From the Quarry (The Quarry Fan-fiction)

Chapter 3

20:00 | August 22, 2021

Hackett's Quarry Firepit

"I hope they're okay," Alessia looked in the direction her friends had run off to, "It's getting pretty dark."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Kaitlyn reassured her friend.

"I'll wait ten more minutes before I head out to look for them," Alessia stated, "After all, who knows what kind of dangers are lurking around the forest."

"So what do you want to do?" Dylan asked around.

"We could keep playing?" Ryan suggested.

"Yeah just the four of us?" Dylan tried to lighten the mood and calm Alessia down.

She nodded her head, "Sure, why not?"

Just when they were about to begin, a piercing scream filled the woods. Alessia shot up, "That was Abi!"

Abi came running out of the forest, "Help! Please... Nick! Help him!"

"Where's Nick?" Ryan asked her.

"I-I..." Abi was hyperventilating.

"Deep breaths Abi," Alessia tried to comfort her friend.

"Go after Nick! Go!" Kaitlyn tossed him the gun, "That shot gun's got one hell of a spread so be careful!"

"I'll go with you," Alessia ran over, "I know these woods like the back of my hand. Plus you might need some backup."

The pair sprinted in the direction Abi came from. They came across multiple shortcuts and Alessia urged Ryan to take them all. In the distance they saw Nick on the ground and another figure walking towards him. Alessia's eyes widened in recognition as they looked at her warily.

Ryan was cursing beside her trying to ready his gun. Meanwhile, Alessia was seething with rage, "Let him go!"

"Get the f*ck off of him!"

The man they came across didn't listen as Ryan kept warning him.

The sound of the gun going off caused Alessia to jump startled. The man stalked off leaving a bloodied Nick behind.

"Hey, hey. Can you walk?" Ryan asked Nick.

"C'mon..." Ryan guided him, "Get back to the fire."

As they fell back to the firepit, Alessia had a strong gut feeling that this was only the beginning of their worries. She scanned Nick's body that was covered in blood.

"He's super out of it, man," Dylan said to Ryan.

"We need to know what happened," Ryan said to Nick.

"Right, there was... there was a guy there... but... there was some kind of... some kinda animal-"

Alessia stopped listening as her memories flooded through her brain of the incident that July night.

*****

22:00 | July 23, 2021

Hackett Woods

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Alessia whispered to herself.

She glanced up at the full moon in the sky. Chris had left the site leaving the counsellors in charge. Knowing where he had gone gave her time to venture off the camp grounds. She carried a small backpack filled with simple supplies. A knife. A small first aid kit. A flashlight. Bear spray. And some cookies from the lodge.