As the sun begins to set, the seven sit at their table joking and laughing, sharing their experiences and catching up on their lives since the night of the full moon. To Dylan, it almost feels surreal to see everyone back together being so cheerful like they were during the Summer. He peeks at Ryan who is sitting next to him through the corners of his eyes, watching how he sits contently listening to everyone's stories. He smiles warmly but averts his gaze, noticing his hands resting upon his lap shaking rather violently. He feels his heart almost sink to his stomach as he reaches for his them swiftly, holding them tightly causing him to jump in surprise. Ryan turns to look at him and offers a smile of gratitude whilst Dylan winks reassuringly in return.
"Are you alright?" He whispers stroking his palm tenderly.
"Yeah, just a little uneasy." He admits with a shaky sigh.
"Yeah, me too. Lemme know if you need a breather." He insists to which Ryan nods in confirmation.
"Alright, alright! We're here to party right? How many of you crazy animals wants to get wild?!" Jacob shouts in excitement as he jumps up from his seat bouncing on his feet.
"And how do you suppose you will get "wild", sir?" An older voice with a slight accent replies out of the blue startling him as he jumps in surprise and falls back into his seat.
The teens' heads snap to the direction of the voice, only to be met with a man who seems to be in his forties dressed in a black suit with a red tie; arms covered in an array of silver jewellery and neatly styled hair greying at the ends. They stare at him in awe.
"H-hello, sir." Jacob greets nervously as he swallows a lump in his throat.
"Greetings. How are we doing on this fine evening?" He replies politely with a toothy smile that causes his eyes to squint and face to wrinkle.
"We're doing good, sir! We're just having a little get together; a reunion you could say." Emma informs confidently smiling back. Dylan holds tighter onto Ryan's hand who notices and places his other on top to comfort him back.
"You're the camp counsellors of Hackett's Quarry, aren't you?" He asks still grinning causing everyone to stare wide eyed in surprise.
"That we are, sir! It's nice to meet you!" Emma replies kindly as she rests her chin in the palm of her hand.
"Emma?!" Kaitlyn mutters in annoyance as she senses her being too open with the stranger. Emma waves her off rolling her eyes to which she scoffs.
"Ah, may I ask why you returned to North Kill on this fine evening?" He persists, slowly adjusting his tie as his smile falls ever so slightly, beginning to circle the table with delayed steps.
"Well, we just thought we'd meet up at the place we had an amazing Summer together!" She explains cheerfully as she watches his movements.
Abigail gulps nervously and Nick notices, resting a hand on her thigh in hopes to comfort her. She flinches but offers a small smile of gratitude as he gives her a confident nod of reassurance.
"Hmm... And are you aware that the full moon wanes tonight?" He proceeds, his expression switching in an instance as he presses his lips togetger in a thin line startling Emma as she stares at him in surprise.
"Uh, y-yeah! Of course, we know! I just thought it would be like a celebratory thing for us if that makes sense?" She blurts out in a hurry growing anxious.
"Of course." He agrees with another grin before stopping in his tracks behind Abigail's seat. She gazes up at him shaking, her bottom lip quivering. "Though you never should have returned." He warns monotonously, gripping onto her chair with both hands firmly.
"Wha-wh-what is that supposed to mean?!" Dylan questions as he rocks in his seat. Ryan clutches onto him tighter as he stares in shock.
"You've made a grave mistake." He states as he slowly reaches behind his back.
"How?" Kaitlyn questions growing impatient. "Tell us you prick!" She yells slamming the table to which he chuckles condescendingly.
"By coming here, you have angered her. Her presence is dwelling upon us at this very moment. This moon-filled night belongs to her son and she will not let you naive children take that from her." He reveals gravely as his hand returns to his side holding a strange object they can't make out.
"Bu-but? No, I don't believe this?!" Emma yells in fear.
"You'd better believe it, Emma! It's the night of the full moon after all, you know this!" Ryan retorts angrily as she shoves the table with a slam.
"He's a smart one." He chuckles gesturing towards Ryan.
"What the fuck are you holding?!" Kaitlyn shouts as she eyes the black object at the man's side.
"Ah, yes." He proceeds as he raises it, only to reveal a pistol adorning his sinister smirk.
The table gasp in unison as they stare at it with terror. Abigail's eyes travel slowly to the right until they land upon the pistol being held next to her. Her heart sinks as she freezes in disbelief. Nick watches intensely as he feels his blood boiling.
"Now." He begins as he slowly places the gun to her temple. She begins to hyperventilate as everyone freezes, not wanting to cause a fatal mistake. "Alexander!" The man suddenly calls, causing everyone to flinch before a slightly taller man also dressed in a black suit enters from behind the bar. He makes his way towards the table with his arms behind his back adorning a blank expression. "Take your pick." He spits biting his lip as he presses the gun harder against Abigail's temple. She shudders, trembling as tears stream down her face.
It isn't long before Alexander sets his eyes on Jacob, grabbing his arms, pulling some rope from his jacket and tying them behind him. He kicks and squirms but struggles to resist as Alexander successfully restrains him.
"Excellent choice." The man responds licking his lips as he watches the terrified boy struggling. "Now pick another and begin the sleeping process." He instructs as he grips Abigail's shoulder roughly.
"Please, man. Please just let her go!" Nick begs distraught as he watches Abigail's horrified expression.
"That one's mine." Alexander informs monotonously as he stomps towards Nick's seat, grabbing his arms roughly and tying them up much to his efforts to escape.
"Brilliant. Now begin the sleeping." He commends as he releases Abigail's shoulder and reaches into his jacket, removing a clear package of filled syringes and tossing it towards him.
"Those two you tied up, them first. Take 'em to the place." He instructs to which Alexander nods swiftly, opening the package in anticipation.
"I swear to god, let us fucking go you bastards!" Kaitlyn yells angrily grabbing a fork from the table and throwing it towards him. He leans to the side quickly dodging it.
"Nice try." He snickers before his face falls blank. "Try something else and I'll put a bullet through her skull." He warns making her shudder at his daunting tone.
"NO!" Abigail screams earning a firm grasp around her neck with his arm causing her to cough violently.
"Now, begin." He commands watching Alexander as he presses the tip of the needle to a desperate Nick's neck. Within seconds, the boy falls limp, his head slamming against the table.
Alexander then makes his way to Jacob who leaps out of his seat in attempts to tackle the man but earns a heavy punch to his head knocking him out cold onto the ground. Alexander chuckles devilishly as he shakes off his reddened knuckles.
"Nicely done. Hand me a syringe." He demands and Alexander quickly tosses him one. He catches it with a smirk. "Take care of that bitch, I've got this one." He proceeds gesturing to Kaitlyn with his gun who spits in Alexander's face before earning a harsh stab in the neck with the needle. Her voice is shrill as she screeches before falling against the table.
Dylan swallows his desperate urges to scream as he watches his friends fall one by one around him. He eyes Ryan's terrified state who holds his hand so tight it begins to lose circulation.
"Alright, that little bitch and this one can go to the forest." The man mutters through gritted teeth in anger, spitting on every word.
"What about the other three?" Alexander asks plainly as he gazes at them.
"Knock 'em out and tie 'em up here. We'll decide when we're back." He instructs waving him off as he begins to drag an unconscious Abigail across the floor.
One by one, Emma then Ryan and finally Dylan who calls for his boyfriend helplessly as his vision grows cloudy and hearing deafens to the sounds around him.