I'll Find You

“Wouldn’t he have a much better time spending the weekend with you guys?” Sienna whined, shoulders slumped.

Mrs. Oh folded her arms across her chest, frowning down her nose at her daughter. Her thick glasses emphasizing the disappointment in her eyes. “Sienna, you promised him you would take him along on your last camping trip of the summer.”

She had. Before she had known Dillon was coming, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal. Leaning back into the counter, the sharp edge digging into her palms, her eyes fell to the crumpled figure sat on the bottom step of the stairs.

Lawson glanced over his shoulder at her and startled. Backpack slung over across his back. Navy baseball cap tugged low over a shock of recently bleached hair. Jaw tense. Without a word, he shoved off the step and strode straight out the front door.

With a sigh, Sienna brushed past her mom. “Fine, I’ll take him. But don’t be surprised if he calls you mid trip and wants you to come pick him up because he isn’t having any fun.”

“I will be exceptionally surprised if that actually happens.”

“Laz!” Sienna passed over the threshold onto the front porch. The sun still high in the sky. A delicate breeze slithered through the rose bushes. Brushed over the grass. She inhaled deeply. The last of the summer air. Before long, she’d be back to early wakeups and school schedules when she finally embarked on her first year of college in less than two weeks.

“Laz! Please don’t hide from me.”

“Who’s hiding?”

Lawson perched on the tailgate of their dad’s F250. Sienna gripped the warmed metal and hiked herself up next to him.

“Its not that I don’t want you to go. Dillon is coming.” She confessed, gaze fixed on the loose shoestrings of her red Converse.

“And he hates me.”

“Of course not.”

“Then I don’t understand the problem. You hate me?”

A glare settled on her face. “Come on. Don’t be like that. You know Dillon and I are so very new and-”

“Isn’t Grace going?” Lawson interjected.

Through gritted teeth, Sienna said, “Yes. She is.”

“Then what’s the issue? Are the three of you a couple now?”

“No, that’s-”

“Then its fine. Right?”

The fight drained from her limbs. “Right. Its fine.”

The Oh siblings sat out on the front porch with two sleeping bags, two backpacks, two umbrellas, a first aid kit, and other emergency supplies when Dillon and Grace pulled up in front of their house. Dillon hopped out, all long legs and glittering green eyes, immediately dragging Sienna to her feet.

“My girl.” He mumbled into her hair, pressing a kiss against the rapid pulse in her neck. “Ready to go?”

She swallowed, bobbing her head up and down. “Laz is coming, too.”

He chucked Lawson on the chin, who pulled back as if electrocuted. “Awesome.”

Dillon snatched the sleeping bags and sauntered back to his white Toyota 4Runner. Grace slipped out of the passenger side, coming around the front of the vehicle like a woodnymph floating through her forest. Long, wavy brown hair flowed to her waist, green ribbon threaded through seemingly random braids throughout.

Kneeling in front of Lawson, she pressed his left hand between both of hers. “I’m so glad you’re coming. Now I won’t be bored being their third wheel.” She said with a mischievous grin. He returned it.

“I’ll be the best company.” He vowed.

“Oh, I already know you will.”

Sienna exchanged a knowing smile with her best friend of 12 years. Grace had always had a way with Lawson. “It’s going to be great.” She said, trepidation gnawing at her spine.

Mrs. Oh exited the house with a large bag in hand and a grimace on her face. “All set?”

Dillon peeked around the back of the 4Runner with a grin. “Just about. Can I use your bathroom real fast? I sucked down a Monster like twenty minutes ago and it goes right through me.”

“Up the stairs, first door on the right.” Mrs. Oh directed with a jab of her thumb back toward the house. She clambered down the rest of the stairs to her children, setting the bag on the final step. A mother hen gathering her chicks close. She wrapped both Lawson and Sienna in a crushing hug. “Take care of each other. Be safe. Come back to your poor worried mother.”

“Ma, I can’t breathe.” Lawson’s muffled voice came from the vicinity of Mrs. Oh’s armpit.

She plopped a kiss on each of their cheeks. “I packed some food for a nice dinner and some breakfast.”

“Only two meals?” Lawson whined.

“If you want more of my cooking than that, come home. Or better yet, don’t go at all.”

Sienna frowned at her mother, folding her arms. “Why would you say that?”

Mrs. Oh stared past her at the 4Runner, Grace leaning against the driver’s side door. Dillon charged back out the front door, the Monster clearly gone into effect. “Let’s bounce!” He said with a chuckle.

Mrs. Oh touched her palm to Sienna’s cheek. “I have a bad feeling. Just promise me you’ll be careful. And you’ll use the satellite phone or just come home if anything comes up.”

“Mom, I promise. You can relax.”

Crater lake was picturesque and still, surrounded by towering Douglas and White Firs, Ponderosa Pines. The group pulled into Lost Creek Campground, just three miles from the crater’s edge. After paying exact change, they maneuvered to the last available spot for the night.

“We were lucky to get a spot at all. They are usually full by lunchtime.” Grace said with a lowered brow, glancing around at the other campers.

“We’re so far from the lake still.” Lawson complained, frowning at the trees. “I thought we were camping at the water. Like at the water’s edge.”

“That isn’t available. Plus, did you see how steep the sides of the lake are? We’d have to repel down.”

“Seems worth it to me.”

Sienna left Lawson griping at Grace to help Dillon set up their tent for the night. It was a 4-person tent, but it would still be a little tight. Sienna laid out her sleeping bag next to Dillon’s, feet toward the door. The opposite with Grace’s and Lawson’s.

Dillon took in the arrangement with a smirk. “I don’t think we’ll be able to do anything beyond hold hands.”

“We could cuddle.”

“Deal.”

They spent the afternoon hiking the trails around the edge of the lake. Grace snapped pictures of the still water from every angle. Some shots of the towering trees, wisps of clouds dancing along their tops. Others showed a world within a world. The ridges of the crater and sky reflected in the clear lake.

Back at camp for dinner, Lawson and Dillon devoured three-quarters of the fettuccine alfredo Mrs. Oh had packed before Grace and Sienna could take a single portion.

“Sorry.” Dillon muttered sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “I was starving. We got carried away.”

Without a word, Sienna divided the remainder of the food between them. It was more than enough, but spite stayed her tongue.

Grace built a fire and the four of them huddled around it as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Stars glimmered overhead. The heat of the day disbanded to a heady chill. Sienna glanced down at her watch just in time to see ten o’clock light up the screen.

“Laz, you need to go to bed. I promised mom I wouldn’t let you stay up past 9:30.”

His brow lowered but his body didn’t budge from where he crouched playing a game of Speed with Grace. “We’re camping. No one goes to bed at 9:30 while camping.”

“And you didn’t. Now its ten. Time to get in the tent.”

“Can I at least finish this game?”

“Fine.” Sienna snuggled further into Dillon’s side. This was exactly the relaxing trip she needed.

It was a sensation that retrieved Sienna from the depths of sleep. Movement against her legs, her feet. The sound of a zipper.

Her eyes popped open, but it didn’t bring any clarity. The world was dark. Fires were out, the moon a sliver of its full self. Crater Lake. Camping. The tent flap quivered in a slight breeze. A chill sliced through the warmth of her sleeping bag.

“Laz?” She whispered, unzipping the bag a bit more to sit up fully. “Grace?”

Grace snored softly in the corner. Dillon’s warmth pressed into the side of her leg. Sienna pawed at Lawson’s sleeping bag.

“Laz?” She repeated in a louder hiss.

It was no use. It was empty. Her brother was gone.

This knowledge washed the final dregs of sleep from her mind. Lawson was her responsibility. If he wasn’t in the tent, she needed to get outside and find him.

The night was eerily quiet. No rustling of leaves. Woeful songs of owls. Snores of other campers. Absolute silence.

“Dillon.” Sienna hissed, jabbing at his stomach. Nothing. She poked harder, dug deeper. Nothing.

She eased out of her sleeping bag, tugging her sweatshirt over her head. “Grace.” She crawled across the empty space to her best friend. “Grace.”

Normally, Sienna flopping about too much woke Grace. Talking should have woken her. She brushed the hair out of her face. Tapped her shoulder, her nose.

The back of her throat tightened, jaw tensed. “Dillon, Grace. Get up. Now. Please.” She begged, her voice growing ever louder with every word she spoke.

Then she heard him. Laz. “Sienna!” His voice sounded so far away. How had he traveled such a distance in just a few minutes?

“You guys are the worst.” Sienna stammered at her supposed friends, slipped on her shoes, and struck out into the dark alone.

It was even colder outside of the tent. She had checked the forecast before leaving and it wasn’t supposed to drop below fifty at night. Her breath frosted the air in front of her.

“Sienna! Help!”

A chill ran down her spine. She dug her phone out of her pocket and flicked on the flashlight. Yellow light illuminated the burned-out coals of their fire hours before. Tiny, winged bugs flitted through the fog.

“I’m coming Laz, just stay where you are!” No response echoed back to her. He’d probably gotten up to find a place to pee, gone too far, and needed help finding his way back. No big deal. She could do this.

Sienna’s hands shook. Her heart hammered in her skull. “Dillon! Grace! We have to find Laz!” She shouted at the tent. No response there either.

“Sienna!” Came Laz’s voice once more and the decision was made for her. She had no choice but to head out alone.

There was no direct path linking their campground to Crater Lake, but turning toward the sound of her brother’s voice, that couldn’t possibly be the case. She could see straight to the water’s edge, probably only a mile away at most. But was that possible? Weren’t they a whole 3 miles away?

Her footsteps were quick at first, but lost momentum as she stumbled over roots and other debris along the path. “Laz? What do you see? Talk to me! Help me find you!”

A crackle of leaves ahead. Twigs snapped. “Sienna!”

She charged forward, lifting her knees as she ran to help with the tripping. “I’m coming, Laz!”

The water loomed ever closer. Lawson was nowhere in sight. Her eyes scoured the trees looming around the path like they’d simply been shoved out of the way. The air grew colder, closing in on her like a blanket fresh from the freezer.

The water glittered ahead. The stars reflected from the night sky. Her eyes fixed on them, and she couldn’t tear them away. “Laz?” She tried to say, but no sound came out. Once more, she tried to call out to her brother to no avail. She increased her pace.

It was not stars in the water. She had made such an assumption based on the renowned calm of the lake. But the lake was no longer calm. Waves broke against the shore. Sprays shot into the air. The voice was coming from the water.

“Sienna!”

It wasn’t until she was within ten feet of the water’s edge that she saw him. Bleach blond hair silver in the starlight. Dark eyes hidden.

“Laz!” She shouted, but still. No words left her mouth. Her lips didn’t budge.

She sprinted the last few feet to her brother and closed her arms around him. He was wet and chilled, soaked to the bone. His arms curled around her waist, drawing her in closer. Her hands raised to his face, fingers gripping his jaw to turn his face toward hers.

What looked back at her was not the angular face of her little brother but something she didn’t recognize. Empty, dark eye sockets. Pearlescent skin stretched taut over bone. One cheekbone caved in. Trails of blood dripped from the nose.

It was the mouth that really took her focus though. The way it seemed to keep growing ever larger. Dagger-like teeth lining all the way around. A tongue like an eel slithering in the back.

With a silent scream, Sienna tried to throw herself backward, put some distance between her and whatever this thing was. To no avail. Slimy, bony arms crushed her to the creature, its mouth hovering closer and closer to her face. Where was Lawson? Had he stumbled upon this same creature?

Sienna shook and shoved with her arms until the strength left her, arms drooping uselessly. This had to be a nightmare. She needed to wake up. Why couldn’t she wake up?

It wasn’t cold and wet that met her cheek when the mouth found purchase on her skin, but fire. Pain erupted from the point of contact, spreading out through her body. Her mind swam with whispers. The cold of the water met her toes. Climbed up her legs. Dragged her down. Down. Down.

Her last thought as she was ripped apart from the inside out, joined with the creature of the lake, was the still unknown whereabouts of her little brother.

Lawson jolted awake from a nightmare, his breathing ragged. Head pounding, heart in his throat. Palms and back coated in sweat. Grace startled next to him at the force of his movement.

“Laz? What’s wrong?” Her voice largely drowned out by pillow.

“Where’s my sister?”

Dillon awoke from the sound of them talking. His right arm slipped behind his back to grasp at the empty sleeping bag next to him. He rolled onto his back and sat up. “Maybe she had to find a bathroom?”

Three sets of eyes strayed to the billowing tent flap. “I guess we’ll just wait for her to get back.” Grace yawned.

Lawson freed himself of his sleeping bag, edging forward to peek out the open flap. “She’s not coming back.”