Stroke Of Fear

with me? Hell no. I’m not going. That’s a death wish.”

   “Whatever, you don’t have to come, Eric. I’m just tryin’ to make sure we’re all safe.”

   Eric rolls his eyes. “You’re really going to go?”

   “Does it look like I’m picking with you?”

   Eric snorts. “Okay. I’ll go. But, what exactly do you think we should do with this guy if we catch him?”

   Standing up, I tuck my phone into my jeans pocket. “Kill him.”

   Eric must see the desperation in my eyes, because he gives me a short nod. It’s one of the only times I’ve seen him serious. “Okay.”

   It’s past nine. I don’t know when to expect this guy or if he’s even going to come back. Eric grabs a hunting knife and slides it into his boot. I feel like we should be on The Walking Dead right now. My hatchet is still in my truck, so I dig it out and turn to Eric.

   “Really?”

   I shrug. “I didn’t bring a gun to summer camp, Eric. It’s all I have. Plus, I could really scare somebody with this shit.”

   “Okay, you do look a little badass.”

   He barks out a laugh and then stops to look over my shoulder.

“Is the axe murderer standing behind me?”

   He shakes his head back and forth slowly. “Worse. It’s Jake.”

   What. The. Fuck. I know he’s being decent toward me now but I’m not sure we’re ready to run off into the sunset and be best friends. Jake stalks toward us baseball bat in hand. He has a half smile on his face. “We’re going creeper hunting?” he asks.

    We? Who in the hell invited you? “Um, who told you that?”

   He suddenly finds the ground interesting. “I went by Aubrey’s cabin to check on her. She told me you guys were going to search for the guy. I thought I’d help.”

   Eric nudges me in the ribs with his elbow and gives me a come the fuck on look. I glance back at Jake. Even though he’s trying to get my girl back, I feel sorry for him. Because there is no way after last night she’ll ever go back to him. I saw it in her eyes. She was so breathtaking—her soft body shuddering under me. She was so damn responsive. “Okay. You can come.”

   He looks like a damn kid in a candy store. Give grown men hatchets, knifes and bats, and they think they’re zombie hunters.

* * *

   We start in the extra cabin. It’s already ten. We’ve been waiting for hours. Eric is playing Candy Crush on his phone while hiding behind a door. He’s cussing underneath his breath.

  “Put that away, Eric,” I hiss at him.

   “You’re just mad because you forgot your phone, asshole.”

   He’s fucking right. I did forget my phone.

   “Pst.”

   I roll my eyes. “What is it Jake?”

   “I’ve got to piss.”

   Christ. Are we the adults or do we need to go get the campers to help us? “Hold it, Jake. I told you to go before we left.”

   “I can’t. I have to fucking go, country. I’m stepping out of position. Gotta drain the pipe.”

   Fuck. What’s the use? Jake slides out from under one of the bed and runs toward the bathroom. A few minutes later I hear the toilet flush. Jake’s walking out of the bathroom when he stops dead in his tracks. A look of pure fear washes over his face. “Someone is in the fucking window.”

   My gaze averts toward the opened window to my left. The man I saw before is staring in at us, the white cap covering his eyes, a sneer riding up his lips and then he’s gone just as fast as I see him.

   “Go!” I yell. All three of us scramble to a run toward the door. Jake’s in front, swinging the baseball bat at his side. It’s so dark. I’m running, searching the ground for him. I catch a glimpse of a shadow behind the cabins close to the woods. He’s running fast. “This way,” I yell pointing my hatchet toward the gap in the woods.

   The moon is our only light, giving us glimpses of trees. My heart is jack-hammering in my chest. He’s right in our reach. We’ve got to catch him.

   “Fuck, I knew I should have been working out,” Eric yells from behind me. Creeper guy darts into the woods where a trail is and disappears. Jake looks back at me and nods. There is no way we can let this guy get away. Not with a camp full of kids running around.

   The trees branches slap at my face. I tear at them, pulling and cussing. Running with scissors is never a good idea. Running with a hatchet in the dark is a fucking stupid idea.

   “Jake!” I call out.

   “I’m on his tail. Over here.” I follow the sound of his voice and dig into the mushy ground beneath me. I can faintly see the outline of something darting in and out of trees. I’m hoping it’s Jake. Using my hatchet, I chop at the branches. All I can concentrate on is my breathing and the limbs slapping at my face.

   “Jake!” I yell.

   “He’s looping around. Go toward the cabins.”

   What. The. Hell. Turning I run smack into Eric. “Where are you…?” He doesn’t even try to finish his sentence. We’re both back on the trail and running as fast as we can. I don’t stop until the trees clear and we’re back at the camp. Searching the woods’ edge I see someone break from the barrier and take off into a full blown run.

  Jake breaks through next sprinting toward the guy. My feet are burning as I run through the camp toward him. He hasn’t stopped once. He’s in different clothes, but I can make out some kind of letterman jacket. What school is that? I can’t even make out the colors in the dark.

   The ground is slippery, and I stumble a few times before busting my ass in the mud. I have no idea how long we’ve been running but none of us have stopped. I don’t even realize where we’re at until the cliff comes into view.

   It’s so dark I can’t tell if Jake sees where we are. “We’re at the cliff. Watch out!” I’m screaming, my throat burning from running. Jake skids to a stop, sending a dust storm up his legs. That’s when I see the man. He doesn’t think twice before leaping over and diving into the rough waters. Then he’s gone.

   We walk back in silence. Jake’s face is bruised and scraped from the limbs. Something is nagging at the back of my head, but I can’t put my finger on it. How did he just jump without question? I guess he figured he’d die either way. But, no. That dive was perfect. It almost looked like he was…a swimmer.

* * *

   Aubrey and Cassie are sitting outside on their porch when we walk up. Aubrey’s eyes are wide, and she rushes toward me checking my body for injuries. “Are you okay?” she asks, holding my arms out to look.

   I nod and kiss the top of her head. “I’m fine, darlin’.” Eric rushes toward Cassie and wraps her in a hug. Even though they act like they’re just hooking up, I know they really like each other. That look is fear. Fear of losing someone.

   Aubrey’s gaze flickers from mine to Jake. His breathing heavily, watching the ground. Aubrey breaks from my grip and grabs Jake into a hug. A slight sigh releases from his mouth, and he tugs on her harder. I actually feel sorry for him.

   “You okay?” she whispers.

   He nods into her neck. “I am now.”

   Aubrey pulls back, gives him a smile and walks back over to me. “What happened? Did you catch him?”

   Slowly I shake my head back and forth. “No, he jumped over the cliff.”

   “What? You mean… he dove into the water? The winds are terrible he couldn’t have made it.”

   Jake scoffs. “I have a terrible feeling he did. He dove so perfectly. Like he knew exactly where to land.