Parasite

Chapter 2: Summer Madness

Big Bear Lake, California 2021                                                                                                                                          Cranberry Lodge

Finally, we made it. After all the driving, all the sight seeing, and the occasional stops, we finally made it biggest lodge that anyone has ever seen before. I drove the car near the lodge and parked it right in front. 

"Alright, everybody out." I commanded. Everybody got out of the car and stared in awe at the large cabin that rose tall in the forest.

I turned around and spread my arms out like a guide and presented the place to them.

"Guys, welcome to Cranberry Lodge. This is gonna be our sanctuary for the next two weeks." 

"Oh. My. God. This place looks amazing Dana. How the hell did you managed to get a place like this?" Fernando asked.

I chuckled a bit and put my hands in my pockets.

"I can tell you all about the details later, but right now we need to hurry up and choose our rooms before we lose daylight."

"Rooms?!" Bryan asked sounding startled. I moved around the car and looked at him with a smirk.

"Yeah, rooms. As in more than one, that means everyone is gonna have their own and we're not gonna share."

"Nice. Dibs on the biggest room!" Bryan yelled as he quickly grabbed his bag and ran to the door!

"Oh hell nah! You better not get big room Bryan!" Manuel said loudly as he ran in after him. 

Everybody started to scramble inside the lodge and left me outside all by myself!

"Guys! GUYS! Come back you still have to..." Nobody answered back as I heard their footsteps scramble up the stairs inside the lodge.

 "...get your bags." I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair. 

"It's okay, I wanted to take my bags out the car anyway." I said quietly under my breath. I went to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and started to pull out my suitcase."

"Wow... great friends you have their."

Quickly turning my head, I saw Paola standing by car with her hands in her pockets. 

"Ha, well, they're not just friends Paola... they're my family. Without them, I probably would've never become the sister you now today. Those guys give me hope and this trip is gonna show how much I appreciate them. 

"I guess, but why do they cuss so much? Do they always talk like that?" Paola asked. Once I found my bag, I put it on the ground and put my hand on her shoulder.

"You'll find out when you're older. Now, how about you go inside and pick your room, while I get our bags, sound good."

"Yeah, I can live with that. Don't take too long." Paola said as she walked up the stairs and into the lodge.

Cracking a smile, I went back into the trunk to pull out Paola's suitcase and puts it on the ground next to mine. I closed the trunk and locked the doors on the car and carried both of the suit cases to the lodge. As I was walking towards the lodge, I turned around to take in the beauty of the environment, seeing the tall trees and clear sky. However, something caught my eye. I saw some sort of figure in the distance moving among the forest. It was too far and too dark to see what it was, but I swear I saw something move. 

What the hell am I talking about... what can be out here except us and bunch of birds and bugs. Maybe I'm just tired from the driving. Yeah, I'm just tired. Getting out of my thoughts, I continued my walk into the lodge and prepared to see my room.