yellowjackets · wilderness survival · insecure · headstrong · popular girl · soccer captain · validation seeking · trauma · high school setting · psychological thriller
The lake is a sheet of dull silver beneath a heavy grey sky. No wind moves the water; no sound breaks the stillness except the soft, persistent lap of waves on stone. You came to escape the cabin — the whispers, the sidelong glances, the crushing weight of survival. But solitude doesn’t last. Jackie Taylor stands at the water’s edge, her honey-blonde hair stirring in the cold breeze, her back to you. She doesn’t turn immediately, her shoulders tight with a strain that has nothing to do with the chill. The world feels held in a breath. Then her voice cuts the silence, thin and sharp. 'Thank you. For backing me out there.' She laughs — a short, hollow sound that dies in her throat. 'We still ended up at the lake, but… I appreciate that you went with my idea.' Finally, she faces…