The next morning, I woke up to hear Mae, Lisha, and Alliyah screaming excitedly – they'd found what looked like an amazing spot for swimming.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Mae called out as she peeked into our tent. "We found the perfect spot for our swim!"
"Whoa – let's go!" Gian chimed in, already pulling on his shorts over his boxers.
I climbed out and headed over to wake the rest of the guys. "Rise and shineeeee! Morning, Ben!" I yelled, giving him a playful tap on the shoulder before taking off running.
"Hey – get back here!" Benjamin laughed, jumping up and chasing after me.
"Nope, not gonna happen!" I shouted as we dashed between the tents, dodging camping gear and tripping over guy ropes. Just as he was about to catch me, Andre grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
"Come here, you," he said gently, pulling me close and kissing my forehead.
I froze in surprise – Andre and I had been friends forever, but he'd never done anything like that before. When I glanced over his shoulder, I saw Benjamin stop in his tracks, his smile fading as he watched us. He quickly looked away and started kicking at the dirt, clearly jealous.
"Sorry – I just... couldn't help myself," Andre mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You look really cute when you're all sleepy and messy-haired."
Before I could respond, Jeffrey called out from the fire pit. "Yo Andre! You gonna help me with breakfast or what? The girls are already talking about swimming – we need to eat first!"
Andre gave my hand a quick squeeze before heading over to help. I walked over to Benjamin, who was now pretending to be busy organizing his backpack.
"Hey... you okay?" I asked quietly.
He shrugged without looking at me. "Yeah, fine. Just trying to get my stuff together so we can head to the river."
I could tell he was upset, but before I could push it, Alliyah came bouncing over. "Okay everyone – breakfast first, swim later! Andre's making bacon, and you KNOW his bacon is the best!"
We all gathered around as Andre and Jeffrey served up plates of eggs and crispy bacon. Charmine was sitting on a log, letting Lisha braid her hair while they chatted, and Gian had his sketchbook out again, pencil moving quickly across the page.
After we ate, we grabbed our towels and headed down to the spot the girls had found. The water was crystal clear, flowing over smooth stones, and surrounded by tall pine trees that kept the sun from being too harsh.
"This is amazing!" Mae squealed, already wading into the water in her swimsuit.
We all started getting in, splashing each other and racing across to the deeper part of the river. Even Benjamin seemed to relax a little, laughing as he splashed water at Alliyah, who immediately retaliated by pushing him into the water.
I was floating on my back, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, when I heard Gian call out from the bank. "Guys – come look at this!"
We swam over to see what he'd found. He was holding up his sketchbook again – and on the page was a drawing of a figure in dark clothing, standing behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, watching us. It was exactly what Benjamin had described seeing the night before.
"I don't get it – I was drawing the river, and then... this just appeared," Gian said, his hand trembling slightly.
Benjamin's face grew serious again. "I told you guys I saw someone. I wasn't making it up."
Just then, Alliyah let out a sharp gasp. She was standing a few feet away, pointing at something stuck in the mud by the water's edge. It was a small wooden totem – carved with twisted, screaming faces – with dark red stains on its base.
"That wasn't here when we got here," Lisha whispered, moving closer to El-John.
Charmine wrapped her arms around herself, tears forming in her eyes. "Can we please go back to the campsite? I don't feel safe here anymore."
As we started gathering our things to leave, we heard running footsteps coming through the trees. El-John burst out first, his shirt torn and dirt all over his face.
"Everyone – you need to see this," he panted. "I went to check the road – our vans have been sabotaged. Tires are slashed, wires are cut. We can't leave."
Andre appeared behind him, his face pale. "There's more. I found another campsite further up – it's empty, but there's blood on the ground and one of those totems nailed to a tree. And... I think I saw someone watching me from the woods."
Benjamin suddenly grabbed my arm, pulling me close. "I knew something was wrong. We need to stick together – all of us."
That's when we heard it – a low, haunting whistle echoing through the pine trees, getting louder with every second. It was coming from the direction of our campsite.
Whoever was out there had been waiting for us to leave our spot unguarded.