Something About Alton
Part III: Night Out Camping
Monday, 11th December, 1978
"Oh, Sandy!"
Sandy stopped in the middle of the corridor, backpack swung lazily over one shoulder. She was back in her old high school, wearing her old clothes – those old bellbottom jeans and the red, tight-fitting sleeveless top she used to wear to try to impress Curt. Speaking of Curt, that was him now, calling out her name. Sandy turned around, smirking at the sight of the grinning fool jogging towards her.
"What, Curt?" she answered as though she wanted nothing to do with him – she did.
"Well, I was just wondering when you're free?" he asked straight-forwardly, resting his hands on his hips. God, he looked so young, too. His hair was still long, reaching the bottom of his ears, fringe parted at the side. Sandy even remembered his clothes; that slightly geeky, striped jumper he wore with the collared shirt underneath. Curt was a geek, that was for sure, but he wasn't your typical scrawny, greasy-haired, glasses-wearing geek, not even back then; he was always well built.
"I'm not sure," Sandy folded her arms, "Why'd you ask?"
"There are a lot of good films coming out this week!" Curt exclaimed, "That Superman film's out on Friday, it looks pretty cool – or there's that 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', that's out the week after, I think..."
Sandy giggled as Curt babbled on and on. In the end, they went to see Superman on its release day.
"I keep telling you, Curt," Sandy interrupted, "My parents won't like it if I go out with a boy!"
"So tell 'em you're going out with your friends," Curt spoke quieter and stepped closer as if to be more dramatic or convincing.
"What, 'Hey mom, hey dad, me and the girls are going to see Superman'?" Sandy laughed.
"What's wrong with that?!" Curt asked obliviously, "Girls can like Superman too, right? Come on, it'll be fun – it's just a little white lie, it won't hurt anybody..."
Sandy looked up at him, biting her lip as she suppressed a giggle. Curt always made her feel so giddy. As Curt continued his efforts to convince her, something different happened. This wasn't how Sandy remembered it.
"I mean, I can - *cough* - pick you up and everything – *cough, cough* - if you want? *cough, cough*"
Sandy's expression changed from love-struck to confused and scared as Curt began violently coughing, keeling over as he covered his mouth.
-O-
Thursday, 10th September, 1998
Sandy woke up with a shudder, catching her breath. The dream stayed in her mind, the memory of when she and Curt had arranged their first date. She sighed in disappointment, wishing that she could have stayed there forever.
But it wasn't quite as it seemed; the ending, where Curt started coughing violently, that wasn't what happened at all. As Sandy glanced at the clock on her bedside, reading 2:26am, she shrugged it off as some weird alteration her subconscious had made while she was dreaming.
Then, the coughing started again, but Sandy was wide awake. It sounded harsh, and as whoever it was caught their breath, there was an awful wheezing sound.
Shit, dad! Was Sandy's immediate thought, throwing the blankets off herself and bursting out through her bedroom door – but when she entered onto the landing, she found that the coughing wasn't coming from her dad's room, but from Sarah's. Concerned, she opened the door into Sarah's room and found her sitting upright, coughing and spluttering into her fist. Her daughter glanced up at her as if to ask for help.
"Sarah?" Sandy knelt down in front of her daughter, looking to her bedside to give her some water, though there was none there. From down the hall, Sandy heard the click of a door opening and soon, Adam stumbled sleepily into the doorframe.
"What?" Adam asked confusedly, looking at Sarah.
"Go get her some water, Adam," Sandy ordered her son, who quickly flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sandy patted her daughter hard on the back, hoping it would be of some assistance. "It's okay, Sarah, sweetie, it's okay..."
She heard the sound of a glass being filled downstairs and seconds later, Adam was running back up the stairs, ensuring not to spill a drop of water as he carried the glass into the room. "Here, Sarah..." he held it out to her.
"Just sip it," Sandy advised as she held the glass for her daughter, gently tilting it so water would slowly trickle into her mouth. After a few sips, Sarah made a noise as if to say "enough" and Sandy removed the glass from her lips. "Are you okay now?"
Sarah nodded, rubbing her eyes. Sandy raised her hand to her daughter's forehead, checking her temperature. It was warm; not incredibly warm, but warmer than it should be.
"Is she okay, mom?" Adam asked.
"Got a bit of a temperature," Sandy muttered. "Did you feel ill yesterday?"
Sarah shrugged tiredly.
"Go back to sleep, and we'll see how you are when you wake up," Sandy took her daughter's hand, "If you still aren't well, you won't go to school. Sleep tight."
She kissed Sarah on the cheek before standing back up and tucking her in. Walking to the doorway, she was met by Adam – Christ, he looked just like Curt. A little less muscular, maybe, and with bleached hair, but the resemblance was there. Her jaw dropped.
"She got a cold or somethin'?" Adam yawned.
"She'll be fine," Sandy recollected herself, "Go back to bed before you wake Grandpa up. See you in the morning."
The two parted ways into their separate bedrooms. While Sandy never heard as much as a peep from her son or daughter's room, she could not go back to sleep. This was not the first time she had dreamed of Curt since his passing. In the previous months, she had relived their wedding at the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, their first kiss in Curt's car after he dropped her off from their third date, the first time they took Adam on holiday to Florida and even their first time having sex together in Sandy's childhood home, when Curt had snuck over after her parents left for the night. While there was nothing wrong with the memories themselves, and the dreams were pleasant – most of the time – it was waking up and realising that Curt was gone that made them absolute hell.
-O-
Friday, 11th September, 1998
Adam groggily walked downstairs, fresh out the shower. He rubbed his eyes as he walked into the kitchen, finding a pale Sarah sitting with her grandpa while mom prepared breakfast.
"You feeling better, Sarah?" Adam yawned, pulling up a chair. Sarah wasn't sure how to answer.
"She's still coughing a little; not as bad as last night," mom answered for her, "But she's got a temperature and if she's gonna have another violent coughing fit like earlier this morning, I'd rather her stay home with me 'til she's 100%."
"You'll get better soon," grandpa reassured her, "Keep drinking plenty of water."
Adam watched his grandpa putting on a friendly face. How revolting, he thought, after how horrible he was about her yesterday.
-O-
Adam strolled down the aisles of the store, searching for the snack section. Behind him was Paula, dressed in a floral top, only covering above her stomach, with a knitted cardigan slung over her shoulder.
"Aren't you gonna get cold like that?" Adam asked.
"We'll have a fire," Paula replied – Dan was searching elsewhere in the store for matches. "If that goes out, someone will have to keep me warm."
Adam nearly tripped over himself before regaining composure. The comment seemed so out of left field; what were the odds two girls would be interested in him within his first week of moving here? Whatever he was lacking in Pittsburgh, he was making up for it here in Alton. Adam toyed with the idea of hooking up with Paula; he and Ellie weren't exactly a thing, she hadn't expressed much romantic interest in him – or, rather, she hadn't been as forward as Paula was being. Hey, Adam thought, maybe you're over-thinking a little. Keep looking for snacks.
Paula stepped forward and motioned for Adam to follow. Turning the corner at the end of the aisle, Adam found the snacks section, stocked full of chips. Keeping in mind the money he'd brought with him, he joined Paula in picking up the most popular options they'd gathered in school that afternoon. Arms stuffed with bags of chips, they made their way to the cash register, where they found Dan paying for lighters and matchsticks.
"You guys sure that'll be enough?" Dan looked doubtfully.
"You're kidding, right?" Adam winced as he tried to keep the bags from falling down.
"Ellie and Liv said they'd bring stuff, too," Paula said defensively, "They can't expect us to get everything."
"Yeah, well let's hope they do," Dan picked up his products, "I'll catch you both outside."
Moments later, they followed him to Eric's pickup truck. Crammed in the back were three tents; one for Eric and Mike, one for Ron and Dan and another for Paula, which she had offered to share with anyone who felt like it.
Paula and Adam climbed into the back seats with Dan, while Eric and Mike sat in the front.
"Buckle up, kids," Eric ignited the engine and put it in gear, driving off towards the woods.
"Where are you gonna park?" Dan asked.
"Well, I can't park it in the woods," Eric answered obviously, "Not near where we're camping, anyway. I'll park it by the entrance; I guess we'll have to just carry all this shit in. It's not a long walk, anyway."
Within a few minutes, they'd reached the parking lot built next to one of the entry points into the woods; the same one he'd used with Ellie last night.
"Right, everyone pull your weight," Eric switched the engine off and swung his door open. In the end, the five just about managed to take everything up in one trip without going back, successfully dumping it at the clearing where Ellie, Liv and Ron were helping set up each other's tents.
All in all they spent a fair amount of time just setting up before they could even sit down and relax, the already tiring situation exacerbated by Dan's complete incompetence in following instructions. Eventually, though, they prevailed and the fire was lit using some logs that Ron had lent, as well as branches they'd found nearby to add extra fuel. Throwing some charcoal on, brought from the back of Eric's truck, the fire was raging in no time and, at last, the group could enjoy themselves.
Of course, it wasn't just food that was brought along to the party; Mike had raided his fridge for alcohol and had already visited his uncle to steal some of his weed, which was all the group had for the night. Adam and Ellie exchanged awkward glances as the others started smoking, retreating with each other to sit by the campfire.
"Did you ever do anything like this where you came from?" Ellie asked, opening a bag of marshmallows.
"Not really," Adam answered, helping himself to the bag, "I mean, I hung out with my friends, sure, but we never went camping or anything."
"What were your old friends like?" Ellie asked with her mouth full.
"Pretty cool," Adam smiled, remembering their faces. "My best friend back there was this guy called Will – Will Turner – who's a little bit like Ron, you know? There was this guy called Logan who had really, really long hair, like, longer than Dan's. Oh, there was Hannah, too – she was pretty nice, but I think I liked her more than she liked me..."
Adam caught himself, realising that his reminiscing about his home life probably wasn't all that interesting to Ellie.
"Anyway, yeah, I miss 'em," Adam shrugged, "But thanks to you guys, I'm settling in pretty well."
"That's good," Ellie smiled, "Yeah, you fit right in – like you've been here all along."
"Good to hear," Adam nodded happily. "I'd be lost if it weren't for you guys."
-O-
It was approaching midnight and the party showed no signs of stopping. Adam himself had experienced his first taste of alcohol in some fruit ciders; cheap, but they did the trick. He'd even managed to persuade Ellie to try some, though it took her far longer to even finish one can. Adam laughed as he watched Dan stumble over into the bushes, excusing himself to go for a piss.
"So, first time drinking, huh?" Eric asked Adam, "What d'you think?"
"It's alright," Adam smiled sheepishly.
"Hey, you even got Ellie to try some," Eric pointed while Liv giggled on his shoulder, "This is, like, a once in a lifetime moment, right here."
Ellie blushed embarrassedly. Before Eric could unleash more mocking commentary about Ellie's refusal to take part in substance use, the gang went silent at the sound of a shriek from Dan.
"FUCK!" Dan's scream echoed back towards them, followed by the sounds of vegetation being crushed and pushed out the way. His footsteps quickly grew louder until he fell into the clearing, rolling onto his back.
"What the hell?" Ron chuckled – from the looks of it, Dan had made a bit of a mess on himself while he tried to escape.
"There's fucking something there!" Dan said, aghast, before pointing behind him, "There's something over there!"
The look of terror on his face seemed to suggest there might be some legitimacy, though Adam remained sceptical.
"The fuck d'you mean?" Eric asked; it seems Dan has triggered his teraphobia.
"I don't know – a person, or something?" Dan caught his breath.
"Fuck that," Liv shivered in fear, looking anxiously in the direction Dan came from.
"It's probably nothing," Paula reassured everyone, keeping a cool head. "Why don't we go and look?"
"I'm not fuckin' going over there!" Eric panicked, "You think I'm crazy? No, we gotta leave!"
"Try to think rationally," Paula sighed, "Even if it is a person, there's only one of them. We outnumber them, easy."
"Let's have a look," Adam stood up, mainly wanting to put everyone's mind at ease. "Who's coming?"
"I'll come," Paula stepped forward before picking her brother up off the floor, "You'd better come, too – to show us where you saw it."
Dan nodded quietly, taking his sisters hand and pulling himself up off the ground. Adam helped him wipe the dirt and leaves off his back before he and Paula followed the witness into the bushes.
"Be careful, I peed over here somewhere," Dan waved his hand generally in one direction before gasping and stopping. His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's still there. Do you see it?"
Adam and Paula squinted, trying to find where Dan was looking. At first, it was hard to make anything out – the area was barely illuminated, with little light coming from the campfire. Squinting harder, Adam's face dropped when he too saw the outline of a humanoid figure leaning against a tree, somewhere around fifteen to twenty meters away from their position.
"I see them," Paula confirmed, "What do we do?"
"Wait," Adam whispered, "I don't think... I don't think it's a person."
"Then what is it?" Dan whimpered frightfully. Adam looked closer. While it bared some resemblance to the outline of a human, when he looked at it more meticulously he noticed some oddities. The thing was barely moving, and there seemed to be some deformities in it. Adam motioned for Paula and Dan to follow him. With each step they took, Dan whimpered, his breath quickening. Getting closer, they found Adam was right; this thing wasn't human – it wasn't even living. Approaching the entity, it was clear it was some kind of doll, for lack of a better word.
"That's... really weird," Paula inspected it. It was hard to make out its details; all that was clear was that it was a near life-sized human replica.
"Let's take it to show the others," Adam suggested, drunkenly grabbing the doll by the arms, "C'mon, help me carry it."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Dan asked.
"Come on already," Adam urged as he dragged it across the ground. Moments later, they returned to the campsite, Adam and Paula helping each other to carry the doll. There were gasps from the remaining members of the group as they dumped it on the ground. Now, they could see it clearer; it had been dressed in old, dirty clothes, with what looked like real-life hair stuck onto the top of its head.
"What the fuck have you brought back?" Liv exclaimed as she jumped from her seat, face twisted at the sight of the doll. Eric froze, petrified with fear, while Ellie looked at it like she didn't quite understand what it was. Ron looked stressed, resting his hands on the top of his head, while Mike looked expressionlessly.
"I honestly don't know," Adam answered bluntly.
"What... what could this be?" Ron asked, "Someone fucking with us? Who'd do that?"
"Tyler, maybe?" Paula suggested, "They probably know we come up here. Might have put it here to scare us."
"Who's Tyler?" Adam asked to the group.
"Basketball player," Ellie answered.
"I don't know, man," Eric shook his head aggressively, "If he wanted to fuck with us, he'd be less, like... discrete."
"How about this," Dan spoke in a serious tone, looking at Adam and Paula, "Why don't you two go take that thing back where we found it, huh? C'mon, this is, like, voodoo shit. We don't need it here."
"I think he's right," Adam looked up at Paula, "We gotta get rid of this thing."
"That won't answer the question of what it is," Paula stated adamantly.
"Well, what do you think it is, smartass?" Eric raised his voice to the point where he was on the verge of shouting, "What, you think it's something spiritual? You got some hippie shit you want to spew on us?"
"Eric," Adam cut him off, "Calm down. Paula, help me get rid of this thing."
Reluctantly, Paula took one side of the doll while Adam took the other, and the two hauled it back in the direction Adam came from.
"I wouldn't take what Eric said too seriously," Adam said apologetically, "He's just scared."
"He's an ass at times," Paula answered bluntly. "You'll come to see it."
"I'm just saying... he probably didn't mean it."
Together, they dumped the doll roughly in the same position they found it, leaning against the tree. It sent shivers down Adam's spine to just look at the thing.
"What do you think it is?" Paula asked tenderly.
"I've got nothing, honestly," Adam sighed, resting his hands on his hips, "It's gotta be a prank or something, right?"
"Yeah, maybe," Paula stepped closer beside him as they both stared at the doll. "I really have no idea what else it could be."
The two stepped cautiously on the path they had carved, following it back to the clearing where they found the group looking significantly more morose than half an hour earlier.
"Is it safe to stay here?" Ron asked.
"Are you kidding?" Eric spat, "There's fucking dolls living here!"
"Slow down," Paula rolled her eyes, "We've come up here like, a million times before. It's not the first time we've camped. We know it's safe here."
"Yeah, but we never had people leaving human-sized dolls around!" Eric emphasized while Liv gently rubbed his back, "How the fuck am I meant to sleep?"
"I don't know, man, I agree with what Paula said," Dan argued, "Whoever left it, there's gotta be more of us than there are of them, right?"
"Look, we were all having a really good time earlier," Liv whined, "Can't we just carry on?"
"I don't know," Ron said quietly, "This has kind of sobered me up."
"Same," Mike agreed monotonously.
For a few seconds, nobody said a word.
"Alright," Dan yawned, stretching as he walked over to his tent, "I'm goin' to sleep, then."
"Same," Ron followed him into the tent they would share, leaving Adam, Ellie, Mike, Eric, Liv and Paula.
"How do we know how long that's been there?" Adam suggested, "For all you guys know, that thing could have been there every time you guys have been here. It just took Dan going for a piss to notice."
Eric slowly nodded. This seemed to have calmed him down. "Yeah, good point, man. Good point."
"Come on – let's finish these off, at least," Liv presented the half-empty drink packs, ripping out cans and passing them around the group. Ellie slowly took small sips from hers, clearly not intending to finish it.
The atmosphere was immediately more awkward, despite Liv's best efforts to get the party going again. The image of that doll was still fresh on everyone's minds and Eric, while calmer than earlier, still appeared visibly antsy. Soon, one by one, everyone returned to their tents, with Paula and Liv going to each of theirs alone while Mike and Eric climbed into their shared one, leaving Ellie and Adam alone outside.
"You're not too freaked, are you?" Adam gulped, "About the doll thing?"
Ellie quietly shook her head. "It's just kind of weird, I guess. I can't work out why someone would put that there, if not to mess with us."
"That's probably why," Adam stood up and stretched, "Like the others were saying, it was probably Taylor – or Tyler, or whoever."
Ellie smiled as Adam messed up the boy's name. He walked past her, unzipping the tent door.
"I'm gonna get some rest," Adam bent down and climbed in, "You sure you're okay?"
"Mhm," Ellie turned and joined him, shuffling into her side.
Adam fumbled with the door's zip as he tried to shut it again, while Ellie pulled herself into her sleeping bag. The tent was a little small, but it managed to fit both of them, although they were still fairly close to one another. Adam shuffled into his own bag, his heart pounding – this all felt so intimate. It didn't help that his blood was still rushing from the moment he had with Paula earlier.
"The – the flashlight's here," Adam dropped it in the small space between their sleeping bags, "Y'know, if you need to go out in the night or anything."
"Thanks," Ellie responded tiredly.
"Was it a good night?" Adam crossed his arms behind his head, "Creepiness aside?"
Ellie scoffed. "Yeah, it was fun. I've never drank before. Feels weird."
"Yeah," Adam chuckled softly, "I kind of got used to it, though."
Adam looked over at Ellie as she yawned and stretched. He wondered if anything would happen between them. He wanted it to, but Ellie seemed so docile. It was like even if she wanted to, she'd never initiate it. Adam shuffled onto his side to face Ellie properly, resting on his arm.
"Hey, I'm glad you were here," Adam complimented, hyping himself up. "You're like, my best friend in this whole group."
"I'm glad you're here, too," Ellie blushed, though it was hard to tell in the darkness. Adam wished he could see her more clearly.
"I..." Adam started, "I – I really like you, Ellie, you know?"
"Yeah?" Ellie asked after pausing for a second, sounding unsure.
"I mean," Adam backtracked, "Like, you're just a really good person. I think we're similar."
"We are," Ellie caught on to what Adam might be trying, "Look, Adam... you know I was saying about how my parents are strict?"
"Yeah," Adam answered, confused at where this was going.
"And how I told you they wouldn't like it if I went out with just a boy," Ellie continued.
"Right."
"Well, they're really strict about me... having a boyfriend. I guess they feel like they have to 'approve' of them first or whatever."
"Okay."
"I really like you too, Adam, but I just... I'm sorry, but I don't want to lead you on in that direction, do you know what I mean?"
"Yeah," Adam answered, hiding his disappointment. "I'm sorry, do you want me to leave?"
"No!" Ellie answered sternly, "I don't want to sleep alone. I'm sorry, I would have asked Liv, but..."
"But what?"
"I don't know, I asked but she said no, that she likes to sleep alone, but I think that she... never mind," Ellie stopped herself, "I don't want to make a big deal of it. I'm gonna go to sleep."
"Right, yeah, of course," Adam felt kind of shitty as he fell onto his back. He felt really stupid to have built up these pretty baseless ideas in his head, all because Ellie was being nice to him. Then again, maybe it would be different if it weren't for her parents. He lay there for a while feeling guilty before trying not to think about it and going asleep. Funnily enough, the embarrassment he felt over being rejected made him almost completely forget about the doll they found.
-O-
Saturday, 12th September, 1998
Adam woke up. It was still night; the tent was pitch black. His bladder felt like it was about to burst.
Immediately, he fumbled his hand around until he felt the cold, hard metal of the torch. Slowly, not wanting to disturb Ellie, he pulled the zip down on his sleeping bag and sat up before quietly and carefully opening the tent. Once out, he pointed the torch at the ground and turned it on, not wanting to shine it into anyone else's tent. Now he was outside, he heard a sound that he never heard inside the tent. Looking around, he realised there were soft moans and the sounds of shuffling coming from the inside of Liv's tent. Adam rushed past them, noticing the door of Eric and Mike's tent was not fully zipped up.
So that's why Liv wanted to sleep alone.
Not feeling the need to conceal himself knowing that everyone was asleep, or at least in a tent, Adam walked to the edge of the clearing and unzipped his pants, pissing into the bushes that lined the clearing and using the torch to make sure he wasn't spilling any onto himself. As he stood there, he recalled the events of that night, including the doll they found. This immediately prompted him to look up and make sure there was nothing in the vegetation ahead of him.
Looking up, Adam examined the scene ahead of him, looking at the trees for a figure. As he scanned the area, he thought he could see something – it was hard to tell, but he distinguished something that was clearly white, as it stood out even in the darkness. He toyed with the flashlight, positioned awkwardly in his hand, before pointing it up ahead of him. There was nothing there. His eyes were probably just playing tricks on him; or maybe his imagination was running wild after the incident earlier.
He sighed in relief once he was done, pulling his zipper back up. As he turned to go back to his tent, the door to Liv's tent zipped open and Eric stepped out, sweaty and exhausted. Neither of them said a word to each other, instead exchanging an awkward glance and nod as they passed each other to return to their tents.
-O-
Sarah ran down the stairs, almost tripping as she reached the bottom.
"Sarah, don't run," mom called tiredly from the living room. There was a knock at the front door and Sarah approached it slowly and opened it as her mom rushed in to see the visitor. At the door was an old lady, maybe around Grandpa's age. She had short, curly hair, dyed brown, and looked happy to see them.
"Aunt Anna!" mom exclaimed with a surprised look on her face, "Wha – dad never told me you were coming!"
"I know, I know," she smiled, hugging her niece, "But he told me you'd be here and I thought it would be nice to surprise you all."
"It's lovely to see you!" mom held her tightly, "This here is little Sarah – you've probably met her before – my oldest, Adam, he went out last night and won't be home until later; hopefully he'll be in a good enough state for you to meet him!"
"Oh, it's been such a long time since I've seen you!" Aunt Anna kissed Sarah on the forehead, "And Adam, too – it will be lovely to see him!"
"Come on in," mom lead Anna into the living room, shutting the door behind her. Sarah stood alone by the front door. She felt thirsty.
Going into the kitchen, she reached and grabbed for her water bottle in the kitchen window. As she filled it up, she heard that same voice from a few days ago.
Sarah.
Sarah, come outside.
It's okay, Sarah. Go in the back garden.
While alarmed, she felt a little more at ease. Looking out the window, she could see that there wasn't anything there. Going out wouldn't do any harm.
She walked through the kitchen and unlocked the back door, stepping out onto the grass. She looked around – as suspected, no one was there.
"Sarah!"
A voice was calling from further away. It sounded so familiar, far more recognisable than the voice she'd heard in her head, but she couldn't put a face to it just yet.
"Sarah! Over here!"
She peered over at the tree line and her mouth dropped. It was him; big muscles, short, brown hair, square head. Even his clothes were the same.
"It's me, Sarah – dad!" her father shouted. Oh, my God – he was okay, after everything, he was here and he was okay. "Come over here!"
She slowly walked over. Her dad didn't move. He appeared to be smiling, but he was frozen in position.
"I missed you, Sarah! Come here, let me show you what I've been doing!"
In an artificial movement, her dad turned his back to Sarah and slowly faded into the woods. Tears streamed down Sarah's face and, not wanting to lose her dad again, she sprinted after him, pushing through the bush, following a path of trampled plants that her dad had left behind.
Inside, the toilet flushed and taps ran. Seconds later, the door opened and Grandpa Louis stepped out, buckling his belt. He felt a cold breeze coming through the kitchen and walked inside, finding the door to the back yard had been left open. Those damn kids...
"Dad!" he heard his daughter call as he shut the door to, locking it at the hatch, "Come in the living room; Aunt Anna's here!"
-O-
Adam threw discarded bottles and wrappers into a black bin bag as he and the others tidied up their mess from last night.
"Where the hell's Mike?" Eric asked, resting his hands on his hips.
"He went to go to the toilet, I think," Dan shrugged. "Don't know how, after last night."
"Forget about it," Paula reassured him, "Nothing happened in the end, right? It was all a load of nothing."
"Whatever, Mike had better show up soon," Eric grinded his teeth, "Can't leave 'til he gets here. You guys sure you don't want me to put this in my truck?" He directed the question at Liv, Ellie and Ron.
"Nah, man, don't worry," Ron waved his hand, "We can carry it, right?"
"Sure," Liv sighed. The sound of footsteps crushing leaves preceded the return of Mike, sporting the same blank expression.
"Right, we can finally go," Eric announced, "I mean, Jesus, how long does it take for you to piss?"
Mike scowled in response, grabbing a pile of items meant for him to carry. Together, Adam, Mike, Eric, Paula and Dan said their goodbyes to the other three and marched back to Eric's pickup, which was still in place.
Adam was the first to be dropped off. Paula and Dan got out and helped him take his stuff to his front door.
"Hey, you should come over to ours more often," Paula invited.
"Hell yeah!" Dan exclaimed excitedly, "You're cool, man, I'd love that!"
"That'd be great!" Adam accepted, "Whenever you're free, I'm down!"
Adam opened the door with his elbow, carrying his items in his hands and saying goodbye to the Mills twins. As he shut the door behind him, he heard his mom's voice from inside.
"Adam!" mom called, "Go get your sister from her room – your Aunt Anna's here!"
Aunt Anna? Some obscure relative, probably. Adam dropped his things at the bottom of the stairs and marched up, knocking on Sarah's door.
"Sarah?" he asked loudly, "You there? Uh... Aunt Anna's downstairs, mom wants us to see her."
There was no answer. Adam knocked again. "Sarah?"
After a few seconds, Adam slowly pulled the handle down and invited himself in. Sarah was not in her room. Maybe she's in the back yard?
"Mom?" Adam called for her as he dragged himself down the stairs, "Sarah's not in her room, where is she?"
"Outside," Louis answered crankily, "She left the damn door open again."
Without going in the living room, where the rest of his family were sitting, Adam carried on into the kitchen and looked through the window. The back yard was completely empty. He opened the door and checked around the corner, but Sarah wasn't there, either.
"She's not there," Adam opened the door to the living room, feeling more and more concerned.
"What do you mean?" mom stood up, "She's not in her room, and she's not outside?"
"I checked them both," Adam shrugged, "I mean, she's definitely not upstairs anywhere."
"Go double check," she pushed past her son, "I'll check outside again."
Standing out in the back yard, Sandy looked desperately for her daughter before calling into the woods. "Sarah? Sarah! Sarah, come back, now! Sarah!"
Part III: Night Out Camping - 5657 words