at the sheer audacity, as if Emma actually believes she has any control over the outcome here. Still, she appreciates her taking the time to check in with her. It’s ridiculous, but the way she’s staring into her eyes as she bites her lower lip has Abi wondering if that care goes deeper than friendship. It’s so not the right time, but the selfishly illogical part of her brain is begging for an answer. 

“Come on,” Emma urges, kindly tugging her forward to get her to move again. “We’re already down here. Might as well look around, see what we see.” 

Abi nods her head, giving into her command. From where she stands, the tunnel looks like it can go on for miles. She isn’t sure they’ll have time to search it all before they run into somebody. Hopefully they’ll find Jacob and the car keys before their luck runs out. 

They turn the first corner and Abi gasps, nearly tripping over herself in her haste to back up. That room is full of cages, and there’s a man inside one of them and somebody lying facedown on the floor in front of him. The person on the ground is outside the cages, but whoever it is they aren’t moving. If they’re dead then Abi doesn’t want to see them. She’s still recovering from finding what was left of Nick. She doesn’t want to see anybody else like that. 

But Emma moves from beside her, darting into the room so fast that Abi knows one of the people in that room is someone they know. She forces herself to look up and take it all in. At last she recognizes Jacob in the cage, and just in time she sees the tiniest sign nailed above the cage, a yellow diamond-shape with a black border emblazoned with a lightning bolt symbol. She puts it together, the warning sign and the person on the floor, and she throws caution to the wind because Emma is close enough that she’s starting to lift her hand and reach for Jacob through the electrified fence.  “Stop!” she screams, her voice echoing around the tunnel. 

Jacob whips his head up, his jaw dropping open in shock, and Emma skids to a halt and throws Abi the most intensely dirty look she’s ever seen. She isn’t sure where to point, at the sign or the cage’s last victim, but Jacob jumps in to save her before she can find her voice. 

“Holy shit, Emma,” he says, running both of his hands through his hair. “Are you just trying to die, or what? The cage is fucking electrified. What do you think happened to Ryan?” 

Abi yelps and drops to her knees over the unmoving body on the floor, not wanting to believe him. Sure enough, when she gets a closer look she sees that it is Ryan, the mysterious and brooding sailboat instructor. He was never her type, but she knows his death is going to kill Dylan. She presses her fingers to his neck, praying to anything that will listen that she’ll find a pulse. His skin is going cold, and there’s no telltale thump at his throat. She puts her ear to his chest, but it’s quiet. It’s all quiet. She’s touching a dead man, and the thought makes her scoot backwards on her butt until her back is to the wall. Her hands come up and cover her ears and she’s rocking on her heels in a desperate attempt to soothe herself. 

She’s vaguely aware of Emma and Jacob’s continued conversation, but she can’t possibly bring herself to be part of it. Ryan is dead. He’s fucking dead. He and Laura were supposed to kill the Hacketts but they didn’t and they're dead and now Abi and Emma might be next. She moves one of her hands to cover her mouth as a sob rips its way out past her lips. Ryan was so kind when he let people in. He took care of his little sister and he told the best stories that kept the young campers entertained. He hated pecan pie, but every single time they served some at camp he’d grab a slice anyway so that Dylan could have an extra piece because it’s his favorite. And on the second day of orientation, all the counselors were supposed to go around learning what everybody did, and when they got to Ryan’s sailing presentation Abi had to tell him that she didn’t know how to swim, and he’d been very discreet about it and didn’t judge, and he’d even offered to teach her. She wishes like crazy that she’d taken him up on it now. She wants those memories of him. She thinks he might have been a really good friend. 

A hand finds its way into her own, and when she looks up it’s to see Emma gazing down at her with a tear-filled, tender expression. 

Abi quickly wipes her face with her free hand, sniffling as she does, and tries to stem the flow of tears. “Hi. Sorry. Did you figure it out with, um, with Jacob?” 

“Sort of,” Emma shrugs, and even her voice is soft as she continues watching her with that same gentle look. “The cage is electrified, but the breakers are behind this panel above your head. If we can flip the right ones, the power will turn off and the doors will open. Think you can lend me a hand?” 

Maybe it’s selfish, but Abi takes a moment to ponder it. After all, they have no idea what happens if they flip the wrong switch. Maybe the power goes off in a totally different room and brings the hunters down to investigate. Or maybe nothing happens. Either way, Abi isn’t in a good headspace right now to be making life-or-death choices. And yet, Abi finds herself nodding. 

It’s a bit of a struggle, but Abi climbs back up to her feet and decides to take a chance with the panel. She slides up the latch and swings the door open. There are four breakers, each one labeled with a number. There’s no code that determines which one goes where. It’s just Breaker One, Two, Three, and Four. No pressure or anything. Abi holds her breath and pulls down the switch that clicks Breaker One off. 

Nothing happens. 

Feeling only slightly better about the situation, Abi continues and decides to push her luck again. This time she flips the switch for Breaker Two, and she flinches when a loud buzzer sounds from behind her. She spins around to watch as the door to Jacob’s cell groans open. The cages are all interconnected, so even though his cell is opened he’s still stuck behind an electrified fence. That’s the door she has to open now, if she can. Jacob gives a gleeful little jump before hurrying over to stand by the fence. 

“Alright, Abi!” he cheers quietly. “Way to go, party bear! Now just get this last one done and we’re all home free.” 

She chews her bottom lip as she turns nervously back to the panel. She tries to tune everything else out, although she can’t help but smile a tiny bit as she hears Emma scold the boy with a sharp, “Listen up dipshit, only I get to call her party bear!” 

Her hand is shaking slightly. She really, really doesn’t want to mess this up. She hesitates, feeling stupid, but she notices that when the door opened the breakers were both reset. For some reason she can’t shake the feeling that there’s a significance to that. So even though it could mean nothing, she decides to trust her instinct and she switches off Breaker Two again. The next part she isn’t too sure about, but her brain is screaming that there’s a pattern here. If the first door opened when One and Two were shut off, and the second door opens to Two and one more… 

Taking a chance, Abi switches off Breaker Three. The buzzer sounds out again, and this time the door at the fence swings open to allow Jacob his freedom. He can’t contain his excitement, letting out a soft whoop! as he hugs Emma to his chest, swinging her around a few times and she laughs as they twirl around the room. Abi’s face burns with her embarrassment. She can’t believe she was stupid enough to think Emma had feelings for her. The way she grins like she’s not in some cannibals’ secret underground, like they aren’t dancing over their dead friend as she buries her face into the crook of Jacob’s neck as he wraps his arms ever tighter around her, it’s so obvious that that’s what love looks like for Emma. It isn’t Abi. It will never be Abi. 

She lets them have a few more seconds of glee before she clears her throat, not holding back her glare. “We really need to get out of here. Now.” 

“Of course,” Jacob agrees, carefully setting Emma down. “Hey, listen, you two are the coolest camp has to offer. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Right?” 

“Don’t be a dork,” Emma tells him, but she says it with a smile on her face and a fondness in her voice that stabs once more into Abi’s heart. “Go check and see if the coast is clear; we’re right behind you.” 

“On it,” Jacob immediately replies. He hurries out of the room, rounding the corner with nothing louder than the slap of his bare feet against the concrete, making a beeline for the trapdoor. 

Abi gives Emma a baffled look when the vlogger takes her by the hand and starts leading her out the opposite way down the hallway. 

“We have a set of car keys to find,” Emma says. “Remember?” 

“You sure you want to take me and not Jacob?” Abi asks, cringing at the bitterness so astoundingly obvious in her voice. 

Emma instantly catches on. She gives Abi a bemused look, pausing momentarily as she walks them both further away from the aforementioned boy. “Jacob is an excellent friend,” Emma tells her haltingly. “But he’s not you.” 

“Oh.” 

There’s a million different things that can mean. Abi knows that. She definitely shouldn’t get caught up in that. She definitely is though. Her heart is fluttering as she becomes intensely focused on the fact that Emma never dropped her hand. She’s laced their fingers together, heading on towards danger, and Abi should be terrified of monsters in the dark but she’s more terrified of summer coming to an end before she can figure out where she and Emma stand. 

Jacob calls out for them, giving them some crazy S.W.A.T. sign language cue that she assumes he’s using to say the coast is clear. Emma waves him off, shooing him away with her hands before she tells him to head back to the lodge. He instantly starts to argue but she gives him a stern enough look and adds that they’ll all be screwed if Kaitlyn and Dylan show back up at the lodge to find it empty. He gives in, turning and climbing back up the ladder, and the second they’re alone again Abi breaks because she can’t stand this painful ignorance for another moment. 

“Hey, Emma, um, I-I like you, and this isn’t the best time, literally at all, but I kind of feel like you’ve been giving me some signals, only I can’t tell if that’s true or not so I just have to ask if you–” 

“I like you too,” Emma interrupts. “I totally do. I think you’re very smart, and cute, and funny, and creative, and hot in a shy goth type of way. You’re the whole package. And I want to makeout with you. Well, if I’m being honest, I’d like to do a lot more than that but, y’know, obviously we’ll go at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.” 

“Okay,” is all Abi can manage to say. 

Emma doesn’t let her off that easily. She tilts her head, a smirk in place now as she narrows her eyes at the artist. “Just okay?” she teases. 

“More than okay,” Abi amends. “Perfect, actually. Um. Can we get out of here now?” 

Whether she has her permission or not, Abi isn’t sure, because just as the vlogger’s lips part to form a response a shadow falls over both of them. One of Mr. H’s brothers now looms over them, his mouth curled up in a snarl. Quick as a flash, he grabs Emma by the back of the neck. She screams and she thrashes, but he keeps his grip and tries to drag her away. 

Without fully thinking it through, Abi swings the walking stick with all of her might. It snaps in half across the hunter’s back, and it surprises him enough that he lets Emma go. Abi takes her by the hand again and they both make a mad dash for the door in the ceiling. When they reach the ladder Abi practically puts Emma’s hand on the rung before shoving her up. She hops on right behind her, but just as Emma is reaching the top step there’s an explosion of pain against the back of Abi’s skull, and the force of the blow pushes her head forward into the ladder. Her grip slackens instantly when her forehead collides with the rusted metal bar and she drops to the ground. Her body hits the concrete floor hard enough to empty her lungs in one full expulsion of air. As her vision darkens, she thinks she sees Emma pull herself up into the room above. But then the tall hunter blocks her line of sight, and Abi feels her head loll to the side as every bit of strength leaves her body and everything in her world goes black. 

Chapter Text

Opening her eyes is just inviting a panic attack. Abi knows it because she’s awake now and she can hear everything. There’s the high metallic sound of utensils scraping against plates. There’s the accented voices talking something about fear making food taste better. And then there’s Mr. H, his voice unforgettable, and when he speaks up Abi can’t help but to open her eyes at the stinging betrayal. 

“It’s the sweet ones,” he says. “They always taste better.” 

Abi knows not to open her eyes, but she does anyway. She’s propped up in the corner, her wrists bound tight with a rope that cuts into her skin. It must be the dining room, because there’s a table sitting mere feet from her, and around it sits five people. She doesn’t recognize the older man sitting next to her, but she sure as shit recognizes Constance Hackett. She also knows the mountain of a man sitting across the table from the sheriff as the hunter who captured her. Then she sees Mr. H, her boss who ran the summer camp. And then… 

She tries to swallow the lump in her throat past the rag in her mouth. They’ve chopped off the head of their main course. It’s looking right at her, it’s mouth propped open in a silent scream. She’d only met her once, but still Abi recognizes Laura Kearney as the cannibals cut slices off her body. Her blood drips from their lips, and they wipe it away with napkins like they’re still somehow civilized. Abi nearly vomits at the sight, but she tries everything to hold it back because she isn’t sure it will get past the rag, and she doesn’t want to choke to death when there’s still a chance of escape. 

Unfortunately for her, she must have made a noise or something. It’s the only explanation for the way the entire table turns to stare at her, all the faces wearing different expressions as they take in the sight of her. She isn’t sure whether to hope for it or not, but part of her is expecting Mr. H to be the one that breaks the tense silence. 

He isn’t. 

It’s the sheriff that gets up from the table. Abi notices he’s hiding a limp as he makes his way gingerly over. It isn’t until he’s crouching down that she sees the cause. There’s a thick wad of gauze wrapped around his upper thigh. The bright red dotting through it suggests that the wound is new. 

He follows her gaze, and his eyebrows lift just a little. “Your friend gave me that,” he tells her, pointing at the table where Laura lay dead and in pieces. “She stabbed me, and then she tried to kill my family. Now, I know you must think we’re a little barbaric, but be honest with me. Don’t you think it’s a tad barbaric to try to kill a man in his own home? And then to threaten his family?” 

Abi doesn’t move, not even to breathe. She holds her breath as the sheriff leans in so close she can practically taste the metal of his badge. 

“It’s the gag,” the big hunter claims, pointing at his own mouth to mimic hers. “She can’t answer you with that gag in her mouth.” 

The sheriff rolls his eyes, looking irritated. But when he turns around towards the man he’s wearing a bright smile for him. “Thank you, Bobby. Maybe we should help her out.” 

“I’ll do it,” Mr. H offers. 

Then he does get up, coming around the other side of the table to kneel down in front of her. His eyes almost appear to soften as he turns his back to his family. Even the sheriff has taken a step back, as though giving them some privacy. Abi’s heart pounds, and she wonders if he’s going to let her go as he tugs the rag out of her mouth. After all, this was the man who kept a camp full of children safe and entertained for a whole summer. He gave Ryan college advice. He gave Dylan total control of the radio hut. He paid for any art supplies Abi asked for, no questions asked. She remembers how he used to beam whenever he saw the finished projects. He couldn’t have faked all of it. She knows he loved looking over the kids’ artwork. She just hopes he was fond enough of her to spare her now. 

He lets out a sigh. “I guess I owe you some kind of an explanation, don’t I Abigail?” 

“A-Abi,” she corrects, and she’s so scared she thinks she might pass back out again. “M-My friends call me Abi. Re-remember?” 

“Of course I do,” he tells her with a smile. The expression doesn’t reach his eyes. “But you and I aren’t friends, Abigail. You’re smart. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.” 

She shakes her head, feeling desperate. “Mr. H, please let me go, I–” 

“We’re running out of time,” the sheriff interrupts, aiming a glare at his brother. 

Mr. H holds up his hand to him, silencing him for the moment. Then he turns back to Abi with an unreadable expression on his face. “We need to find the other counselors. I know you know where they are Abigail, so please just tell us.” 

They’re asking her to give up the others. That thought should terrify her, but she can’t help but feel elated at the realization that her friends are still safe. They wouldn’t bother talking to her if they’d already found them, so that must mean that Kaitlyn and Dylan made it to the scrapyard okay. Maybe even Jacob and Emma got out. At least Jacob had a headstart when Bobby found them. As for Emma… Well, all Abi can hope for now is that Bobby was too preoccupied with her to continue to go after the vlogger. She’s internally begging Emma to get far away from here, hoping that she’s made it back to the lodge undetected. Although, if she’s being super honest, there’s another part of her hoping that Emma is still here somewhere, planning her rescue. 

“Abigail,” Mr. H says sternly. “You need to tell us where we can find them.” 

“I-I-I can’t,” Abi replies. It’s the most honest answer she can give them. 

Mr. H frowns. “Because you don’t know?” 

“Because she doesn’t want to,” the sheriff scoffs, rolling his eyes. He looks exasperated, and Abi has a sick feeling that it won’t play out well for her. “She thinks they’re all her friends, and that they’re all going to band together and get out of here with the power of friendship.” 

“Travis,” Mr. H sighs. 

“Let me tell you something,” the sheriff, Travis, goes on. He kneels down in front of her, getting right up in her face again. Abi recoils from him, or at least tries to. She’s up against the wall with nowhere to go. “Those kids out there are on my property. I grew up here. I know every inch of this place. You think there’s anywhere they can hide where I won’t find them? I’ll catch them. It’s only a matter of time. And if you tell us right now, well, you’ll be saving yourself quite a bit of pain. I can promise you that.” 

Each word he speaks is hitting her face in the form of a too-warm breath. Abi is trembling so violently she wonders if it looks like she’s seizing. She believes him that the Hackett family is planning to hurt her. The proof is right there on the table, and down in their hidden basement tunnel system, and out in the woods over a pit. Nick, Ryan, and Laura. They’ve all already paid for the price of their heroics. Now Abi will be next. 

She blinks back tears and turns to look Mr. H directly in his eyes. She knows him. She knows he still has some humanity left. He has to. “Please,” she begs him. “I don’t want to die.” 

“Goddammit,” Travis growls. He backs away from her with a look of disgust. “I oughta kill you right now.” 

“But I thought Mama said it was my turn to get the meat ready,” Bobby complains from his seat at the table. He looks over at Constance with a frown. “Didn’t you say I could help out with her?” 

“Finish your dinner, Bobby,” Constance scolds. 

“We can just go look for them ourselves,” Mr. H suggests to the sheriff. “I have those trail cams we can check on, remember? Besides, I have an idea where they might be. That other girl, my nurse over the summer– Kaitlyn. She’s real good with cars.” 

Travis pulls his lip back into a sneer. “I thought you said you took care of that damn van–” 

“If she can’t fix it,” Mr. H tells him pointedly, “then she’d go looking for a vehicle that can be repaired.” 

There’s a beat of silence as everybody in the room processes that information. Abi can almost swear time slows to a freeze. It feels like she can’t breathe. Hackett’s Quarry is a sizable plot of land. It would take hours for them to comb through it all before they’d be likely to find anybody. They can’t start their search at the scrapyard. There’s no way they should have been able to figure it out so quickly. The others should have so much more time than this. 

“The island!” Abi lies, hoping like hell that they believe her. “K-Kaitlyn went looking for Dylan and sh-she told me to meet her there. I-I thought if I found Jacob then he could help her figure out one of the sailboats. We were going to take it upriver. I, um, I remembered you saying the river goes all the way out to the Hudson. We figured with no, y’know, no functional cars, a bo-boat might be our best chance.” 

“The island?” Travis repeats. He doesn’t sound like he’s buying it. 

“Please don’t let him hurt me,” Abi pleads, staring directly at Mr. H again. “I-I told you where they are. I swear. Just don’t let them hurt me.” 

The man lets out a sigh, sounding wearied. He gives a shrug as he faces his brother. “It’s a dumb thing to do, try to sail a boat upriver into town. But it doesn’t exactly sound out of character for those kiddos. I buy it.” 

“Hmm,” Travis muses, thinking it over. “I’ve definitely heard worse from smarter kids.” 

“Load up the tranq gun,” the old man calls to them. “See if you can catch that beefy boy again.” 

“You got it, Pa,” Mr. H responds. He gives his mother a sheepish grin as he nudges his head towards Abi. “Be sure to save me a slice, huh?” 

Constance only stabs her fork into a chunk on her plate as her two oldest sons prepare for the hunt. Abi can only pray she’s purchased Kaitlyn and Dylan enough time to get what they need from the scrapyard and get far away from it. As soon as the two men finish searching the island they’re going to realize why she lied about it. They’ll know the truth, and then they’ll go right for the one spot her friends might actually still be. She may have bought them a little bit more time, but at the cost of narrowing the hunters’ search area down to basically nothing. 

She seriously hopes the two of them are smart enough to get out of there. 

As he reaches to grab his coat off the rack, Mr. H catches her eye and gives her a wink. The gesture surprises her. It feels like too much to hope that he means it as a your friends are safe with m e type of signal. Before she can decipher it fully he heads for the front door. Then he stops just as he reaches a hand out to it, standing there frozen, until he moves his hands to vigorously pat himself down. He tips his head back and lets out a groan. 

Travis comes up beside him, looking entirely unamused. “Lost your keys again?” 

“I had them here somewhere…” 

“We’ll take the squad car,” Travis tells him, shaking his head at him as he slips out the door. His brother is close on his heels. 

Only Constance, Bobby, and the old man are left at the table. They all appear unarmed, although two rifles are leaned against the crook of the wall and the alcove leading into the kitchen. It’s within arm’s reach for both of the men, and several feet away from where Abi sits on the floor with her hands bound in front of her. If she can be quick enough, then maybe she can get to one in time. Of course, it might not matter even then. She’s never shot a gun before, and if she has to load it then she’ll really be screwed. She doesn’t know the first thing about firearms. One of her aunt’s ex-boyfriends offered to teach her once, but she’d vehemently denied him. Not once did she ever believe she’d live to regret that, yet here she is. 

“Jedediah, get him some vegetables,” Constance says suddenly, nudging the old man sitting next to her. He does as he’s told, scooping a heap of steamed broccoli and cauliflower onto Bobby’s plate. The big hunter makes a face like he’s about to protest, but Constance shoves a hand into his face before he even gets a word out. “You eat your greens first, then you can do me a favor and go tenderize the meat.” 

Bobby seems to perk up at that. “You making mince pies?” 

“She sure is,” Jedediah answers on behalf of his wife. “Y’know, your little niece picked that goth one out just for you. Said she’d be the best of the bunch for your Mama to bake with.” 

“My poor little Kaylee,” Constance whispers. Her hand shoots up to swipe angrily at her eyes. “If I’d’ve known what this brat on the table was gonna do to her–” 

“She’s already paid her dues,” Jedediah assures her. 

Constance slams a hand on the table. “It’s not enough!” 

While the family argues, Abi tries to scooch along the wall as surreptitiously as she can. She’s never had mince pies herself– and she knows now that she never will without being forced to recall this night– but if she can help it she knows she’d rather not be baked into one. When Laura first shot Kaylee outside of the poolhouse, Abi had been heartbroken. She’d spent some time with the youngest Hackett girl over the summer, and she’d thought of her as capable and ambitious, if a little awkward. She was a kid with plenty of potential, and her death had seemed needless and untimely. To know now that she’d been looking all that summer at Abi as the perfect recipe for her grandmother’s pie… Disturbing doesn’t begin to cover how that makes Abi feel. In hindsight, maybe befriending the weird kids was a bad idea. If she can get out of this, she’s never talking to strangers ever again. She is going to keep her head down and mind her own business forever. 

“Where d’ya think you’re off to?” Constance demands. A metal spoon sails through the air to clang against Abi’s shin, making her yelp and look back at the table where the Hacketts sit wearing matching amused expressions. “I want you to sit tight now. Bobby will give himself cramps trying to chase you down after a big meal like this one.” 

“I’m almost done,” Bobby announces, grabbing his cup to gulp down whatever liquid is inside. It probably isn’t blood, but the red that stains his lips after he sets it down makes Abi think otherwise. 

She shudders, and figures it’s best to do as she’s told. It’s not like she’d make it far anyway. There’s nowhere to go. And with her hands literally tied she won’t be able to fight back. It’s the worst thing she’s ever done, but all she can do is to sit and wait while the family of cannibals finish up their meal and plot the best way to make her into their dessert. 

“Kaylee was right about her,” Constance chuckles, allowing her eyes to drift over to Abi as a vicious smirk settles onto her lips. “She surely is the perfect victim.” 

Jedediah grunts his approval, and Abi feels an odd burn of shame as she curls tighter into herself and presses up all the way against the wall. The plates are nearly clean now, mere morsels left unscarfed as the family finishes Laura off. She tries not to think about it, tries not to look over in that direction, but she feels queasy just the same. This hellish night seems cursed to never end. 

Her eyes are drawn suddenly to the corner of the room as a shadow slips silently by. Her heart leaps when she recognizes the shape and she has to physically bite her lip to keep from calling out. She feels like crying from the relief that wells up in her as Emma casts a furtive glance around the room. But then their eyes meet, and Abi can see the intense agony behind them as the girl gives her the most apologetic look. For some reason it isn’t until she spots the keys in her hand that Abi finally understands. 

Emma doesn’t plan to save her. 

She’s somehow managed to find the keys to Chris Hackett’s SUV. It’s got enough seats that it will fit everybody that’s left. They finally have a getaway car, a way out of this wretched place, no matter what the scrapyard has yielded. The only thing that would have compromised their escape is the rest of the Hackett family, until now. Because now they have Abi. They’re distracted, which means Emma can slip out undetected and drive off into the night, and the Hacketts will be none the wiser. They’ll be too busy bashing her over the head and listening to her screams to notice the other counselors making it off the property. Emma has the perfect opportunity to save everyone, and all it will cost her is one more person. 

Abi has to resist the urge to scream. It’s not fair. It isn’t fair! She doesn’t want to die, she doesn’t want to be sacrificed, she doesn’t want to be left behind to suffer while the others all get to leave. She can still call out for Emma– blame it on her exhaustion and her fear, say it was a mistake and that she wasn’t thinking clearly. She can give her away now and take the spotlight off herself. It’s not too late. 

Only, is she really so selfish? There’s no guarantee it’ll give her a chance to run. More than likely that would just end with both of them dead, and possibly everyone else too. Abi doesn’t want to die, but could she really live with herself knowing she’s the reason none of her friends made it out? 

She knows the answer already. There was never a real choice for her. Abi doesn’t scream, but she can’t stop the tears that fall down her face, nor can she stop the sob that falls from her lips. She’s got her head tilted towards the ground now. She won’t dare betray Emma’s position, but watching her walk out that door and leave her to her fate is so much worse than what Abi can bear. She squeezes her eyes shut tight, trying not to hear the laughter and the taunts that she knows are aimed at her, tries to tell herself that it won’t hurt, tries to convince herself that it will be quick and painless. 

Heavy footsteps thud in front of her, and when she opens her eyes Emma is gone. The front door is still slightly ajar because she clearly couldn’t risk them hearing her shut it behind her, but none of the Hacketts seem aware of that fact, and that has to be good because Emma is gone which means she made it out. Her friends will make it out too. That has to be a good thing. Abi has to be glad about that, because all she has now is Jedediah’s yellow teeth in front of her as he grins in her face, and his son Bobby stands looming beside him. They both have the guns slung around their arms now, but when Bobby steps forward he lets a meat mallet swing from his hands and Abi knows she’s going to feel pain. It’s going to be drawn-out and it’s going to hurt. 

“We’re gonna have some fun together,” Bobby tells her, hefting the mallet up towards his shoulder. His grin is maniacal. Inhuman. “I’m going to make you last a long time.” 

And then Abi does scream. 

She can’t help it. She’s scared and she doesn’t want to be here. She wants to be in the car seat next to Emma. She wants to be driving into the city, wants to talk about their future, wants them to even have a future together. Constance wolf-whistles at her while the two men laugh, but still Abi doesn’t stop screaming. She cries out when Bobby brings down the mallet and it smashes into her side. There’s a crack, maybe one of her ribs, and she hits the ground hard. When Bobby rips it away from her it tears her shirt and leaves pockmarks in her flesh. They bubble and bleed, and Abi resumes her terrified shrieking. She twists her body until she’s on her hands and knees, and she tries to crawl away. She has no destination in mind, just knows she has to get out of here and away from this family of lunatics. She knows she won’t actually survive this ordeal, but self-preservation is hard to shut off and so she crawls. Bobby places a heavy boot on her back and stomps down hard. That cry is muffled by her face hitting the floor. Her bound hands stretch out, searching in vain for a weapon or some other way to defend herself. She comes back empty-handed, not that she was expecting a miracle. 

Bobby grunts, and Abi chances a look up in time to see him raise the mallet once more, and she knows this is it. She guessed it before, the second she realized Emma wasn’t going to save her, but now her brain has caught up and she knows. She won’t be one of the survivors. That was a longshot for her anyways, but she wanted to believe it could be true. She wishes she could be the hero who slays the dragon and gets the pretty girl. In the end she’s just the victim, not even a sidekick worth saving. She’s the bait. She’s worthless. 

She’s nothing more than meat. 

Abi stops resisting. She stops fighting and she stops trying to escape. The end is coming no matter what, so she might as well let it all happen. Bobby brings his arm down, and Abi cringes as she awaits the heavy blow, and then there’s a blast and she gets her miracle: the goddamn house explodes. 

Drywall and bricks and chunks of shattered glass fly all around the room. Abi is blinded momentarily by twin beams of light as dust coats her lungs and makes her cough. When she can see again, the crack in the ceiling is widening at an alarming rate, threatening the integrity of the entire building. The deer head hanging on the far wall has been launched across the room, its antlers embedded deep in Constance Hackett’s chest. Her eyes stare unseeing up at her husband, who holds her bloody body close to his chest. Bobby is gone, completely out of sight, the meat mallet discarded right next to Abi’s face, although the broken chandelier swinging dangerously to and fro directly above her head gives her some indication of what happened to him. 

The lights across the room flicker and shut off, and as Abi blinks black spots out of her eyes she wonders if she's died or struck her head, because she’s looking at the chunk of the house that collapsed and she’s seeing the hood of Chris Hackett’s car. She has to be crazy, she thinks, or hallucinating, or both. But then the driver opens the door and Emma hops to the ground. She bolts directly over to Abi. Her hazel eyes are full of worry as she gets an arm under her and hauls her up to her feet. She’s whispering words of encouragement as she half-carries, half-drags her out through the new hole in the wall. 

Comprehension dawns on her, breaking through her numb contemplation as Abi stumbles in the dark, leaning heavily against the girl while she quickly undoes the rope around her wrists. “You came back for me.” 

“Of course,” Emma tells her, sounding genuinely shocked. “I was never going to leave you.” 

“You drove a car through the house,” Abi tells her, as if there’s any chance in Hell that Emma doesn’t already know this. “You… But that was the car.” 

“Yup,” Emma agrees, frowning slightly as she tries now to navigate the dark forest. 

“No,” Abi argues with a shake of her head, because she knows Emma isn’t getting it. “That car. It was supposed to be the getaway vehicle. Dylan and Kaitlyn–” 

“Are working on finding us a ride out of here,” Emma reminds her gently. “They’ll find something else, alright? There was no fucking way I was leaving you to die.” 

Abi stares at her, and she sniffles as she feels a new well of tears try to force their way out of her eyes. “You saved me.” 

Emma comes to a full stop, turning her whole body so she can look Abi dead in the eyes with a serious expression. “Always,” she promises, and she leans forward to press her lips to Abi’s forehead. Abi leans into the embrace, her foggy head starting to clear a little bit as her terror ebbs away. 

“We should probably get away from–” 

“The crazy hillbillies?” 

Abi nods her assent. 

“Agreed.” 

Without another word, the two of them hobble at an unsteady yet hurried gait through the towering trees. Every sound makes Abi flinch. Snapped twigs sound like gunshots, and she has to stifle her whimpers when a fallen leaf crunches underfoot. Emma tries her best to remind her she’s safe, keeping a firm grip across her back. The problem is that they aren’t safe. Not even close. They won’t be until they make it out of Hackett’s Quarry, back to civilization where the landowners won’t be trying to skin them alive. 

It feels like an eternity later when the lodge comes back into view. Abi and Emma exchange looks. They can only hope that Jacob made it back okay, and that he hasn’t led any hunters directly to them. It’s a fair assumption that the storm cellar might not be safe anymore. Even so, they make their way towards it. They aren’t sure where else to go, so for now they’ll have to hope their hideout hasn’t been compromised. 

Slowly, very slowly, they limp towards the doors. Emma gets a grip on the handle to the left, and Abi grabs the one on the other side. Silently, barely even risking to breathe, Abi glances nervously at her, awaiting her signal. After a beat, Emma gives her a terse nod and the two of them wrench open the doors and peer anxiously down the steps. The room looks empty, which is good in the sense that no Hacketts are around, but it’s also bad because it means they might have risked their lives for nothing. 

“Hello?” Abi softly calls out. 

Her voice is met with no response. 

“Jacob!” Emma whispers harshly, feeling brave enough to put a foot on the top step. There’s a sudden movement behind one of the shelves. Abi fails to suppress a gasp, and Emma shoots out a hand to either tell her to shut up or stay put. She risks going down another step. “Jacob, if that’s you then you’d better tell me right now, because I’m about to open fire.” 

The figure scuttles quickly into view, hands up to show he’s not a threat. Jacob looks positively alarmed as he says, “Jesus-fucking-Christ Em, where did you find a gun?” 

“I didn’t,” the vlogger replies, turning to help Abi down the steps before shutting the doors behind her. “But I wasn’t going to admit we were unarmed if you turned out to be one of those psychos.” 

“Yeah, speaking of which,” Jacob adds with a frown, “what the fuck happened to your face?” 

Abi whirls around in surprise. She’s been so fixated on her own injuries that she’d failed to take stock of Emma’s. The girl’s face is an absolute mess of blood and dirt. Her nose is gushing like a fountain. The mere sight of it makes Abi feel sick with worry, although Emma herself merely shrugs the question off. 

“It was just a small car crash,” she tells him. “Damn airbag clocked me.” 

“That looks like it hurts,” Abi commiserates. She brushes some hair out of Emma’s face, trying to get a clear enough view. The blood all seems to be coming from her nose, but she can’t tell if it’s broken or not. 

“Oh, yeah, like you’re one to talk,” Jacob says, shaking his head at her. “Fucking hell. What happened after I left? I got here, I waited for you both to catch up, and now you two bust down the door like a couple of gangsters and you look like you just got dragged through a warzone. I mean… Shit!” 

Emma guides Abi over to the chair she’d been occupying earlier, putting slight pressure on her shoulders until she takes the hint to sit down. A few feet away, Jacob keeps rambling, but they both seem to be blocking him out as Emma reaches for the bottom of her shirt, hesitating by way of silently asking for her permission. Abi sucks in a breath, steeling herself, but then nods. 

As soon as Emma lifts her shirt Abi wishes she’d looked away. The entire right side of her ribcage is a blackened purple mess. Blood is smeared all around her abdomen, and the pinpricks in her side sting as the air assaults the wounds. Emma presses a tentative finger on the outskirt of her bruising, and it instantly elicits a sharp wail out of Abi. She reflexively jerks away from the touch, and even that is enough to make fireworks of darkness explode across her vision. It takes a few seconds of heavy breathing and rapid blinking before Abi is confident she’s not going to pass out again. Emma is apologizing profusely above her, a hand in her hair as she looks utterly lost on what to do for her. 

“I-I’m okay,” Abi pants, forcing a smile that feels more like a grimace. 

“I think your ribs are broken,” Emma gasps, looking terrified beyond belief. 

“What the fuck happened to her?” Jacob asks again. 

“I’m not sure what to do,” Emma confesses, shaking her head. She bites her bottom lip as it begins to tremble, and Abi reaches out quickly to take her hands. “Abi, I’m so sorry.” 

“You saved me,” Abi reminds her, tugging her a little bit closer to her. Reluctantly, Emma allows herself to be pulled over to stand directly in front of her. “I really did think you were going to let them kill me, but you came back for me.” 

A strained whine passes Emma’s lips as she gazes down at Abi, a pained expression etched across her face. “I shouldn’t have let you think that for even one second.” 

And then she’s bending down with reckless abandon, pressing their lips together in a deep embrace. Abi can forget the rest of the night for this moment. She sits up straighter, returning the pressure as she feels Emma’s lips move against her own. She starts to pull back a bit, opening her mouth just to catch her breath, and Emma is there to greet her with tongue. She feels it slide into her mouth like warm velvet and it sends a shockwave of delight shuddering down her spine. She moans when Emma’s tongue slips against her own. She pulls back, and Abi darts her own tongue past her lips and she feels Emma smirk when she licks the roof of her mouth. She’s never kissed with tongue before, and she hopes she isn’t embarrassing herself too much. All she knows is that this feels good. She likes kissing Emma. She likes having her hands rub her shoulders and move down her back. She likes grabbing at Emma’s shirt collar to tug her down closer, and she likes that Emma lets her. She really likes the way Emma tastes, vaguely of strawberries and a little like lemon and plaster and blood drops and salty sweat. It’s the taste of a heroic girl who tried to knock down a house just to get to her, and it’s one she’ll never forget. 

Eventually they break apart. Abi is left missing her already, even as Emma stands firmly between her knees. Her ribs are aching and stinging, but an animalistic part of her wants to throw caution to the wind and feel Emma’s hands all over her. She refrains from initiating that, but just barely. 

Jacob clears his throat and looks awkwardly over at them, and in all honesty that’s the first time in several minutes that Abi even remembers that he’s there with them. It’s a little embarrassing, but he at least doesn’t look mad or– worse– turned on. He mostly just appears baffled, although that’s nothing new for Jacob. 

“So, erm, I take it you two are…?” 

“An item?” Emma suggests at the same time as Abi says, “I don’t know.” 

They exchange looks, both looking very confused at one another. Abi ducks her head, feeling bashful. She probably shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Emma had just stuck her tongue in Abi’s mouth, so it probably would have been a safe bet that she considers them to be dating. Even so, Abi had been partially worried that Emma was going to consider them to be a casual affair. That isn’t what Abi wants, but she’d wondered if that might just be Emma’s MO. Luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

“I mean,” Abi shrugs, deciding to try being straightforward and honest. “I’d like us to be, um, ‘an item,’ if that’s okay with you.” 

“I can apply to your liberal arts school if you want,” Emma offers. “That’s the best part about being an influencer. I can do it from anywhere, so long as I have my phone with me.” 

Abi nods, very enthusiastic about that prospect. “I’d like that very much, Em.” 

“Cool, okay, transfer somewhere new for her,” Jacob teases, although there’s more than a little pain in his voice. 

Abi actually does feel sort of bad for him. He’s going to be missing out on an amazing person… and an amazing kisser. But mostly the “person” part of that sentiment. 

There’s a weird tension in the air between the three of them. Abi knows it’s because there’s still so many things left unspoken with Jacob and Emma. Now that she’s in the picture, that drama is partially her drama. She almost wonders if she should say something to him, but she also has no idea what she could possibly come up with that wouldn’t leave him hurt or offended. 

Footsteps pound suddenly above them as someone comes rushing for the storm cellar doors, and all thoughts about anything other than survival are immediately whisked away. Emma and Jacob are on their feet in an instant, and Abi manages to clamber up as well, though it takes her a little more time. Her hand finds Emma’s, and their fingers lock together just as the door on the left flies open so fast it makes Abi yelp. 

Luckily it’s just Kaitlyn. She blinks a couple of times, probably trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then her gaze lands on Jacob standing in the corner. Obvious relief floods her face, and she turns her head to cast a grateful look over at Emma. Then she straightens up and, with a flourish, she takes out a pair of car keys from her back pocket and dangles them out for the three of them to see. Her hands are covered in blood and she’s shivering, but she also has a triumphant grin on her face as she jingles the keys together. 

“Ready to get out of this hellhole?” she teases. 

Abi feels a squeeze against her hand as Emma nods enthusiastically, already tugging the two of them towards the steps. She glances behind her, locking eyes with Abi as if checking that she’s still alright. The artist could just about melt at the amount of concern in her hazel eyes, so she squeezes her hand back in a silent assurance. They’ve made it through the night. They’re both still alive. Their summer is finally over. Emma gives her a small smile before turning back to look up at Kaitlyn again, her face all determination and alacrity. 

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” she says. 

Abi couldn’t agree more.