This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 13.

"Mystery Takeover"

6. High Alert

When each group had returned to their camp, the others had wanted to know what was happening, what the others had said, but all they were told was to follow. They'd ask questions, get no answers, and with that the dread increased. So they followed.

"You told them about Annie, right?" Colin asked, nearly tripping over his own feet. The three boys who'd crossed stared at each other – they were far enough from the camp now.

"We did," Evan confirmed.

"And what did they say?" Tommy asked. Another hesitation. "Guys?"

"They found a body, too, at their camp," Joshua explained, pausing and turning to the others. "Walt. They found Walt… He's dead." They didn't question a thing after that. They would follow, only hoping that they would get some answers and soon.

When it came to the girls, the dread had been immediate, from the moment they had seen the trio arrive, now all three of them with red, tearful eyes. Daphne they could understand, having just lost Walt, but what could have happened over there to make Charlotte and Kristy start to lose it, too? When they'd told the three that they hadn't managed to track down Annie, their eyes had only become stranger. But like the boys, they had followed.

"We have to tell them," Kristy would whisper to the other two.

"I know," Charlotte breathed, pinching at the bridge of her nose.

"I can't…" Daphne whimpered. "I can't do it." Charlotte looked to her, gave a small nod – she'd do it.

"What's going on?" Phoebe called up from behind, and the trio stopped and turned.

"Something we've got to tell you before we get there," Charlotte began, falling silent for a beat, struggling with the right words. "You couldn't find Annie, because they found her, back at Arrowhead. She's dead," she declared, and there were shrieks.

"There's a psycho on the loose, I knew it," Ruby shook her head, looking ready to bolt. Kristy reached out, taking her hand – she'd be okay. Ruby gave a quick nod.

"We're going to meet with the guys from Arrowhead so we can try and figure out what we're supposed to do here…" Charlotte told them, and after a moment they followed.

When the two groups came upon one another, in the same spot where the two trios had met just a few minutes before, there was a moment where none of them could manage to say a word. At a time where they could only just seek comfort, it wasn't long before the couples found one another… the ones who still had each other. Kristy went to Nathan, while Charlotte went to Evan. Daphne was left there, just as Joshua was, and for that they hovered closer to one another. Simon considered this, took a breath, and approached Becca. The usually bubbly girl was so fretful, she didn't question the arm of her secret ex, though she also held to her one friend in all this, Phoebe. Ruby and Veronica stayed huddled together, while Tommy and Colin just stood as close as they could to whoever was nearby.

"We need to think about the campers," Evan had to say. "Two of us have been hit, but what if whoever is doing this goes after them, next?"

"But…" Daphne started, suddenly afraid to say what she wanted to say. "This doesn't feel like a stranger. I-I mean… if that was the case, then wouldn't there have been more… more blood, a-and they might have been… attacked first, you know?" She didn't want to say it, but the implications were there, and they ran like ice cold water down their spines.

"But if that's true, then that means it's one of us… more than one," Tommy pointed out.

"They were left in the other camp, made sure we would all know that this was happening," Colin added on. "This was meant for us."

"Why them?" Kristy asked. "I didn't know Walt very well, but Annie was always so nice."

"Yes, she was," Joshua agreed, bowing his head.

"Walt was the sweetest guy I ever met," Daphne spoke for him. "He didn't deserve this happening to him, and neither did Annie."

"You have a relationship with both of them," Simon remarked. "Annie was your friend, and Walt was your boyfriend."

"What are you trying to say?" Daphne started crying all over again. "That I did this? I would never. How dare you…"

"No, no, that's not what I was saying!" Simon quickly retracted.

"What were you saying, then?" Joshua asked, and now everyone looked to Simon. As shy as he was on most days, having a dozen people staring him down was only going to make him more nervous.

"Well, you know… what if it's about her? They could be coming after her next, or they could just want to make her suffer…" he braced himself, in case they decided to come at him, but they didn't.

"Oh…" Daphne whimpered, holding closer to Joshua now, and he reciprocated by putting his arms around her – they wouldn't touch her so long as he was there.

"They could go after Charlotte, too," Evan realized, looking to Daphne's other best friend, also bringing her closer. Realizing this, the blonde may have tried to look unafraid, but she wouldn't fool many if any of them.

"But how does that even work?" Ruby spoke up. "You expect us to believe there are people here willing to kill people just to make her feel bad?"

"You never know what's in a person's heart until the moment comes," Becca reflected, securing the existence of chills in all of them.

"How much time went by between when we saw them last and when we found them? Not that long," Phoebe shook her head.

"I say there were two of them," Veronica nodded. "One at each camp. But then what? Did they cross over? Bring them back with them, or…"

"Then they'd be working together," Nathan agreed. "This was planned."

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)