The theater

Chapter 17

She was going to start walking again when a shadow appeared before her. Screaming in fear, she lost her footing and fell backwards, narrowly avoiding an oar that fell a few inches from her head. A cry of rage echoed when Julie tried to get up as soon as possible. She was still unable to see the face of her attacker, but she preferred not to stick around too long to find out. Her feet skidded in the dewy grass and she was unable to avoid the second blow. The paddle reached hard her left shoulder. She screamed in pain, rolling on the side. Wincing in pain, she looked up. She saw Rachel’s face contorted with rage. Julie rolled again on the side to avoid the third blow. Without wasting time, she dealt her a violent blow on the shin with her heel, giving her a little time to get back to get on her feet. She avoided the paddle another time and, taking momentum, she lunged at Rachel as a football player. She slammed her down violently. Rachel’s head hit the ground with force. Confused, the young girl moaned without making any effort to get up. Julie ran. She could hear the growl behind her. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest. She ran as fast as she could, clutching her sore shoulder.

There was nobody left around the fire. But where were they? Christopher and Philip had returned to the cottage to take things to eat and drink. But the others… Rachel… If she came back, where Joel, Dominique and Nancy were? Severe shortness of breath caught her attention. Rachel appeared before Julie. Her tousled hair made her look like a jellyfish. A demented gleam shone in her eyes. Julie took a step back. As if she had read her mind, Rachel told her with a calm tone:

“My plan could very well work if Dominique had died earlier and you were in the cottage with all the other assholes. But now, everything is finally perfect.”

“You’re sick.”

“It’s possible. Who knows? No one really knows me.”

“Where are Joel and Nancy? You were with them!”

“Ah! I don’t know exactly where I left them. Somewhere down the road, I guess.”

Julie’s heart jumped in her chest while images flooded in her mind.

“And there was a lot of blood when I left.”

The tone of her voice was detached, as if everything was normal. And she continued with the same tone:

“They only got what they deserved!”

“Dominique’s your friend… What have you done to her?”

Rachel looked at her, her smile widening.

“Did you know it’s very easy to cause a car accident?”

“My God… Tell me this isn’t true…”

“And why not? You refuse to accept the reality?”

“But why? They didn’t do anything to you!”

Rachel rolled her eyes and pouted.

“But it’s so obvious! There’s only you who still don’t understand a thing! You see? If you had wisely followed the rest of the gang in the cottage, you would already know why.”

“Dominique is your best friend!” Julie screamed, almost hysterical. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to hurt her. And the police will find out what happened to her!”

“They will not find anything.”

The young girl’s blood froze in her veins. Why they won’t find anything? Someone was watching them… Right? She finally understood what Rachel meant. She had engineered everything from the beginning, of course. She was responsible for the attack against Dominique. If they were really friends, how far was she willing to go to achieve her goals? A shiver ran down her back when she saw again the same light shine in her cold eyes.