Chapter 21
Morning came too quickly.
I hadn’t slept properly. Just drifted in and out of something shallow and restless, my mind refusing to switch off for more than a few minutes at a time. Every time I woke, it was the same loop waiting for me. Same thoughts. Same questions. Same fears.
By the time light started filtering in through the windows, I was still exhausted.
The others in the assembly hall were already awake. Low voices filled the space, overlapping in tired conversation as people moved around, stepping over blankets and makeshift beds. No one looked like they’d slept much.
Jasmine nudged me with her foot. “You alive?” she murmured.
“Barely,” I muttered, pushing myself upright.
We joined the others, grabbing something quick to eat. No one had much of an appetite, but people forced it down anyway, because it was just another thing we had to do to keep going.
The conversation slowly shifted, piece by piece, into something more focused. Suggestions. Debates. Plans.
I barely even tasted what I was eating as I listened. My mind was elsewhere.
Jasmine’s elbow brushed mine a few minutes later. “Now,” she murmured under her breath.
None of the others paid us much attention as we got to our feet and headed toward the kitchen, probably assuming we were just getting more food or coffee for ourselves.
We moved quietly, putting together something simple. A sandwich. Fruit. Granola bar. My hands were shaking like mad as I wrapped the bread, and Jasmine noticed right away.
“Hey,” she said under her breath. “We need to play this cool.”
“I know,” I murmured, though my voice came out thinner than I intended.
“I mean actually cool,” she said, glancing at me. “No weird vibes. And no staring at Rhys like you’re trying to figure out if he’s about to stab us.”
I huffed out a quiet breath, looking down at the counter. “I’ll do my best.”
“Okay, so, we go in,” she continued, tone calm and practical. “We act exactly the same as yesterday. Then we tell him what happened with Knox, and we watch his reaction.”
I nodded. “He could slip up then.”
“Exactly.” Her brows lifted. “It could be something so small that we’d probably miss it in any other circumstances. But this time, we’ll be paying extra close attention.”
I nodded slowly, trying to steady the unease in my chest.
“And remember,” Jasmine added. “He might actually be innocent. We could have this completely wrong.”
Something in my chest eased at that. Not because it solved anything, but because of the way she said it. We. Not you. She always made it clear that we were in it together, and that she wouldn’t throw me under the bus.
We slipped out of the building through the dining hall door so no one would see us and question where we were going.
I tightened my grip slightly on the granola bar I was holding as we approached the cabin, my pulse starting to pick up again.
Jasmine didn’t slow down. She walked straight up to the door like we’d done it a hundred times before.
“Relax,” she murmured to me under her breath. Then she lifted her hand and knocked.
Rhys appeared at the door a minute later. “Hey,” he said with a faint smile, eyes instantly fixed on my face. “Guessing Knox was dragged into another search party for the day?”
“No. There’s actually something we need to tell you about him,” Jasmine said.
“Okay.” Rhys frowned slightly and stepped aside to let us in. “What’s going on?”
I gestured to the sofa. “You might want to sit down.”
“Why?” His eyes were skating between the two of us now, a mix of confusion and concern flickering in them. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
Jasmine took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry to tell you this, but… Knox is dead.”
Rhys blinked. “No, he’s not.”
“I’m sorry, but he is,” Jasmine said gently. “Chris lost him in the woods yesterday afternoon, and when he finally found him again, he was definitely… gone. He also found Brad and Olivia. They’re dead too.”
“No.” Rhys was slowly shaking his head now. “Chris is lying.”
“I know it’s a huge shock, but—”
“No, you don’t get it,” Rhys cut in, lifting a palm. “Knox was here last night. So he couldn’t have been killed in the woods yesterday afternoon, or whatever the hell Chris is claiming. It’s bullshit.”
“Wait, what?” My brows shot up. “Knox was here?”
He nodded and gestured to the bed. “I fell asleep for a while in the afternoon,” he said.
“I kind of half-woke up at some point a few hours later, because I thought I heard someone at the door, but I felt totally fucked, so I just went back to sleep. When I woke up again later, I checked, and there was a burger sitting outside. How the hell could Knox have dropped that off for me if he was already dead in the woods?”
“Rhys…” Jasmine shook her head. “That was us. Knox still hadn’t come back by dinnertime, so…”
She trailed off, and Rhys stared at her for a full minute, unblinking. Then his whole body seemed to sag, and he stumbled over to the sofa. “Oh, fuck,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face as he dropped onto the closest cushion. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
He looked up. “How did he—wait, no, don’t tell me,” he said quickly, pressing his fingers to his temple. “I don’t want to picture it.”
“It sounded like it happened pretty fast, if that’s any consolation,” Jasmine said. As she spoke, her eyes skimmed the room, subtle but deliberate. “So I don’t think he suffered.”
Rhys inhaled slowly, like he was trying to steady himself. Then he straightened a little. “You said Brad and Olivia are dead too?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Chris found them on the camp road. Someone shot them.”
“So this guy has a gun,” he muttered. “That changes things.”
“No, they were shot with a bow and arrow,” Jasmine said, flashing me a brief look.
I could tell exactly what she was thinking. Had Rhys genuinely assumed that my ‘shot’ statement referred to a gun? Or had he known all along that arrows were used and was pretending otherwise in order to make himself seem innocent?
“Fucking Christ.” He rubbed his jaw. “There goes my theory about them, huh?”
“Yeah.” Jasmine hesitated, then cleared her throat. “So, uh… what happens now? With your plan, I mean. Do you think you’ll finally come out and tell everyone you’re still alive?”
Rhys was silent for a moment. Then he shook his head. “I think it’s better if I keep at it.”
“Why? What’s the point?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“I mean, what exactly are you doing?” Jasmine asked, gesturing around the room. “How is sitting around in this cabin for days on end helping to find the killer?”
Rhys rose to his feet, head slowly shaking.
“You think I’m doing nothing all day? Just sitting on my ass?
” he said, eyes narrowing. “I’ve been going out at night to scout the camp and the woods, because nighttime seems to be when the killer’s most active.
So I figured I might catch him stalking around somewhere.
And it’s pretty safe for me, because he’s not exactly out there looking for a dead guy, is he? ”
Jasmine looked chastened. “I didn’t know you were doing that.”
He threw his hands up. “Why do you think I fell asleep in the afternoon yesterday?” he asked. “Because I’m just fucking lazy? Lying around here all the time while everyone else is getting hunted down?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He exhaled deeply. Then he shook his head. “No, I’m sorry for snapping,” he muttered. “It’s just… this is all so fucking shit. And now Knox…”
“Yeah, it really sucks,” Jasmine murmured. “I know you guys were pretty close.”
Rhys went quiet, one hand rubbing at his forehead. Then he looked at us again. “You two have been really helpful. But if you’d rather not risk it anymore, you don’t have to keep bringing me food. I can grab stuff from the Snack Shed when everyone else is asleep.”
Jasmine waved a hand. “It’s fine. You can’t survive on candy and chips,” she said. Then she pulled a face. “Sorry, is there any chance I could use your bathroom?”
“Yeah, sure.” Rhys gestured to the door on the other side of the cabin. “Right through there.”
Jasmine slipped past us and headed into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind her. I stayed where I was, half-turned toward the exit, still clutching the granola bar.
Rhys closed the space between us, and my heart began to pound as he reached for my free hand, his fingers curling around mine. I forced myself not to flinch or pull away.
“This is so fucked up,” he muttered. “I really thought I was right about Brad and Olivia.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Me too.”
“At least you’re still okay,” he said softly.
His other hand lifted, fingers sliding into my hair, guiding me toward him. My breath caught as he leaned in, his lips brushing close enough that I could feel the warmth of them.
I turned my head before he could kiss me, and he pulled back, a faint crease forming between his brows. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed, forcing my expression to stay neutral even as my heart hammered painfully hard. I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I don’t want to kiss you because I think you might be a murderer,’ but I had to think of something to explain my reluctance. Fast.
“It’s just…” I glanced toward the bathroom door. “Jasmine could come out any second. Then she’d see.”
“So?” he said, a hint of confusion slipping into his voice. “Why don’t we just tell her about us?”
“I just…” I shook my head slightly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea right now. There’s already so much going on, and I don’t want to make things more complicated. So maybe we should just wait until this is all over before we tell people.”
Rhys studied my face for a second. Then he nodded slowly. “That’s fair,” he said, hand slipping from mine. “We can wait.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
He stepped back slightly, exhaling through his nose. “So what’s the plan for today?” he asked. “More searches?”
I shook my head. “No plans. We’ll probably just sit around hoping someone in the outside world finally notices that we didn’t come home even though camp was shut down early.”
“Ah. Right.”