CHAPTER 5:

The following morning, everyone had woken up and had started a group barbecue outside. It was a cloudy and windy day.

"I think we should be expecting a spot of rain this afternoon," Valerie said, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, it looks like we should," Tori replied.

"Hey, guys, have any of you seen Jade?" Beck asked as he came to join them.

"Oh, hey I wondered where you'd gone off to," Tori said as she turned around. "And no, I haven't seen Jade. Why? Is she missing?"

"Well, it's just that she didn't come back to camp last night," Beck explained.

"Maybe she just woke up early, and went for a walk or something," Cat suggested, taking a wiener from the table.

"No, I'm a light sleeper. I would have noticed," Beck said.

"Come to think of it, you're right," Andre recalled. "I'd know. I spent most of the night trying to convince my grandmother that there weren't any pink elephants in the tent."

"You don't think.. something's got her do you?" Leah asked, worried.

"Leah, Jade was just having a bit of fun last night," Tori said. "None of that was true."

"She told me that she was going to find that cabin," Beck said.

"Are you serious?" Tori asked him, shocked, and he nodded. "So even if this story was true, and Jade was taking this seriously, where would the cabin be?"

"Didn't she mention that it was in a forest somewhere?" Cat asked.

"Yeah that's true," Tori muttered. "But where? There's forest all around us."

"She was heading in…" Beck thought for a bit, and then pointed to the direction in which Jade had left. "That direction."

"Do we follow the trails, if there are any?" Tori asked.

"Tori, I don't wanna go," Leah said.

"It's okay you don't have to," Tori said.

"But I don't want to stay here by myself either," Leah frowned.

"Don't worry. I'll stay with you," Cat said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you," Leah said gratefully.

Once the gang had decided on which direction to head, they started to follow whatever trails they could. All they found were soil, trees, leaves, and a couple of broken twigs - no cabin, and no sign of Jade.

"She couldn't have gone that far," Robbie said.

"Oh, you have no idea," Beck added.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Valerie asked them, pointing to something in the distance. The group walked a little further to see what Valerie had spotted.

"There is a cabin?" Tori asked. They were now looking at a medium-sized cabin, old and rusty-looking and abandoned.

"Who's gonna go try the door?" Valerie asked.

Tori stepped forward and she reached for the door, but then quickly pulled back. "I can't do it," she said, squirming. "One of you guys is doing it."

"Nope, I'm not gonna do it," Valerie said. "You are the one who didn't believe Jade's story, and made her go looking for the cabin."

"I DID NOT," Tori said, outraged. "You didn't believe it either!" she added, but Valerie just shrugged.

"Ladies, could we?" Andre asked, annoyed. He stepped forward to open the cabin door.

"BOO!" came the voice of Jade from behind them. Everyone jumped and shrieked – except Beck, of course. They all turned around.

"Jade!" Tori said, frightened. "How could you?!"

"I got you SO good," Jade laughed. "Where's Leah and Cat?"

"Back at camp, of course!" Tori said. "Why did you have to scare us like that?"

"Couldn't miss the chance," Jade chuckled before adding, "Sorry I didn't come back last night, babe," she told Beck.

"It's okay," Beck said. "So you actually found it, huh?" He looked at the old structure. "So the cabin really exists."

"Yep, it does, and I sure did," Jade muttered, smug.

"Wait, so you spent the night here?" Valerie asked her, interested.

"Yeah, so?" Jade joked.

"How did it feel?" Valerie asked.

"Okay, enough you two," Tori said, interrupting. "We should be getting back to camp."

"It felt liberating," Jade admitted, completely ignoring Tori.

"Come on, babe. Let's go back to camp," Beck said. "You must be starving."

"I am," Jade said. "Though I'd kill for a coffee,"

"Funny of you to say that, I've got a thermos back in the RV," Beck said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," Jade replied. Everyone turned to leave. Tori took one last look at the cabin and it made her shudder. The further they were from it, the better.

Tori updated his/her status on TheSlap which read: "I don't know what to think…Is the story of Govern's Creek real or was Jade pulling one on? - MOOD = Confused".

To which Jade replied on TheSlap: "You still doubt it?"

Three days later, home from the camping trip and back at Tori's house, Leah brought something up.

"Tori, I don't know if I should be saying this, but – " she started, then paused with a sigh. "Uh…forget it. Never mind."

"No, what is it, Leah?" Tori asked her.

"It's just – don't get me wrong, the camping trip was awesome. And you and your family and the gang are awesome. But it's just that I still feel like something's missing inside of me," Leah explained. "I saw the way you talked with your friends. You all have family. And I don't know. I just don't…"

"Awh, Leah, it doesn't have to be like that," Tori said sympathetically. A moment later, a thought came to her, but she kept it to herself.

"But it is," Leah sighed, plopping down next to Tori.

Tori talked to Leah for a while, hoping to comfort her. After a few hours, she went to find her parents and had a word with them and with Trina about how Leah was feeling. They all discussed the situation, and before long, they all came to a conclusion.

Eight days later, Leah came up to David Vega as he was browsing the local news.

"Mr. Vega, you're a cop," Leah started. "How do I face my parents in court? Like...what do I say?"

"Well, Leah; they'll likely appoint an advocate to you who will help prepare you for all of the court's proceedings. It's possible you won't even have to testify against your parents in court. If the judge decides your parents are guilty of child abandonment, then they could definitely go to jail," David said.

"But…" Leah sighed. "They are still my parents…even though we got them arrested. And I know they're not the best parents in the world. Well, if they go to jail, that means I'd get put into foster care, right?"

"No, not necessarily. There are other options besides foster care, and I'm sure CPS will do whatever they can to keep you out of the foster system." David patted Leah on the shoulder, comforting her. "Try not to worry about that, Leah; let's just get through today, okay?"