

The Lodge

By Shaun Kitching

Copyright 2012 Shaun Kitching

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is dedicated to Nan and Pa, for always having faith.

# Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Daisy

Chapter 2: Koby

Chapter 3: Seth

Chapter 4: Koby

Chapter 5: Chad

Chapter 6: Koby

Chapter 7: Amber

Chapter 8: Daisy

Chapter 9: Seth

Chapter 10: Koby

Chapter 11: Seth

Chapter 12: Daisy

Chapter 13: Amber

Chapter 14: Amber

Chapter 15: Koby

Chapter 16: Reed

Chapter 17: Reed

Chapter 18: Daisy

Chapter 19: Koby

Chapter 20: Chad

Chapter 21: Koby

Chapter 22: Amber

Chapter 23: Koby

About Shaun Kitching

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Coming Soon

# Chapter 1: Daisy

Dear Diary,

It's been a while since my last passage, hasn't it? I remember how I used to share every thought that raced its way through my mind. I'm not sure why I stopped writing, why I stopped recording my feelings and outlook on your blank white pages. Why did I stop? Why have we become so distant? It doesn't matter. Daisy is back. That's right, me, your old pal Daisy.

The biggest question is why am I back? Well, Daisy has got something big coming up.

Very big.

And I'm very, very excited. I can already feel the adrenalin pumping through my veins. I can sense my brain cells dancing in anticipation. You see, tomorrow is our first day as seniors at Hollow Point High School. Tomorrow is when my duty begins. What duty you may ask? Let's just say that I'm going to throw a deadly shadow over Hollow Point.

Certain students will pay. Certain students will die.

Yep, I've got a good feeling about this year.

Something tells me it's going to be a killer!

# Chapter 2: Koby

I stepped outside onto the front veranda, the wooden floorboards creaking heavily underneath my ageing white sneakers. My mum has been persuading me for months to purchase new shoes but I have worn these ones in so much they fit perfectly around my feet. I always reply to mum that every step is a slice of heaven, to which she simply gives her trademark groan. She doesn't get my sense of humour but most people think I'm a pretty funny bloke. Creeeeeak! Again, the deck groans beneath my weight. Dad has been meaning to fix these floorboards for months but I guess he still hadn't got around to it.

"Mum, I'm off to school," I yelled, as I slung my backpack over my right shoulder.

"Have fun sweetheart. Do you have all your books? Oh, and Koby, did you grab your lunch?" Mum's bubbly voice echoed out onto the veranda. She always manages to squeeze so much into one sentence.

"Ok. Yes. Yes," I responded, very much familiar with mum's army of questions. I jumped down our concrete stairs and made my way through the front gate and onto the sidewalk. The sun beamed down proudly; a vibrant peach in the cloudless, blue sky. Despite this, there was a slight breeze and I found myself surprisingly cold. I decided to make a brisk walk as I made my way down the street. Good old Hollow Point, I thought. You never know what weather you'll be waking up to here. Yesterday was warm and muggy but today I had goose bumps forming on my arms. Very weird indeed. In fact, Hollow Point itself is a pretty weird place. The town was built back in the early 1900's on top of an old, defective coal mine. When the mine first opened, keen miners flocked to the site, like moths to light; keen to earn a decent living for them and their families. I've heard many history lessons on how much time and effort went into constructing the coal mine and how it was structurally unfaultable.

"One of the safest mines ever built," I muttered, mimicking my history teacher. However, only weeks after the coal mine began operations, the unexpected happened. Apparently it was a clear November morning when the mine suddenly collapsed. I pictured it in my mind; the dusty smoke mushrooming the heavens with an eerie dominance, cutting through the air like velvet. The clear skies transforming into a hazy powder, as the earth rumbled into its new terrain. Wave upon wave of black rubble, like surfers slicing through a tube. Tragically, the horrific incident claimed the lives of over a hundred miners that fatal November morning. I had seen old newspaper clippings which claimed many miners died instantly, the sudden impact crushing their bodies like plastic cups. The more unfortunate miners were buried alive, a muddy tomb they would forever call home. In the weeks following the heartbreaking tragedy the coal mine was never excavated and a decision was made to not retrieve the bodies. Family and friends of the ill-fated miners didn't want the burden of a potentially long investigation burying their lives, just as it had their loved ones. They didn't want to see or hear of the miners' rotten corpses being raised from the grimy depths below, their mangled bodies encrusted with dirt. So the area was closed off and the so-called flawless coal mine was left to be.

Just another piece of history blowing in the breeze, I thought to myself, remembering my teacher's words. Approximately a decade later, the foundation was approved suitable for construction and a new town was formed and built over the coal mine. That town was Hollow Point. I think it was the people's way of moving on from the incident and getting on with their lives. Even though Hollow Point now blankets the land, the mine will always remain a part of this town and its abrupt collapse will forever remain a mystery. Some people say there were stronger forces at play that day. Some say Hollow Point is cursed; the twisting roots beneath the earth seeded with an evil presence. Others believe the miners haunt the town of Hollow Point. I've even heard stories of people diverting their travels, just so they don't have to drive in the vicinity. Did I mention Hollow Point is a weird town?

"Yooo, Koby!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind, breaking me from my time travels.

"Seth, long time no see", I replied, without even making the effort to turn around. I would recognize that voice anywhere. Seth's deep voice sounded like it belonged to a grown man as opposed to a sixteen year old high school student.

"Man, I missed you brother. Let's never go that long without seeing each other ever again," Seth said, running up alongside me and slapping an arm around my shoulder.

"Haha, you're a funny man," I answered. Seth and I had hung out all day yesterday. In fact, Seth, Chad – our other best mate, and I practically spent every day of the holidays together. We have all been best mates since we were kids. I think it was our comparable sense of humour that led to us being friends. We never miss the opportunity to have a good laugh. Just looking at Seth was enough to make me smile. With his curly brown hair and buck teeth, I had always thought that he would make a good cartoon character. I often joked that we should pay an artist to draw a caricature of him and then we could make millions after selling it to some big animation company.

"Today is the day!" Seth suddenly boomed, his voice echoing down the street.

"The day we start our senior year?" I ask with confusion.

"Well, yeah. But I was referring to something else. Today is the day you finally tell Amber how you feel about her," Seth says, as a big goofy grin forms on his face.

"Amber? What are you talking about?" I murmur. I try everything to fight it, but I can feel my face slowly turning pink.

"Duuuude, I know you like Amber. The whole school knows you like Amber!"

"She's alright," I respond, not knowing what else to say.

"Alright? Man, you are hot for her bod and don't you deny it," Seth says, grinning once more.

I was about to challenge Seth's statement once again but instead I let out a long, ambiguous sigh. Seth knew me better than anyone.

"Does the whole school really know?" I ask, succumbing to the truth.

"Koby, Mrs. Ingleton even knows and she's the most anti-social person on this planet!" Seth exclaimed, referring to our dearly beloved English teacher.

I was just about to reply when something in the distance caught my eye. As I strained my eyes against the morning sun, I noticed a hazy silhouette emerging from the shadows. It was coming towards us. Shielding my eyes with my hands, I squinted intensely, trying to better make out the object heading in my direction.

What was that?

There were still remnants of a faint fog covering the distance. It was like the fog and the sunlight were dancing; a constant pirouette of luminosity and mist entwined in harmony. Although it was quite difficult to make out this figure amongst the show of radiant smog, my focus sharpened as I took a few more steps forward. It was a person, I realised. I quickly glanced towards Seth. He was still going on about Amber and was laughing at something he had said. He still hadn't seen the person heading in our direction. I gasped as the figure broke through the web of fog. It was a man.

"Kobes, what is it dude?"

I was in too much shock to reply. The man heading our way was contorted in such a manner it would even make an Olympic gymnast jealous. His elbows were distorted at right angles and his kneecaps were protruding from the side of his legs. I gagged at the sight. His shoulders were slumped as his feet shuffled across the asphalt.

Sssshkkk.

Sssshkkk.

The sound of each step became louder and louder.

Sssssssshhhkkkkkk.

Sssssssshhhkkkkkk.

A strong stench abruptly engulfed my nostrils. I gagged for the second time as the odour forced its way into my nose. He was caked in mud from head to toe. It had dried to his clothes and had begun to crack, revealing fragments of torn clothing underneath. He was also wearing a hardhat which had a headlamp attached; the glass fractured on one side revealing off cuts of a bulb. He lifted his arm and pointed one bony finger in my direction. He's pointing at me, I suddenly realised. I was drowned in a wave of fear and anxiety as I comprehended who he was.

He was a miner.

A dead miner.

The miner was suddenly in front of me. He was so close I could smell his rotting breath on my face. I screamed as his gaunt, lifeless fingers slowly tightened around my neck.

# Chapter 3: Seth

"Koby, what's wrong with you man!" I roared, as Koby's high pitched scream filled the neighbourhood. I half expected a group of dogs to come barking down the street, such was the shrilled tone of his yell.

"Koby, what is it?" I asked again. His face had turned a soft pale and for a moment I thought he might faint.

"Koby, it's me," Chad spoke for the first time.

"Ch-Chad?" Koby whispered.

"In the flesh," Chad said, flashing a big cheesy grin.

I studied Koby's expression as he rubbed in eyes in disbelief. His gaze travelled up and down Chad's body, as if to double check it really was his friend. "Wow, Chad!" Koby yelled, finally yielding to reality.

"You can stop checking me out now," Chad joked, his grin getting wider.

Koby blushed as finally a bit of colour returned to his cheeks. "You wish", he shot back, returning to his normal self. "I actually thought you were-," Koby hesitated before finishing his sentence. "A ghost."

"Wwwwhahahaha!" I suddenly realised the deep laugh was coming from my own mouth. "A ghost?" I ask, still chuckling.

"I swear it was a miner back from the dead", Koby confessed, reaching up and feeling his throat. "Why on earth did you try and choke me," he continued, giving Chad a playful shove.

"Choke?" Chad asked. "All I did was reach to give you a high five and you started screaming like my little sister!"

"Geez, I must still be half asleep," Koby replied, desperately searching for a way to reclaim his manhood.

"Kooooby, Kooooby," I murmur in my best dead-miner impersonation. "Come baaaack with me Kooooby, come baaaack to my grave."

"Yes Kooooby, join ussss. Let ussss replace your heart with coal mmmwwwhhahaha," Chad joined in, reaching out his arms which made him look more like an Egyptian mummy than a lifeless miner.

"Is it too late to go back and pretend I was checking you out instead?" Koby joked, swatting away Chad's arms.

"No way man," I reply, laughing as Chad continued to mock Koby.

"Yeah, no way," copied Chad. "Plus we wouldn't want poor Amber getting jealous, would we?"

"You know too!?" Koby exclaimed. Even though his embarrassment was obvious, I think he was glad the subject had changed.

"Haha, I told you man, everyone knows," I said with a smile as we disappeared into the foggy sunlight and continued our way to our first day back at high school.

*****

"Let's go boys," Koby said, gesturing for us to follow him into the hallowed turf of Hollow Point High.

Koby, Chad and I had been best friends for quite a while now. Koby and I had lived in Hollow Point our entire lives while Chad moved here nearly four years ago, half way through the eighth grade. Chad was placed in the same English class as Koby and I and the three of us had been somewhat of a trio ever since. I studied Koby's face as I followed him into the school yard. He really hadn't changed much since we were little kids climbing trees in his backyard. His white blonde hair was always shaved in a crew cut and his eyebrows were the same colour so they were barely visible. He is the shortest out of the three of us but carries the biggest backpack. He looked like a backpacker about to embark on an overseas holiday. Chad, on the other hand, had one small notebook tucked into the large pockets of his corduroy pants and a pen tucked behind his right ear. Chad only used one notebook for all of his subjects and was somewhat lazy when it came to his studies. A small red backpack hung leisurely over one shoulder and his shirt was half untucked. His beady blue eyes always seemed to be laughing and he has a small dimple in his chin that he claims drives the women crazy.

"Well well well, if it ain't the three musketeers," a familiar voice drifted into my head. "Or should I say the three stooges!" I didn't need to look to realise the voice belonged to Hank, a fellow senior at Hollow Point High. "Welcome to senior year ladies," Hank said, rushing over and draping an arm around Koby and Chad. "Come on Seth, come over and join in Uncle Hank's cuddle," Hank continued, beckoning me with his index finger which hung over Koby's right shoulder.

"No thanks big fella, I got enough cuddles from your mum last night," I shot back.

Hank let out a slight growl but didn't bother firing back a comeback. Hank wasn't the smartest pupil at Hollow Point High and his brain was probably working overtime to try and find a clever retaliation. Hank had been a good friend of ours for a few years now, but he never quite squeezed his way into that fourth stooge. Even though he's a great friend, I sometimes think Hank might be a bit envious that he isn't as close as the three of us. I stared at him as he pulled Koby deeper into his bear hug. Koby looked like a mouse compared to Hank. Saying that, most people looked quite small when standing next to Hank. With his broad shoulders and burly chest, Hank looked more like a wrestler than a high school student. His big square head sat on top of his muscular frame, with his small ears poking out at the sides. His ears really didn't match the rest of him and I had more than once bit my tongue when about to make a joke about his miniature lobes. Hank had a decent enough sense of humour but teasing the toughest guy in school about his ears probably wouldn't be the smartest decision.

"Have you been working out Koby?" Hank mocked, lifting him off the ground with one sturdy arm.

"Sure have mate. You reckon I have any chance of make the senior rugby squad this year?" Koby joked, pulling away from Hank and giving a quick flex of his undersized biceps.

"Put those guns away!" Chad said, shielding his eyes with his forearm.

"You know what, I think there definitely is a place for you on the team this year Koby," Hank replied. "In fact, I think all three of you could make the team. We could really do with some extra water boys this year!"

Hank doubled over in a fit of laughter as his neck veins throbbed in unison. It was no surprise that he was captain of the school rugby team. He had been playing in the senior side since he was a junior and even then he was one of the biggest brutes in the side.

"We have no problems with being a water boy," Chad replied politely. "Would you like your H20 chilled Hank? Oh wait! You failed Chemistry - you don't even know what H20 means!"

A few eavesdropping bystanders chuckled in the background as Hank scowled at Chad, who had reached over to give Koby a high-five. I laughed. It was good to be back, I realised. Hollow Point didn't offer very much in the way of entertainment to keep us teenagers amused during summer break. We spent most of our time playing video games at Koby's house or seeing who could down the most hotdogs at Billy Beef, the local teenage hangout.

"Hi boys," a chorus of voices interrupted our childish antics. I turned to see Amber and her two friends, Veronica and Zoe, all smiling amicably our way.

"Ver-on-ic-a," Chad said, belting out her name in syllables. "Looking good! Did you hit the solarium over the summer?"

"Puh-lease," Veronica replied. "This tan is all natural". She batted her long eyelashes as if Chad's compliment didn't mean much, although deep down you could tell she liked the attention. Veronica was probably the one most guys referred to as the stunner of the group. With her long, perfectly straight dark hair, manicured nails and never-ending legs, she always looked as if she had just walked off of the catwalk. I think half of the boys at Hollow Point High were vying for her attention. Amber, on the other hand, had more of your pretty, girl next door look. She didn't have the refined beauty that Veronica possessed; however, she was just as appealing to the eye. She had a perfect smile and natural wavy, blonde hair which she usually had tied back in a simple ponytail. Amber may not spend as much time in front of the mirror as Veronica but I could understand why Koby liked her. My gaze turned to Zoe, who was a lot different to the other two girls. Her short blonde hair was nearly the same colour as her pale skin and she always seemed to have a worried look pasted across her petite face.

"Are you ok Chad?" Zoe asked, her voice barely above a whisper. I turned my head into the direction of Chad, who was reaching into his backpack. A perplexed expression had formed on his face as he reached deeper into his bag.

"Oh no," Chad said to no one in particular. "Please no."

Zoe took a step towards Chad, her tiny frame made to look even smaller as she hugged a text book across her chest. "Are you ok?" she repeated. Her voice fluttered off into the distance, like a butterfly flying for the first time. Chad gave Zoe a blank stare before bowing his head and looking into his backpack.I suddenly jumped as Chad let out a tormented howl.

"Nooooooooooo!"

# Chapter 4: Koby

"Chad! Chad?" "Chad! Chad?" The voice repeated; an alarming shout united with a baffled uncertainty.

"Chad! Chad?"

The words were almost rhythmical. It sounded like something you would expect to hear at one of Hank's rugby matches.

"Chad! Chad?"

I then realised the voice was coming from my own mouth. Chad's startling wail had caught me by surprise and I was calling his name without even knowing it. No one else seemed to notice my perplexed hymn; it appeared Chad's outcry had stunned everyone on an equal scale.

"Mum packed me peanut butter sandwiches," Chad finally said, as a wry grin leisurely formed on his face.

"Huh?" Amber chortled.

"I said, mum packed me peanut butter sandwiches," Chad repeated, his eyes glistening with merriment. "She knows I hate peanut butter."

"You are such a jerk Chad!" Veronica said, giving Chad a playful shove to the chest.

"Haha gotcha! Gotcha all!" Chad replied.

Amber turned her head and looked at me for the first time that morning, giving me a quick smile as she rolled her eyes at Chad's prank. I gave her a two fingered salute as Hank and Chad light-heartedly wrestled next to her.

"But seriously," Chad continued, breaking away from Hank. "I really do have something that's worth interest in this bag."

"Haha give it a rest Chad," Seth replied.

"No really, I do!' Chad persisted.

"What, a white rabbit?" I joked.

"Even better," Chad replied.

"Two white rabbits?" Amber asked, giving me a wink which sent me weak at the knees.

Chad ignored our jokes and pulled out a silver key from his back.

"Eureka!" Seth yelled, pumping a fist into the air.

"Yessss sirrrrr," Hank followed, stretching the words out in delight.

"Chad, I could sooo kiss you right now," Veronica purred. Her voice matched her looks; sultry and ever so satisfying to any teenage boy within earshot.

"Pucker up baby!" Chad replied with a smile.

"I said could, not would!" Veronica shot back with her flirtatious smile.

I let out a pleasing sigh as I stared at the silver piece of brass in Chad's hand. A ray of sunlight reflected off its body, sparkling like a firecracker. We all knew what the key belonged to. Chad's dad owned a beautiful lodge in the heart of Hollow Point Woods. The woods begun only a short walk from the main part of town and was a popular place for young lovers to park their car on a Friday or Saturday night. The lodge was one of the reasons Chad moved to Hollow Point four years ago. His dad is a high-profile architect and was specifically looking for a house with the perfect study for him to perform his work. By accident, Chad's parents stumbled across the lodge on a real estate website, which had been for sale for many months. Because of Hollow Point's coal mining history, real estate never exactly boomed in this town. The woods, despite its tranquility and ecological charm, had probably the most fables of all places in Hollow Point. There had been claims of supernatural sightings and all kinds of weird reports from people who had camped out there. Recently, I had even seen a missing person flyer stuck to the front window of Billy Beef, declaring that a young man had gone missing in the woods. I never bought into all this supernatural stuff and it appears Chad's parents shared the same beliefs. In the end it turned out that Chad's family could afford the lodge and a house in Hollow Point for way under their budget and a contract was quickly signed. In our first year of high school Chad presented the key to us on one particular lunch break. Chad's dad was allowing his son and several close friends to access the lodge as a place to study on weekends. It was a good theory. The lodge really was a calm, serene place. In fact, the soothing atmosphere almost made it feel like you weren't even in Hollow Point anymore. It had truly beautiful surroundings and Chad's dad assumed the lodge would assist all of us in getting better grades. Plenty of study space, peace and quiet, the list went on. It even has a picturesque lake with the most amazing blues you can imagine. I don't know much about feng shui but it was obvious the lodge had it in spades. As I said earlier, the whole study concept was a good theory. Heck, if I was a parent I would agree to it. The plan had one major fault though; the place was a teenager's haven. Parent-free weekends had become a reality and deep down I think all the parents were quite happy to offload their kids so they could have some peace and quiet of their own. The alluring lake allowed for all kinds of water activities including swimming and kayaking. You could even throw in a line and hopefully catch a freshwater cod or even the odd striped bass if you got lucky. The lodge itself was decked out with everything we could ask for; a television, hammocks, fridge and even a telescope if we decided to stay the night. To us, most weekends had become a paradise. I stared once more at the key that continued to gleam in Chad's hand. I think we were all a little shocked that we had managed to keep this arrangement going for as many years as we had. This was the year in which we all thought it would end. That was, until, Chad produced the key to us moments earlier.

"How the heck have you pulled this off again?" I ask Chad quizzingly.

"Yeah, what's going on Chad?" chimed in Seth. "I thought your old man was going to pull the curtains this year?"

"Well," Chad responded. "He was going to. In the end he made a deal with me. In order to get the key for another year, I had to average at least a B in all my subjects."

"What did you get?" asked Amber.

"C minus," Chad said with a big grin. "Let's just say I've been doing the dishes for the past month."

"Chad, you really are my brother from another mother," Hank yelled. You could always tell when Hank got really excited. He would stretch his arms and place his hands on the back of his head. It was Hank's call sign that he was very content at any particular point in time. Plus I swear he would use any excuse to flash those big biceps of his.

"It gets better," Chad responded.

"Better? Is your dad going to send along some topless maids to make our lunch?" Seth asked, his buck teeth poking out as he gave a toothy smile.

Veronica rolled her eyes at Seth before asking Chad what we were all thinking, "How exactly is this year better?"

"Get this," Chad said. "My dad is heading interstate for some new project he's working on; a new supermarket or something. Anyway, he leaves this weekend and mum is going with him. They won't be back for around a month."

This was good news. In the past Chad's dad had randomly checked up on us on more than one occasion. Just to be on the safe side we always had to have our notebooks close by.

"Can you imagine?" Chad said. "We won't even have to tidy the lodge overnight! That can wait until just before my dad gets back."

"Sounds good but there's one thing I don't quite understand," Hank asked. "How on earth are you going to feed yourself without your mum for a month?" Zoe and Veronica let out a giggle as Chad said something back to Hank. I didn't quite catch what he said because I noticed Amber had made her way next to me.

"So Koby, how was your summer break?" Amber asked.

Her question caught me off guard. "Umm, yeah, good. Just boy stuff really." Boy stuff? What was I talking about? Why did I get so nervous around her?

"Boy stuff?" she replied as if asking herself the same questions.

"Yep, boy stuff", Seth interrupted. "Eating pizza and looking at dirty magazines." Seth was joking but I still felt my face going red.

Amber gave a small laugh. "Well, I'm glad to hear we have the lodge for another year. I'm looking forward to spending some weekends with you," she said as her shoulder softly touched mine. It was the slightest of touches but I smiled as I followed the gang to the assembly hall for our first day introduction. It looked like this had the makings of a great year.

*****

"I'm sooooo looking forward to spending some weekends with you," Seth mimicked as he slid into the vacant lunchroom seat beside me. For someone who had such a deep voice he actually put on quite a good girl's voice.

"What can I say, maybe I have a better chance with Amber than I actually thought," I replied. The notion had been running through my mind all morning.

"Ummm hey guys," a familiar voice suddenly broke my thoughts. "Is this seat taken?" I turned to see Rohan, one of our biology classmates, beckoning to the spare seat next to Seth. Rohan was undoubtedly the smartest student in school, acing every subject and being captain of the Mathematics Club. He is a self-confessed computer geek and wasn't really the most social person in the world. Don't get me wrong, Rohan is a nice guy; he just doesn't share much in common with our group. It looked like Rohan had gotten even whiter over the summer break, most likely from locking himself in his bedroom playing online computer games. Uneven sprouts of red hair covered his round head and a pair of very thick, round reading glasses covered his beady eyes. You could buy some pretty cool spectacles these days, why on earth did Rohan wear those horrendous things? He was also the shortest senior male at Hollow Point High. We often joked that if you popped a pointy hat on Rohan he would look like a garden gnome. I felt a bit sorry for the bloke really. It was obvious he didn't have many friends and he usually sat by himself reading computer magazines in his lunch break. That's why I was so surprised when he asked to sit next to us for lunch.

"Uh, yeah, sure mate. Knock yourself out," I replied to Rohan, as Seth shuffled across to make sure there was enough room.

"If you're saving it for someone else I don't mind," Rohan said.

"Rohan, it's fine," Seth replied.

"But where is Chad going to sit? And what about Hank? Hank's a big guy, he needs plenty of space," Rohan responded nervously.

"Rohan! Chad and Hank are big boys! I'm sure they won't mind if they can't sit directly next to us at lunch. Now sit down!" Seth answered, the words coming out a bit louder than he had meant.

Seth's words worked as Rohan quickly sat down next to us and placed his brown paper bag on the lunch table. We sat in silence for the next few minutes as Seth and I snuck glances of Rohan nibbling on a carrot. Every few seconds his glasses would fall down past the bridge of his nose and Rohan would quickly return them to a higher position. It was actually starting to irritate me.

"Sooo Rohan," I said, breaking the silence. "What did you get up to over summer?"

Rohan continued nibbling on his carrot before finally realising I was talking to him.

"Not much," he answered. "I made an ant farm a few weekends back using one of those cheap kits you can buy."

"Ant farm?" Seth replied, shooting me a painful look.

"Yeah, I know it's kind of childish but it was actually quite fascinating studying the behavioural patterns of the Genus Oecophylla."

"Genus what?" I asked, scratching my head.

"Oh, you know, the common green ant," Rohan replied.

"Rigggghhhttt," Seth said, stretching out the word. "Sounds like you kept yourself busy."

"I guess," replied Rohan. "I also...," Rohan hesitated and looked at us for the first time since joining us at the table.

"Started a sea monkey farm?" Seth said trying not to giggle.

"Of course not, sea monkeys are simply brine shrimp. Not at all very enthralling," said Rohan bluntly.

"Also...?" I asked, prompting Rohan to finish his sentence.

Rohan once again adjusted his glasses and then cleared his throat.

"I also killed someone."

# Chapter 5: Chad

"You what?" I recognised Koby's voice as I approached the lunch table.

"Who did what?" I asked with a smile.

"I killed someone," Rohan repeated.

"Huh?" I replied, hearing Rohan's confession for the first time.

"Well, not just someone," Rohan continued. "I actually killed a lot of people. Have you heard of that new computer game called Cold Sniper? Well I have a fantastic kill by death ratio; I'm ranked number three in the country actually."

Once again an awkward silence fell over the lunch table as everyone searched for a reply to Rohan's not-so-murderous confession.

"Well, uhh, you're the man Rohan," Seth finally responded.

"Yeah, you really showed those computer pixels who's boss," I added, letting out a small giggle.

"The trick is all about stealth," Rohan continued, not allowing the conversation to die. "You have to use the shadows. In fact, you have to become a shadow. And then, when the person is least expecting it......BAAAMMM!!!!" Rohan slammed both palms down on the lunch table, causing Koby's yoghurt to topple over and spill onto the table. "Then," Rohan continued, pausing to finish the last bite of his carrot. "They're dead."

*****

"Hey Veronica, can you pass the mustard please?" Hank asked.

"Hank, your hotdog is already covered in mustard," Veronica replied, passing him the bottle anyway.

"You know Hank likes his hotdogs with extra mustard," he replied.

"There he goes again, talking about himself in third person," said Zoe, rolling her eyes.

"Haha, I can't believe you're on your third hotdog Hank," said Amber.

Hank mumbled something back but his words were lost amidst the chewing of the mustard soaked kabana.

The first day of school had finished and we were sitting in our favourite booth at Billy Beef. We liked this table for a few reasons. Firstly, it was closest to the soft-drink machine which offered free refills. Secondly, a large glass window was directly alongside the booth so we would always observe people as they walked past the bistro. It was amazing how many hours we had wasted on simply staring at people outside. This booth also had a conveniently placed jukebox only a few steps away. I must admit, even though Billy Beef hadn't changed it's décor since, well, since it existed, it was a pretty cool hangout. It was a mix of retro and modern which at first seems kind of uncanny, however I think that's what gives it its appeal. Random apparel littered the walls in no particular pattern. Old hubcabs, a rubber dartboard and an oversized boomerang were just some of the items which inundated the pastel walls. Not to mention my personal favourite, a painting of a monkey doing the hula-hoop. Yes, Billy Beef was quite unique.

"So Kobes, what did you think of Rohan's lunch time confession," Seth asked.

"To be honest, it kind of freaked me out," Koby replied. "The way he thumped the table with his hands; there was something a bit odd about it."

"You're just angry that he spilt your Betty's Blueberry Yoghurt," I chimed in.

"Isn't that a toddler's yoghurt?" Seth said cheekily.

"What happened at lunch with Rohan?" Zoe asked quietly.

"Yeah, we missed all the action," hummed Veronica as she twirled a layer of perfectly shiny hair in her fingers.

Koby huddled up close to Amber and began to tell them what happened with Rohan at recess. Poor Rohan. He was completely harmless but there was no wonder he didn't have any friends. I actually agreed with Koby's earlier statement, there was something weird about Rohan's online-killing declaration. There was definitely a gleam in his eyes when he spoke about stalking his prey. It's the first time I had ever heard Rohan speak passionately about something; besides physics examinations and the best way to use a Bunsen burner. Heck, maybe he was just starting to come out of his shell. For the last few years we had debated whether or not to invite Rohan to the lodge. I remember there was one particular day when Rohan hinted it would be nice to be invited. We were in English and Koby and I had been discussing a successful fishing session we had enjoyed at the lake. Rohan overheard and mentioned that he had never been fishing and it sounded like fun. Before we got a chance to respond Mrs. Ingleton had asked Koby to explain to the class the definition of a Haiku. That was several years ago and I still couldn't picture Rohan baiting a hook.

"Hey, Reed," Hank yelled out abruptly. "Over here mate!" My eyes darted across the polished black and white checkered floor before landing on a stylish pair of white joggers.

"Guys, this is Reed," Hank said introducing us as the stranger approached the booth. "Reed is new to Hollow Point and just got picked for our rugby first string. He mightn't have cannons as big as mine, but I tell ya this dude is tough!" Even without seeing Reed play any kind of sport before, I could tell Hank's words were true. It was easy to see Reed was one fit guy. Tanned, toned arms poked from underneath his tight, black t-shirt. You could practically see his six-pack dancing under the cotton. To top it off, he had what could only be described as a Hollywood type face. His bronzed skin and chiseled features were accompanied by wavy dark hair and thin dark eyebrows that sat upon his ocean blue eyes. I smirked as I saw all three girls trying to hide their stares. Even Veronica looked slightly interested which was out of character for her.

"Well, don't be a stranger Reed, take a seat," smiled Amber sweetly, as she shoved Koby aside to make room for our new guest. Koby slowly shuffled sideways as Reed slid himself into the booth. A few awkward seconds passed as we all thought of a way to begin conversation.

"Well, Reed, you're one good looking rooster," Seth said jokingly. "If I was a hen..."

"Ok, ok, stop right there mister," said Zoe laughing. The ice had now been broken and dialogue once again continued.

"Haha thanks mate," replied Reed. "Cock-a-doodle-do." As we all let out a laugh, proper introductions were finally made to Reed.

"I'm Seth."

"Koby, but my friends sometimes call me Kobes."

"Chad, but my friends sometimes call me Chad," I said with a chuckle.

"Zoe."

"Hi Reed, I'm Amber."

"Veronica," said Veronica to finish off the formalities.

"Ok, so we have Kobes, Chad – or should I say Chad, Zoe, Amber and Veronica; piece of cake," Reed recited. We all laughed once again. It wasn't hard to tell Reed was a good bloke.

"Wow, you have the memory of a goldfish mate!" Hank said.

"Err, Hank, you do realise goldfish apparently have a memory span of a few seconds," informed Amber.

"I thought it was the other way around?" he replied, turning a light pink as the rest of us giggled. "Well, let's just pretend we all have a goldfish memory and forget I ever said that," Hank continued grinning.

"So, what brings you to Hollow Point Reed?" Amber asked, turning her body so she was facing him.

"Well, my parents just decided that they had lived the city life long enough and it was time for a change," Reed replied. "So after a few months of looking around they found a house in Hollow Point that suited us perfectly."

"So, you just packed up and moved in your senior year?" questioned Zoe.

"Yep, I think my parents are going through a mid-life crisis," Reed said with a chuckle.

"Wow, the move must be tough for you," Amber said in a soothing voice. "I mean, surely you have a lot of friends back in the city."

"Yeah sure, but I honestly don't mind too much. Hollow Point seems like a nice, little town. Plus the rugby side here is way better!" Reed continued, reaching out his clenched fist to give Hank a touch on the knuckles.

"I can't believe you think Hollow Point is cool," Seth muttered.

"I can't believe you moved away from all that retail shopping," Veronica joined in.

"I dunno," Reed replied to them both. "Hollow Point looks beautiful to me." He flashed Amber a purposeful smile as the words flowed from his lips. Out of the corner of my eye I could notice Koby shifting anxiously in the booth.

"Anyway, enough about me," Reed said. "Who wants a milkshake? My shout of course." Everyone let out a cheer as Reed stood up to make his way to the counter. As he shuffled his way out of the booth, his right hand slightly touched Amber's knee as he made his way past her. I soon noticed not everyone was cheering. Koby's face had begun to turn a pale red, his jaw clenched shut like a triggered mousetrap. Reed seemed like a pretty cool guy and it was clear that his first impressions of Amber were all positives ones. I had known Koby for a long time but I had never seen this expression on his face before. It wasn't just a look of anger or jealousy. This was a look of pure evil.

# Chapter 6: Koby

"This is living!" I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Livvv-ing, livvv-ing, livvv-ing," echoed from all sides, encircling us in its harmonious bubble.

"This is living alright!" copied Seth, as he sat up and adjusted his aviator sunglasses.

We had survived our first week as seniors and were now spending a beautiful Saturday relaxing at the lodge. Seth and I were soaking up a bit of sun by lying outside on the wicker sun beds that accompanied the large timber deck. It was so nice just chilling out with no interruptions. No school, no parents, no mobile phone reception. When we had first come to the lodge many years ago, the girls were all pretty bummed about the lack of reception. But they soon embraced the idea as it meant our parents couldn't check up on us.

"Chad, are you going to stop romancing the ladies and come out and join the men?" Seth bellowed in the direction of the partly opened, cedar bi-fold doors.

Chad was inside helping the girls make pineapple smoothies. "Fellas, unless you want your smoothies with little pink umbrellas in them, I suggest you let me finish giving these drinks the manly touch they so desperately require!" Chad shot back with a heavy laugh.

"Well, can you at least multitask and please turn up the radio for us bro," Seth replied. Chad didn't respond but a few seconds later the soothing voice of country singer, Kirby Paxton, increased in volume around us.

"Yeah, love this song!" I exclaimed.

"Yo! Kirby is da man!" Seth said in his gangster voice which he liked to use from time to time.

"Grrrr Kirby," we heard Chad mutter from inside.

Chad was a big rap fan and was actually a pretty good rapper himself. Seth and I, however, liked music which was a bit more easy-going. Something with lyrics you could sing along to effortlessly. Kirby Paxton was an excellent example of this.

"Eww, my dad likes Kirby," Veronica said from inside.

"The man has good taste," I shot back.

"And the boys kept singin' cos they were winnin', oh what a Saturday night," Seth started to sing in his deep voice.

"The girls go shoppin' before they go boppin', in that bright white light," I continued on from Seth, taking in every word of Kirby's wonderfully abrasive voice.

"As the clock struck twelve in the middle of the night, they kept livin' cos it felt just right," we sang together, eventually breaking out in laughter like giggling school girls.

"Nice singing boys," laughed Amber, as she fully opened the bi-fold doors and joined us on the deck. "You should give Mr. Paxton a call; perhaps he's chasing a few background singers for his next music video?" Wow, she really is beautiful; I suddenly started thinking to myself. Amber was dressed in a light, summery dress that swayed gently with every movement she made. As always, she was wearing no makeup and had on no jewellery. In my view, Amber's natural appearance made her look even more stunning. Without meaning to, I let out a small smile as I checked out Amber. Her eyes suddenly locked on mine and I let out a fake cough as if to extinguish my wandering eyes.

"Love the dress Amber," I said, trying to play it cool. "It really...uh, suits you." I heard Seth snigger under his breath but Amber seemed genuinely happy to receive my praise.

"Thanks Koby! It's just something cheap I picked up from the bargain bin," she replied. "I like what you're wearing too, very sexy," she giggled.

Obviously she was making a joke as Seth and I were tanning shirtless on the deck. Her comment pleased me though. Was there even a bit of flirtation in her voice? I stared down at my body. Although I was skinny and quite modest in physique, I was pretty content with my body. I was fairly toned and I had even gained a bit of definition in my chest over the past year.

"Actually, I think you need a bit more sun cream," Amber said, interrupting my vain self-inspection. "You can never be too careful, you know."

"Thanks mum," I replied, instantly wishing I hadn't said that. Amber then kneeled besides the sun lounger I was lying on and picked up the sun cream tube which lay on the deck besides me. She then proceeded to empty some of the thick white substance onto my stomach, her hands massaging the cream into my skin in small circular rotations. The coldness of the cream felt so good on the contrasting warmth of my skin. "Hey! I'm next!" Seth said brazenly. "I've even got a bit of chest hair for you to caress, not like mister baby skin over there."

"That's not chest hair!" I yelled. "It's more like a small ball of fluff." Seth's chest was as smooth as mine, except for an insignificant patch right in the middle. It nearly looked like it was floating on his chest; a petite bird's nest which had been blown onto his upper body by a passing breeze.

Seth was about to respond, but Zoe's voice interrupted him from inside the lodge. "Pineapple smoothies are readddy!" With a few quick pats on my torso, Amber rubbed in the last of the sun cream and stood up to give Zoe a hand.

"Here you go princesses," Chad said, finally joining us in man-land. He handed Seth and I a bright yellow drink each. I had a quick look at my beverage and then stared at Chad as he took a sip of his umbrella-less smoothie. I removed the six tiny umbrellas embedded in my pineapple mush and flung them at his face.

*****

"Then, Reed did this awesome dive to catch a wayward pass. Somehow, he fended off three of their players and did a sneaky flick pass to yours truly. I ran in under the posts and that my friends, is game, set and match!" Hank said animatedly, hardly taking a breath between words.

"You play tennis?" Chad joked.

"How many times are you going to tell us that story, Hank?" Veronica groaned.

"All night baby, yeeeeyaaaahhh!" Hank replied, squealing in delight. "The Hank and Reed show was in full force this afternoon; our rugby team will be unbeatable this year!"

"You must be quite the player, eh Reed?" asked Zoe.

"I dunno. It's a team game, everyone did their part," replied Reed modestly. Hank and Reed had joined the rest of us at the lodge and Hank was telling us for the fourth time of how they had just sealed victory. I must admit, I was quite surprised when Reed had arrived with Hank. It was actually a surprise to all of us when we saw him enter the picturesque surrounds of Chad's family lodge only a few hours ago. We had always been so select on who we invited to share the lodge with. Some of the guys at school had been bugging Chad for years to get an invite. I sighed. It was hard to not like Reed. I could understand why everyone was happy Hank had brought him along. He was a cool, easy-going guy and even I had shared a few laughs with him this afternoon. Maybe I should just give the guy a chance. We might actually turn out to be really good friends.

"I can't believe this place," Reed said, admiring the surrounding views. "I mean, look at that lake, it's unreal." On cue, everyone's gaze followed Reed's to the lake. Yes, it truly was magnificent. The sun was nearly about to set and a range of luminous hues filtered across the top of the glass-like surface. Bright pinks, oranges and reds all glistened on the lakes façade, as if celebrating an end to a glorious day. Seth and Chad had setup a fire on a small plane of dirt and we were all circled around it merrily, like boy scouts on their first camping trip.

"And I can definitely throw a kayak in the water tomorrow?" Reed asked nervously.

"Of course!" replied Chad. "You can go kayaking right now if you really want to, although you'll be hard seeing in about two minutes!"

"You can teach me how to paddle if you want," Amber said shyly.

"Of course," Reed replied, flashing his perfect pearly whites. I felt a stab of disappointment in the pit of my stomach.

"But you hate water sports, Amber," Veronica said. "All us girls hate water sports, besides swimming that is."

"Well, who says a girl can't change," Amber challenged. Did she smile timidly at Reed when she said that or was I just imagining things?

"You know what time it is?" Chad blurted out suddenly.

"Oh no," we all moaned simultaneously. We all knew what was coming.

"Uhh, six o'clock?" Reed said confused. Everyone let out a laugh as Reed rubbed his chin with a baffled look pasted across his face. It was obvious that Chad was about to perform one of his raps. For some reason the camp fire always got him in a performing mood. Chad stood up, cleared his lungs and let us have it:

"My name isss....Chad, easy-as-can-be;

However, my true friends call me 'Infamous C'.

Ree-eed, you're the new kid on-the-block;

Your lodge initiation is to smell my sock.

Hankity Hank, you're arms are like lead;

But you should also know that you have a fat head.

Ver-onnn-iccc-aaa, we are good-friends-n-nothin-more-than-that

But that doesn't mean I don't stare at your rac-

"Ok, ok, that's enough rapping for one night Infamous C," Veronica said, managing to cut him off mid sentence. I looked around the perimeter of the fire; everyone had gone bright red from laughter.

"So, is that a fresh sock?" Reed asked amidst the laughter.

This caused everyone to laugh even harder. I looked up towards the night sky with a smile on my face. The fresh smell of wood and campfire smoke engulfed the space around us, weaving its way through our circle like a game of duck-duck-goose. As the aromas dispersed into the night sky, the group of friends continued to enjoy each others company, feeling blessed that the lodge would tonight house their buoyant dreams. Great friends and the perfect location, I thought. Life couldn't get any better.

# Chapter 7: Amber

I let out a heavy yawn as I sluggishly sat up in bed. My eyes squinted in a spontaneous defence, protecting themselves from the early morning sun rays that sifted through the glass, bay window. Adjusting the pillows behind my back, I yawned for a second time. What a great nights sleep. We all ended up going to bed around midnight and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Veronica, Zoe and I were occupying the second bedroom, which was made up of four bunk beds. The boys were in the master bedroom of the lodge. They usually had some sort of silly competition to see who slept in the master bed, with the losers all resorting to mattresses on the floor. I turned my head to inspect the neighbouring bunk beds. Zoe was still fast asleep on the bottom bunk, her left arm dangling over the side of the bed lifelessly. Her lips were tightly pursed as if she had just sucked on a lemon. I let out a giggle and Zoe unknowingly replied with a muffled grunt as she rolled over and faced the bedroom wall. Veronica was sleeping on the bunk bed above mine. She had always had a phobia of sleeping on the bottom. I could recall numerous conversations when Veronica had told us she would never sleep on the bottom bed because she was afraid the structure would collapse and the top bunk would land on top of her. "At least you would be asleep if this ever happened; you wouldn't even see it coming," I remember telling her once.

"That's the worst part though!" Veronica had replied. "You go to bed knowing you may never wake up!"

A small shiver suddenly erupted through my body and I quickly wiggled my way out from underneath the warm sheets and forced my bare feet onto the cold floorboards. Now standing, I gave a quick peer at the top bunk, expecting to see Veronica snoozing away. Instead, I was greeted by a few ruffled bed sheets and a turned down quilt. Hmmm, not surprising really. Veronica usually liked to get up quite early. She was probably outside doing her morning yoga routine in front of the lake. Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea. I decided to grab a quick breakfast and join her. I quickly slipped into a pair of ankle socks and made my way into the kitchen. Chad's parents had renovated the lodge's kitchen into a culinary dream. A long, granite bench top was surrounded by quality, stainless steel appliances and there was enough cupboard space to hold all the cooking utensils one could want. I smiled as I examined the kitchen; perhaps I should be a real estate agent when I graduate from Hollow Point High? Taking care to be extra quiet, I plugged the toaster into the power point and placed in two pieces of bread. As the toaster warmed, I suddenly found myself thinking of Koby. It was quite obvious he had feelings towards me and I had actually had a crush on him for a few years now. So why had nothing happened between us? Maybe we were just destined to be friends and nothing more? Then, there was Reed. Cool, mysterious Reed. It was hard to not be attracted to Reed. He obviously took a lot of pride in his body and his face looked like it was fresh off the set of a toothpaste commercial. Was I just thinking about Reed because he was new to Hollow Point? Or was there a chance that Reed and I could actually grow closer? As I buttered my toast, the questions looped in my mind like a roller coaster.

Koby. Reed.

Reed. Koby.

As I nibbled on my toast, the two names continued to swirl in my head. Popping the last bit of crust into my mouth, I returned to the bedroom and quickly changed out of my pyjamas into a plain white t-shirt and gym shorts. Zoe had changed positions once more and was now laying directly on her back; the crisp, white linen pulled up just short of her nostrils. I quickly slipped into my joggers and tied the laces into a lazy bow before making my way outside to join Veronica. As I anticipated, Veronica was on a nice, flat piece of grass near the edge of the lake. She had laid out a towel and was laying on her back, probably doing a few warm up stretches. The sun had only been up for a few hours and there was still an early morning chill in the air. I let out a small shiver as I approached the lake.

"Hey, Veronica!"

No response. She must have her earphones in, I realise. "Verr-onn-icc-a!" I yelled, emphasising the syllables in a louder voice. Nothing. Wow, she must really have the bass turned up on her music player. Hang on a second, was she still in her pyjamas? I took a step closer. Yes, Veronica was in her fluoro pink boxer shorts and matching singlet.

I took another step towards her. "Missy, what are you..." I suddenly stopped midsentence. Veronica's usually perfect straight hair was covered in a fine layer of dew. Her tanned complexion had been substituted with a pale glow. Those ripe lips, that so many boys admired, had started to crack around her mouth which was open in a perfect circle. But it was her eyes that made me freeze. They were wide open in a look of pure terror. Then I noticed the fishing line. It was wrapped around her throat over a layer of thin purple bruising. As I choked back tears, I noticed a flower had been purposely slipped in under the fishing line; the yellow petals lightly brushing her chin. It was a daisy.

# Chapter 8: Daisy

Dear Diary,

I did it. I told you I would.

Daisy has killed. A bit of fishing line around her neck and presto. Game over.

Veronica; beautiful, confident Veronica. She thought she was so superior. So perfect. Well, she doesn't look too perfect anymore.

I musn't get too complacent though. This was my first strike.

My reign of terror has only just begun...

# Chapter 9: Seth

The red and blue sirens flashed melodiously, engulfing my vision until the two primary colours overtook everything else in my sight.

Red.

Blue.

Red.

Blue

The blinking lights seemed to flash faster until they materialized into a single blur. The red and blue had now vanished, merging into a sea of faded purple. No more flashing. No more red. No more blue. It was just me, tangled in a thick purple curtain.

Purple. It was a beautiful colour, one of Veronica's favourites I remembered. But now the colour didn't seem so pleasant. The swirling purple dye started to roll in a rhythmic motion. Up and down, like a fisherman at sea. The purple motion suddenly made me feel ill. I tried to turn away but I was captured in this purple web. This suffocating, undulating colour started to tighten around me and I felt myself going weak. I then realised I was closing my eyes. I opened them quickly, letting out a deep breath. I was in my bed at home. The red and blue sirens from the police cars at the lodge had long gone. There was no purple haze; just me, my bed, my computer desk and a poster of Kirby Paxton. I let out another cavernous breath and looked at the clock. Nearly ten o'clock at night. It was hard to believe it had been over twelve hours since Veronica...my thoughts trailed off as I buried my head in my pillow.

We had spent most of the day at the lodge with the police and their flashing sirens. Police weren't the only ones present though. Forensics, paramedics and detectives scoured the area. The lodge had transformed from a tranquil lake into a hectic, solemn playground. It was like a scene from a movie. Then there was the media. Excited reporters had somehow found out about the breaking story and arrived in bulk, camcorders in hand and lanyards draped around their necks. To the media, it was a good way to sell a few newspapers or to get people to tune into the five o'clock news. They didn't know or truly care about the young girl who was murdered. I let out a sob. Poor Veronica. How did this happen? I closed my eyes but quickly opened them, afraid that the red and blue flashes would once again entrap me.

The questioning at the lodge had dragged on. Most of us were too shocked and upset to say too much to the police. But really, what was there to say? We had gone to bed and then woke up the next morning to Amber's scream. I really felt for Amber. Veronica was her best friend and to stumble across her body like that was unimaginable. How did this happen? The question repeated in my mind, a constant flash just like those vivid police sirens. After the police had questioned us individually, we all went to the police station for further statements. This was again performed individually, as if they were hoping that our stories didn't match up. This angered me inside. Although they were very polite and extremely remorseful, I couldn't help but feel like a criminal. Four officers had been in the room, all of them examining me like some sort of lab project. I had told them what happened. How we had spent the day at the lodge. How we had lit a fire and then went to bed directly after. Then I gave them my theory. They didn't really ask for it but I spat it out anyway. Something must have woken Veronica up. I mean, whey else was she outside in her pyjamas. She must have gone outside and saw someone. Perhaps a thief trying to break into the lodge? I told this hypothesis to the police quickly, my words leaving my mouth at a rapid rate. Then I broke into tears. They didn't say anything about my presumption. The officers simply said sorry and that they would be in touch if they needed anything else. After the questioning we all embraced in the lobby of the police station. First I had hugged Amber and Zoe, giving them a sad smile as words were beyond any of us at this point in time. I then hugged Chad, Koby and Hank. I had never cuddled my mates before but I clinched them tight, our hearts pounding together in a gentlemanly bond. When Koby and Hank held each other close, I let out a dry smile. Koby could barely get his hands all the way around Hank's sturdy body and in situations like this I would usually crack a joke. But this wasn't the time or place. Reed leaned against a wall, nervously chewing his fingernails, not quite sure where to look. Welcome to Hollow Point, I thought. I wondered if he would stick around or head back to the city? I gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before following my parents outside to head home. Now here I was; covered in sweat, my mind twirling with questions and grief. I lay back down in bed and closed my eyes. And waited for the red, blues and purples to swallow me up once more.

*****

"Life isn't fair," Zoe murmured in her hushed voice. We all nodded in agreement, knowing that her sentence summed up all our thoughts in three small words. It had been four days since Veronica's murder and we had all just returned to school after having a few days off to grieve. The school had told all our parents that we should take off as long as we wanted, as our health and wellbeing was their first priority. However, all our parents agreed that the best medicine was to go back to school as soon as possible. I think they thought that getting back into the swing of things would be good for us. They were probably right. I mean, for the few days I had spent at home I had basically sat in bed wishing I could turn back time. At least going back to school would maybe give me something else to think about. Chad's parents, who were still away interstate, were adamant they were coming home to console Chad. I remember Chad speaking to his parents on his mobile phone at the lodge on the day of the murder. He had put on a brave face and repeated to them a hundred times that he would be ok. In the end, Chad's parents spoke to Koby's parents and they agreed that Chad would stay with Koby for as long as he wanted. After all, that's what mates are for. We were now sitting in the school cafeteria having lunch. It was the first time we had all been together since the weekend and no one quite knew what to say. Suddenly a voice interrupted the silence.

"Hey guys, listen I'm so sorry about what happened. If you ever need anything..." I turned to see Rohan, who was slightly blushing as he made his sincere gesture.

"Thanks Rohan, really appreciate it," I replied softly, reaching up to shake his hand. Rohan stared at my hand awkwardly. I honestly don't think he had ever shaken hands before. He reached down and shook my hand. His palms felt moist and supple. I guess playing plenty of computer games really kept your hands nice and soft.

"Take a seat Rohan," Amber replied with a smile. It was the first time I'd seen her smile today. Koby smiled as well, happy that Amber was showing some signs of her old self.

"So what did the police ask you?" Koby asked to no one in particular.

"The same questions over and over!" Hank replied. "It's like they were waiting for me to contradict myself."

"Contradict! Wow, I've never heard you use a word that long before Hank!" Koby joked. I cringed, not sure if anyone was in the mood for jokes. But to my surprise, everyone laughed and the tension around the table eased.

"They kept asking me if I was sure Veronica went to bed," Zoe said.

"Me too!" replied Amber. "I told them so many times that she was definitely in bed. We saw her for heavens sake. We both said goodnight to her!" Amber continued, her voice slightly rising.

"I know!" Zoe replied.

"They also brought up that daisy a million times," Koby exaggerated. The daisy! I had completely forgotten about it!

"Yeah, what was with that?" Reed asked. "Was that some sort of message from the killer?"

"Calling sign," Rohan said bluntly.

"What?" Amber asked.

"If there was some sort of inanimate object on or near the body, then it's probably the murderers calling sign," Rohan explained. A chill made its way down my body. Why did Rohan have to say it so matter-of-factly?

"So, let me get this straight," piped in Hank. "The killer left a daisy on Veronica's body..."

"Neck," said Zoe. I gave Zoe a quizzical stare. Was the daisy really on Veronica's neck? How did she remember that?

Hank didn't seem to care about Zoe's interruption. "Ok, the killer left a daisy on Veronica's neck. If Rohan is correct and this is indeed a calling sign, doesn't that mean something?"

"Like what?" I asked.

"I dunno," Hank replied, "I'm not a detective. But doesn't that tell us something about the killer?"

"What, that he's a florist?" Koby said with a grin and then quickly coughed as if to cover up his joke.

I stared at Chad and realised he hadn't uttered a word all lunch. "Hey Chad, you alright mate?" Everyone turned to look at Chad. He was looking a little pale and a worried look was sketched across his face.

"It's ok Chad," said Amber. "We're all here for one another."

"It's not that," Chad finally spoke. "Well, it is that, but it's something else as well." We all waited for Chad to continue.

"I-I-I know who killed Veronica." Gasps filled the table as Chad's shocked confession stormed over us.

"It-it was......me."

# Chapter 10: Koby

A hush once again fell over the table. Rohan coughed and nervously stirred on the lunch table seat.

"What the hell are you talking about dude?" Seth asked, bewilderment embedded in his voice.

"It's entirely my fault." Chad said sadly. "That morning, the morning she died, I saw her in the kitchen. We both got up for a drink of water at the same time. We said good morning and then both went back to bed. Don't you see? I could have stopped her! If she didn't go back to bed then she wouldn't have got killed. I would have been with her...I could have protected her," Chad spat out his confession and broke out into a sob.

"Chad, you can't blame yourself for this," Amber said, draping her arm over his shoulders.

"Yeah mate, I mean you couldn't have predicted something like this was going to happen," said Seth.

"Chad, what time did this happen?" I asked, rubbing my chin.

"I dunno," Chad said through a few sniffles. "Probably around four in the morning."

"Four in the morning!," I repeated. "Chad, don't do this to yourself. Like Amber and Seth said, her death has nothing to do with you. It was four o'clock; of course you wouldn't stay up with her!"

"I know, I know," admitted Chad. "I just keep thinking, what if I did."

"The world is full of what ifs," Reed said confidently. "What if you made Veronica stay up at 4am and didn't let her go back to bed? I didn't know Veronica all that well but I reckon you would have had a pretty nice hand imprint on your left cheek!" Everyone gave a laugh, including Chad.

"Did you tell the police?" Zoe quizzed.

"Of course," replied Chad. "They were all looking at me like I killed her. I guess I just started to believe maybe I could have prevented it."

"Well snap out of it Chad, it's not your fault," Zoe said curtly. We all softly laughed again. Zoe didn't usually speak so abruptly.

"But your story Chad, it gives the police a time. They now know without any hesitation that her murder happened between four and...Amber, what time did you wake up?" I asked Amber.

"Umm it was early," Amber replied. "I told the police it was around seven."

"So," I continued, "that gives police a three hour window. That's good news! They're going to catch this guy!"

"My suspicion is that her death occurred closer to four or five," said Amber.

"Why's that?" Rohan asked.

"Well..." Amber paused, "There-there was frost. On her body. I-I don't know how long it takes for frost to accumulate but it looked like she'd been there for at least a few hours."

"God...," muttered Chad. "If only I had started a conversation with her."

"Chad!" yelled Amber and Zoe in unison.

"What I don't get is why the killer didn't do anything else? I mean, there was no sign of a break-in and nothing was stolen," I said, thinking out loud.

"Maybe he was about to break-in and Veronica startled him," Seth said.

"I wish I startled him," Hank said menacingly.

The school bell suddenly rang through the cafeteria signalling the end of lunch. I said goodbye and made my way to mathematics, actually hoping that we had some difficult equations so my mind could have a break from thinking about death.

*****

"Lodge, this weekend!" said Chad. We were all huddled around the school's front gate, ready to head home when Chad's statement caught us by surprise.

"What?" I asked loudly. "That's tomorrow!"

"Are you crazy?" Amber replied, looking at Chad with a stunned expression.

"I'm serious," said Chad, "let's go to the lodge this weekend."

"Chad, brother, I don't think that's such a good idea," Hank said in a serious voice.

"Plus isn't it still cordoned off?" asked Reed. "You know, with police tape and stuff."

"Nope! My parents spoke to the police over the phone last night and they have finished inspecting the lodge and it's free for us to use again," continued Chad.

"And you're parents, they're happy for us to still use it? After what happened," Zoe asked, a little shocked.

"Listen, all our parents, and the police for that matter, want us to get on with our lives. Right?" Chad asked everyone.

"I guess," I murmured.

"So we need to keep doing what we usually do. And on the weekend we usually go to the lodge," Chad said, turning his head to see how everyone was reacting.

"That kinda makes sense," said Hank. "What happened was terrible and I know we're all hurting but maybe Chad is right. There is no way the murderer would go back there again, the whole police force are on the case as we speak."

"Can't believe I'm saying this," chimed in Zoe. "But I think that Veronica would like us going back to the lodge. After all, the lodge is practically our second home."

"I'm in!" Hank said, flashing Zoe a smile.

"Me too," replied Seth. "I think hanging out there will actually help with our grieving; the sooner we go back the better."

"Well, I'm in too," Reed replied. "If I'm invited that is."

"Of course you're invited bro!" shouted Hank, reaching across and giving Reed a playful slap across the head.

"Ok, well if you're all going then of course I'm going," I replied, still not convinced we were ready to face the lodge and the emotions that would come with it.

"Amber?" Chad asked. "You in?"

"Guys, I don't think it's such a good idea," Amber chortled. "Plus will our parents even let us go?"

"Just tell them you're coming around my house," Zoe replied.

"Mmmmmmm," Amber let out a long murmur. "Ok fine, but we stick together!"

"No worries Amber," said Reed. "I'll stick by your side the entire time, ok?" I felt like vomiting as Reed flashed Amber one of his perfect smiles.

"Aww, thanks Reed," Amber replied.

"Yes, we'll all stick together," I said. "That's what friends are for." Friends? Why did I say that? Here is Reed; cool, confident Reed, telling Amber how he'll protect her. And here I am saying we're just friends. Stupid Koby! Stupid!

"Alright, so it's agreed on," said Chad happily.

Little did we know that we had all just made a terrible decision.

# Chapter 11: Seth

"Well, I must admit this was a pretty good idea Chad," I said with a big smile on my face.

"Who knows best? Chad knows best! Stick with me brother and you'll go a long way," Chad said in a high pitched voice.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, one of those perfect days where there wasn't a cloud in sight. Just a vast blue sky for as far as the eye could see. In many ways the weather had brightened our spirits. Hollow Point weather was known to fluctuate and no one ever trusted the weather report on the nightly news. Here, the weather gods could have easily delivered us a sky of grey, which was usually accompanied by heavy rain and strong wind. If that happened today, I daresay we would have been a little depressed coming here. Heck, we probably would have stayed home and forgot about the lodge. Instead, the blue heavens and warm temperature beckoned us to the lodge, nearly like it wanted us to be here. About an hour ago we had arrived at the outskirt of the woods. Hollow Point was such a small town you could basically walk anywhere. I even knew some adults who had lived in Hollow Point their entire lives and never bothered owning a car! As teenagers, the freedom to walk to Billy Beef, the lodge, school or each others houses was quite useful. We approached the lodge on the same rugged dirt path we always took. The walkway was surrounded by dense shrubbery, many of which contained small, bright, orange berries. I had always wondered if they were poisonous but I had never asked the question to anyone in particular. I remember once how I was going to dare Hank to eat one but I bit my tongue just in time, realising how stupid that was. Knowing Hank, he probably would have taken up the childish challenge. The lodge looked as impressive as ever, it truly was a beautiful location and even though I'd been here so many times before, it always amazed me that something this peaceful was just a stones throw from the main street in Hollow Point. The sun gleamed off the lodge windows, reflecting into the crystal clear water of the lake. The deck, although in need of a sand and polish, had a rustic charm which was quite appealing to the eye. The grass always seemed to be a bright green, even when the winter frost arrived. It was hard to imagine that such a terrible tragedy could occur at a place like this. All of us were meticulously silent when we walked past the patch of grass where Amber had found Veronica's body. The usual questions re-floated in my mind and I'm sure everyone else's thoughts as well. Why? Who? How can Veronica really be dead? Dead. The word ached in my brain like I had just drunk a Billy Beef ice slushy too quickly. Gorgeous, self-assured Veronica. I had lost count at how many times she had been asked out at school by nervous males. Or how many times a group of boys used to walk past her giggling, not trying to hide how they were obviously attracted to her. Even I was attracted to Veronica. I wasn't attracted in a more than friend's way, like the feelings Koby felt for Amber. It was just not possible to look at Veronica without breathing in her beauty. She had a certain radiance which surrounded her. The Veronica pheromone we would call it. When she finished high school she wanted to be a fashion designer and anyone who knew Veronica had no doubts she would have made it big time. It wouldn't have surprised me to see Veronica launch her own handbag or swimsuit label in a few years. I sighed as I returned to the present tense.

"Seth, you coming?" asked Hank.

"Huh?" I replied.

"To the lake!" Hank replied. "It's swim time."

"Oh! Yeah, sure," I said, actually excited about jumping in for a splash.

I followed Hank and the rest of the group down to a shallow inlet which was directly parallel to the lodge. This was our preferred swimming location as it not only has a nice sandy foundation, but it was only ankle deep in the shallowest section. This was great as we would sometimes just lie on our backs, the combination of the warm sun and cool water a relaxing amalgamation. Then, if we wanted a proper swim it was only a couple of paces out before the lake suddenly dropped to a more serious depth.

"This water is stunning," Reed said as he dropped down into the water. "The clarity is amazing and the temperature is just right."

"This is one of my favourite things to do after a rugby match," Hank replied. "Nothin' better than a nice swim for those sore muscles."

"You should all come on Friday night," Reed said. "We're playing Werner Town who apparently won the premiership last year - should be a good game."

"Yeah, it was supposed to be last Friday but got called off due to...errr, you know," Hank said, the words slipping out of his mouth. "We'll be having a minutes silence for Veronica so you should all definitely come."

"I'll be there," Amber said eagerly, slipping besides Reed onto the sandy bottom.

"But you hate rugby!" Zoe said.

"I'm going for Veronica," Amber replied, but her smile to Reed suggested she had multiple reasons for attending.

I looked at Koby who had dropped down onto his shins in the water. He was glaring at Reed who hadn't yet noticed. Calm down Koby, I thought, calm down. As if hearing my thoughts, Koby let out a breath of air and then joined us on our backs.

"Sounds good guys," Koby replied. "I'm sure we'll all be there."

"I've heard Werner Town have some serious big boys," said Chad. "Rumours are their captain even has bigger biceps than me!"

"Chad, even I have bigger biceps than you," joked Zoe. With her miniature frame, the joke made us all crack up laughing. This was good, I thought. All of us just lying here having a chat; maybe, just maybe, we really could all get on with our lives sooner than we thought.

"I've heard their cheerleaders are smoking hot too," Chad said with a smile. "Bet you're looking forward to that Hank!"

Hank gave a bit of a chuckle. "Nah, not really," he said, slightly stumbling on his words. What a weird thing for him to say, I thought. Usually Hank would start gloating about how many of the cheerleaders he would ask out. It seemed like everyone else thought the same thing, as they all gave him a puzzled look.

"What?" said Hank, who was started to blush.

"You feeling alright?" asked Koby.

"Yeah, you haven't been bitten by a Southern Crawling Fish have you?" Chad asked.

"Southern Crawling Fish?" Reed interrupted, his eyes suddenly darting to the water surrounding his body.

"Yeah," Chad replied, "They inhabit this lake in certain months of the years. They're about ten centimetres in length, light green in colour," Chad paused for a brief second. "Actually, Christ almighty, that's one crawling up your arm Reed!" Chad's voiced echoed around us as he shouted the words in panic.

"Wahhh," Reed let out a small cry as he thrashed both arms in the water. Of course, everyone realised Chad was joking but it took Reed a little while to catch on.

"Oh man," Reed said. "Oh man."

"Southern Crawling Fish, seriously?" I said to Chad laughing.

"Can't believe you fell for that," laughed Amber, giving him a playful splash.

Koby said nothing, his eyes twinkling with delight. He enjoyed Reed being tricked, I realised. Next, I turned to Hank. It was obvious that he was grateful that Chad's prank had caused everyone to stop eyeballing him around Chad's cheerleader statement. Koby and Hank. I knew these two blokes better than anyone. Didn't I?

*****

"This water is getting cold," Zoe said.

"Yeah, I'm done too," replied Hank.

We had been lying in the water for what must be close to two hours now. Our conversations hadn't really reached any great heights. Amber had discussed how she was contemplating changing her hair style. Koby said it looked great the way it was. Reed said she should do whatever made her happy. Hank had continued talking about Werner Town and something along the lines of running rings around their players and then when he got sick of that, running straight through them instead. As I said, we weren't really discussing rocket science. But I was enjoying myself. Even thought the water had slightly cooled, the fresh water felt nice as it lapped around my body.

"Think I might stay here for a bit longer," I said softly, closing my eyes as the sun continued to beat down. Even though the sun was beginning to lower, the rays still had enough warmth to keep me comfortable.

"You sure?" said Koby. "I'm going to head up to the lodge as well."

"Yeah me too," replied everyone else.

"I'll be up soon guys," I replied. "I'm just so relaxed at the moment."

"Well, don't go falling asleep on us," Zoe said.

"And watch out for those Southern Crawling Fish!" joked Chad, to which Reed gave him a light-hearted punch on the shoulder.

"Will do," I replied with a laugh. Before I knew it, I was alone on the lake. I closed my eyes and took in the sounds of the lodge. There was a few parrots hidden somewhere among the trees, their gentle trills resonating over me. The lake water softly splashed around my torso, as I lightly kicked my legs. This is why I came to the lodge. Not only to spend time with my friends but to shut out the world and all my thoughts. Just me. Nothing else. I'm not sure how long I had my eyes closed for but I opened them as an unfamiliar sound caught my attention.

Cruuunch.

Cruuunch.

What was that?

I slowly sat up in the water, shaking my head to rid the small amount of water that had entered my ears.

Cruuunch.

There it was again. Turning my head, I realised the sound was being made from footsteps which were striding on the small patch of dry grass on the edge of the inlet. I looked up. The afternoon sun had nearly set but it still shone brightly, its last hurrah before settling for the night.

"Who's there?" I said to the figure, as I squinted against the glow. No reply. I brought my right hand up to shield the sun and finally glimpsed the person.

"Oh it's you!"

I was about to ask for a hand up but I never got the chance. I let out a large gasp as the figure plunged a knife deep into my chest, sending me back into my former position as my back hit the sandy bottom of the lake. As I stared into the person's eyes I heard a parrot let out a high pitched shrill from the heavens above. Then came darkness.

# Chapter 12: Daisy

Dear Diary,

Well, it was simply too easy this time. The fishing line in my first kill gave me a challenge. I had to be creative and as a result I felt quite inspired when it was all over. It really felt like I was made to work for my reward.

Not this time. There's nothing difficult about using a knife. I thought that plunging the blade would give me immense satisfaction, however, the whole slaughter just felt a little bland this time round. I thought that the wind rushing against the cascading blade would generate a greater thrill. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed it. Revenge tastes sweet no matter what choice of weapon. But I definitely need to assess my killing principles.

Yes, that's it. My next murder will be different, something truly unique. Your old friend Daisy will not stop. I will continue killing until each and every one of them are.........dead.

# Chapter 13: Amber

Five days. It had been five days since Seth was tragically murdered. I shifted on the lounge room couch as my mind began to wander. The whole incident has been so surreal, so unthinkable. The past few nights I had been pinching myself as I brushed my teeth in front of the mirror. I honestly thought this was all a nightmare, a terrible fantasy which I couldn't awake from. However, whenever I pinched the skin on my arm the solemn reflection in the mirror winced in pain. This was real. Veronica was dead. Seth was dead. Two of my closest friends. Gone. Taken. By who? Surely this was beyond a coincidence. It was simply not possible that two of my friends had been killed a week apart. Was someone targeting our group? Why? It just didn't make sense. Or was someone killing people who used the lodge? Were we simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? What the hell is going on? So many questions floated through my mind as tears welled in my eyes. It could have been me. We were all swimming in the lake and it could have easily been me who decided to swim a little longer. It could have been any one of us. Why did you have to stay in the lake, Seth? Why? Why did we let him stay there? All by himself; one week after Veronica was killed. What were we thinking? Dumb! So, so dumb! It has been an emotional week. It was déjà vu in many ways. Shock, horror, tears, frustration, interviews with police, animated journalists desperate for an interview; it was a never ending list of sorrow. Then there was the daisy. That cursed flower had been keeping me up all night. Just like Veronica, a daisy had been found on Seth's body. It had been laid perfectly over the stab wound, as if the killer took pride in how the flower was presented. The daisy was identical to the one used in Veronica's murder - a yellow middle with white petals. Every night since Veronica's death I would have nightmares about it. The daisy was always ten times the size I was and it had somehow captured me; a lone prisoner sitting on its yellow centre. Then the petals would start to come together, entrapping me within the flower like a tomb. There I sat, weeping and confused. Waiting. Waiting to die. The flower would then begin to fill with a liquid. A sticky substance with a distinct odour. Blood. I tried to escape the daisy; tried to squeeze through the chalk coloured petals but it was no use. Instead, in a desperate bid to escape, I would always fall over as I slipped in the blood. It now covered my body, head to toe. The blood continued to rise, filling the inside of the daisy. It was now waist deep and I was struggling to raise my legs. Before I knew it the blood had reached my neck. I tried to scream but no sound came out. And then I was fully submerged in the bright red matter. It entered my ears, nostrils and my mouth. Then I woke up. Sweat covered my body and for a minute I always thought that I was still in the nightmare. As my breaths grew longer I finally realised it wasn't real and I would sit in bed crying, too afraid to go back to sleep. It was the same nightmare every night. Every night since Veronica was murdered. And now with Seth killed, I imagine the nightmare could only get worse. I shivered as I looked around my lounge room. Soft pastels covered the walls and a fireplace lightly roared on the wall closest to the couch. A bright, red rug took up the majority of the floor. I felt safe here. Maybe I should never leave this house ever again, I thought. I then scolded myself for even thinking such thoughts. As miserable as I currently was, I had to be strong. Unexpectedly, the home phone started ringing, which sat on the glass coffee table next to the couch.

"Amber, honey, do you have that darl?" my mum shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah mum," I shouted back.

I picked up the phone and paused, maybe it was the police? They probably had more questions for me. Or maybe they had captured the killer and were finally delivering some good news?

"Umm, hello," I whispered into the speaker.

"Amber?" the familiar voice replied.

"Koby!" I exclaimed, glad to hear his voice.

"So...umm, how you holding up Amber?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.

"Well, it's not easy as you would know, but I have to get through this somehow. We all have to get through this somehow," I paused waiting for Koby to respond. Only silence on the receiver. "And then there's the nightmares...," I continued, instantly wishing I hadn't brought that up.

"I understand," Koby finally said. "I have nightmares too."

"I'm so sorry Koby!" I said, choking on my words.

"For what?" he asked.

"Seth was one of your best mates, you were practically like brothers," my voice came out crackly and parched.

"Yeah," Koby said. "Seth, he-he," Koby finished with a sigh.

"You know you can always talk to me Koby," I said. "About anything."

"I know Amber. Thanks. Seth, he was a legend," Koby said, "I-I just can't believe he's gone. I can't believe Veronica's gone!"

I could tell Koby was trying to hold back his tears. I suddenly had the urge to embrace him, hug him, and perhaps even kiss him.

"Amber?"

"Sorry, I'm still here Koby," I responded.

"It's vice-versa as well," he said.

"What?" I asked, unsure of what he meant.

"About what you said. You know you can tell me anything you want as well."

Koby was so sweet. We had been friends for such a long time and there had always been a certain temptation between us, but I had never felt so attracted to him as I did right now.

"So are you going to the game tomorrow night?" he asked.

"Game? As in rugby game? Please don't tell me that's going ahead!" I responded in shock.

"Yeah apparently it is," Koby replied. "I just found out from Chad. Apparently Mr. Gardiner thinks it's a good idea if the game is played. He said that everyone is a little bit emotional right now and he thinks the game will lift the spirits of the Hollow Point community. Plus they're doing a combined charity on the night for Veronica and Seth."

Mr. Gardiner was our school principal and was a respected, genuine man. I had always liked him but I'm not sure if he was making the correct decision here. Could a school rugby game really lift morale that much?

"Wow," I responded, as my thoughts spun in my head. "Do you think that's such a good idea? I mean, there's a killer somewhere out there. He probably lives in our town!"

"Apparently there will be police at the game. Just to keep an eye on things. Their theory is that the killer only strikes at the lodge," Koby explained.

"Really, how do they know that?" I asked.

"I dunno, the police told that to Chad's parents. They explained it like the shark theory," Koby said.

"Shark theory?" I asked, even more perplexed.

"Yeah, they say sharks are territorial predators. It's called territoriality. Basically, that means that sharks hunt in certain areas and make that location their own hunting ground," Koby explained. "The police said that the same principles can apply to serial killers."

"So let me get this straight," I responded. "The police think that some crazy man has, for some unknown reason, made the lodge his hunting ground and will continue to kill people here because this person looks at the lodge as his territory," I spat out quickly.

"That's how Chad explained it," Koby said. "The police have set up hidden cameras at the lodge as well; just in case the killer decides to re-visit any time soon."

"Are Chad's parents still away?" I asked.

"They're on their way home now. It's a fair drive so they probably won't get back until sometime tomorrow," Koby said.

"They must be in disbelief," I stated. "After all the lodge is their residence."

"Yeah, it's messed up. Anyway, about the rugby tomorrow...," Koby continued.

"I'm not sure. I don't even know if my parents will let me. But you did say there would be police there and I'm assuming it will be a big crowd so....yeah, I'll probably come," I responded.

"Excellent. Well, I was hoping that-that, well, you could go with me," Koby asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"Well, kinda like a date. I mean, it doesn't have to be an official date. We don't even have to call it a date. It would just be me and you...going to-together," Koby managed to get the words out and even though I couldn't see his face I could tell he was blushing.

This was it! I had been waiting for Koby to ask me out for quite a while now and he had finally did it! Granted, it wasn't the most perfect timing but I can't believe he asked me! Koby's shyness and awkwardness was very evident in his proposal but that's what made it so cute. I smiled as I imagined Koby and I, hand in hand, walking to the bleachers at the rugby. Out of the blue, negative thoughts suddenly started spilling into my brain. What happens if it got really weird and we didn't know what to say to each other? What happens if it didn't work out and we couldn't go back to being friends? What happens if my palms started sweating as I held his hand? I suddenly coughed as I realised I hadn't responded to him yet.

"Amber?" Koby asked nervously.

"Umm, I gotta go Koby;" I said quickly. "Mum has just called me to dinner so I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow ok."

I quickly finished my sentence and placed the receiver back onto the phone. Breathe Amber, I thought. Just breathe. Now count to three. One. Two. Three. Suddenly, the phone rang once again, making me jump off the couch. I picked it up on the fourth ring.

"Koby, I'm so sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have -"

"Amber, it's Reed," the voice interrupted me.

"Reed? Oh! Hi, how's it going?" I said, trying to sound half normal.

"I'm ok. I've been better, of course," he responded.

"Of course," I repeated, sounding like a complete ditz.

"How are you going?" Reed asked.

"It's tough," I said, not knowing what else to say. I had just gone through a similar conversation with Koby and I didn't really feel like talking through it all again.

As if reading my mind Reed got straight to the point, "Listen, Amber, not sure if you've heard but the rugby game is still being played tomorrow night. I was wondering if you would like to come watch me play. As in, come with me to the game."

Was this really happening? A boy hadn't asked me out in ages and suddenly I had two asking me in the space of a few minutes! I shuffled uncomfortably in the lounge and I replayed Reed's sentence in my head. He really had a sexy voice, I thought.

"Sooo...," Reed asked, catching me off guard.

"Uhh, umm, well....yeah, sounds good Reed. I have to go but I'll talk to you tomorrow," I hurriedly said and hung up the phone. I closed my eyes for a few brief seconds and then went into the kitchen to help mum with dinner.

# Chapter 14: Amber

"Hollow Point! Hollow Point! We never disappoint! We are one, we are joint; Hollow Point! Hollow Point!" screamed the Hollow Point cheerleaders in unison, as they jumped, tumbled and waved to the supporters.

I sat down in the grandstand, looking at the gathering crowd which had begun to accumulate. I didn't attend many rugby games but I knew this was the biggest crowd Hollow Point had gotten. And I'm not just talking about this year; this had to be the largest crowd the rugby team had ever seen. In fact, I couldn't recall the last time I'd even seen this number of Hollow Point residents all in the one location. People were literally streaming into the oval, like ants marching to their nest. There had been a big article in the local newspaper this morning which urged everyone to attend. SUPPORT OUR VICTIMS the headline read. By now, everyone in the community knew who Veronica and Seth were. Mr Gardiner declared it was a gold coin entry for this game versus Werner Town, with all proceeds going to the victims' families. However, I had seen many families and individuals throwing notes into the buckets, which were being held by smiling volunteers. Some people had even gone to the trouble of making banners, which they proudly held above their heads as they soaked up the atmosphere.

VERONICA, I LOVE YOU held one teenager; I'm pretty sure I recognised him from Chemistry.

SETH YOU DA MAN held another guy, who I believed was in Seth's Physical Education class. Others showed their support for the rugby team.

HOLLOW POINT TIGERS, LET US ROAR, I read.

WERNER YOU WILL LEARN-A LESSON TONIGHT, a slightly lame banner read.

The support truly was amazing. I began to worry if everyone would even fit into the stadium. Hollow Point Oval was made up of a few grandstands surrounding the field. Other than that, there was a rundown canteen and a few dressing sheds for the players. However, there was a lot of space surrounding the field and it seemed people were happy to find a spot of grass and make it their own for the next few hours. Some families came ultra prepared with blankets and baskets full of food and drinks. The media had obviously been tipped about the crowd and news reporters were starting to interview the locals, with some of the younger and more exuberant residents keen to get their head on television. Suddenly, a huge roar erupted from the crowd as the Hollow Point Tigers ran out onto the pitch. Some of the players jogged around the field whilst others did their final stretching before the game kicked off. Hank jogged on the spot and waved to the crowd, soaking up the atmosphere. Typical Hank! Reed ran up to Hank and rubbed his head, before giving each other a tap on the knuckles. Reed. His name wafted through my mind. He was looking absolutely gorgeous in his black and orange Tigers jersey. We had met roughly an hour ago outside the school. I was a little bit nervous, especially considering both of the phone calls I had received the night before. I even thought about not showing up but I figured that would probably just make things worse. Instead, I gave Reed a quick smile when he approached me. He returned my smile with one of his own, his perfect white teeth sparkling with radiance. We quickly said hi before he offered me his arm. I recall how I hesitated, as Reed's gesture caught me by surprise. But I placed my hand around his elbow as he escorted me to the oval. As we walked to the bleachers, I noticed that Koby had also shown up to the game quite early. I couldn't get his expression out of my head. He simply glared at the two of us, his eyes burning like two pieces of hot coal. Koby didn't say anything or show any real signs of anger; there was just this defiant stare which he didn't try to hide. He was really hurt, I realised. He probably sat next to the telephone for ages before finally mustering up the courage to ask me out. And this is how I repay him; by showing up hanging off Reed's left arm. Was I really that shallow? I knew I didn't mean to cause any ill feeling and deep down I was thrilled to bits that Koby asked me out. So why did I feel like such a bad person? As I pondered the situation, Koby's voice suddenly sounded in front of me.

"Hey," came the simple greeting.

"Koby!" I exclaimed in shock, not expecting him to approach me. "Listen Koby, I'm..."

"Forget about it," Koby interrupted sternly.

"But-"

"I said forget about it. Let's just watch the game," he said, equally as firm as his last sentence.

"Ok," I said, offering him a smile.

For the next hour we sat watching the game. Koby pretended that he wasn't hurt as we made small talk between each other. I tried concentrating on the game but it was impossible with Koby sitting next to me. All I wanted to do was ask him how he was feeling. Why don't you kiss me, I thought. Right here, right now. I pictured Koby mustering up the confidence to kiss me in front of the massive crowd that had gathered. Was it too late for that? Is that what I really wanted? I mean, it's not like I really went on a date with Reed. He basically escorted me to the oval and nothing more. Here I was sitting with Koby, not Reed. I'm sitting with you Koby! I turned to the rugby game as the crowd burst out in a roar. Reed had just bust through the defence and had run under the posts to score. I didn't know enough about the sport to know what made a good player but I could tell Reed was something special. He had a rare mix of strength and athletic ability and despite being past champions, Werner Town simply couldn't stop him. The crowd started a chant:

"Reed! Reed! Reed!"

"Reed! Reed! Reed!"

"Nice play," Koby muttered to himself between the chanting.

"Reed! Reed! Reed!"

I examined Reed as he jogged back to his position. I'm sure every girl in school would be chasing him, especially after this dominant performance. He really was a nice, genuine guy. And it appeared that he had definitely taken a liking to me. Me. Why me? What made me stand out? Deep down I enjoyed being chased by Reed. He was definitely more confident than Koby. I scolded myself. I really had to stop comparing the two of them.

"Reed! Reed! Reed!"

As the game kicked off, it was Hank's turn to get involved. He ran at the opposition player and thrust his entire body into the smaller, Werner Town player. A sickening crunch could be heard as the opposition player let out a shriek of pain. Even though Hank didn't possess the speed that Reed had, Hank was the biggest player on the park by quite some way. It was like a man playing against boys. Some of the crowd cheered at Hank's tackle as it appeared to be genuinely within the regulations of the game. However, soon the cheers turned to silence as the boys pain became obvious to all the supporters who were watching. I studied Hank as some school officials ran onto the field with a stretcher. He was standing above the Werner Town student, looking down at the screaming body. As the player's hands clawed at the grass in agony, a smile slowly crept over Hank's face.

*****

"That's what I'm talking about!" Hank yelled as the Hollow Point players huddled in the middle of the field. The game had just finished and Hollow Point had secured a comfortable victory.

"I'm going to phone my mum for a lift home," Koby said, "Did you want a ride or are you waiting for...Reed?"

"Umm," I began and then cursed myself for hesitating. "A lift would be great, thanks Koby." I'm sure Reed wouldn't mind? Koby was just about to dial the number when a figure in the distance caught my attention.

"Koby, is that Zoe?" I asked.

Koby followed my gaze to the other side of the oval. "Yeah, yeah it is."

"What is she doing by herself? And where is she going?" I said out loud.

She was walking away from the field and the departing crowd.

"She's heading to school," Koby answered. He was right. The small figure slowly climbed a grassy hill and made her way to the faded brick structure of Hollow Point High School. Why was she by herself? I asked myself the question once more. Doesn't she know there's a killer out there? Even if the police's theory on territoriality was correct, I wasn't taking any chances.

"Is she crazy?" Koby said, as if reading my thoughts. "Come on, let's go see what she's doing." The two of us were suddenly running down the grandstand stairs, dodging the cluttered spectators who were filing out of the stadium. I accidentally bumped an older man who was devouring the last bite of his hamburger.

"Hey!" he grumbled, through a mouth of rissole and beetroot. Gross!

I yelled out a hurried apology as I followed Koby. We crossed the crowded rugby pitch, which now had been infested by a multitude of kids playing a game of tag. I half expected Reed to yell out my name but he mustn't have noticed me through the crowd. As we approached the grassy knoll, I yelled out to Zoe. Did she hear? No. She was still some distance in front of us and was just turning between two of the buildings. Where on earth was she going? I was starting to pant a little now and Koby gave me a cute little laugh as I let out a dog like wheeze. We approached the two buildings that Zoe had walked between. Where was she? Our footsteps echoed around us as we walked down the deserted concrete path. I had never been at school with no one else there and I realised how creepy this place could be. The school was in desperate need of a makeover and a mixture of tattered bricks and dark shadows seemed to leap out at us from all directions. I was just about to call out to Zoe when I spotted her heading towards her locker. The school lockers were located outside D block, which was the mathematics department. Zoe shuffled towards her locker, before entering her combination on the small padlock attached. I was just about to yell out to her when I noticed she was pulling something out. Koby and I looked at each other in shock as Zoe pulled out something yellow and white. It was a bunch of daisies.

# Chapter 15: Koby

"So, are we going to mention the daisies to Zoe?" Amber asked, as we sat next to each other in our Monday morning English class. It appeared that Mrs. Ingleton was away and a substitute teacher was either late or hadn't been organised. The classroom was full of senior students joking and laughing so it wouldn't be long until another teacher heard our ruckus. For Amber and I, it was a good time to discuss what we had seen last Friday. Amber wanted to confront Zoe on the weekend but I talked her out of it. After all, the daisies appeared to be replicas of the ones found at the murder scenes. Surely that couldn't be a coincidence?

"No," I answered. "I think we should mention it to the police."

"Police?" said Amber loudly, displaying a hint of anger in her voice. "This is Zoe we're talking about! You know, one of our closest friends who was scared of her own shadow until she reached High School!" I gave a quick chuckle. Amber always knew how to make me laugh.

"No, we're definitely not going the police!" Amber continued, raising her voice even more.

"Sshh," I whispered. "We don't want everyone hearing us."

"Well, I'm going to ask her at lunch. Whether you want me to or not," Amber said intently.

"Ok, ok. We'll grab Zoe at lunch," I said, giving Amber a quick smile.

"I want to do it before everyone else gets there," Amber said. "I'm pretty sure Zoe has Physics before lunch. Let's meet her outside C block then."

"Ok, it's a date," I said, cringing at what I had just said. Amber gave an obvious fake cough and turned her head, pretending to look at something across the room. I still didn't know what to think of the whole Amber situation. I was still crazy about her but the whole Reed event left me feeling a little bit hurt. Had Reed asked her before me and she had already said yes? That would make sense but why couldn't she just tell me that? Or maybe she just preferred Reed over me. Was it that simple? Reed was a cool dude. With his looks, athleticism and friendly nature did I really stand a chance? I sighed. The next thirty minutes dragged on. Someone started a paper fight in the back row and suddenly there was paper balls being thrown all around the room. Eventually, Mr. Gardiner himself came to the room as Mrs. Ingleton was away sick and her sickness hadn't been input correctly into the computer system. I stared out the window as Mr. Gardiner lectured us all on how we are seniors and should be setting an example to everyone else. Finally the bell sounded and Amber and I confirmed that we would meet Zoe before lunch. I watched her turn and head down the hallway, her flawless behind swaying with the perfect amount of movement.

"Dude, you like what you see?" Chad's familiar voice sounded from behind me.

"Dammit, how come you always happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time," I said with a laugh.

"You mean, right place at the right time!" Chad said, grinning.

Suddenly his expression got more serious. "Kobes, I have to talk to you about something."

"Is everything ok?" I asked worriedly, as an apprehensive feeling overtook me.

Chad grabbed my arm and dragged me around to a deserted corner of the school corridor. "My parents got a phone call from the police last night. They gave them some information which they weren't previously allowed to release."

"What kind of information?" I said worriedly.

"Well, they've hit a bit of a road block in the investigation. That's how the officer described it to my dad. To put it simply, they don't have a clue as to who murdered Veronica and Seth. So they've released some information, helping that it might mean something to my parents," Chad continued.

"What kind of information?" I repeated, snapping at Chad without meaning to. I took a deep breath.

"What information, Chad?" I said, this time in a voice just over a murmur.

"The knife, the knife that killed Seth..." Chad paused.

"What about it?" I asked anxiously.

"It came from the lodge."

"Huh?" I asked in confusion.

"The murder weapon came from the lodge. The police compared it to other cutlery in the lodge and got forensics to look at it and all that stuff," Chad continued. "The knife was definitely from the lodge. It belonged to my parents."

"What's that mean?" I asked, as I took in Chad's information.

"Don't know. At first my parents thought the police were accusing them. Which is obviously ridiculous. Plus they were away for both murders so they have rock solid alibis."

"And..." I said, sensing Chad wasn't finished yet.

"Well, my only conclusion is that they're now looking at other people who had access to the lodge."

"You?" I said in shock.

"Woah, hold your horses buddy," Chad said lightly. "Not me, us! I believe they're looking at our whole group."

I stood silent for a few seconds as the disbelief hit me. "No way, that's absolutely ludicrous! Surely there's a more sensible explanation."

"I'm all ears," Chad responded.

"Well, couldn't an intruder have just taken the knife from the lodge?" I asked.

"How? The lodge is always locked; I triple check every time we leave. And there was no signs or evidence of a break in," Chad said.

"Evidence!" I stated, Chad's word ringing in my mind. "Surely the knife had some fingerprints on it? All we need to do is provide samples of our-"

"Nope," Chad cut me off. "There were no fingerprints on the weapon. At least that's what my parents were told by the officer who rang them."

"No fingerprints?" I said out loud, more to myself than to Chad. "So the killer obviously wore gloves or wiped down the knife handle after handling it."

"Looks like it. Kinda puts us between a rock and a hard place, doesn't it?"

"Hey, you two, get to class!" Mr. Gardiner yelled from down the corridor. Chad and I quickly gave each other an emotional stare before heading to our next subject.

*****

"Zoe!" Amber yelled, as Zoe shuffled her way out of Physics. Her small black shoes scraped the ground as Zoe struggled with text books. She is so small, I thought.

"Hey! Amber, Koby; how are you? We never got a chance to catch up at the rugby on Friday night," Zoe said in her usual squeaky voice.

"Well, that's kinda what we want to talk about," Amber replied, cutting straight to the chase. "Do you have a few seconds before lunch?"

"Of course," Zoe replied, an unsure look pasted across her brow. "Can I just put these text books in my locker first?"

I offered to carry Zoe's text books as we made our way to her locker. Once there, Zoe fiddled with her combination and I stuffed in her books. I gave a sneaky peak into her locker but from what I could see there was no remnants of any daisies. Just a change of clothes and a poster of some boy band I didn't recognise.

"So Zoe, this is actually why we want to talk to you," Amber said, gesturing to the locker before scratching her head.

"What do you mean?" Zoe responded.

"Well, on Friday night after the rugby game, we....saw you. Koby and I, that is."

"Saw me?" Zoe asked, the chat finally sinking in.

"Yeah. Those daisies..." my voice trailed off.

"It's not what it looks like," Zoe said in a rushed voice. "Those daisies, they were a gift."

"By whom?" I asked.

"I-I-I can't say," Zoe murmured, before she rushed down the corridor, her tiny feet dragging on the concrete floor as she jogged away.

*****

"And that's why we're in a whole lotta trouble," Chad said, informing the group at lunch about the knife from the lodge. I took a quick glance at Zoe, who for a second met my eyes and roused nervously in her chair. As expected, the gasps and questions started revolving around the lunch table like a game of roulette.

"But it couldn't be one of us; we were together when Seth was killed, right?" Hank asked the group.

"Yeah, well, I think so," Reed replied. Immediately everyone cast their mind back to the fateful afternoon of Seth's murder. Were we all together? I remember all of us had visited the toilet during that time. Plus I'm sure some of us had gone into the kitchen or out on the deck. Why were these thoughts even going through my mind? It surely couldn't be one of us, right? I cast another look at Zoe. She was still twitching tensely on the seat. She was so petite and quiet. No, it couldn't be Zoe I decided. Than who? All eyes suddenly started inspecting the group with an element of distrust. Suddenly it hit me.

"You!" I murmured.

"What is it Koby?" someone said. My brain was thinking too much for me to recognise who was speaking.

"Koby?" said someone else.

With all eyes on me, I raised my index finger and pointed across the table.

I was pointing at Reed.

# Chapter 16: Reed

Koby's finger continued to point in my direction, his eyes squinting with conjecture.

"Koby, what are you doing?" I asked, as I sensed the tension building around the table.

"Bro, that's not cool!" Hank directed to Koby.

Koby finally dropped his finger and then spoke again, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Me? What are you talking about?" I asked, a burst of irritation appearing in my voice.

"Veronica. Seth. You killed them?" Koby responded loudly.

"Koby, lower your voice!" Amber said, her eyes nervously darting across the cafeteria.

"Listen, Kobes, I know we're all upset but it's not really helping the situation with accusations," Chad said, trying to calm the moment.

"Situation?" Koby asked. "The only situation we have here is a killer amongst our midst."

"Koby!" Amber yelled with hostility.

"I'm sure there's an explanation about the knife. Let's just all calm down ok \- we're on the same side here," Hank addressed to everyone, although his eyes remained firmly on Koby.

"Ok," I muttered, still unsure on where Koby's statement had come from.

Koby ignored Hank's call for peace. "Think about it guys! How many years have we been going to the lodge?"

No response.

"Chad, come on man - how many years?" Koby persisted.

"I dunno Koby," Chad replied uncomfortably. "Since the start of high school I guess."

"And how many years is that?" Koby continued.

"About four years," Chad responded.

"Exactly. Four years. We have been going to the lodge for four years and how many murders has there been before this year?"

Once again, no one replied to his question. I could tell exactly where Koby was going with this.

"Anyone?" Koby asked, not taking their silence as an answer.

"Zero," Zoe muttered, flashing Koby a nervous look.

"That's right. Zero. A big, fat zero! And then what happens?" Koby said, surveying his friends with his steely eyes. I had never seen Koby this intense before. Where was this all coming from? Did this have something to do with Amber? Was he that infuriated with me for asking her out that he was trying to turn the group against me?

This time Koby didn't wait for an answer. "Then Reed showed up. The athletic, good looking hotshot from the city."

"Koby, this isn't fair," Amber said.

Koby either ignored Amber or was too engrossed with his theory that he didn't appear to hear. "The next thing we know, our friends start to die." His voice wavered as the words escaped his lips.

"Koby-", Hank began.

"Let me finish Hank," Koby said, raising his hands. "Before Reed, pre-Reed I will call it; there were no murders. No victims. No police. And then presto, out of the blue this new guy shows up, we invite him to the lodge and before we know it we have a serial killer on our hands!"

I gritted my teeth and was about to say something when Amber suddenly rose from her seat. She flashed Koby an angry look and then stormed out of the cafeteria. "Amber, wait!" I yelled, jumping from my seat and following her out of the eatery. As I left the room I caught Koby shrugging his shoulders to the remaining group. How dare he accuse me in front of everyone, I thought. If he really wanted to blame me than I had no problems with that, but at least do it like a man to my face and not in front of our friends.

"Hey Amber!" I called again, as I stepped outside into a courtyard. She turned around and I realised she'd been crying. "It's ok," I said in my best soothing voice.

"It's not ok," she said. "He shouldn't have accused you like that, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," I lied. I was still angry at Koby but I didn't want to make Amber more upset.

"He's not usually like that," Amber stated.

"Well, he's stressed and he's just trying to make sense of how these deaths occurred," I consoled her.

"But to blame you?" Amber asked.

"Hey, he made a pretty good case," I said with a chuckle, as I rubbed my chin. "Koby was totally correct in what he said. I mean, the murders didn't start to occur until I got here."

Amber sighed as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Obviously it's just bad timing with my arrival," I said, giving a sigh myself. Had I made a mistake moving to Hollow Point? Maybe I should speak with my parents about a possible return to the city?

"Don't blame Koby," I continued to comfort Amber. "This is tough for all of us, especially you guys. I hardly had enough time to well and truly get to know Veronica and Seth. I could tell they were great people but you and Koby have known them for so long. Koby was just releasing all that built up frustration. Am I talking too much?" I said with a laugh.

Amber let out a short giggle. It was good to see her smiling again. "Thanks for being so understanding," Amber said, giving me a rub on the arm.

"Forget about it," I replied. "It's in the past now. I'll pretend that it never happened and I'm sure Koby and I will remain friends."

"He should apologise," Amber said with a small frown.

"He's a bloke, we find it extremely difficult to apologise," I said, making Amber laugh again. "As I said, forget about it. As far as I'm concerned Koby never accused me."

Unexpectedly, Amber leaned up and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks Reed." The bell sounded for the end of lunch and I remembered I was meeting Hank in the library. We both had a free period that was to be used for studying and catching up on subjects we were struggling with. Hank and I usually used our free period to discuss stories from our last rugby game or tactics for our next match.

"Well, uh, I better go," I said, flashing Amber a smile.

"Sure. We'll talk later ok," she said sweetly and gave me a wave goodbye.

Amber was a great person. Smart, attractive, friendly; the complete package really. It didn't take a genius to work out that Koby was mad about her. In fact, I think deep down she also cared for Koby and that's why she got so upset with his outburst today. I had never had much trouble getting girls' attention and I say that in a completely modest way. Somehow, Amber was different to other girls. She was more down-to-earth and had a natural beauty about her. A free spirit. I'm sure Koby and I could work out our differences and the whole Amber situation wouldn't cause too many problems. The library was on the opposite side of the school to the cafeteria. I bristly walked on the concrete pathways which had been constructed between all the buildings. All of the structure in Hollow Point High had been erected with the same mustard coloured brick. It was probably quite flash when it was first built, but over time the brick had begun to fade and weeds had started to grow down the side of the building. Although not as flash as the schools in the city, I liked Hollow Point High. It was quite unique and had a very personable feel about it. I finally made my way to the library and slid open the sliding door. There weren't too many students who had a free period the same time as Hank and I, so generally we had the entire library to ourselves. That is where I first met Hank actually. He encouraged me to play for the Hollow Point Tigers after hearing of my rugby scholarship I received at my former school.

"Yo Hank," I whispered. Even though the library was deserted I kept my voice down. An old habit, I guess. No reply. He mustn't be here yet. I sat down on our usual table towards the back of the room. I pulled out a text book from my backpack and placed it on the table. Even though we had no intention of studying it was always good practice to have some sort of learning resource in view just in case a teacher came in and checked on us. A noise to my left suddenly caught my attention. It was coming from behind one of the bookshelves. There it was again. What was that? It was a slight rustling sound, a mouse perhaps? I got up from the table and listened for the sound. The noise continued. Too loud to be a mouse. I walked towards the noise, passing rows of books as I progressed towards the unknown clatter. It was coming from behind the last row. I listened once more. Yes, definitely the last row. Reaching the last strip of paperbacks, I peered around the corner.

"Hank!?" I yelled in surprise. Hank was lying on the ground with a body beside him. It was Zoe. Hank had his hands wrapped tightly around her throat.

# Chapter 17: Reed

"Zoe, you dirty little monkey!" Chad said with a big grin on his face.

"This is so embarrassing," she responded, her pale features now a crimson red. School had finished and we were all eating hot dogs at Billy Beef. I had received the fright of my life when I had caught Hank strangling Zoe in the library a few hours earlier. As it turned out, he wasn't strangling her. He wasn't hurting her at all. I had walked in on Hank and Zoe making out. Hank had his large hands around her neck as they kissed on the library floor.

"Hank! I can't believe you didn't tell us about you and Zoe!" Koby said astounded.

"You know me, never kiss and tell," Hank replied with a big grin.

"What about you missy?" asked Amber. "What's your excuse for not telling me?"

"I don't know. Hank and I started seeing each other out of the blue. We ran into each other at the mall one day and randomly decided to see a movie together. Before you know it..." Zoe said, not finishing her sentence.

"Before you know it, she was all over me!" Hank joked!

"Shut up Hank!" Zoe responded curtly, to which we all laughed.

"It still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me," Amber continued, flashing Zoe one of her genuine smiles.

"I was going to. But then-then Veronica was killed. It didn't really seem that important to bring up my love life," Zoe explained with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Yeah, plus we weren't sure how you would all take it," said Hank, this time in a serious voice. "I mean we weren't sure how you'd react if you suddenly found out there was a couple amongst the group?"

"I think it's great!" said Amber, yet again flashing another smile.

"Yeah, I'm stoked for you guys," replied Koby.

"You scared me half to death," I said laughing. "But as Koby said, I'm really happy for you both." Koby and I quickly caught each others eye as I pronounced his name. We still hadn't properly talked since the cafeteria incident but there didn't appear to be ill grudges between us.

"I just can't get over the size difference between you!" Chad joked, sloping his right arm so his fingers were in line with Zoe's head and his elbow aligned to Hank's head. Chad was right. They were an unusual looking couple. Hank looked like a gorilla in the bright red booth next to the diminutive figure of Zoe. They had just finished explaining how they had started dating in the summer break. After I had caught them making out they decided that they would tell the rest of the group.

"Wait a minute," said Koby. "Those daisies-"

"Yep, they were from Hank. He gave them to me before school one morning. It must have been the first week back, a day or two before Veronica was murdered. I hadn't had a proper chance to remove them from my locker. And after Veronica got killed I didn't want to bring them out in public, being daisies and all. So I waited until after the rugby game when no one was around. Well at least thought no one was around!" said Zoe, giving Amber and Koby a smile.

"Daisies?" I replied. "What are you's talking about?"

"Yeah, you've lost me," said Chad.

Zoe explained how Amber and Koby had caught her getting the flowers out of her locker and how they closely resembled the daisies which had been a big talking point in the two murders.

"A few of the flowers died from being kept in a locker too long, but most of them survived to my surprise," Zoe continued, flashing Hank a smile.

"Yep, romantic is my middle name," Hank said, placing one of his burly arms over Zoe's slim shoulders.

"Hahaha," Chad suddenly started laughing.

"What? You're just jealous because I have a sexy chicky babe," Hank said, planting a swift kiss on Zoe's cheek.

"Firstly, this whole lovey dovey business, it's kinda makin' me sick," Chad said, causing everyone to laugh. "Secondly, Romeo, I wasn't laughing about your romantic side. I was just recalling the cheerleader question I asked you the other day before your rugby game."

I cast my mind back to Chad's question. Something along the lines of Hank appreciating the looks of Werner Town's cheer squad.

"Well, what can I say? Hank is a one man girl," Hank replied. I pretended to stick my fingers down my throat which got a laugh from the group, even Koby.

"All I need is for one of you bozo's to get a girlfriend so we can go on a double date," Hank shouted, laughing at his own words. I pretended to stretch my arms and didn't dare make eye contact with Amber or Koby.

"Well I have every girl at school lining up. I just have to make the tough decision of picking which one," Chad joked.

"Haha, nice joke," Amber said cheekily.

"Joke?" Chad said, putting on a serious face which caused everyone to crack up even more. Life was finally starting to return to normal. The serial killer was still at large but nothing had happened since we had stopped going to the lodge.

"Have you heard anything more on the murder case?" Zoe asked Chad, as if reading my thoughts.

"Not really," Chad replied. "My dad spoke with the police again the other night. The hidden cameras are still setup but no one has been captured on camera yet. And apparently besides the knife, they have no leads."

"Maybe the killer saw us enter the woods?" Amber said to everyone. I shifted anxiously in my seat and waited for Koby to throw my name in the ring.

"Maybe," Koby simply said.

"My parents are seriously thinking about selling the lodge," Chad said. "I mean, not immediately. I don't think anyone in their right mind would purchase it right now. But after everything settles down and the killer is caught..." his voice trailed off.

We all slumped back into the leather booth.

"At least we'll always have Billy Beef," said Hank.

"Maybe you two can get married here," Koby joked, gesturing to Hank and Zoe.

Hank gave Koby a scowl which quickly broke into a smile.

"Woah settle down! I still haven't decided if I'll keep him yet," Zoe joked, reaching up and patting Hank's head like a dog.

"Hey Reed, you still on for the gym tomorrow morning?" asked Hank, ignoring Zoe's arm. I'm glad he mentioned it to me as I had completely forgotten.

"Around seven o'clock, before school alright?" he continued.

"Sounds good," I replied. Hollow Point High had just invested in a new gym as part of the school improvement program. Well, I guess you could call it a gym. It was actually an old classroom with a few free weights, a treadmill and a bench press thrown into it. Saying that, it was more than enough for our needs.

"Well, I've got to cruise," said Chad suddenly, chomping down on the last bite of his hot dog.

"Yeah me too," said Koby.

"Catch ya later Reed. Amber. Lovers," Chad said, purring out the last word in a passionate voice. I chuckled as Chad slapped his arm around Koby's shoulders.

"Hey maybe you two can come on a double date!" Hank quickly yelled to the boys, as they disappeared out of Billy Beef. Shortly after, we all said our goodbyes and made our way home. I gave everyone a wave as I began for my short walk home. Hank and Zoe, I thought. They really did make a bizarre couple.

*****

Adjusting my backpack, I entered the school gate. I shivered even though I made a brisk walk. I wasn't used to arriving at school this early and probably should have worn a jumper. Oh well, I thought. In a few minutes I'd be sweating it up in the gym with the Hankster. Looking down at my blue digital sports watch I saw that it was twenty past seven. I had slightly overslept and Hank was probably already on the free weights. I gave a quick nod of my head to one of the early working janitors before making my way to the right-wing block. The gym was the last room in this block, which was part of the Physical Education department. I approached the gym door, which had a few workout programs flimsily stuck to the glass panels with a few pieces of sticky tape. I pushed open the door and threw my backpack to the nearest corner of the room.

"Sorry I'm late man," I said to Hank, who was lying on his back on the bench press. "I know you're strong and all big fella, but you really shouldn't bench press without a spotter," I continued, my safety values escaping my lips.

I approached the bench press. "Hank?"

Taking one more step, Hank's head came into full view. His skin was a strange combination of purples and whites. His eyes were wide open, a look of terror still embedded in his dilated pupils. I gagged and stumbled backwards. The barbell had been loaded with some serious weight, the bar pressing forcefully against Hank's neck. As a spell of dizziness overtook me I gagged again. Why on earth was he lifting without a spotter? Then I saw it. Just to the right of Hank's crushed collar, carefully slipped under the bar. A daisy.

# Chapter 18: Daisy

Dear Diary,

I promised you a more unique kill. And Daisy never breaks a promise.

Macho, confident, Hank. He thought he was so strong. Always prancing around, flashing his muscles at any opportunity. You're not looking too strong now, buddy.

It's quite ironic, isn't it? That such a strong young man was killed at a place where he was trying to make himself stronger. There was nearly something satirical about this kill. Are you proud?

Well, I think I've frightened them enough for now; toyed enough with their emotions. Starting from now, play time is officially over. It's time to finish this once and for all. Yep, my next strike is going to be massive. My next strike will finish them all.

# Chapter 19: Koby

"Someone is obviously targeting our group!" I said into my computer speakers, talking in a hushed voice so I wouldn't alert my parents.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" replied Amber. "Why would someone do that? What have we done to get some unknown serial killer hunting us?" Even though Amber appeared on a pixelated computer screen, she still looked as good-looking as ever. After Hank's death yesterday, Hollow Point High was put into shutdown. No more school for anyone until the police caught this killer or at least thought everyone was safe to return.

I recall Mr. Gardiner addressing everyone over the school loud speaker as students arrived yesterday morning. "Attention students, due to a police investigation, Hollow Point High will be closed for an unforseen number of days. Please return home and we'll be in touch when the school reopens. Please stay safe and thanks for your cooperation."

Mr. Gardiner solemnly repeated this statement every few minutes as students arrived in waves. It didn't take Mr. Gardiner's message to know something was wrong though. Police vehicles covered the perimeter of the school. Policemen and plain clothed officers hovered in the school grounds like a swarm of bees. Other officers were busy cordoning off the street whilst some directed traffic to alternate routes. One officer, a chubby older man named Sergeant Vince, personally told myself, Chad, Reed, Amber and Zoe to head straight home and don't make contact with anyone. He strictly stated that this included contacting each other. "We'll be in touch shortly, now scoot!" he finished off in his gravely voice.

Sergeant Vince then gave Reed a tap on the shoulder and beckoned for Reed to follow him. "Since you found the body, we have a few questions for you right now sport," Sergeant Vince said again in his monotonous tone.

Reed didn't get a chance to tell us much about Hank's body. In fact, I don't think he wanted to and we didn't really want to know. I had overheard some news readers being filmed outside the school. Most were saying that the death was a horrible accident; a young man alone in the gym and he dropped a barbell on himself. They were wrong. So, so wrong. Reed had told us about the daisy. Although he didn't give us specifics on Hank's death, he said there was definitely a daisy on his body. A flower similar looking to the ones found on Veronica and Seth. I recall how distraught Zoe was at school when she found out the bad news. Even though they hadn't been dating for very long, it was obvious she really cared about him.

"Not Hank. Not Hank," she kept muttering as if in a trance, shaking her head side to side.

Following Sergeant Vince's orders, we then headed home. I expected the police to call me the same day but they obviously weren't ready to chat yet. So I waited. I didn't sleep at all that night, I didn't even try. My brain was boiling over with questions. Why? Why was this happening to us? I kept hearing Sergeant Vince's voice in my mind, "Now scoot!"

Anger suddenly swept over me. We were the victims here. Our friends were being picked off one by one and he was telling us to scoot. And then he told us not to talk to each other, like we were some kind of criminal. The next morning I texted the gang and told them to meet me on Chatter, a website where individuals could chat to each other over webcam. Slowly, one by one, everyone had logged in. The website split my monitor into quarters, so I could see everyone on the screen at once.

"I agree none of this makes sense," Chad suddenly said from the bottom right quadrant.

"I thought this serial killer was only supposed to kill at the lodge?" Amber continued in a voice just above a whisper.

"Territoriality," Chad muttered. "I guess the police will be throwing that theory out of the window."

"We're not safe, are we?" Zoe said, her voice crackling through my speakers.

"We're safe Zoe," Reed replied, trying to put on a confident voice. "The police have told us to stay at home. Let's just do what they say and we'll be ok."

"But Hank was killed at school. What's stopping this murderer from creeping into my bedroom window tonight," said Zoe, working herself into a state of hysteria. Poor Zoe, she wasn't handling Hank's death very good.

"Hey, hey, hey," Amber hushed. "No one is going to harm you honey." I stared at Zoe in the upper right quadrant, as she nodded unconfidently.

"So, who knew that Hank was going to the gym yesterday?" I asked. "Besides us of course." I tried not to make eye contact with Reed.

"I don't know. Hank was talking about it the other day at Billy Beef," Chad said.

"Was there anyone else in the bistro?" Amber asked. "You know, somehow who may have overheard us?"

"I don't think so," replied Reed. "I'm pretty sure there were a few juniors there, but they were only there for a little while buying milkshakes." I tried to jog my memory back to that afternoon. Was there anyone else there? Was there, perhaps, a stranger on another table listening to every word of our conversation? I couldn't remember.

"So, what are the facts?" Chad said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Reed asked.

"Well, what do we know for sure?" Chad said. "For example, we know that the first two killings occurred at the lodge. We're pretty sure that Veronica was killed around four or five in the morning. We know that the knife used on Seth was taken from the lodge. We know that the killer had to know where Hank would be yesterday morning."

"We know that the killer uses daisies as some sort of representation," Amber said, joining in Chad's thinking.

"Representation," I repeated, my brain ticking over. "What on earth could a daisy represent? What could this symbol mean?"

"Maybe it's regret?" said Zoe.

"Regret?" I asked.

"Yeah, maybe this killer is so messed up that he can't help but kill. Like a disorder or something. But then after he kills he starts to feel remorse. Maybe the flower is some symbol to say he's sorry," Zoe said, thinking carefully about her words.

"Hmm, possibly," said Chad. "But why would he feel remorse and then kill again?"

"As I said, maybe it's a disorder. He feels remorse for a while but then his sickness takes over," Zoe continued.

"Maybe," Chad mumbled, unconvinced.

"Maybe it's a clue?" joined in Amber. "Maybe deep down he wants to be found and the daisy is the key for the police to find him? For example, maybe he lives on a street named Daisy Street?"

"Daisy Street?" I scoffed.

"What!?" snapped Amber.

"Maybe Daisy Street is adjacent to Serial Killer Boulevard," I snapped back, instantly wishing I hadn't said that.

Amber's hands flew up above her head on my monitor. "Damn you Koby-"

"Guys, settle down!" interrupted Chad, playing peacekeeper. "Have you ever thought that the whole daisy thing means nothing? A red herring I believe it's called. I reckon this guy is just messing with our heads."

"Why are we even discussing this?" asked Reed. "It's not our jobs to catch the murderer. Surely the police have some sort of lead?"

"They have a lead alright," Chad muttered. "And their leads direct them right to us! My parents spoke to the police this morning and asked if they could help in any way, given the killer appears to be the same person who struck at the lodge. The police said they were going to interview us all separately tomorrow. My parents weren't supposed to tell me but they gave me a heads up. My parents just told me to stay calm and tell the truth." Chad stopped talking and paused for a breath, his pants echoing through my speakers in a rhythmic beat.

"Tomorrow?" I said nervously, as I observed Zoe biting her finger nails.

"What are they going to ask us?" Amber asked.

"Just do what Chad said. Stay calm and tell the truth. I mean, we haven't got anything to hide!" Reed said.

I was about to say something when a message popped up in the bottom right hand corner of my computer. "Hang on a second guys, someone is requesting to join our video chat."

I clicked on the request. NIGHTRIDER62 WOULD LIKE TO JOIN YOUR CHAT.

"Nightrider62?" I said, not realising I spoke out loud.

"Nightrider62? What are you talking about?" asked Reed.

I clicked on the accept button which was located under the request and suddenly my monitor split into five sections.

"Hey, I can see five boxes now," said Chad.

"Yeah, who is Nightrider62?" asked Amber.

The new person suddenly became clear on my screen. It was Rohan!

"Rohan?" Reed said suspiciously.

"Hey," Rohan said bluntly. I'm not sure what it was but he didn't look like his normal self. "I'm sorry," Rohan said.

"Sorry? For what? How did you know we were on Chatter?" Chad fired off a multitude of question at once.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm sorry about your friends. I'm responsible."

"What?" I said in disbelief. Did Rohan just confess?

"I-" Rohan began before his section of the screen suddenly went blank.

"Hey where did he go?" asked Amber. I smashed a few keys on my keyboard, knowing full well that it wouldn't achieve anything.

"Did Rohan just confess?" Chad said finally.

"I'm not sure," replied Reed. "I don't think so. He was going to say something else but he cut out."

"There's no way it could be Rohan," I said. "The guy kills everyone in his computer games, but this is real life."

"Yeah, I can't imagine Rohan hurting a fly," joined in Amber.

"Regret," said Zoe.

"Huh?" replied Reed.

"Rohan said sorry. That's a sign of regret. That matches up perfectly with my prior theory," Zoe said. She looked even more fragile on the computer screen than she did in person.

"Rohan can barely muster up the confidence to say hello in the school cafeteria, but he jumps straight into a web cam session with us? It doesn't make sense," Chad said, scratching his head.

"I'll try to reconnect with him," I said to everyone, desperately punching NIGHTRIDER62 into my wireless keyboard.

NIGHTRIDER62 IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE flashed across the screen.

"He's not online anymore," I said.

"Does anyone have his mobile number?" asked Reed. All of us shook our heads, creating a synchronised pattern on the monitor. Suddenly, another message flashed up in the corner of my screen.

"Hey, I think he's back online!" I shouted.

"Wait a minute," said Amber. "I got a message too."

"Me too," said Reed and Zoe at the same time.

"It's an email," murmured Chad.

I clicked on the message which opened up to a full screen preview. The message contained an email address: daisy@chatter.com. The contents of the memo were brief and straight to the point, with all the words written in upper case. I trembled in fear as I read the words in my mind:

BE AT THE LODGE TONIGHT. 6PM SHARP.

DO NOT TELL ANYONE. NO POLICE.

IF YOU FOLLOW THESE RULES, NO ONE GETS HURT.

IF YOU DON'T, ZOE DIES NEXT.

YOU KNOW WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF.

\- DAISY XXOO

# Chapter 20: Chad

I re-read the message again. A chill erupted through my body as I reached the last word: DAISY XXOO. This person was insane, truly insane.

"What do we do?" said Amber, her voice stricken with panic.

"So the killer really is stalking our group," Koby said. "I just don't get it."

"I'm next!" Zoe shrieked. "My name, it's there in writing. I'm next"

"Everyone, let's just calm down," Reed said, although I detected fear in his voice as well.

"Reed is right," I said in agreement. "Let's just all take a deep breath and go through our options."

"What options?" Koby asked. "We're going straight to the police, yeah?"

"No!" cried Zoe. "If we do he'll kill me."

"Everyone, calm down!" I yelled, this time with more authority. On cue, everyone went quiet until only some gentle static could be heard from my computer speakers. "Ok," I said, deciding to take the lead on our decision. "Let's discuss the pros and cons of going to the police with this message." Everyone started talking as soon as I finished my sentence.

"One at a time," I shouted, holding up my index finger so they could all see on their screens. "Koby, you go first."

Koby cleared his throat. "Ok, pro – this new message could be the crucial bit of evidence police are chasing. If they saw this message they might be able to encrypt it. You know, find out where it came from and who created the email address."

"Ok, Reed, your turn," I said.

"Con – this person knows about us. He knew where Hank would be. He knew we were all online right now. He knows our whereabouts. If we tell the police, there's no telling what he will do. For all we know he has our houses bugged and he's sitting outside Zoe's house right now in his car with laptop in hand," Reed blurted out.

"Aargh!" Zoe let out a shriek and quickly disappeared from the screen to the back of her room. She proceeded to draw back her curtains and peer outside the window.

"Zoe! I didn't mean-" Reed started.

"I can't see anyone," she yelled from the back of the room, before slowly returning to her computer.

"Ok, Zoe, what do you think about the pros and cons?" I asked, as Zoe continued to fidget in her chair.

"Con!" she said. "If we go to the police I die. I don't know how and when but this daisy character means it." She covered her face in her hands as she finished her sentence.

"Amber?" I asked.

"I'm on the fence. If we go to the lodge we outnumber this person five to one. Maybe we can reason with him. After all, the message did say no one would be hurt if we go. Maybe we should trust that statement?" Amber said.

"But...?" I asked, sensing Amber wasn't finished.

"But, what if we're walking into a trap? What if the killer wants us there so he can kill us all?"

"So either way, I'm dead!" Zoe wept.

"Zoe!" I yelled. "We have to think positive. We're all in danger and whatever decision we make we all need to agree on."

"So what do you think Chad?" asked Koby.

I sighed. "I don't know. If the killer is Rohan, than maybe he's giving himself up. After all, the email mysteriously appeared just after he logged off from Chatter. In this email he said no one will get hurt. Maybe Rohan is crying out for us to help him? Maybe he's days of killing zombies in his computer games have translated into killing his fellow school mates? Hell, who knows. There are risks either way we go but for some reason I think we should go to the lodge."

"I just don't think Rohan fits the bill," said Reed.

"Well, let's think about it," said Amber. "He knows about the lodge. There have been times in the past where we've nearly asked him to come along."

"He goes to school with us. He could have easily heard that Hank would have been at the gym that morning," whispered Zoe.

"He somehow knew we were online," I said, adding to the list of items. "Let's face it; he's our best suspect yet."

"I don't know," Koby replied quickly.

I wondered if Koby still suspected Reed?

"Anyway, on a count back we definitely had more cons than pros. Based on that, I think we should go," I said, waiting for feedback.

"Ok, I'm in," said Amber.

"Yep," said Zoe quickly.

"Yeah, I agree it's our best shot," Reed agreed to the motion.

"Koby?" I asked.

"I don't think it's the right decision but I'm a little bit outnumbered, aren't I? So let's cross our fingers and toes and hope for the best," Koby said, also agreeing even though he had a differing point of view.

"Ok, so it's agreed on," I said. "Let's all meet outside Billy Beef at five thirty this afternoon."

"And remember, sneak out of your windows so your parents don't know," Amber added.

I stared at my computer monitor as each section flashed to a blank background as my friends logged off. I quivered as a question revolved in my mind. Had we made the correct decision?

*****

"Here comes Koby," Amber said. All of us were waiting outside Billy Beef for Koby to arrive.

"Ok, we're all here," I said nervously.

"Sorry guys, my parents wouldn't let me be excused from tea until I finished my greens," Koby said. Despite the tension, everyone laughed. Nervous laughter. I looked at my watch. Ten minutes to six.

"Should we make a move?" asked Reed.

"No time like the present," replied Zoe.

We made our way across the road to the dirt path which entered Hollow Point woods. Despite the minimal street lighting, a full moon sat high in the sky, illuminating the path ahead of us. Illuminating our destiny, I thought.

"So how is this going to work?" asked Amber.

"Yeah, are we just going to enter the lodge and shake the guy's hand?" said Koby.

"Somehow I think what happens is going to be out of our control," Zoe said grimly.

"Chad, did you bring the lodge key?" asked Reed.

"Yep, managed to swipe it from the front office when my dad wasn't looking," I replied.

We followed the lit track to the outskirts of the lodge. Our footsteps made a steady crunch as our sneakers tread on gravel and twigs. As we approached the lodge, our walk slowed to a creep. I bent down and picked up a solid piece of wood, which had broken off one of the many trees surrounding the lodge.

"What's that for?" Zoe asked nervously.

"Just in case," I replied.

"In case what?" Koby asked. "In case we decide to have a campfire?"

Everyone let out a small laugh. More nervous laughter. Scared laughter, in fact.

"Can you see anything?" asked Amber to no one in particular.

"No, it looks deserted," I whispered in reply.

A sudden bump jolted my lower back.

"Sorry!" yelled Zoe.

"Ssshhh!" Koby said, raising a finger to his lips.

I cast my eyes to the lake. The full moon had lit up the water like one of those pools you see on the front cover of a home renovation magazine. Usually it would be a beautiful sight. But tonight there was something eerie about the shimmering body of water. We stepped closer to the lodge. We were now in full view and couldn't hide if we wanted to, especially with this moon.

"I don't think there's anyone here," whispered Amber.

"Maybe it was a hoax?" said Koby.

We kept pressing forward until we were standing outside the lodge bi-fold doors. I glanced at my watch. Five past six.

"Perhaps Koby's right," I said. "Maybe the email was from some immature junior playing a prank on us?" I had just finished my sentence when a shadow appeared from the side of the lodge. Zoe let out a scream and someone gasped as the figure rounded the corner. In a stage of panic, I raised the piece of lumber I was holding and brought it down heavily on the persons head. The impact made a loud thud and then the body crumpled to the ground.

"Who is it?" Amber asked. I took a step back so the moonlight could catch the persons face.

"Rohan!" I yelled. Even though we had our suspicions, I was still shocked to see his unconscious face staring up at me.

"Is he alright?" Reed asked loudly, quickly bending down to feel his pulse.

"He's knocked out cold," Koby replied. "He'll wake up soon. Quick let's get him inside before he wakes up." I nodded in agreement as Koby and I bent down and lifted Rohan's crumpled body. He lightly stirred as I stood up but his eyes remained close.

"Zoe, reach into my top pocket and get out the key," I instructed. Following my orders, she reached into my pocket and pulled out the small piece of brass. She unlocked the door and we made our way inside.

"I've got the lights," Reed yelled, as he flicked the switch. The sudden bright light caused Rohan to stir again. My mind cast back to late last year when my dad had surprised me with a new kayak for my birthday. It was stored in the back room of the lodge, secured to the wall with some J shaped hooks and rope. I remember him throwing the leftover rope inside somewhere.

"Quick, let's tie him up," I barked. "Amber, I think there's a piece of rope in the cupboard over there." I pointed to a cupboard across from the lounge room. I think it was meant to be a linen cupboard but I knew it had accumulated a whole bunch of junk over the years. Amber raced across the room and opened the cupboard. She returned a few seconds later with some ten millimetre spectra cord.

"Yes!" I shouted. Koby and I placed Rohan in a chair and proceeded to tie his hands and feet to the frame of it. I used to be in the boys scout as a kid so I could tie a pretty good slipknot. We double checked our knots and took a step back as Rohan continued to rouse in the aluminium chair. He looked so innocent. We had known Rohan throughout high school and although he was a little uncanny at times, I don't believe anyone would have picked him as a murderer. As if reading my thoughts, Reed said, "Are you sure we should be doing this? How do we know Rohan is actually the killer?"

"He has to be!" Zoe spat out. "The only people who knew about tonight were us; and Daisy of course. Therefore, Rohan has to be the killer." Everyone thought about this for a few seconds. What she said made complete sense. Reed stood forward and examined Rohan's head. "Guys, that's some pretty serious swelling he has."

"Reeds right," said Amber. "We can't leave him like this for too much longer."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Ring the police," answered Koby. "We have the killer tied to a chair. He can't possibly hurt us. So now let's call the police and explain everything that's happened today."

We all nodded in agreement. I took my mobile out of my pocket to make the phone call. "Damn reception!" I cursed. It was only on rare occasions that a cell phone picked up range within the lodge.

"Stay here," yelled Reed, pulling out his mobile. "I'll go outside and try and get a signal." He jogged out of the lodge, his athletic legs contracting with muscle each bound. I let out a deep breath as I gave the group a reluctant smile. We were going to be ok, I realised. Suddenly a deep howl erupted in the woods surrounding the lodge.

"What the hell?" said Koby.

"What was that?" a nervous Amber asked.

The howl sounded again. It was human. Reed!

"It's Reed!" I yelled. The scream got closer and instinctively Koby and I ran towards the door.

"Amber, make sure you and Zoe stay inside, ok?" Koby shouted.

"Ok," Amber managed to get out.

We reached the front door just as a loud thud sounded against it. I looked at Koby, his eyes round with horror.

"On three," I whispered, to which Koby gave a shallow nod.

"One," I murmured.

"Two."

"Three!"

We swung the door open and Reed tumbled inside.

"Reed! Dude! Are you ok?" Was that me screaming or Koby?

Reed stumbled a few times, before resting against the kitchen table. Blood had begun to form on his white cotton t-shirt, caused from a knife which had been plunged deep into his body.

# Chapter 21: Koby

"Reed!" Amber shouted. Or was it Zoe? I'm not really sure. I stared down at Reed's body, which was still half leaning over the kitchen table.

Unexpectedly, Reed stood, his eyes wide with terror. "What are you all doing?" he yelled. "Quick, lock the door!" I gave him a surprised stare but quickly darted to the door and snapped it shut.

"The key!" Zoe screamed. She threw it across the room and I jumped to catch it. Shaking, I insert the key into the catch until I heard it lock.

"Reed, what happened?" Amber yelled. "Are you ok?" All eyed drew to Reed. His left arm was covered in blood, the knife buried into his upper arm not far from his shoulder.

"I think so," he murmured. With a deep cry, he pulled the knife out of his limb. Everyone winced in pain as this caused more blood to run down his arm.

Amber jumped forward to examine his arm. "It looks to only be a flesh wound," she said with a sigh of relief.

"Amber, I think there's some bandages in the same cupboard you got that rope," Chad said to Amber. "Would you mind?"

"Of course," Amber replied, darting to the cupboard for the second time that night. As Amber returned with the dressing, everyone suddenly froze in a state of realisation.

"The killer," I murmured.

"Yep," said Reed bleakly. "He's still out there."

"And even worse, we're trapped. I mean, we're like sitting ducks in here," Zoe said, throwing her hands to her face.

"What exactly happened?" I asked Reed.

"Well, I had to go as far back as the woods before I got a signal on my phone. I was just about to punch in the numbers when a figure approached me with a knife. I didn't even get a chance to see who it was. Before I knew it the knife had sunk into me," Reed paused for air. "Then I just ran back here as fast as I could. I heard footsteps behind me but I'm a fast runner. I could hear myself pulling away and that's when you guys let me back in here."

"Do you think he's still out there?" asked Zoe, nervously chewing at her nails.

"Not sure," replied Reed. "Obviously he wanted us to come here so I suspect he's still out there." We all huddled close, our gazes shifting between the front door and the many glass windows. I expected a rock to come thundering through the glass window at any stage. Or to see a masked face press up against the window, with only his gleaming eyes visible beneath the mask. Why did we come here? I asked myself. What were we trying to prove? We should have just contacted the police like any sensible person would have done. I gritted my teeth in frustration as I remembered that was my suggestion this morning. On cue, Amber sent me a solemn smile from across the room which said I'm sorry.

"Has anyone got any reception?" Chad asked, shaking his mobile in frustration. We all reached down and double checked our phones, shaking our heads in disappointment.

"We can't just stay here," I said. "Maybe I should make a dash for help?"

"No way," Chad muttered. "That's way too dangerous. Let's just stay together."

"Yeah, at least we have numbers on our side," said Amber. "If this guy somehow busts in, he'll still be five against one."

"Ok, we'll stay here," I replied, knowing deep down it was the safer, wiser choice.

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind us. Quickly turning around I saw that Rohan had awoken and was moving in the chair.

"Rohan!" Amber shouted. We had been so focused on Reed's stabbing and the killer that we had totally forgotten that Rohan was still here! Chad hurriedly raced to Rohan, untying his limbs from the chair.

"Rohan, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Chad shouted in a remorseful voice. It was obvious that Chad was feeling guilty for knocking the poor kid out. I fretfully rubbed my palm against my forehead as I observed Rohan. A dark bruise and a lot of swelling had already begun to form around his temple.

"What happened?" Rohan managed to get out in a gravely voice. "Where-where am I?"

"Chad – lie him down over here," said Reed, motioning to a blue suede couch. "It looks like he's concussed. Amber, is there any ice in the freezer?"

"There's a bag of peas!" Amber yelled, pulling a bag from the fridge.

"Ok great," Reed replied. He grabbed the peas off Amber and gently placed them on Rohan's brow. "How's that feel mate?" Reed's voice was soft and gentle.

Rohan flinched in pain. "It's really cold."

"It'll help with the swelling mate," Reed replied. "Just relax and try and stay awake ok. You're concussed so falling asleep would be a bad thing – do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I'm still confused," Rohan said. "Am I at the lodge?"

"Just relax," Reed repeated in a soothing voice.

Rohan blinked a few times and moved one hand to hold the bag of peas in place. He was showing some signs of improvement but he was still heavily concussed and didn't know what was going on.

"I still don't get how Rohan knew we were here," Zoe whispered.

"Let's just forget about it for now," I responded. "I think we have bigger concerns on our plate right now."

The next few minutes passed in silence. Rohan stirred on the couch in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, the ice pack still being held firmly on his forehead by his right hand. Zoe continued to chew at her nails, her stare rarely moving from the large window to the right of the front door. Amber shivered as she sat on the end of the couch to keep an eye on Rohan's health.

"Who wants hot chocolate?" Reed suddenly said, jumping up from a chair gingerly. Amber had bandaged his arm nicely and washed off much of the blood which had dripped onto his arm.

"Hey, let me do that. Can't have the cripples making the hot chocolate," Chad said with a weak smile.

"Seriously, I'm feeling pretty good," Reed said, rotating his shoulder in a range of motions. "I'll probably need a few stitches but it's not as deep as I first thought."

"You're a lucky man," I murmured.

"Nope, just a fast sprinter!" Reed replied, flashing me his trademark smile. He shuffled across to the kitchen and turned on the kettle.

I sat down on the same aluminium chair we had tied Rohan to earlier. The seat felt stiff and cold. I listened outside for any signs of movement. There was a few hooting owls and the occasional chirp of a cricket but nothing out of the ordinary. What was this guy waiting for? How long did he plan on leaving us trapped in here? Did he get this much pleasure from making us wait? I suddenly envisaged the killer setting flames to the lodge. Causing us to flee from our accommodation into his death trap outside. Of course, we could always choose to remain inside and either suffocate or burn to death. I jumped as someone brushed my shoulder.

"Here Koby." Reed reached down and handed me a steaming mug of chocolate.

"Thanks man," I replied. I realised it was quite chilly in the lodge and the warmth of the mug felt nice against my hands. Silence once again took over the room as we all sat and sipped on our chocolate. I immediately started to feel warm inside and started to think in a more positive light. Amber was definitely right before. It was five versus one. That's the reason why this guy hadn't tried to barge his way in. He knew it would be a lost cause. Why then, would he email us in the first place asking us to come here? Unless he also carried a gun? Maybe he carried a knife for the up-close and personal kills but a gun for the longer distance executions? Maybe he was outside lining up a shot right now? I slipped down in my chair and then scolded myself for falling back into those negative thoughts. I took another deep sip of my cocoa and glanced across the room. I saw that Amber was starting to drift off to sleep. Hey, wait on a minute, so was Chad. Before I knew it, my chin had slumped down to my chest as darkness overtook me.

# Chapter 22: Amber

"Wakey! Wakey" the shrill voice rang in my ears. Who was saying that? "Wakey! Wakey!" the piercing voice sung out again. My head throbbed in pain but for some reason I couldn't move my hands to rub my forehead. They were tied together, I suddenly realised. A blanket of anxiety suddenly overtook me. What was going on? How come my hands were tied together? I tried to stand but my legs were also bonded together strongly. A wave of nausea engulfed me and for a minute I thought I might faint.

"What-what's going on?" I asked, repeating the thought which played in my mind. My voice was hoarse and dry.

"Amm-baaa! Join the party!" the same intense voice yelled out. The voice was right in front of me but my vision was still blurred. I blinked once as the colours swirled in front of me. It felt like I was on a boat, deep at sea. The waves rolling up, and down. Up. Down. Up. Down. For the second time in a minute, I thought I might faint. I blinked a few more times, trying to overcome the dizziness.

"Amm-baaa!" the voice rang out again, almost teasing.

"Who is that?" I tried to yell but my voice came out as a whisper.

"I swear to god, if you hurt her..." another voice sounded. It was Koby.

"Koby?" I asked uncertainly.

"I'm right here Amber," Koby replied.

"Shut up Koby! Just shut up!" the first voice yelled and I heard a large slap echo around the room.

"Koby?" I asked again. I heard him murmuring in pain but he didn't reply.

"Good boy. Not so hard is it?" the voice hissed.

Why can't I see? I blinked again and slowly my vision returned. The blurs were now solid shapes and I could now make out a figure pacing across the floor in front of me. Who was that?

"Amm-baaa? Can you see me yet?" the distinct voice purred. "Amm-baaa!" the voice repeated, this time littered with anger. I squinted as my eyes began to focus. The figure approached and stood over me. I painfully lifted my head and stared up.

"Reed!" I yelled in shock.

"Well done Amm-baaa," Reed hissed. "Should I give you a gold star sticker?" Reed's voice was nothing like how he normally spoke. His soft and calming voice was instead replaced with a penetrating warble.

"Reed, what the hell?" I screamed, my vision now completely restored.

"You're the last one to wake up," Reed replied, his shrill voice stinging my ears. I turned and looked at the room. Koby, Chad, Rohan and Zoe were all tied to chairs, bound at their hands and feet. A bright, red hand imprint had swollen on Koby's right cheek. He turned and gave me a solemn stare. Chad stared down, eyes on the ground. Zoe had been crying, her pink face moistened with tears. Rohan's eyes were fixated on Reed, following every footstep as Reed continued to pace across the lodge floor. Although Rohan's temple was still swollen he appeared to be in pretty good health.

"You drugged us?" I spat out.

"I bet you didn't see this coming!" Reed snarled with a grin, his eyes stuck on me. "Did you Amm-baaa? Did you see this coming?" He knelt down so his face was level with mine.

"Screw you," I whispered. I cringed, waiting for him to strike me like he had Koby. Instead he let out a psychotic laugh. "Mmmwwwhahahaha! What's the matter Amm-baaa? Don't you like me anymore? How about a kiss?" He leaned in close so his face was inches from mine. His breath smelt stale and pungent.

"You heard her, she said screw you!" Koby yelled out.

"Koby-" I whispered.

Reed shot up and darted across the room. "I told you to shut up!" Again, he slapped Koby's right cheek as the slap rang around the room. As he stepped back, I saw that he had drawn blood on Koby's face with his latest attack.

"Reed!" I yelled, in a desperate attempt to get him away from Koby. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why? Why!?" Reed snarled, his face contorting into a look of pure evil. There was no sign of his good looks which had driven half the girls at Hollow Point High crazy. Instead, a menacing, repulsive manifestation had taken over. "I'll tell you why Amm-baaa, it's because you failed the test! You all failed the test!" he screamed, spit flying out of his mouth.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to keep him talking.

"You should have been friends with him! You should have invited him!" Reed screeched in fury.

"Him? Who is him?" I said, trying to remain calm although my voice came out in a shaky tone.

"Reed, you don't have to do this," Rohan suddenly said steadily.

"Stay out of this brother!" Reed snapped.

Brother? What was he talking about?

"They haven't done anything wrong Reed," Rohan continued.

"I said stay out of it," Reed yelled angrily.

"I'm your brother and I love you," Rohan replied.

Reed's face suddenly changed and for a second I saw a glimpse of the young man we had all come to like. However, this quickly vanished as Reed walked over and stood before Rohan.

"I'm doing this for you! I'm doing this for Daisy!" Reed screamed.

"Daisy is gone. Mum passed away, remember?" Rohan said shakily.

"Of course I remember! She's not here to protect you, but I am!" Reed's voice got louder.

"I'm ok Reed, honestly. You don't need to protect me," Rohan said trying to remain calm.

"They should have invited you brother! But they didn't! And now they have to pay!" Reed screamed.

"Reed, why are you doing this?" I asked for the second time.

"As I said before, you all failed the test. For so many years Rohan has longed to be invited to the lodge. For his entire high school duration, he has wished for an invitation. But it never came. Then along came me; and what did you all do?" Reed hissed.

"We invited you," I muttered.

"Exactly! That's your second gold star sticker Amm-baaa, one more and you get to go home early," he continued, letting out a vile snort.

"Reed, there's heaps of people at school we never invited. The lodge was just something a few of us shared. It didn't mean anything that we never-", I said before being cut off.

"Shut up!" Reed yelled. "Daisy isn't here anymore. My mum isn't here to look after my little brother. So I have to take responsibility! I have to do what's best for him, to look after him just like our mum would have!"

He's insane, I thought. He's completely insane.

"Reed, I never cared about not being invited to the lodge. I just said on one phone call it would be nice to go there one day because they were all nice people," Rohan said. "Please, just let them go."

Reed ignored Rohan's plea. "Daisy would have looked after you, she was a good mum," Reed murmured to himself. "They shouldn't have messed with my little bro. Now, they all have to pay!" Reed bent over and picked up a long knife from the coffee table.

"No Reed! Please! Brother?" yelled Rohan.

"Now, who to kill first?" Reed sang. He continued pacing back and forth between his prisoners. "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe," he muttered, as he walked. His usually groomed, wavy dark hair was scrawled outwards in a messy crop. "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe," he repeated. Then suddenly, with a quick lunge he thrust the knife deep into Chad's thigh.

"Aarrrrggggghhhh!" Chad yelled in pain.

Zoe slowly rocked in her chair, repeatedly muttering the word please under her breath.

Reed leant forward and pulled the knife back out of Chad's thigh, as Chad let out another howl of pain.

"That was the entrée," Reed said in his menacing voice. "Now for the main course."

I gasped in terror as he pounced towards Chad again, the tip of the knife heading straight for Chad's throat.

# Chapter 23: Koby

I watched in horror as Reed sprang at Chad, just like I had seen him pounce so impressively on the rugby field. What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Just as Reed attacked Chad, the lodge bi-fold door busted open as a number of large policemen sprinted into the room. They wore bullet proof vests and carried guns, just like you see in all the action movies. Reed slowly turned his head to look at the uninvited guests as the knife continued towards Chad. In a last ditch effort for survival, Chad rocked the chair as hard as he could and it shuffled a few centimetres to the left. That's all it took. The tip of the blade collided into the back of the aluminium chair, only narrowly missing Chad's neck. The next thing I knew, Reed was being handcuffed in the corner of the room as officers quickly worked to free us from our chairs.

"I was protecting him mother! I did it for you Daisy!" yelled Reed, as two officers placed him face down on the floor.

"Wait a minute," I whisper, as the officer unties the rope around my legs. "Reed's arm, he was stabbed outside!" The words came out louder than I expected.

"I did that myself!' Reed yelled, his cheeks lying flat against the floorboards. "You had my brother tied up! You knocked him out! I had to find a way to protect him. Just like Daisy would have!"

"Oh man," I muttered, realising Reed had fooled us with his self-inflicted stabbing. "He stabbed himself just so we would untie Rohan," I said, turning to face Zoe.

"And so we wouldn't call the police and wreck his plans," Zoe added. "But then he ended up tying up Rohan anyway. Go figure," Zoe continued, wiping the remnants of tears away from her eyes.

"Something tells me he never would have hurt Rohan," I said.

I turned to Reed once more. "What about Hank? I thought you found him like that?"

"Of course I found him like that. It's easy to find someone when you're the person who did it to them," he snarled, saliva running down his chin onto the floorboards.

"Chad, are you ok?" Amber suddenly asked, running across the room. Chad placed his arms around two paramedics as he hobbled to a stretcher that had been wheeled in.

"I'm ok," he said with a smile. "Every girl in town is going to hear about this story. Plus I'll have a scar as proof; everyone knows how scars get the girls!" I gave him a rub on the head. Haha, good old Chad.

"How did you know we were here?" Zoe asked one of the officers. The officer pointed up into the top corner of the room.

"The hidden security cameras!" Chad yelled, as he lay down on the stretcher. "We forgot all about them!"

I heard Reed still mumbling about Daisy and Rohan as the officers dragged him outside. I approached Rohan, who was getting his head seen to by another paramedic. Rohan stared blankly ahead, a strained expression pasted on his face. Poor Rohan.

"Hey Rohan, Chad and I are sorry about that," I said pointing to his forehead.

Rohan gave an exhausted smile, "No worries."

"How did you know we were here?" I asked.

He sighed as the paramedic finished the strapping around his head. "It's a long story."

"Sport, you don't have to say anything now. I'm sure it's been a long and stressful day for all," an officer said. I turned to see Sergeant Vince standing there.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind telling the guys. I think it will help to get everything off my chest," Rohan replied.

Sergeant Vince didn't say anything but nodded that he could continue.

"I guess this all started seven years ago when our mum, whose name was Daisy, passed away due to cancer. We never met our dad so when mum passed away it hit us all pretty hard. Especially Reed. He's a year older than me and when we were sent to foster parents, he-he changed," Rohan said stopping for some air. "Being the older brother, he felt that he had to protect me because mum was now gone. He always said that he was doing it for daisy and that he would never let anything happen to me. But it came too much. He came so overprotective he lost the plot. The brother I once knew had vanished. It was all too much, the stress got to him. One winter's night our foster parents found him in the bathroom. He had tried to slit his wrists with a razor blade. After endless visits to hospitals and psychiatrists, Reed was sent to a mental institution in the city. Somewhere he could be treated and hopefully recover," Rohan continued.

"Son, you don't have to carry on," Sergeant Vince instructed, "There'll be plenty of time for formal statements."

"It's fine," Rohan said, holding up his hand. "Anyway, Reed remained in the institution until the summer just gone. During his time there, I wasn't allowed to visit. His doctors feared this would only enhance Reed's protective state that he seemed to enter when around me. But I was allowed to make phone calls. Not many, just two or three a year. He would ask how I was going. We would chat about school mainly and how he wished he could attend as well. The conversations were really easy flowing, just like the brother I used to know all those years ago. He seemed normal. One day, he asked me about my friends. I've never been the most social butterfly in the world. Reed always had a knack when it came to people. He could charm the pants off of anyone. But not me. I told him how I didn't have many friends but there was always a group I liked talking to. I mentioned you guys and how you ventured off to the lodge on weekends and how fun it sounded. This was one conversation that only lasted a few minutes. I didn't think Reed was even listening that carefully. I actually thought he was getting better. And so did the mental institution. Because last summer they signed his release, said he was cured and could lead a normal life. Our foster parents picked him up from the city and brought him to Hollow Point, they were a bit nervous but they thought it would be good for me. You know, to get my brother back. At first it was. Reed seemed like his old self and was doing really well at school with rugby and making friends. But then I started having my suspicions," Rohan said, explaining the turn of events.

"Suspicions?" I ask.

"Yeah. Firstly, there was the whole daisy thing with the murders. As I said, Daisy was our mum's name so I thought it was odd that these daisy murders begun to occur when Reed came back. But I thought of this as a long shot. I knew Reed had tried to harm himself in the past but I never imaged he would hurt others. Next there was Hank's murder. I distinctly remember Reed leaving home that morning around six o'clock. He woke me up when he left the house. Reed told police that he didn't find Hank's body until around seven thirty. To me, that didn't make sense. It's only a ten minute walk to school from our house so something didn't add up. Then there was the diary."

"He kept a diary?" asked Amber.

"I think so," replied Rohan. "I didn't see much. I went into Reed's room one day after school and he was writing in it. I saw the words daisy and kill in the first paragraph but then he snapped it shut before I could see anything else. But that was enough. Although I didn't want to believe it, I knew deep down he was responsible for all those deaths. I peered into Reed's room yesterday morning and saw that he was talking to you on Chatter. So I ran into my room and logged on. I wanted to warn you that he was the killer. I knew that he would never harm me so I was never in any danger."

"But you confessed?" I asked, remembering the brief few seconds Rohan had logged on for.

"Well, in a way I was responsible. Reed was killing because he wanted to protect me. Without me, none of your friends would have been killed. Of course, I was going to tell you that it was Reed but before I had the chance Reed had disconnected my computer from the modem, which sat in his room. The next thing I knew Reed had left the house. Being the self-confessed nerd that I am, I was able to hack into his computer and found the email that he sent you. I contemplated going to the police but I thought if I got to the lodge before all of you, I may be able to reason with Reed when you all arrived. Convince him to come forward to the police. I thought it would be better if he came forward as opposed to being caught. I'm not sure what I was thinking really. At the end of the day he's my brother and I just want him to get the help that he needs," Rohan broke out into a quiet sob.

"Ok sport, that's enough for today. Let's get you home, ok?" Sergeant Vince stepped forward and wrapped a blanket around Rohan that had been handed to him by one of the paramedics.

Poor Rohan, I thought again. He had gone through so much without us even knowing.

"Ok, there's lifts outside for everyone. Your parents have been notified so let's get you home."

I walked towards the empty space which had once held the lodge front door. Suddenly, Amber ran from behind me and took my hand in hers.

"You said it was Reed," she said.

"I have good senses when it comes to people," I said with a smile.

"Really? What do your senses say about me?" Amber replied.

I leaned across and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips.

As I drew away, a large smile burst onto her face. "So," she said. "What do you want to do this weekend?"

"How about the lodge?" I said with a grin.

She gave me a playful shove. "How about the movies instead?"

I leaned in for my second kiss. "Sounds great."

###

# About Shaun Kitching

Shaun Kitching lives in South East Queensland, Australia with his wife and two children. He is a keen sportsman, with football being his favourite sport. In his spare time, he enjoys kayak fishing, going to the beach and spending time with his family.

# Connect with Shaun Kitching

Connect with Shaun Kitching on Twitter: <https://twitter.com/ShaunKitching1>

# Coming Soon

Enjoy The Lodge? Shaun Kitching will be publishing his second book in the Hollow Point Horrors series very soon.
