Page 33 of Hide And Seek

“My mom is going to be so pissed. She thought she’d have the next six weeks alone with her new boyfriend.”

“Damn.”

We reached the cabin, and Jasmine pushed the door open, stepping inside ahead of me. The space felt noticeably larger without the girls and their belongings in it, beds stripped down to bare mattresses in neat rows.

“God, this is actually so depressing,” Jasmine muttered, dropping onto the edge of her bunk.

“Yeah,” I said softly, setting my duffel bag on my own bed. “It is.”

For a moment, neither of us moved. Then, with a small sigh, Jasmine pushed herself back to her feet. “All right, let’s pack before I lose all motivation and just lie here staring at the ceiling for the next three hours.”

I unzipped my bag and started gathering my things. The process was almost mindless, but my thoughts were anything but quiet.

This wasn’t how Camp Blackpine was supposed to go.

I was meant to have six full weeks here. Six weeks to watch everyone, ask the right questions, and wait for someone to finally slip up so I could figure out what really happened to Carly Martin and whether Peter’s theory of negligence and a cover-up actually held any water.

And now… I had nothing.

With a sigh, I pulled my phone out again and composed a text.

Not sure if you’ve already heard, but camp has been shut down for the summer, and everyone’s going home. I’m sorry. I’ll call you when I’m on the road and give you all the details. – A

I took a deep breath and hit send. A little red cross appeared instantly.Sending failed.

My eyes flicked to the top corner of the screen. No service.

I groaned. “Ugh.”

Jasmine glanced up at me. “What’s up?”

“I’ve got no signal,” I said. “It’s weird. I haven’t had a problem with it before now.”

She made a face. “Service can get kinda spotty out here sometimes. Depends on your network.” She pulled out her phone and tossed it over to me. “Just use mine. I’m with Northgate. They hardly ever have issues.”

I unlocked her phone and frowned. “Nope, looks like you’ve got nothing either.”

“Seriously?” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Let’s try going outside. Maybe that’ll help.”

We left our bags where they were and headed out, walking up the path toward the assembly hall with our phones raised in front of us.

“I’m still getting nothing,” Jasmine grumbled. “You?”

“Same.”

As we drew closer to the hall, we spotted a handful of other counselors pacing and waving their phones around. A few had their bags with them, clearly planning to leave soon.

“Hey, guys,” Jasmine called out as we approached. “Are you having trouble with service too?”

“Yup,” someone replied. “Maybe the nearest cell tower’s down?”

“Yeah, someone could’ve crashed into it or something,” someone else added.

More people drifted over until most of the counselors were gathered on the lawn, a low buzz of confusion building.

“What the hell is going on?” Sutton said sharply, eyes narrowed on her phone. “Does anyone know?”

“Nope,” Jesse replied, shrugging.