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 GUILTY AND THE GUILTLESS.
"Chris, Ashley, Cam!"
The pounding in her ears drowned out Matt's words as he and Emily approached, their figures blurry and disjointed, as though she were seeing them through shattered glass.
"Blood? Whose blood is that, Ash?" Emily's eyes darted between them in alarm.
Matt, wide-eyed, moved to Cameron's side instantly, his hands steadying her as her legs wavered under her. She could feel the strength in his grip, but even that felt detached, like it was happening to someone else.
The blood on her sweater felt heavy, too heavy, like it was dragging her down.
Josh's blood.
The thought flickered through her mind, and she felt her stomach twist, her body recoiling at the memory. The metallic scent clung to her skin, to her hair, suffocating her.
She looked down at her hands, stained red, trembling uncontrollably. His blood was on her.
"I—" Her throat was dry, and her voice cracked as she tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Her stomach churned, bile rising in her throat. She couldn't stop it.
She doubled over, retching violently, the little food she had eaten spilling out onto the snow. Her whole body shook with the effort, and the cold air stung her face.
She wanted to stop, but her body kept heaving as though it was trying to purge not just the contents of her stomach, but the horror of what had just happened.
Matt's hand moved awkwardly to her back, trying to soothe her, though his own voice trembled as he asked, "Are you okay?"
He was trying to comfort her, but how could she be okay? How could anyone be okay after what they had just seen? Josh is dead.
Her mind reeled, cycling through fragments of the last few minutes. The saw. The choice. Chris's panicked face. Josh's screams.
She closed her eyes, trying to will it all away, but it wouldn't leave her. It was burned into her memory now, carved in like the jagged edges of the saw. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be.
"Chris, what the hell happened?" Emily asked.
Chris, shaking, tried to explain between gasps. "Josh... Josh is dead! Right in front of us, man! He's fucking dead!"
"What are you talking about?" Emily's disbelief only heightened his panic.
"There's a maniac!" Chris's words tumbled out, frantic and desperate. "He had us, and there was this fucking saw! It was either Josh, Cam, or Ash, and I..." His breath hitched, his hands shaking as he ran them through his hair. "I didn't know what to do! It just— It cut right through him! There was blood everywhere! Everywhere!"
