One Man Band System

Three days later, over the weekend, "Happy over here... happy over there... everywhere I go, my heart is happy," the girls sang at the top of their lungs inside the RV. Eric sat behind the wheel, driving them out of the city toward the local mountains for a weekend of camping and casual trail hiking.

The path ahead was perfectly accessible for the RV, promising great views of the city from above and star-gazing at night, especially since the vehicle came equipped with a massive sunroof that let them look straight up at the sky from the comfort of the inside.

Since Caleb and Avery dropped out, deciding it was best not to risk messing with Avery’s pregnancy, Eric suggested a hiking trip for the girls instead, given the shorter distance, prettier scenery, and overall peaceful vibe. Eric glanced in the rearview mirror, spotting Emma, Heidi, Monica, and Priya standing in the middle section, singing along.

Chloe was sitting at the dining table chair she had pulled out, while Laura sat across from her, tuned out and listening to something on her smartphone with her earbuds in.

Eric smiled, watching the six girls looking completely happy, carefree, and unburdened by a single worry. As they entered the hilly terrain, the vehicle began its climb, finally pulling into a massive parking area right at the edge of a cliff near a river.

The spot was ideal since theirs was the only RV around, and right across from them lay a tracking trail that led further up the mountain. Once parked, Eric killed the engine, popped the door open, and stepped out to get a breath of fresh air.

Naturally, the girls filed out right behind Eric. They immediately took in the view of the city down below, which looked quite distant from up here.

"Woaaah... now this is cool," Monica said excitedly.

"Yeah, absolutely, and the air up here is so clean... refreshing," Priya remarked, taking a deep breath.

"Finally, we’re away from that exhausting, suffocating city vibe... I feel like I could stay here forever," Heidi added.

"Don’t forget about school," Emma countered.

"Ugh... why do you always have to crush my hopes and dreams?" Heidi snapped back, annoyed.

"But it’s true... out here I don’t feel tense at all, I can just let it all go... it’s seriously wonderful," Chloe said.

"That’s exactly why I suggested this place to Eric in the first place, because I’ve actually been here before," Laura chimed in.

"Oh... really? Who with?" Emma asked curiously.

"With my uncle’s crew. They were hunting someone down and I just tagged along for a vacation," Laura answered proudly.

"That’s not a vacation, that’s a work assignment, you dork," Emma shot back, giving Laura a playful flick on the forehead.

"Hey... it counted as a vacation to me, smartass," Laura said, rubbing her forehead.

Eric, who had finished setting up the lawn chairs and a table, walked over to the six girls standing at the edge of the cliff.

"Hmm... do you think there are any horror stories about this place? Like a twisted serial killer wearing a mask, a jumpsuit, and carrying a knife? Or maybe if you have a nightmare about some creepy monster and get killed in your dream, you die in real life too," Eric blurted out out of nowhere.

Instantly, Emma, Priya, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura whipped around to look at Eric. Every single one of them had a major pout or a glare on their face, as if to say, "You’re totally ruining the vibe, why the hell would you bring up creepy stuff in a place like this?" Eric noticed the six of them staring him down.

"What... why? I don’t know anything about this area since I used to live out of town, so it’s a perfectly normal question to ask," Eric defended himself.

"There’s nothing horror-related here!" Priya shouted, majorly pouting.

"You know what? Tonight we’re supposed to sleep with the sunroof open and look at the stars, but you’ve already painted a picture of some impending tragedy. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Heidi added, also pouting.

"Hmm... but it sounds kind of fun though, turning a hiking trip into a survival story," Chloe added, apparently being a fan of horror movies.

"Maybe fun for you, but definitely not for me, especially with blood splattering everywhere and body parts getting chopped off... ugh... horrifying," Monica said, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her shoulders.

"Usually, the redhead is the first to die," Emma added, teasing her.

"You’re so annoying! Usually, the girl with green eyes who’s supposedly the prettiest is just an extra who gets a tiny bit of screen time. She hooks up at the start of the movie, gets this huge introduction, and then she and her boyfriend get chased down until they’re dead, only to be remembered for the rest of the film," Monica shot back.

"Hey, I’m not even the prettiest one here," Emma replied.

"The six of us are an even match," Laura added with a smirk, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yep... that’s totally true. All of you really are gorgeous, cute, and amazing," Eric said, chiming in after Laura, clearly not thinking anything of it.

The six of them instantly whipped their heads around to look at Eric, completely caught off guard but looking pretty thrilled that he had complimented them so naturally. But then Eric kept talking, instantly crushing the romantic daydream he had just built up in their heads.

"Which is why it looks like I’m the only one surviving tonight," Eric teased.

The expressions on the six girls’ faces flipped in a heartbeat, turning into annoyed, irritated pouts. Without missing a beat, all six of them charged right after Eric as he bolted behind the RV.

"Get back here... you’re dead!" the girls shouted wildly.

"Help! Mercy! I’m getting targeted by a bunch of psycho killers!" Eric joked back.

They kept running around, chasing each other with playful banter and laughter, completely carefree and not giving a single damn about what was happening in the world outside.

***

Meanwhile, at the exact same time over at Ruby’s apartment, "thud," Ruby planted herself heavily on the couch right next to Jade, who was busy scrolling through her smartphone.

"Jade... look at this," Ruby said, shoving her smartphone screen forward.

When Jade looked at Ruby’s screen, her eyes went wide and her face turned completely pale, looking so scared out of her wits that it seemed like her soul briefly left her body as she clutched her chest. What Ruby was showing Jade was a photo revealing Jason’s current condition: his face was beaten to a pulp, his neck was in a brace, he had massive black eyes, his hair looked like it had been half-shaved off, and he was lying flat on a hospital bed.

The sender of the photo was Vanessa, Ruby’s mom. Amazingly, she was blaming Eric, claiming he had hired people to do all this to Jason just because Eric found out Jason had hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on him. Right next to the bedridden Jason, Martin could be seen looking ages older than before, sitting by the bedside looking completely broken. Jade turned to look at Ruby, who looked a little pale herself.

"Do you think Eric actually did this?" Jade asked.

"I don’t know... but Eric has tons of cash and is loaded. If he wanted to, he easily could, right? That’s why next time, don’t just go recording people talking and sending it to him, this is the fallout," Ruby answered.

"Is that so... well, good. I hope this finally teaches him a lesson so he stops acting like he’s on top of the world," Jade said, shrugging her shoulders with a cynical smirk.

"Ding."

A new message popped up on the smartphone right in front of Ruby and Jade, who naturally read it without a moment’s hesitation.

"The police refuse to handle the case... they don’t want to cross paths with that individual. They also mentioned that the guy is currently living in your city. Do either of you know who that person is?" Vanessa asked in her text.

Jade and Ruby went dead silent. They didn’t reply to the message at all, mostly because they genuinely didn’t know who it was. But given the situation, Jade looked visibly relieved and incredibly grateful that she had sided with Eric.

On the flip side, Ruby looked like an absolute wreck, her entire plan completely ruined and overshadowed by pure terror. After all, if Jason could end up like that, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t face the exact same fate if she ever crossed the line with Eric.

"Damn it, I need to watch my step... this is getting dangerous. I absolutely cannot cross Eric since he doesn’t hesitate to beat up his own brother, but I still want to get close to him again... I also want to own a penthouse, go on road trips in an RV, have two cars, and own a building in the middle of the city... I want to be his sister again and enjoy life as his sibling," Ruby thought to herself, racking her brain so hard that Jade could practically see smoke coming out of her head.