Cousins

Cousins Part 3

            Nick, Alex, and Brecken's mom showed up to check on them in the morning and was shocked to find everyone sleeping in the living room. When she asked them why, no one could quite remember, but they figured they had been chatting really late and had just ended up crashing on the floor.

They could all recall foggy bits and pieces of a nightmare, but not quite enough to tell each other about it. Embarrassingly, there was a warm bag of shredded cheese on the counter, which had apparently been left there all night. They returned it to the fridge and went out to the main cabin.

That day, the family went to the beach again and walked along the edge of the ocean, looking for seashells.

Supper was a burrito bar with wonderfully diverse options to choose from. The cousins built their burritos, then sat on the porch of the main cabin, listening to Justin tell long, winding story-jokes with unpredictable punch lines.

When they finally retired to their own cabin, it was dark once more.

"I can't believe we only have one more night!" Ashlyn lamented, while Justin leaned in the corner, looking for a good song to play.

"We'll have to make the most of it," Jennifer said, "Hey guys, I had this cool dream last night that I've been trying to remember all day. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure," Justin snorted, grinning and not looking up from his phone. He was quite familiar with Jennifer's propensity for telling weird dreams.

"Well," Jennifer began eagerly, "I think it must've been inspired by that picture on the wall and the Will o' the Wisps I saw the first night, because I dreamed that a Will o' the Wisp led me away from the cabin, and I found this clearing out in the woods. The girl from the picture was there."

Justin's head snapped up suddenly, but Alex spoke first: "Wait...Now that you mention it, I think I had the same dream, only Ashlyn and I were out looking for you."

"I remember that too!" Ashlyn said, her eyes wide.

"I dreamed that Nick almost got hung," Justin said, shifting nervously.

"My neck has been sore today," Nick said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Finally, Jake said what they were all thinking: "That was no dream."

"We were going to convince the parents to let us pack up and leave today," Brecken said, his voice heavy with dread, "How did we forget?"

"She made us forget!" Jake said.

Ashlyn was already sprinting for the door. "Well, we have to leave anyway!" she said. She seized the doorknob and rattled it. "It's locked!" she cried.

A ripple of panic buzzed through the room.

Justin let out a wry laugh and walked over to her. "Ashlyn, the deadbolt is in," he said, "We just have to..." His hand froze in midair. The latch for the deadbolt was in its unlocked position. He seized it and flipped it a few times just to make sure. Then he tried the knob. "She's right," he said hollowly.

"What about the other door?" Jennifer said, getting up and heading toward it.

"Wait." Alex jumped in front of her. "Don't you go looking out that window again! Let me check." He tugged on the door's handle, but it was stuck fast.