(A testimony by Eithen Jones, the only survivor of camp valley hollow, 2020)
You never expect summer to end in blood right?
They said i probably imagined it, that trauma has warped my memories.
But no.
No one could have done what she did.
I was there, i remember everything.
It started like every other summer adventure.
Me, Jass, Macus, Linda and Drake, piling into Linda's SUV.
The windows were down, music up while we were half drunk, well, except for Linda and i.
Valley Hollow had been around for a long time, famous for its stargazing sites, bonfires and no internet service, away from the chaotic city.
Perfect.
Since we were fresh from our final semester, we were ready for a blast of freedom.
The first four days was perfect.
We made new friends, played pranks on each other, swim in the freezing lake at mid night, me and the boys would sometimes sneak out for a quick smoke and only slept a little.
It was freedom.
Until i saw her.
*****
It was evening when we saw her near the edge of the toolsets.
She wore a long black hoodie, her hands hidden in her sleeves and a pale mask covering the bottom half of her face.
Her eyes barely moved as she was surrounded by three bullies.
They were mocking her, yanking the book from her, one pushed her to the wall and called her ' the masked freak '
When she bent down to grab the book , one of them stomped on it.
"Hey", i said to my friends, Standing up from the campfire,
" we should stop them "
" dude, don't bother ", Macus muttered, " she's a weirdo "
" she gives me a serial killer vibe" Jass laughed.
Linda didn't even look up from her phone, "just camp drama, ignore it "
How can i ignore someone being bullied?
I ignored them and walked over to them and shouted at them to back off.
After they left, i picked up her book and offer it to her.
" you okay?" I asked.
But she didn't speak.
Her eyes were locked into mine, her gaze was unsettling still as if she was observing something.
Then she suddenly turned around and ran into the woods.
I stood there confused, but then i thought maybe she is the shy type.
I walked back to the campfire and saw my friends looking at me like am a freak.
" well", Drake said grinning " hero Eithen and the masked cryptid princess?"
" yeah, have you fallen in love hero Eithen?" Jass asked with a knowing smile.
" knock it off " i yelled at them.
We all laughed.
We shouldn't have.
That was the last time i ever laughed.
And on that night, everything fell apart.
I was awake that time when i heard a scream.
It was sharp and it was close.
I immediately jump out of bed and left the carbin with Drake following behind.
Outside, the lights flared in the cabins, people were gathering at a place.
When we got to the source, my stomach sank.
It was Jass, we was crouched in the corner, sobbing, his eyes were wide with terror.
Drake stood beside me frozen, Linda had her hands over her mouth, tears falling.
Macus...Macus was dead.
Butchered.
His body was in his bed...half of it, his corpse sat stiff against the headboard, his mouth was stretched open, his tongue was torn out, the rest of his lower body was missing.
There was blood everywhere.
Drake vomited, i....i couldn't move, i just stood there shock.
What's going on here?
The medic and the rangers came, they searched and questioned us, we told them what we know, we heard nothing.
We slept and woke to find our friend hacked in half.
We were then relocated to another part of the camp, while they investigate.
They also took Jass along for more questioning.
I didn't think she had anything to do with it, she was just a quiet and shy girl.
That night i couldn't sleep, i sat on the window and stared at the sky, deep in thought.
Then from a distance, i saw her sitting on a rock beside the lake.
She sat still, alone, her mask catching the moonlight.
Then suddenly, she looked at my direction and our eyes lock in.
I smiled and waved.
She didn't say anything, she just kept staring at me, after a while, she got up and walked towards the girl section.
" i hope she stays safe"
The next day, Drake vanished after going for a walk.
We all searched around the camp but he was no were to be found.
But that night, they found him, his face.
Just his face, nailed to the ceiling of the mess hall, his eyes were sewn shut, his mouth twisted into a smile made of fishing wire.
Linda collapsed. Jass stopped taking.
The camp was shut down.
Helicopters, evacuation, police sirens.
But it was already too late.
The buses that were taking the first group home was found drowning in a lake.
No one survived.
All the helicopters that arrived exploded for no reasons, killing everyone on board.
The campers were disappearing one after the other, after three days passed, only few of us were left.
Jass was losing his mind, i tried my best to calm him , the three of us decided to sleep together for the night.
Everyone was sound asleep except me, i couldn't sleep, i couldn't lay still on the bed so i got up and went to the window for fresh air.
I wondered what went wrong, everything was going well....there has never been any report of an incident in the camp.
The camp has existed for about 30 years now, so why now?
For the past weeks i was doing my best to hide my fears, but as days went by, i couldn't hide it, i was scared.
Macus, Drake and 14 others were death, the killer is targeting only the campers, why?
Why isn't it attacking the rangers?
Now, only the few of us remained, 14 of us.
They say the police and our parents will be arriving soon, i hope they come quickly i don't want to die, not this way.....
As my mind raised, i heard a sound in the bushes, i froze heart pounding thinking it was the killer.
As i was about to back away and inform the rangers, i saw her coming out of the bushes, wearing the same outfit and mask.
Seeing it was her, i felt relief but also worried.
" what are you doing outside?" I asked.
She didn't respond.
" its dangerous " i said.
She didn't say anything but after a while, she gave me a single nod and walked back to the other cabin.
???
It was the first time she ever gave me a response.
" heh, she sure is a weirdo "
I went back to bed.
Early in the morning, around 6am, we were woken by the screams outside.
A cabin was on fire.
When we reached the spot, my heart sank.
It was the same cabin she entered last night.
No..... the fire was so large that the rescuers couldn't get in, there were no fire fighters in the area.
People were running around with buckets trying to put out the fire, we also joined them.
After about an hour, we were able to put out the fire but.....no one survived.
The bucket dropped from my hands, my knees weakened.
She...she didn't make it.
The rangers couldn't find the source of flames, they couldn't find the cause.
Another incident was left unsolved, now out of the 14 campers, only 7 of us were left.
I stood there , my mind was in a mess, i felt suffocated, we were the only once remaining, we are the next target.
I will die. I don't want to die.....
Tears began to well in my eyes, oh god, please help me.
That afternoon, i sat outside the camp chapel, lost in thought, the smoke still thick in the sky.
She was dead now, the quiet girl in the mask, who everyone ignored.
Bullied.
My heart ached, she didn't deserve such a painful death.
But.....maybe the fire had given her peace.
I climbed the stairs to my cabin, i was so tired, so done with all of things.
When i reached the landing, i paused.
There, standing in front of my cabin door-
It was her.....she's alive.
Still wearing the same old hoodie and mask.
I blinked, my heart lifted, relief washed over me.
" you're alive" i whispered.
She didn't speak.
I smiled, the first real smile in days, but that smile died the moment she lifted her head.
Something was wrong .
Her eyes..... they were too black, glossy, too deep.
It didn't feel human.
I stepped back.
" hey....are you alright?" I asked.
She didn't speak, she just stare at me.
I felt chills, i scent a faint smell of oil coming from her, and looking at her closely, i saw blood stains on her hands and her mask they were not hers but someone else's.
The realization hit me like a rock, but i still didn't want to believe.
" why..?" That was the only word i could mustered.
After a long silence, i heard her voice for the first time.
" they laughed " she said.
"...you did that to my friends and the others ?" I asked in a shaking voice.
" they laughed " she said again, " so i made them stop "
Before i could say anything, she was gone.
****
That evening, Jass and the others were found dead.
When we arrived, we were greeted with a choking smell.
Burned bodies.
Jass's body was suspended above the campfire, his limbs twisted like branches, his stomach was spilt open and his organs were arranged into a smiling face on the dirt.
The others were burning in the fire.
Linda tried to leave with the rest, i told her not to but she was mentally unstable.
I found her phone by the lake, still recording a loop of something dragging chains through the woods, followed by her screams.
Now is me.
Only me. I don't know why.
The rangers took me to their station, my parents would be arriving in three days.
I stayed in the room, sat by the corner with a knife in hand and a flashlight in the other.
I waited.
I kept asking myself, why....why is she doing this?
What is she?
Why am i still alive?
What does she want?
On the last day, she came to me.
She walked into my room like it was hers.
I was sure i locked it, so how?
She stood in front of me, looking down at me.
I gaze up at her, even thought i had a knife, i had a feeling that it was useless.
" why ?" I asked again.
She didn't say anything.
She titled her head, slowly she reached up and peeled off her mask.
I wish i hadn't seen what was underneath.
Her face...it was barely a face, half of the skin had melted and fused, it was red and gruesome.
Her lips were a twisted scar, her teeth looked fused together like melted plastic.
I found it hard to breath.
" i died here" she whispered, " they locked me in the toolsets, lit it on fire and called it a prank"
" i screamed ", she said, " no one came"
" i- i didn't know I'm sorry.. i-"
"I know" she said.
" they called me a monster, so i became one"
She stepped forward and pressed the book that she was holding during our first encounter into my hands.
' A Friend '
" you were the only one"
Then she turned around.....and vanished.
I'm the only one who survived Camp Hollow.
They didn't believe anything i said.
The police found the rest of the campers, what was left of them.
They believe it was the work of a cult.
Am the only one who knew the truth.
That was years ago.
They closed the camp for good after the same incident ocurred.
But this time, no one survived.
My family decided to move me out of the country for the sake of my mental health.
But i still see her in my dreams.
The book she gave me, i can't get rid of it.
I don't know where she is now.
But i would advice you,
If you hear someone sodding near the toolsets,
If you see a girl in a hoodie with an old medical mask....
Don't run.
Don't laugh.
Help her.
Because if you don't.....
She will come when the sky is dark, and she will smile with what is left of her face.
You won't survive like i did.
[ kai returns]
" hahaha, Eithen lived because he was kind"
" just one act unnoticed by others was enough to top the scale"
" hmm, looks like its not just about strength and luck"
" its about who you are when no one watching "
" so let me ask you this"
" if you were at Camp Hollow,
would you had survived?"