Page 4 of We’re All Going to Die Tonight!

“What is it, Avery?” Mr. McCullough asks, and I don’t miss the barely concealed irritation in his tone.

“I saw something out there,” she says, tapping her window behind her. “It went into the woods.”

“Sick,” Lucas says, immediately standing and grabbing his handheld tripod for his phone. “Was it a bear?”

“I don’t know,” Avery says. “I didn’t get a good look at it.”

“I highly doubt it was a bear,” Ms. Dorman says. “Probably a deer.”

“But—”

“Now’s not the time for dramatics,” Ms. Dorman says crisply. “Everyone in here will stay calm. Jay, Gerard, let’s move quickly.”

The two men exchange looks but nod and disappear out into the rain. As I slide the door shut behind them, I can hear their shoes squelching in the mud, their muffled voices.

Avery edges around Marlene to get to Ms. Dorman, who’s taken her seat back and has her phone out. I try to listen to what Avery’s saying, but Lucas pushes around me and takes the empty seat next to Marlene, immediately popping his phone into the tripod and pointing it at the window.

“I can’t believe this,” Emerson says, annoyance ringing through his voice as he takes one of the empty seats. “Can this school do anything right? They’re lucky my dad doesn’t sue.”

I fight to keep from rolling my eyes as I sit down next to Javi. I know the only reason we’re able to be on this trip in the first place is because Emerson’s dad covered the majority of the competition cost and sprang for the bougie-ass Airbnb we’re staying at tonight. And yeah, it sounds great and all, but there’s always a hidden cost with Emerson. Strings and judgment and a holier-than-thou attitude that make it really, really fucking hard to be happy about it.

“It’s just a flat tire,” I say. “Could’ve happened in any van.”

“It’s Jay’s fault anyway,” Kaitlyn says, eyes narrowed in Emerson’s direction. “Or did you not hear that part?”

Jay is close with Emerson’s older brother, and it’s already been made clear that Emerson’s a favorite, which is why I’m not surprised when Emerson pretends he didn’t hear Kaitlyn and instead opens his phone to Google Maps.

“You know, it’s actually not that far if we walk,” he says. “I’d have to change into my beaters—these are suede—but it’s less than a mile if we cut through the woods.”

“Uh, didn’t you hear what Avery said?” Javi says. “About seeing something outside?”

“Yeah, a deer,” Emerson says, rolling his eyes. “Pretty sure we can handle that.”

“Aren’t we near Cambria?” Kaitlyn asks, leaning from where she’s still standing in the aisle to peek over Emerson’s shoulder at the map. “Isn’t this, like, the murder capital of the state?”

There’s a thump from below us that makes everyone except me and Javi jump.

“Pretty sure that’s Los Angeles,” Lucas says. “You know, all the Manson murders.”

“But wasn’t the Golden State Killer from here?” Kaitlyn insists, eyes cutting to the windows. “I could’ve sworn that’s what they said in that Netflix documentary I watched.”

“That’s Santa Barbara, I think,” Javi says. “Which, close, but not that close. And a long time ago.”

I shake my head. “You all watch way too much true crime.”

“Right,” Kaitlyn says, blue eyes locking on me. “And you don’t because you’re better than us, right, Caulder?”

I should’ve been ready for one of Kaitlyn’s barbs, seeing as I’ve been a target ever since we broke up. I can tell by the way she’s watching me that she’s thrilled to have landed a hit so effortlessly, but before I can reply, Avery’s walking down the aisle toward the rest of us, rubbing her arms.

“Ms. Dorman’s pretty sure it was a deer,” she says, avoiding looking at me. “Nothing to worry about.”

Emerson smirks. “What did I tell you? Next time, you should listen to me, captain.” His eyes dart over to me before continuing. “Oh, right. I meant co-captain.”

Avery tenses, her hand at her side twitching as if she’s about to curl it into a fist.

“Speaking of,” Emerson says, dragging out every vowel. “Caulder, do you think—”

The door slides open, cutting him off, and Mr. Jay and Mr. McCullough appear, drenched and covered in black smears.