I looked at Randi, then back at Ollie. I didn't want to mess with this right now. I wanted to try and have a night of fun without having him intrude.
"Let's go," I said to Randi quietly, then turned and started to her house. She caught up and we both ignored Ollie yelling at me.
In under two hours, the other girls had all shown up and we were all laughing and joking. Randi introduced me to three truths and a lie, and we had fun playing that, especially when the girls began saying outrageous things that they swore were truths. Randi insisted on makeovers and trying on dresses, but relented when she had no clothes that came close to fitting me.
Around ten we were laughing and loud and boisterous and she brought out a bottle of vodka from the freezer. I was nervous, I had never drank before, but I wanted to try it at least once. After three shots, I was feeling bulletproof.
"We are going for a walk because it's fucking hot in here!" Randi yelled, staggering to her feet.
There were cheers and we all got up, following her to the door.
"What about the mountain people?" Katie asked worriedly.
"I have been here over a year now and I have never once seen these supposed people. I think you were all fucking with me," Randi said confidently. "I am sure of it. Just local urban legend. Come on! Let's walk up to the Casey's and get junkfood!" she said, swinging her purse over her shoulder.
We all laughed and broke into song, then she pulled a bottle of water from her purse and passed it around. I took a sip, then spit it out. It wasn't 'just' water. "What is this?" I asked.
"Nothing that will hurt you!" Randi said, tipping the bottle back up to my lips. "Try it, it will make you feel awesome! And you will be totally chill." She tipped it up and I had swallowed two gulps before I pushed it back. It tasted terrible.
"What is it?" I asked again, immediately feeling dizzy and my vision swimming. "Did you just give me drugs?"
"You say that like you have never... holy shit Det, have you never tried anything? No drugs? Had you even drank before tonight?"
"Noooo." The word sounded strange to my ears, drawn out and slow. Their laughter as I frowned was slow too.
I blinked, there were too many of them.
I focused on the extra people, standing behind my friends on the road. Were they real? Men. Where had they come from? There were no cars, just the woods on the side of the road that led up the mountain.
"What?" I started to ask as the men moved towards us.
I heard screaming, but it sounded distorted to my ears. I looked up at the man in front of me and he stared down at me. "You need that poison out of you," he said, then grabbed my face and shoved two fingers down my throat.
I went to my knees and vomited, throwing up painfully as a fist had a tight hold on my hair.
"Ugh. Randi, I don't like this stuff! I don't feel good. I want to go home! You shouldn't have... ugh. Not without asking or telling me... Randi?"
"Quiet down girl. You get it all out?"
"What? Who?" I tried to turn and look up, but my world spun and I vomited again. I pressed my face to the rough pavement, wishing I were dead.
The first thing I became aware of was voices. Male voices, echoing oddly. The second was sobbing. I was spinning again, being put down on a hard surface.
I tried to lay down, but hands held me up. "Can you stand, girl?" a male voice asked.
"I don't want to," I whispered. I felt horrible.
"Come on. Stand up. Right here with the others. You, girl, the tall one. Get her clothes off of her."
"Please let us go!" Randi wailed.
I forced my eyes open as someone tried to pull my hoodie off. The room was still wavering, but I was trying to get my bearings.
Who the hell were these men and why were my friends all crying? And who was undressing me? It was Katie who had my hoodie in her hands, her cheeks tear stained in the firelight.
We were in a cave, I realized as I blinked around at everyone. Haley stood up with my yoga pants. They were all completely naked and I looked down. I was as well. I struggled to cover myself.
"I get first pick," a man said confidently and I turned to look at the men blocking the cave entrance. There were seven of them and the one who had spoken and stepped forward was tall and dressed all in black.
"Fuck if you do," a short man in a kilt said, pushing up to the front. "This was my call and I get my choice."
"You don't lead us, Hass," the taller man hissed.
"I don't give a fuck, Bayn, I get first pick. It was me who decided, me who saw them and brought you all in, I get the one I carried."
"Bullshit," another of them said. He looked like the short one in the face, but he was taller.
All of the men had long hair except the short one. His hair was shoulder length and tied back off of his face. He was small, but wiry hard and he looked like he had short man's syndrome, mad at the world.
"You gonna step up for her, Rast?" short man spat. "Or you, Bayn? Will you challenge me for her? Barrett? Any of you? I didn't fucking think so. She's mine."
"Fine. You get her first," the one called Bayn conceded. "I want the tall one first then. The rest of you draw lots and put the others in the stocks to take turns."
There was more screaming and crying as my friends were dragged away. The short man came to stand in front of me and I sort of recognized him. He had forced me to throw up. He was looking me over as if he didn't hear my friends screaming and begging from deeper in the cave.
"Please," I whispered. "Let us go? We weren't bothering anyone!"
His smirk was grim. "Nah. Loud little bitches get what they ask for, don't they? Attention. They asked for this."
"We didn't! We were just trying to have fun."
"You weren't. She gave you too much. The others took more and were fine, but you wouldn't have made it. It was too much."