1 Chapter 1

*Please read Author's note before starting*

Adanna stood in the doorway of her sorority, a waft of fruity perfumes and suntan lotion tickled her nose, making her crinkle her nose. After packing her stuff away at her best friend, Nessa's apartment, she made sure to only have enough for a carry on when she boarded the plane to go back home in a couple of weeks. Adanna missed her home, Cape Town South Africa. She could almost hear the sound of waves crashing up against the bright shoreline, the smell of vendors cooking along the boardwalk.

It certainly was heavenly. But, she had decided to wait to depart from the states because she had about 3 weeks left on her Visa. She wanted to see a little more of America, her curiosity about how Americans spent the summer heat peaking when half of her class went to Myrtle Beach in Florida for Spring break. Oceanside beaches she understood after all her childhood home was merely a 20-minute drive from the beaches in South Africa. No, Adanna wanted to be close to mountains, to experience the Americas the way the Native Indians did.

Upon hearing the news that Adanna wanted to stay for a little while longer, Nessa immediately booked a plane for their whole friend group to go to Colorado. Adanna figured there were ulterior, greener, motives that Nessa had, but of course, she denied it.

"God no, we're going because of an incredible national forest system right by the mountains. We can totally just jump to each campsite every couple of days or so." Nessa had said.

Adanna reached for her cell phone to call Nessa for a ride from her sorority house to Nessa's apartment. Her finger was hovering over the best friend's speed-dial when a bright red Corvette pulled up loudly. She waved as the stick-thin Asian boy popped his head out of the window.

"Need a ride, nerd?" Kasem lifted his sunglasses up onto his forehead.

Adanna shoved her phone in her backpack and jumped down the stairs to her friend. "Hell yeah! You headed over to Nessa's too?" she asked as she settled into the passenger seat. She turned to look at the sorority house as they pulled away. She didn't bother to say goodbye to anyone, she wasn't close to any of those girls. She just needed to look good on paper.

"Well, duh. We're free for the summer, that means tonight we party!" Kasem grinned mischievously as he shifted into neutral coming up to the stoplight before the on-ramp. "I may not drink, but I damn well know how to have a good time."

Adanna flashed a wicked smile and tightened the harness wrapped around her shoulders. She knew what this meant, and was proven correct as Kasem threw the sports car into 1st and ripped onto the highway.

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Adanna and Kasem arrived a little bit later than the rest of the crew to Nessa's place. They had decided to drive around for a little while just to shoot the shit. Kasem and Adanna were close, being they understood each other more. Adanna actually knew how to speak Mandarin fluently, so it was more comfortable for them to communicate with each other. Adanna knew lots of languages, but mostly exercised Zulu, her family's native tongue, so it was nice to use her skills in the US.

"Welllllll welllllll if it isn't our two favorite foreigners!" A perky, classic American beauty poked her head from the balcony above them.

"We're your only foreigners, dingus!" Kasem laughed at Kate.

Kate lifted her Solo cup in the air, "Well then get up here and paaarrtaaayy." She was definitely drunk and definitely slurring her words. Next to her an unfamiliar male face popped up and ushered her back to the hammock on the large balcony.

Adanna sneered. "Looks like she has another beard." She said, referring to the poor, possibly virgin man upstairs desperate for any womanly attention.

"Whatever I guess, she's not ready to come out, and she does NOT sleep with men, so I really don't care."

Kasem threw open the apartment door and almost knocked over a 6'2" blonde boulder of a man about to open the door.

"Yikes! Dave, you need to be more careful!" Kasem chuckled and slugged Dave on the arm. But Adanna was here now, so Dave's attention was completely directed at her.

"Hey.." He gave a little half-smile as his eyes softened.

Adanna blushed and turned towards the fridge, "Hey man! Where's the beer?" As she turned she didn't notice the dejected look on Dave's face. It was no secret what he felt for her, and she'd be lying if she said the feelings were one-sided, but with her living in South Africa for half the year, and then busy studying towards her future, she had no time to stop and flirt. She was always a driven woman, and men just take up your time.

Dave understood this, but never gave up hope that someday they'd be together. Her dark soft skin glowed in the sunlight and her makeup-less face always adorned her slightly geeky glasses. But the beauty outside was just a bonus. Her intelligence, her drive, and her radiant heart were what separates her from every other girl at the college.

He leaned over and plucked a Busche light from the fridge. "It's waiting for you, hotshot." Dave pinched one of the charms on the end of her braids. It was the one Nessa picked out. When Adanna had her braids done last, she opted for her friends to pick out some beads for her. She wanted to go home with a piece of every one of them to feel close to her American family. "Nessa is in her room, stressing over what to wear to the bonfire, and why Kate came over with some rando."

Adanna sighed and popped open a beer, "I'll go do damage control."

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After setting Nessa straight and packing their booze into a cooler, they all crammed into Dave's large F150. Dave of course insisted Adanna sit next to him, and next to her Nessa pouted, while everyone else squished into the back. Every year a group of students has a huge bonfire to celebrate the beginning of summer. It was always something Adanna looked forward to- as before the sun went down, some teachers would mingle for a while. This gave Adanna time to network.

Nessa hung onto Adanna's arm, "Please don't be a total nerd today and party with us," she whined.

Adanna rolled her eyes, "I'll try not, but the nights young, darling."

From the moment she got there to the time the sunset and the teachers left, her mind was on working. But now, as she looked around at her friends and fellow peers, she decided it was time to relax. Peering over at her friend group, she noticed a group of guys standing around Nessa. Curious, Adanna sauntered over.

".... oh sick you guys are going to Colorado? You should totally visit this creepy old town, Pine Falls. It's hella off the map and HELLA hills have eyes."

Upon hearing this Kate perked up. Clutching her drink she promptly sat right next Nessa, pressing against her as she leaned in for the dirty details. Nessa blushed bright red, and the random boy Kate brought with just gazed hopelessly.

"Did I just hear you say… creepy?" Kate asked excitedly. The group rolled their eyes collectively. Kate was known to be incredibly superstitious and gullible about anything supernatural.

"Yeah, and hella hills have eyes." the boy chuckled, "I would not stay there, there's some creepy shit going on around there."

Kate bounced up and down, "Oh please tell me!"

The boy watched her closely, and gave a slimy grin, "Hell yeah, where to even start…" It was clear he just had this pretty girl's attention and didn't want to give it up.

"Okay, there's this one story of a young girl who haunts the local lake. There's a legend that she's looking for someone, and if you aren't then she'll follow you home and kill you! She also comes out on stormy nights to stand at the edge of the forest line, watching you quietly until you fall asleep…" He raised his eyebrows.

Kate stomped her foot, "And?"

"I've heard another rumor there that the town used to be a place where an occult performed human sacrifices and conversed with the dead. It was basically creepy headquarters and its believed they're still alive. Even though they'd be way over 150 years old. They take visitors in the night and hang them by their toes."

"Whoa…" Kate's mouth formed a perfect O, "That sounds awesome! It would be a great place to visit on our camping trip!" She looked excitedly at her friends, "We should totally go!"

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