Page 126 of One Killer Night

I close my eyes and take a deep breath in an effort to center myself so that I don’t strangle him in the woods because that would be too clichéd for a place like this.

“Okay,” I say in a much calmer voice. “Let’s all take a beat; we can fix this. We’re capable, smart adults that don’t need to overreact. We just need to problem-solve.”

Remus nods as Evie stares at me, her arms crossed.

“So ...” I smile at Remus. “How long before we can get another bus up here to take us back?”

He itches his forehead and swallows hard again. Almost acting like he doesn’t understand the words coming out of my mouth.

“Remus ...” I offer, feeling my pulse quicken again, because I can already read the disappointment I’m going to have in the answer that’s all over his face.

He clears his throat. “So, the ... umm.” He clears it again. “The problem is ...” He pinches the front of his shirt, using it to cool himself.

My sister snaps. “Speak.”

He word-vomits. “The problem is that we can’t actually get any new buses back until the next pickup on Sunday. I have no way to authorize them.”

“Call the guy throwing this,” Evie presses. “The host.”

His mouth hangs open as he tilts his head back and forth and then says, “He’s on an expedition ... middle of the ocean.”

My face meets Evie’s as we gawk at each other. I don’t even know what to say. All I know is that she’s in as much disbelief as I am.

“This is ludicrous.”

Here I thought being stuck setting up the scariest place on earth with twenty or so nerdy special effects people was awful. Now I’m stuck at a camp for the weekend full of horror enthusiasts, kicking off the festivities on fucking Halloween.

I don’t know what karmic retribution I’m paying, but I just want to go home and be miserable like a regular girl going through a breakup.

Evie shrugs like she’s just had a conversation in her head before she says, “Fine, but we’re not moving out of our cabin ... And we get to participate in all the fun without paying for anything. That includes alcohol.”

My eyes almost bug out of my head. “Are you serious? That’s your negotiation?”

Remus nods enthusiastically. “Absolutely. Yeah. Anything you want.”

I point my finger at him, doing thatlemons into lemonadething too. “And I want a better bed ... If I’m stuck here for the foreseeable future, I’m not sleeping on a mattress that feels like it’s filled with popcorn.”

He smiles, the tension in his shoulders finally relaxing. “I’ll even throw in a sweetener to make up for my grave mistake.”

He leans sideways, reaches inside a desk drawer, and pulls out what looks like a very expensive bottle of scotch.

Evie chuckles. I’m not there yet.

“Who’s up for an early happy hour?” He’s looking directly at me. “I think you might need it ... Seeing as how much you love all the scary stuff, I regret to inform you that the kickoff party tonight is aCarriereenactment.”

I’m shaking my head in confusion because I don’t know what that means until I look at my sister, who’s biting her bottom lip, trying to hide her smile.

She takes my hands and kisses the tops before she holds them under her chin and says, “That’s the one about the prom queen who gets covered in pigs’ blood and then runs berserk and kills everyone with her mind.”

I steal my hands back and take the bottle from Remus before twisting the top and taking a swig. The burn slices down my chest as I let out a huffy breath.

“You know what? The old me would hate this ... But the new me just feels like kindred spirits.”

Noah

I look down at the little map on my phone and back up again, my brow drawing together.

“What the hell. It’s a brick wall,” Chase blurts out, speaking my thoughts.