For Shits and Giggles [2024]

Chapter 37

Camilo was livid.

His hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as he sped down the street toward the town. People were onto him. They knew about the lake. It wasn't the end of the world—he had managed to throw them off his scent with Paola's secret. Or so he thought. All he would have had to do was go back back to the cabin, gather Gracie and her things, and hide out somewhere else.

But the problem was that he had been killed by Feliqs after Paola's outburst (an outburst he was forcing himself not to think about, his perfect little Gracie with Felix was unthinkable). He had woken up in the late morning, and by the time he made it to the cabin, Gracie was already gone.

"I can't fucking believe this," he seethed. His rage was blinding. He was headed to Gracie's house, she had to be there. She just had to. But what if she wasn't? What if she'd gone somewhere else, with someone else?

He almost missed the two figures standing right in the middle of the street. He swore to himself again and slammed the breaks.

"Get out of the road!" He yelled out of his window. He noticed a third person for the first time, standing safely behind the first two. He was shorter, pudgier, and wore large, round glasses.

"You," Camilo gasped. Sny stepped out from behind Liam and Scotty. Camilo threw his car door open and marched up to him. He snatched Sny by the collar of his jacket.

"Tell me where she is!"

"She's at the Hospital," Sny said simply, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was standing on the tips of his toes, his jacket rubbing uncomfortably against the back of his neck as Camilo held him there.

"Well," Sny added, "according to my sources anyway." Liam and Scotty snickered.

"No," Camilo whined, releasing him. "No, no, no... why would you do that? Why the hell would you do that!" He yelled, shoving a hand through his shaggy, blond hair. He paced the street in front of his car.

Sny watched him, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do you know what you've done," Camilo demanded.

"Tell me," Sny pried, "What have I done?"

He let out a loud, frustrated grunt, a mix between a cry and a roar.

"She's going to break the curse. She's going to... leave me."

An evil grin climbed up Sny' cheeks. Bingo.

"No she won't," he decided, walking towards Camilo's car. He stood at the front passenger side, grabbing the door handle. "We're going to stop her."

"Wait," Camilo watched him, confused. "Don't you... isn't that your whole thing? Figuring out how to beat the curse, all your experiments on the Tree?"

He grimaced, "My experiments on the Tree are a farce. Fire, chainsaws, pulling on it with a truck? It doesn't take my level of genius to figure it out. Nothing can destroy that tree. Nothing. But apparently this town is full of idiots. Blind, ungrateful idiots who would stop at nothing to see it gone. Wanting to do away with such a magnificent opportunity. We've been given a gift, a GIFT," he glared at Camilo, prying the car door open with deep aggrivation. "So just follow my lead. I've got a plan."

Camilo watched as Sny shoved himself into his car and slammed the door shut. He glanced at Liam and Scotty in disbelief. They were already making their way to the Ducatis parked neatly on the side of the road. Since high school, they'd graduated from skateboards, to bikes, to motorcycles, and now, thanks to generous funding from Sny, to sportsbikes. He watched as they each lifted their bikes off the ground and started the engines. They revved once, then twice, and sped off in the town's direction.

"Well, alright," Camilo murmured to himself in hopeful skepticism. "Let's do this then."