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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SOLVED MYSTERIES.
Cameron felt her exhaustion deep in her bones. Each step seemed harder than the last, her legs growing heavier as if the earth itself was trying to pull her down.
Even her eyelids felt like lead, drooping with every blink, threatening to close entirely if she stopped moving for too long.
Her fingers were stiff from the cold, her sweater still damp and clinging to her like an unwelcome second skin.
She clenched her hands into fists, trying to push the numbness away.
This whole trip had been a nightmare, start to finish. What had possessed her to agree to come in the first place?
She should've stayed home, let curiosity gnaw at her rather than stepping back into this fractured group.
These trips never ended well—why had she thought this one would be any different?
But then, as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't entirely regret her decision. If she hadn't come, she probably would've never seen Sam, Ashley, or Chris again.
She had forgotten how much she used to enjoy being around them, how easily they could make her laugh or distract her from whatever stresses life threw her way.
And then there was her and Josh. She didn't even know if he was still alive, but thinking about him made her chest tighten with longing.
If she hadn't come, she wouldn't have had the chance to tell him how she felt. And he wouldn't have told her he felt the same.
That brief moment of connection seemed like a distant memory then, swallowed by the new knowledge of the Wendigo.
But it was still enough to keep her moving forward, to give her the smallest thread of strength to cling to.
But what now? If everyone made it out alive—and that was a big if—what then? Would they even be able to look each other in the eye after everything they'd seen?
Or would this night break them apart for good?
Cameron couldn't imagine going back to her normal life. The thought of returning to her mundane nine-to-five, pretending that the trip had never happened, felt impossible.
She let out a soft, bitter laugh as she trudged behind Sam and Mike. Maybe she'd become a monster hunter, like that flamethrower guy. If anyone believed their story, that is.
Sam bent down to pick up something from the ground. It was a tattered journal, the edges frayed and smeared with dirt.
She examined the book closely, brushing some of the grime away before flipping it open. Her brow furrowed as she scanned the first page.
