Cameron hit the volume control on the Jeep's stereo almost maxing out the little green lines on the display as he urged the Jeep forward. All around him the night air poured in through the open windows tearing through the interior of the car. The vibrations from the stereo's bass flowed through him in pulses and waves.

His only focus as he sped angrily down the quiet roads just outside of town was putting as much distance between himself and Andra as possible. He was furious with himself for getting caught up in this mess. He had watched Andra getting in deeper and deeper with this investigation. He had told himself a million times that he would stop her if it looked like it was getting out of hand and still here they were. He had been way too close to the problem and Andra was far too consumed by it to help herself.

As he came to a stop at the next intersection he checked his surroundings. With a start, he realized that he was sitting at the intersection of Pinewood Drive. He had unconsciously driven himself right back to that house. Cameron slammed a hand into the steering wheel and cursed under his breath. He felt like he would never be free of this place. It hung over them like a dark cloud.

Sitting there a moment longer he turned onto Pinewood Drive and toward the house. "If you can't beat 'em join 'em," he muttered quietly to himself as he crept slowly down the dead-end road. He tried to tell himself that morbid curiosity was leading him to do this, but he knew better. The house was calling to him almost pulling him forward. He felt like there was no other choice but to follow.

As he made the turn into the drive he put the Jeep in park. He had no interest in being any closer. From this vantage point, he could see the hulking shape of the large house silhouetted against the tree line. White shone through in a few places where the moon cut through the overhead foliage. A light breeze stirred through the thinner branches and their movement cast eerie creeping shadows across the house's face.

As Cameron sat quietly watching his phone chimed softly from the seat beside him. He hesitated for a moment and toyed with the idea of ignoring it but curiosity won out. Plucking the phone from the seat he quickly swiped the drop-down screen and began flipping through notifications. When he came to the last he felt his stomach drop.

It was a tiny red play button and the small print underneath alerted him that the only Youtube Channel he followed had just gone live. He froze his thumb hanging inches above the phone's screen. There was a moment when he considered swiping right and just sending the notification into the abyss where all the other unwanted messages ended up but at the last second he reconsidered. Muttering under his breath he clicked the little box and waited for his requested page to load.

The familiar little white circle spun for what seemed like an eternity before Andra's face appeared on the screen. Cameron could see just enough of the room behind her to know that she was at her desk. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. They were made even more noticeable by her skin which appeared paperwhite and thin under the light of the desk lamp. Her long hair had been pulled back in a ponytail that fell over one shoulder. As she started to speak she nervously ran her fingers through the long strands. Cameron realized that for the first time since he met her Andra looked fragile.

"Hey, guys. I'm back. Sorry I know I must look terrible but my evening has been far from fabulous." Just seeing her like this tugged at Cameron's heart but he was still so angry with her. He had no idea how to cope with the complex mix of emotions he was feeling inside.

She paused for a brief moment before starting again. "I've been struggling with a very difficult decision for a while now. As a consequence of that decision, I've hurt someone that I care about very much. I'll be honest I don't know why I'm on here. There's nothing to talk through. The choice is made. I almost feel like it was made for me."

She sat quietly for a moment staring at a point in space just off to the right of the camera. When she nodded solemnly to some inner monologue only she was aware of Cameron felt a chill run through him. The tone of her live stream had quickly become unsettling.

"That's exactly it." She said gazing directly into the camera. "I didn't choose I was chosen." The revelation seemed to stun her but only for a split second and then amazingly she laughed.

Cameron was watching this entire scene unfold in abject horror. Beneath the video, he could see that the comments section had exploded into a flurry of questions and emojis. Several people were concerned for Andra while the overwhelming majority seemed to believe it was some type of stunt.

He found himself wishing with all his heart that he could believe that to be true but the last twenty-four hours had convinced him otherwise. Glancing back up at the video he saw that Andra seemed to have pulled herself together at least for the moment. As her gaze settled once again onto the eye of the camera his stomach tightened. He felt like she was speaking directly to him and he couldn't look away.

"I guess I know what needs to be done then." She said quietly. "Well, guys I'm going to wrap it up here because I have a few things to get started on. If all goes well I will have an incredible story to tell you very soon. If not, well, I'd just prefer not to go down that particular road if it's all the same to you. I will keep everyone here updated as much as I'm able. Thank you so much for listening and thank you for all the concern you've shown. I'm fine or at least I will be soon. Have an amazing evening and God bless."

Almost immediately the screen went dark as flurried texts erupted from the bottom of the comments screen. Cameron put both hands over his face still trying to wrap his mind around what he had just seen. This cannot be happening he thought wildly. He found himself desperately wishing for his old life.

Before Andra and this wretched house had appeared things had been so simple. His days quite often had been predictable and boring. He would have given anything for a little excitement at one time, but those days were over. Sitting in the front seat of his car now he wanted nothing more than to have his predictable boring life back.

Running a trembling hand through his hair he glanced up at the dark hulking shape of the house in front of him just as the living room window was flooded with a warm eerie light. Cameron's breath caught in his throat but he found that he wasn't in the least surprised.  Deep down a part of him had even expected it.

He turned the key in the ignition preparing to pull out of the drive but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of that one lit window. A dark shadow began to form and shape just behind the curtain and as he looked on it evolved into the shape of a woman. Cameron didn't need anyone to tell him who he was seeing. In the back of his mind, he heard Andra's voice. "I didn't choose I was chosen."

Cameron groaned aloud and then threw the Jeep into reverse. He quickly backed out, keeping his eyes trained on the window and the girl watching him. Once back out on the road, he eased on the gas heading toward town. He couldn't get the image of that shadow out of his head. As he pulled out he was sure he had seen her waving.

He knew without a doubt what he needed to do now. "She didn't choose." He repeated quietly to the empty car. Fifteen minutes after having left Pinewood Drive Cameron was turning into Andra's driveway.

The house was dark except for Andra's room as he made his way to the front door and knocked. Hearing movement just inside he found himself suddenly convinced that the door would open only to reveal the shadowy figure he had seen on Pinewood Drive. So sure was he of this premonition that for a split second as the door began to swing wide he very nearly fled in terror.

Instead, he found himself staring into the face of Denise Morris and she didn't seem overly happy to see him. Inwardly Cameron groaned. In his haste to see Andra, he had never considered the time. It had to be close to midnight.

"I'm so sorry Ms. Morris." He quickly blurted. "I just really need to see Andra." Crossing her arms over her chest she stared at him disapprovingly. "Cameron Davies." She said sternly. "I haven't had the privilege of meeting your mother yet but I would be willing to bet that she wouldn't approve of her son turning up at teenage girls' houses in the middle of the night."

He shuffled his feet sheepishly knowing exactly what his mother would say. She and Andra's mom would have a lot in common on that particular subject. "Yes ma'am. I understand but it's really important. Could I talk to her just for a minute?" Denise sighed and rolled her eyes skyward. "Cameron just tonight and tonight only." She said stepping aside to let him pass.

He grinned widely and stepped into the entryway. "Thank you so much." He said sincerely. "Cameron I like you and that's the only reason I'm allowing this. I just spoke to Andra a second ago. She's in her room working on her computer. The door stays open and you only have five minutes. Any longer and I'm coming up after you."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded quickly starting toward the stairs. "Cameron one last thing. If you should ever decide to pull this again it will mean my meeting your mother under very awkward circumstances. Are we understood?" He didn't answer only nodded a little sheepishly. "Ok." She said. "Get moving. The clocks ticking."

When Cameron got to the landing he could see Andras door was open and there was light pouring out into the hallway. He knocked on the open door before entering. She jumped in her chair and a look of shock crossed her face as she saw him standing there. "You came back." She said genuinely startled.

He stepped slowly into the room. "I can't stay." He said smiling sheepishly. "Your mom wasn't exactly impressed with my ability to tell time." He thought she might laugh or maybe smile but she just continued to stare at him with that same deer in the headlights expression on her face. "I just wanted to let you know that I saw the video you just posted. I may not agree with you and I still think this is insane but if this is the only way to end it I'll stay."

As he finished her bottom lip began to tremble and he saw tears standing in her eyes preparing to spill over at any second. She stood and moved quickly toward him and before he could say anything else she had both arms around his waist and her head buried in his shoulder. He stood completely still for a moment unsure of himself before putting his arms around her and stroking her hair.

"Ok." He said still holding her tightly against him. "If we're going to finish this where do we start?" She pulled back just enough to look up into his face. "There's only one place I can think of." As the words left her mouth she glanced in the direction of her bed. His gaze followed hers to the diary still lying on top of her comforter. As they watched the thick leather cover flipped itself open to a page filled with neat tiny handwriting.

"There wasn't ever a choice was there?" She looked up at him with large round eyes and shook her head solemnly. She put a tentative hand out lifting the book from where it lay. He knew that the cover would be ice cold like it had been stored inside a freezer. Taking a shaky breath Andra began to read.