Patrick shot his eyes heavenward as he handed a compass to Carrie. “You know how to use this?”
She smiled weakly. “I was in the Girl Scouts, remember?”
“I’m going with Carrie,” Freddy said quickly.
“I was in the Girl Scouts, too,” Tiffany announced. She just couldn’t stand to not be the best at everything.
Jen sniggered. “For three whole months, when you were seven. You told me you hated it.” Tiffany shot her a death glare.
“Carrie’s the Final Girl. I’m sticking to her like glue,” Freddy said.
Of everyone here, Freddy was the least stubborn and would be happy to follow her directions. But Carrie couldn’t resist standing up to Tiffany one more time. “I could go with Jason, if you’d rather go with Freddy, Tiffany,” she said innocently.
To her surprise, it was Jason who replied, not Tiffany. Jason’s eyes were glacial in the shadows. “Tiff’s coming with me. I don’t trust her and Freddy to not peace out and abandon the search.”
Tiffany touched an affronted hand to her chest like,Who, me?Carrie was gratified to see that Jason was unmoved.
Jen clapped her hands together. “Then it’s settled. Daphne and Fred go together, and Carrie goes with Shaggy.”
“Before we set out, I’ve got bottled water in the kitchen. And we can grab some snacks, too, since we never got to eat dinner,” said Patrick.
“I could use some snacks,” Freddy mumbled.
They were wasting precious minutes. Who knew where Michael was by now. “There’s no time! We have to—” Carrie started.
But Jason was already leading the way down the hall to the back of the cabin, flashlight extended. He motioned for everyone to stay behind him, ever the chivalrous gentleman, and Carrie’s heart twinged as she followed.
In the kitchen, he stood sentry while Patrick wrestled with the plastic overwrap covering a case of bottled water. The sliding door was open, letting in the scent of rain and greasy charcoal from the barbecue. Cedar Lake gleamed faintly in the distance, like a memory. Michael was somewhere out there, wandering in the dark. Wherewashe? What was he doing? Carrie shivered, wishing she had the time and courage to run upstairs and get a sweater.
“Forget the snacks. What we need is hardware.” Jen lunged for the knife block on the counter just as Freddy had the same idea.
“Hey, gimme that!” Freddy said as Jen beat him to the largest handle.
“Careful!” Carrie cried. They were going to hurt themselves worse than any potential attacker.
“You snooze, you lose, Shaggy.” Jen waved a chef’s knife with smug aplomb.
Freddy pulled the second-largest handle and looked crestfallen at the bread knife’s blade, which would be dangerous only if you were a baguette. Tiffany grabbed the remaining handle. The tiny but wicked blade of a paring knife glinted under their flashlights. “Trade?” Freddy said hopefully.
“No fucking way,” Tiffany said.
Freddy set the bread knife on the counter and started to pullthings out of the drawers. Patrick yelped in protest as ladles and spatulas flew onto the floor. Whooping, Freddy triumphantly held a small corkscrew aloft. Carrie shook her head. What did he think he could do with that?
“Ooh! Are you going to uncork a nice Cabernet for Russ?” Jen said.
“I’ve seenThe Girl on the Train,” he said darkly. He stashed the corkscrew into the pocket of his cargo shorts and picked up the bread knife again.
Patrick paused unpacking the water and shone his flashlight around the counter. Carrie’s skin prickled with alarm. She didn’t like how jerky his movements were, as if he were searching for something.
“That can’t be right. There werefourknives in this block,” he said in a strangled voice.
Everyone froze, staring at the empty slots.
“What do you mean?” Tiffany said.
The Adam’s apple bobbed sharply in Patrick’s throat. “The largest knife is missing.”
10
