They arrive at the cottage on the lake, at around 3:00 PM. It is not far from the place where Poppy was shot. The key to the cabin is in the mailbox, left for them to use. The owner did not go to the same lengths of hiding the key as The Divide did with the keycard. It seems the owners don't suspect thievery.

The initiates are sure The Divide knows where they are. The Divide always knows where they are. It occurs to some, but not all, that this cottage is not a safe space away from them. Maybe there are no eyes or ears here, but if The Divide wanted to hurt them, it could easily.

Then again, the underground lot was the perfect place to hurt them as well.

For a cottage, it is surprisingly nice. In the basement, there is a pool table as well as a foosball table, a fireplace and a television, and a massive sectional. There are two shelves in the basement, one filled with books and memorabilia, and the other has numerous VCRs for them to pop into the television. There is no cable out here in the cold. The basement also holds the furnace room, storage, and a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds.

The main floor has one large window. The kitchen is magnificent, all with new appliances and cupboards. There is a sitting room with a large sectional and two chairs, as well as a dining room table fit for all of them. There is only one bedroom on this floor, and it is a Queen. There is also a bathroom.

On the highest floor, they find a bathroom and several bedrooms. Most have two beds per room, to a total of four bedrooms with eight beds.

No one ventures out on the dock. Not only is it cold, and the lake covered in a thin layer of ice, but it is far too similar looking to the abandoned house where Poppy was shot. They wonder if it is colder, and less muddy now.

The property is large though, with lots of space between it and any other house. The area is surrounded by trees instead of a lawn. There is some space to play outdoor games, not that they will be spending much time outside over the next two days. Hopefully, the basement fireplace will keep them warm. If not, the blankets on the beds should prevent December's chill from reaching them.

"Since I paid, I get to sleep alone," Briar says after the group has finished exploring the house.

Roman, who is putting away the food into the fridge, nods, "fair enough. Although, is anyone going to be uncomfortable sleeping with me?"

No one answers. Roman takes that as a good sign.

They pair off into bedrooms. Vieira and Evelyn take one, Luis and Ellie take another. Felix and Ez pile into the room in the basement. Jetta and Roman claim a room, leaving Tom and Kai together in the basement.

They all make busy, ensuring that the sheets are clean. A few gather around the television to watch a fuzz movie on the dusty monitor. Despite the beauty of the house, it seems it hasn't been visited in quite some time. Then, it comes time for dinner.

~~~

Luis and Vieira play a game where they each take a minute to draw, and then switch the sheets, building off each other's sketches. In the end, they create one beautiful scene and one that is messy and confusing.

"This one looks like you," Luis says to Vieira, picking up the messy drawing.

Vieira blinks before she realizes he is joking, "really? I thought it had your wild eyebrows."

Luis shakes his head back and forth, "no, that's clearly your orange eyeliner. See?"

Vieira laughs and snatches the drawing from him. She is about to rip in half when he holds a hand up.

"Wait," he says. "Follow me."

They head into the kitchen where he searches the drawers. Eventually, he finds one filled with miscellaneous supplies. He pulls out to magnets and sticks the drawings to the fridge.

"At dinner, we should pretend like one of us drew one and the other drew that monstrosity, and make them guess which of us did what," he laughs.

Vieira blushes. It's a devious plan, more devious than Luis usually acts. Still, it might be funny to watch the others struggle, "I like that idea."

Luis smiles. It is nice to spend time with her and the others. It makes everything worth it.

~~~

Roman keeps trying to challenge people to chess. Ez bites because he likes a competition. Together, they play a first game, where Roman absolutely and utterly obliterates him.

They reach out to shake his hand, "good game?"

"Again," Ez insists. He is no chess master, but he does not appreciate being so humiliated. Especially since Roman is so pleasant about it.

They go again, and neither of them speaks the entire time. The chess pieces dance across the board, Roman taking much less time to think than Ez. He can feel the sweat beading on his forehead. Roman feels bad, so they take it a bit easier.

Their game ends in a draw.

"How long have you been playing chess?" Ez asks.

"I was on the team in high school," Roman explains. They set up the board for another game, and Ez sticks around to play it, shockingly.

Well, Ez isn't shocked. He actually enjoys their company.

"Did you have any hobbies, before all this?" Roman asks.

Ez shrugs, "not really. I've always wanted to learn to bake. I love baked goods. Especially anything chocolate."

"You should practice then," Roman says. The dorms have kitchens, not that anyone uses them except to make oatmeal and popcorn. It is quite the journey to the nearest grocery store. "Maybe we can go into town tomorrow and get some ingredients for brownies."

Ez's eyes light up.

~~~

Jetta brought her bass guitar to the cottage, even though there was very little room in the taxi's trunk. It was worth it. As she writes a song, Ellie listens. Ellie loves the music, really any music, but especially Jetta's bassline. She wishes she could hear Jetta with a full band. At least, Jetta is content to play by herself.

"It sounds like a mix of funk and punk," Ellie points out.

Jetta smiles, "you like it?"

"I think most people would like your music, even if it wasn't their favourite genre," Ellie says. She relaxes on the couch, not thinking about her homework for the first time in what must be weeks, perhaps even months. "You know, I'm sure you could perform at the pub, once that's back. Don't they do like, Monday open-mics?"

Jetta grins, "yeah, when that's built again."

"It'll be fixed by next year," Ellie insists. "Everything will be normal."

Jetta hopes to God that everything will be fine again.

~~~

Tom and Evelyn bond over chocolate. He brought a box with several varieties, and they try each different one. They hide out in a bedroom to keep them hidden from Ez. Evelyn's favourites are the salted ones and those with caramel. Both combined are too much flavour, but on their own they are nice.

"I'm so excited for the winter formal!" Evelyn says. "Are you going to take Vieira?"

Tom shrugs, "I don't think she likes me much."

"Of course she does," Evelyn plops another piece of chocolate into her mouth. This one was a gooey centre, almost like strawberries. It's so sweet she is sure her teeth will rot out of her mouth. "She never stops talking about you."

Tom cannot tell if her incessant talking is a bad sign. Surely, she talks about him because he won't leave her alone. He's cornered her even in her own mind. He sighs, looking at the chocolate. He's tasted it all, the bitter, the sweet, and it's hard for him to say that nothing compares to her anymore. He put too much on her shoulders.

"You know, you're a good man, Tom," Evelyn points out. "With excellent taste in chocolate."

~~~

Briar is looking through the storage room for something to scrape the barbeque clean so that they can cook corn and meat for the group of them. She was told by the owners that anything their group would need could be found in the storage room. She opens box after box, digging inside.

Kai, behind her, sighs, "we aren't going to find it."

"I'll be damned if I eat off a dirty barbeque," she snaps.

She opens the next box, and gasps, stumbling backwards.

"Is it a mouse?" Felix jumps. He hates rodents.

Briar shakes her head, so frozen she is unable to speak.

Behind her, Kai leans in and stares at the box.

At the top is a picture of Poppy and two adults, one male and one female.

"You rented from the Prevosts?" Kai says.

"How was I to know?" she says. Then, she swallows. "We just need to play it cool."

Felix moves over to the staircase, "hey, everyone. Get down here!"

It is pretty common for Felix to yell, but not with an edge of panic in his voice. When he calls out, the others feel his voice reverberate inside of them. Something is a miss. They drop what they are doing and make their way downstairs.

"I'm hungry," Evelyn gripes, a bit of chocolate staining her lips "aren't you making food?"

"We found this," Kai passes the picture frame around the group, passing it from one person to the next.

They see the picture of Poppy. She is standing on the docks by the lake, with her two parents around her. She doesn't look much younger; the photo could have been taken anywhere from a few weeks before her death to her last days of high school. She's wearing clothes typical of a person at the lake, not like the ones she usually wears. A white cover-up hides her bathing suit. Both of her parents seem older, but they are both smiling. The shot is candid, and in it, Poppy laughs.

"You rented her cottage?" Jetta asks, eyes wide.

"It was an accident," Briar insists. How could she have known this is the place where Poppy sojourns in the summer?

They realize they know little about Poppy's past. She speaks French, but so do a few of the others. She could be American or European for all they know.

"Are there other photos?" Luis asks. He needs to see others. The colour of her hair, the slope of her nose, all of it is familiar, even in the grainy photo he holds.

Ez raises an eyebrow, "why?"

"Just keep looking," Luis insists. He won't say it for the others to hear until he knows that he is certain.

Kai goes into the closet and digs out the box. There are other, framed photographs inside, as well as a box filled to the brim with hundreds of photos stacked so that they are on their sides. Kai takes the ones in frames and passes them around the circle. They see Poppy as a kid, doing arts and crafts. Poppy fishing on the lake. Poppy laughing in the water. There are a few of her parents too, but mostly this is a shrine to Poppy.

"Nothing else, huh?" Ez says. He's beginning to piece together Luis's idea, but he is confused. It doesn't make sense. It cannot be possible.

"Just this box," Kai yanks the photography box out of the bigger cardboard box. He places it on the ground.

Luis grabs the first photo and drops it in the centre for everyone to see.

It is a picture of Poppy, clearly younger. She must be just beginning high school. She is arm in arm with a boy with wild curly hair, whose face looks only slightly like hers.

"Artemis," Briar says, her heart sinking.

On the main floor, the front door opens. The initiates listen as it slams shut, and footsteps come down the stairs.

~~~~~

Dun dun dun! I love it. A little sweet and then a little sour. Anyway, any predictions? Who has come? Why are they there? Anything we should worry about? I'd love to hear all your thoughts!