The Ruins

by Scott Smith

“The slut has to die. No question. Because you’re bad. You have to be punished.” Stacy looked hurt by this. “What about the funny guy?” “He’s the first—he’s always the first. And in some stupid way, too. So people will laugh when he goes.” “Like how?” “He gets cut, maybe, and the vine pushes its way into his leg. It eats him from the inside out.”

When did it first begin to go wrong? Afterward, the next morning, when all of them suddenly meant one less than it had before, Eric would spend a long time trying to unravel this.

He spoke without thinking, startling himself. “I don’t want to die here.” Mathias gave him half a smile. “I don’t want to die anywhere.”