Camp Hansen

Chapter 2

"This has got to be a joke!" Camila cursed as she tripped for the fifteenth time over a branch on the ground. "Why do I have to carry more than any of you?!"

"You're not," Normani grunted and pulled on the straps of her backpack. "Just because you're also carrying a guitar case does not mean it's heavier... In fact, I think my bag is probably the heaviest of them all... and while I'm at it... I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, DINAH JANE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"I swear something just moved over there, y'all," Ally whispered behind them. "Did you hear that? That bush just made a noise!"

"It's probably a squirrel or, like, the wind. I love you, girl, but can you be a little less paranoid?" Normani asked exasperated and glared at the two girls in the front who seemed to be having the time of their lives. "I'm going to kill Dinah and then I'm going to kill Lauren..."

"Great, I'm in the woods with a psychopath," Camila muttered and trudged forward.

"Well, you should have seen it coming – didn't you name that stupid song after that horror movie?"

"Could you stop calling my song stupid?! I spent an entire night and countless hours –"

"– and I honestly couldn't care less," Normani brushed her off and quickened her step. "DINAH?!"

"ALMOST THERE!" Dinah shouted back and Lauren giggled as they balanced over a fallen tree. Behind them, the rest of the group rolled their eyes.

"Only those two could enjoy a hell like this," Camila muttered and the two girls nodded. "Did they even realize that there's no signal out here? What if there's an emergency? We're literally cut off from the world..."

"And I doubt there's any electricity either," Normani groaned. "Why did we agree to this madness? Do we really trust Dinah's judgement?"

"No," Ally and Camila chorused.

"But she made some valid points," Ally continued. "If we want to survive this year, we need to bury the hatchet between all of us..."

"It's not like our solo artist over here hasn't already an exit strategy prepared," Normani said venomously and the younger girl clenched her jaw. "Let's just be clear – I'm only doing this for Dinah because that girl has seriously one of the biggest hearts ever."

"... whatever," Camila scoffed and brushed past her.

Normani narrowed her eyes as she stared at the back of the younger girl, ready to say something, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Don't, Mani. She didn't mean it like you think she did," Ally said quietly into her ear. "She's hurt, you know that. You know her."

"Sometimes I don't think I do anymore..."

The rustling of leaves got louder and Ally grabbed Normani's arm in fright. "It's a bear, it's a bear!"

"Ow,  Ally! Stop twisting my arm! It's the wind!"

"There is no wind!" Ally hissed. "We're going to die! We're getting eaten by a cougar! It was only a matter of time, there's not even a friggin' path! We're aimlessly walking through the woods and no one will ever find our bodies... Fifth Harmony is done, we're going to be Fifth Vanished!"

"Hold your horses, Allyson. As if Dinah would have let us go anywhere dange–"

The sharp crack of a branch interrupted her and Normani whirled around.

"Do you still think it's only the wind or a squirrel?!"

"Shh! Don't be so loud," Normani whispered and her eyes frantically searched the area as she started to walk faster, pulling Ally with her. "Guys! Guys!"

"What's up with you?" Camila asked over her shoulder, only to trip over another root. "Fucking damn shit! COME ON!"

"Be quiet!" Normani shoved her before grabbing one of her arms as well when she passed her.

"What the – Normani, let me go!"

"I'm saving your life, idiot! Lauren, Dinah! Please  tell me one of you has pepper spray!"

Dinah helped Lauren from the fallen tree and looked confused at the three running girls.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously, glancing from her to Camila. "You know, this is a team-building trip, I'm not gonna help you with an attack on Mila..."

Camila ripped her arm out of Normani's grasp and quickly put some distance between them.

"There's something in the bushes!"

"Very funny," Lauren said dryly.

"Dinah, you checked if this area is known for wild animals, right? Like, dangerous, man-eating animals with very sharp teeth?" Normani asked, ignoring the comment.

"Oh my God, did Ally put you up to this?" Lauren raised her eyebrows in amusement. "If that's your strategy to finally pull one over Dinah then –"

"I'm serious – there is something in those bushes behind us! This is not  a joke! I heard it and it's big!"

"You're not honestly suggesting that Dinah sent us into the wild without doing some research –"

"Wait," Dinah drawled and furrowed her brow. "Why are y'all talking as if that was an actual possibility? We're in California, what kind of dangerous animal do you expect to be in a forest like this one?"

Suddenly the youngest member of the group was met with four equally shocked stares.

"You're kidding me," Lauren whispered as the other three exchanged horrified glances. "Please tell me you're joking..."

"Don't say that you're afraid of a few bunnies, Lauser," Dinah chuckled awkwardly, trying to ignore the building tension.

"No..." Lauren shook her head. "But I am afraid of bears..."

"... or mountain lions," Camila added.

"Coyotes," Normani continued and Dinah started to laugh nervously.

"Okay, you got me. That was a good one."

"Wouldn't they have attacked us already if it was them?" Camila whispered to Lauren who glanced into the direction they had come from.

"Not sure... maybe we are too many? Or they want to wait until it's dark... but I think that mountain lion attacks on campers are kind of rare..."

"Rare does not mean that they don't happen," Normani hissed. "And I'm certainly not going back that way! They are probably waiting for us over there..."

"Oh Lord," Ally breathed and crossed herself quickly.

"Alright, here's what's going to happen," Lauren said, taking over control, and picked up a thick stick off the ground. "Grab one of those, better safe than sorry. And we stay together. No wandering off. Um, do our phones work here?"

"We already tried," Camila answered, pointing between Normani and herself. "There's no signal."

Lauren sighed. "Okay. Let's just go to wherever that campsite is and then we'll see."

"Uh..." Dinah rubbed her neck and looked from one girl to the other. "Just for the record... you can't deny that my plan is already working... I mean, look at us! Sticking together, facing the danger, protecting one another –"

But Normani's glare silenced her quickly. "Keep talking like that and you're  gonna be the one needing protection from me. That's some team-building exercise right there."

Before anything could escalate, Lauren pulled Normani away from Dinah and gently pushed her forward. "Let's get moving, girls! I want to check that place out and have the camp set up before it's getting dark!"