Wish You Were Here

23

Cal led me back to the front of the cabin. Beth limped over and embraced us.

"Wait!" I shrieked through my tears. "There's a second guy. He came outside and..."

I stared at Cal. I had been so scared that he had run into her, or worse, that he could have attacked her like the first guy did to Beth.

"The second guy?" Cal asked. "That means there is a first guy?"

Beth nodded and looked away. Cal tried to walk toward the cabin, but I grabbed her arm.

"Don't," I pleaded. "The first guy...he's dead."

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at me and then over at Beth.

"The second guy," I told her. "He came outside, I guess. I don't know where he went."

"I do," Cal said softly. "He almost ran right into me as I was walking back."

"What? Oh no! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked her.

"I'm okay," she assured me. "I cut his arm with the knife. And then he ran off. I'm not sure where he went. I didn't stick around to find out. Then I hid in the bushes until you came out."

"Why didn't you come inside the cabin?" Beth asked her.

Cal turned to look at her. "I thought the first guy was in there. I knew you both were safe down below. So, I hid outside."

"You knew there was a first guy?" Beth grilled her.

Cal put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, Beth. I knew there were two guys. I heard them talking  when they went inside, when I was...you know, using the restroom."

Beth didn't say anything. I looked at her and then spoke softly to Cal.

"The second guy," I said. "He, ummm...he came downstairs."

Cal stared at me. "Oh..."

"We tried to hide, but he found Beth. He attacked her," I explained.

Cal's mouth fell open and she stepped over to Beth. She touched her arm.

"Beth, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

A tear fell down Beth's cheek and she wiped it away, nodding at Cal.

"Wait," Cal turned to focus on me. "You said he's...dead? Did Beth..?"

I shook my head.

"You?" She asked.

I nodded.

"I stabbed him in the neck with the letter opener," I confessed.

Cal put both hands over her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears and she grabbed me, hugging me tight. Beth turned around and then Cal reached out and brought her in. The three of us hugged and cried, finally letting each other go.

"We should get out of here. There could be more of them, right?" Cal cried.

"Well, we need to find somewhere else to hide, but we can't go far. We still need to wait for Grant and Will," I explained. "They should be back soon."

It was late afternoon by then and the last thing we needed was to worry about them. We also couldn't go too far away from here. I didn't want Grant and Will to return and not only find the three of us gone, but they'd find the surprise dead guy downstairs.

"What about where you were hiding, Cal? Can we sit over there until the guys come back?" Beth asked hopefully.

Cal looked uneasy. "I don't know. I was just kind of crouching in the bushes. I'm not sure with your leg..."