Chapter 5

Adanna tried to smile at the man to appear friendly, but his words hung in the air like the damp smell of moss that draped over her shoulders.

"Well, it definitely has bad timing," Dave said, "We are literally on our way to camp here now!"

"Oh man, that is bad luck!" Holden led them towards his shop, "Here, I'll tow your car back here and we'll take a look. The little lady here can go to the Inn and get your rooms situated. My wife owns the Inn with her sister, let them know I sent you, hon."

Adanna recoiled at 'hon' and took the credit card Kasem gave them. She pointedly looked at Dave, "Be careful. We don't know these people."

Holden snorted as she walked away. "It ain't the people you gotta worry about…"

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The Inn was cute, homey, and smelled of fresh pancakes. The front desk was vacant as Adanna poked her head into the front door. The Inn was a small, one-story strip of a building with a clean exterior and well- maintained garden. Tiptoeing into the main lobby, she noticed there was a small indoor swimming pool attached to a breakfast nook, with fresh coffee and lemonade available for guests.

Her uncomfortable feeling started to dissipate and she strode up to the little bell on the counter and rang it once. Some noises of scurrying came from what she assumed was the back room. A small, older lady poked her head out of the office and smiled at Adanna.

"Oh good! An actual person rang this time!" She laughed, "What can I do for you dear?"

Brushing off the old ladies' strange comment, Adanna explained to the lady what was going on. "And then the man in town, Holden, told me to tell you he sent me."

"Oh goodness! What an adventure you're on!" the lady politely offered her hand, "My names Peggy, Holden's wife."

Shaking Peggy's hand Adanna introduced herself, "Its good to meet you, miss!"

Adanna requested two rooms- one for the boys and one for the girls. She knew for a strong fact Kasem snores like a banshee and Dave is incredibly loud in the morning. Not to mention with the current temperature and humidity- the boy smell would be overpowering.

"Okay dear, and how long will you be staying?"

Adanna thought for a moment, "Well, no more than two nights. Once the truck is fixed we'll be going to the recreational park to camp along the mountains."

Peggy froze. "In the forest?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh dear, I do wish you would rethink this. It's so dangerous in the woods a night." Peggy wrung her hands together as she began to usher Adanna to the rooms.

"Dangerous? Do you mean there are wild animals?"

Peggy looked at her, perplexed. "No child. Pine Falls is full of mystery and malice. Strange things happen here. Especially in those woods."

DING.

Adanna jumped, looking at the service bell on the counter in the lobby. No one was there. The bell rang by itself.

"It does that. I'm always glad when it's a person ringing the bell." With that, Peggy led Adanna to her rooms.

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"Well, how bad is it?" Dave asked.

Holden was bent over the Tahoe, peering into the engine bay.

"Well, my first instinct is the battery went, especially given that it won't even turn over and there are no lights." He straightened up and strolled to his tow to hook up the Chevy, "But I'll run some codes just in case when we get her back to the shop."

The girls sat in the back of the tow truck, enjoying the cool AC drying off their foreheads. Outside the guys worked to load up the truck. They laughed at Kasem, a total city slicker, as he wiped his hand over his forehead, giving him a grease smear.

It didn't take very long for them to finish loading up, and Dave hopped into the Tahoe to be behind the wheel in case something went wrong. Not long after Kasem hopped in did Holden finish strapping the car down and came in as well.

10 minutes later they were pulling into the shop and unloading the vehicle. The group looked up as the sun dipped behind the trees.

"Ya'll should go get some rest. I won't be working on this treasure until tomorrow morning." Holden waved them goodbye as they walked towards the Inn.

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Adanna sat nervously outside the rooms at the Inn. There was no way in hell she was sitting in the room alone, especially after the weird events of the evening. The creepy old lady saying cryptic shit she could deal with, but the weird presence in the woods and bell ringing by itself was just not okay.

If this was just the events of the past few hours, what was a couple of days in the forest going to look like? Was this even such a good idea? The more Adanna sat on this topic, the more she regretted dragging her friends out here with her. Would they be in danger too?

The sound of laughter echoed off the brick walls and snapped her out of her anxious state. Her friends were strolling down the sidewalk, balancing overnight bags in their arms while joking around with each other.

Nessa's face lit up when she say Adanna, "Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because," Nessa swung an arm over her shoulder, "I constantly worry about my best friend."

"How sweet, you just want the bed tonight." They laughed.

Now that she was back with her friends, she felt so much better. Safe, even. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

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