The Wishing Well ✔ [1]

15: flight or fight

Campsite, Evie & Lane

Lane was back inside the tent looking for a watch or anything to tell the time while Evie insisted on staying outside to keep guard just in case the thing would come back, but even if it did, what could Evie do?

They were just kids, they didn't have any fighting skills and it's not like they needed them anyway. Kids should not have to go through this. It's cruel.

"Did you find anything?" Evie poked half of her head inside the tent.

Lane shook her head in response. "Nothing yet." Then Eve was gone again.

That was blatantly a lie. Lane had found something. It was a book, or more specifically a leather book, as she placed her palms onto the cover, a cool warmth tingled on her hands.

The book was worn out, at first glance Lane thought it was an old history book but as she flipped through the torn pages she quickly realized it was a diary, Evie's diary.

Lane knew it was wrong to peek into the book and read a few pages, she should've respected her best friend's privacy.

Her curiosity got the best of her and those few pages led to finishing the entire diary, which to be fair was mostly filled with drawings and only a couple of words to begin with, the last 20 pages or so were also left without an entry.

Within those pages was an actual living nightmare; an illustration of the cryptid creature she saw in her vision was drawn on Evie's diary and that's not even the worst part.

Lane felt betrayed, stabbed in the back by her own best friend. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. What had she ever done to Evie to deserve such a fate?

Evie's message was clear. She had a plan, a plan to kill them all.

Evie was the one who recommended the game to Easton.

Mason couldn't handle the sight of blood and she knew that all too well.

She knew he would die first, and she knew that in the end, it'd be only her left to survive.

With that, Lane burst out of the tent, mind fogged with rage and disbelief, reeling with thousands of questions that would be left unanswered.

She wanted nothing more than to say something, anything to make it known that she was infuriated but nothing came out, she hadn't even trusted her own words.

Her emotions couldn't decide if she was angry or upset, she didn't understand what her motive was. The diary was clutched in her fist, the pages now resembling a sinister side of who she used to call "best friend."

Was it all fake? Is any part of their friendship real? Had she done something wrong?

"Are you fucking with me, Evie? Is that what this is?" The words gritted through her teeth, her jaw clenched tight.

A small smirk slipped across Evie's face.

"What? Do you think you can get away with this?" Lane remarked.

Evie walked closer to her, stopping beside the campfire. "I already did get away with this."

The campfire engulfed in flames as she tossed Easton's unwrapped coin away, melting it completely, her only way out was gone. "Seriously, I thought you'd be smarter." Evie stepped closer to her.

Her plan was simple: get rid of Easton's coin, force him to steal Lane's, and then burn his coin. Evie could keep her and she'll live. As easy as that.

What she didn't know was the fact that her coin was also gone.

Lane lets out a small grunt as her body makes contact with the rough skin of the tree.

"Fuck you Evie, you're sick, you know that?" She spat back, each word laced with poison.

"Yeah, I know." Glistening under Lane's chin was a sharp razor blade knife, traces of blood already trickling down, coating her neck red, not bothering to wipe it away.

It was the same blade they'd used during the ritual and even now Lane still had the scar.

Amid the dense forest and the soon-to-be murderer right in front of her, Lane saw an opening and tried to slip away.

Her body pushed past Evie's and made a run for it but her escape was short-lived seeing as Evie, rather quickly, recovered and pursued her chase against Lane.

Adrenaline pumps through her body, blood rushing to her face urging her to run faster, further away deep into parts of the forest that have yet to be discovered.

Lane felt as if the forest was not her side that day, the trees closed in on her body making her squeeze past and branches scuffing her face and parts of her arms that weren't covered with a layer of clothing.

As she traveled deeper into the darkness her lungs started to burn furiously, she needed oxygen.

Taking oxygen was an important action she had to do once in a while to keep herself going.

Lane paused briefly to catch her breath, but before she could regain her composure, Evie tackled her to the ground, colliding onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Get off me!" Lane shouted. Evie though was persistent to kill her off right this second, pushing Lane's head down with full force to the ground.

Grunts of pain escaped Lane's lips. Propping her leg up against her chest, just under her attacker's stomach to push Evie away.

Lane scrambled to her feet after managing to kick Evie off her and fled deeper into the woods. A momentary refuge was found behind a towering tree, holding her breath to remain undetected.

Footsteps appear once again throughout the forest's endless paths, each of them leading to different places, places that all look the same.

"Lane, you can come out now. I won't hurt you," Evie cooed, drawing closer. "C'mon, don't be a stupid bitch."

Lane cautiously peered around the tree, noticing Evie was facing the opposite direction with her back turned towards Lane.

Seizing the opportunity, Lane silently approached Evie from behind, prepared to strike, knife in hand and ready to knock if not stab the life out of her.

Crunch

A twig snapped under Lane's foot, alerting Evie.

She turned around, a split second, just in time to see Lane's elbow connecting with her chin.

Darkness enveloped Evie as she crumpled to the ground, collapsing.