Chapter One The night had settled in, and the three of us were gathered in the front room. Bottles stood open on the table, the glasses half-empty. Laughter drifted between us, easy and warm. Lou sat curled in the armchair, her strawberry blonde hair loose around her shoulders, cheeks flushed from the wine. She looked happy. Relaxed. I liked seeing her that way. Phil leaned forward on the sofa opposite me. His bald head c...

Chapter Two - Part Two By the next evening, things had fallen back into their usual rhythm. The day itself had passed in a bit of a blur — a mild hangover, that heavy-headed fog that comes from too much wine and too little sleep. Lou had been quiet most of the morning. She’d gone to her mum’s to pick the kids up while I stayed home and tried to tidy up. Every now and then, the smell of last night’s drink would hit me from...

Chapter Three The car hummed beneath us, tyres whispering over the road. Morning sun streamed through the windscreen, turning the lanes to soft gold. Lou had her bare feet on the dash, a beer balanced loosely in her hand even though it was barely ten. She looked easy and alive, as if the day had already chosen her. Phil sat behind me with his own bottle, the window half-open so a cool thread of air moved through the car....

Chapter 4 We rolled up to the reception hut, a small wooden cabin half-hidden behind a row of wild hedges. A man stepped out to greet us before I’d even switched off the engine. He was tanned, barefoot, and wearing nothing but a wide-brimmed straw hat with the camp’s logo stitched neatly on the front — Bare Woodland. He smiled easily, completely unbothered by his lack of clothes. “Morning,” he said in a warm, cheerful ton...

We slipped into the woods, the three of us moving carefully, our bare feet silent on the soft earth. The air was cool and heavy with pine and damp leaves. We crept toward the muffled moans, each step deliberate, trying not to make a sound. Phil leaned close and whispered, “Lou, didn’t know you watched Ghost Adventures. What season are you on?” Lou whispered back, “I’m up to date — seen all of them.” “What’s your favourite...