Fay looked up, tears trickling down her cheeks.
“C’mon, Fay,” Billie said gently. “Let go of her. We’ll take her. You’ve got to get cleaned up.”
Fay looked down at her bloody hands, then at her shirt, covered with Jenny’s blood.
Brandi sobbed hysterically. “We’re going to die, we’re all going to die. I can’t believe I’m here, I shouldn’t even be here, I agreed to do this at the last minute!”
Diana wanted to slap her, but she supposed it was a shock if you weren’t used to this sort of thing. Brandi should stop acting like a victim; if she hadn’t let jealousy get in the way of the buddy system, Jenny might be alive. That might be another reason for the tears.
“Richard, take Fay up, get her changed and cleaned,” Miles said. “Don’t take too long, we’re leaving in fifteen minutes. Don’t leave her alone, whatever you do.”
Richard nodded. “Got it.”
Miles crouched down next to Fay. “Fay, we’re going to get out of here, but you need to get it together. Okay?”
Fay stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. I . . . yes. I can do this.” She folded Jenny’s hands over her stomach and laid her down, then stood up. She looked at her hands, then rubbed them clean on her jeans.
Dick took her by the elbow and guided her toward the lobby.
“Fifteen minutes,” Miles reminded them. “Stay together.”
“I’ll protect her,” Dick assured him. The two of them headed upstairs.
It had been nice knowing Fay.
“Billie, can you calm Brandi down?” Miles asked. “Splash her face with water or something.” He paused. “If nothing else works . . . slap her.”
“I can do that.” Billie looked at Diana. “I’ll be right back. We’re leaving. Together.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
Billie took Brandi by the elbow, but Brandi pulled away, sobbing. Billie cringed, seeing the blood she left on Brandi’s shirt.
“Come on, Brandi,” she said soothingly. “It’ll be okay. We’re going to leave in a few minutes, let’s get our packs and splash some water on your face. And wash my hands.”
Brandi shook her head, but, sobbing tiredly, she allowed Billie to lead her away.
Miles looked at Diana. “Can you help me with Jenny?”
He was such an ass. Diana sighed. “Where’s the tarp?”
Fifteen minutes later, they had moved Jenny to the freezer, which smelled terrible, between the bodies and the spoiling food. Diana gagged, and she thought Miles would blow chunks for sure, which wouldn’t have improved the smell. He managed to keep his food down, and Diana was grateful for small favors.
They reassembled in the lobby, packs on their backs. Miles was loaded down; the pack was heavy-duty, a serious hiker’s pack with an external steel frame. He carried the majority of the food and blankets, because he insisted on carrying the most weight. Diana hoped he didn’t get killed, because then they would be cold, hungry and lost in the woods.
Fay had a new button-down and khakis on, but she was mentally checked-out. Brandi wasn’t much better; her eyes were red and puffy and she looked shell-shocked.
Most importantly, Billie was all in one piece. Diana hugged her tight, and Billie squeezed her back. “I’m so happy to see you,” she whispered in Billie’s ear.
“Me, too. Let’s get out of here.”
“Alright, follow me,” Miles said.
Diana glared at Dick. “When I took this job, no one told me I was going to have to go running through the woods from a psychopath for real!”
They hiked along the creek where they had filmed. Miles told them they’d have to cross it at some point, but it was flatter and easier on this side for now.
“We’ll cross it and cut over to the ranger station,” he said. “It’s gonna be a hike.”
“Will we make it before dark?” Billie asked. “I don’t think I want to camp out here with her running around.”
Brandi began to cry. “Why bother, she’s just going to kill us all!”
“That’s a nice fatalistic view,” Diana said. “Pull yourself together.”
Miles hung back. “I don’t know if we’ll make it before dark. We may have to build a shelter. We won’t be able to risk a fire, she could see it.” He brushed his hair from his brow.
“No fire?” Diana asked. “And here I wanted roasted marshmallows.”
Diana adjusted her pack and Billie winced. Hiking wasn’t Diana’s forte. Neither was camping, bugs, water, fresh air or the outside, unless it was a beach, and, after Miami, she wasn’t too keen on those either.
Everyone tried to stay as close together as possible. Billie picked up a walking stick, thinking it could be a weapon if Claudia showed up. They followed the creek, and every noise had them looking over their shoulders for Claudia. Billie couldn’t believe it was Claudia. On the other hand, Claudia was strong, high-strung and obviously crazy.
If Billie were the killer, she would hike out of here, but she wasn’t a deranged lunatic. Claudia wanted Richard, and she would try to go through Fay and Brandi to get to him. She and Diana weren’t safe either. It was no secret Diana and Richard didn’t get along, and Billie wasn’t his best friend, either. Claudia would probably kill them out of spite.
She realized when Jenny died how Claudia managed to subdue Judd and Tiny.
“Earlier, I smelled chloroform on Jenny,” Billie said to Diana. “I bet that’s how she got Tiny and Judd.”
“How do you know what chloroform even smells like, Camera Girl?” Richard turned around. He panted and his face was red.
“Because I was chloroformed once, that’s why,” Billie said peevishly. “And you need to move faster, Richard. You’re falling behind. And since Claudia’s obsessed with you, I’d be afraid of what she’ll do if she gets her claws into you.”
Richard made a face, but sped up a little. “I’ve gotta quit smoking. All these damn murders . . . she gets me hooked on cigarettes again.” He cut past Billie and Diana and caught up to Fay, who was half-dragging Brandi.
Miles followed behind, and Diana kept looking back to see if he was there. Or something. Billie wasn’t sure what was going on. They apologized to each other—as much as Diana was capable—and had an awkward truce going, but Diana was giving him the eye. Billie couldn’t figure out why Diana kept trying to pawn him off on her if she was so interested in him herself.
An hour later they stopped in a clearing to rest. Billie was out of breath, but Miles was perfectly fine. He could probably make it back to civilization without them holding him back.
“You should go without us,” Billie said flatly.
His eyes widened in surprise. “I can’t do that. What if Claudia shows up? There won’t be anyone here to help you.”
“Hey, I take offense to that, I’m here,” Richard said. “I know Krav Maga. I can defend myself.”
“Richard, you took one class when we were in LA, and you hurt your wrist,” Fay said.
“Well, then I’ll use this.” He took a gun out of his bag.
“You had a gun?” Billie asked.
Diana snatched it out of his hands. “Dick, this is a prop.”
“Crazy Psycho Bitch doesn’t have to know that!” Richard grabbed it.
“She’s the first AD, she probably has a good idea,” Billie said.
“At any rate, I can use it as a bludgeoning weapon.” Richard swung it. “It doesn’t hurt to have it.”
“Come on, we need to move.” Miles got up and took point.
Diana slung her pack over her shoulders. “My first destination after this is that spa we passed on the way in. I need a massage.”
Dick glanced over. “That’s the first good idea I’ve heard from you.”
Diana gave him the middle finger.
He rushed ahead to catch up with Fay again and deftly wove his way between her and Brandi. Miles dropped back to keep Brandi moving. Her occasional sniffles were the only noise anyone made for a long time.
“This is the worst day ever,” Diana said.
“Worse than being held in Dade County lockup?” Billie asked. “Worse than attending six funerals sophomore year? Worse than being left in a shark cage off the coast?”
Richard spun around, a look of disbelief on his face. “Who the fuck are you people?”
Fay took his arm, and Richard stumbled over a tree root.
“Worse than all of that. I don’t even have Closet Sidney to reassure me.”
“No, but you have me,” Billie said cheerfully. “And no offense to Sid the Kid, but I’m way better at telling you how great you’re doing as a hiker.”
Diana looked back. “I am doing good as a hiker. Look at how far we’ve gone. Miles, how close are we?”
“We’ve gone almost five kilometers,” he said. “The ranger station is about eight kilometers from here, but part of it’s uphill. It’ll probably take a little longer.”
“What’s that in English?” Diana asked.
“I keep forgetting,” Miles said. “It’s about . . . five miles?”
“Five more miles? Are you shitting me?”
“It can’t be that far.” Billie fought crushing disappointment. They had to have walked further than that.
“The ranger station is closest.”
“Dick, this is all your fault!” Diana railed.
He waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. Heard it before.”
“Come on.” Billie took Diana’s hand and urged her forward. “We need to keep up. You know what happens to people in horror movies who fall behind.”
Diana made a face and sped up.
They ate lunch—granola bars and water—as they walked. There wasn’t any coffee, and Miles nixed her bringing the camping coffee pot, which was unfair, since it was for camping. He said it was too heavy for her to carry, but he would get his in the morning.
There were bugs. And sticks, dirt and uneven footing. Spider webs. Animals; she could feel their eyes on her. Birds made a racket singing, and if Claudia wanted to sneak up on them, she would have it easy. She hoped there weren’t any owls lurking around. Or snakes. Diana hated the outdoors.
Her legs hurt, her shoulders hurt, she was all sweaty, and her shoes weren’t even cute.
She agreed to wear Billie’s Vans when Billie pointed out she destroyed two pairs of shoes this trip and hiking would wreck a third.
Miles stayed in the back to keep anyone from falling too far behind, and Diana suspected Billie’s jeans weren’t kind to her ass. Not that she thought Miles was watching her ass or even wanted him to watch her ass, but it would be nice to look good if his eyes happened to wander.
No one talked much; they saved their breath for the hike. Diana developed a stitch in her side. Her second-oldest brother, Fabio, always was after her to go to the gym. If this was the sort of torture he meant, he could forget it.
In the near-silence, she worried about Claudia. Claudia could hike several miles in an afternoon, no problem. She would have no trouble catching them . . . and she knew where they planned to go. She might even beat them there.
They stopped for dinner, which was crackers, jerky, dry cereal, trail mix and water.
Diana sat beside Billie on a crumbling log. “This is a starvation diet and a torturous hike. I’ll probably lose five pounds. It’ll all come off my chest, I just know it.”
“I could stand to lose five pounds,” Billie said.
“You look fantastic. Don’t you dare lose even an ounce. Especially off your ass. You’ve got a great ass, Bils.”
“Thanks.” Billie leaned against her. “It already feels like we’ve been walking forever. My feet hurt.”
Diana took a long swig of water. “Everything hurts. I hate Miles. Talk about a harsh taskmaster.”
“You do not hate him,” Billie scoffed.
“He isn’t my favorite person right now, let’s say that.” Diana shrugged. “But good news: Now that we know he isn’t a killer, he’s back on the menu!”
“Oh no,” Billie groaned. “Be quiet, Diana, he’ll hear you. And I don’t want to sleep with him.”
“Bils, he’s totally yummy—and bonus, he’s not nuts!”
“Diana, please try lowering your voice!”
Miles had spread the maps out, pegging down the corners with rocks. He ran his hands through his hair, a frown creasing his brow. He was in need of a shoulder massage to ease some of that tension. Diana couldn’t help but peek at those shoulders. She sighed; Billie would be a very lucky girl.
Billie elbowed her. “Stop drooling.”
“I am not drooling!”
Miles glanced over at them.
Diana gave him her best wide-eyed, innocent look, only slightly spoiled by Billie’s facepalm.
“This isn’t going to work,” Miles announced. His curls stuck out every which way; completely adorable. “We’re not making good enough time.”
Brandi started to sob; she had spent so much time crying it was now only an ugly, desperate wheezing.
Fay got up, went to Brandi and put her arm around her. “It will be okay. We’ll make it. Don’t give up hope.”
“What do you mean?” Dick asked. “We’re not making good time?”
“I knew we were going to be slow, but I didn’t know we were going to be this slow.” Miles shook his head.
He didn’t look at Brandi, but he didn’t have to; they all knew. Brandi sobbed harder. Her wheezing became alarming.
“Miles, you could make it, if you went ahead.” Fay had an arm around Brandi’s shoulders. “I know you’re worried about us, but you can move faster without us. And the faster we get help, the better off we’ll all be.”
Miles shook his head. “I can’t leave you. What if she comes after you, and I’m not here to help? We’ve lost so many already.”
“Someone has to make it out,” Fay said. Brandi sobbed against her shoulder. “If only to tell the police what happened to everyone else. Otherwise, all those deaths, all those people, and Claudia will get away with it.”
Miles shook his head. “How are you going to find your way out without the map? Even if I leave it with you, I’m not sure you’ll be able to read it. Besides, I’m carrying most of the food and blankets. I don’t think any of you know the first thing about woodcraft. If I leave you . . . .”
If he left them, they were as good as dead. Claudia would pick them off one-by-one, and their plodding pace only gave her more opportunities. Fay was right; Miles could make it to the ranger station sooner without them, and the quicker the police were alerted, the quicker they could be rescued.
“I don’t know, Billie and I have survived some pretty crazy shit,” Diana said. Something had to get Miles’ ass moving. “I wouldn’t bet against us.”
“That’s true,” Billie chimed in. “We’ve been in way worse spots than this—and Diana already fought her off once. It’s not like she’s invincible, just crazy.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Dick asked. “Christ, you trusted me to run a whole damn set, and you don’t trust me to run one writer, a makeup artist, a camera girl and Satan’s Right Hand? Well, okay, I might have a little trouble with that last one, but I’m not helpless.”
“Fuck off, Dick.” Diana was tired, and telling him to fuck off was more obligatory than anything else.
Miles sighed. “Maybe tomorrow.”
“Maybe tomorrow I’ll kick your ass, because there isn’t any coffee,” Diana said. “Just go. Leave us the map. Mark the route. I bet Billie can read it. She’s all outdoorsy.”
Billie frowned “I’m not—”
Diana kicked her ankle.
Billie cleared her throat. “I’m not inexperienced when it comes to reading maps.” She kicked Diana’s ankle back and mouthed “are you crazy?”
Diana shook her head. She wasn’t crazy; better to wander around in the woods for one day, instead of two.
Miles looked at the map again. “Well, if you follow the creek . . . .” He grabbed the map, brought it over and folded it so one square showed. It didn’t look like the road maps to which she was accustomed. It was covered with different colored concentric lines in big wavy blobs. Diana didn’t know what the fuck was going on with this map.
Billie was a trooper, she nodded as Miles ran his finger along a squiggly blue line.
“This is Cutthroat Creek, you’re going to follow it most of the way, but once you get to here—” Miles tapped a point on the map “—you’re going to have to cross. It’s shallow there, so you won’t have to swim, and that’s good, because the creek is high from the storm.”
“I’ve got it,” Billie said with confidence.
It was a fantastic performance, considering this was Billie’s first hiking trip. Diana would give her a hearty round of applause once they got Miles moving.
“We’ll trade packs,” Dick proposed. “I can carry it.”
Miles chewed on his lower lip. He didn’t look convinced, and Diana didn’t blame him. Dick had developed a limp over the past half mile. He probably had a blister. At least, she hoped so; anything worse was unthinkable.
“I’m not saying you can’t, but it would probably be a better idea to divide it among everyone—in case we get separated, everyone has food and water and a blanket,” said Fay.
Dick nodded. “Good idea.”
Fay was a pro.
Miles grabbed his pack, opened its one hundred and seventy-two pockets and moved things around, making piles for each of them. Brandi’s pile was smaller than everyone else’s, and Billie’s pile larger.
Diana would grab some of it after Miles took off, so he wouldn’t suspect Billie was more of a picnic-in-the-park girl, not the primitive-camping-in-the-wilderness kind.
Diana knelt beside him and crammed things into her pack. Fay coaxed Brandi into putting some into her bag, and Billie carried a couple armfuls over to Dick to avoid reminding Miles that Dick was limping like a three-legged dog.
Finally, Miles stood up, cleared his throat a couple times, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I might be back tomorrow, even.”
Brandi sobbed.
Miles turned and started walking away.
“Wait!” Diana hurried after him. There was a funny catch in her throat.
“What is it?” He crossed his arms.
“Miles.”
“Yes?”
She rubbed her eyes; they were hot and prickly. “Just be careful, okay?”
His face softened. “I didn’t know you cared.”
“I do care.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I care about getting rescued.”
His lips twitched. “I’ll be careful.” He reached out and ran his fingers along the curve of her cheek. “You be careful, too.” His eyes were so dark. Miles brushed the ball of his thumb over her lips, and she parted them in a sigh.
Brandi screamed. It started out a high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek and ended in an ugly squawk as her abused vocal chords failed.
Before Diana could turn around, Miles shoved her behind him.
“Billie!” she screamed. She struggled against Miles, but he turned and shoved her into the underbrush. “Billie!”
“It’s Claudia, she’s behind us, go!” Miles pushed her further into the scraggly shrubs and weeds. There wasn’t even a path there.
“No, Billie, I’ve got to go back for Billie!”
“She’s coming.” He grabbed her by the elbow and drug her, forcing her to keep up the best she could. She half-ran, half-fell, pulling against his hand locked around her arm.
“Billie, where are you?”
Miles skidded to a halt, wrapped his arms around her and dropped to the ground. Diana ended up plastered to his chest and straddling his hips. He rolled over so he sheltered her.
Her chest hurt, there was a stitch in her side, her throat ached and had a necklace of blue-black bruises circling it, and a root jabbed her in the small of the back. If he thought she would melt against him, just because he felt and smelled fantastic, he had another thing coming. Billie was out there with Claudia. She pushed at his chest.
“Miles, this isn’t the time—”
He clapped a hand over her mouth. “Listen,” he whispered in her ear.
Someone crashed through the brush near them.
Please be Billie, Diana prayed. Please be Billie.