Chapter Text
The night of October 4th was quiet.
Abigail sat cross-legged on her bed, absentmindedly sketching in her worn notebook as soft music played in the background. The familiar buzz of her phone broke the silence. She glanced at the screen and smiled when she saw the caller ID.
Nick.
She answered almost immediately.
"You're calling awfully late," she teased with a gentle laugh. "What's up?"
Instead of a response, she was met with heavy static.
"...Abi..."
His voice crackled through the speaker, distant and broken. The connection kept cutting in and out, swallowing every other word. What little she could make out was enough to make her stomach twist.
Nick sounded terrified.
"Nick?" She sat upright. "Nick, I can't hear you."
More static.
"...help..."
Her smile vanished.
She snapped her sketchbook shut and climbed off the bed, pacing anxiously across her room.
"Nick!" she shouted into the phone. "You're breaking up—I can't understand you! What's wrong?"
Nothing.
Only the hiss of static.
"Nick?!"
The call abruptly ended.
Abigail froze, staring at the dark screen for a second before it lit up with a new notification.
Location Received.
Her heart dropped.
Hackett's Quarry.
She stared at the name, memories she'd spent months trying to bury crashing back all at once. Blood. Screams. The woods.
Without thinking, she spammed Nick with texts.
Nick?
What happened?
Are you okay?
Answer me.
Every message sat on Delivered.
No reply.
Panic set in.
She quickly texted Emma, telling her everything before grabbing her keys and rushing out the door.
───
The drive to Hackett's Quarry felt endless.
Every mile brought back memories she'd rather forget, yet she kept pressing the accelerator. Whatever had happened, Nick was back there—and if he had reached out to her, it had to be serious.
By the time Abigail pulled into the camp, several familiar vehicles were already parked outside.
She was the last to arrive.
Climbing out of her car, Abigail hurried over to the group, all of them wearing the same confused, worried expressions.
Taking a shaky breath, she held up her phone.
"Nick called me," she explained. "The connection kept cutting out, but... he sounded scared. Really scared."
She unlocked her phone and showed them the notification.
"He sent me this."
Hackett's Quarry.
"And now he won't answer."
A heavy silence settled over the group.
Ryan frowned. "You're sure it was actually Nick?"
"I know his voice," Abigail replied. "He sounded... panicked."
Emma crossed her arms, her expression tightening. "So we're seriously doing this again? Coming back here wasn't exactly on my bucket list."
"None of us wanted to come back," Dylan muttered. "But if Nick's in trouble..."
Kaitlyn glanced toward the dark treeline surrounding the camp. "This place gives me the creeps even in daylight."
"It doesn't make any sense," Jacob said, running a hand through his hair. "The quarry's been shut down for months."
Laura looked between everyone. "Did he say anything else?"
Abi shook her head. "Just... bits and pieces. I heard him say my name... and I think he said 'help.' Then the call cut out."
Max stepped beside Laura. "Could've been a prank."
"Dude..." Dylan shot him a look. "Nick doesn't fake being terrified."
"I know," Max sighed. "I'm just saying... maybe there's another explanation."
"There better be," Emma whispered.
Ryan studied the empty camp in silence before finally speaking.
"If Nick wanted us here specifically..." He looked back at the group. "Then he probably knew we'd come together."
Jacob swallowed nervously. "Can we all agree that splitting up is officially banned this time?"
"Seconded," Dylan immediately replied.
"No arguments here," Kaitlyn said.
Abigail looked toward the dark cabins, unease settling deeper in her chest.
Jacob let out an uneasy laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"So..." he began, trying to sound casual. "We're all thinking it, right?"
Everyone looked at him.
"It can't be... you know."
Emma sighed. "Please don't say it."
"The werewolves."
A tense silence followed.
Laura shook her head almost immediately.
"No."
Ryan glanced at her before looking back at the others.
"We ended the curse."
"The white wolf is dead," Laura continued. "Silas was the source. Once he died, anyone who was infected was cured."
"So Nick..." Abigail hesitated. "He's still human."
"He has been for months," Ryan confirmed. "Same with Max."
Max gave a small nod. "Trust me, I would've noticed if I started going crazy every full moon again."
Dylan let out a nervous chuckle.
"Well... that's one thing crossed off the nightmare checklist."
"It doesn't explain why he sounded like that," Kaitlyn said, her eyes fixed on the dark woods.
"No," Ryan admitted. "But whatever scared him... it wasn't the curse."
Emma frowned.
"So either someone is messing with us..."
"...or there's something else out here," Jacob finished quietly.
Laura's expression hardened.
"I spent two months hunting monsters," she said. "I'm not jumping to conclusions again."
Ryan nodded.
"We stick to facts. Nick called Abi. He sounded terrified. He sent us here."
"And then disappeared," Abigail added.
Ryan took one last glance toward the forest.
"So until we know otherwise..."
"We assume we're dealing with people."
The group exchanged uncertain looks.
Somehow, that wasn't nearly as reassuring as Ryan had intended.
Ryan led the group toward the lodge, flashlight sweeping over the overgrown paths. The buildings were exactly as they'd left them months ago—abandoned, silent, and slowly being reclaimed by nature.
No lights.
No movement.
"No cars," Kaitlyn observed. "If Nick drove here, where's his Jeep?"
"It should be here," Abigail murmured.
Dylan tugged nervously at the strap of his backpack. "Can we all agree this is officially worse than getting a creepy phone call?"
Nobody laughed.
The closer they got to the lodge, the colder the air became.
A breeze rustled through the trees.
Then—
A faint giggle.
Everyone stopped.
"...Did you guys hear that?" Emma whispered.
"Hear what?" Jacob asked.
"It sounded like..." Emma looked around. "...a little girl."
Laura frowned.
"I didn't hear anything."
Neither did Ryan.
Abigail slowly turned toward the woods.
"I did."
Another giggle drifted between the trees.
Soft.
Playful.
Gone before anyone could pinpoint where it came from.
"Hello?" Jacob called.
Silence.
"Great idea," Dylan muttered. "Let's announce exactly where we are."
Ryan pushed the lodge door open.
"Inside."
One by one, they stepped into the dusty building.
The familiar scent of old wood lingered in the air.
Everything looked untouched.
Until Max froze.
"...Guys."
Everyone turned.
He was staring toward the cracked mirror hanging near the entrance.
"What?"
Max swallowed.
"I thought..."
He blinked.
"...Never mind."
"What did you see?" Laura asked.
He hesitated.
"For a second..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...there was someone standing behind us."
Everyone instinctively turned.
Nothing.
Just the empty doorway leading back outside.
Dylan forced a laugh.
"Okay. Cool. Love that. Hate it—but love it."
Max looked back at the mirror.
The reflection was normal again.
───
Far beyond the lodge...
Deep within the woods...
A pale woman watched from between the trees.
Her tattered white dress barely moved in the wind.
Her face remained hidden beneath her veil as a crooked smile spread across her lips.
"So certain..." Eliza whispered.
"They truly believe they broke my boy's curse."
She looked toward the lodge, where the counselors searched for their missing friend.
"They ended his suffering..."
"...but curses are not so easily buried."
Her smile widened.
"The blood remembers."
A distant howl echoed through the forest.
Not the monstrous cry of the beasts they had fought before.
Something... different.
More human.
More controlled.
Eliza's ghostly figure slowly dissolved into the night.
"The game," she whispered,
"has only just begun."