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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REUNIONS AND REVEALS.
"Hey, wait. I think I saw something..." Mike whispered. His flashlight beam flickered over a wooden wall, its boards haphazardly nailed together, and his body froze mid-step.
He leaned closer, squinting through a narrow gap in the planks. Cameron, her breath quickening in anticipation, hurried to his side.
The faint scent of damp wood and earth filled her nose as she peered through the gap. Her eyes adjusted to the gloom beyond, and then she saw him.
"Josh!" She breathed, the name catching in her throat like a prayer and a curse all at once.
On the other side of the makeshift barrier, Josh stood alone in the cavern's dim light, his figure trembling as if caught in a freezing wind.
His disheveled hair stuck to his clammy forehead, and his eyes, wide and haunted, darted around as if trying to track something unseen.
"No, no, no... I don't take orders from you!" He muttered, his voice shaking.
He repeated the words over and over, each iteration more frantic than the last, his hands clutching at his head as if he could physically block out whatever hallucination tormented him.
Cameron's stomach dropped, a wave of relief crashing against a rising tide of dread. He was alive, but just barely. "He's having another episode." She whispered.
Her heart pounded, urging her to move, to act, to help him.
Before Sam or Mike could respond, Cameron surged forward, shoving the wooden door open with a loud creak that echoed off the cavern walls.
"Josh!" She shouted, her voice slicing through his frantic ramblings.
She approached cautiously but quickly, her boots scraping against the uneven ground.
Josh flinched at the sound of her voice, recoiling as though it physically hurt him. His arms shot up to cradle his head protectively, and his muttering escalated into a panicked wail.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore!" He screamed, his voice cracking under the strain. His entire body rocked on the balls of his feet, teetering dangerously close to collapse.
Cameron's heart twisted painfully as she stopped just in front of him, her hands hovering mid-air, unsure whether touching him would help or hurt.
His eyes remained unfocused, staring past her at something only he could see. "Okay... okay, I trust you. I trust you." He murmured.
Behind her, Sam and Mike finally caught up, their footsteps crunching on the gravel.
Sam's face twisted with worry as she watched Josh, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "What's wrong with him?"
