CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ATMOSPHERIC MOOD

All six teens stood together in the small opening of the dark forest. Snow covered the ground, but the air wasn't that cold tonight. This made it slightly easier for all of them to focus more on their objective; finding a way across the lake.

Adam glanced around at everyone. Any of these people could have something to do with what was going on. He had just realized that.

For all he knew, Holly J could be secretly teaming up with these murderers. But then again, there was as much a chance of it being Holly J as there was with Bianca, Eli, Fitz, or Fiona.

Holly J would never have the guts to actually have the wits behind murdering someone. And Bianca hated pretty much everyone at Degrassi, but did she really hate them so much as to go so far by killing them? Surely not. It was the same with Fitz.

He had even pulled a knife on Eli earlier that year, but he'd only stabbed it into the wall. And it definitely wasn't Eli because he'd never hurt Clare in any way.

And Fiona was too freaked out and shaky to have planned any of the things that had happened tonight.

So who was the person behind all of this? Or was there even a person with him that was behind it. Maybe it was someone none of them knew. Or perhaps someone who went to school with them who they'd never expect.

Adam knew he was just rattling his brain with all of this thinking. If he didn't calm down he'd end up having an aneurysm.

Holly J cocked the barrel of the shotgun before peeling her eyes over her fellow classmates. Everyone copied her movements and let their suspicious eyes fall on at least one of the other teens.

Bianca's eyes stayed on Adam, Holly J watched Bianca, Fitz glared at Holly J, Eli stared at Fitz, Adam warily watched Eli, and Fiona frowned at Adam. There was no telling what was going through any of their minds at the time.

"So what are we going to do?" Eli finally asked in a raspy voice. You could tell that he was still shaken up from his fight with Adam.

Holly J said, "We don't know if Riley is still alive or not. But most likely he was murdered in that house. I'm not sure if we should take chances by chasing after a dead body."

"How would you feel if we just left you in that house to rot?" Eli argued. He was getting antsy about the subject of Riley again. "Riley saved my life, and I need to return the favor."

Holly J's eyebrows met over her nose. Her eyes wandered over Eli's body with worry. She didn't feel like letting any of her new friends out of her sight again. Last time that had happened, someone had died.

"And what if you can't repay the favor? What if Riley is already dead in that man's house?" Bianca questioned. Eli stayed silent, and everyone's heartbeats grew softer for a few seconds.

"And what if he isn't?" Eli finally retorted. "What if he's still alive and I can still save him? We'll never know unless we try."

Adam's shoulders sunk when he saw the look on Holly J's face. "You can't actually be considering this, Holly J."

Holly J argued, "Well maybe it's not such a bad idea, Adam. You didn't know if Drew was still alive in the basement, but you still ran down there. We let you go, so why shouldn't we let Eli go?"

Adam silenced himself when he heard Holly J's words. He knew that she was right, and that's why he couldn't find any other words to argue back with. He just didn't want Eli to end up stuck down there and die like Clare and Drew.

They'd already lost too many friends for one night.

Holly J seemed satisfied with Adam's silence and turned to face Eli. "Are you sure about this, Eli? I mean, I know you're trying to play hero here, but your life is at serious risk. I just wanna make sure you know that."

"I know what I'm risking. But I'm willing to risk my life if I can save another."

Adam shook his head at the fact that Holly J was actually letting Eli go into that creepy man's house. He felt Fiona squeeze his hand and glanced down at her. She looked worried about the expressions playing out on her boyfriend's face.

He gave her an unwilling smile before looking back up at Holly J and Eli. She was handing him a walkie-talkie and a spare flashlight. Adam suddenly stepped out of Fiona's grip.

"He's not going anywhere alone. I'll go with him," he announced.

"Adam…," Fiona warned behind him in a lonely tone. She didn't seem happy at all with the idea of being separated from Adam all over again.

Bianca stood dangerously close to Adam now. Fiona wanted to lunge at the girl.

"And I'm not getting stuck with Holly J again. No offense, but you're a bit too bossy."

Holly J rolled her eyes and handed her flare gun over to Bianca. Adam still held the gun in his left hand.

"You three check out the house and find Riley. Fitz, Fiona, and I will head back to the dock. We'll be waiting for you," Holly J ordered with her long index finger pointed straight at Adam. He knew that what she really meant was, "If any of you have to escape, it has to be Adam. We'll be waiting for him."

But Bianca only nodded before heading in the other direction with Eli. Adam stood behind for a few moments to say his goodbyes once more with Fiona. Only this time, it was a lot harder to let her out of his arms.

"I'll be fine," he whispered in her ear. "I promise you'll see me again."

Fiona nodded silently before pulling away but keeping her hands on his shoulders. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to his lips. Adam was surprised by how gentle it was, but he made no move to deepen the kiss.

She kissed his cheek once before turning on her heel to Holly J. She seemed amused by the deep relationship Fiona had accomplished with Adam. Holly J was about to turn after Fiona when Adam yanked her back by her wrist.

She gasped silently, but the serious look in Adam's eyes told her that she shouldn't be afraid.

"What is it?" she asked absently. She made sure that her voice was soft so that no one would have any reason to look back at the odd friendship they shared.

"You know what you have to do, HJ."

She frowned. "Excuse me?" she responded. Her forearms were still in Adam's tight grip.

"When you get to the dock, I want you to take off with Fiona and Fitz." Holly J tried to interrupt, but Adam pulling her closer made her shut up. "Bianca, Eli, and I are going to end this psycho's plans once and for all tonight."

"Adam, I thought no one was playing hero tonight."

"I know." Adam glanced down at the frosty forest floor. "But we can't afford for anyone else to get hurt. That means that you guys have to get out of here as soon as possible."

Holly J exhaled, causing a cloud of white air to surround her mouth. The air was slightly colder now.

She nodded and told Adam, "Alright, but only because you're right. Someone needs to end this tonight. I'll see you at the cabin."

Adam finally let Holly J out of his grip before spinning her around again. He looked her up and down before ordering, "Don't tell Fiona. It's best if she doesn't know."

Holly J nodded. She closed her eyes for a short moment before flinging her arms around Adam's neck. He was surprised by the sudden sentiment, but he hugged Holly J back with his arms around her waist.

"Please don't die out there." Holly J placed a light kiss to Adam's cheek before turning and hurrying after Fiona's retreating figure.

Adam watched her until she was out of sight before Bianca's voice called out to him from behind.

A/N: I meant to update this story much sooner than now. I'll make sure to add more chapters tonight. Sorry! D: