|THE FACELESS KILLER| Hiatus

| F O U R |

Gleam Canyon Woods

Next day, 09:35 am

***

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"  loud screeching noise impersonating a cockatoo clock rippled through the eerie cabin.

A loud crashing sound was heard upstairs, followed by pained grunts and strings of curse words known to man. "Tha' fuck was that sound," Oliver— a fine built African-America—voiced out, annoyance visible in his chocolate pools, if looks could kill, the noisemaker could have been dead and buried for centuries.

Emily—the mother of the group—was awfully cheerful that fine morning, no doubt had it been her to wake the others; "rise and shine you dipshits! You're gonna sleep the day away," death glares—almost—faltered her perfect blinding smile, almost. "Guys..." she whined, sagging her shoulders—she tried to coax everyone out of bed by promising to do their chores for the rest of the day if they got their asses out of bed, "pu-lease, just get out there and smell the non-toxicated air, why did we even come here if y'all are just going to sleep in, what's a vacation all about?" she droned out.

"Why are you soo happy this early in the morning?" a yawn escaped a redheads mouth, she stifled it the best she could before continuing, "We still have like, what, two more weeks till we go back home. We're tired for Christ sake!" she tiredly pointed out, her eyelids kept drifting down with each word she said; a hard jab to her ribs buzzed her senses awake and sleep seemed to fleet away in an instant.

Her shrill cries turned all five heads towards her, "Melaaany!" her icy, venomous voice had undertones of death coating it, her glacious eyes could turn her twin sister into an ice sculpture if their intensity reached their peak. "Why'd you hit me?"

"Sorry, sis. Was just stretching my long limbs," the smirk evident on her lips said otherwise. "C'mon, Bethany. I didn't do it on purpose, cheer up; turn that ugly frown into one of your magical smiles. Lord knows you look better in those," hurrying out of the shared double bed, she made way to the bathroom knowing that in about ten seconds her sister's rage was about to unleash.

"Melany, get back here," Bethany rushed after her sister hot on her trail.

"Well that was entertaining," Emily drawled out in a bored manner, her cheery self tucked away and forgotten.

A sickening odor diffused around the cabin, everyone's face contoured and crumpled in agony. Sleep long erased from their minds as some scrambled to the opened windows while some flew out the door drawing in the crispy air into the lungs.

"CHRISTOPHER!" Everyone shrieked and shouted at the same time as the smell cleared out.

"What? I—I didn't do anything," he said matter-of-factly.

"Then why do you look guilty as hell, man?" Oliver questioned, his chocolate orbs glinting with accusation.

Embarrassment filled Christopher's features, his chubby face turned crimson as his little white lie came to light. "I think it's the Nachos I eat yesterday on the road," he confessed trying to rid eyes off him.

"I know it's the nachos, Chris—the spicy ones even," another guy stated, not seeming the least amused by the situation.

"Cut him some slack will' ya, Calvin. When Mother Nature knocks you gotta open the doors or something bad might happen," Oliver stated sarcastically bemused by the situation.

Calvin grumbled his words sending stank eyes to Christopher, not liking how the morning started he wore his grey and black runners then grabbed his hoodie from the sofa on his way to have a run to clear his mind and hopefully come back all energized and in a better mood.