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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THE BASEMENT.
"Okay, well, I'm pretty sure somewhere in this crazy place we used to have a spirit board." Josh's voice cut through the low murmur of conversation, pulling Cameron from her half-asleep state on the couch.
She had spent the last hour quietly snacking on barbecue chips, the bag now lying abandoned in her lap. The lodge was warm now that the fire had heated everything up.
She tugged at the ponytail she'd lazily thrown her hair into and glanced over at Josh, who was rummaging through a pile of old board games on the shelf.
"Those things are a joke, man." Chris scoffed, waving Josh off with a dismissive flick of his hand. He sat sprawled out in an armchair, his usual smirk glued to his face. "They don't do shit."
But Ashley perked up, her eyes lighting up with interest as she leaned forward. "Wait, a spirit board? Like, an actual one?" The excitement in her voice made it clear she didn't share Chris' cynicism.
Josh grinned as he kept searching. "Yeah, we used to mess around with it all the time. Me and..." His voice faltered, the rest of the sentence swallowed by the unspoken names. Hannah and Beth.
Cameron saw the way his shoulders tensed up, the momentary pause.
Before the awkward silence could settle in, Sam bounced down the stairs, her voice light and cheerful. "Hey, Josh!" She sauntered up to him, pulling him from his reverie. "No hot water is kind of a major oversight, don'tcha think?"
Josh blinked. "Yeah, yeah. Just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement." He turned to Chris and Ashley, the lazy grin sliding back into place. "Alright, you two go hunt down that spirit board. Should be around here somewhere."
Ashley practically leapt out of her seat, tugging at Chris's arm like a kid on Christmas morning. "Let's go! It'll be like a scavenger hunt!"
Chris groaned but let himself be dragged along.
Cameron watched them disappear, feeling a restless energy buzzing beneath her skin. Sitting around while everyone else paired off wasn't exactly her idea of a good time.
She tossed the half-empty chip bag aside and stood up, stretching her stiff legs. "I'll come with you and Sam. I'd rather do something than just sit here."
Josh's eyes flicked over to her, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before he gave a small nod. "Cool. Let's get this show on the road."
They headed down toward the basement, the narrow hallway growing darker as they descended. Josh led the way, swinging a flashlight lazily in his hand.
