“Here, Georgie! Here, Georgie!” I called, waving a dog biscuit in the air. “Come here, boy!”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Grace crossed her arms.
“We’re killing people, not dogs, tonight.” Mitchell came to my defense, tossing his arm over me. “That’s like, a golden rule.”
“Never let the dog die.” Mattias joined us in the open camp center, looking for the fucking dog.
Domino had spent another day in Fabian’s office with the door locked. Koi had gone to her last night. Before he left, he took the bottle of pills she’d been downing every night and then made sure there was nothing else she could take tonight to make her less than fully aware of her surroundings.
It needed to be fair.
We heard the dog barking and a moment later Andrew came through the cabins, jogging alongside Georgie on the leash.
“Got him. Where should we put him tonight?”
Mattias took the leash and started toward his house. “He can stay in my room. I’ll probably take him afterward, anyway. What do you think? Would you like me to be your new daddy?” He spoke to him in a baby voice as he led him away.
We tried to feign aloofness as we waited for Domino to take her exit in the evening. She left just before sunset, this time with a book in her hand.
“I bet that’s some kind of will playbook,” Marisol said. “Like, how to get us cut out of everything. I don’t trust Fabian as far as I can throw him.”
We went up to the house and someone turned on music. They were throwing a party as if this were the last night of their lives. I wanted to laugh at how true it was for some of them. How many would die tonight?
Mattias brought out some coke, and I found my mouth watering, watching everyone snort a line, or two, in Mitchell’s case. He did his lines and grinned at me.
“Come on, you know you want to.”
I glanced at Koi. We’d discussed staying sober, but it’d been entirely too long since I partook in anything past alcohol. I stood and went to the kitchen island. Mattias set me up, and I took my line.
I inhaled deeply as the rush came quickly. Endorphins filled me and I was way more excited about tonight than I was before.
I went back to the living room, where the rest of the party was. Andrew and Beth were making out on the couch, his hand up her shirt.
“Hey, Swayze, you got any of those condoms left?” Andrew muttered. I pulled my wallet out and tossed him the last one, pausing only a moment to take one last look. I hadn’t used one of these all summer. I wouldn’t use one ever again.
So long, Camp Frisky.
Koi came from the kitchen looking just as guilty as I had moments before. We sat on the couch and relaxed, as best as we could, high on cocaine, and enjoyed the party. The music was loud, the lights were flashing, and I was beginning to forget thereason for the party altogether until Mitchell asked me to join him outside for a cigarette.
Mitchell was never much fun while high. He was fidgety, and that bothered me. His hand shook as he tried to land the cigarette between his lips.
“Man, I don’t know if I’m ready for this. Fabian’s like a brother to me.”
“Then let’s not. We don’t have to do their bidding.”
“Yeah, but if I don’t, Mattias will never let me hear the end of it. He’s going to grab the dog now.”
“The dog?”
“Yeah, that’s how we’re luring her out. Don’t worry, as soon as we see her heading toward the woods, Mattias is taking him back to the house. The dog didn’t do anything wrong.”
“And you think Domino did?”
Mitchell looked up at me curiously and then put his hand over my shoulder. “Man, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you, but you’re too fucking lovesick and need to know the truth. Do you remember Elliott Spencer, Marisol's ex? Domino killed him. She came back last year, demanding money. The sisters got into a physical fight, Elliott pushed her off Marisol, and she pulled out a knife. That's why all of this is happening. She's a monster, man, she's gotta be stopped."
"Who told you that?" I asked.
"Marisol. She was crying and everything."
