Chapter Thirteen: At The Lodge

(Don't Panic, Part 2)

***

They managed to get back to the lodge without running into any creatures or maniacs who poured blood on your face and tried to drag your injured brother away to God-knows-where.

At the sight of it, Hayden's tense shoulders relaxed. Once they were inside, they would be safe and so would Jacob and Emma when they came here. They could call for help, actually treat Sarah's and Nick's and Abi's injuries, and wait until help arrived and they could all get out of here.

Nick...

Hayden cast a look at Nick, lying in the wheelbarrow. He looked slightly less in pain, but that could be him putting on a brave face for them all, especially for her and Allison. Her eyes trailed to his leg, heart climbing into her throat as she looked at the bite, black lines creeping out, all the blood covering her brother, so much blood. 

He would be okay. He had to be okay.

Hayden couldn't think of a situation where he wouldn't be.

"How are you going?" Hayden asked Nick softly, worriedly.

"Okay. Feeling pretty hungry, actually," Nick answered.

A flicker of confusion speared through Hayden's worry, but she shook it away as she gave Nick's shoulder a comforting squeeze before stepping back so she wasn't in Ryan's space, casting a look at Nora and Sarah. The injured girl nodded to say she was fine, too.

When they stopped, Allison and Abi warned Ryan in unison, "Easy!"

"I got it. He's okay," Ryan assured as he let go the wheelbarrow.

After he did, Allison kneeled down and asked, "Hey, Nick, are you in any pain?"

"Nah. Nah, sorry, I'm just... I'm really hungry," Nick answered.

"I'm feeling pretty hungry as well," Sarah admitted, before she frowned. "That's weird, right?"

"No, it's good. If you're both hungry, that means it'll be easier to give you food and keep your energy up," Allison said, before she looked at Nick and added, "We'll get you and Sarah some food. After Kaitlyn and I look at your injuries first, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Nick muttered as Sarah nodded.

Allison looked at Hayden, giving her a nod as together, they helped Nick out of the wheelbarrow as he said, "Oh man, I could eat a horse."

Hayden tried to crack a grin. "I see your sense of humour hasn't taken any hits, Nicky."

"Yeah, well, I don't know if there's any horses in there, but probably some granola," Allison informed once she and Hayden got him fully out of the wheelbarrow.

Once he was out and on his feet, Nick's face screwed up and he complained, "Ugh. Yuck, I hate granola."

"I mean, you like Weet-Bix. Same difference," Hayden remarked as she hovered by Nick's side along with Kaitlyn and Allison, while Abi and Nora helped Sarah to the lodge as she muttered, "Granola's gross."

"No it isn't, Hay. Weet-Bix is nothing like granola" Nick argued.

"Seems like it to me," Hayden returned, while some relief flowed into her as they climbed up the stairs. If she and Nick were bantering over something like food preferences, then he had to be okay. Right?

At the top, Dylan and Ryan opened the doors, the rest of them heading in. Once they were in, Ryan turned to Allison and Kaitlyn, keys in his hand as he said, "This'll open the nurse's station. Should be plenty of stuff in there."

"Thank you," Allison thanked as Kaitlyn took the keys.

"Well hopefully we can just get them cleaned up for now," Kaitlyn said as she and Allison headed over to Nick, Sarah, Hayden, Allison and Abi.

"I'll get you guys something to eat," Abi offered as she went into the kitchen, leaving Hayden, Nora, Alison and Kaitlyn to bring Nick and Sarah into the nurse's station.

Behind her, Hayden heard Ryan say to Dylan, "You and I are gonna find a landline."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Um, isn't there one in Mr. H's office?" her best friend inquired.

"Yup," Ryan said, before telling the rest of them, "We'll come meet you."

"Copy that!" Kaitlyn replied as they left the room, making a beeline straight for the nurse's station. As they did, Hayden noticed Allison give looks to Nick, worried looks that weren't exactly platonic, the same looks she'd given him ever since the woods. Looks that told Hayden that maybe, finally, they'd confessed their feelings.

Not that Hayden could be delighted in it. Not when she was too worried about Nick.

After Kaitlyn unlocked the door to the nurse's station, Allison walked in first and instructed, "Hayden, Nora, help Sarah and Nick to these beds. Make sure they're comfortable but try not to reopen their wounds. Kaitlyn, come help me find some bandages and disinfectant. Even if infection's set in, we can try and counteract it as much as we can. I hope."

Hayden nodded, setting Nick down on a bed while Sarah did the same, making them as comfortable as possible. As they did, Nick looked at Hayden, a weak grin coming over his face as he joked, "And here I thought that jellyfish sting I got when we were kids hurt."

Hayden choked out a laugh, sitting next to him, mindful of his leg. "Yeah, that was pretty bad. I think I nearly crushed your hand during the ambulance ride to the hospital."

"Hey, you were returning the favour. Pretty sure I crushed yours during your ride to the hospital when you had your allergy attack," Nick reminded.

Hayden smiled, but it faded as she looked at his leg, at past the infection and seeing the faint scars that remained even eight years after that box jellyfish sting, the bite that now disrupted it.

"How bad is it?" Nick asked, catching where she was looking.

Hayden swallowed, not willing to lie to her brother as she answered, "It looks pretty bad. Does it still hurt?"

"A little. Not much than it did before," Nick answered.

Biting her lip, Hayden frowned as she mused, "It should leave a wicked scar, though. Once it's all healed up."

Nick grinned. "A badass one, right?"

"Yeah," Hayden affirmed, the twins chuckling before the humour died away as guilt and worry churned inside Hayden, hands clasped together to hide their shaking.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "If I was there, if I'd been faster, maybe I could have—"

"Hey. It's okay. It's not your fault, Hay. I'm just... glad you weren't there. That you didn't get hurt as well," Nick interrupted, looking at her through pain-glazed eyes.

Hayden let out a small grin. "Yeah."

She paused, before joking weakly, " Maybe we should have just hitchhiked to the airport instead."

Nick let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, maybe. But if we did, if I did..."

Looking at Allison, he murmured, "Then she might have gotten hurt. Or..."

He didn't finish, the sentence as horrible for him to say or think of as it would be if it was Hayden.

Grabbing his hand, Hayden squeezed it comfortingly as she assured, "You're gonna be fine. You and Sarah are gonna be fine, we'll get you help and a doctor and some antibiotics, and you're gonna be fine."

Nick nodded, before he looked away, squeezing Hayden's hand back before pulling away.

"How is he?" Allison asked, arms full of bandages and painkillers as she walked up to them.

"He said it hurts, but he doesn't look like he's in any further pain. Not like... earlier," Hayden told her.

"Okay. That's good. Maybe the infection isn't as bad as we think it is," Allison said, and Hayden felt her shoulders wilt in relief. She stepped back to let Allison take control and do her thing as Allison looked at Nick's leg, before she frowned.

"That's weird," she muttered.

"What is it?" Hayden asked, moving back, the worry having now returned.

"Back in the woods, I could have sworn Nick's wound was deeper. Like, needing several stitches deeper," Allison explained.

"Maybe the blood made it worse than it looked? And it was pretty dark—that couldn't have helped," Hayden reasoned, though she wasn't sure. Because the bite... it had looked deep.

But was it just because of the blood?

"Maybe," Allison murmured, frowning, the clinical doctor's look at war with the worry of a girl who loved the boy in front of her. "I won't know for certain for Nick or Sarah until we can clean their injuries. Hayden, Nora, can you go and see if you can get me and Kaitlyn some water."

"Okay, we'll do that," Hayden said, turning to Nora, seeing the frown on her face—that, just like Allison, she'd thought Sarah's wound was deeper too.

"Come on, let's get water from the kitchen," Nora said as they walked out of the nurse's station and to the kitchen, running into Abi.

"Hey," she greeted. "What are you doing?"

"Finding some water to clean Nick's and Sarah's injuries," Nora informed.

Abi nodded, before she asked, "Are they okay?"

Nora and Hayden looked at each other before Hayden answered, "They're stable."

Abi bit her lip, before she continued looking for food for Nick and Sarah, leaving them alone.

Exchanging another look, Hayden and Nora headed into the kitchen and sent to work on finding water. As Nora moved to the fridge, Hayden looked in the cupboards for a cup, trying not to think about Nick's and Sarah's wounds. Darkness did tricky things for human sight—maybe that was why Allison thought Nick's wounds were deeper. The blood didn't help. But then again, there was enough light at the fire pit, and Nick's and Sarah's wounds looked that bad enough to need at least a few stitches. Not to mention, their infected wounds didn't feel nearly as hot as they should be, and Nick and Sarah seemed to be in less pain than they were earlier, especially with having infected wounds. Was it shock or... or something else?

What was going on with them? What was wrong with Nick and Sarah?

Hayden slammed the cupboard door she'd opened closed, frustration at herself thrumming through her. God, she felt so helpless, being unable to do anything but offer Nick comfort and try and help Allison in fixing it, to just watch as Nick lay there, possibly dying from an infected wound after being attacked by a mysterious creature in the woods, having no guarantee they could actually get him help, that Hayden could do nothing to save him, to at least take a fraction of his pain into herself, that she might have to watch her brother die—

"Hey, I found some water."

Hayden turned to Nora, who held a couple water bottles up. She frowned, and asked, "Are you okay? You're crying."

"Huh?" Hayden said, now realising her cheeks felt wet and her eyes stung with salt. "Oh, I... I didn't even notice. And no, not really. Nick's hurt, and I can't do anything to help him. Not to mention, there's maniacs in the woods possibly hunting us like some bad slasher movie and I... I..."

Hayden huffed, letting all the frustration and terror out.

"I get what you're feeling. I mean, not entirely, but... I feel pretty much the same with Sarah," Nora divulged. "But we can try to help them as much as we can. Besides, Allison and Kaitlyn are not gonna let them die, especially Allison for Nick."

Hayden smiled. "You noticed too, huh?"

"Yeah," Nora said. "Now come on. Let's go and save them."

Hayden nodded, following Nora as they headed back to the nurse's station. But as they were about to enter, a voice whispered in Hayden's ears.

Hayden.

"Hello?" she called out, turning, only for there to be nothing.

"Hayden?" Nora asked. "You good?"

"I'm fine. it was nothing," Hayden said, joining Nora as they walked back into the nurse's station, where Abi was next to Sarah and Kaitlyn and Allison were with Nick.

"Okay, we got water," Nora announced—just as the lights cut out.

Sarah let out a yelp as Hayden and Nora stumbled in shock.

"What the fuck happened to the power?" Kaitlyn demanded.

"I have no idea," Hayden said. Looking at her and Kaitlyn, she asked, "Can you still..."

She gestured to Nick and Sarah.

"We probably should," Allison affirmed, before she took a water bottle, Kaitlyn doing the same.

After they did, Nora went to Sarah while Hayden went to Nick, taking up his spot beside him. Looking at Allison, she asked, "You think this is just a blackout, or..."

"I don't know. I'm more worried about Nick," Allison replied.

"I'm fine, Allie. Doesn't... hurt as much as before," Nick said, a brave face on.

"That may be, but I don't trust that bite, or that infection," Allison returned, before she whispered to Hayden, "Kaitlyn gave him and Sarah some painkillers earlier."

"Oh, okay," Hayden murmured back, feeling slightly better that the painkillers were numbing the pain her brother was in.

Looking over her shoulder, Allison asked, "Kaitlyn, do you have the disinfectant?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We'll have to clean the bites first with the water, then use it to disinfect before we can think about bandaging. It might not do much but it's better than doing nothing and keep letting it spread," Allison said. 

Hayden and Nora nodded as Nick and Sarah flinched at the mention of water. Hayden frowned, catching that. 

Why did they react like that?

Thinking it was just her exhausted mind playing tricks on her, Hayden looked at the door as Kaitlyn unscrewed the first water bottle, warning Nick, "Okay. Nick, this is gonna hurt a little."

Hayden turned back, ready to keep her brother steady in case he moved—only to watched as before Kaitlyn could dribble any water onto the wound, Nick pulled away.

Kaitlyn frowned. "Nick?"

"Don't, Kaitlyn," Nick muttered.

Now Hayden was frowning, as was Allison as she said, "Nick, if we want to clean your wound, we have to—"

"No," Nick snapped, before saying in a quieter voice, "I'm fine."

Allison, Hayden and Kaitlyn shared confused and worried looks, before Allison murmured, "Okay."

Then she grabbed the disinfectant and poured it on Nick's leg.

Nick yowled in pain, teeth clenched as Allison lifted the bottle and tossed it to Nora, ordering, "Do it."

As Nora did the same, Sarah yelling in pain, Allison grabbed a wad of bandages and wiped some of the blood away. As she did, Kaitlyn breathed, "Holy shit, Allison."

"Why did you do that?" Hayden demanded, shocked at Allison's ruthless actions.

"We had to clean the wounds somehow. If my dad was here, he'd be furious, but... I had a bad feeling we would just be in a rut with the water," Allison explained, looking at a panting Nick as she murmured, "I'm sorry, Nick. I'm really, really sorry. But I'm just trying to help. I... I'm just trying to keep you and Sarah alive."

Nick panted heavily, looking at her as he said, "Wasn't... water."

Then his head dropped against the pillow, eyes glazed over.

Hayden looked at her brother in worry, sharing the same look with Nora as Allison and Kaitlyn looked at each other and Kaitlyn asked, "Bandages?"

"Bandages."

As the girls bandaged Sarah's wound, then Nick's, Hayden couldn't stop staring at her brother, her mind in a spin. First the decrease in pain and the bite not being as deep as it was, now refusing the water? Something wasn't right.

What was happening to Nick?

Biting her lip, her mind a maelstrom of worry, Hayden now noticed for the first time Dylan or Ryan hadn't come back to tell them whether help was coming or not.

"Hey, do you think Ryan and Dylan managed to get a call out before the power went out?" Hayden questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Allison answered hopefully.

"What about them not returning?" Nora asked, a frown on her face.

Hayden's face paled, immediately thinking of the worst. "You don't think..."

"No. No, they couldn't have," Kaitlyn said, sounding confident and determined.

"Shouldn't someone check? Especially after the power went out," Allison suggested. "I mean, I'd go, but..."

She gestured to Nick and Sarah, answer enough.

"I'll go and check," Kaitlyn volunteered. "Hayden?"

"Yeah, I'll come," Hayden said, standing up.

Before they could leave, Nora spoke up.

"Wait, Kaitlyn. I wanna give Hayden something."

Both girls waited as Nora walked up to Hayden and passed her something. "Here."

Hayden looked down, and her eyes widened at seeing the knife in her hand.

"Nora—"

"It's a knife my dad gave me—he's a retired military solider," Nora explained. "If we run into any maniacs, then use that to stab while I use my axe to chop and Allison and Ryan shoot their brains out."

Looking at the army-issue knife in her hand, Hayden looked at Nora before nodding and pulling the shorter girl into a hug.

"Thanks," she murmured.

Nora hugged her back, before pulling free. "Stab, remember?"

"Will do," Hayden said as she slipped the knife in her pocket and she and Kaitlyn walked down the hall, toward Dylan and Ryan.

It didn't take long for them to find the boys, as they were standing in the dining hall with the shotgun and... another gun?

Jesus Christ, how many guns did Hackett's Quarry have? 

"Am I interrupting something?" Kaitlyn asked as Hayden eyed the guns, wondering how and why there were so many guns at a summer camp?

Then again, this was America, so...

"Ah, no, not really," Dylan said, before Ryan handed Kaitlyn the smaller gun.

"Here," he said. "Use it to protect yourselves and Nick and Sarah and Abi along with that axe and Allison's bow."

"Okay? Where did you even find this gun?" Kaitlyn asked as she took it while Hayden questioned, "What's going on? Did you get a call out before the power went out"

And why do I sense romantic tension between you two? Hayden thought as she directed the question at Dylan. He just gave a minute shrug before he answered, "We found the gun in Mr. H's office, and we didn't get a call out."

"Then where are you two going if you couldn't get a call out?" Kaitlyn asked.

 "We're heading to the radio hut," Dylan revealed. "The phone's dead—landline was cut."

"Wait, what?" Kaitlyn hissed as Hayden stared in shock.

"When?" Hayden demanded.

"Just before the power went out," Ryan answered.

Looking at Dylan, Hayden asked, "You think you can get a signal for help out from your janky radios?"

"No harm in trying, right? I mean, what other option do we have?" Dylan asked right back.

Hayden hated to admit it, but he was right.

"Just... please don't get injured, either of you. Three is enough," Kaitlyn said, worry in her tone.

"We'll try not to," Ryan promised as Hayden looked at Dylan before she hugged him.

"Please, just stay safe and in one piece," Hayden whispered. "Nick already is. I... I can't have you hurt either, Dyl."

She felt Dylan's arms wind around her as he promised, "I won't. We'll be back in a hour. Maybe thirty minutes, if we're lucky."

"You better be, or I'm taking the gun and coming after you and Ryan," Hayden vowed as she pulled back.

Dylan smirked, but there was genuine concern as he said, "Stay safe too, Hay."

"We're in the lodge. It's probably the only safe space in camp right now," Hayden pointed out, trying and failing to smirk back.

Dylan gave her another reassuring smirk, before he and Ryan turned and headed out of the lodge.

Hayden and Kaitlyn followed, watching the boys go until they disappeared down the trail, worry churning in her gate for Dylan.

"You think they'll be okay? That they can get a call out?" she murmured.

"Hopefully, they will be. I mean, it's not that far of a walk anyway," Kaitlyn replied. "As for the call... I don't know."

Hayden bit her lip, not feeling comforted by that, and Kaitlyn instantly noticed, turning to her as she assured, "Hey, Dylan and Ryan are gonna be fine. So will Nick. And Sarah. They'll get help and we'll all be out of here soon."

Hayden's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Yeah. Yeah, they're gonna be—we're gonna be. It's all gonna be fine."

Looking at Hayden, Kaitlyn tilted her head to the lodge and said, "Let's get back to the others."

Hayden nodded, and together they headed inside the lodge and walked back to the others, Hayden sending a silent prayer to Dylan and Ryan to stay safe.

And desperately hoping they would be.

***

Oh, I don't know about that, Hayden...

Yeah, Hayden's mind is a bit all over the place. But she'll become level-headed soon enough. Just give her some time to adjust to, well, everything (and what will happen to Nick...)

And yeah, they're all noticing somethings Not Quite Right with the bites >:) 

And the power's off and the boys are off to the radio hut! And Hayden and Dylan shared a soft moment 🥺 But yeah, Dylan's not exactly gonna stay in one piece for long...

And Hayden has a weapon! It's gonna be very useful in the future!

Also, if Allison's a bit ruthless/clinical... she's in doctor mode. She can't afford to be worried/comforting to Nick right now because if she loses focus, then that will mean Nick (and Sarah) could die. She's just trying her best here

And saying it right now—this is the chapter where Nick stops being who he is before the infection takes over along with Sarah, so this will be the last of the sweet sibling moments between Hayden and Nick/lovely romantic moments for Allison and Nick (get ready for pain for Hayden and Allison) Also, Nick being stung by a jellyfish when he was kid is one of my head canons for him, and will be very important later on with Hayden and her realising just how Wrong her brother is (including the pool scene...)

But yeah, it won't be long till that lodge becomes decidedly unsafe...

Next chapter should be soon!

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!