Hot Springs Horror #NaNoWriMo2020

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The sunset arrived too fast. We weren't ready to accept that we were stuck here overnight, and with no clue what might devour us at any moment. We weren't ready to be engulfed by darkness, to struggle to see our surroundings, to perceive threats. Because there was a threat, if not several, and we were still unclear on what it was and how to thwart it.

"What the fuck did we do to the universe to deserve this?" Millie swigged down her whiskey—she'd gone through a good quarter of the liquid since she'd started—and hiccuped. "I mean, okay, I fucked around a lot since the break-up. I definitely drink too much and swear a lot. And I had two guys in one night, sure, that was a bit slutty—"

"—a lot slutty," said Jenny, muffling her words with a cough.

"—fine, a lot slutty, but still. Why punish me, us for having fun?" Millie nibbled at her burger, having preferred to imbibe in a mind-numbing beverage instead of eat. "We had our share of adventures in our lifetimes... but does that warrant this shit?"

Jenny had decided to grab her stash of weed, and located an old bong in her trunk to smoke it. After a few hits, her anxiety had calmed down, and she sank into her chair with a semi-relieved smile on her face. Her cheeks were rosy, and as the sun set, the fire's glow turned them gold. "The universe hates us, but... we got this. Tomorrow, we'll get the heck out of here."

She'd become so optimistic, so settled, so relaxed... I almost considered taking a hit of her bong to see if it would chill me out. But after my last experience with drugs—weed tea—I'd promised myself to never partake again. I was one of those people whose anxiety worsened with marijuana in my system, and this was not the place or the time for that to happen.

"If anything, we deserve praise," I said, chewing on another fistful of Cheese-Its. I was down to my second-to-last packet, and knew I should have slowed down—but they were so good, their flavor somehow easing my worries. "Look at everything we've been through, between the three of us. Millie, your ex was a controlling asshole, and so was mine. And you, Jenny, how many morons have you dated now?" Jenny shrugged in response and tipped backwards to sprinkle jalapeno chip crumbs into her mouth. "Exactly. We shouldn't be punished. But makes you wonder what they did. The boys..." I gulped.

It was so bittersweet to bring them up. All three of us had tried so hard not to talk about them, not to mention their rotting corpses several yards away from us, and yet no matter what we talked about, they were there. As if their spirits loomed in the vicinity, or danced around the campfire, listening to us debating on how we would survive this trip.

Too many times I'd bit my tongue to stop myself from crying, because I knew if I started, I wouldn't stop. And if I cried, Millie would cry again—and I doubted she had any tears left.

"Ugh, I wish we could get in the water." Millie flopped about in her chair, having difficulties getting comfortable.

Jenny and I both gasped. "Heck no," I said, convulsing at the idea of being dunked underwater in a moment of inattention. Or having my throat slit as I rested against the stone spring walls. "That would make murdering us much easier. If some psycho is out here, we'll be more agile on solid ground."

Millie nestled the whiskey bottle to her chest and huffed. "I know, I get it. But I don't remember most of last night, and I feel like I need a re-do. Another shot at having a blast with my girls while not as intoxicated."

I would have chortled, were we not in such a dire situation. Because Millie had been beyond wasted, and it had been an entertaining sight. She'd sloshed around the springs, giggling, flashing her upper half to all, her words barely making sense. She'd also made up porn-names for all of us, but none of us were able to recall them.