The Bonfire Season (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4: Run or Stay 💄 For a few seconds after Weston died— No one moved. No one spoke. It was like the entire clearing had frozen around him. Then everything broke at once. “WE HAVE TO GO!” Leighanna screamed. “Get up—get UP—” Octavious was already moving, grabbing Weston’s shoulder like there was still something he could do, like refusing to accept what was right in front of him. Grace-Lynn felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her ears rang. Her hands shook. Her vision tunneled in and out. Cashmere grabbed her arm. “Grace—Grace—look at me!” Grace-Lynn blinked hard, forcing herself back into the moment. “He’s dead,” she said, voice flat and wrong. That made it real. Theodore let out a broken sound, stumbling backward into one of the folding chairs and knocking it over. “No—no—no—this is—this is not—this is not happening—” “STOP!” Octavious snapped. Everyone froze again. His voice had changed. Not calm anymore. Controlled panic. “We don’t split up,” he said, breathing hard. “Nobody runs. We move together.” Too late. Regan and Luther were already gone into the woods. “Regan!” Grace-Lynn shouted. No answer. Just the trees. Just the dark. ⸻ The fire suddenly felt too bright. Too exposed. Like a spotlight. “Kill the fire,” Cashmere said quickly. “What?” Theodore said. “Kill the fire—we’re visible—” Octavious didn’t argue. He kicked dirt into the flames, grabbed a nearby jug, and dumped water over it. Steam hissed up violently, swallowing the light. The clearing dropped into darkness almost instantly. Only the lanterns remained. And even those felt wrong now. Too small. Too weak. ⸻ “Where are the keys?” Grace-Lynn asked suddenly. Octavious’s head snapped up. “Cars.” They ran. Not into the woods. Toward the SUVs. Leighanna nearly slipped in the dirt, catching herself on the side of the car. Theodore fumbled with the door handle before yanking it open. Octavious jumped into the driver’s seat and twisted the key. Nothing. Again. Nothing. “Start!” he shouted at the engine like it could hear him. It didn’t. Grace-Lynn moved to the second SUV. “This one—try this one—” She yanked the door open. The inside light flickered. Then died. She climbed in anyway, hands shaking as she searched for the ignition. The keys were there. She turned it. Click. Nothing. Her stomach dropped. “Octavious,” she said, voice tight, “it’s not working.” “Keep trying!” She did. Again. Again. Nothing. Then she looked down. Wires. Hanging loose beneath the steering column. Cut clean. Deliberate. “Oh my God,” she whispered. She stumbled out of the car. “They’re cut. Both of them. He cut them.” That hit harder than anything so far. Because it meant— This wasn’t random. This wasn’t someone passing through. This was planned. ⸻ A branch snapped behind them. Everyone spun. The lantern light barely reached the trees. But something had moved. “I saw that,” Theodore whispered. “So did I,” Leighanna said. “Get away from the tree line,” Octavious ordered. They backed toward the center of the clearing instinctively, forming a loose circle without even meaning to. Grace-Lynn’s heart was pounding so hard it hurt. “He’s out there,” she said. “I know,” Octavious replied. “Where are Regan and Luther?” Cashmere asked. No one answered. ⸻ Then— A voice. “Hello?” It came from the woods. Soft. Uncertain. Relieved. Regan. “Guys? Where’d you go?” Leighanna took a step forward immediately. “Regan—!” Octavious grabbed her arm. “WAIT.” The voice came again. Closer. “I lost him—I don’t see him anymore—hello?!” Theodore looked like he was about to cry. “That’s him—that’s literally him—” Grace-Lynn’s entire body went cold. The man’s warning. If you hear someone calling your name from the woods… don’t answer. “Don’t,” she said. Leighanna looked at her like she was insane. “That’s Regan!” “No,” Grace-Lynn said. “We don’t know that.” “Grace—” “Listen to me!” The voice shifted. “Leighanna?” It was perfect. Exactly right. Tone. Pitch. Panic. Leighanna’s face broke. “That’s him—he’s hurt—” Octavious tightened his grip on her arm. “He’s trying to pull us out there.” The voice came again. This time— Behind them. “Octavious?” Everyone turned instantly. But there was nothing there. Just empty dark. Theodore let out a strangled sound. “No—no—no—” Now the voice came from the left. “Grace-Lynn?” Then the right. “Cashmere?” Then— All at once— From everywhere. Calling. Whispering. Repeating their names. Perfectly. Not distorted. Not wrong. Too right. Grace-Lynn covered her ears. “He recorded us—he recorded us earlier—” Cashmere shook their head slowly. “No… that’s not just recordings…” The voices overlapped. Layered. Moving. Surrounding them. Like the woods themselves were speaking. ⸻ Then— A lantern shattered. Glass exploded beside Theodore’s feet. He screamed and stumbled backward. “RUN!” Regan’s voice shouted from somewhere in the trees. That broke them. They scattered. Not far. But enough. Leighanna ran toward the tents. Theodore bolted toward the cars. Cashmere grabbed Grace-Lynn and pulled her the opposite direction. Octavious turned in a full circle, trying to track everything at once. “STAY TOGETHER!” he shouted. No one listened. ⸻ Grace-Lynn’s foot caught on something. She went down hard. The ground disappeared beneath her for half a second— Then snapped tight around her ankle. A wire trap. She screamed. Pain shot up her leg as she dangled awkwardly, half-lifted, half-twisted, the snare pulling tight. “Grace!” Cashmere dropped beside her, hands already working the wire. “Hold still—hold still—” “I can’t—!” The wire cut into her skin as she struggled. “Stop moving,” Cashmere said sharply. “You’re making it worse.” Grace-Lynn forced herself still, biting down hard on a scream. Cashmere worked fast, fingers shaking but precise. From the woods— Movement again. Closer now. Grace-Lynn saw it. A silhouette. Watching. Not rushing. Not panicking. Just… observing. “He’s right there,” she whispered. Cashmere didn’t look up. “I know.” The wire snapped loose. Grace-Lynn dropped hard to the ground. “Go,” Cashmere said, pulling her up. They ran. ⸻ Back near the firepit, Octavious had regrouped Theodore and Leighanna. “Where are they?!” Leighanna cried. “Here!” Grace-Lynn shouted as they stumbled back into the clearing. For one brief second— All five of them were together again. Breathing hard. Shaking. Covered in dirt and fear. No voices now. No movement. Just silence. Heavy. Wrong. ⸻ Octavious looked around slowly. “He’s not rushing us,” he said. Grace-Lynn swallowed. “He doesn’t need to.” Cashmere nodded, eyes scanning the trees. “He’s playing with us.” Theodore shook his head violently. “No—we’re not staying—we’re not staying—we have to go—we have to go now—” “Go where?” Leighanna snapped. “The cars don’t work—there’s no signal—he’s in the woods—WHERE DO WE GO?!” No one had an answer. Because that was the truth. They were stuck. And for the first time— They all understood it. ⸻ A slow creak came from behind them. Everyone turned. The front door of Morrow House… was open. Just slightly. Enough to see darkness inside. Enough to know— It hadn’t been open before. Grace-Lynn felt her stomach twist. “No,” she said immediately. Octavious stared at the doorway. “He wants us in there.” Cashmere exhaled slowly. “Or he wants us out here.” The wind shifted. The trees whispered. And somewhere, far too close— Something moved again. ⸻ No one said it out loud. But they were all thinking the same thing. Out here— they were exposed. In there— they were trapped. And the killer had already decided— they weren’t leaving tonight. Cast Members : MarieEve Grace-Lynn She/Her Cinnamon Octavious: He/Him YanderTron21 Weston: He/Him 🔪❌ Rain Regan: He/Him RobbieRIOT Leighanna: She/Her hwest14 Theodore: He/Him Envious Luther: He/Him Justini Cashmere: She/They