"Yeah, you're right. That sounds crazy," Adrian says.
"If she got ripped apart, she'd have been in that cabin, but they went in there and didn't bring anything out."
"I know what I saw… I told you guys you wouldn't believe me."
Ken stands up. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I believe you," he says. "But I hope you're wrong, because if what you say is true, Layla is dead."
"If someone died, surely it would be a bigger deal, right?" Conner says. "They haven't said that someone died."
There's a knocking at the door.
"Joel, we need to ask some questions."
My dad's voice comes from behind the door. I open it to see him with three other officers behind him.
"Can we come in?" he says.
"Yeah." I step to the side, letting them in.
They take us all to different corners of the cabin to ask us questions. My dad brings me over to one corner, and we both sit down.
"So, anything weird happen last night?" he asks.
"No. Nothing weirder than normal."
He looks down to take notes.
"What happened?" I ask.
He doesn't look up. "We don't know yet, but if we did, I couldn't tell you anyway."
"Is it about Layla?"
He looks up. "Your ex? What does she have to do with this?" he asks.
"Well, I just didn't see her today, so I thought, you know, maybe something happened."
"Joel, Layla is fine."
He's lying. I know he is.
"She left after the bonfire last night. She wasn't feeling well and called her mom to come pick her up."
I hold back a reaction. "Oh. I didn't know that," I say. "Are we done here?"
He stands up. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't really have any more questions."
He walks for the door. "Oh, and by the way, camp's ending early. The buses will be here in a few hours," he says before walking out the door. The other officers soon follow.
I sit on the sofa thinking about what my dad had said to me. She left after the bonfire, and her mom had picked her up. That had to be a lie. I watched her get attacked in that cabin.
Conner was the first to speak up. "What'd they ask you guys?"
"Just if anything weird had happened last night," Adrian says.
Ken says the same thing, then looks at me. "What about you? What'd they ask you?"
"He said that Layla got picked up and brought home after the bonfire last night."
"Well, guess that means you were just seeing things," Adrian says.
"What I saw was real, Adrian."
"Whatever you say, dude, but the cops went into that cabin, and if they say she's okay, then she's probably okay."
"Guys, can we just stop talking about this?" Conner says.
"We leave here in a few hours, so let's not worry about this. We'll find out more once we get home."
"Not trying to gang up on you, Joel, but Conner's right. We won't know if she's okay until we get home," Ken says.
"but, that doesn't mean she is. For all we know, your dad could've just been saying that so you wouldn't worry. You were the only one he told that to, after all."
"Yeah… maybe."
I lay back, closing my eyes. Maybe I am just going crazy. Or maybe it was just a dream. But it felt so real.
I get up. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air," I say, walking to the door and grabbing my backpack on the way out.
The camp looked like a ghost town. Everyone was in their cabins, and all but one of the cop cars had already left. I walk toward the taped-off cabin, looking in the window of the cop car as I pass it. The officer inside was asleep.
Now's my chance.
I move fast toward the cabin, ducking past the tape and heading for the door. It was locked.
"Dang it."
I open my backpack and look for something to try and pick the lock with. I find a few paper clips to use, but I'm not able to get it unlocked. I start searching around the cabin looking for another way in.
I make my way to the window, but the cops had covered it so I couldn't see through. As I turn the side of the cabin, I see the car door open and the officer walk out.
"Crap."
I pull back. This might be my chance.
I sneak over to the cop car. He was down near the trees, probably relieving himself. I peek in the door, I see the keys, and grab them before running off. I barely make it out of there in time before he turns around.
I wait until he falls back asleep, then I go back to the cabin.
I put the key into the door, my heart racing. Please don't be in here.
I turn the key and hear a click.
I open the door. Darkness swallows all the light that spills in from the open doorway. I open my bag and pull out a flashlight. I take a deep breath, then turn it on.
My eyes widen.
The inside of the cabin looked like something from a horror film. The room was covered in blood. The walls, the floor, the ceiling… it was everywhere.
I start feeling dizzy and stumble back, trying not to throw up. I scan the room with my flashlight.
"What the heck?"
Layla was nowhere to be found. But the cops never moved anything out of the cabin. They couldn't have moved an entire human without someone seeing, so where was she?
"Joel!"
I hear someone calling my name. I turn around, closing the door behind me, then run. The buses were pulling in, Conner was looking for me.
"I'm here!" I shout, running up to him.
"Where were you, dude? We kept calling you," he says.
"I was just walking."
"Well, hurry and grab your stuff."
I run in and grab the rest of my things. I look out the cabin window at the trees, the broken branch still visible.
I zip up my bag and get on the bus.