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just steal a car like most other gangs? Get my ass beat by every member?” Lying back on the cot, she took a drag off her cigarette. “Kill the person ‘at flashes their lights to warn me I’m drivin’ with mine off? Pick one. I’ll do it.”
    “No, ma’am. It’s all par for the course. I’ll be here with you through it all so you won’t be alone.”
    “Gee. My hero. I can’t tell ya how happy that makes me.” Sarcasm laced through her words like a crocheted afghan as she rolled her eyes.
    “In time.”
     
    Four
    “ What are you doing? Stop it. Todd that hurts! Ow, get off me! Candice, please help m --” That scream first shattered the silence. Back in the middle of the thick woods, at a West Virginia campsite, it was the last thing you wanted to hear.
    Candice sat up. Her brown hair streaked with blonde highlights stood on end from sleeping deep within her warm cocoon. “Janet? What’s wrong?” Bright blue eyes looked around, still half asleep. Reaching down, she unzipped her sleeping bag, kicking to be free. “ Janet? Are you okay? ”
    Alerted by all the yelling, Zach sat up, looking around curiously. “What’s going on?”
    “I don’t know. Janet screamed. Did you hear her?”
    He yawned. “No, just you. What was she screaming about?”
    “I don’t know. Something about Todd hurting her.”
    “Oh, shit.” He ripped his zipper down, staggering off the air mattress, trying to force himself awake. Running a hand through his light brown hair, he looked around for something to wear.
    She rolled off the air mattress, banging her knee on the ground. Clutching it to her chest, she silently cursed. After a few moments, she stood, staggering around in the dark, searching for something to wear.
    He grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans, pulling them on quickly. Grabbing his shoes, he slid them on and raced to the tent entrance. “ Janet? Is everything alright? ”
    Candice staggered over things in the dark, before grabbing a pair of jeans and a shirt. “ Todd, what the hell’s going on? ” She yelled out, wiggling her feet into her shoes. “ Janet, answer me! ”
    Candice Larkin wasn’t one to panic and usually had a cool head on her shoulders. Raised in a dysfunctional family, she suffered severe trust issues. However, it kept her from getting excited over the littlest things. Raised in a family where people blew things out of proportion, she preferred the simple life; drama free. Her childhood was a train wreck with enough tragedy to last a lifetime.
    It was her idea to go camping. It was the Fourth of July and the perfect place to soak up the rays and see the fireworks. It had finally stopped raining and the sun came out. The campground she chose was the River Riders , otherwise known as Bakerton Campground in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia . It wasn’t big but was friendly with charming guides who were funny. There were approximately 44 sites. Sometimes there were more as they overbooked for the extra dough. Some were just big enough for a tent pad as well as a fire pit that was encased in a steel circular-like drum; a piece of steel barrel set on the ground.
    The river, filled with rocks, mud, and trees from the storm, ran along the campground. They allowed campers to take out boats, fish, swim, and go tubing. People went out searching for firewood, as opposed to buying the costly bundles of wood from the central office. The fact that it was the cheapest made it even better. They offered zip lining, rafting, and tubing so it was the perfect place for a week of fun, or so she thought.
    The man with her was Zachary Stewart; tall and lean like a running back on a football team. Her fiancé for two years. His job kept the need for a gym at bay.
    Once dressed, they exited the tent. Staring at the other, they weren’t sure what to think. The horrible sounds coming from within didn’t seem friendly, much less human. The odd ripping, tearing, and squishing sounds echoed around them. Frozen in fear;