Chapter 1
Lydia
PRESENT DAY
“Stop whining. It’s going to be fun, I promise,” my friend Audrey, says into my AirPods.
I shove another pair of underwear into my backpack.
“Eleven pairs of underwear should be enough, right?” I ask her.
“Eleven? Are you planning to shit your pants or what?” She answers laughing.
“Well, you are dragging me to a scare camp for a week, so maybe.”
“Fair. But if you do, I’m never letting you live it down,”
I roll my eyes and zip up the bag. It looks heavy. Maybe I don’t need all the underwear. No, no, I definitely needed them. You can never bring too many pairs of underwear.
“So, tell me the point of this again?” I ask, for the millionth time.
No matter how many times I hear it, the plan still sounds insane.
If it weren’t for my therapist’s urging, I wouldn’t even be considering it.
I’d be on a beach with a margarita in my hand and an obscenely large beach hat on my head, pretending I’m some rich, tragic character in the White Lotus.
But no, my demented friends have it in their heads that a scare camp is the ultimate girls’ trip. They’re determined to be the final girl, and I’m determined to find myself a new group of friends after this. Not really, I love these bitches to pieces, hence, my reluctant packing.
“You know why. It’ll be fun, you’ll see. Plus, Stephanie got us a discount, so it’s nonrefundable and I don’t want to be out $500.”
“Right,” I say back, wincing. Stephanie works at a travel agency and has the inside scoop on what destinations are the best and most affordable to go to. Which happens to be the reason we are able to take so many girls trips together.
Money in this economy is tight, and I know my friends have all been feeling the repercussions of it.
This trip is our indulgence. A treat to ourselves in these dark times.
Only, I hate getting scared. I’m a notorious chicken when it comes to scary movies and haunted houses.
My friends though? They live for this shit.
And because I love them, I’ll figure out a way to deal with it.
Plus, my therapist insisted I go, saying a little immersion therapy would be good for me. Face my fears and all that. Gag.
“Next girls’ trip, I get to pick the location,” I say, trying to get my backpack on my shoulders. It’s just as I thought. Way too heavy. There’s no way I can carry this around for hours while being chased through the woods.
I open the thing back up and rummage around, wondering what I can take out.
“You better be ready. We’re going to be there in five,” Audrey says.
“Dammit.”
I guess I could take out one of my books. Three should be enough, right?
“Tell me you aren’t bringing a ridiculous amount of books again,” Audrey chirps in my ear knowing me all too well.
“She’s not going to have time to read!” I hear Faye off in the distance.
“What exactly qualifies as a ridiculous amount?” I ask, looking over everything. I guess I could narrow it down to two.
“Anything more than one. We’re going to be in an active scare situation, at all times! You really think you can curl up comfortably with a book and your head lamp light.”
“It’s a reading light!” I exclaim. “How else can I see the words in the dark.”
I hear laughter from the background.
“You look like a coal miner,” Faye says sounding muffled. Which is answered by a few more background laughs.
No matter how long we’ve been friends, sometimes I feel like an outsider in my own group.
I wonder if they’re still friends with me after all these years out of habit rather than actually liking me as a person.
But maybe I’m just being grumpy from a long shift at the nursing home and little to no sleep.
“We’re pulling in! Let’s go, Lydia.”
“Fine, but I’m bringing ONE book,” I say, tossing out the extra two and promising them I’ll be back to read them another time.
“I love your nerdy ass, Lydia. Now let’s go!” Audrey says as I hear two loud honks from outside and in my eardrum.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I say, hanging up on Audrey and taking one last look in the mirror. Five minutes away, my ass.
I’m wearing a black tank top and fitted gray jean shorts that have frayed edges on the bottoms. It comes just a few inches shorter than where my fingertips land, and if I were still in school, they would send me to the principal’s office for sure.
But it’s hotter than a demon’s butt crack out there, and I don’t want to be drowning in my own sweat.
I tie my hair up into a ponytail, leaving my two blue highlights out in the front framing my face.
While I brought a pair of black flip flops just in case, I decide to go with a solid hiking shoe and thin, breathable socks since we’re going to be doing a lot of walking.
When I get to the car, or rather van, I’m greeted by Faye standing outside of the vehicle, leaning up against it looking like she just stepped out of a magazine. Her vibrant red hair gleams in the summer sun, and her bronzed skin shimmers as she spots me and starts running.
“Bitch! I gotta pee, what took you so long?!” She shrieks.
“Here, take my keys, but don’t forget to lock up,” I say tossing her my keyring.
She catches it easily and sprints up the stairs and into my house.
I’m the last one to get picked up since I live the farthest out from Holland, Michigan.
It’s a small quirky lake town that’s known for its tulips in the Spring.
I’ve lived here all my life and known these girls for the same amount of time.
We all went to the same elementary school, and one bloody game of four square cemented our enduring friendship.
We’ve seen each other through everything.
Break-ups, deaths, college, engagements, dropouts, and pregnancy scares.
None of us are married or have children yet, though my money is on Iris and McKenzie ending up together.
They’ve been on and off again for years, but they’re endgame.
Audrey got close to getting married one time before she caught her fiancé cheating on a Jumbotron.
Really, cheaters aren’t so bright to be going to such a public place where there’s cameras, but at least she’s much better off now.
Audrey sits at the helm of the van that she borrowed from her mom so we could all fit.
She calls it Bertha the Beast, because of its massive size.
Two large bucket seats are in the front with a heat feature that can burn your buns off and there are three more rows of seats in the back that easily fits her mom’s entire Bingo team.
Audrey’s mom frequently travels around the state bringing Bertha the Beast to cart her Bingo team from town to town, winning championships, getting drunk and screaming out BINGO!
While Audrey might not understand her mom’s hobbies, at least Bertha comes in handy for times like these.
It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive to our destination— Nightmare Acres. Situated directly between Paradise and Hell, Michigan. That doesn’t seem ominous at all, I think as I sling my bag into the back.
Iris, Stephanie, and McKenzie are all in the back of the van leaving one spot open for me.
Faye usually takes the front needing to control the music.
Or as she claims, ‘setting the tone of the trip’.
She’s also the designated navigator, which means I can zonk out while we drive.
I pulled an overnight shift at the nursing home and haven’t been able to sleep yet.
I can feel the exhaustion digging its claws into me.
Audrey wants to get there before it gets dark because she hates driving at night and has reminded us in the group chat at least three times yesterday and twice today. Her type-a personality is just what we need though, because without her, we probably wouldn’t do half the shit we do.
“Took you long enough,” Audrey jokes from the front seat as I buckle up. Her long blonde hair is tied back in a blue bow that matches her eyes. She looks like a Disney Princess come to life.
I blow out a breath, grateful for the air conditioning hitting me from above.
I’m a winter girl, personally. Give me snow and weather that I can curl up with a good book.
Summer makes me feel like a walking wax melt, only it’s scented in sunscreen and bug spray.
And this summer in particular, has been extra hot, with heat warnings and air quality alerts hitting us from the wildfires in Canada.
At least I brought my insanely large water bottle and an electric fan that wraps around my neck.
Faye rushes back, always in a hurry, and tosses my keys back to me. I fumble with the catch but manage to put them away.
“Door locked?” I ask.
She rolls her green eyes at me. “Yes, mom. Now, who’s ready for some music?”
Audrey pulls out from my long driveway with music blasting through the speakers and a smile on her face.
“Gird your loins, girls. We’re about to get the shit scared out of us.”
“At least I packed for it,” I say back.
Only, I really hope I don’t shit my pants.