Chapter 1

It was peaceful outside. Calm and blissfully quiet. The full moon completely visible in the dark sky through the wispy clouds floating lazily by. A beautiful night. There was slight condensation on the corners of the windows, evidence of the slightly chilly weather outside. Inside however, it was warm and comfortable.

Jill yawned tiredly. It had been a long day and the warm quiet stillness was making her drowsy. Her heavy eyelids drooped shut and she immediately snapped them back open.

Don't fall asleep, Jill, she told herself sternly.

Her eyelids obeyed for another few minutes before again sliding shut against her will. It felt so good. What could a second or two hurt?

The two seconds turned into several and without realizing it, Jill's mind began to drift away, floating gratefully towards sleep. Her head nodded forward, her chin gently resting against her chest.

"Jill!"

The frantic shout sent her eyelids flying open, instantly confused and startled by the bright lights and blaring sounds assaulting her sense and shattering the former stillness. Confusion reigned for a split second longer before Jill's slightly disoriented mind kicked into gear.

Headlights!

"Jill! Look out!"

A truck was barreling towards them, laying on the horn in a desperate warning. Amid terrified shrieks from her passengers, Jill reacted and violently spun the steering wheel to the right, sending everything in the car spilling and tumbling in the opposite direction. Her line of sight was yanked out of the glaring headlights as they blew by, leaving only the trailing tones of the truck's angry horn as it passed. Tires squealed loudly in protest, the entire car out of immediate harm but still swerving dangerously.

Hand over hand on the wheel, Jill expertly corrected her previous overcorrection. The tires again gripped the highway, the squealing quieted, and the swerving stopped. Heavy breathing filled the car, the only noise despite the hum of tires over asphalt, and the night became still again.

Almost.

"Jill! What's wrong with you?!" Kris yelled shrilly at her from the front passenger seat. Her hand was over her heart, her blue eyes wide and terrified.

"Did you fall asleep?!" Sabrina's voice cut in from the backseat. "You said you would be ok!"

Jill let out a shaky breath and stared determinedly at the road in front of her, gripping the wheel firmly with both trembling hands as if making amends for nearly killing them all. Her drowsiness was gone. The sudden adrenaline dump left her wide awake.

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped. "I- I just closed my eyes for a second! I didn't mean-"

"-to fall asleep at the wheel and imbed us all into the grill of a truck?" Kris finished heatedly. "God, Jill." she sighed, leaning her head back.

"I'm sorry! Are you ok?"

Kris closed her eyes and swallowed. "Fine."

Jill rubbed her face with one hand and then glanced apologetically into the rearview mirror to check on Kelly and Sabrina, who had both been flopped against their doors sleeping just moments before. "You guys ok back there?"

Sabrina was rubbing the side of her head. "Yeah, just smacked my head against Kelly's." she sighed breathlessly, slumping back in her seat.

"Kell?" Jill pressed.

Kelly was rubbing both sides of her head. "I hit the window-" she answered casting a sideways glare at Sabrina. "-and then Sabrina's big head." She ignored Sabrina's look and smiled shakily. "You ok, Jill?"

Jill sighed. "Yeah, I'm really sorry."

"Pull over, Jill." Kris ordered. "Let me drive."

Jill rolled her eyes and blushed. "I'm fine. It's just another couple of hours. Really!" she insisted, still ashamed.

Sabrina and Kelly shared a look in the backseat and shook their heads. They caught Kris's eye and raised their eyebrows doubtfully. Kris nodded and Jill immediately realized that there was an impending silent mutiny amongst her passengers.

"A vote then." Sabrina said, clearing her throat. She stuck out a fist and made a dramatic thumbs down gesture. "Tribe?" she asked expectantly to Kris and Kelly. Kris grinned and immediately mirrored her gesture.

"Aw, come on." Jill groaned. She shot Kelly a beseeching look. "Please, Kell!"

Kelly shook her head slowly and stuck her thumb down. Jill groaned and drifted the car to the right in preparation to stop and change drivers.

"Sorry, Jill." Kelly said with a grin. "The tribe has spoken."

Jill grumbled and coasted the car to a stop on the shoulder. She and Kris got out and switched places, Kris being sure to make a show of confiscating the keys to her sister's beloved Cobra. Once back inside, Jill pulled on her seatbelt and crossed her arms over her chest in a pout.

Kris laughed and started the car. "It's ok Jill. You're sleepy and you've been driving for hours. Time to pass the torch." she said, ruffling her sister's hair.

In spite of herself, a smile broke out over Jill's face and she playfully swatted her little sister's hand away. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." she said gamely. "Leave my hair alone."

Kris adjusted the seat to make up for the height difference between her and Jill and pulled out onto the now empty freeway. The girls were embarking on a much needed vacation, and with Kris in town for the weekend had decided that a camping trip was in order. They left Los Angeles much later than expected due to a misunderstanding with a client and had been driving through California for hours. The girls unanimously decided to drive through the night and get to their campsite late rather than leave the following morning. The trip had been full of laughs, teasing, stories, and jokes, making the drive go by quickly. However the busy day had left them all tired and by midnight, poor Jill, who had volunteered her car for the trip, was the only one left awake. Without her companions constant chatter, it had been much harder to stay awake.

Jill yawned again in her seat. The adrenaline was almost spent and the drowsiness had returned. She leaned her head against the window, but found it much too cold and uncomfortable.

"Is there a pillow back there?" she asked.

Sabrina and Kelly sat up and fished around their backseat haven until they found a suitable pillow for their friend. Kelly tossed it at her and Jill gratefully took it and fluffed it in her hands.

"Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna nap." she said with another yawn.

"Go ahead, Jill. It won't kill us this time." Kris joked. Sabrina and Kelly giggled at the comment.

Jill shot her a dirty look, though Kris didn't see it. She yawned again as she settled the pillow against her window and closed her eyes.

"Sorry again for that." she murmured.

"You should be!" Sabrina teased. "I'm surprised I didn't get sick back here with that wake up call." She turned to Kelly. "I didn't throw up on you did I?"

Kelly giggled. "No, Bri."

"Oh." Sabrina said almost in disappointment."Can I?"

The front seat burst into laughter and Kelly groaned and gave her friend a shove. The four girls giggled happily as the Cobra headed ever closer to their destination. They couldn't wait. The past week had been busy and stressful and they all felt overworked and long overdue for a few days off. Now Kris was in town and it was finally time for the vacation they had been looking forward to all week.

A weekend of relaxation and good times anxiously awaited them.

The girls slept late into the following morning worn out from both their busy day and the long, mostly sleepless drive. They crawled out of their two tents at a little past ten, hungry for breakfast and ready to enjoy their first day of vacation. It was a beautiful Friday morning in early March, the late morning sun already warming up the brisk forest air.

"Good morning, ladies!" Jill called out happily as a sleepy looking Sabrina and Kelly joined her and her sister by the breakfast fire.

"Morning." Sabrina and Kelly muttered in unison, rubbing their eyes. Both Munroe sisters were early risers and it was impossible to continue sleeping after they had both woken and emerged from their tent like two blonde and bubbly hummingbirds bent on destruction. Their bickering and giggling as they clanged pots and pans in preparation for breakfast had probably woken every animal in the forest who had the misfortune of sleeping within a ten mile radius of their campsite.

Sabrina and Kelly easily could have slept until noon.

Sadly, burrowing themselves in their sleeping bags and squirming to the back of their tent had not been enough to drown out what had to be the loudest attempt at starting a fire in the history of man. With a defeated sigh, both had silently decided that it was time to face whatever disaster was going on outside.

"What was all that racket going on last night?" Jill asked, as she poured her two friends a cup of coffee.

Kris laughed. "Oh yeah! We were starting to get ideas!" she joked. "What happened?"

Sabrina shot Kelly an amused look and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You wanna field this one, champ?" she asked.

Kelly rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, her face already starting to turn red. Seeing that she had all three of her friends undivided attention she decided that she had no other choice but to embarrass herself before she had even had breakfast.

Not that it was that uncommon an occurence.

"C'mon Kell!" Sabrina urged, biting back laughter. "Tell 'em!"

Kelly sighed loudly. "I built our tent on an ant hill." she admitted. "It was terrible."

Jill and Kris lowered their heads and laughed at their friend's misfortune. Kelly shrugged and sipped her coffee again, a laughing smile spreading beyond the ceramic of her cup.

"You forgot why it was so terrible!" Sabrina accused in a mock hurt voice.

Kelly put down her cup and sighed. "Because I put Sabrina's sleeping bag on top of it." she said quickly. As she revealed her newest crime, Sabrina rolled down her sleeves and exposed forearms that were covered in angry red bites.

Jill burst into laughter at the sight with a mouth full of coffee and quickly threw her arm in front of her face to save her friends from being sprayed. Still laughing and coughing, she scrambled away to wipe all of the coffee off of her face, sending the remaining three girls into hysterics. The girls continued laughing happily as they started to prepare some breakfast.

"Hey, I got eaten alive too, ya know!" Kelly cried, giving Sabrina a playful shove. Sabrina was about to answer back, but Kelly's shove caused some previously forgotten ant bites to suddenly itch. She closed her mouth and furiously scratched her arm, sending Kelly a wounded look. Kelly and Kris burst into laughter again.

Finally, Kris wiped her eyes and patted Kelly's arm. "Don't worry about it, Kell." she giggled and jerked her head towards Jill, who was wiping her face with someone's shirt she had found close by. "Grizzly Adams over there built our tent on a hill and won't admit it. I need a stake to drive into her sleeping bag so she doesn't roll into me tonight."

The four girls shared another laugh and together prepared some bacon and scrambled eggs in the cast iron skillet Sabrina brought from home. As they ate, they began to excitedly plan their day.

"We should go swimming!" Kelly said happily through a mouthful of eggs. There was a wide creek nearby, perfect for some water activities, and Kelly didn't want to miss a minute of it. Her eyes shone with excitement and she was bolting her food down like a child on Christmas morning.

Sabrina chuckled at her friend. This was Kelly's first camping trip, and though she had tried to mask her child like enthusiasm, it was getting more and more obvious as time wore on.

And aggravating.

"Kell, the water's really cold." Sabrina explained patiently to her friend. "Are you sure you wanna do that?"

Kelly nodded. "It can't be that bad. It's warming up outside."

To Sabrina's horror, Jill and Kris seemed to agree with Kelly's crazy idea. She wondered why she had even bothered to entertain the idea that they would see reason.

"I'm game!" Jill called out. She looked at her sister who shrugged acceptance of the idea as well. Seeing herself outnumbered three to one, Sabrina sighed her defeat. Jill and Kelly's penchant for adrenaline boosting activities sometimes did not sit well with her. She smiled and raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, let's go swimming."

Swimming activities lasted approximately twenty minutes before Jill and Kelly finally admitted that the water was indeed, too cold for swimming. After giving Sabrina a sound splashing for her gloating, the girls trudged back to the campsite, changed into dry clothes and chatted, enjoying each other's company and soaking up the warm sunshine. They ended up spending the day hiking, exploring, teasing and joking, and because of Kris's insatiable curiosity, running in arm flailing terror from a hive of angry bees. By the time evening streaked its red fingers across the sky, the girls were relaxed, tired but happy from their fun-filled day. They settled down to a hearty dinner and then sprawled out on the warm ground to rest. The campfire crackled and popped cheerfully, and the warmth combined with the oncoming darkness and the gentle night sounds of the forest began to lull the girls into sleep. They lay quietly for a few minutes, content to let their drowsiness overtake them. Suddenly, Jill popped her head up, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Ya know, I was just thinking-" she started mysteriously.

"That's a first." Kelly piped up. Kris and Sabrina snickered at her sarcasm. "Yeah. Congratulations, Jill." Kris added. The girls giggled some more and Jill, her desired air of mystery ruined, crossed her arms and put on a mock wounded look.

"Fine." she said, flinging a clump of dirt at Kelly. It bounced off of her leg and Kelly smiled, eyes still closed in relaxation. "I'll just eat all of the s'mores by myself."

Sabrina, Kelly, and Kris simultaneously bolted upright.

"You brought s'mores?" Kris asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

Jill laughed at her companions' sudden change of heart. "Oh, now everyone is my friend."she teased.

"Go get them, Jill!" Kelly exclaimed, tugging on her friend's arm. Jill giggled and pried her away. "Ok, ok! If you're all so eager, I guess I can share."

Fifteen minutes later, night had claimed the sky and the four girls were happily roasting marshmallows in the darkness and chatting happily about work, school, dates, and anything else that peaked their interest.

"Kell, you're not supposed to hold the chocolate over the fire." Kris remarked casually during a lull in conversation. There was sticky marshmallow smeared on her right cheek, which neither her sister nor two friends had bothered to tell her about.

Kelly looked up, puzzled by this news. She had never made smores before. "But then how would the chocolate melt?" she asked innocently.

"The marshmallow is supposed to melt the chocolate, Kell." Sabrina explained patiently.

Kelly stubbornly held her bit of chocolate over the fire. "It doesn't do a good enough job."

Sabrina heaved a sigh a pity and shook her head at her friend's ignorance. Kelly's devious sweet tooth sometimes overshadowed her logic. "Maybe if you let it sit for a minute before stuffing it your face, it would have enough time." she said with a playful smirk.

Kelly huffed and withdrew her melty chocolate from the fire and smeared it onto a Graham cracker with its marshmallow. "Well, you can all eat your cold chocolate. I like it better this way." she insisted.

Jill laughed at her."You're a trip, Kelly." she teased. She paused for a moment, eyeing her bit of chocolate thoughtfully. Later, when she thought no one was paying attention, she speared a piece of chocolate on her skewer and discreetly held it over the fire as well.

The night wore on pleasantly enough and Sabrina proved to have a surprise as well, when she produced a few bottles of wine from her bag. The girls toasted each other and drank from mugs until they were tipsy, giggling uncontrollably and teasing each other without mercy. They soon realized that their fire was dying down, unacceptable since they were not yet ready for bed so drew straws to see who would go get firewood. Kelly lost, but upon seeing her giggle and stumble as she got up, her friends decided that she was too intoxicated to be trusted with the job, so Jill offered to go in her place

"I'll be right back." Jill giggled, as she watched Kelly ungracefully sit herself back down between Sabrina and Kris. Kelly, her equilibrium challenged by standing and sitting too quickly, teetered to the right and fell into Kris, who laughed and pushed her oblivious friend back into a sitting position.

"Be careful, Jill!" Kris called out after her sister, still enjoying a laugh at Kelly's expense.

Jill turned to face her friends, swaying slightly with the effects of the alcohol. "Don't worry, what could happen?" she slurred dismissively, then turned and crunched her way through the sticks and leaves into the forest and away from the protective glow of the fire.

The remaining girls watched her go and then resumed their attention to the story Kris had been telling. The marshmallow was still on her face, and because of it Sabrina and Kelly continued to giggle uncontrollably at inappropriate parts of her story, much to Kris's confusion. By the end of Kris's tale, two things had been noticed: The marshmallow on her face and the fact that it had been ten minutes and Jill had not returned.

The three girls craned their necks, trying in vain to see into the inky blackness beyond their fire. Jill had taken a flashlight, but there was no sign of her or her light anywhere.

"Jill!" Kelly shouted, concern creeping its way into her voice. Her echo in the darkness was the only answer. She turned to Sabrina and Kris, worry etched in her features. "One of us should have gone with her."

Sabrina shook her head. "I think she's ok. Maybe she's playing a joke?" she offered weakly.

The idea was comforting, but the worry remained. The three girls, sobered by fear, stood up, armed themselves with flashlights and began to move toward the dark and still forest where Jill had disappeared into.

"Jill!" Kris yelled out, sweeping her beam of light carefully in front of her. "Jill, where are you?!"

The trio continued forward amongst the ever thickening forest of trees. The woods, which had seemed so peaceful and scenic during the laughing fun-filled hours of daylight, now appeared ominous before them, like a great gaping maw of unknown blackness. The girls linked arms.

"Jill, this isn't funny!" Kris shouted out again. She sounded worried and nervous. "Where are you?"

A sudden rustling caused all three girls to shriek and whip their light around to the source. Their three shaking beams revealed a raccoon, who quickly scampered away into the bushes. The girls sighed in relief.

"C'mon, Jill!" Kelly hollered into the darkness. She turned to her two friends with a pained and guilty look on her face. "She was kinda drunk, you think she passed out somewhere?"

Before, Sabrina or Kris could offer her their opinions, a shrill, piercing scream cut through the stillness of the dark forest, making their hearts skip a beat. The girls exchanged horrified looks, goosebumps rising on their arms and the hair on the back of their necks standing up. The scream was that of someone absolutely terrified.

But something was off.

"Jill!" Sabrina cried in terror, lunging forward to blindly rush through the woods. Kris and Kelly grabbed her arm and yanked her to a halt.

"Bri!" Kelly said in a harsh whisper. "Stop. We need to be careful!"

Sabrina shot her friends a baffled look."What?"

Kris swallowed hard and looked into the darkness.

"Bri, that wasn't Jill."