Samantha stood on the pier and watched as Alex threw her friends into the water while they tried to break free from his grip. Once again, Samantha couldn't help but think how much she had missed this kind of vacation, where she didn't have to think about unnecessary things, including work. Samantha barely held back her laughter as she saw the group of guys trying to push Alex off the pier into the water.
But when the first splash sounded, Samantha and the other girls burst out laughing, because the first one to fall into the water was Chris, whom Alex casually pushed away with one hand. When Alex had thrown all the guys into the water, Samantha laughed and started clapping. Hearing the sound of applause through the guys' grumbling voices, Alex grinned and turned to Samantha, giving her a thumbs up.
Seeing Alex in such a silly pose, Samantha continued smiling and pointed behind him. Seeing Samantha's gesture, Alex turned his head and quickly jumped back, not letting himself be grabbed. The guys, who had climbed out of the water, thought they could catch Alex while he was distracted.
"Sammy, you ruined everything. We almost got him," Josh said обиженно, shaking water from his hair.
"Yeah. Almost. He tossed us around like kids," Mike said with a smile, wiping his wet hair with a towel.
"It's all because I'm a ninja," Alex said, pressing his fingers together playfully while looking at the guys.
The guys looked at Alex and then laughed at him, thinking his words were a joke. Lowering his hands, Alex also laughed and stood behind Samantha, resting his chin on top of her head. After swimming and splashing enough in the river, everyone decided to rest and just chat to regain their strength.
While the girls rested, sitting on the brought chairs, Alex and the guys gathered large stones to build a place for a campfire. And just a couple of minutes later, the fire was lit, and everyone sat around it, enjoying the calm atmosphere. Alex switched places with Samantha, and she sat on his lap for comfort.
Samantha leaned her back against Alex's chest, holding a can of beer, sighing with relief and lightly swinging her legs with a smile on her face. Mike sat next to his girlfriend Jessica, who had placed her legs on his lap, hugging him around the neck while he held a branch in his hands, stirring the burning logs. Chris and Josh had found a long log so they could sit together with Hannah and Ashley. Emily sat next to Matt, stretching her legs and resting them on Matt's lap as he sat beside her.
"Hey guys, want to hear a scary story? I just know one that fits perfectly," Chris said, opening a can of beer and looking around the whole group.
"No, Chris. We don't want to. Let us rest. First the flight, then the drive. Everyone's tired," Mike said, tossing a small pebble at Chris.
"Ouch, what for? I just asked. What kind of camping trip is this without scary stories? Don't you get it, the whole point of trips like this is to share scary stories," Chris said, rubbing the spot where Mike had hit him with the pebble.
Hearing Chris's words, everyone gave him tired looks. Except for Alex and Samantha, everyone else was tired after such an eventful day and just wanted to rest. Alex shifted his gaze to Chris and couldn't understand why he kept pushing for something like this.
A thought appeared in Alex's head that maybe Chris would somehow end up becoming a hunter in the future. Thinking about it, Alex shook his head, believing that something like that definitely wouldn't happen with Chris. Samantha turned her head, feeling Alex shake his. Raising an eyebrow, Samantha asked him with her eyes what he was thinking. Alex just smiled and pressed the cold beer can against Samantha's cheek, for which he received an elbow to the stomach.
"Chris, what scary stories? Are you going to brag again about how you caught ghosts with your group of nerds? The only scary thing about that is how grown men scream like little girls and shit their pants from fear. Now that's truly scary," Jessica said in a contemptuous tone, giving Chris a blank look and pressing closer to Mike's shoulder.
"It really is scary when a grown scared man runs at you with shit running down his pants. That's horrifying," Alex said, nodding and trying not to laugh.
"That didn't happen! Stop exaggerating… And anyway, you should have interesting stories from your job. Maybe share some?" Chris shouted, jumping up from his seat.
"Chris, even an idiot would understand that there are some things Alex and Samantha can't talk about. What do you want to hear from them?" Hannah intervened, adjusting her glasses and looking at Chris from behind Josh.
"Well, damn. I'm just curious what they do. Has anyone here heard of this Bureau they work for? For example, I know about them," Chris said, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands under his chin.
Hearing Chris's words, everyone looked at him, then shifted their gaze to Alex and Samantha, who were sitting together as if nothing had happened. Sighing tiredly, Alex crushed the empty beer can and threw it straight at Chris's head. The crushed can hit Chris in the head, and Alex reminded him that he had been asked to keep quiet about everything that had happened to him, Ashley, and the rest of the group of idiots in the cursed psychiatric hospital.
Feeling the hit to his head and hearing Alex's reminder, Chris immediately fell silent, raising his hands in surrender to show he wouldn't say anything unnecessary. Samantha gave Chris a tired look and couldn't resist reminding him that they had come to rest, not to talk about work. When Samantha spoke, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Well, I can still tell scary stories, right?" Chris asked after listening to Samantha.
"Fine, tell it. What's this story of yours? I'm even a little curious now since you want to tell it so badly," Josh said, punching Chris in the shoulder.
"So, Ed and Harry were looking for a new case they could film an episode about…" Chris began, taking his phone out of his pocket.
"Didn't Alex give you a list of safe places where you could film your show?" Matt asked, tossing more wood into the fire and turning his head toward Chris.
"Ahem… Ed and Harry said we needed something more exciting and mystical, something that would chill you to the bone…" Chris coughed awkwardly, glancing at Alex.
"Get to the point, Chris. No one cares what those two nerds were thinking. If you want to tell your scary story, do it quickly," Jessica said lazily, stretching and taking a beer from the cooler.
"You guys are so impatient. Anyway, while digging through sites with various legends and all that, I found one old legend about a creature living in the forests that likes to kidnap children…" Chris began, showing the screen of his phone with the legend he was talking about.
"If this is about Slender Man, he doesn't exist," Alex said, not letting Chris finish.
Hearing Alex's words, Chris's hand trembled, and he nearly dropped his phone. Everyone managed to see the screen and understood that he wanted to tell them the legend about Slender Man. But even if Slender Man didn't exist, Chris decided to tell the legend anyway.
Listening to Chris's story, Alex briefly thought about releasing Slender Man from the Red City to scare Chris. Chuckling at his own thought, Alex decided against it. An hour passed quickly, and everyone had rested enough by the fire. Extinguishing the fire and gathering their things, everyone was ready to return to the forest cabin to continue resting.
They decided to leave the boat they had found in the basement on the shore, as the guys still had plans for it that evening. Chatting on the way back to the forest cabin, everyone fully enjoyed the gathering by the pier. Even Chris's creepy stories didn't ruin the atmosphere, but rather complemented it, just as he had said. Returning to the forest cabin and changing into normal clothes, everyone was ready to continue the vacation.
"And now it's time to continue our party," Chris said, coming out of his room holding bottles of strong alcohol.
"Or maybe chop some wood first, party boy. The grill won't light itself," Mike said, taking the alcohol from Chris and handing him an axe.
"Um… Alex, maybe you could do it?" Chris said, looking at the axe in his hands and then at Alex.
Alex, who was sitting in a chair with a lazy expression, slowly turned his head toward Chris and let out a loud sigh. Clamping the edge of the beer can with his teeth, Alex stood up from the chair and walked over to Chris. Giving Chris a lazy look, Alex took the axe from him and rested it on his shoulder. Watching Alex walk away with the axe, Chris sighed heavily and wiped sweat from his forehead.
Samantha rolled her eyes at Chris and followed Alex outside, bringing a chair with her so she could watch him chop wood. Once outside, Alex looked around for a suitable spot to chop wood. Gathering some logs, Alex dragged them to a stump and began chopping. Samantha set up her chair, rested her cheek on her hand, and watched Alex chop wood. Unable to resist, Samantha took out her phone, took a couple of pictures for memory, and immediately posted them in the family chat.
"Can you not make sudden movements? I want to take a normal photo," Samantha said, trying to take a few more pictures of Alex chopping wood.
"Why? I'm just chopping wood, there's nothing special about it," Alex said, placing another log on the stump.
"I want to set it as my wallpaper. So come on, strike a cool pose so I can photograph you," Samantha said with a smile, peeking out from behind her phone and looking at Alex.
After splitting another log, Alex looked at Samantha and nodded. Starting to pose for Samantha, Alex took the poses she asked for until she had taken several dozen photos. By this point, Alex had already chopped enough wood for the upcoming barbecue. Setting the axe aside, Alex began gathering the wood into a pile to carry it back.
Samantha put her phone in her pocket to help Alex and took half of the wood. Alex and Samantha returned just as everyone had already settled outside on the porch of the forest cabin. Carrying part of the wood inside to light the fireplace later in the evening, Alex went back outside and lit a cigarette. Sitting on the porch, Alex watched as the guys lit the fire while the girls rested and commented on the whole process.
"Chris, don't even think about it," Alex shouted, noticing what Chris was about to do.
"Why? Won't it burn better this way?" Chris asked, holding a canister of diesel fuel.
"That's fucking diesel, Chris. Do you want to poison all of us? Go pour drinks for everyone instead," Mike said, taking the diesel canister from Chris.
Chris handed over the canister without objection and went to pour drinks for everyone. After all, he didn't know that using diesel to light a fire was harmful. Pouring drinks for everyone, Chris took two glasses and walked over to Alex, sitting down next to him on the porch. Taking the glass of alcohol from Chris, Alex couldn't help but ask how long Chris planned to continue partying with Ed and Harry in search of ghosts.
Hearing Alex's question, Chris thought for a moment and shrugged thoughtfully. He was only sure that he genuinely enjoyed doing it. Listening to Chris, Alex nodded at his explanation. He wasn't going to dissuade Chris from this idea if he really wanted to do it.
"The main thing is to be careful. Well, you understand that yourself. You already almost kicked the bucket twice, and that was only because of me," Alex said, taking a sip of alcohol and leaning against the wooden beam.
"And I'm very grateful for that… But at least it helped me understand that even a monster under the bed can be defeated," Chris said with a slight smile, bringing the glass to his lips.
"Eh, Chris. I could give you hundreds of examples of what ultimately happens to people who go down this rabbit hole. If you don't stop, you'll end up as a paranoid who can't sleep without a gun in his hands and salt on the windows. So, once you've had your fun playing ghost hunter, you'd better start living a normal life," Alex said, lighting a cigarette and exhaling smoke upward.
"What about you and Samantha? Are you going to quit everything too?" Chris asked, pointing at Samantha, who was sitting with the other girls.
"Our situation is different, Chris. We couldn't quit even if we wanted to," Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke and taking a sip of alcohol.
"Why? Didn't Samantha only recently get pulled into this life? Or am I missing something?" Chris asked thoughtfully, turning his head toward Alex.
"I'd say this kind of life is a family curse… The family friends we're close with have a similar story. No matter how hard they tried, they always came back to this life. So you'd better listen to my advice," Alex said, patting Chris on the shoulder.
Chris looked at Alex and then at Samantha. From Alex's story, Chris realized there was something he didn't know about Samantha's family. Still, Chris decided it was better to listen to Alex's advice and stop trying to get involved in things he shouldn't. Seeing Chris's thoughtful look, Alex patted the guy on the shoulder again and stood up from the porch to walk over to Samantha.
Standing behind Samantha, Alex placed his hands on her shoulders and began to gently squeeze them, causing her to squint with a contented smile. Enjoying the light massage, Samantha looked up at Alex and gave him a questioning look. Noticing Samantha's gaze, Alex nodded, showing that he had talked with Chris again. Smiling, Samantha lowered her head and continued chatting with the girls.
Gradually the atmosphere became more and more cheerful. Music played from the speaker, further lifting everyone's joyful mood. Slowly the sun set, and after several bottles of strong alcohol and grilled meat, everyone was in a good mood, laughing and chatting about all sorts of nonsense, teasing each other. No more heavy topics were mentioned, including scary and creepy stories — only jokes.
Deciding to treat Samantha's friends, Alex brought out a bottle of whiskey he had brought from London. Alex didn't name the price, but everyone understood that the alcohol was quite expensive. When the sun had set and the temperature outside began to drop, everyone moved inside and settled in the living room. Alex sat in one chair with Samantha on his lap, cuddling against him.
"Since we're all sitting so nicely, let's play a game," Chris said, leaning on the stuffed deer head hanging on the wall.
"I hope it's not some board game nonsense?" Mike asked, pouring himself a glass of alcohol.
"No, no, no, Mike. With so many of us, there's only one game left. And that's Truth or Dare," Chris said with a wide grin, looking around at everyone.
"Why not. It should be pretty fun to watch… Just don't worry, Chris. No one will make you strip," Alex said, chuckling as he sat in the chair.
Chris rolled his eyes and looked at the others. No one objected to the game, considering everyone was in a good mood. Watching the game unfold, Alex could barely hold back his laughter at the stupid questions or silly dares that Chris and Josh came up with.
Samantha, sitting on Alex's lap, didn't hold back and laughed at how Jessica, in revenge for Chris's question, made him kiss the stuffed deer head. And Chris was completely fine with it and showed all his kissing skills. Because Alex was sitting in a chair off to the side, he had a very good view of everything. And the only thing Alex wanted at that moment was to forget it all. After finishing kissing the deer head, Chris turned to everyone with a satisfied grin.
"I told you, I'm a master at this," Chris said, leaning on the deer head.
"Wipe the drool off, Chris. After that, Ashley definitely won't want to kiss you… Although that video will get a lot of views," Josh said, having filmed the whole thing.
"Ashley, you're not jealous, are you? Want one too?" Chris asked, puckering his lips and looking at Ashley.
"No, of course not. Otherwise you'd be sleeping with your new hairy boyfriend on the couch," Ashley laughed, pointing at the deer head.
"Hahaha, I can take him with us. He's soft and fluffy…" Chris said, hugging the deer head and kissing it again.
Seeing this, everyone began laughing loudly at how Chris was once again showing love to the stuffed deer head. Ashley, watching her boyfriend's behavior, just covered her face with her hands, trying to hold back her laughter. Stopping hugging the deer head, Chris laughed and turned to everyone.
"So, next up is Alex. Truth or Dare," Chris said, rubbing his hands like a villain.
"I think… I'll choose truth," Alex said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"Perfect, that's what I wanted. Then tell us something interesting about yourself. Something really interesting and shocking," Chris said, folding his arms across his chest and nodding.
"Hmm… That's a difficult question," Alex said, shaking his head from side to side.
"Just pick one. Anything. I'm curious too what you could tell us," Mike said, nodding and pouring Alex another glass of alcohol.
"Alright. Samantha and I have a child," Alex said with a cheerful smile.
When Alex spoke, everyone's eyes dropped to Samantha's stomach, thinking she was pregnant. Seeing such intense stares, Samantha rolled her eyes, showing that she wasn't pregnant and that Alex's words didn't mean that. Seeing that Samantha denied being pregnant, everyone looked at Alex, waiting for him to continue.
Now they were curious about what was going on. Alex was surprised by such close attention and looked at Samantha. He had thought she had already told her friends about Alessa. After all, he knew she had told her parents about Alessa.
"So where's the rest? We're waiting, so stop looking at each other. If you started, then finish… And Sammy, why didn't you share news like this?" Jessica said, moving closer to Samantha.
"It's a rather long and quite dark story. But we adopted a girl. And she lives with us," Alex said, taking a sip of alcohol.
"And how dark is the story? How old is she? And where is she now?" Jessica began asking questions one after another, looking back and forth between Alex and Samantha.
"We're all curious. After all, a child is a big responsibility," Emily said, nodding in agreement with Jessica's questions.
"Her name is Alessa. She's seven years old. And what happened there… Well… It's not worth talking about," Samantha replied, shaking her head to show she wasn't going to discuss it.
"What is she like? You must have photos. Come on, show us. I didn't even think you'd be the first to become a mother. But I'm not surprised you agreed to adoption," Jessica said enthusiastically.
Seeing her friends' enthusiasm, Samantha took out her phone and decided to show them a few photos with Alessa that she had managed to take. Getting up from Alex's lap, Samantha moved to the sofa, and the girls immediately crowded around her to look at the photos.
Opening one of the photos, Samantha showed everyone Alessa. The girls saw a girl with long black hair tied in two pigtails, black eyes, and a pale face that resembled a porcelain doll.
Seeing Alessa, the girls began asking a whole stream of questions, including various little details, especially how Samantha felt in the role of a mother. The guys also leaned in to look at the photo of Alessa. None of Samantha's friends thought Alessa looked creepy; rather, they couldn't help but compare her to a porcelain doll.
"Your daughter is quite cute. If I didn't know she was adopted, I would have thought she was your biological child," Jessica said, holding Samantha's phone and looking at the photo of Alessa.
"Yeah, she looks just like Alex. Especially that cold gaze. It gave me chills," Josh said, standing next to his sister.
"Be jealous in silence, Josh. When you have your own kid, you can brag then," Alex said, standing up from the chair.
"And why didn't you bring her with you? None of us would have minded if you brought your daughter," Ashley asked, sitting on the arm of the sofa.
"She's in London right now. That's why we didn't bring her," Samantha said, shaking her head and taking her phone back from Jessica.
"Are you one of those parents who send their kids to expensive schools abroad? I hope that's not the case," Chris said suspiciously, looking at Alex and Samantha.
"You guessed the education part, Chris. But not the way you think… If we skip the details, it's family education," Alex said, opening the door to smoke.
"Like aristocrats? Etiquette and all that?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Yes, you guessed it, Mike. Just like aristocrats," Alex said cheerfully, leaning against the doorframe and exhaling cigarette smoke outside.
Having received the answer as to why Alex and Samantha hadn't brought Alessa with them, everyone could only accept this development. They already knew that Alex's family was quite specific, considering what he had told them in the past. Continuing to play Truth or Dare, time flew by unnoticed, and late evening arrived.
After laughing a lot, everyone sat by the fireplace, talking about various things and enjoying another peaceful atmosphere after the fun. Mike, sitting next to Jessica, leaned closer and whispered a few words in her ear. Hearing Mike's suggestion, Jessica readily agreed and grabbed his hand. Holding Mike's hand, Jessica literally dragged him out of the cabin. Watching Jessica drag Mike away, everyone became curious about where they had gone.
"Should we follow them?" Chris suggested with interest, looking at the open door.
"Chris, ew. Aren't you ashamed to say something like that?" Josh said, grimacing at Chris's suggestion.
"What's wrong with that? Or did you think I wanted to watch them have sex outside?" Chris said, trying to defend himself.
"Mike decided to arrange a romantic boat ride for Jess in the moonlight. So don't even think about bothering them. I'm telling you, Chris," Alex intervened, yawning slightly and stretching his legs forward.
"What did I do? I wasn't going to do anything. I was just curious why Jess looked so pleased after Mike's words. So it was about the boat ride," Chris said, folding his arms across his chest and nodding.
Meanwhile, Mike and Jess walked along the path to the pier, lighting their way with flashlights. Even though the moonlight was bright enough, it still wasn't sufficient because of the trees surrounding them. Throughout the entire way, a pleased smile stayed on Jessica's face. She was definitely not against such a boat ride. Reaching the pier, Mike lowered the boat into the water and climbed in first. Checking that everything was fine, Mike extended his hand toward Jessica.
"Miss, please come aboard. A romantic ride awaits you in the company of your cool boyfriend," Mike said with a grin, holding out his hand to Jessica.
"Alright, I'll agree to take a little ride with you. Since you're asking so insistently," Jessica laughed, taking Mike's hand.
Mike helped Jessica carefully step down into the boat so she wouldn't fall. When Jessica lowered her foot into the boat, it rocked slightly, and she nearly fell. Mike deftly caught Jessica, not letting her fall, and pulled her close. Finding herself in Mike's arms, Jessica laughed lightly at how it had turned out.
Hearing Jessica's laughter, Mike couldn't hold back a smile and laughed too. He was glad that Jessica was in such a good mood. After the events on Blackwood Mountain, she often woke up in the middle of the night screaming, afraid that Wendigos would come for her. And after six months of therapy, Jessica had finally been able to start sleeping normally without waking from nightmares.
Helping Jessica sit down, Mike took the oars and began rowing slowly. Jessica rested her chin on her hands, watching Mike work the oars. Rowing to the middle of the river, Mike stopped and put the oars away so they could enjoy the pleasant atmosphere together.
But what Mike and Jessica didn't notice because of the romantic atmosphere between them was that another boat was nearby, positioned at the opposite bank of the river among the reeds. In that boat were Tucker and Dale, whom Alex and his group had met at the gas station.
After parting with Alex's group, Tucker and Dale had gone to their country cabin, in which they had invested their last money. And seeing the condition of the cabin they had bought, they were very pleased and wanted to celebrate with a night of fishing while drinking beer.
Sipping beer and holding fishing rods, Tucker and Dale enjoyed the quiet atmosphere to the sound of buzzing insects and croaking frogs. After finishing another beer, Tucker tossed the empty can at his feet and reached for the portable cooler. Opening the lid, Tucker and Dale saw that only one beer remained in the cooler.
"Alright, take it. The last can is yours," Dale said, looking up at his friend.
"That's exactly why nothing good ever happens to you in life… Because you don't know how to stand your ground," Tucker said, looking at his friend and trying to give him advice.
Hearing Tucker's advice, Dale reached for the last can of beer and immediately got his hand slapped. After getting hit by Tucker, Dale pulled his hand back and looked up at his friend.
"Don't touch my beer, Dale," Tucker said calmly, slapping his friend's hand away.
"But you said…" Dale began, reaching for the beer again.
"Are you stupid or something? I said it's my beer," Tucker said with a grin, slapping his friend's hand away again and taking the last beer.
"But you yourself said I should learn to stand my ground," Dale said, rubbing his slapped hand.
"And I also said not to touch my beer. Which means that was the final word," Tucker said, smiling as he took a sip of cold beer.
Dale looked at his friend and realized he had once again failed to stand his ground. Sighing, Dale took the fishing rod with both hands and looked around. His gaze immediately fell on the boat in the middle of the river. Even though it was already dark outside and only moonlight shone, Dale recognized the two people in the boat.
Noticing what the familiar people were doing, Dale lightly nudged Tucker with his elbow. Feeling the nudge, Tucker looked in the direction Dale was pointing and saw the kissing couple in the boat. Sighing heavily, Tucker raised his hand and gave Dale a smack on the back of the head so he wouldn't stare.
Feeling the hit, Dale awkwardly looked away from the kissing Jessica and Mike. At the same time, Dale felt envy because he would also like to go on a boat ride with a girl. But none of the four noticed that a barely visible silhouette was standing on the shore, intently watching the four people. And no one noticed this silhouette.
"Not her. Doesn't fit… This isn't her… He needs someone else…" the silhouette endlessly muttered, watching Jessica.
Muttering to itself, the silhouette quietly disappeared behind a tree and vanished as if it had never been there, leaving only footprints from bare feet on the ground that led deeper into the forest. The silhouette disappeared into the shadows of the trees, continuing to mutter to itself and swaying slightly with every step.
To be continued...
(So, the first day at the Cabin in the Woods has come to an end. As I said, there's no need to dump all this crap on the campers right away. But as usual, everyone's rested, which means it's time to throw some crap under their feet. It's obvious who the victim will be. It's also obvious who the hero saving the beauty will be. So, what's the plot like? Hmm, I think it'll be a hospital, although I wouldn't mind writing about the community from Outlast 2. So, make your choice: the hospital or the cultist community. Choose, my dear sweet buns. And I'll go eat. Peace, love, and why did you jump into a wood chipper, you idiot?)
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