Prologue



Four steps. Three steps. Two steps. One step.
A vibrant knock emerged behind the cabin door.
Snoring, don’t bother me. Terry wondered if it was a dream or if he really had a visitor. These cabins are never secure. He slowly got out of bed.
Knocking again.
Hold your horses.
Terry went up to the door and opened it. A young girl looked up at him with a wondering gaze. He knew he could tidy up his look.
“They wanted me to let you know that we’re having a big cookout up north over there,” she said. “You’re invited. I’m going door to door to let people know.”
“Thanks, I will be sure to tell the others,” Terry remarked.
She walked off, presumably to the next cabin down.
It was a little unusual for a girl to be roaming these woods alone like this. Guess it’s pretty safe here. Nothing had happened so far this spring break in the unincorporated region of Sumner County. The group would depart tomorrow morning to head back to their home city of Belle Plaine. Back to the everyday, mundane, nine-to-five schedules and weekend get-togethers. Terry worked in a video entertainment retail store, while Rebecca was a receptionist at a local hospital.
“Terry, why are you up so early?” Rebecca peeked from under her sheets.
He gazed over at Rebecca, as she was the first other person to wake up, and quickly analyzed her. She liked to sleep with the blankets completely over her and had an inclination toward unconventional behavior. With her hair going down in mixed brunette-blond zigzag locks, she was easily the most noticeable in the group—that, and the fact that she loved to experiment with different voices when she spoke. Receptionist jobs can have that effect on you.
She took a flashlight with her everywhere she went at night. She could be just a little frightened of the mere darkness but also very curious of her surroundings. The others didn’t mind her, as the group had a lot of fun moments during the week. When they had moved in their belongings into the cabin on Monday around midday, Terry decided to go for a little tour. The others simply waited inside the cabin. He looked around, admiring the lake, the woods, and the forest. When he came back inside the cabin, he pointed at Jeremy. They pointed back at him three seconds later, right before Haley gave him the middle finger. They were full of inside jokes, as this was an almost daily characteristic with their friendship circle.
On Tuesday, there was the sound of an old lady talking. “Hello. Is there anybody in there?” she would say. It came from right outside the cabin. Terry went to open the door, and it was Stephanie, playing one of the voice records from her Motorola.
The group went out and lay on towels by the lake. It was during this time that Rebecca started saying how life would be so good without Sundays—without that last day when you had to prepare for the upcoming workweek. Then again, Mondays weren’t so good either. She liked her job but loved vacations even more.
That night, they ate sandwiches and listened to the radio tuner. They enjoyed some sing-alongs before going to bed. Everything they did, they did in perfect unison, not just on spring break but in their personal lives. Their hometown friends, Clarence and his sister, Pauline, decided to stay back in Belle Plaine. Pauline vehemently wanted to go with them for spring break but because of her age, Clarence felt safer with her staying back. However, he did promise her that the next year, she would be welcome to go with them to wherever they went, as by then she would have turned eighteen.
The following Wednesday morning, Jeremy and Terry went snorkeling to try to gather whatever submerged artifacts they could find in the lake. Even though they found little, they enjoyed the experience. Stephanie and Haley walked around the woods, conversing about the setting, while Rebecca stayed in the cabin for much of the day, chatting on the phone with Pauline.
When nighttime came on Wednesday and it was time for s’mores, everyone but Terry scrambled to gather branches. Terry stayed and inserted marshmallows on five branches, then sat down as he waited for the others. The others returned at the same exact time and put their branches at the center, while Terry stood up and lit them ablaze with his lighter. The others each picked up a stick of marshmallows and started warming them over the fire.
Occasionally, they would grab some chocolate bars when they felt the marshmallows had been softened up enough by the fire. This time was filled with scary stories, as they each took turns telling a make-believe story. During this, Rebecca spoke in her projected accent, to the amusement of the others, and she would follow it up by commenting that she didn’t need any digital effects. Stephanie took this as a jab, as she herself had needed the voice feature on her phone to compose her prank the previous day.
That same night, while the others were sleeping, Rebecca decided to wander around the lake. Terry felt beside him when he realized she wasn’t there. He immediately rose from bed, put on some slippers, and went out to look for her. As he left the cabin and entered into the darkness, he was only able to spot her by the shine from her flashlight.
He went to her to comfort her, as he came to find out that it was her way of bringing him outside without having to wake him. They spent some time outside, enjoying the late night. Terry climbed a tree—to Rebecca’s dismay, as she thought he might injure himself. When he jumped back down, he gave her a nice kiss to calm her. They both returned to the cabin later that night and slept.