Bad night

Bad night
Astrid POV
Two students… dead in the woods?
The words didn’t even settle properly in my mind before everything around me shifted.
One second, I was laughing softly with Elsie, caught in something light and normal—and the next, it was gone. Just like that.
Replaced by tension.
Confusion.
Fear.
“What does she mean?” I murmured under my breath, my eyes locking onto the girl who had just stumbled into the clearing.
She looked… wrong.
Not just shaken—broken. Like whatever she had seen had ripped something out of her.
“Is she high or something?” Elsie whispered beside me, leaning in slightly.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, I scanned the girl from head to toe, my gaze sharp, searching. Her clothes were disheveled, dirt smeared across her arms, her breathing uneven like she’d run the entire way without stopping.
No.
This wasn’t someone high.
This was someone terrified.
Silas was already beside her before most of the officials even reacted, his hand hovering near her shoulder like he didn’t want to startle her further. A few seconds later, the lecturers rushed in, forming a small circle around her.
“I need you to calm down,” the anatomy lecturer said gently, his voice steady as he slipped his jacket over her shoulders, wrapping it around her trembling frame.
She clutched onto it like it was the only thing grounding her.
“What did you say you saw?” he asked.
Her eyes lifted—glassy, unfocused.
They moved from him… to me… to everyone around her.
Then her face crumpled.
“Students are dead… in the woods,” she choked out, her voice breaking through tears.
My breath hitched slightly.
Dead.
The word felt heavier this time.
Real.
Around us, the bonfire crackled on, but the energy had completely changed. The laughter, the music—everything had faded into uneasy murmurs.
Students began whispering among themselves.
“What?”
“No way…”
“That’s not funny…”
“Can you lead us to them?” another lecturer asked, stepping forward.
The girl nodded slowly, still shaking.
“I need everyone to remain here,” the anatomy lecturer said firmly, his tone shifting just enough to command attention. “Myself and a few officials will go check the scene.”
No one argued.
Not out loud.
But the tension in the air thickened.
Killian moved toward me, hands tucked into his pockets, his jaw set tight. He smacked his lips lightly before letting out a quiet sigh.
“What do you say we do?” he asked.
I frowned slightly, turning toward him.
“What do you mean?”
Jason stepped in beside us, his presence calm but alert.
“I was about to ask him the same thing,” he said.
I exhaled slowly.
“Killian… you want us to go after them or what?” Jason asked, more direct this time.
Killian shrugged faintly, though I could see the restlessness in his eyes.
“You heard them. We were told to stay here.”
“Exactly,” Elsie added, crossing her arms. “We should stay back.”
I pressed my lips together, glancing at Killian.
He didn’t look convinced.
“Whatever,” he muttered. “I still want to see what happened.”
I didn’t respond.
But deep down—
So did I.
“Mr. Jay already left with some others,” Elsie continued. “I suggest we don’t complicate things.”
I blinked, turning to her.
“Mr. Jay?” I echoed.
She shrugged casually. “The anatomy lecturer.”
“Oh.”
I mouthed the word, nodding slowly.
“Didn’t know his name,” I admitted quietly.
And just like that…
The night we had been enjoying so freely collapsed in on itself.
The fire still burned, bright and steady, but no one was paying attention to it anymore.
The music had stopped.
The laughter had died.
All that remained were worried students, scattered in small groups, waiting.
Watching.
I sank onto one of the logs near the fire, exhaustion creeping back in, heavier this time. Killian sat beside me, and without thinking, I rested my head against his shoulder.
For a moment—
We said nothing.
Then I saw him.
Silas.
Walking toward us.
I straightened slightly.
“What does this guy want?” Killian muttered under his breath immediately.
“Chill,” I murmured.
Silas stopped in front of us, that same calm, easy smile on his face—though it didn’t quite reach his eyes this time.
“Waiting as well, yeah?” he asked.
Killian didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah,” he replied flatly, his hand moving to my arm, absentmindedly tracing over it.
Silas’s gaze flickered down to the movement.
Then back up to my face.
Just for a second.
Before shifting away again.
“How did they even end up in the woods?” Hera spoke up from nearby, stifling a yawn. “Am I the only one thinking about that?”
“No,” Silas said, nodding slightly. “I was wondering the same thing. We all came back together after the hike… so why would they go back?”
Killian cut in smoothly, almost too quickly.
“How’s your leg?”
The shift in topic was obvious.
Silas noticed it too.
His jaw tightened for a brief moment before he answered.
“Better,” he said. “And you?”
Killian let out a quiet scoff, lifting his hands slightly.
“Obviously, I’m fine.”
Silas raised a brow.
“No scratch?” he asked, a faint edge to his voice now. “I thought I saw you bleeding earlier.”
My stomach tightened.
I swallowed, lifting my head off Killian’s shoulder, stretching slightly just to avoid looking too still.
“Bleeding?” Killian repeated, almost amused. “Nah. You were probably seeing things.”
Silas held his gaze for a second longer.
Then gave a small nod.
“Yeah… maybe.”
“You’re lucky he let that go,” I thought to myself, glancing briefly at Killian. “Otherwise, you’d be explaining how your wounds healed that fast.”
“Lucky you,” Silas added aloud, his tone unreadable.
I blinked, snapping my attention back to him.
“Your injuries didn’t look too serious anyway,” Killian said casually. “They’ll heal.”
Before Silas could respond—
A sound cut through the air.
Not laughter.
Not music.
Screaming.
Crying.
We all turned at once.
The officials were back.
And this time—
They weren’t alone.
Two bodies were being carried out of the woods.
Lifeless.
Still.
Something cold gripped my chest as I stood up immediately, instinct taking over.
I stepped forward—but a lecturer moved quickly, blocking my path along with the others.
“Stay back,” he ordered.
“Oh my God… are they dead?” a student gasped somewhere behind me.
“Are they really dead?” Elsie asked, her voice small, uncertain.
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Because I was already looking.
Really looking.
At the bodies.
One was a girl.
The other—
A boy.
And neither of them moved.
“Wait—what happened?”
“Yeah, how did they die?”
“Were they attacked or something?”
“Was it a bear or something?”
Questions started flying almost immediately, overlapping, voices rising over one another as the bodies were lowered carefully onto the ground.
No one was calm anymore.
No one was okay.
Students pressed closer despite the warnings, craning their necks, trying to see—trying to understand.
I stayed where I was, but my eyes didn’t leave the scene.
Didn’t leave the stillness of those bodies.
The anatomy lecturer—Mr. Jay—stepped forward again, his presence cutting through the noise even before he spoke.
“Alright. Enough.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
Firm. Controlled.
The murmuring softened, though not completely.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face before looking up at all of us.
“It appears to be a fall,” he said.
Just like that.
Simple.
Too simple.
“A fall?” someone repeated.
“Yes,” he continued, nodding once. “From what we saw… they must have wandered off into the woods. Possibly disoriented. Possibly under the influence.”
A few students shifted uncomfortably at that.
“The terrain out there isn’t even,” he added. “There are slopes, loose ground, exposed roots. It’s easy to lose your footing, especially at night.”
His gaze swept over us.
“From the condition of the bodies… one of them likely fell first. A severe impact. Neck injury.”
A pause.
“Snapped on impact.”
A collective inhale rippled through the crowd.
“And the other?” someone asked quietly.
Mr. Jay’s jaw tightened slightly.
“Could have panicked,” he said. “Tried to help. Lost balance as well.”
He shook his head faintly.
“Nothing about it suggests anything… suspicious.”
The words hung in the air.
Nothing suspicious.
I didn’t question it.
None of us did.
It made sense.
Didn’t it?
Drunk students. Dark woods. Uneven ground.
Accidents happened.
Still…
Why did the air suddenly feel so cold?
I wrapped my arms around myself slightly, my gaze drifting back to the bodies as officials began moving around them.
Black bags were brought out.
The kind you don’t want to recognize.
The kind you only see when there’s no going back.
Carefully—almost too carefully—the bodies were lifted and placed inside, zipped up with a sound that made my chest tighten.
“They’ll be transported to the hospital at daybreak,” one of the officials announced.
“Daybreak?” Hera’s voice cut in sharply.
Everyone turned slightly toward her.
Her brows were furrowed, her arms crossed tight over her chest.
“Why not take them now?” she asked. “Just in case—”
Mr. Jay looked at her.
“What?”
The single word wasn’t harsh.
But it wasn’t soft either.
“In case what?” he continued, his voice quieter now, but heavier. “There’s still a chance at life?”
Hera didn’t answer.
For once—
Hera had nothing to say.
Her lips pressed together, her gaze dropping away as she shook her head slightly.
“You want to check the bodies out yourself? Even the officials confirmed”
“I’m… fine,” she muttered.
Mr. Jay exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders finally showing.
“I understand,” he said, his tone shifting—less firm, more… tired. “I understand what you’re all thinking.”
His eyes moved across us.
Every face.
Every expression.
“But these bodies…” he continued, his voice tightening just a fraction, “they are lifeless.”
A beat.
“And if you need confirmation of that,” he added, glancing back at Hera briefly, “you’re welcome to come and see for yourself.”
She didn’t move.
Didn’t even look up.
“I said I’m fine,” she repeated quietly.
Mr. Jay nodded once.
Then looked away.
Another lecturer stepped forward, shaking his head.
“Bad night already, huh?” he said under his breath. “Didn’t think things would turn out like this…”
No one responded.
Because what was there to say?
Mr. Jay straightened slightly, pulling himself back together.
“Listen carefully,” he said, his voice firm again—but now there was something else beneath it.
Frustration.
And something that sounded a lot like hurt.
“You all need to stay together. No one wanders off. No one leaves without informing a staff member.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Do you understand that whatever happens to you out here—anything—we are the ones held responsible?”
Silence.
“We are the ones questioned,” he continued. “We are the ones who have to answer for it.”
His jaw clenched slightly.
“And now look at this.”
No one moved.
No one spoke.
“These two students,” he said, gesturing faintly toward the bodies, now fully zipped and being lifted, “decided to go off on their own. Possibly drunk. Left the safety of where they were being monitored.”
His voice dropped.
“And now everyone knows the result.”
The weight of that settled heavily over the crowd.
Guilt.
Fear.
Reality.
“The party is over,” he added finally.
No argument.
No protest.
Just quiet acceptance.
One of the officials stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Everyone’s shaken,” he said. “I suggest you all return to your tents. Get some rest. There’s nothing more to be done tonight.”
No one disagreed.
No one had the energy to.
The bodies were lifted into the back of a van, the doors shutting with a dull, final sound that echoed louder than it should have.
And just like that—
They were gone.
The officials began heading back toward the cabin, their voices low, their movements slower than before.
I watched them go.
Said nothing.
Felt… nothing.
Or maybe too much.
“Well,” Odin spoke up after a moment, his voice quieter than usual. “That’s… sad.”
“Sad?” Archie scoffed lightly beside him, though there was no real humor in it. “Mr. Jay is annoying me, honestly.”
I let out a faint chuckle, barely there.
“He’s probably hurt too,” I said softly.
Archie glanced at me.
Didn’t argue.
Didn’t joke.
Just looked away.
And slowly—
Without needing to say it—
We all moved closer together.
Not for warmth.
Not for comfort.
But because suddenly—
None of us wanted to stand alone.