𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢𝐢) | ✔

ten

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ten: the woman in the woods
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     She was unable to find E.J. but managed to run face first into Oliver, who was quick to apologize to her and invite her to sit inside his tent.

     "What do you think? Excited for tonight?"

     "Quite, actually. Maddox keeps saying this is better than Christmas."

     He laughed, "yeah, apparently, she has very good memories from past years. And we are in charge of it tonight. How are you liking camp so far?"

     "Enough," the girl confessed," but it's not what I expected. I mean, I expected E.J. to spend more time with us, I definitely did not expect for Ricky to show up..."

     The conversation, however, was interrupted by a loud blow in the outside of the tent, making the girl gasp in fright; in turn, she could hear a laugh that she had come to recognise all too well. 

     "I thought you would be braver," Ben mocked her, entering the tent as well alongside Maddox. 

     "And I thought you weren't as hateful," she replied in the same tone. "Is this some kind of trap? Am I today's sacrifice or something?"

     "You are, actually," Maddox continued to joke. "How willing are you to dress up as a ghost?"

—

     She was already in her place, Ben and Oliver by her side to help her get into character. As she heard E.J. sing the Ballad of Shallow Lake, the boys helped mess up her hair, trying to make her look as if she had been lost in the forest for fifty years. 

     As soon as the song ended, Ben and Oliver cracked a couple of branches, preparing for Maddox's story. They whistled, whispered and walked, following the legend of the Woman in the Woods. Nevertheless, not everything seemed to be going according to plan because, far from being scared, the campers seemed to be laughing at something. 

      "Ever since that night," Maddox tried to finish the story, her tone already changed, "Mrs. Fine has been wandering the woods, hungry and lost and angry."

     Juliette, following Ben's and Oliver's indications, stepped out of her hiding spot, attempting to scare the rest of the campers. Jett, nonetheless, had other plans and continued making snarky remarks, visibly upsetting Maddox. Although they tried to continue the plan, the senior camper walked out before she could even reach the bonfire. Ben and Oliver followed her, leaving Juliette there, unsure as to what to do. 

     "Maddox, wait!" they yelled, attracting the gazes of the teens sitting there. The only one that showed a smidge of fear was Kourtney.

     "Jules?" Gina asked.

     "What happened?" she approached the taller girl, fixing her hair. "Why would you do that?"

     "I didn't know it would upset her," Jett answered Juliette's question.

     "What did you think would happen?" she replied. She could not take Maddox's face out of her mind, seeing how the girl's heart shattered in front of them. 

—

     As the night fell, Ashlyn and Gina entered their shared tent, a mischievous smile on their faces. Seeing that it was what had been called a "haunted night", they had resolved to reunite the whole Wildcat crew and go on a night adventure. That way, Maddox could give them the scare she had wanted and E.J. could forget about that godforsaken script already.