Alex woke up and instantly felt the headache take over her body. She turned to the small brown end table and saw a glass of water and what she assumed to be pain medication. She smiled at the fact that Riley did little things like this. Things no one, but Alex really notices, but never tells otherwise the blonde would deny that she had anything to do with it. She groaned in pain and grabbed her head as she slowly swallowed the pills. When her vision was a little more clear, she looked around the room and noticed that Riley wasn’t there, but there was a note on the her bed that read:
‘Sup weirdo, get showered and meet me in the TV room, I have a plan! Be there around five.’
Riley dried off and put on black jogger sweats that were rolled to her knees, a white shirt and looked over at Tes sprawled across her small bed, the blanket was thrown across the room and she was wrapped up in the thin gray sheets, hair covered her face. She looked at the clock and noticed that it was only two in the afternoon. She rolled her eyes to no one in particular and wrote a note and stuck it on the lamp by Tes’s bed before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead, before grabbing a bag and headed towards the guys end of campus.
She easily got in due to how she looked like a guy from a distance and walked up to John and Vick’s room and quietly got in and went through their closets. She was in and out within minutes and went to her car to plan everything out.
Alex went to Tes’s room that was a few doors down and knocked on the door. It took a few minutes and she was about to walk away, when the door opened, she was greeted by a tall girl with short wavy light brown hair, and hazel green eyes. She was wearing red boxer shorts and a black over sized shirt. Half tucked in, half out. She rubbed her eyes and smiled through a yawn. “Hey fluffy, what’s up?” She said in a tired tone.
“Shhh, Tes doesn’t need to know you call me that, then everyone will know.” Alex said, blushing.
The girl chuckled a bit. “Don’t worry, she’s not here. She left to go get dressed for something.”
“I missed you Jackie.” Alex said, looking down, as if it was to much to look into the girls eyes.
“I missed you too hon.” She lifted the shorter girls chin and leaned down to kiss her before pulling her in for a hug and shutting the door.
They lyed down on the girl’s bed and tangled their legs together. “When did you get back?” Alex asked.
“Around three. I was way too exhausted so I just passed out, I’m sorry that I didn’t text you.”
“It’s cool, Tes let me know.” It was silent for a moment. “How are things with your family?”
“Oh ya know, half of them are grieving and the other half are celebrating.”
“I know how much your sister meant to you, I’m sorry.”
“It’s really okay. I mean, we all lose someone at some point right?”
Before Alex could say something, her phone went off with a text from John.
‘Did Riley tell you to meet her in the TV room?’
‘Yeah, you too I guess.’
“Who’s that?”
“Oh, just John.”
“Ooh! Tell him I said hi.”
Her phone went off again.
'Are you gonna go?’
‘Of course, she’ll kill me if I don’t, besides, I’m kinda interested in what she has planned. Oh and Jackie says hi.’
Alex sighed, “So ya know how tomorrow is our last day right?”
“Nooo, Really? I must have missed the memo.” She said sarcastically while smiling to show her perfect white teeth.
Her phone went off.
‘See you there.’
“Shut up Jackie.” They both laughed. “I think Riley has something big planned.”
“How is she? I saw her sneaking out of here. I tried saying hi, but she was practically running down the hallway.”
“Oh you know Riley. She’s always got somethin in that head of hers.”
“What do you think she’s doing?”
Riley sang at the top of her lungs to the song Blank Space while turning onto a semi muddy road and driving between thick trees. The music stopped and the host came on, sounding a little off beat.
“Hello guys. This is your favorite host Leana. Or as many of you know me as LQ. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that a young college student, Melissa had gone missing. There is still no knowledge of her whereabouts, but she wasn’t the last. Two other students have been reported missing. Both Samantha Huntington, and David Rodriguez. If you know them or have seen them within the last 48 hours, please call us at 555-1324. Also, I know that a lot of you soon to be graduates are going to party tonight, but please, stay with a group, be safe, and keep an eye out. We still have no record on where they have gone missing. There has also been some strange activity going on around the local campus, that we strongly advise you to be aware of. Please. Just stay safe.”
It was static after that. Riley parked and sat there for a moment, taking in everything she just heard. She used to work with Samantha back in high school. She got out of the car and made her way into the woods, trying to shake the fear and confusion off. She walked for about 30 minutes before finding the perfect spot for the night. “This is it.” She said smiling. She checked her phone to see if she still had reception, just for emergencies and was happy to see that she still had a signal.
She took off her back pack and got little bright yellow flags and little nails. “This is the night Riley. One last time.” She said to herself before nailing in one of the flags to a tree. Riley never thought about her life without her friends. They’ve always been there for her, through thick and thin. Her high school and college years were supposed to be the best years of her life. And they were, but that fact makes her sad. Her thoughts were cut off by footsteps around her. She looked in the direction it was coming from and and noticed something glowing green. She blinked really fast a few times. They were still there. Then, they blinked.
“Hello?” Riley asked, holding the hammer a little tighter now. “Who’s there!” She said a little more timid now. “If this is a joke, it’s not funny.” A sudden gust of wind knocked her back a bit. She struggled, but caught herself. She went back to where she saw the eyes and they were gone. She sprinted towards where it once was and stopped when she noticed weird looking animal tracks. She laughed. “Of course it was an animal ya dumb ass.” She made her way back to her Jeep, marking trees along the way.
“Where the hell is she?” Alex asked, growing more aggravated as the minutes went on. “She said five.” She looked at her phone. “It’s six. She’s never late.”
“Calm down fluffy.” Vick said with a triumphant smile.
Alex gasped, “Who told you!?”
“Hey guys!” Riley said jogging towards them and jumping onto the table. “Sorry I’m late, had to stop at the store.”
“That took you all day?” Tes asked.
“Sorry babe, I would’ve brought you, but that would have ruined the surprise.” She said, her face practically glowing.
“Are you sweating?” John asked.
“Yeah why?”
“Well, I mean you hate exercise and it’s kind of cold outside.”
“I took a a walk.
“Why?” Alex asked.
“That’s besides the point. But hey, I have some awesome news!” It was silent, but all eyes were on her. “So today is technically our last day here before we all go our separate ways, right?” Still silent. “Okay, tough crowd.” She looked over at Tes that looked a little down and immediately regretted saying anything. They’ll probably have to talk about it tonight. She shook the thought out of her head and continued. “The first night we came here, we all camped out in the middle of the woods. Just us and the stars.”
“And the dog that tried to attack me.” John said.
“Well...” Riley tried.
“And the spiders that crawled on you while you were sleeping.” Alex noted.
Riley shook at the thought of that.
“And the poison ivy I got.” Vick said.
“Okay, you chose that bush to take a shit in Vick, that’s on you.” She said laughing a little.
“And those bats that chased me and Alex through the woods.” Tes said.
Riley really laughed at that one. “Okay that was really funny. And I’m pretty sure they were birds.”
“Birds don’t fly at night!” Tes argued.
“Okay! Okay... I get it. Shit happened, but it was all part of the experience. And honestly, what are the odds of those things happening again?”
“Mine are pretty high.” Vick said.
“Okay, but don’t you guys want one last night to just be us. Just the five of us and the stars, and maybe some alcohol.” Riley said, refusing to lose this argument.
“You had me at hey guys.” John said.
“Thank you! That’s one! Come on guys.”
“Well of course I’m coming.” Tes said, still looking upset.
“Yes! Come on Vick. Just think about it.”
“I don’t know Riley. I mean with all of the weird things happening around here.”
“But we are safe together.” Riley tried forgetting about the earlier broadcast and looked at him with hopeful eyes. He stayed quiet. “The Vick I know would just say I’m down with a fish face and be the first one in the car. I already have the place picked out.”
She looked back and forth between Alex and Vick. “Can’t we just stay in and drink?”
“That’s what we always do! Since the time we went to Pulse a few weeks ago, we just got shit faced in someone’s room. Don’t you want some kind of remembrance or something to say, four years later, we made it, we actually fucking made it.”
After a few moments of odd stares and silence, Vick finally spoke up. “I’m down.” He said in his usual deep voice.
“Awesome!” She turned towards the brunette. “Alex?”
“Fuck it. But I’m bringing Jackie.”
“What why?” Riley asked, suddenly feeling angry.
“Because she’s my girlfriend and I want to take her.”
“Since when have you two been exclusive?”
“Since when do you care?” Tes asked jokingly. She always laughed at when Riley got frustrated about Jackie.
“Since this morning. She asked me before I left so I want her to be there and share ‘the moment’ with us.”
Riley huffed out in defeat. She lost the battle but won the war. “Fine, but she better be ready in the next twenty minutes, or I’m leaving without her.”
“How are we gonna get ready that fast?”
“You already are. I packed all of your bags. They’re in the car.”
Alex laughed a bit, of course Riley knew she would get them to go. When her mind is set on something, she does it.
Riley was on the hood of her car, looking at the sun going down when everyone showed up. “Hey Riley.” Jackie said while setting her bag down on the floor by the blonde.
“Hi Jackie. It’s been awhile.” Riley said flatly while sliding off the hood of the car, grabbing the small bag and throwing it in the back. “Everyone ready!?” She asked ignoring the stares from Jackie and Alex while getting into the car. They all squeezed in and were on there way.
“I’m fucking starving.” John said from the back.
“I know dude, I heard you stomach growl a while ago and I thought it was a wild animal.” Riley said. “There’s a gas station up here, we can get drinks and snacks for tonight.”
Riley went to the isle that contained alcohol and got two bottles of Vodka, some fireball and a couple cases of beer. She had a low tolerance and could get drunk easily. Everyone said she was a two drink drunk. Her arms soon got to full when she tried to pick up the last case, it almost dropped, but Jackie came and caught it. ‘Fucking amazon here to save the day.’ Riley thought.
“That was a close one, ha.”
“Yup.” Riley gave an awkward smile and started for the register.
“Riley, why won’t you talk to me.”
“I thought it was obvious.”
“No.”
“Figure it out then.”
The blonde walked away and paid at the register. They ended up with a shit ton of snacks and alcohol that could probably get them through the rest of winter.
“I can’t believe she remembered where we camped four years ago.” Alex said before her and Jackie put the last peg in for their tent.
“Yeah, you’d be surprised how good her memory really is...” Jackie mumbled under her breath.
“What was that hon?”
“Nothing.” She said smiling. They sat down in front of the tent and watched in amusement at the sight they saw.
John and Vick had a relatively bigger tent compared to the others, but it was understandable. They were working as a team to get it done. A little to their left they saw Riley with her short sleeves rolled up, trying to flex and mimic the guys while struggling with her tent. At one point, Alex swears she the small blonde checked to see how her arms looked. Tes was on the side laughing.
“You could help ya know.” Riley said while throwing rope on the ground out of frustration, in return earning a laugh from her friends.
“I didn’t wanna ruin you manliness competition.” Tes said
She huffed out in annoyance, no one can ever take Riley seriously, even when she’s angry she looks really funny. It’s just like the first time they came out here, only the were all single back then.
She was almost done when a rope got wrapped around her ankle and tripped her when she tried to walk away. “Oh shit!” She said while falling onto the only muddy spot in their camping ground. Everyone just laughed and opened a beer.
It was dark out, the only light coming from the campfire. They were all tipsy and enjoying each others company. Riley suddenly felt sad and realized how much she will miss everyone. “Well this is gonna be our last night together.” She said.
Alex slapped her lightly on the arm. “Shut the hell up, no its not.” She she said playfully.
“No, Alex it really is, we’ll all be really busy and...” John was interrupted by Alex
“Nope! Nope it’s not the last night!”
“Alex...” Vick started.
Alex looked forward at the tall man. “Vick, I swear to God! I will go over there and smack you in the face! And will all of you stop being downers. We will see each other again, all of us. And ten years from now, or even shorter, we’ll be sitting at this exact spot. And I can tell you all I told you so, while drinking my beer!”
“Alex is this your way of saying you looove us?” Riley asked, smiling.
“You’re damn right! I love every single one of you guys! You’re like family.”
“I think someone needs to go to sleep.” Jackie said laughing as her girlfriend started to fall forward slowly. She took the brunette’s arm and put it around her shoulder and led them to their tent.
Tes yawned. “I’m tired too. Wanna come to bed?”
Riley smiled and finished the last swig of her beer. She pulled Riley in for a hug. “I’m sorry.”
Tes was confused, but hugged her tight, wrapping her arms around the girls waist. “For?”
“Earlier. When I said we are all going our separate ways. I saw that it bothered you.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about our future a lot.”
“Me too. Tes... I... I lo...”
“I think we should try our own thing.”
“Wait.” Riley tried holding back her tears. “What?”
“I can try the whole California thing, while you stay here and fulfill your dream.”
“Are we breaking up?”
“No, just taking a break?”
Before Riley could talk, she was interrupted by Vick. “Riley! Me and John wanna go out for a walk, wanna come?”
“Yeah, yeah I’m coming. Give me a minute.”
“Sure.” He walked back to John and they started talking.
Riley turned back to Tes who held no emotion. “You don’t wanna talk about it?”
“We just did.”
Riley straightened her shoulders and put on a smile. “I’m gonna go for that walk. I’ll be in later.”
Riley turned and walked to her two friends. Tes watched as she let the love of her life go, when a tear came running down her cheek. “I love you too.” She whispered.
“Why did you do that?”
Tes turned to see a very concerned Jackie. “Do what?”
“You two are like amazing together. She's a total catch and you just let her go. You know she would've went to California in a heartbeat, right?” Jackie said while wiping a stray from Tes’s cheek.
“I know, that’s why I did it. She was offered and amazing job here for video editing, I can’t let her turn down her dream job for something that isn’t a for sure thing for me.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing. Riley loves you, but she won’t wait forever.”
“I know, but this is something I have to do.”
“Is it really?” Jackie said. It was silent and she went back to her tent shaking her head.
“Why are we walking in the middle of the woods?” Riley asked, slipping a little over a branch on the ground.
“Oh you know you love it.” John said.
“Ya know, sometimes I think you guys want me to trip and fall.”
They laughed remembering all of the occasions the small blonde fell. “Like that time you fell up the stairs.” Vick said.
“Hey! That takes talent!” Riley shouted in defense.
“Or the time-” Out of nowhere, a huge gust of wind came and knocked all three of them to the ground. Riley felt something running down her face. She put her fingers to her cheeks, but couldn’t make out what it was. It wasn’t until she looked to her left and noticed that John was holding his leg and groaning in pain. Her and Vick were on their knees and by his side within seconds. They heard a loud booming sound that was in the distance.
“Was that a fucking explosion!?” Riley shouted.
“I don’t fucking know, but we have to go! Grab one of his arms!”
They put an arm around each of their shoulders and practically dragged John through the woods and back to their camp. They were halted to a stop. It was like they ran into a wall. “What the hell?” Riley asked. Before Vick could answer, Johns' weight became heavier and she was sent to her knees trying to balance him out. “Vick!” She looked around and couldn't see anything. She got up and tried looking for her friend. “Vick!” She took no more than three steps, before she heard another booming sound, this time closer and repeatedly.
Then, it seemed like everything stopped. It was cold. Teeth shattering, goosebumps, down to the bone cold. She felt like she was in a pool of ice. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt something breathing down her neck. She turned around slowly, eyes watering from fear.
When she turned around, nothing was there, yet she could still feel somethings presence. She stuck her hand in front of her and it ran into something that felt like cold metal. She could still feel the breathing on her face now. As if whatever it was, was staring down at her.
She could smell the ungodly stench of it’s breath. She tried to back away, but felt a strong pain on her arm. She was sent flying through the air and into a tree. She landed in a pile of leaves and had trouble breathing.
Then everything started to shake violently. She couldn't move, couldn't think. She tried grabbing the tree, but as she reached for it the ground began to crack and open. She couldn't get up, so she tried crawling away. The shaking became weak enough to stand. She started running towards where she left John, when the crack in the ground began to grow larger, until it was at her heels. She wasn't fast enough and lost her footing.
"Riley!" She heard a familiar voice shout, before falling and reaching for anything she could.
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