SCAREBNB

six: the eighth guest

The six of us sat around the table in the dining room. I couldn't stop fiddling with the sleeve of my sweater, my legs folded beneath me, my shin bandaged beneath my pants.

In front of us sat the revolver. Cold metal.

"Who keeps a loaded gun in an Airbnb?" Cadence whispered. Her eyes jumped around, focusing on anything but the gun.

"I don't think this is an ordinary Airbnb," Elijah said. He'd sobered significantly once Annie and Lucas had brought it outside of the bedroom.

"No shit," Annie muttered. She run a hand through her hair, yanking at the tips. "What are we going to do?"

I didn't see Annie cry often, but her eyes were welling with tears. Then Cadence started, sobs bubbling beneath her lips. "I don't know."

I felt numb. Ever since the vision in the shower I felt numb. I felt like claws had drawn jagged paths up my forearms. I itched them beneath my sleeves, but they were intact.

"Should we throw it into the ocean?" Lucas said. "Get rid of it?"

"No," Cadence said.

"She's right—what if we need it to defend ourselves?" Elijah said. Even Cadence looked surprised that he agreed with her.

"Defend ourselves against who?" Annie asked.

"We're alone here trapped in a fucking Airbnb with no phone signal or power," Cadence said. "And James went missing!"

"Yes, missing, not taken!"

"How do you know that?!"

"Guys," I said quickly, my voice breaking them. I couldn't stand it when Annie and Cadence fought. "How many bullets are in there?"

Everyone looked at one another. Surely someone knew how a gun worked.

Gabriel was the one to break. He reached forward to take the gun in his hands. He examined it for a moment before cocking it open. The metal clicked and I flinched.

"Three bullets," he said. "Someone's loaded it oddly. Like, there's an empty shot between every loaded one."

I could practically taste our fear in the air. I wasn't the only one scared anymore.

"Keep the bullets in," Cadence said firmly.

"Cadence..."

"I'm going to take care of this," Gabriel said. "I think it's best."

I was cautious as I examined him, but I couldn't argue. None of us knew anything about guns.

"I think I want to go to bed," Annie whispered. I could see the fatigue in her eyes, the worry creasing her brows. She was a gentle soul. Not one who would sleep well knowing there was a loaded gun in her house. Even worse, a house that she couldn't escape. "But I don't want to be isolated in that room."

"Yeah," Lucas said. "Let's stay out here. By the door. We can keep the candle lit."

"What if it runs out?" Cadence asked. "What if there's more hiding in that closet?"

"We're not going to find it tonight. It's pitch black. We need to wait for morning."

"And if the candle runs out?" she pushed.

"What, you think we're going to need to last another night?" Elijah said.

"Well, yeah, nobody came today. What if nobody comes tomorrow?" Cadence was starting to sound hysterical.

"James might come back," Elijah countered. "The cleaners—"

"We're going in circles," I said, my voice breaking. I stood up, the scrape of my seat against the floor painfully loud. I couldn't bear it anymore—siting there and staring at the gun like it was some kind of omen.