That night, while the others slept, Henry stood watch. He wasn't tired. He'd only been awake for a few hours anyway. Besides, he had a lot on his mind he needed to work through.

He stood outside the cave beneath the swirling nebulas that made up the sky. He leaned lazily against his harpoon, which he'd driven into the sand. He scanned the darkness, looking for any bloodthirsty monsters, which he never spotted. So many things had changed, but Henry was still a security guard watching over an empty place.

The evening should have been stressful for him, but it wasn't. The sounds of seagulls in the distance and waves lapping against the beach surrounded him. The slight tug of the chill ocean breeze on his skin was soothing. It was the first time he'd had to himself since Undertow had put a spear in his chest.

Henry wasn't used to being surrendered by people. He'd been a loner for most of his life and had never really done well in a group. The truth was that other people usually made him uncomfortable. Henry always found himself studying them. He always tried to figure out their motives and their secrets. He'd always been good at reading people. It was something he did almost unconsciously, but it had made him disconnect from the others around him. He'd started to see them more as puzzles than those people.

Henry thought he'd missed the solitude and the quiet. However, he found it strangely lonely tonight in a way he never had before.

He'd only been in Paradise for five days, but that time had felt like an eternity. Since he'd arrived, Henry had died twice and felt more fear than he had in his entire life. He'd watched someone he knew die. But he'd also overcome so much. He'd killed a monster made from fire and metal—a ghost straight from a horror novel. It felt like he was worth something for the first time in his life. For a few glorious hours, Henry had felt like he'd finally done something worthwhile in this life. Only to have it dashed away by his own Ghost Story just as quickly.

Henry wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. The others had asked a great deal of him. He knew he was going to have to sacrifice a lot to save them. Then there was Mark's secret. Henry still had no idea what the man was hiding and how it might affect him. For all the momentary bravery he'd had while fighting the knight, Henry was still scared.

All he knew for sure was that he did not want these people to die. They had been kind to him and helped him. He wasn't about to leave them without his help. He had to admit to himself that his motives weren't entirely altruistic. The others were his best chance at escaping this hell alive. Without them, Henry knew he wouldn't stand a chance of ever leaving Paradise.

Henry caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Henry looked over and realized Wendy was crouched by the entrance to the cave. She must have joined him while he was deep in thought. He hadn't even heard a sound from her. That was eerie. Even though she looked and mostly acted human, there was a certain uncanniness to the way she moved. The only thing Henry could compare it to was a leopard hunting a gazelle. Her movements were graceful, but also deliberate and deadly.

"When did you get here?" Henry asked.

"Just now," Wendy answered.

She was staring off at the gloomy ocean, looking at something only she could see. They stood there together awkwardly for a few minutes. Wendy would occasionally shoot a glance at Henry. He felt like she wanted him to ask her something, so he did.

“Was there something you wanted?” Henry asked.

"Yeah, actually, there is. I just want to talk. The others can't tell me what I want to know. You can, Henry,” Wendy replied.

“What's that?”

"You know Stevey was the one who convinced me to change. He was the first person I ever really talked to. The first person who didn't treat me like a monster. I can't believe he's gone. It doesn't feel real."

That didn't exactly answer his question. But it didn't matter. Henry felt for her. For all of them. He couldn't help but feel he was partially responsible in some disconnected way. After all, it had been his ghost story that had killed Stevey. His coming here had made them mortal in the first place.

"I'm sorry. Even though I didn't know him for long, he seemed like a good guy. He was nice to me," Henry said.

“He was. He was the best person I ever knew. I only knew four of them… but still. Between you and me, I think I loved him.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

That piece of information surprised Henry. Looking back on it, the signs were there. He kicked himself for not noticing it sooner. He was usually so good at picking up on things like that. In fairness to Henry, he had been a bit preoccupied the last few days.

“Did he know?” Henry asked.

Wendy shook her head.

“I was never brave enough to tell him. That seems so stupid now. I tried to work up the courage a few times, but I never did. He would have said no, but I still wish I'd told him... Now he's gone, and I can't.”

He could see tears running down her pale cheeks.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Henry asked.

“Because I want you to understand. I need revenge. I owe Stevey at least that much. So please tell me about your ghost story. Tell me everything.”

“I don't know how much there is to tell. He was from a movie called Bone Hunt that my dad and I watched when he was still alive. The Skeleton Man in the movie trapped people no one wouldn't miss on a ranch and hunted them for sport. The movie was about a few people trying to escape. They plan to short out the electric fence, keeping them trapped. Everything goes according to plan, and they manage to get the fence down. They think they're going to get away, but the Skeleton Man had planned for it. It was a trap, and he was waiting for them. They all die, and the Skeleton Man gets away. It was an unhappy ending. I was 12 when I first saw it. The movie scared the piss out of me. My dad thought that was funny, and looking back on it, it probably was. I should have remembered the movie. The second I saw that electric fence, I should have known,”

“This isn't your fault. It's this Skeleton Man who's to blame. What kind of special ability does he have?”

“I don't think he has any. He's just a hunter. He's smart and resourceful, but he's just a man. He sets traps in the movie. Bear traps and trip wires. I think he even sets up a spike pit in one scene. He uses bait, too. I think he's like you—intelligent. He's also obviously not stuck in one zone.”

“So he's just a man. And he's smart, too. That's good,”

“Why's that?”

“Because it means he'll feel what I'm going to do to him and remember it. I'll gut him over and over again. I'm going to make every second of his life agony. He wants to hunt us, then I'll hunt him. He may be a hunter, but I'm a monster.”

Her eyes shifted to Henry. They glowed a haunting white as they reflected the dark light of the swirling nebulas above. Those were the eyes of a nocturnal predator. Another slip in the mask of humanity Wendy wore. Once again, Henry found himself relieved that she was on their side.

“I hope you do. I hope you make him hurt,” Henry said.

They went back to standing in silence. In a strange way, it wasn't so awkward now. They had a common enemy and a common goal.

***

The next morning, the group gathered around the table to plan their escape. Mark took the lead. It only made sense after all; it was his plan. Mark laid out a series of large maps he had taken from his room. These were more complex than the simple map of Paradise. Lines marking tunnels and chambers crawled across the paper. They looked almost like a maze.

“When I was here alone, mapping the mines became an obsession. The ones here in Paradise aren't like the ones I used to work in. They're much larger and far more complex. Navigating them is difficult even with a map. Since killing ourselves to get out is no longer an option, we'll settle for plan B. So we're going to leave markers to and from the exit. If anyone other than Henry or Wendy wanders off and gets lost, we won't be able to save you.”

“I have a question,” Grace declared, "Admittedly, I don't know much about mining. But I do know that making a tunnel without a lot of planning can sometimes lead to a cave-in. That would be a death sentence for us. Is it something we have to worry about?”

“The mines are dangerous,” Mark said, “I spent a lot of my youth in them before I came here. So I know how unstable the tunnels can be. There is a chance that they could collapse, but I don't think they will, as long as we're careful. If my maps and estimations are correct, then we'll only have to mine about twenty feet to reach beyond the wall. I doubt that's enough to make the tunnel unstable.”

“How long is that going to take?” Grace asked.

“I think we could do it in two weeks, if we're lucky. Three if we're not. Until then, we'll have to survive in the tunnels.”

“What about oxygen? Can we even stay down there for three weeks?” Chelsey asked.

Henry hadn't thought about oxygen. Suffocation was not a way he wanted to die, not even once. So he was relieved when Mark shook his head.

“Oxygen won't be an issue. The mines are designed to keep fresh air flowing from the surface. We'll also have power to a certain extent, but we will need food and other supplies. Enough to last at least three or four weeks in the mines. That's a worst-case scenario, but still, always plan for the worst."

“Me and Henry can get the food. We'll just do a couple of grocery runs,” Wendy said.

“If Henry's okay with that plan, we'll have you start today.”

Henry Shrugged.

“It's fine with me. I have to eat too.”

“Thank you, Henry,” Chelsey said, “I know this has to be a lot, but we don't have another choice.”

“Honestly, I don't mind. It'll be something to keep me occupied,” Henry said.

“There's one more thing we'll need,” Mark said, “Something living. I'm thinking either a squirrel or a bird from the camp zone. We'll have to think of some way to catch it. After that, we can store them in cages from the Brightshore Pet Shop.”

“Why?”

“Ever heard of a canary in a coal mine? Well, there's a reason why we keep them. That goes doubly for Pete. The birds should give us a warning if he's coming close. Give us enough time to get our gas masks on.”

“Gas masks?” Henry asked.

“I forgot. You don't know about Pete. You're going to be fighting him, probably more than once. I'll teach you what I know about killing him.”