At the end of the hallway, Leigh and Theodore were waiting for me, right next to the school’s exit. I couldn’t help but smile as I saw their faces, and they smiled back at me because we knew that we were ready to start the long-awaited summer vacation together.

Unfortunately for us, our joy didn’t last long, as we spotted Isaac lingering just outside the school grounds with his friends. We knew what trouble could arise from crossing paths with him right now, so we decided to wait until he left before making our way out.

Leigh, with her long, flowing golden hair and green eyes, radiated confidence and kindness. She was always the one who lightened the mood and made everyone else laugh. Theodore, on the other hand, had a more reserved demeanor; with his thick glasses and messy brown hair, he didn’t talk much, and his emotions were most of the time very well hidden. He was the analytical type, always thinking deeply about everything, and he always had a solution for every problem they had faced so far.

Isaac was nowhere to be seen, and the big crowd in front of the school suddenly disappeared. No one stood in front of the school more than they had to. They rushed to leave as fast as they could. As I stepped out of the school building, I was greeted by the warm embrace of the summer sun. The coast was clear, so I gave a sign to Leigh and Theodore that it was safe to leave. Without thinking much, we started walking towards the river Salva, which flowed peacefully and slowly without a care in the world. The sound of rushing water calmed my nerves; summer really did begin; no more school for a while; life was about to become perfect, at least until school started again.

“I love the smell of summer.” Leigh took a deep breath, her face shining brightly under the sun.

“Well technically,” Theodore started, but before he could continue, both Leigh and I knew that he was being a smartass, so we shouted at the same time, Oh, shut up, Theo.” He laughed a little but did not stop; he didn’t look at either of us and continued: "Summer does have a smell, but it is not a specific smell like the one associated with other seasons. Take, for example, spring, with its floral scents or earthy aromas in autumn.” He suddenly stopped. It wasn’t likely for him to just stop until he explained every detail he knew about the given topic. His bigger flaw was that he was too smart for this town, and he knew it.

“Why did you stop?”

“Look,” he pointed with his finger, is that what I think it is?”

“Yes, I think it is.”

Isaac, the leader of the group, was one of the tallest guys in their class. He was thin; there wasn’t much to see of him, but he was very strong and tough. He had that constant smirk on his face when he did something bad. Could it be that they waited for them here just to ambush them? It's not a very good start to summer if that’s the case.

Tom was also there, of course; he was almost as tall as Isaac, but unlike Isaac, he had a well-built frame, looked strong, and was strong. For many, he might even be stronger than Isaac.

There was also Matt, a quiet but loyal friend of Isaac’s. Muscular build with a scary gaze that made everyone uneasy. He would do anything Isaac told him to. And there was Jake, mostly known for his pranks. He also had a mischievous grin on his face, and in his eyes, there was a sign of trouble.

They always moved in a group; they were like one, with Isaac holding them all together. Everyone in Brezoville knew about them; they were very famous for making trouble, but they didn’t get in much trouble as Isaac’s father was the policeman here, so he would always get them out of it.

Thankfully, this time, it seemed that we were not their target; as they looked at us, Isaac spat on the ground, and they left.

“I thought we were toast,” said Theodore.

“Thank God, you can also be wrong sometimes,” said Leigh.

I didn’t say anything; I had a bad feeling. The summer had just begun, and they immediately started making trouble. That was not a good sign.

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“Should we go and see why they were smirking so much?” I asked.

“Do you want to get killed?” Theo looked at me with confusion all over his face.

Well, I mean, they left, so we shouldn’t really be in trouble, right?” I was really interested in seeing why they were so happy.

“There is nothing to see there; it is an old Ramp that no one uses now.” Leigh joined our conversation.

“A perfect place to hide something they don’t want anyone to see.”

“You’re right. But still, it might be dangerous. What about the plan of trying to avoid them at all costs this year and just enjoy the summer?”

“Don’t be a coward, Theo.” I knew that it was going to work. “Are you afraid of them that much?”

"Adrian, you didn’t!” Leigh started laughing; she knew what I was up to.

"Oh, he did, and I know why you did it, and I hate it that it still works. Let’s check it out.”

The coast was clear, so we ran down the small dirt path that led to the abandoned Ramp. In Brezoville in the past, there were more people, and there were many Ramps where they held their boats. As time passed, many people left, and there were fewer and fewer fishermen, so some Ramps were closed. No one went there any more; people were only using three main Ramps these days: Ramp A, Ramp B, and Ramp C. They were also known for their other names, named by the people who created them; for example, Ramp A was also known as Richard’s Ramp, named by Richard Blackwood. Many of the forgotten and abandoned ramps did not have any names anymore; they were just lost in time. People knew they were there, but only the old folk actually knew what they were called.

“Keep your guard up, guys,” Leigh said. “Maybe it’s just one of their pranks again.”

“I don’t think so,” said Theo. “This doesn’t look like a prank; maybe they just went to take a dump or something, and we are looking for their shit.”

I laughed loudly.

"Shhhhh, don’t be so loud. They will hear us.” Theo scolded me.

“They are too far away now; don’t worry, let's just go.” I rushed down the path as fast as I could. Why wait when the air was clear? We just saw them leave. But if we waited long enough, there was a chance of them returning.

At the end of the dirt path, I looked at this abandoned and forgotten place. It was overgrown with bushes and trees, far away from the main street, lost in time. There was a wooden structure that looked like a small hut; once probably a storage area for boats, it was now full of the scars of time and neglect.

Theo and Leigh caught up quickly with me; the air felt cold and fresh, and the light couldn’t reach this place because of all the thick trees hiding it and covering it in darkness.

“Wow.”

“Wow indeed.”

“I feel like here it is at least 10 degrees colder.”

We slowly approached the old boathouse. The air suddenly became heavy, and you could smell something foul. The windows were boarded up, preventing any light from entering inside, if any light somehow got here in this forgotten place. The faint sound of creaking boards and rustling leaves echoed through the stillness. The silence was broken by the distant howling sound of a dog.

“That scared me so much.” Leigh was actually looking terrified.

“It scared me too; maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Theo had a worried look on his face.

"Well, we can’t turn away now; let's just peek inside; we might find something interesting,” I said I was acting brave, but deep down I was also scared.

We slowly opened the door; it wasn’t locked, so we ventured inside. It was bigger than it looked outside, with our footsteps echoing loudly in the empty space. The floor was covered in many layers of dust and vegetation, and cobwebs were in the corners like some forgotten memories. In the dust, we could see many footprints, probably those of Isaac and his friends.

Then we stumbled upon a disturbing sight: at the far end of the room, there were the remains of dead cats and dogs scattered among the shadows. The air grew heavy, and the stench of decay filled our nostrils. We rushed out coughing; it was difficult to breathe. How could we smell anything right away? Did the smell hide behind our fear?

“Adrian,” Theo could barely catch a breath, “fuck you if I listen to you ever again.”

Leigh was sitting on the floor, and she was fighting the urge not to puke.

We exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to make of this discovery.

“Could it really be them? Maybe someone else did this?” Leigh’s eyes were watery.

“Nah, it was definitely them, and Adrian knows it too.”

“What to do about this now?”

“Keep quiet,” I said, “we don’t want to get in trouble; they will know it was us who reported them.”

They just nodded, and we all knew that there was nothing we could do.

“Let’s just leave.” Leigh stood up slowly, cleaning herself of all the dirt on her.

Without another word, we left that place. As we stepped back into the daylight, a shiver ran down my spine. We all just felt relieved that we got out of that place, and Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

“At least we know where their hideout is, and they still don’t know about ours.”

“You always see something positive in everything, Leigh.”

We laughed a little bit, as much as we were allowed to.

“Another good thing,” I continued, "was that we didn’t really get to see the blood and the dead bodies because of how fast we ran out of there because of the smell.”

“Leave the positive things to Leigh, please.”

Our laughter was a little bit louder this time.