*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧—chapter eight: the lodge

August 22, 2021
Hackett's Quarry
Upstate New York, New York

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT." Jacob comments as they walk back up the stairs. Cassidy rolls his eyes, giving him a look.

"Seriously? I'm an idiot?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Nope," Cassidy takes a left and walks past some of the windows as he walks along the porch, looking out at the scenery as the Custos boy makes a comment about Bob Ross.

They take a right and the path ahead of them was blocked by knocked over patio furniture. Jacob turns to the window, a smirk on his face as he reaches for it. He peers inside before pulling it up, getting it open.

"After you," the Custos boy offers, gesturing towards the window.

"Idiots first, you mean?" Cassidy teases, shoving the boy towards the open window.

"Hey!" Jacob cries out as he falls backwards into the Lodge. He rolls to the side and stands up, brushing himself off. "Not cool, man!"

"I'm not the idiot here," Cassidy replies, grinning as he climbs in. Once inside the room, he turns around and pulls the window down, closing it.

Jacob sidesteps, allowing Cassidy some space to lead the way out of the little library. As they pass one of the bookshelves, Cassidy snatches a book off of it and tosses it to Jacob.

Jacob catches it and grimaces as he gets a quick look at the cover before setting it back on the shelf. "You know I hate horror," he says.

"Exactly," Cassidy replies, exiting the library.

From here, the two of them enter the main area of the Lodge and head over to Nick, who's seated on the stairs on the other side. Dylan was nowhere to be found, most likely hiding to get away from Cassidy and Jacob.

"Okay, really dude?" Jacob asks, annoyance in his voice as he gestures toward the doors behind him. "Locking us out?"

"Okay in my defense..." Nick says, looking between the two. "A, it was Dylan's idea... and two, it was really funny."

"No, it was the stupidest thing you and Dylan could ever do," Cassidy says flatly, giving him a look.

Nick just gives him a tight-lipped smile in response.

"Oh, yeah, right, is that— is that right?" Jacob questions.

"I don't write the rules, man," Nick answers.

"Okay, whatever," Jacob huffs. "Look, you gonna help me and Cassidy with the bags or what?"

"Nah," Nick furrows his brows as he speaks, "I gotta stay here for Mr. H to return our cellphones, sorry."

"Kinda wish I could strangle you right now," Cassidy responds, making a strangling gesture with his hands. "Pretty sure that'd solve at least two problems right now."

"You'd be in jail," Nick comments, grinning.

"Jesus Christ. Okay," Jacob mutters before glancing over Nick's shoulder to see chairs thrown down on the stairs, blocking the way. "Why are the stairs blocked?"

"Well," Nick starts to answer, glancing behind him at the stairs. "Apparently it's to keep raccoons and other 'pesky varmints' from ransacking the place." He turns back to face Jacob and Cassidy. "Mr. H's words, not mine."

"Oh!" Jacob exclaims, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Boring!"

Cassidy snorts and Jacob voluntarily kicks him in the shin, making him groan in pain as he bends down to rub his leg.

"You're so easy to hurt, it's hilarious," Jacob laughs as he turns around to go searching for the bags.

"Says you," Cassidy mutters through gritted teeth. "Jacob, that actually really hurt. I'm in pain. I think I'm gonna get a bruise."

"Your loss," Jacob puts up his hands in mock surrender as he picks up the two duffel bags from the other set of stairs.

Cassidy shakes his head as he limps away, going to the kitchen.

Everything that had been out on the countertops hours ago had been cleaned and put away a while ago. He wanders through, looking around in case something was out of place. So far, there was nothing.

He walks around the counters in the center of the kitchen and walks over to the freezer. "The walk-in freezer, " he says as he pulls open the door and peers inside, shivering at how cold it was. "Imagine getting stuck in there... That would suck." He closes the door and walks away.

Something catches his eye as he's passing the counters for a second time. Next to a fallen over stack of porcelain plates was a card. He furrows his brows as he rounds the counter, stopping to eye the small object. He soon realizes it was a tarot card. The card was paper, like most cards this small in size were. He picks it up and turns it over, interested in the card's meaning.

TAROT CARD FOUND
1 OF ??
THE DEVIL

He slams the door shut behind him, back pressed against it as his panic rises, his breaths fast and heavy. The room was dark, pitch black like the night sky. The creature that was chasing him was slamming its body on the door, trying to get into the room. He moves away from the door slowly, pushing something against it to barricade it instead of using his own body.

As he's backing up, a hand covers his mouth and he's shoved against the wall. A gun cocks and it's pressed against his temple. Looking up, he meets the eyes of someone he had been losing his trust in for quite some time. The gun fires and he's on the floor before he has time to register what's happened, blood spilling from the entry wound.

His body lies motionless on the floor.

There was something strange about the card. Just the way it was here felt off. It was out of place. And he didn't know anyone that owned a deck of tarot cards. So what was it doing here? Were there more from the deck hidden somewhere?

Cassidy shakes the thought away, pocketing the card as he exits the kitchen. When he re-enters the main part of the Lodge, Jacob is waiting for him by the double doors.

"Took you long enough, idiot," he teases, grinning as he opens the doors.

"I'm going to shove a stick down your throat if you call me an idiot one more time," Cassidy threatens, chasing him down the stairs.

"No you won't!" Jacob calls over his shoulder as he hurries down the stairs, carrying both bags in his hands still. Once back on main ground, he heads back over to the van. "Alright. Got the bags."

"Great," Kaitlyn praises, turning around to face him, seeing both bags in his hands. She glances over at Cassidy, a slight frown on her lips before looking back at Jacob. "All by yourself, huh?"

"Yeah, 'cause this idiot was no help," the Custos boy elbows Cassidy lightly in the ribs. "He was in the kitchen for like ten minutes—"

"More like five," Cassidy says as Jacob drops the bags near Kaitlyn's feet.

"Whatever. You were taking too long."

"Guess you're gonna have to get used to that," Kaitlyn snarks, bending down to pick up the bags. Jacob shakes his head, frowning.

"Oh, my God— You are so mean."

Kaitlyn scoffs, "At least I'm honest." She turns around and sets the bags down in the back of the van.

"Oh— Okay. Here we go."

"Okay," Kaitlyn starts as she turns around to face Jacob as she speaks to him. "you're not tellin' us," she gestures to Cassidy, "the whole truth 'bout you'n' Emma, are ya son?"

"Oh, okay," Jacob tosses his head back and stares up at the sky for a moment, before looking back at Kaitlyn and pointing at himself, "so now I'm the one who's not telling the whole story, huh."

"Oh," Kaitlyn chuckles, "well this is the bait I just gotta take, Jake. Ooh..." Jacob raises an eyebrow at her. "Oh, sorry, I just got so distracted by that rhyme I forgot what we were...?"

"That was a good one," Cassidy comments, a smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you, Cassidy, I feel so honored," she replies.

"Oh, no, no, no, no—" Jacob interrupts, looking at Kaitlyn. "You were telling me," he points to himself, "how you," then to her, "totally have a thing for Ryan." Then he points behind him towards the area below the Lodge's wrap-around porch.

"Wait, are we talking about Ryan, the sailing instructor with a sexy, brooding loner thing that totally doesn't do anything for me at all?"

Cassidy raises an eyebrow, smirking, clearly amused.

"Uhhh," Jacob squints at Kaitlyn as he smirks. "'Sexy', huh?"

"Hottest at camp by far."

"Okay, sure," Jacob didn't sound too pleased.

"Look, it was all settled by the girls in bunk seven, like,
second day of camp," Kaitlyn goes on to explain. "It goes: Ryan," then she points to herself, "me, of course, Cassidy, Sawyer, then Dylan, Emma, Abi—"

"Okay," Jacob sucks in a breath.

"Nick, and then Mr. H... and..."

"Okay," Jacob raises his right hand then puts it back down immediately. "You almost finished, please?"

"Yep," Kaitlyn confirmed, looking up in thought, "that's it. That's everyone."

Cassidy just laughs at the fact Jacob wasn't included in the list at all. Jacob sighs in defeat, staring at the ground with a frown as he shakes his head.

"Tough luck, huh?" Cassidy asks, patting him on the back.

"Shut up..."

author's note
i have been writing all
day, so i am definitely
posting more than two
chapters today 😁

07.21.22