The Stranger on the Beach

The Beach

          "Bang," she shouted, causing the other three to jump slightly in their seats. So focused on her story, the surprise on the end left them unsettled but oddly wanting more. Laughter burst out among them, overwhelming the crackling of the sticks in the fire that burned between them. Cassie, Michael, Keith, and Bonnie were friends since the beginning on middle school, now all members of the Finnel High art club. A trip to a beach every summer and a hotel every winter became a tradition that their families helped create. But this summer was different.

          After a few night hours on the beach, they planned for a roadtrip up the east coast. After some more stories, they began packing up their towels and snacks before Michael pointed out a dark figure that had been watching them for around a half-hour now. Bonnie, the gullible and more paranoid one of the group retreated behind Keith. She confided in him without hesitation, despite the fact they'd been on and off  with their not-so-secret relationship. The group never talked about it because they never needed to. It was obvious it was happening.

          Michael shouted at the guy after picking up a flashlight and shining it on the man, but he quickly took a step back when he noted the stranger's broken right arm. As if on cue, the man collapsed on the sand, unmoving. Cassie was the first to rush over to him. She took a couple health classes in high school and her father was a nurse, so it was only natural she ran to help him. Keith tried to run after her, but with Bonnie clinging at his shirt, he was forced to awkwardly speed-walk.

          By the time the others got to the stranger, Cassie was keeled over, gagging. The man was covered in blood and she happened to be hemophobic, ironically. Keith helped her to her feet while Michael and Bonnie just stared at the mangled man. The arm wasn't so much broken as it was dislocated and while she tried to collect herself, Cassie attempted to explain without stuttering how to snap the arm back into place.

          Creeped out by the man, Bonnie was the first to say, "not it," followed by Keith. Michael, reluctant as he was, shook his hands a bit before reaching for the arm. When he tore the sleeve apart to reveal the skin, he suddenly became keen to the idea of just grabbing the stranger's arm. When he did, though, his palms started to burn and his vision blurred in seconds. Overwhelmed with a wild sense of discomfort that wasn't exactly pain, he fell unconscious, leaving the others scrambling around him and shouting for help...