Page 36 of Hide And Seek

“Why don’t we just walk?” Knox suggested from somewhere near the back of the group. His slower-than-usual tone suggested he was either incredibly tired or stoned.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“To Millhaven. It’s the closest town,” he clarified, as if half the counselors weren’t intimately familiar with the place.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “You’re kidding, right? Millhaven’s forty-three miles away.”

“Yeah, so what’s that? A four-hour walk?”

“Four?” Tamsin piped up, voice dripping with scorn. “Tryfifteen. Maybe even twenty. And that’s without counting rest breaks.”

Caitlin nodded. “The average person walks around three miles per hour, and right now it’s pretty hot most days, so you’d have to stop for a lot of breaks to avoid heatstroke,” she said. “So yeah… it could take an entire day to walk from here to town. Even more if you take a longer break to sleep.”

“Fuck that,” someone muttered behind me.

I stuck my hand up. “I might have an idea,” I said. I paused, waiting for everyone to look at me before I went on. “There are kayaks here, right? And there’s that river on the northwest side of the property. So if someone takes a kayak and followsit downstream, it has to pass through a town eventually. That might be faster than walking.”

“That’s… actually not a bad idea,” Sutton said.

“Yeah.” Jesse nodded. “Current could carry you most of the way.”

The group surged into motion again, heading for the boatshed. It was a long wooden structure with barn-style doors that sat at the edge of the lake.

For a brief, fragile moment, everything about it looked totally normal. Then someone who was already inside swore loudly.

We hurried forward, crowding into the doorway.

The kayaks were still there along with the canoes, lined up along the racks exactly where they’d always been left. Then I saw the damage.

Several of the hulls had been split open along the sides with long, deliberate gashes that rendered them completely unusable. Others had holes punched clean through the base.

The panic really hit us then.

“Are you kidding me?” Tamsin’s voice cracked. “Every single one?”

“What the fuck is going on?” Jensen said.

“This isn’t possible,” Wren said, shaking her head. “It’s actually fucking insane.”

A chill moved through me as I stared at the ruined kayaks and canoes. Whoever had done this hadn’t just trapped us at Camp Blackpine. They’d thought ahead, planned for every single way out, and systematically removed each one.

They’d also managed to do a good chunk of it in just a few hours, because the cars in the parking lot were presumably fine when Director Mabry left along with the other staff members.

“Why the hell is this happening?” Grace cried out, wild-eyed and on the verge of tears. “Why?”

“Guys, listen to me.” Rhys’s voice cut cleanly through the noise. “Obviously, none of us have any idea what’s going on, but panicking isn't going to change it.”

“Oh, wow, thanks, Rhys! I feelsomuch better now,” Maren said, voice thick with sarcasm. “No need to wonder who’s doing this crazy shit anymore. Or why.”

Rhys didn’t rise to it. He just looked at her. “That’s not what I was trying to say. Of course we should be asking those questions,” he said. “I’m just saying we’re not going to get anywhere if everyone’s freaking out and shouting over each other. We need to stay calm and talk things through rationally. Try to figure out what’s going on.”

“Okay. Go ahead.” Maren folded her arms, eyes narrowing. “What’s your theory?”

Rhys hesitated for a beat, one hand coming up to rub his jaw. “I don’t really have one yet,” he said. “At least not a solid one. The only thing I can think of is that this is some kind of fucked-up prank.”

“A prank?” Sutton said, disbelief sharpening her voice. “You think this is even remotely funny?”

“Of course not. But whoever did it is obviously a twisted asshole, so it might be funny to them.”