Camp Antler Point

Prologue

Jessica swore as she lugged the heaping bag of junk food out of the supply cabin. She'd taken Milky Ways, Doritos, Skittles. The works. With a summer full of Camp Antler Point's infamous chili on the horizon, she'd need all the goodies she could get her hands on if she was going to survive with her intestines intact.

Her stomach snarled at the thought of tearing open a bag of chips and devouring it like a savage wolverine. She was so close to eating as much cheesy goodness as she wanted with that cute counselor, maybe with a little something for dessert. But that would have to wait.

She glanced around the cabin to see if she'd been followed. There was no sign of anyone, thank God, but she still had a long trek back to the counselors' cabins before she could pig out without getting caught and stuck on bathroom duty for a month.

She shuddered. There was nothing more disgusting than kids' bathrooms. No matter how much of the stains anyone scrubbed off, there was always some new, previously undiscovered shade of brown hidden underneath the caked-on layers of grime.

There was no way in hell she was risking that, especially not with her summer fling at stake.

Instead of taking the worn-down path winding back to the cabins, Jessica slung the bag over her shoulder with a grunt and started trudging back through the undergrowth. The earth swallowed her footprints beneath a thick blanket of mud and leaves.

It might have been pretty if she'd come in fall. The maple trees bathed much of Vermont in a rich amber when their leaves turned, and they'd be even more beautiful if she was bundled up inside with a mug of hot chocolate.

But no, that would have been too fun.

When she'd told her parents she'd wanted to take some time to see the world before starting college, she'd meant a trip to Paris, or at least a beach where she could catch some rays and hopefully the eye of a handsome surfer or two. Instead, they thought it would be best for her to use the opportunity to gain experience.

Experience nursing a headache, apparently. Most of the kids wouldn't even arrive at camp for a few more days, yet here she was feeling like a family of woodpeckers had taken up residence inside her skull.

And her arms, dear God, her arms! How the hell was she supposed to drag the kids away from bear dens or whatever else they launched themselves at in the time it took to blink if she couldn't even carry some snacks?

"I knew I should have gone with the diner," Jessica hissed as she stumbled over a hoof-shaped hole in the leaf litter. What had she been thinking, picking this place over Ferdinand's? Sure listening to the old man prattle on about the time an opossum had come this close to falling smack dab in the deep fryer while he shamelessly (and terribly) attempted to flirt with any customers over the age of fifty would have been hell, but at least she would have been in air conditioning. And had all the free biscuits she could stomach, of course.

The mere thought of Ferdinand's perfectly buttery biscuits and homemade jam sent Jessica's stomach snarling. Surely it wouldn't hurt to help herself to some of her loot now?

A burst of cheese dust exploded against her bright pink sweater as she opened a bag of Doritos. Despite the crumbs cascading to the ground, not a single animal came to investigate. She could get used to this. Back home, she couldn't even eat a single chip without her brothers practically teleporting across the house and snatching the bag from her hands.

Come to think of it, the forest was almost too quiet. Where were the squirrels that were usually scrambling through the trees? What about the birds? As grating as their singing could be, its absence left a deafening silence.

Nearby, leaves crackled.

Jessica's eyes widened. So much for not getting caught. "Alright, alright, I'll put it all back," she said. "Just let me finish the Doritos."

No one responded.

She crammed the last of the chips into her mouth before shoving the empty bag into her pocket. Whoever it was wouldn't catch her littering. "Hello? Mr. Sterling?"

She wouldn't put it past the head counselor to screw with her a bit before taking her back to her cabin for a firm scolding. He'd been working at Camp Antler Point since before she'd started going there as a socialization-challenged seven-year-old, and if there was one thing he was known for it was his love of pranks. Just last year, he'd sent the entire camp looking for red-painted pinecones, only for them to discover he'd used literally every other color he could find just so everyone would stay busy while he went out to buy candy for their end of summer party.

Jessica's hair stood on end as a low, throaty noise rumbled behind her. Whatever that was definitely wasn't human. Not even her grumbling over having to wake up at 3 AM just to drive to camp in time to help get everything ready for the kids could rival whatever had made that noise.

Whatever that thing was, she'd better stay the hell away from it.

She hoisted her stash back over her shoulder with a grunt. So much for taking a break. Her heart hammered harder than it had when she'd started lugging the bag around, and her sweaty fingers threatened to drop the load as she stumbled through the forest.

Each step through the shoe-sucking mud was a fight, and the forest was winning. The trees stared down at her as she struggled to find her way through the uniform mass of silent spectators.

Damn it, why hadn't she just taken the trail? At this rate, everyone was bound to notice the minute she returned to camp thanks to her breath wheezing out of her like the last gasps of a dying seal.

Assuming she made it back at all.

She should have been back in her cabin by now, bingeing on her haul or digging through her suitcase for anything she could use as a facemask while she gagged her way through bathroom duty. Instead, here she was fumbling through the forest as the moon rose in the sky.

Branches clawed at her arms as she shoved her way through the feral foliage. For each one she pushed aside, she was greeted by nothing but the faint rustling of leaves and, surprise, more trees! The only thing that stung worse than the scratches littering her skin was the knowledge that she was undeniably, hopelessly lost.

The bag of snacks thudded behind her until it snagged on something. "Come on, you stupid thing. Move!"

She yanked and swore until her muscles threatened to snap like rubber bands, but the bag refused to budge.

She thought about ditching it, then. And she might have, if she hadn't been so dead set on getting back to that cute boy with more to show for her efforts than bark-scraped hands and leaves tangled in her hair.

Digging her shoes into the mud, she gave the bag one last tug.

A deafening ripping sound tore through the forest, followed by the most theatrical sigh outside of Broadway.

"Great. Just great," Jessica said as she leaned down to inspect the hole. Packets of Skittles leaked out of the tear like blood, and there was no telling how much would follow the rebellious rainbow. All that work, and all she'd have to show for sneaking out in the middle of the night was however much candy she could cram into her pockets.

There was that rumbling again, low and deep.

"Stay away from me!" Jessica yelled, silently praying that Mr. Sterling hadn't been joking about a good, long scream being the best way to scare off just about anything.

The creature huffed. Something scraped against the ground. Once. Twice.

On the third scrape, a bulky mass of brown fur charged toward her.