Cameron Keen never expected her life to become entangled in the horrors of Blackwood Mountain.
Drawn back by a past she can't escape, she soon finds herself face to face with her old friend Josh Washington, a man haunted not just by grief, but...
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DARKNESS.
As they reached the front of the lodge, the massive wooden structure loomed above them, half-buried in snow, and Cameron's stomach knotted.
She couldn't help but glance up at its high windows, dark and hollow against the snowy backdrop, like watchful eyes.
Josh stood waiting for them, leaning casually against the porch stairs with a wide grin plastered across his face. Matt and Ashley were behind him, friendly smiles on their faces as they watched the group approach.
Chris, predictably, was the first to break the ice, hands on his hips as he exaggeratedly puffed his chest out, playing up the exhaustion. "I swear this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it." He called out, his voice bouncing off the snow-covered trees.
Josh's eyes flicked toward Chris, a faint glimmer of amusement dancing in his gaze. "Oh yeah? Feels the same to me." He shot back, giving Chris a quick once-over before his attention landed on Cameron, his eyes lingering just a bit longer than necessary.
Cameron's heart stuttered in her chest, her breath catching as his gaze swept over her. There was something unsettling in the way he looked at her—an intensity that hadn't been there before.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if noticing something new. "Cam Keen. Straightening your hair now, are you?"
Cameron blinked, momentarily thrown off. She hadn't expected him to notice, let alone comment on it. Her hands reflexively rose to her hair, fingers twisting one of the straightened strands nervously.
"It's just... something new I'm trying out." She mumbled, her voice sounding small in the open air.
Her dark brown hair used to be a wild mess of curls, but she'd wanted to change, to shed the girl she was last year, the one who had stood by helplessly as everything fell apart.
Her eyes dropped to the ground, studying the snow beneath her boots, as she blinked rapidly, feeling the strange urge to disappear into the background.
Josh let out a soft chuckle, a sound that made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "No, no, it looks good." He said, clapping a hand on her shoulder, the weight of it making her wince slightly. "I was just teasing you. It's been too long."
Cameron forced a tight smile, her lips barely moving. Teasing. Right. It was something Josh had always done, but now it felt... different.
She didn't trust it. She didn't trust him. Not fully.
Chris, blissfully oblivious as usual, cut through the moment with his usual banter. "Tch, come on," he continued with a lighthearted scoff, "you grew up here. It probably feels like it's shrinking."
