Red Herring ✔️

21. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Mazie landed flat on her black on the cold dirt ground beneath the cabin. From this angle, the cabin looked even more like a death trap. Its foundation was only a few measly stakes planted in the ground. 

"You good?" Christian whispered, peering through the hole in the floor of the cabin that she just fell through. 

Catching her breath, Mazie nodded and raised up on her elbows. When she found her bearings, she rolled out of the way so that Christian could exit the cabin too. 

They found the human-sized hole near a corner, hidden behind a stack of boxes. As quietly as possible, they slid those items out of the way. The hole was wide enough for Mazie to slip through, but they knew fitting Christian would be a whole different story. 

First, Christian lowered his feet through the hole and shimmied his hips through while Mazie brushed the dirt off of her arms and legs. 

"I don't think I'm gonna fit," he informed her, regretfully, when he stopped moving because his shoulders wouldn't fit. 

"You have to," she told him which she realized wasn't much help. "One arm at a time."

At her instruction, Christian back tracked, standing up to squeeze on arm through. 

"I'm gonna pull you," she said, latching onto his one arm. 

"It may make a noise. Wait until they laugh or something," he whispered. His voice was muffled with the barrier between them. 

Waiting rather impatiently until the group at the toasty bonfire laughed and created a ruckus on their own to cover their backs, Mazie finally gave three solid tugs on Christian's arm until he popped through. The fabric of his jacket ripped on the sharp edges of the rotted wood floor. He almost fell on top of her but caught himself on his free hand. 

He loomed over her and smirked. All of that cleaning off she did was in vain as she lay on her back yet again. "Maybe not one of our best ideas so far."

"I can't feel my toes. Or my face. O any vital organs." She wiggled her stiff fingers inside her leather gloves, but it was more painful than helpful. 

Christian rolled back on his haunches and squatted beside her underneath the cabin, giving her enough room to get to her fee. "We better get you home then. Fe would kill me if I gave you frostbite."

She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You can't give me frostbite. It's not an STD."

Ignoring her entirely, Christian began to crawl underneath the cabin to the opening in the porch skirt that he noticed earlier when he was checking out the exterior before everyone showed up and ruined their plans. She followed him to the back, farther away from the teens at the bonfire. 

Mazie glanced behind her to see if any of them could spot them through the porch netting. They were too far away fro her to make out any of their faces. She only distinguished the dancing flames. She and Christian were safely cloaked in darkness as long as they didn't make too much noise. 

Once they squeezed through the loose netting, Mazie stood to her feet and brushed herself off again. Beside her, Christian stretched out his legs and rolled his shoulders and wrists. 

He motioned out into the dark. "We have to head straight out for awhile until they can't see us then we can circle around to the patch we came from." She understood that they had to use the cabin as a cover. "You have your phone, right?"

She nodded, patting the pocket on the inside of her jacket for her phone. Christian located his keys, phone, and flashlight before they proceeded. For twenty to thirty yards, they treaded very carefully, specifically watching where they stepped to avoid making any noises like snapping twigs.