Land of the Lost

October 30, 2021.

The annual birthday extravaganza had arrived and it was a big one: 30, and not to mention it was her champagne birthday, too; 30 on the 30th.

Sarah had been planning weekend-long hikes and adventures with her friends for her birthday every year since she turned 20, and she was grateful to have spent ten years celebrating not only another year around the sun, but the strong bond between her and her friends as well. In these people she knew she had sisters, brothers, family. Who else in their right mind would show up to trek through snowy mountains with nothing but small backpacks, little-to-no food, and try to sleep in tents while chilled to the bone, just because she wanted to?

Blessed.

This year, since it was the big one, she chose to do the trip she'd always wanted to take. Sarah and five of her friends were to kayak around the coasts of the Pacific Northwest islands for a week, staying close (and safe!) to the mainland before making their way back home to Vancouver Island.

Being October, the sun set around 6pm, so each day the gang began to find a place to dock for the night around 4:30. However, it was nearly 5:30 on day three and they were still paddling in hopes of finding a place to tie up and set up their tents.

"Does anybody else see those lights over there?" Tom called from the rear.

Tom was Sarah's oldest friend. They had met in elementary school and had a wonderful, secure, platonic friendship nearly their whole lives. Sarah felt safest with Tom and vowed to never settle down with anybody until they made her feel the same way he did. Peaceful. For Sarah, anywhere Tom was felt like home. Perhaps that's why she loved these adventurous activities so much, because she always did them with Tom, and he made her feel less scared of the world around her.

"I think I see a dock over there. We should go check it out. We're running out of time before it gets dark," he called.

Nodding in agreement, the group paddled to their left, away from the coastline to a small island off in the distance. It was about a twenty minute trek before they could make out the house on the island; a massive log cabin with a wrap around deck that overlooked the ocean was located just off the dock. As Sarah looked closer, she could make out smaller cabins scattered through the trees off to the right of the main cabin.

The six friends paddled up to the dock just as the sun was going down behind the trees.

"Rapid Ridge Lodge," Brittany said, slowly reading from a wooden sign that hung from a nearby tree. "It doesn't look like anybody's here."

She was right, which Brittany usually was. A mental health worker on the Mainland who worked with the lost souls of the Downtown Eastside, Brittany had seen it all and was a stronger version of herself because of it. Sarah respected the way Brittany's mind worked; how saw the world. She also trusted every bit of advice that ever came out of her mouth.

Sarah looked around and realized there were no boats on the dock, and the lights that were on were coming from the cabins came from the exterior, flood lights.

"I guess we're good to stay here then, hey?" Riley said softly. Riley was Sarah's roommate and best friend, the sister she never had. They went everywhere together; from traveling the world to moving to Vancouver Island together, they had a beautiful balance of being together and never getting annoyed of each other. They seemed to share one brain, always on the same wavelength.

The boys were already tying up their kayaks as the three girls made their way over to the dock. Tom, Cole, and Ryan grabbed their heavy-duty backpacks from the unused back seat of their kayaks and threw them onto the dock and climbed up the ladder. The girls tied up beside them and the boys offered their hands in helping them up.

Standing on the dock, Sarah couldn't help but feel eerie. A slight mist had formed and it looked like rain was heading their way, the sunset was dark and gloomy.

"Shall we go explore?" Cole asked, Ryan nodding enthusiastically beside him.

Right off the bat when they started dating, Cole, Brittany's boyfriend, had quickly become a part of their family. He was a good guy who made everyone laugh and bad times were nowhere to be found whenever he was invited along. He and Ryan were inseperable. Ryan truly was family, blood-related; he was Sarah's sweet and shy younger brother, although he stood 6'3 and towered over her now. He was quiet, and Cole was most definitely not. Ryan was reserved, Cole was goofy and outlandish. The two friends balanced each other out and brought out the best in each other.

"I dunno, I'm scared. It looks creepy here," Sarah said.

"Come on, let's go," Tom said, putting his arm around her and pulling her towards the cabin, into the dark, away from the dock.

"What are the chances that we can find an unlocked door and a fridge full of food?" Cole said.

"For us, anything is possible. Watch, it'll be the first door we try," Tom said.

"You guys really think someone would just let this entire island be abandoned? Come on, there's gotta be at least someone here to take care of it," Brittany said.

Sarah stopped, Tom screeching to a halt beside her. "Brittany's right. There's no way we're here alone right now. We should call out and make ourselves known so we don't upset anyone."

"HELLO???" Cole yelled. "IS ANYBODY HERE?"

The six friends stood in silence.

Nothing.

"OKAY... WE'RE COMING IN." Cole turned to the rest of the group. "Honestly, that's on them if they didn't hear that. I think I tweaked a muscle in my throat."

"Good, maybe you'll be quiet for once in your life," Ryan said.

Sarah couldn't help but giggle. She loved that bringing her little brother around her friends had made him come out of his shell. She was grateful he was here with them. It wasn't always like this.

"Come on, gang. Let's go check this place out," Tom said, taking initiative.

Sarah grabbed Riley's hand as they walked towards the main cabin in silence. Tom reached the door and knocked loudly a few times, but when nobody answered, he tried the door. Suprisingly, it opened without hesitation.

"Ha!" Cole laughed loudly. "I told ya, we're like, the luckiest group of people ever, I knew it would be unlocked. Okay, now what are the odds we find a fridge full of delicious food? Oh man, I would kill for some mac 'n cheese right now."

"Are you ever not hungry?" Riley asked.

"Literally, this man can always eat," Brittany said, rolling her eyes.

Cole pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. He stepped through the door and called out again to see if anybody was around, but when nobody answered, the group took it as a sign to continue.

Searching for a light switch on the side of the wall, Sarah fumbled in the dark before her fingers found what she was looking for. Flicking on the lights, the group had to readjust their eyes in the flouresent lights.

They appeared to be standing in some sort of dining hall. There were rows of folding tables with chairs scattered about. Old coffee cans lined the counter and a coffee pot had leaked black caffiene all over the dusty countertop. A fridge was in the corner; Cole was all over it—he opened it but only found a few condiments that had expired over a year ago.

"Dangit," he said sadly. "I wanted mac 'n cheese."

"Aww, poor baby," Brittany said as she walked up to him. "Maybe we can find something else to eat somewhere."

"I like the way you think," he said as they ventured through a door off the back of the room.

"Hey guys? I think we should stick together," Sarah called after them, but they didn't come back.

The sound of a gunshot erupted from the room Brittany and Cole walked into; a piercing scream followed.

"What was that?! Brittany? Cole?" the group screamed at once.

No response.

Tom grabbed Sarah. "Go wait outside, I'm going to go check on them," he said. "Ryan, stay with the girls."

"No," Sarah cried. "What if someone is in there with a gun?"

"They could also be playing a prank, you know Cole."

"True, fine. Okay but be careful, I love you," Sarah warned.

"I'll be fine, I'll be right back. I love you too," he said.

Sarah, Riley, and Ryan walked out the door they had come through and back into the cold, wet air. It had started raining and fog encircled the island.

"...That wasn't a gunshot, was it?" Riley asked. "Do you think there's somebody else here? Do you think Brittany and Cole are okay?"

Sarah and Ryan exchanged nervous glances.

"I hope so," Sarah finally said.

A twig snapped in the dark trees beyond them. Then another one. Somebody was walking towards them.

"Do you guys hear that?" Riley said.

"Come on, let's go towards these other cabins," Ryan said.

"I don't wanna split up from Tom and them, the last thing we need is for all of us to get separated," Sarah protested.

The sound of a cracking heavy branch falling from a nearby tree was enough to make Sarah forget about what she had just said. She grabbed Ryan's hand as they ran.

Turning the corner of the main lodge, they stopped dead in their tracks. Facing a clearing in the trees, they saw on the path towards the other smaller cabins, under the moonlight, was a figure in a long black dress pacing the trail. She wore her hair in loose, dark curls down her back, and was so frail and thin, she almost seemed transparent.

"I know I'm not the only one seeing this right now," Riley said under her breath.

Sarah couldn't believe what she was seeing. Dizzy, she stumbled back but Ryan caught her. A stick snapped under her feet, and the lady in the distance shot her glance towards the trees where the three of them stood.

Sarah looked to her roommate and brother with bewildered eyes. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't feel good," she apologized, "I'm scared."

When they looked back to see if the woman was still watching them, the trail was empty.

"Where did she go...?" Riley asked.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ryan said.

The three of them quickly darted through the dark trees but the fog was rolling in thicker the closer they got to the other cabins. They could barely make out the lights that lit up the doorframes, and they had no idea how deep the trees went. The ocean crashed against the shoreline, but they didn't know how close they were to it. The fog made them lose all sense of direction, so they held tightly onto one another as they made their way through the forest.

A small A-frame cabin suddenly appeared before them, the front porch light shining bright like the entrance to Heaven. Ryan quickly jumped up to the windows to see if anyone was in there, but it was dark. He tried the door—again, it was open.

"You guys, we need to go find Tom and the others," Sarah said.

"Come on, at least we can get out of the rain as we come up with a game plan," Ryan said.

The three friends stepped inside to dry off and calm down. The cabin was bare, except for a small fireplace and a few wooden chairs.

"I think we're safe here," Ryan said.

Pulling out her phone, Sarah began calling Tom. Waiting for the line to start ringing and impatiently pacing in front of the fireplace, she checked the bars on her phone.

"Oh great," she snapped, "no bars."

Riley and Sarah exchanged worried looks. Everyone sat in silence, until they could suddenly hear something coming from outside the door.

"Do you guys hear that?" Riley asked, leaning her ear closer to the window. "It sounds like... a baby is crying."

"What? There's no way," Ryan said as he went to open the door to check.

"No, don't!" Sarah dove after him. "Kidnappers use the sound of crying babies all the time to lure women out of their houses. It's a trap. There's no way there's a baby out there, alone in the woods." Sarah smacked Ryan across the head. "Use your head, dummy."

"Woah, sorry I'm not a woman and never have to think about being kidnapped. I don't know all the rules."

"Yeah, lucky you." Sarah rolled her eyes. "I think our best bet is to run back to the big lodge, find the others, and race back to our kayaks and find a different place to sleep. The moon is out, it's bright enough to paddle, and it's not storming hard enough to make waves. I don't feel safe here and I'd rather sleep literally anywhere else."

"Why don't we just find Tom and the others and bring them back here to this cabin? It would get warm in here with all of us and we can lock the door, maybe even start the fire."

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't feel safe here, Ryan."

"So you'd rather make everyone get back in their kayaks after an exhausting day and travel to who-knows-where to go sleep in the rain?"

"I cannot believe we share DNA because your logic is just so stupid, I swear you have no sympathy for others and I—"

"You never feel safe, you're always running. Running and running and running."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You guys?" Riley whispered, her hand on the doorknob. "There are kids out there, I can hear them... I'm gonna go check..." She opened the door and stepped outside just as Sarah turned to look at her.

"Riley, NO!" Sarah called, running outside after her.

"Where did she go? She was just here!" Ryan yelled.

"I'm over here," her voice called in the distance. The fog was thick now, they couldn't see her.

"Riley, just come back towards the cabin! Follow the light!" Sarah yelled.

"I think I can hear her," Ryan said. "Stop, listen."

The two stood in the misty trees holding hands as they listened to the silent world around them. A faint lullaby came from somewhere nearby.

"Is she singing?" Sarah whispered.

"Let's follow it."

Sarah and Ryan carefully made their way through the trees, making sure each step was in the right direction towards the sounds of the melodies. The singing grew louder and louder until they could make out a figure in the dark.

"Riley?" Sarah whispered.

"I found the kids," Riley said, pointing to the ground ahead of her.

They looked to see where she was pointing: Two unmarked tombstones.

"We shouldn't be here," Sarah said. "Let's go back and find the others."

"For once in my life, I agree with Sarah," Ryan said. He tried to turn with his arm still around Riley, but she wouldn't budge. "Come on Riley, let's go."

"Something bad happened here," she said.

"All the more reason for us to get the hell out of here," Sarah said, grabbing Riley's arm and pulling her towards the direction of main lodge.

"Look!" Riley pointed across the field, "she's back!"

The ghostly woman in black made her way through the fog towards the tombstones, singing a soft melody as she floated across the mossy forest floor.

"I don't think that was Riley you heard singing earlier," Sarah whispered.

"I recognize that song, like from my childhood. Shhh..." Riley said, leaning in to listen.

"Row, row, row your boat... Gently down the stream... Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily... Life is but a dream."

"This is creepiest thing I've ever seen, let's get the fuck out of here, please, I beg of you guys," Ryan said.

"Right behind you," Sarah said.

Just as they turned to go back the other direction, the woman in black was suddenly in front of them, looking them dead in the eyes, only she was dead in the eyes, which were sunken in and black. Her teeth were rotten and she had purple spider veins running across her face.

Pointing one, long, dirty fingernail towards the three adults, she whispered so quietly they could barely hear her, "The water will kill you, and if the water doesn't kill you, he will."

"Who?" Riley asked in a trance.

"He will kill you, he will kill you..." the ghostly woman muttered. "He killed me for loving our children."

"Your husband?" Riley asked again.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..." The ghost began to cry as she sang, floating away through the trees.

"Let's go," Ryan said sternly before he grabbed the two girls by the arms.

Leading the way back to the main cabin, the girls complied and followed in silence as they processed what they had just witnessed. They arrived back at the door where they had split up from the others, and Ryan pushed the door open.

"I'll go check it out, you two stay here."

"Be careful, that seriously sounded like a gunshot earlier so please, be careful," Sarah begged Ryan.

"I'll be fine, just take care of Riley and make sure she doesn't talk to any more ghosts."

Ryan stepped through the door, as the girls stood outside in the darkness. Again, a twig snapped in the trees not far from where they stood, and Sarah's heart started racing.

"Never mind, we're not staying out here alone," Sarah said. "Come on." She opened the door and saw Ryan standing in the dark. "We've changed our minds, we're coming with you."

"Shh." Ryan held up his finger and leaned into the darkness to listen. "I think I hear something coming from the room they went into."

Ryan was right; Sarah could hear what sounded like whimpering.

"You guys, that could be Brittany," Sarah said. "She could be hurt."

Losing all fear, Sarah pushed past her brother and through the door that led to the other room. It was dark but Sarah could make out a giant kitchen, equipped with stoves and hood fans and long, stainless steel counter tops. Pots and pans hung suspended from the ceiling above the island. A chef's dream.

"Brittany?" Sarah whispered.

"Sarah?" a weak voice called out. A cabinet door from under a gigantic sink swung open. "Sarah, is that you?"

"Oh my God, Brittany, what are you doing under there?"

"We need help," Brittany cried.

Sarah ran over to the sink to help Brittany out of the hole she had crawled out of, when she noticed Brittany was covered in blood.

"What happened?! Where's Cole?"

Brittany started crying harder and pointed. "He's in there, but he's not doing well," she whimpered.

"Cole?" Sarah dove to her knees to open the door to assess the situation. Cole was passed out with his flannel shirt tied tightly around his stomach.

"He's bleeding a lot and he's drifting in and out of consciousness. We need to get him to a hospital but we are in the middle of fucking nowhere and I can't lose him but what are we supposed to do—"

"Okay, Brittany, you're gonna have to calm down because you're gonna make me freak out and we're no good when we're freaking out. Cole? Cole, answer me," Sarah said, grabbing Cole's face. She moved the flannel shirt to check out the wound and she almost threw up when she saw the gaping hole in Cole's abdomen.

"Sarah?" Cole grunted in response.

"Oh my God, Cole. I'm so happy you're awake. Stay with us buddy. Who did this to you?"

"So much for mac 'n cheese," Cole grumbled.

"At least he still has his sense of humour," Sarah said to Brittany, trying to lighten the dark situation. "I'll be right back, I'm getting Ryan and Riley. Wait... where's Tom?"

"He ran off to find the guy who did this to Cole and we haven't seen him since. We've been hiding in case he came back."

"Okay, stay here and keep pressure on his wound. Be right back."

Sarah snuck out the door to the room where she left Ryan and Riley, who were nowhere to be found. Great, Sarah thought. Looking around at the dining hall, she saw a different entrance on the far side of the room. Pushing open the door, it led to a small set of stairs, into a massive banquet room with floor to ceiling windows, and what would be a beautiful view of the ocean and moutain scenery that surrounded the island if it weren't for the fog and rain, complete with chandeliers and an abandoned bar.

Running her fingers over the bar top as she walked by, Sarah looked up at the dusty shelves at the half-empty bottles. She shuddered at the thought of alcohol; it reminded her of her father. Their childhood had been hard; he drank a lot and it often affected his mood. When he was hungover, the kids had to tiptoe around the house, and God-forbid they ever woke him up... He had nearly smacked the life out of Ryan one morning when Ryan laughed too hard, waking him out of his whiskey-induced coma. Ryan didn't laugh so much after that. Neither did Sarah.

She noticed a bottle of Jack Daniels sitting on the back of the bar with a glass beside it. It looked like it had been used recently, and upon closer glance, Sarah noticed there was condensation down the side of the glass, as if someone had forgotten they put down their whiskey on the rocks.

Or maybe they got distracted.

Sarah couldn't imagine anyone from her gang drinking, so that could only mean one thing: Someone else was here.

"What do you think you're doing?" a deep voice grumbled from behind her.

Spinning around, Sarah stumbled back when she saw a scruffy looking man with a long beard standing in the dark by the window. He was wearing a hat and she couldn't really make out his face, until he took a step towards her. A gun holster hung off his pants and the silver gun in it reflected in the moonlight as he moved closer.

"Are you deaf? What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I-I'm sorry, my friends and I needed a place to sleep and we tied to your dock and we didn't mean to intrude but now I can't find any of them and we'll leave as soon as we find each other, I promise." Sarah felt the colour drain from her face as the man reached for his gun. "If you let me go I promise I will find my friends and we will leave," Sarah begged. "Please, just give me like, ten minutes. I don't wanna die," she whimpered.

"You're looking for your friends, huh."

"Yessir."

"Why do you always need to be with your friends?"

"What?"

"I know where one of 'em is at."

"Where?"

"I'll take you there."

Nearly paralyzed, Sarah managed to nod her head in agreement. Agree with the scary man, do what he says, find his weak spot, then attack, Sarah thought.

"Um, do you live here?" Sarah asked.

"Used to be a fishing lodge," the man said, turning away from Sarah as he opened a door that led outside. "My lady and I live over there," he pointed down a dark path, "that's where your friend is."

He stepped outside into the darkness and Sarah quickly followed his sillouhete through the trees until they reached the cabin, for she didn't want him to disappear. She knew Tommy was on the other side of the door.

"Well go on, what're you waitin' for?" the man asked, pushing Sarah through the door.

Stepping into the man's home, she saw newspaper clippings scattered on the dining room table. Noticing the date, October 30th, 1991, and a headline that read:

TRAGEDY TAKES PLACE ON PENDOR ISLAND, THREE DEAD

1991, how strange—that was Sarah's birthday. Had she traveled back in time, or were they just old newspapers? Confused, her eyes darted to the man, who stood in the doorframe in his power position with his hands on his gun.

"Is your wife home?"

"She's with the kids."

"You have kids?"

"Two of 'em."

"How old are they?"

"Eight and ten."

"What are their names?"

"Sarah and Ryan."

A lump formed in Sarah's throat as tears formed in her eyes. It was all a weird coincidence that Sarah's father had left when she was ten and Ryan was eight, but there's no way this could be him. The man started loudly laughing, a deep belly laugh that roared through the whole house. While the man was distracted, Sarah crept backwards up the stairs to the second floor as she kept her eye on the man, who seemed to be having a manic episode. Sarah didn't know if this was a trap, or if Tom was really in the house.

On the second floor, she heard moaning coming from a door to her left. Quickly opening it, she gasped when she saw Tom laying on the floor, blood all over his shirt.

"Tom!" Sarah gasped.

"Sarah," Tom groaned, "I'm not doing very good."

"What happened?! Oh my God Tommy, no," Sarah cried as she dove beside him and cradled his head in her arms.

"The guy in the hat shot me in the back and dragged me up here. Sarah, you have to get the others and get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Sarah, I'm dying. We are miles away from a hospital. I'm not gonna make it."

"Tommy," Sarah cried. "He shot Cole, too. Why is he doing this to us?"

"I have no idea. You have to get out of here, Sarah. Promise me you will find the others and get out of here."

"I don't wanna leave you."

"You have to. I want you to."

Sarah sat crying as she held Tommy in her arms, shaking as she sobbed.

"What have I gotten us into? This is all my fault. Now you and Cole are hurt and I don't know where my brother and Riley are, and I..." Sarah looked down at her dearest friend, "I love you so much, I don't want to lose you."

Sarah waited for Tommy's reply.

"Tommy? Tom!" Sarah whispered as she shook him. He was unresponsive. "Oh my God," Sarah said, trying to find his pulse on his neck, then his wrist. She put her head to his chest and listened, but she didn't hear anything.

No heartbeat.

"Oh my God," Sarah said again. "Holy shit, Tom," she sobbed.

Just then the door flew open and the man stood in the hallway. Sarah began to scream at him.

"Why did you do this? Why are you hurting us?"

"People can't be trusted," the man replied. "It's better here when its quiet, and y'all are distrupting my peace."

"You killed your wife and kids too, didn't you?"

"She deserved it. They all do."

"You're sick," Sarah said. Her sadness had quickly turned to anger.

"My wife and I ran this lodge, lived here in the off-season, too. Caught her with another man, one of the guests. At first, I didn't understand. Took me a few weeks to realize the depth of what she had done." The man took a step closer to Sarah. "She had chose someone else for a fleeting minute over me. We built a life together. I gave her everything she ever wanted. Two beautiful children. A life that others would only dream about, here on this island. Then the season ended and it was just the four of us, but we didn't feel like a family. She screwed it all up, so I took care of it. We weren't a family anymore."

"You killed your kids?"

"They killed themselves that day in the ocean. I always taught them what to do in a time of crisis, so I put them to the test, but they didn't learn their lesson."

"What did you do?"

"I put a hole in the bottom of their canoe, but they were too ignorant to check it before they went out that day. The ocean did what the ocean does; it got mad and angry, and they began to sink, and soon the waves washed them away forever. That was enough to drive my wife mad, and it's what she deserved. She was always running, running, running. Couldn't sit still for a second, that woman. Just like you."

Sarah was silent as tears ran down her cheeks. She thought about how frightened his children must have been out at sea, who had put their trust in their father, who let them down, just like her own father. She thought of Ryan, her sweet brother. He had put his trust in her on this trip, and she had brought them into danger. She brought all of them into danger, and now Tom was dead and Cole could be too by now, she had no idea.

Sarah was just as bad as the man who stood before her.

"You disrupt my peace, I disrupt yours," the man said and spit on the floor beside where Sarah sat. "Killed her just as easy as I'm gonna kill you." The man lifted his gun and aimed it at Sarah.

He took a step closer, and Sarah was able to see his face for the first time. A wild, sinister look sprawled across his face. Her father.

"Happy birthday, Sarah."

An explosion went off; Sarah opened her eyes.

Laying on her bed in a puddle of her own sweat, Sarah looked around her room and realized she was in her pyjamas and in the comfort of her own home. Sitting up in a panic, she checked her phone beside her. It was 3:04am on October 20, 2021.

Sarah shook her head. Goosebumps ran all over her body as her sweaty clothes cooled on her skin. She picked up her phone and called Tommy, not caring what time it was.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered after a few rings.

"Oh, thank God, you're alive," Sarah said. "I just had the craziest dream."

"Oh, thank goodness I'm alive," Tom said.

"You have no idea, it felt so real. Thank you for answering. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight. I love you, Tom."

"I love you too, Sarah. Get some sleep."

The line went dead, and Sarah let out a relieved sigh. She couldn't believe how real her dream had felt. She got up and changed out of her sweaty clothes, then went and laid on the couch in her living room and eventually drifted off to sleep to the sounds of her television, which she turned on to distract her from her nightmare.

The next morning, Sarah still felt off and had a few last minute things to do before the gang left on their trip in two days. As she walked out the front door of her apartment building, she stopped to grab the mail in the front lobby. In her mailbox was the newspaper, and a headline quickly caught her attention:

TRAGEDY TAKES PLACE ON PENDOR ISLAND, THREE DEAD

Sarah gasped and dropped the newspaper. There was no way she read that right. She picked it up and read it again. There it was, the headline from her dream.

Digging into her tote bag for her phone, Sarah quickly pulled up the groupchat she had started with Riley, Ryan, Tom, Brittany, and Cole.

Hey guys, birthday trip is cancelled. Sorry if you've already begun to get ready for it, I just have a bad feeling and think I should trust my intuition. How about I have you all over for a night in and we do dinner at home instead? All that matters is your company, perhaps I'm getting too old for the adventures.

Sure, if that's what you want, Riley replied.

Is everything okay with you? Tom asked.

I'm good, I promise, Sarah typed. I think it's time I stop running and chasing something outside myself, that's all.

I'm down for anything, Sis, as long as you're happy, Ryan replied.

Dinner sounds lovely! We'll be there, and we're always there for you too, Brittany typed on behalf of both her and Cole.

Sarah smiled. Her friends were so understanding, and even if it was just a dream, she had to protect them at all costs. She put the newspaper in the recycling and turned around to go back upstairs. Typing on her phone, she sent one last message to her friends:

Can't wait to celebrate 30 with you all and I'm blessed to have spent the last ten years with you guys. I love you more than you know. ❤️

And that, she did.