Emma

This bonfire performance couldn't be more depressing if one of the teachers pulled a gun and shot themselves.

Miss Glenna and Mr. Dail—a man with a side part that screamed "trying too hard to cover up bald spots"—were acting out some awful rendition of a children's theater script about four people on an airplane going down. She played the pilot while he played the other three roles, which made following along with the story impossible. I had the feeling he was forced to stretch his meager acting prowess because the teenage counselors who were going to be roped into this travesty had instead been recruited into the search party that had been sent out as soon as we returned to camp.

Despite a student being missing for nearly three hours, the teachers had decided they needed to go ahead with the hacky campfire skits.

It was pathetic. They were trying to create this illusion of normality to keep the students calm and relaxed, but it wasn't working. I knew what people were like in situations like this. I'd been one of the people in a situation like this. You were either broken by loss, grief, and fear, or you came out stronger on the other side. Limping along as though everything was fine while still bleeding from the knife in your back was for people like Taylor. People who were stuck in a framework that clearly wasn't working for them. The kind of people who were still half-chuckling at the awful jokes for our entertainment tonight, trying to convince themselves everything was alright.

Letting yourself give in to that, for even a moment, was what made you fall apart entirely.

My stomach had tied itself into knots when I first heard the news, but now all I felt was annoyed. It seemed that everyone around me was losing it. Sophia was on my right, muttering discouraging remarks at every quip and pun a teacher made. She was twitchy, kept shifting around, and her whispers had long past gotten on my nerves. Heather and Julia were on my left, working themselves down from the hysterics they had been in when they first heard Isabelle was unaccounted for. They had known her since second grade apparently, and hadn't taken the news of her disappearance well.

Madison was cuddling up to one of the boys on the football team, or rather one of the boys trying for the football team. I wasn't too certain of the distinction. It hadn't even seemed like she'd known the guy this morning and already she was close to holding hands with him. Latching onto the first guy she came across just made her seem pitiful. Even worse when, right now, I really wanted her here with us to discuss what the fuck we were going to do about this whole situation.

I could feel myself losing control of the group. I agreed with Sophia's annoyance; however, that didn't mean having to hear her whine and moan for hours on end wasn't starting to drive me crazy. Heather and Julia weren't doing much better with their incessant crying and moping. I expected better out of my friends. Madison, I'd be chewing out later. Her skill at wrapping people around her finger was useful. We just needed to work on her attitude. Everyone's attitude, really, but Madison's was the worst.

But that was reserved for when we weren't in the middle of a whole group of witnesses. I'd deal with the easiest problem for now.

"What the hell are they thinking doing these scripts? Are they gonna act out Caillou next? It'd probably be edgier," I whispered to Sophia.

"Don't even bring up that stupid, bald baby," Sophia grumbled back. "I see enough of that little shit 'cause of my brother. I don't wanna hear about him on my weekend away."

I stifled a laugh. "Oh, and this is much better?"

"This is awful, but we shouldn't even fucking be here watching it. We should be out there with the search party looking for that girl. If Glenna wasn't being such a pussy about it..."

"Getting dusty and gross in a forest as it starts to drop below freezing? No thanks."

Sophia scoffed. "And what, that's worse than sitting here having to watch jokes too lame for boy scouts?"

She had a point.

"Given the option," I said, "I'd at least prefer the one that leaves me warm."

Sophia was an easy girl to read once you got to understand her. She and I were survivors, it was the thing that connected us, but we expressed it in different ways. She couldn't stand doing nothing, loathed being told how to act, and hated those willing to put up with either. Not to say she rushed into danger, but she picked her battles and chose what and who was important. I didn't think she was viewing Isabelle as someone like that, someone like me. It seemed more to me that she wanted to do anything else but stay here watching this.

Maybe the skits were just that bad.

"Yeah, that sounds like you," Sophia said, trying to lean back and stretch out. "Still, I figure we owe her enough to try and search. We put that shit in her head about leading Hebert away to talk. Least we could do is make sure she comes back from it. Too bad the teachers are such fucking idiots."

"She'll come back," I said, finally with a grasp on what was happening, "and when she does she'll be better for it. If she doesn't make it back, that's her own fault for getting lost. They found Taylor and you saw how she was freaking out. They'll find her."

I could barely see Taylor from where she was trying to hide within her group. She'd been glued to them since she stepped foot out of those woods. It wasn't like it made much difference, we wouldn't have done anything with the heat on like this, but god, I wanted to. It was her fault we were here in the first place.

She had been the last person to see Isabelle and had come out looking scared. Not the frightened look of a teacher's pet, realizing they were going to get treated the same rest of the class. This had been true fear. Her face had been paler than normal and she hadn't spoken a word since getting back to camp.

For a blabbermouth like her, that meant something.

Something had happened in those woods, I was sure of it. I wasn't certain what it had been though. The thought had gone through my head of Taylor striking back, putting up a fight, doing something and hurting Isabelle, but that was ludicrous. I knew Taylor. She didn't have it in her to push back. It was what set us apart.

So if that hadn't been what had scared her so badly, what had?

A tug on my sleeve caught my attention and I turned to Heather. She was focused on me while Julia looked off to the side.

"Emma, could you please stop talking about this?" Heather hissed at me. "We're the ones who sent her out there. At least show some guilt. She could be hurt right now."

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one who said I knew a great person to rope into this," I whispered harshly back, "so don't try and go blaming this on me. If you're feeling scared for her, you deal with that yourself."

She looked at me like I had punched her. I worried I may have pushed too hard and that she'd start crying again. I wanted to tear into her ten times worse for that thought alone, but I tried to put those feelings in a box. I shook my head to wring out some nervous energy and looked at Heather, now with a more gentle gaze. I didn't need her making things even worse than they already were.

"They're going to find her. She couldn't have gotten lost that badly and they brought enough people that even if she did, they're sure to run across her. Besides, you know the hike was a few miles out. They might already be on their way back with her. What's the worst that could happen out there, really?"

I wasn't going to bring up the possibility of bears, but it seemed even without the grim reminder my words hadn't touched her like I'd hoped. I was about to continue but got cut off as clapping erupted around us. It snapped me out of the tunnel vision I'd been in. I'd forgotten that we were supposed to be watching the teachers act.

Mr. Dail and Miss Glenna took a bow at the end of their performance and went behind the makeshift curtain hung off to the right of the fire. Miss Harmony stepped out from behind it and took center stage, dressed in cheap rabbit ears and an awful makeup job to give her bunny cheeks.

"Little bunny foo foo hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head," Miss Harmony sang, doing a few hops here and there and acting out the actions. "Down came the good fairy and she said…"

The other male teacher on this trip came rushing from behind the curtain, dressed in drag, and started berating the "rabbit." It got a great laugh out of a certain type of guy, but it felt like this act was from a decade ago and no one on staff had gotten the memo. The "joke" of a guy in a dress was offensive at worst, painfully out of touch at best, and critically unfunny.

While I waited for the production to pick up some steam so I could get right back into talking, I studied the girls around me. Heather was focused on the play again, while Julia was still moping like she'd done all night. That was good enough for me. Sophia was staring dead-eyed at the two teachers, but she wasn't complaining anymore which was both an improvement from before and a win in my eyes. While I respected Sophia, there were plenty of things where it was obvious her experience was lacking.

She was a fighter—strong, someone you didn't fuck around with. But she was also just a girl. She opted out of the social niceties because she felt she didn't need to worry about them and that was why she needed someone like me around. Just because she was a survivor, didn't mean she could skirt popularity; that would make her an outcast.

Sophia would never be able to keep together a group on her own. She would never be able to rule the school like what I had planned. She had helped set me straight, now I was there to teach her all she needed to know about people.

I also noticed how she kept switching from brooding to scowling a hole into Miss Glenna, who was conspicuously peeking out from behind the curtain. She must have been the one to say no students were allowed to go stomping around in the woods. Being the better girl, I nudged Sophia's side to get her attention and tried to get her mind off it.

"Think she's gonna rat us out?" I tilted my head in Taylor's direction.

"You're her friend," Sophia said with a smirk, "wouldn't you know?"

"Ugh, don't be that way."

"Nah, they'd have already asked her and she'd have snitched if she was gonna do it. Weird that she didn't, though. Maybe she doesn't know what happened."

"Yeah, I guess if Isabelle never got to the funny part of the prank, it might just seem like she got lost," I said, thinking out loud. "Plus she hasn't looked our way this whole night. No way Taylor would be able to hold herself back from looking at me like a lost puppy if she heard the lines we fed her."

Sophia grunted in acknowledgment. "I'd be more worried about the lost girl saying something. They find her after a few hours in the woods? The adults are gonna be pissed and she's gonna be happy to throw everyone else under the bus."

That had me scowling, but it wasn't like there was much I could do about it. "Well then, we'll have to figure out something in case she does decide to snitch."

Sophia nodded, and both of us stopped talking as the play reached its end. The fairy godmother bopped Miss Glenna on the head who turned around for a second to put on some hideous goblin mask.

"Well, you know what they say. Hare today, goon tomorrow!" The good fairy called out, to what was another series of meager claps and a roar of approval from a guy that was way too into it.

The teachers reveled in their pity laughs and took a bow like it was Broadway. The fire crackled next to them and their shadows stretched out towards the west, dancing in the light. When they rose, I finally got a good look at them. Their smiles looked strained, even from here.

A shot sounded off in the distance and everyone jumped. It had been muffled, far away, but that didn't matter. You grow up in Brockton Bay and you know how seriously to take gunshots. The teachers looked shocked, fully awake for the first time that night.

I had a feeling this wasn't part of the next act.

The whole group was quiet now, not a single conversation. Only the sound of crickets broke the silence. Everyone was glancing around, trying to track wherever the noise had come from, waiting for a repeat of it, while the teachers carried a whispered conversation back and forth. We just waited. Eventually the silence gave way to murmurs of confusion.

Finally, the group of adults broke up. The fairy godmother stepped forward and clapped to get everyone's attention. It didn't work, but he talked as if it had.

"Don't worry everyone, this is just a part of being in the wilderness. The rangers must be on their way back and there are a few wild animals out here, as might be expected. It was probably just a warning shot," the teacher said, looking ridiculous trying to be serious in his fairy outfit. "While it is likely to be nothing, it might be wise to head to bed early. If you could all make your way towards your cabins, I think we've had enough fun for the night. Miss Harmony will lead the girls back and Mr. Dail, the boys. The rest of us will go double-check to see if we can't catch up with those rangers."

We gave up any pretense of caring about what the teachers had to say at this point. Harmony and Dail tried to usher the boys and girls to their respective cabins but had lost the students' attention at the first sound of gunfire. Everyone was rushing towards their rooms for the semblance of safety it provided, while the teachers tried to corral them. Madison bid goodbye to her guy and joined back up with us and we headed out as a group. We were forced to slowly pick our way forward, trying to not get caught up in the mass of more frightened students, some of them literally running back to their cabins. Heather and Julia trudged behind us with Madison in the middle, as Sophia and I carried on a conversation.

"I didn't know they'd be carrying guns. I guess with the warning about wild animals they had to have some way to fight them off," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

I wasn't going to let my nerves get the best of me. Not here, not in front of everyone, and not at such an important moment. This was the chance to show who I really was.

"Yeah, still fucking creepy," Sophia said. "I hate hearing gunshots. It's even worse like this. Alone in the spooky woods. Nothing around for miles."

"Could we please not talk about this," Madison interrupted, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. Though, I wasn't sure if that was from how petrified she looked or from wearing a blouse with no sweater in forty-degree weather. "I really don't want to think about anything like that until I'm safe inside our cabin. I don't even wanna hear it then."

Miss Harmony was nowhere to be seen, but I didn't trust that. There was too much going on to be sure of our privacy, so while the mass of girls continued forward, I dropped our group to a halt halfway to our destination and decided we were taking the long way around to our cabin. We needed to have a chat away from prying eyes and ears.

"Is that what's happening? Scared without someone big to protect little Madison in case you're going to get grabbed up by a spooky monster? Is that why you were almost wrapped up in Tucker's arms at the campfire tonight?" I asked her.

Madison blushed. "No, it wasn't like that at all."

"Listen, if you're going to hang out with us, you're not going to flirt with guys while we're sitting around worrying about how much trouble we're in. I don't care if he invited you before this, you tell him you're busy. We need to figure out what to do if Taylor rats on us or someone in her group makes the connection. We don't need you fucking making heart-eyes at a six who won't even make the cut for first draft."

Madison shrank back behind Heather, using her as a shield, as the taller girl took up her defense. "Jeeze, Emma, get off her ass. You've been such a bitch tonight. We're all freaked out. You don't have to take it out on us."

"I'm a bitch? I'm a bitch? Oh no, you'll know when I'm being a bitch, and let me tell you something, I am not freaked out. If you're scared, don't try and lump me in with you to make yourself feel better. I thought it was you two crying your eyes out earlier, not me. I have things under control. Everything with me is fine." I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair, before putting on a smile. "Now I think we're supposed to be heading back to the cabin? Unless you want to stand around here until Madison freezes to death."

I deflected every one of the dumb criticisms levied against me. Heather backed off pretty much instantly after I called her ass out and Madison wasn't going to say anything. Julia just watched, not wanting to get involved, so I let her off the hook for now. With no one willing to try and go against me, I started forward, the others forming rank behind me.

My shortcut had been meant to dodge the larger group of students, in case Miss Harmony or some snitch heard us talking. But now, walking back to our cabin in the dark with a few echoey voices, the only noise besides our footsteps, I wish I had waited until we were inside. Sophia was tense, eyes darting around us as the other three formed a tight semi-circle. I walked forward as if nothing could hurt me, hoping I knew the way we were going. The moon fell behind a cover of clouds. Visibility dropped to almost nothing.

Finally, the path between the campfire and dorms ended and we entered the circle that made up our group of cabins. Sophia took the lead suddenly and held up a hand to stop us.

"Who the fuck is that?" she asked, hushed.

I almost told her to shut the fuck up and stop trying to scare us, on principle. This wasn't the time for pranks.

But Sophia didn't make jokes. I squinted my eyes and looked where she was pointing. It was hard to make out without any light, but somebody was running out of the woods, huffing out puffs of steam in the cold air. I froze, unable to think, but took back control in a second. Just a hint of nerves before I reasserted my composure.

We were close enough to our cabin. If it came down to running, we'd be fine. Despite my better judgment and the worried murmurs behind me, I tried to figure out what was going on. My eyes adjusted to the dark bit by bit and I could just barely make out the uniform he was wearing. He wasn't coming our way, which made sussing out the finer details all the more difficult, but finally, it clicked.

"Isn't that the ranger from the hike?"

A second later, I realized he wasn't alone. Something was following behind him.

I'd mistaken it for a shadow from a tree, hit by the moon in such a way that it stretched out like a funhouse mirror. It was dark and blended in with the world around it, but it shifted so unnaturally that it was like staring at an optical illusion. Black as ink and moving too fast. It trailed behind the ranger getting closer and closer. I could see the panicked look on his face, visible even from here.

Something thudded into the ground next to him, sending up a shower of dirt and rocks and the ranger tumbled. I hadn't realized the gun was in his hands until the dark outline of a barrel pointed up at the sky.

A blast rang out. Everyone flinched but not a soul moved. No one dared, too afraid to bring attention to themselves. The shadow rose, standing twice as tall as the man it faced and I realized his shot must have missed. The monster let out a moan, something low and deep like a foghorn. It rang through the courtyard and shook through our bones.

The ranger was reloading, but the shadow moved faster. Arms stretched further than they had any right to. The ranger flew back with a scream.

Something came flying in our direction, a long tube flipping in the moonlight that I realized belatedly was the gun. It landed halfway between us with a thump. The cloud covering the moon passed and a ray of light shone down on the scene. The ranger lay on the ground, a bloody mess with an arm spearing through his stomach. It shook and he fell off with a splat. The monster loomed large over him.

There was no mistaking it for a human. Its body was so misshapen and long, skin stretched taut over muscle and bone. Darker than black and leathery. Parts of its flesh looked like they had been torn open and you could see innards moving underneath. Stomach and guts hung out through a series of ruptures below its rib cage.

It walked on two hind legs, bent in unnatural ways, while its arms dragged along the ground, ending in bloody claws. It didn't have a face, just a white skull with antlers jutting out of it. It stalked over to the body of the ranger, dropped to all fours like a dog, and leaned forward until it was eye to eye with his corpse.

Its jaw unhinged to show a mouth full of fangs. It tore a chunk out of his arm.

I don't know who screamed first. If we all did. It didn't matter.

Everyone was moving before I could even tell what was going on. Someone ran forward, someone ran away, I shoved whoever was stupid enough to stand in front of me. It didn't matter who she was. I just needed something, anything, between me and it. Not even checking to see if my distraction had worked, I turned tail and ran. I'd know tomorrow if it had paid off.

I would still be alive.