We wade through the lake, the cold water taking my breath away. My pit bull Lavender, takes it all in stride as we tumble into the boat. I pull her into it behind me.
"You know they say this forest is haunted," my cousin Gordon informs, and I roll my eyes.
"Will you shut up, Gordo?! And put that camera away!"
Gordon is an aspiring filmographer, and you can find him behind a camera most days. "No way!"
"Hurry up and start the boat," our older cousin, Heather, pleads. Her blonde hair is covered with mud and green slime. "We are NOT supposed to be here. We are going to get in trouble. Like seriously, I am so scared. This is private property."
"But we still have not found the treasure," Sebastiano insists, trying to figure out how to start the boat as Gordon's younger brother Tambor, climbs in.
"Ashtin, someone is coming, let's go!" I yell at my very annoying boyfriend, and he grumbles under his breath. "Whatever treasure they have, they can keep it."
Finally the engine revs, and we skim over the water, almost hitting another boat that pops out of nowhere driven by a young man and woman about our age. Teenagers.
"Hey you need some help?!" the boy calls, then I recognize him from school.
"Yeah, how do we get out of here, bruh?" Sebastiano calls back.
The girl nods. "Follow us. My name is Megan, and this is my brother, Tito. We come round here all the time."
"Yeah, Tito is in my homeroom," I greet.
"Oh, heey, Miracle."
"Do you know anything about the treasure?" Sebastiano questions, and I punch him in the gut.
He shrugs, and Megan laughs, "Yep, that is why we are here, looking for the treasure. We should all search together."
"No, we are LEAVING," Heather corrects.
"Okay, we can show you where to go," Tito offers.
We reach the other shore rather quickly, and Lava hops ashore, wagging her tail.
"Nice dog," Tito commends.
"Thanks, now where to?"
They lead us into the woods, and my feet sink in the mud. As we venture, I realize that Sebastiano's hand is not in mine.
"Ashtin?" I stare around.
Megan searches too. "Maybe he got lost?"
"Probably went off looking for the treasure," Tambor grunts.
"Let's keep moving," Heather urges, shoving forward.
"I can't leave him!" I exclaim, but Heather pulls me on.
"We need to get to a police station," she agrees.
Tito and Megan lead the way hesitantly.
"We are lost, aren't we?" I speculate after a while.
The twins shrug. "Kinda?"
"What the heck?! What are we gonna do? My boyfriend is MISSING. We need to call the police."
Megan shakes her head. "No signal."
"Heather, do you-" She's not there. "Gordo, did you see what happened to Heather?"
"Nope, I been filming you guys."
"Gordon, put that STUPID thing away!" I snap.
Suddenly, there is a loud, shrill scream and barking. We all freeze.
"Tambor!" Gordon exclaims. We race toward the commotion. Lava whines, standing beneath Tambor, who hangs from a tree in a net.
"Help me!" he pleads, his brown fingers abnormally pale and pasty looking as he grips the thick rope.
Tito climbs up the tree. "How did this happen?"
"Must be a hunting trap," Gordon remarks, pulling at the net to see if it will come loose.
"Just get me out of here!"
Suddenly, Lava whines and growls as Megan bursts through the bushes. "RUNNNN!!!!"
Her face is covered with streaks of blood and bruising, and her blonde hair is matted with branches, leaves, and mud. We instinctively take off behind her without a word, then I realize Tito is next to me. Lava's barks echo after us, trying to call us back to Tambor wailing in the distance.
"You left him?!" I exclaim
"We had to go, and the dog stayed with him," he insists as there is a sickening end to the cries that once filled up the distance.
Suddenly, more screams ring in the opposite direction, and I realize Tito and I have been left behind. The sound of a chainsaw cutting through bone reverberates in the clearing and makes me gag.
"What are we gonna do, Tito?" I exclaim.
"I don't know what you're gonna do, but I'm outta here!" he responds, shoving me in the mud and taking off.
The mud cakes on my hands and knees as I stare after Tito through the frizzy sweat-laden curls that fall into my face. My mouth goes dry as I struggle to get free, and then a figure approaches. I make out the chain saw covered with gutty streams of blood in his one hand and...a camera in the other?!
"Gordon Rodriguez-Turner!" I exclaim. "What are you doing?! Why?! What are you doing?!"667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXv16Uxq7aH
His voice is quiet but clear as he says, "Didn't you wonder why I suggested we come wayyy out here in the middle of nowhere? I'm making the ultimate horror movie. I will be legendary. I may go to jail, but no one will have seen anything like this."
Gordon gets closer, emerging from the shadows, and I am crying now, my heart pounding in my chest. My own cousin, that I love like a brother--
"Happy birthday, Miracle Eloisa Rodriguez-Freedman!"667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFeLTNiEKk
My eyes pop wide open, and my body shakes. The chainsaw is covered with bright streamers and ribbons.
"What in the world..." I breathe as friends and family jump out: "SURPRISE!!!"
"Mami, Daddy, REALLY?!" I exclaim as they help me to my feet.667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZ7lAdxBto
"Wasn't our idea, although we did have to rent this place out," my dad grunts. "Happy eighteenth birthday, babygirl. Although it was two weeks ago, outside of your quincenera you had three years ago, we figured this should be the ultimate birthday. We know you love your mystery stories, so it was the perfect theme. You will be going off to college soon...we wanted to do something special."
"Aye, Chiquita, we are all going to miss you, but you are going to be the best doctor the world has ever seen," my mom cheers, hugging me. I kiss her cheek.
Lavender races around my feet.
"You know I must love you if I was willing to look like this," Heather sighs, picking leaves off her nice pink blouse and wiping off the rest of the make-up.
"We are actors, so we knew it would be a fun gig," the twins pipe up, slapping a high-five to one another. 667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthU0RwGpC8
"And you SOLD it," Gordon agrees, putting the camera away. "Tambor, good special effects. Especially hacking through that stump with the chainsaw."667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvTcciHsk5
Tambor chuckles and hugs me.
I laugh, thanking all of my friends and family as we head back to the house where the owners have set up a giant party. It looks amazing for what appears to be an abandoned old shack on the outside. Comes to find out, this is an old movie set that they are renovating.
I sigh, "So WHOSE big idea was this?!"
Sebastiano steps out of the crowd, slipping his arms around my waist. "That, Amora, would be me. Happy birthday, my queen, my heart for a lifetime. Mi reina y mi corazon, siempre. " He pressed his lips to my ear. "Little mama, I'm going to miss you most of all."
"Ashtin, a treasure hunt gone wrong-murder mystery surprise birthday party! Only you would have been able to pull this off," I muse.
He grins, dimpled smile bright. "Had to send you off to college with a bang, beautiful. So, how did I do?"
A swamp graphic decorated cake is brought out with sparkling, flaming candles, and my aunt leads the happy birthday in Spanglish, with a mix of Taino Spanish. I take some icing on my finger and wiped it on his nose.
"Wonderfully awesome!" I answer, pulling him into a kiss. "Thank you, mi amor."
"Alright, alright, you two," Daddy grumbles.
I laughed, "Alright, Daddy." I turn to the cake, "Let's cut the cake!" Gordon films everything of course, and it is the best treasure hunt gone wrong murder mystery surprise birthday party EVER!
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