Chapter 14
865words
The plan was set. Zee, Lucas, Ben, and Alex had all agreed: Lucas would stay in plain sight, rough and brooding, playing the part of someone spiraling. Alex would be the logical counterbalance, reminding others of facts. Ben would question suspicions subtly, sowing doubt into the wildfire of rumors. And Zee? She would do what no one else could — listen.
Not with ears.
With her mind.
All day, she’d been scanning thoughts like flipping pages of an invisible book. She walked past campers, smiling sweetly while inside her head their thoughts flickered loud and raw.
“Lucas looked furious yesterday…”
“What if he did it? What if he snapped?”
“Zee’s still hanging around him, she must know something.”
And then one thought, barely a whisper in the crowd, chilled her blood:
“He didn’t kill them. I did. And I’ll do it again.”
Zee’s breath caught. She turned swiftly toward the voice, but it was gone. The crowd had swallowed it. Just a sea of faces and whispers. She didn’t even know who the thought belonged to — it was too fast, too slippery.
“Zee,” Lucas’s voice called her back. “You okay?”
She blinked. Nodded. “Yeah. Just… lost in thought.”
But inside her chest, her heart was beating like a war drum.
The sun had barely dipped when the alarm rang again.
The same shrill siren. The same electricity of panic.
Only this time, the screams weren’t scattered. They were everywhere.
Zee sprinted to the main field with Ben and Alex beside her, and Lucas trailing behind with his hood pulled low.
The campers were already huddled in clumps, many crying, some throwing up in the bushes. Zee shoved her way to the front — just as Aida climbed on the makeshift stage, eyes wide, voice unsteady.
“Everyone, please… please remain calm.”
The crowd was beyond calm. Panic was thick in the air, the kind that made your skin crawl and your stomach tighten.
“This morning… we discovered three more victims.”
Gasps. A shriek. Someone dropped to their knees, sobbing.
“Heather, Louis, and Micah have been found dead… in Cabin Six.”
Zee froze.
“Their bodies were mutilated,” Aida continued, swallowing hard. “All three were dismembered. Heads missing. Intestines left behind. No signs of struggle. No screams were heard.”
The camp erupted. Chaos. Pure, feral chaos.
“What the fuck is happening?!”
“I’m not staying here another night!”
“They need to shut this whole place down!”
Zee’s head spun. Not just from the horror, but from the chorus of thoughts swarming her mind like hornets.
“Lucas wasn’t even near there… right?”
“He’s not capable of this…”
“Lucas needs to get out of here,” Alex muttered under his breath. “Now.”
“No,” Zee said, firm. “He doesn’t run. Running makes you guilty.”
“Zee—” Ben started, but she cut him off.
“We protect him. We hold the line.”
She stepped forward, deliberately grabbing Lucas’s hand in front of everyone.
Some stared. Others whispered.
“They’ll kill him with suspicion before the killer even gets close,” she muttered under her breath.
The sky cracked open in rain, thunder growling like some ancient beast.
Everyone was on lockdown now. Doors locked. No one allowed outside. Guards posted everywhere.
But Ben and Alex had other plans.
“I’m bunking with Alex tonight,” Ben said, stretching casually. “Better to have backup.”
Lucas nodded. He looked like a storm barely held together by bones.
Once they were gone, Zee and Lucas stood in the dim silence of the cabin. The candlelight flickered on the wall like ghosts dancing.
Lucas didn’t say anything. He just sat on the edge of the bed, hands gripping his knees.
Zee moved slowly toward him, kneeling between his legs.
“You’re spiraling.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Lucas’s eyes lifted to hers — full of anger, fear, longing, and something he didn’t have words for.
“They’re all dying, Zee. And it’s my name they whisper.”
Zee leaned closer, her voice low. “Let them whisper. I’m not afraid of shadows.”
Lucas's throat tightened. “You should be.”
Zee reached up, her fingers tracing the edge of his jaw. “Then why am I not?”
She kissed him — soft at first, gentle, but beneath it was fire. Something raw. Something dangerous.
Lucas responded like he was drowning and she was the only air left in the world. His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her close, holding her like he was afraid she'd vanish.
Zee moaned into his mouth — not loud, but enough to make Lucas tighten his grip. The kiss deepened, their breaths heavy, the candlelight catching the rise and fall of Zee’s chest.
“I can’t lose you,” Lucas whispered against her lips.
“Then don’t.”
Their foreheads touched. For a few seconds, the world faded. No blood. No dead bodies. No rumors. Just lips, breath, and the sweet lie of temporary safety.
Zee pulled back, eyes soft. “You’re mine, Lucas. No whispers will change that.”
Lucas nodded slowly. “Good… because I stopped being just mine the moment you looked at me.”
Outside the cabin, the storm screamed.
And in the shadows, someone watched.
But not even death could steal this moment from them.
Not tonight.
