Page 59 of Obscurity

Not good.

“We need to find her.” Olive abandoned any pretense of casual interest. “Now.”

Because Olive’s gut was telling her something was majorly wrong.

CHAPTER 36

As the grumbling crowd grew more restless around the catering tent, Brad Kellerman appeared like a man stepping out of a luxury spa rather than someone who’d supposedly weathered the same storm as everyone else.

His hair was perfectly styled, his designer outdoor attire looked freshly pressed, and he carried himself with the confident energy of someone who’d enjoyed a full night’s sleep in comfortable, climate-controlled accommodations.

The contrast between his polished appearance and the bedraggled festivalgoers was so stark it felt almost insulting.

“Good morning, everyone!” Brad called out with theatrical enthusiasm, climbing onto a table to address the crowd. “I know last night was challenging, but that’s what makes this such an authentic wilderness experience!”

A chorus of disbelieving mutters rose from the assembled festivalgoers, but Brad pressed on with his practiced showman’s smile.

“Don’t you all worry—I’m going to have my crew help clean up from the storm. Your tents and sleeping bags should all be dry by tonight.”

More muttering.

“I have some exciting updates about today’s schedule.” He pulled out a tablet that looked suspiciously unaffected by the supposed communication difficulties everyone else was experiencing. “While we’ve had some last-minute changes to our lineup?—”

“You mean more cancelations?” Frat Boy interrupted, his hangover making him even less diplomatic than usual.

“Some of our originally scheduled acts have encountered some difficulties,” Brad said. “But we’ve arranged for even more incredible local talent to fill those slots. And the best news is, we’re expecting a new group of festivalgoers—people who bought the two-day pass—to arrive any time now. The energy level is going to be electric!”

“We already don’t have enough food!” someone yelled.

“We have more coming.” Brad checked his watch. “It should be arriving any time.”

“How many more people are supposed to come?” someone called out.

“Only about fifty,” Brad answered.

More questions came from the crowd:

“Do they know all the bands have canceled?”

“Is Obscurity still coming?”

“We deserve a refund!”

“Our logistics team is working on all of these details,” Brad said as he scanned the crowd. “Please trust me when I say everything is under control.”

As Brad continued his damage control, Olive glanced at Connor, who recorded everything with his camera.

“We need to talk to him,” she whispered to Jason.

He nodded.

As the crowd began to disperse, she and Jason casually drifted toward where Connor now packed his equipment. Butfirst, Tevin caught their gaze and gave them a nod, letting them know he was keeping an eye on things as well.

“That was quite a performance,” Olive started, maintaining her cover as a concerned festivalgoer.

“You can say that again,” Connor muttered.

“I’m sure you’ve seen a lot since you were charged with documenting this fiasco,” Jason said.