"What the fuck was that!" screamed Sierra. And she swung her fist catching Sam on the side of the face.

"What the hell is your problem! I just saved our lives!"

"No, she fucking saved you and you just left her! She saved you and you left her! She saved you and you left her," Sierra sobbed, collapsing to the floor of the boat.

"Here take this," Andrea said handing me some pain medication.

I sat up, still feeling woozy, but not enough to put away the pain that stung me as the truth hit me, Elle was gone. Elle was gone. She was gone just like that; I would never know her again. The rest of what is looking like a very short life will be spent without her and I can't think about that.

Apparently neither can Hannah, she sits on the floor of the boat staring blankly ahead. She jolted back upright when we heard the gunshots though. They rang through the night, breaking the disturbed silence of our little group.

"Everyone down!" yelled Sierra.

"Holy shit they're shooting at us!" Sam started the motor and started to drive the boat, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

"We deserve to die," muttered Hannah, "she didn't, only fucking one of us that didn't."

Sierra slumped down next to Hannah and wrapped her arms around her, "no she didn't, not like that," she said, her eyes fixing on Sam. "But now we have to be strong for her, ok? That's what Elle would want, and you know that."

The tears started pouring down Hannah's face again and Sierra stroked her hair, it would be almost touching if we weren't speeding through an abandoned lake with bullets whizzing after us.

"Shit! We're running low on fuel," exclaimed Andrea, pointing at the blinking L on the meter.

"We should cross over to the other side, we can just pull over to the park and try for signal there," I said, trying to get my head back in the game. Sierra was right, the best way to honor Elle was to survive this night, and if I lost my grip like that again, I was as doomed as she was.

Sam slammed on the breaks as we pulled up to the shore and I stood up, stepping out of the boat on shaky legs. We all walked towards the playground together. It looked horribly eerie in the dark, with mist curling around the see saw and obscuring the swings. It would be hard to imagine us playing and laughing in the sunshine here, it was different back then.

Everyone sort of knew to keep quiet, there was something wrong about being here right now, in the dark and the cold.

We moved to a platform between the monkey bars and gliders and sat to check the signal. I sat with my back pushed up against Sierra and we both still held the knifes we had taken from Elle's kitchen.

No signal. Fuck. Shit. Bitch. Damn it.

The others held up their phones confirming what I already knew.

"Maybe we just need higher ground," Andrea whispered in a voice barely audible. She glanced up at the tower in the middle of the playground, "what if there's signal up there."

"Ok, ok we'll all go," I stated, pushing myself to stand.

Sierra supported me as we walked, but honestly, I think it was more like I was supporting her; her fingernails dug into my shoulder as we slowly made our way past the rope swing and up the steps. There were little carvings on the walls: smiling children, smiling animals, a disturbing number of smiles given our current plight.

"Agh!" I quickly silenced my scream. My side had dug into a sharp corner as we had turned. I grimaced softly as I felt the wound reopen and I knew my stitches had torn. "Guys I'm sorry I don't think I can climb any more stairs."

Andrea stopped and took a deep breath, "it's ok, you guys should stay here with her, just in case anything happens. This place is kind of like a maze, so kids could play hide and seek. I used to live near here when I was a kid, I'll know my way through."

"No Andrea, you can't go on your own!" Sierra whispered in an urgent tone.

Andrea took a deep breathe in, "I shouldn't have made Elle get the gas, I should've helped her untie the boat, done something, anything, you both tried to, I stopped you. I always said I wanted to spend my life helping people, and now I've killed someone, let me do this, let me help you. Please."

I think it was the most sincere I've ever seen her.

Sierra stilled, "ok."

"If there's signal I'll give two knocks," and then she turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Tears filled my eyes, "that bitch better be ok."

"She's tough," Sam whispered.

"So was Elle," Hannah shot back. "It's not fair, it's not fucking fair. She threw herself in harms way for you and held your little hand while you wailed like a baby and then you left her when she needed you. I would've held her fucking hand, I actually loved her, you weak motherfucker!"

Sam just stared at her, Sierra's eyes widened, and even Hannah looked shocked at her own words. Well at least she got everyone to shut the fuck up.

Dead silence, that's how I could hear the swing squeaking.

I knew we all heard it and a sense of even greater dread started clutching my lungs making it even harder for me to breath.

"We need to hide, we need to hide right now," Sierra cajoled us. We stepped down the stairs soundlessly, tip-toing, barely breathing.

And that was when I saw them, walking along the side of the playground dragging a knife across the wooden fence.

Sierra grabbed my hand and pushed me into the sandpit, I ducked my head just in time as they turned our way.

I swear you could hear my heart beating and every breathe I slowly inhaled sounded like a fire alarm to me. My hands began sweating and I could feel Sierra's fingers curling around mine.

Hannah and Sam were pressed behind the rock climbing wall and I could hardly watch as the killer walked along the opposite side of the wall. But he went no further towards them and instead headed towards the stairs.

I almost breathed a sigh of relief, and then the thought hit me like a ton of bricks, Andrea.

I looked up desperately and caught Hannah's eyes. I saw her make the choice as she stepped out from the shadows and yelled.

"Hey dipshit! You need something else to maim?" and then she ran. Faster than I've ever seen anyone run.

I felt a mixed sense of horror and relief, like someone had removed a knife from me, but know I was going to bleed out instead.

"She's fast," Sierra mumbled. "She's so fast," she said in a way that made it sound like she was convincing herself.

I heard two knocks sound out on the wood and breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked up just in time to see Sam vomiting his sweet tarts on the ground.

I hardly heard Sierra's cry as my eyes traveled higher to see Andrea's body hanging from the rope swing.